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Although Bayes' theorem has been around for more than 250 years, widespread application of the Bayesian approach only began in statistics in 1990. By 2000, Bayesian statistics had made considerable headway into social science, but even now its direct use is rare in articles in top sociology journals, perhaps because of a lack of knowledge about the topic. In this review, we provide an overview of the key ideas and terminology of Bayesian statistics, and we discuss articles in the top journals that have used or developed Bayesian methods over the last decade. In this process, we elucidate some of the advantages of the Bayesian approach. We highlight that many sociologists are, in fact, using Bayesian methods, even if they do not realize it, because techniques deployed by popular software packages often involve Bayesian logic and/or computation. Finally, we conclude by briefly discussing the future of Bayesian statistics in sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a literature review that discusses the importance of American Indian linguistics. It also presents a summary of the state of description and comparative work for each linguistics family. It presents a classification of American Indian linguistics as well as the role of various language families and the interrelationships among postulated families. Though space limitations have dictated a narrowly linguistic concern in this literature and the ethnographic semantics are omitted, possible wider relationships of the families and classifications were still discussed.

Although there is a large literature on social capital, empirical estimates of the effect of social capital may be biased because of social homophily, the tendency of similar people to become friends with each other, Despite the methodological difficulties, a recent literature has emerged across several different disciplines that tries to estimate the causal effect of social capital. This paper reviews this recent empirical literature on social capital, paying close attention to the statistical and theoretical assumptions involved. Overall, there is evidence that genuine progress has been made in estimating the effect of social capital. The reviewed articles should provide useful examples for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of contemporary sociology in Japan. The sociological discipline in Japan has made remarkable progress since World War II. The rapid economic growth during the 1960s, which was prompted by Western influence, had an effect on the direction of the discipline's development. After providing a brief overview of historical events, I consider scholarly publications during the last 30 years to illuminate substantive trends in sociological research. As might be predicted, the changing substantive interests of Japanese sociologists have been in many ways a response to societal changes and needs. I also examine the trends in theory, methods, and empirical research. A content analysis of articles published in the major Japanese sociological journals shows the growing emphasis on theoretical scholarship and the decreasing emphasis on empirical research in recent years, The conclusion presents some considerations concerning the future direction of Japanese sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decade has witnessed a plethora of macro studies of various forms of social control ranging from lynching to hospitalization. Unfortunately, these specific areas of research tend to be isolated from each other and do not constitute a recognizable literature. This paper shifts the focus of study from substantive forms of social control to theoretical issues that cut across them. One such issue is the relationship between forms of social control. First, the paper explicates this issue. Second, the paper reviews and critiques three specific research literatures on the relationships between various forms of social control that are isolated from each other although they bear on the same theoretical questions. Third, the paper argues that bivariate relationships between forms of social control are not meaningful theoretically in that they are not clearly derived from general theories of social control. Fourth, the paper argues that we should focus on the causal processes and structures that underlie the relationships between forms of social control and explicate their implications for these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores what it means to do a sociology of families, that is, one that acknowledges and considers a wider array of family forms than typically has been explored. We begin by reviewing the existing sociological research on a range of alternative family forms, ultimately focusing on older-parent, adoptive, same-sex, and multiracial families. We describe and critically assess four theoretical approaches to examining family forms-family structure, evolutionary, characteristics, and context-and their implications for children, and we discuss the utility of an approach that views family characteristics in social context. We also recommend that instead of using alternative family forms primarily or solely as counterfactuals to the so-called traditional family, researchers should compare alternative family forms to each other, noting theoretical implications for commonalities and differences found among these groups. We call for additional research on alternative families, noting its importance for sociology, family studies, and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is little consensus about the meaning of the terms "health disparities," "health inequalities," or "health equity." The definitions can have important practical consequences, determining the measurements that are monitored by governments and international agencies and the activities that will be