While it is often surmised that great social changes come when the attitudes and ideas of a younger generation displace those of their parents and grandparents, Penn State sociologist Duane F. Alwin ponders whether other factors might have a greater impact. In his article "Generations X, Y and Z: Are They Changing America?," Alwin demonstrates that social change results as much from shifts in individual lives -- due to aging or historical events -- as from the progression of generations. His analysis appears in the fall/winter 2002 issue of the American Sociological Association's (ASA) Contexts magazine. "It is often relatively easy to construct a picture of generational differences by comparing data from different age groups in social surveys and polls, but determining what produced the data is considerably more complex," Alwin says. "Society reflects, at any given time, the sum of its generations." For the full story from the ASA, visit http://www.asanet.org/media/generations.html