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In studies of the socio-economic composition of the church in Corinth, 2 Cor 8–9 are rarely considered. However, it is precisely these chapters that are instructive, since Paul addresses the entire community with a financial need, and, in order to succeed, the economic situation of the whole community must be taken into account. In these chapters, the apostle justifies and motivates his plea with reference to the material abundance of his audience and assumes that all church members are able to participate in giving. This supports the thesis, which is widespread in recent research, that the community is not primarily made up of the lowest, but rather the middle, and perhaps upper, social classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article queries the theoretical foundations of cosmopolitan attitudes from the perspective of anthropology and educational philosophy. In a first step, a cosmopolitan attitude is defined as an expression of inner structures of the self towards the ›world‹. In a second step, ›world‹ is differentiated using sociology and anthropology into ›the world of everyday life‹ and ›the world as a totality‹. To bridge the gap between these two conceptions, ›everyday cosmopolitanisms‹ are introduced. The potentials and limits of everyday cosmopolitanisms are discussed in a final step on the example of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collecting, processing and balancing information about research activities is a central task of research management at all levels. Research information systems support this task. Although the topic is increasingly discussed, there is still a lack of robust empirical data on the spread of research information systems among research institutions and what differences there are between different types and sizes of research institutions. Building on a telephone survey of organizations in Lower Austria, we diagnose a second digital wave of research management. Advanced research information systems are on the rise and there is a strong dynamic of digital transformation. However, the wave also brings deep currents that point to a fragmentation of the field. These are of great importance for public projects, if one does not want to reproduce disadvantages for small research institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article addresses sociological perspectives on diversity in the context of globalisation and individualisation and outlines related social and (educational) policy concerns. On this basis, the significance of “dealing with diversity” for schools and specifically for the subject area of “economy, work, household” in increasingly pluralised societies is offered for discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This interview with Fritz Schütze focuses on his contribution to qualitative research and the development of the autobiographical narrative interview. He recounts the development of the method of analyzing the structures of a life story and its reception in the field of sociology. In doing so, he describes how it is to feel like an outsider in one's own discipline. Schütze addresses for whom the autobiographical narrative interview is appropriate, what is required for a life story to be told, and with whom conducting a narrative interview is less likely to be successful. The interview also focuses on the closeness of his work to psychology, on the similarities and differences, especially regarding psychoanalysis. Finally, he specifies the future fields of research for which the autobiographical narrative interview will be particularly relevant and comments on the socio-political significance of autobiographical narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The narrative of a disappearing midst raises a variety of new questions in the field of religious pedagogy: Does this narrative mobilize powers helping to start discussions about what should be valid in an pluralistic society with different preconditions? Does this narrative, unreflectively and therefore even more efficacious, promote sedating powers in a way that leads to accept lapses at the edge more easily? AND: Who determines what can be proclaimed as the midst of a society and who and what is therefore considered the edge? What power plays are at work and who has the power to assert these? In light of the broadly discussed narrative of a disappearing midst, religious pedagogy, as a theological subject and interdisciplinary science, is able and urged not to accept such narratives but to question and reflect them critically in regards to their ideology. Religious pedagogy has to remain present in the width of alternate interpretations and promote theology as an orientational power, not leaving the field to inhuman and usurpatory current powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response takes up several aspects from Clemens Albrecht's keynote, but beyond the actual content of his lecture also includes approaches and publications by Mr Albrecht and also addresses some fundamental perspectives on the relationship between academic religious pedagogy and sociology. These concern the keywords philosophy of science, cultural turn, public theology and public sociology as well as sociology of school. Further aspects of content are the analyses of the Bobos presented by Mr Albrecht as well as his conceptualization of the relationship between universalism and particularism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher education is usually regarded as crucial for quality assurance and quality development in schooling. In their professionalization, teacher students are expected not only to learn "good practice" but also a literacy concerning the evaluation of (their own) practice. With reference to the "sociology of valuation and evaluation", the paper investigates how evaluative practices are conceptualized in different research perspectives on teacher education. It can be shown that both, theories of competence and theories of socialisation, focus upon judgements about appropriatemeans thatmeet predetermined standards, while they do not account for judgements about these standards themselves. Performativity theories draw attention to evaluative practices as social processes of negotiation, yet, they do not account for the framework within which evaluative judgements operate. To overcome these blind spots, the paper draws upon Alasdair MacIntyre's concept of a „Living Tradition" and its potential for opening