supported by resources earmarked to address health disparities/inequalities or health equity. This paper aims to clarify the concepts of health disparities/inequalities (used interchangeably here) and health equity, focusing on the implications of different definitions for measurement and hence for accountability. Health disparities/inequalities do not refer to all differences in health. A health disparity/inequality is a particular type of difference in health (or in the most important influences on health that could potentially be shaped by policies); it is a difference in which disadvantaged social groups--such as the poor, racial/ethnic minorities, women, or other groups who have persistently experienced social disadvantage or discrimination--systematically experience worse health or greater health risks than more advantaged social groups. ("Social advantage" refers to one's relative position in a social hierarchy determined by wealth, power, and/or prestige.) Health disparities/inequalities include differences between the most advantaged group in a given category--e.g., the wealthiest, the most powerful racial/ethnic group--and all others, not only between the best- and worst-off groups. Pursuing health equity means pursuing the elimination of such health disparities/inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the changing social institution of employer-sponsored pensions within the framework of the sociology of risk. Employer-sponsored pensions are elements of a variable and changing occupational welfare system in which the risk and responsibilities for retirement income security have shifted from employer to worker through the expanding role of third-party vendors (insurers). Risk processes can be identified at the employer, insurer, family, and individual levels. This system can be conceptualized as a hierarchy of risk that begins at the organizational level with employer sponsorship of alternative pension plans and extends to the allocation of workers across pension jobs, to worker decisions regarding pension participation and investment of funds, and to final pension balances. Embedded in this multi-level risk system are gender differences that further stratify the aging workforce. We discuss the implications of these changes for future research on life course and retirement and recommend that risk preferences be examined within the contexts of the workplace and the household. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines recent work in the sociology of culture devoted to providing endogenous explanations of cultural phenomena. The focus is on works that provide cultural explanations of cultural processes, as opposed to the social structural and "production of culture" explanations otherwise predominant in the literature. I examine three distinct approaches: a "post-hermeneutic" approach devoted not to the question of cultural interpretation but to the issue of subjects' manipulation of culture in the quest for meaning; a semiotic approach focused on the mechanics of symbol systems; and an ecological approach that emphasizes the role of competition and niche density in explaining both cultural stasis and change. The three approaches have in common a general lack of interest in traditional conceptions of meaning (verstehen), choosing in-stead to focus on issues related to the internal structure and dynamics of cultural expression. This marks a new opportunity for synthesis and exploration in a field traditionally devoted to extra-cultural explanation of cultural phenomena. Both endogenous and exogenous explanations are offered for the rise of this newtrend in the sociology of culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the analysis and modeling of networks, and also net-worked dynamical systems, have been the subject of considerable interdisciplinary interest, yielding several hundred papers in physics, mathematics, computer science, biology, economics, and sociology journals (Newman 2003c), as well as a number of books (Barabasi 2002, Buchanan 2002, Watts 2003). Here I review the major findings of this emerging field and discuss briefly their relationship with previous work in the social and mathematical sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizing scholarship both chronologically and thematically, this article provides a review and critical evaluation of the literature that examines factors influencing criminalization. The first part of the paper examines three streams of inquiry and theorizing: (a) classic work that has shaped decades of scholarship on criminalization by focusing on the relationship between demographic changes, material and symbolic politics, and the emergence of criminal law; (b) contemporary work that unpacks the nature of the relationship between organizational, social movement, and state-related factors that structure and mediate the outcome of definitional and political processes involved in efforts to criminalize elements of social life; and (c) more recent work that envisions criminalization as a social process intimately connected to, and indeed arguably derivative of, larger processes of institutionalization, globalization, and modernization. The discussion and conclusion section summarizes the consequences of these three streams of inquiry and theorizing for our collective understanding of the structures and processes that underlie criminalization. Thereafter, the article concludes with a proposed agenda for subsequent research on criminalization and related topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates a burgeoning literature on the effects of the 1996 welfare reform bill. Our goal is to shift the debate from the current preoccupation with declining caseloads to one focused on the social and economic well-being of fragile families, single mothers, and children. The welfare reform literature reveals