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The article presents criticism on sociologist Albert Szymanski's research paper "Toward a Radical Sociology." Szymanski is quite direct in setting aside as an ideal the establishment of conceptual frameworks that might ensure the objectivity of sociological knowledge. Central to his position is a rejection of sociologist Max Weber's methodology based on the sharp distinction between empirical judgments and evaluational judgments, a distinction that Szymanski recognizes to be "impeccable" in logic, yet holds to be a "philosophical sophism," and on the assertion that all intellectual disciplines must give strong primacy among their commitments to the ideal of objectivity. Citing the sociology of knowledge truth that all knowledge within the social sciences is in certain respects conditioned by the historical environment within which it is developed, hence not "objective" in the sense of being free of all social partisanship, Szymanski argues that a radical sociology would not be any the less objective were it to accept the constraints of adopting certain "humanistic" commitments among its fundamental values.

The article presents authors personal thoughts on the pursuit of sociological problems. The author intends to retrace his steps along one path of his intellectual career--the path that links two books, titled, "Social Change in the Industrial Revolution," and "Theory of Collective Behavior," and a number of recent articles and papers on sociological theory and psychological theory. The main emphasis in the article was on the need for a determinate synthesis of the several classes of variables that are essential for the explanation of collective behavior such as cultural, social, psychological, ecological and other variables. In attempting to sort out the major influences on his choice of sociological problems, he resorts to a device that he find congenial and helpful: to arrange these influences in a series extending from very general, predisposing influences which have steered his intellectual interests to the very specific, immediate influences that have determined a particular strategy of analysis in working on a sociological problem.

The article demonstrates the possibility of supplementing substantive considerations with materials developed through an analysis of intellectual systems for underlying structural dimensions. The central issue raised here concerns the character of the selected representation of the mode of thought, i.e. the property of the mode of thought that is selected to represent it. Insofar as studies in the sociology of knowledge take some substantive property of a mode of thought and seek to understand its social origin, their point of departure is not the mode of thought per se but certain of its substantive properties. Portions of two different intellectual systems are treated empirically to ascertain the manner in which their demonstrations of proof are structured. These structures are uncovered through the use of Gutmann scale analysis. While any set of branching deductions may be considered as partly ordered set, the findings reported in this paper show that the portions of the intellectual system chosen for analysis converge to an almost perfectly ordered set. Finally, known properties of Gutmann scales are assigned to the structural dimension, and implications for the sociology of knowledge are drawn.

This paper analyzes the nature of value-commitments, conceived as a generalized symbolic medium of interchange in the processes of social interaction, in this respect paralleling money, power, and influence. Commitments constitute moral obligations of units of a system of social interaction to maintain the integrity of a value-pattern and to strive toward its implementation in action through combination with non-value factors. Stability of commitments is a basic condition of the compatibility of wide moral freedom with the exigencies of social functioning. Like the other three media, commitments are not bound by a zero-sum condition, but can be expanded, especially through charismatic movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the concept of linguistic relativity and also discusses relations between language, social stratification and cognitive orientation. The author notes that literature is still meager in the subfield dealing with linguistic correlates of social stratification. On the level of linguistic structure or language, there still has no thorough phonological, grammatical and semantic comparison of even a single pair of class dialects. The relations between language, social stratification and cognitive orientation have been studied most deeply in a series of publications by Basil Bernstein. In these papers, a distinction is made between a restricted code, speech which uses relatively limited linguistic resources and is consequently predictable to a high degree, as against an elaborated code, which allows a larger number of structural options and shows a correspondingly low level of predictability. Differences between these two codes are matters of language behavior rather than of language structure.

This paper discusses sociological issues concerning linguistically homogeneous and linguistically heterogeneous polities. The author notes that linguistically homogenous polities are usually economically mode developed, educationally more advanced, politically more modernized and ideologically-politically more tranquil and stable. Linguistically homogeneous polities tend to be smaller in area (i.e., below 75,000 square miles), to have a higher population density (i.e., above 100/square mile), to have a lower proportion of agricultural population (i.e., less than 66 per cent), and to be more highly urbanized. Highly urbanized polities are defined as those polities in which 20% or more of the population resides in cities of 20,000 or more and in which 12.5% resides in cities of 100,000 or more. Linguistically heterogeneous states tend in the opposite direction in connection with all of these variables, i.e., they tend to be large, of lower population density, of a higher proportion of agricultural population, and to be of a low degree of urbanization. According to some studies, linguistically homogeneous polities tend to have at least a medium per capita gross national product of at least 300 U.S. dollars per year, and they tend to have developed or intermediate economic status.

