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This paper examines the Chicago sociologist William F. Ogburn's (1886–1959) views about technological unemployment, which were intimately connected to his analysis of the social impacts of technological developments and resulting social problems due to cultural lag. We trace the development of his views as seen through his well‐known 1922 book, Social Change with Respect to Culture and Original Nature, his important contributions to the President's Research Committee on Social Trends (1933), and his lesser‐known pamphlets designed for a broader audience—Living with Machines (1933), You and Machines (1934), and Machines and Tomorrow's World (1938). He used these pamphlets to educate the public about the dangers of new machines and technological unemployment. In doing so, he drew upon sociological analysis in his professional scholarly writings and his long‐standing personal interests in social betterment and social reform. Our analysis also calls into question the adequacy of existing scholarship on Ogburn that has emphasized his commitment to a statistical, dispassionate, and "objectivist" approach to social science research. We call for a revised, richer, and more complex view of Ogburn's work and legacy as one of the nation's leading social scientists during the first half of the 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robert K. Merton was a titan of 20th century American sociology, a power-broker of careers and ideas, and a dominant intellectual whose concepts are the coinage of today's textbooks. The author presents a strong and convincing argument for the view that Merton developed a structural sociology that retains value for understanding contemporary society. [Extracted from the article]

This paper records the Polish aspects of P. F. Lazarsfeld's sociointellectual biography and examines his impact on Polish sociology. The analysis is divided into three chronological parts. In the 1930s, Lazarsfeld's empirical work inspired Polish sociologists in their studies on unemployment. In the late 1950s and 1960s, his model of empirical social research shaped the style of sociological practice in Poland. In the 1990s, some of Lazarsfeld's substantive contributions, mainly in the area of election studies, were taken up in Polish sociology. Lazarsfeld's influence on Polish sociology was conditioned by changes in Polish society and sociology, which is emphasized in this analysis. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

W.I. Thomas is not given full credit for his contributions to the early development of scientific sociology in the United States and, in particular, the Chicago School of Sociology. Based on new documentary evidence regarding the Helen Culver Fund for Race Psychology and also a reconsideration of a 1912 article by Thomas, it is suggested that Thomas had been evolving his new scientific approach to sociology very early (1910 to 1913), before contact with men who were said to have influenced him (for example, Robert Park and Florian Znaniecki). in discussing the substance of his scientific approach to sociology, emphasis is placed on six traits: empirical, inductive, comparative, systematic or strategic, analytical or conceptual, and social psychological. Each quality is illustrated from his persona and professional writing from that period. The implications of Thomas's work for "schools" of sociological thought and for the role of private philanthropy are considered briefly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]