many positive changes: reduced poverty rates, lower out-of-wedlock childbearing, greater family stability, and little indication of more spouse abuse or child neglect. But it is too early to claim success and many questions remain unanswered. Poverty remains high among single mothers and their children; welfare recipients experience serious barriers to stable employment; and poor women and children face an uncertain economic and social future as welfare eligibility is exhausted and the economy wanes. With the welfare debate shifting to family and child well-being, sociology has an important policy role to play as the next phase of welfare reform begins after the 2002 reauthorization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sociologists often model social processes as interactions among variables. We review an alternative approach that models social life as interactions among adaptive agents who influence one another in response to the influence they receive. These agent-based models (ABMs) show how simple and predictable local interactions can generate familiar but enigmatic global patterns, such as the diffusion of information, emergence of norms, coordination of conventions, or participation in collective action. Emergent social patterns can also appear unexpectedly and then just as dramatically transform or disappear, as happens in revolutions, market crashes, fads, and feeding frenzies. ABMs provide theoretical leverage where the global patterns of interest are more than the aggregation of individual attributes, but at the same time, the emergent pattern cannot be understood without a bottom up dynamical model of the microfoundations at the relational level. We begin with a brief historical sketch of the shift from “factors” to “actors” in computational sociology that shows how agent-based modeling differs fundamentally from earlier sociological uses of computer simulation. We then review recent contributions focused on the emergence of social structure and social order out of local interaction. Although sociology has lagged behind other social sciences in appreciating this new methodology, a distinctive sociological contribution is evident in the papers we review. First, theoretical interest focuses on dynamic social networks that shape and are shaped by agent interaction. Second, ABMs are used to perform virtual experiments that test macrosociological theories by manipulating structural factors like network topology, social stratification, or spatial mobility. We conclude our review with a series of recommendations for realizing the rich sociological potential of this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews studies of ethnicity in plural societies. The literature concentrates on the social networks of ethnic groups, the use of social capital derived from these networks, and ethnic identity. I give particular attention to studies that consider how interpersonal networks within ethnic communities influence the degree of closure in social boundaries and the degree to which ethnic identity is retained. Most of the studies considered here have been published during the past two decades. However, a few earlier studies are considered so as to frame recent work in an appropriate context. Two main research foci characterize contemporary studies—forms of economic action undertaken by the immigrant generation and the socialization experiences of their offspring. Related areas of study also addressed in this review include how participation in ethnic churches, metropolitan and regional concentrations of ethnic populations, and transnationalism influence ethnic groups' experiences. I conclude by suggesting a few directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses and synthesizes the cumulative results of a new “neighborhood-effects” literature that examines social processes related to problem behaviors and health-related outcomes. Our review identified over 40 relevant studies published in peer-reviewed journals from the mid-1990s to 2001, the take-off point for an increasing level of interest in neighborhood effects. Moving beyond traditional characteristics such as concentrated poverty, we evaluate the salience of social-interactional and institutional mechanisms hypothesized to account for neighborhood-level variations in a variety of phenomena (e.g., delinquency, violence, depression, high-risk behavior), especially among adolescents. We highlight neighborhood ties, social control, mutual trust, institutional resources, disorder, and routine activity patterns. We also discuss a set of thorny methodological problems that plague the study of neighborhood effects, with special attention to selection bias. We conclude with promising strategies and directions for future research, including experimental designs, taking spatial and temporal dynamics seriously, systematic observational approaches, and benchmark data on neighborhood social processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper begins with a summary of the rational choice approach and its implications for the study of criminal behavior. I then review research on offending that uses the rational choice approach in conjunction with more sociological orientations. I also summarize research on game theory and demonstrate how it can be effectively used to understand and predict criminal decision-making. I argue that, contrary to the assessment of many criminologists, rational choice approach and game theory insights can be combined profitably with sociological perspectives to advance the understanding and prediction of criminal behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the teaching of the introductory course in sociology. The first section sets the context of the teaching of introductory sociology in American higher education. The second turns to an examination of the written materials of