abstract The paper describes a developing sociological and psychoanalytic approach to the study of 20 London families in the early 1950s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reading the article, “Community psychology at the crossroads: Prospects for interdisciplinary research” (), there is a sense that community psychology is at a crossroad with regard to being an interdisciplinary field. This paper aims to offer insight and guidance to proponents of interdisciplinary research in the community psychology field by drawing on experiences in urban studies, which shares similar origins and interdisciplinary claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing, with its socially embedded theory and practice, inevitably operates in the realm of power and politics. One of these political sites is that of religion, which to varying degrees continues to shape beliefs about health and illness, the delivery of healthcare services and the nurse–patient encounter. In this paper, I attempt to complicate nursing's views on religion and politics in healthcare, with the intent of thinking critically and philosophically about questions that arise at the intersection of religion, politics and nursing/healthcare. These questions include the following: What is the domain of religion and politics? How (non)religious are the contemporary societies in which nurses practice? What are the variations and implications of secularism? How is religion entangled with other intersecting social relations of power? How does a political reading of religion and politics matter to the concerns of nursing? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1979, modern Conservatism has been torn between a traditional regard for the nation state and a powerful, internationalising, global capitalism. Increasingly, radical free marketeers in the party reject the diffuse and patriotic political economy of big government. Instead, they prefer the consumption ethic of radical supply side reform and privatisation. However, in a country in which private healthcare is expanding, in which private schools and home education are booming, and in which for every one state policeman there are now at least two private security guards, how far will this process go? When a Labour government issues a green paper highlighting the scope for the greater use of private military companies and it accepts the commodification of public space through the use of road pricing, what room is left for Conservatives who believe that 'the people should be big and the state small'? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on culture identity and dress. The sociology of dress is a vibrant field, exploring intriguing theoretical, methodological, and empirical domains. During the mid-twentieth century, clothing scholars began investigating the sociological and psychological implications of dress and appearance. In 1989, a group met to discuss the direction of the analysis of dress. The published papers from that meeting considered a wide range of topics, including identity, social psychology, cultural anthropology and sociology, semiotics, affect and cognition, social construction of gender, literary analysis, as well as qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Recent textbooks in the area continue to thaw from sociology and other fields to refine theories of dress and human behavior. Related to the misperception that dress only applies to the psychology of the self is the notion that dress is trivial both substantively and theoretically. Perhaps sociologists' neglect of dress might also be linked to a misperception that it is nonrational behavior similar to other actions that do not lend themselves to systematic analysis. Again these articles provide a contrasting view. In organizational and institutional settings, such as greedy organizations, total institutions, and mass media, dress and all it symbolizes are debated and discussed in ways that can be studied scientifically. Further, all of the articles have identified patterns in how dress is used in identity embracing and distancing that can be incorporated into broader theoretical frameworks.

Nursing is possible owing to a series of intricate systemic relations. Building on an established tradition of sociological research, we critically analysed the nursing profession in Chile, with an emphasis on its education system, in the light of social systems theory. The paper's aim was to explore basic characteristics of nursing education as a system, so as to outline its current evolution. Drawing on recent developments in nursing, we applied an empirical framework to identify and discuss functionally differentiated systems that are relevant to nursing and observe communications between them. We found that the dynamics of nursing as a whole develop from communications with closely related systems, including the nursing profession and the education system more broadly. While the discipline (as a system of representations) strives to control the profession (as an applied occupational field), the necessities of practicing nurses imply other forces mediating the making of the profession, a process framed by market dynamics in education and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents guidelines for articles for submission by contributors to the "British Journal of Sociology." The aim of the journal is to provide a medium for the publication of original papers covering the entire span of sociological thought and research. Manuscripts should not exceed 8000 words in length and the editors would appreciate receiving shorter articles. Research notes or commentaries making contemporary contributions to the journal's fields of interest will also be considered by the editors but these should not be longer than 2,500 words. All submitted works should be typed in double line spacing on one side of numbered A4 size paper. Five copies of the article should be submitted. The title of the article, the author's name/s and address should appear on a detachable flysheet and the title only should appear on the first page of the article. An abstract of up to 200 words, typed on a separate sheet, giving a concise statement of the intention, results and the conclusions of the paper should be attached to the article. Authors should also include 6 keywords. Authors should note the total word length of their article on the cover sheet and also made a note of the date on which the paper was last updated. Tables and figures should appear on separate sheets with self-explanatory titles. Spelling practices should be consistent throughout the article.

The article provides gudelines for authors who want to contribute in social and cultural phenomena through their articles for the publication in the journal "Journal of Social History (JHS)." A JHS article will say something substantial and new about its empirical subject matter and will be of interest to readers beyond a specialist geographical or disciplinary audience. These guidelines brief up on the format of paper submission, the length of articles, refereeing, the possibility of acceptance of the paper. The contributions should be accompanied by an abstract of no more than 100 words, and a brief biographical note including institutional affiliation. Articles should normally be no longer than 10,000 words or 35 double-spaced standard north American letter-size pages. The contributions that are wished to be considered further after being edited, will only be sent to the external referees, and once the papers have been finally accepted, the full final text has to be sent by the authors. There are few guidelines on production and the copyright also to be taken care of by contributors.