different perspectives on becoming a teacher and developing a literacy to evaluate the practice of teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article depicts the development of the scientific study of religion in Germany within the last ten years on the basis of professorships and ventures a prognosis for the next ten years. In 2010, ensuing from a so-called return of religion and the subsequent high social relevance of the discipline, the Wissenschaftsrat (academic council) advocated reinforcing the study of religion through more professorships. This recommendation has been pursued throughout many places. However, the growth of professorships does not correspond to an equally increased presence of the study of religion in non-academic discourses. Here, other disciplines such as the theologies, history, and sociology are more likely to be heard. Given the downward trend of student numbers as well as the closures of other small disciplines, the urgent question arises as to how the study of religion should position itself strategically as a discipline and how it shall fulfill its social relevance in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of FaceTime and other technologies as a substitute for in-person caregiving at the end of life has become more common in pandemic times. Despite widespread reliance on technologically mediated experiences to alleviate social isolation and to connect people in moments of crisis and vulnerability, being on screen with another person is not equivalent to „really being there“. In this essay I consider social interaction with those at or near the end of life as a phenomenological concern, in part as a way to come to grips with my own experience of the death of loved ones. The feeling of insufficiency I experienced using FaceTime to connect with a dying person in the ICU can be articulated through the language of social phenomenology, which describes intercorporeality as integral to direct social experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Needs and areas of need in various consumption fields play a central role in nutrition and consumer education. In this contribution, the conceptualization of consumption is reflected in terms of the history of ideas to critically question the individualistic concept of need and to present a possible sociological alternative with the concept of resonance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pursuit of happiness is fundamental to human beings and this state of striving is closely intertwined with consumption behavior. “Consumers want to be happy, and marketers are increasingly trying to appeal to consumer's pursuit of happiness" (Mogilner et al., 2012, p. 429). Current research on customer happiness is only in its early stages and therefore offers little guidance. This is the starting point of this dissertation, which addresses the key questions: what is happiness and what is its relationship with consumption? Furthermore, how can we measure the impact of marketing on happiness? And finally, does customer engagement have an impact on customer happiness? To address these questions, this dissertation comprises three discrete empirical papers. The central contribution of this work is the combination of different research perspectives – on the one hand the qualitative study on happiness theories through the functional analysis of sociology, and on the other hand two quantitative studies which develop a measurement and use it within structural equation modeling. Additionally, this work includes theories and insights from various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, sociology, history, economics as well as marketing. Building on these comprehensive insights, this work develops a fundamental theory on customer happiness and also provides an empirical measurement for use in further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scaffold of rules referring to sexuality has many suppliers and builders, and recently also women builders. The normative impulses do not stem solely from criminal law, although this figures most prominently. The article describes the social factors and the different forms of stategovernment, including the coexisting Federal Republic and the GDR, as well as the political phases of the last 100 years. The normal form of encounter between woman and man remained oddly unregulated; it was indirectly controlled (exclusivity in marriage, interruption of pregnancy, legal status of unmarried children and single mothers, protection of minors, masturbation). Sexual deviations (from prostitution to animal contacts) were at the forefront of regulatory activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the conference title "Kultur: Interdisziplinäre Zugänge" that was held in Hagen, Arnsberg, Germany from September 22-24, 2015. Topics discussed include cultural sociology, cultural management and cultural philosophy, characterization of contemporary society on the basis of principle of culturalization and concept of intercultural communication and capacity-building in the confrontation.

The article discusses important structural problems in contemporary Romania from a sociological point of view. In particular, it deals with former and present questions concerning minorities. These questions have recently experienced a remarkable actualisation due to the current "regionalization-debate" and other developments in domestic and foreign policies. The article further discusses consequences and problems resulting from cross-border and internal migration. Other key subjects are regional disparities concerning economic and social structures as well as certain evidence for a "democratization crisis" in Romania. Closely linked to that focus are problems concerning institutional change. One sign providing evidence of these problems is that some institutional sectors are very vulnerable to corruption. Finally, the article addresses questions about the collective identity and future perspectives, especially concerning pan-European developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a report on a conference about German sociologist Helmut Schelsky, held in Chemnitz, Germany, from October 25-26, 2012. Topics of discussion included Schelsky's place within the broader history of German sociology in the twentieth century, his reception of the works of sociologist Max Weber, and Schelsky's writings on such subjects as English political philosopher Thomas Hobbes, institutionalism, and the sociology of sexuality.