introductory sociology: the textbooks used in the vast majority of these courses. Their widespread use provides a window into how introductory sociology has evolved over time. These texts also provide a view of what certain stakeholders—publishers and a select group of authors—have taken as central for beginners to master. The third section considers the scholarship on teaching and learning (SOTL) literature in sociology, which has produced research on current pedagogical practices and on strategies, techniques, ideas, and solutions to problems that contemporary introductory instructors face. A short conclusion offers a reflection on the implications of these issues for the future of teaching in the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sociology of religion is experiencing a period of substantial organizational and intellectual growth. Recent theoretical and empirical papers on the sociology of religion appearing in top journals in sociology have generated both interest and controversy. We begin with a selective overview of research on religious beliefs and commitments. Second, we investigate the influence of religion on politics, the family, health and well-being, and on free space and social capital. Finally, we review rational choice theories in the sociology of religion and the controversies surrounding applications of these perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze and review how research on emotion and emotional phenomena can elaborate and improve contemporary social exchange theory, After identifying six approaches from the psychology and sociology of emotion, we illustrate how these ideas bear on the context, process, and outcome of exchange in networks and groups. The paper reviews the current state of the field, develops testable hypotheses for empirical study, and provides specific suggestions for developing links between theories of emotion and theories of exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines concepts of sequence and methods for analyzing sequences. Sequence means an ordered list of elements. In the present paper, the sequence will always be temporal, but mathematically the underlying property is order in one dimension, so spatial sequences would also fall under the term. A number of properties of sequences will be useful in the paper. First, events in a sequence can be unique or they can repeat. Second, sequences can have dependence between their states. Third, there can be varying degrees of dependence between various whole sequences. Fourth, sequence can be investigated either for itself or as an independent or dependent variable. Sequence analysis holds great promise for sociology. Most of classic theories are sequential or interactional theories. What the field needs now are junior scholars committed to exploring what sequence regularities can tell people about social life. The methods will provide researchers with far more effective ways of analyzing life courses, careers, and other such relatively independent and regular sequences, ways of analyzing that accord directly with the canonical theoretical apparatus of the discipline.

In this paper we review the empirical legacy that developed out of the theoretical and methodological agendas of class analysis and comparative methods of the 1970s and 1980s. Our review is restricted to studies that examine the variants in the class structures of the developed capitalist democracies. The paper is organized into four main sections. In part one. we examine variations in the organization of capital; part two takes up the still little-studied resurgence of the petite bourgeoisie and small capital; in part three, we review studies that have examined national variations in the size and composition of the new middle class; and part four reviews the postindustial and gendered nature of the working class. Our conclusion highlights important labor market developments of the 1980s that have largely been missed by conventional class models and comments on their significance for the future of empirical research in class analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper depicts the career of the author as a complicated journey from European beginnings to American destinations. It emphasizes crucial turning points that finally led the author from antifascist radical intellectual to established member of the American sociological community. It attempts to show lines of divergence but also lines of continuity in his thought and contributions. This essay attempts to show the extent to which his background influenced the themes and orientations of his sociological work. The paper may be read as a contribution to the sociology of knowledge from the autobiographical point of view. It stresses the various stages of the author's career and attempts to show the extent to which these stages are reflected in his writings and general orientations. The paper closes with a bird's eye view of the recent past and the probable future of American sociological thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the origins and definitions of social capital in the writings of Bourdieu, Loury, and Coleman, among other authors. It distinguishes four sources of social capital and examines theft dynamics. Applications of the concept in the sociological literature emphasize its role in social control, in family support, and in benefits mediated by extrafamilial networks, I provide examples of each of these positive functions. Negative consequences of the same processes also deserve attention for a balanced picture of the forces at play. I review four such consequences and illustrate them with relevant examples. Recent writings on social capital have extended the concept from an individual asset to a feature of communities and even nations, The final sections describe this conceptual stretch and examine its limitations, I