The article provides guidelines for authors who want to contribute to social and cultural phenomena through their articles for the publication in the journal "Journal of Social History (JHS)." Articles that contribute to the historically-grounded understanding of human societies, whatever their disciplinary provenance or theoretical standpoint, will be welcomed for this journal. These guidelines brief up on the format of paper submission, presentation on the terms of the length and style of the article, references, the possibility of acceptance of the paper. The contributions should be accompanied by an abstract of no more than 100 words, and a brief biographical note including institutional affiliation. Articles should normally be no longer than 10,000 words or 35 double-spaced standard north American letter-size pages. The contributions that are wished to be considered further after being edited, will only be sent to the external referees, and once the papers have been finally accepted, the full final text has to be sent by the authors. There are few guidelines on production and the copyright also to be taken care of by contributors.

This issue of "Sociological Inquiry" presents a new and rather exciting feature which I believe will be of great interest to the readers of this journal. They are, for the first time, publishing the winning paper of the Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD) undergraduate paper competition. The editorial advisory board strongly recommended publishing the winning paper as "Sociological Inquiry" is, after all, the official journal of AKD, the international sociology honorary society. They also know that many of their subscribers are students. The editor hope that they enjoy this rather unique look at an aspect of human society that has been virtually untouched by sociologists. As they read this article, he hope also that they come away with a sense of satisfaction with knowing that the next generation of sociologists is being well trained in their discipline. Recognizing that much of this behavior has little to do with intended suicide, and cannot necessarily be linked to other pathologies, Sarah Hodgson interviews individuals who engage in this type of self mutilation through online chat rooms. Her analysis reveals several layers of learning that take place, as well as numerous mechanisms that are employed to maintain their credibility in a society that otherwise stigmatizes such behavior.

The article presents guidelines for authors who wish to contribute articles to the coming issues of "The Journal of Historical Sociology." Four copies of the manuscript should be sent to the responsible editor. All contributions should be accompanied by an abstract of no more than 100 words, and a brief biographical note including institutional affiliation. These should each be typed on separate sheets. Unsolicited manuscripts cannot be returned. Submissions are first read by responsible editors, and may be rejected without further review. Those wished to consider further will then be sent to external referees. The journal aims to give authors a decision within fours months, though people cannot guarantee always to do so. That decision may be a conditional or unconditional acceptance, a rejection, or an invitation to revise and resubmit. Once a paper has been accepted for publication, one must provide a final text that strictly conforms to the guidelines. Papers that do not meet these guidelines will be returned to authors for correction.

The article presents abstracts on papers related to sociology. The paper "Rural Development: From Practices and Policies Towards Theory," by Jan Douwe van der Ploeg, Henk Renting, Gianluca Brunori, Karlheinz Knickel, Joe Mannion, Terry Marsden, Kees de Roest, Eduardo Sevilla-Guzmán and Flaminia Ventura reflects the discussions in the IMPACT research programme and suggests that at the level of associated theory also a fundamental shift is taking place. Rural development is a autonomous process in which agriculture plays the key role. The paper "Food Supply Approaches: Exploring Their Role in Rural Development" by Terry Marsden, Jo Banks and Gillian Bristow explores the role of short food supply chains. In the paper, the consideration is given to the short food supply chains, and a three level topology is present. The dimensions and evolution of short food supply chain and the identification of four types of evolution have also been examined in the paper. Four types of evolution are temporal, spatial,demand and institutional.

This article presents a letter from the editor, which discusses articles in the November 1, 2006 issue of "Sociological Inquiry." The periodical included four papers selected by Charles Faupel, the former editor, and two book reviews by Professor Gwen Hunnicutt, "Sociological Inquiry's" book review editor. The editor explains the kinds of articles that he would like to see published and encourages submitting authors to examine these articles for methods and writing styles.

Discusses the objectives of the periodical "British Journal of Social Psychology." Ground rules guiding any methodology; Capacity of the periodical to juxtapose papers using contrasting, even conflicting methods and epistemologies; Commitment of researchers to a paradigm or mode of investigation.

The article presents instructions for authors for submitting manuscripts for publication in the periodical "The Journal of Historical Sociology." Four copies of the manuscript should be sent to the responsible editors. All contributions should be accompanied by an abstract of no more than 100 words, and a brief biographical note including institutional affiliation. Once a paper has been accepted for publication, authors must provide publishers with a final text that strictly conforms to the guidelines provided in the article.

