30- ja 50-aastaste põlvkonnad uue aastatuhande künnisel

The book “The generations in their 30s and 50s at the wake of the new millennium” deals with the life events of two different generations — one born after the war in the Soviet society and in their early forties in the beginning of the independence, and another born in the 1960s, thus in prime age at the time of re-establishing the Estonian independence. Data collected in 1966–1997 enable the authors to compare the factors that have influenced the life events under the Soviet and market society by juxtaposing the two age cohorts. The main goal of the book is to describe the factors modelling the social differentiation process in the two different types of society via the comparison of the two generations. The first chapter analyses factors that influence the division of the post war and the so-called ‘winners’ generation between the various vocational groups. The second chapter has a fresh approach at the education by analysing its consequences for income, membership of the vocational groups and family events. The third chapter looks at the territorial mobility of Estonians in the Soviet and market societies. The focus is on the factors influencing migration. The fourth chapter has a comparative approach to family stories, concentrating on the typical chains of life events that relate to family. The fifth chapter analyses the factors modelling the home environment based on the quality of life in different societies. The last two chapters are dedicated to the problems of value consciousness. The sixth chapter deals with the factors influencing the formation and the stability of the life orientations. The seventh chapter looks at various aspects of work appraisal. The main novelty of the book is the comparison of the factors influencing life events and values under different societal conditions. While predicting the life course outcomes of the post war generations requires mainly value orientations, the predictors of the life course of the ‘winners’ generation in the market society are much more varied. The results are based on the causal analysis. The authors of the book are Kadri Aas (4. chapter), Mare Ainsaar (3. chapter), Jaanika Hämmal (1. chapter), Kersti Kõiv (2. chapter), Anne Põder (5. chapter), Ave Roots (6. chapter), Andu Rämmer (7. chapter), Mikk Titma (introduction, 1., 2., 5., 6., 7. chapters, and conclusion), and Liina-Mai Tooding (4. chapter).