The article investigates the sociological composition of the Country Assembly of Bessarabia in 1917-1918. Representative institution of the people of Bessarabia, this parliament decisively influenced the history of this former Russian province during the period under investigation, declaring the autonomy and then the independence of the lands located between the Pruth and the Dniester rivers and then deciding on the union with Romania, in March 1918. The present analysis focuses, on the one hand, on the type of voting used in the election of representatives and, on the other, on the sociological composition of the elected representatives in terms of ethnicity, political orientation, age and level of education, throughout the entire activity of the Country Assembly. This comprehensive and detailed presentation of all the political and ethnic forces represented in the Bessarabian parliament also highlights the manner in which the Romanian-speaking representatives sought to represent and outline their ethnic and political bases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on a meeting title "29 Jahrestagung des Schwerter Arbeitskreises Katholizismusforschung" that was held in Schwerte, Germany from November 20-22, 2015. Topics discussed include projects for state of Catholicism research, history of mentalities expansion of Catholicism research and church history, sociology and political science.

This article describes existing research on gerontology, and explores the role of pastoral care. When focusing on gerontology from a pastoral care point of view, certain multiprofessional aspects need to be considered. The article aims to highlight insights on the subject from the field of sociology, and to enable pastors to engage meaningfully with elderly persons. Reflection on the changing social environment emphasises the difficulties that retirement and the resulting loss of authenticity pose to the older person. The article considers how pastoral care as part of a multidisciplinary team could fulfil a positive role in gerontology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within RISM's international structure, Spain plays a special role due to its peculiar historical situation and the bridge it represents between Europe and America. The resulting problems and obstacles as well as the particular richneß of its historical sources with all their linguistic and musical characteristics pose a particular challenge to the work of the Spanish RISM group. In this respect, the day-to-day experience of the Spanish RISM group makes Spain an exemplary case that perhaps offers perspectives as promising as challenging. The present contribution will aim at outlining some of the principal aspects of the Spanish situation and the importance they might have for the RISM's future in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conceptuality of sound in Sofia Gubaidulina's music is akin to that conceptuality of form that has already become a tradition in the sense of exceeding the limits of music and of communication with the extra-musical sphere. In this, what is to be understood is the communication by words (literature), by gesture (pictorial presentation), by ritual (dramaturgical structuring; coloured projection of sound) and the sacral (religion; theosophy). By equating the conceptualities of sound and form, Gubaidulina leaves the leading role to the factor of processuality: the temporal-structural condensing and extending, the physical-acoustical changes of positions, the variations and the fundamental changes of tonal setting and timbre. In Gubaidulina's string quartets, different ways of articulation are posited in a very differentiated manner, aiming towards the construction and the creation of form. Beside the well-known solutions offered by the so-called Polish school (for example, in Polymorphia by K. Penderecki), here new procedures of the creation of sound by the »use of the bow« and »direct touching of strings with fingers« (Gubaidulina's own expressions) are active. These procedures form three spheres of sonoric space in all: the tempered, untempered and acoustical ones, each determined by sound colours (harmonic tones; flageolets). Gubaidulina has carefully developed them, depending on their functions in the particular work, and they exist both independently and in interaction, crossing and confrontation. The space spheres participate in the confrontation of the conscious and unconscious. (Gubaidulina called it the untempered milieu »in the unconscious of the captivated half of the sound being«.) It is of no less importance to this composer to achieve, with the help of articulation, »that the acoustical sound be trausformed into a symbol«. The elaborated transition from one usual sound to a flageolet »with the help of another type of touching«, the transition from one basic tone burdened with expression to a harmonic tone -- for GubaiduIina, all this is equal to a sudden transfer »from Earth to the Heaveus«. As a real Easterner, Gubaidulina is interested in the linear perspective of sound dynamics which is divided into horizontal and vertical dimensions. She is also interested in the transforming path (the Armenian composer Awet Terterjan called it the »lonely« path) of one tone, with a potential »to rise up vertically to the Heavens, i.e. to penetrate the soul.« After all, this was one of the main reasons why Gubaidulina allowed the high sound register to dominate the whole sound structure in her string quartets (and not only in these compositions). In connection with the articulation aspect, attention should be also drawn to various ways of sound production on string instruments by the means of direct touching of strings with fingers, which was inspired by playing techniques on the domra and other Oriental plucked instruments. In spite of all differencies in construction, the number of strings and their tuning, the practical use of these instruments is almost identical. If playing techniques in folk music are compared with those which were invented by Gubaidulina herself, the whole spectrum of sound space could be recognized in the way that she understands it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section introduces a series of articles on the sociology of religion.