The article presents editorial of the September 2004 issue of the periodical "Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health." The articles in this special issue are revised versions of papers that were given at a meeting of the European Association of Psychology and Law in Limassol, Cyprus. The articles are drawn from three European countries and are quite diverse. Sociologist David Farrington reviews key issues that criminological psychologists should address, especially in relation to why people become offenders, why people commit offences, and the link between explanation and the prevention and reduction of offending.

This article provides guidelines for the authors who contributes to the "The Journal of Historical Sociology (JHS)." A typical JHS article will contain little by way of extended literature review , will say something substantial and new about its empirical subject-matter, will be aware of the theoretical implications of its topic without turning into an abstruse discussion of pure theory, and will be of interest to readers beyond a specialist geographical or disciplinary audience. About paper submission, four copies of the manuscript should be sent to the responsible editors . All contributions should be accompanied by an abstract of no more than 100 words, and a brief biographical note including institutional affiliation. These should each be typed on separate sheets. Unsolicited manuscripts cannot be returned. Articles should normally be no longer than 10,000 words or 35 double-spaced standard north American letter-size page; review essays or "Issues and Agendas" pieces no more than 6,000 words. Longer submissions will be considered on their merits, but their chances of acceptance are much less. Submissions are first read by responsible editors, and may be rejected without further review.

This article focuses on several abstracts on sociology. "Ontology matters: The relational materiality of nature and agro-food studies," by David Goodman examines This paper examines the question of ontological choice in agro-food studies, and emphasizes that such choices are consequential, determining analytical points of entry, arenas of theory and praxis, and normative positioning. These questions are explored by examining the privileged place of the labor process in the development of agro-food studies and, as a more specific illustration, in analyses of agro-biotechnology. It is suggested that the modernist ontological priorities embedded in the unreconstructed conceptualization of the labor process not only have been ignored but also have found an unexamined place in post-structuralist agrarian political economy. The discussion closes by reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of actor-network theory as an alternative avenue of critical engagement with the new bio-politics of agro-food networks. "A matter of life and death? Men, masculinities and staying behind in rural Ireland," by Caitriona Ni Laoire is set within the context of a growing interest in the gendered nature of rurality and of rural life, and in particular in the context of an emerging literature on rural masculinities. It focuses on rural men and in particular on the phenomenon of rising male rural suicide rates.

This paper provides an overview of the articles presented in this issue of "Sociological Inquiry." The author has put Don Levine's essay on Max Weber first in this issue because it is much more balanced account of Max Weber's views on the modern world than a person ordinarily receives in secondary sources. Geoffrey Cooke's article is only an indication of theoretical and empirical possibilities. Another theoretical giant touched upon in this issue is Emile Durkheim. Emile's early views on women were strongly colored by the unconscious prejudices of his day. Dean Gerstein's lighthearted but quite serious comment is a reminder that although Durkheim wrote with his contemporaries in mind, he was also, more importantly, engaged in communicating tentative contributions to the scientific community extending into the indefinite future. In an inner page, there is an announcement from Marvin E. Wolfgang and Neil A. Weiner, University of Pennsylvania, Center for Studies in Criminology and Criminal Law, to which the author wish to direct readers's attention.

The article presents a call for papers for the 17th Sociology of Health and Illness monograph.

The article acknowledges various dignities for their contribution in submitting papers to the journal "Sociology of Health & illness," since 1985. Some of the names mentioned are Robert Anderson, Sara Arber, David Armstrong, Janet Askham, Paul Atkinson, Max Atkinson Nick Black, Derek Blackman, Mildred Blaxter.

This article is a note from the new editor of the journal "Sociological Forum," for the first issue processed in the Albany office in New York. The issue is similar to the issues from offices in Ithaca and Stony Brook. Two reasons for this continuity are that the papers in editorial process at Stony Brook were sent to Albany in the editorial office transition and that editors are at the mercy of the authors who submit manuscripts. The plea made to authors by editor Stephen Cole was that if one had a manuscript ready for submission, one should first think of the "Sociological Forum."

The article comments on sociologist James W. Loewen's research paper "Action and Sociology." Sociologists will recognize Loewen's statement for what it is worth, a polemic by presumably a "radical sociologist" someone on a continuum between a social reformer and a revolutionary in the disguise of a sociologist. The Marxist rhetors with whom Loewen apparently identifies will undoubtedly find much to please them in his piece. They will undoubtedly appreciate its these characteristics: his version of the New Left catechism, implicit and explicit; his artful exegetical distortion of what sociologist Philip M. Hauser have written; his moral fervor and righteousness; his "1984" version of the status of sociology, of the American Sociological Association, and of the sociological literature; his apotheosis of sociologist Karl Marx; his self-donned cloak of martyrdom.