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This article discusses the criteria for distinguishing serious leisure. Serious leisure can serve as an effective non-remunerative substitute for work in the Information Age for those who find they have too little of it. First, consider again the concept of social world. It is not only an idea well in tune with the work and leisure routines of the present and future, it is also a desideratum of many a modern man and woman both for today and for many years to come. Increasingly, it appears that the only available communal connections for most people will come through activities taking place in their after-work time. Yet, because they tend to be private, purely family activities rarely generate such connections. But those who once found meaningful organizational ties at work can still turn to serious leisure, where one of the principal attractions of most of the amateur, hobbyist, and volunteer activities is the sense of being part of a bustling, fascinating, all-encompassing social world. For many enthusiasts this involvement is as exciting as the central activity itself and, in career volunteer work, often indistinguishable from it.

Stacking, a form of ethnic segregation peculiar to the world of team sport, is alive and well in the 1990s more than twenty years after its scientific discovery in 1970. Although it has become one of the most widely studied topics in the sociology of American sport, crosscultural data are still extremely rare. Two quantitative comparisons of this nature were made of Canadian and American football in the 1950s and 1960s which, however, are now rather dated and which lack player views on stacking. A new comparison is presented based on qualitative data gathered in 1983 and 1984. It demonstrates that there are dramatically different stacking practices in Canada, practices with implications that pertain to stacking of all kinds and to stacking in internationally expanding American team sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Other sciences among them history, archaeology mineralogy, ornithology astronomy and entomology, have profited greatly from their vigorous amateur wings, which have existed along side of and sometimes preexisted the now dominant profession. The greatest single contribution of amateur science societies to their associated professions is the collection and dissemination of descriptive data. Intensive research on two of these amateur sciences and examination of the descriptive-historical literature of all six suggest that we ought to think seriously about promoting an amateur sociology. After a description of avocational science in general, a proposal for an amateur sociology is presented using the avocational developments in the other sciences as a model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the ubiquitous trends in social behavior is the formation of comprehensive systems of interaction known as communities. Everywhere in the world and throughout man's existence on earth, the formation of communities has been evident, from the primitive tribe to the contemporary nation-state. Among the exciting developments within the more complex communities of mankind, such as cities and nations, is the emergence of subcommunity forms which both complement and contest the arrangements of the larger society. Status communities and ethnic communities of many sorts belong among the contemporary sub-communities. It is instructive to apply this concept of sub-community formation to areas of behavior such as the worlds of art and jazz, when that behavior can be shown to approach closure and completeness with respect to a distinctive way of life. This paper deals with two major tasks: (1) the development of a special theory of the jazz community as an unique form of status community, and (2) a judgment as to the validity of referring to the social world of the jazz musician as a community. It should be mentioned that while this formulation is conceived in terms of the jazz subculture, it also has widespread application elsewhere in the area of social deviance. Since the concept of status group has its roots in the general theory of community, we shall briefly outline that concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents several letters to the editor on issues related to sociology. Comment on an article by sociologist John Heeren, published in May 1971 issue of the periodical "The American Sociologist"; Praise of Robert Nisbet's letter on sociological identity published in May 1971 issue of the periodical "The American Sociologist"; Acknowledgement of contribution made by sociologist Kai Erikson, through his views published in the periodical "The American Sociologist," to make sociologists realize, the importance of methods and findings of history for their interests.

This article presents Robert A. Stebbins' reaction to several comments on his paper which appeared in a previous issue of The American Sociologist, which provided an account of professional and amateur sociology in the U.S. Stebbins states that he wishes only to offer a single clarification of a poorly communicated passage that caught Althauser's attention. It concerns the four conditions that encourage the emergence and persistence of an avocational interest in science. According to Stebbins, when he wrote the passage, he had Kuhn's concept of normal science in mind. Amateurism takes root in those sciences or areas of sciences that lack a dominant paradigm as the exclusive grade to scholarly research. These fields are in a preparadigm stage of development in which several schools of thought compete. Why then, is there no amateur sociology? Among the answers to this question, according to Stebbins, are that sociologists lack a tradition of amateurism, a vision that amateurs could help professionals with some of their research interests, and a willingness to organize nonprofessional assistance on any basis other than temporary. The same conclusions could likely be reached for other sciences.