argue that, as shorthand for the positive consequences of sociability, social capital has a definite place in sociological theory. However, excessive extensions of the concept may jeopardize its heuristic value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper represents an attempt to stimulate continued sociological interest in professional work. Our review suggests that understanding professional work is central to understanding larger workplace changes in the late twentieth century. Some researchers have documented the increasingly diverse arrangements for the delivery of professional services, even as others point to a convergence of professional control around accountability and cost containment issues. Claims of diverging interests across work settings are often confounded by greater racial, gender, and ethnic diversity among professionals. We suggest that the study of professional careers provides an avenue for studying the diversification of professionals and work settings. Future research should also follow changes in the prestige rankings of different organizational arrangements from the viewpoint of professionals, professional associations, and clients. Finally we warn researchers that managerial groups seeking control of professional work have professional agendas of their own which constrain the possibilities for sweeping change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper surveys sociological approaches to the study of markets. After considering the economic approach, I delineate the wide range of theoretical schools, including alternative schools in economics, economic anthropology, cultural sociology, the embeddedness approach, and the new political economy. I also briefly discuss recent debates on the transition from planned economy to market and on globalization. I conclude by noting the difficulties of theorizing about the historical and institutional complexity of markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces sociologists to intriguing findings by psychologists about the heuristics that people use in thinking about risk, the resulting biases in estimates, the preferences people exhibit for avoiding risk in some cases and seeking it in others, and the effects of variations in how choices are framed on the attractiveness of competing options. How important these psychological processes are in nonlaboratory settings depends on a series of factors (e.g. how important a decision is, how long a person has to make a decision, and whether competing actors offer alternative frames for the decision); these are outlined and illustrated here. Finally, the paper assesses the adequacy of this work as a foundation for a sociology of risk and discusses crucial issues (e.g. noncomparability of choices, risk seeking, and the role of supraindividual actors) that fall outside its purview but that would need to be incorporated into any sociological theory of risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper calls for a structural criminology that is distinguished by its attention to power relations and by the priority it assigns them in addressing criminological issues. Dominant criminological paradigms both imply and deny what structural criminology requires. That is, our theories often imply that crime is a product of power relations, but our methodologies commonly ignore this premise. We make this point first with a preliminary review of prominent sociological theories of crime and then by a more systematic review of three research literatures: on class and criminality, on criminal sentencing, and on the family and delinquency. The paper concludes with an argument that a new focus on the relationship between gender and crime can provide a new starting point in the development of a structural criminology that is a more sociological criminology as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an anthropological review of the social processes and the themes of conflict and conflict resolutions taken by the Manchester School in South-Central Africa after the World War II. Anthropologist released different papers that tackled the different aspects of the school which included the social field, situational analysis, perpetual succession, intercalary roles, situational selection, cross-cutting ties, the dominant cleavage, redressive ritual, repetitive and changing social systems, processional form, processual change and much of the rhetoric studied has been concerned in disputes and court arguments.

The article explores the idea of social networks, which have been becoming increasingly popular among both social anthropologists and sociologists as one way of understanding behavior, particularly in larger scale complex or less structured societies. It reviews several literature related to the topic including those that were regarded as the most effective treatment for the subject. Furthermore, it concentrates on the developments that have taken place after the discoveries made by these related literature. It discusses a range of topics that include the question of the network theory, structural and transactional perspectives, network concepts, data collection, and finally, it presents an analysis of the social networks.

Embeddedness in social networks is increasingly seen as a root cause of human achievement, social stratification, and actor behavior. In this article, we review sociological research that examines the processes through which dyadic ties form, persist, and dissolve. Three sociological mechanisms are overviewed: assortative mechanisms that draw attention to the role of actors' attributes, relational mechanisms that emphasize the influence of existing relationships and network positions, and proximity mechanisms that focus on the social organization of interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent decades have seen Georg Simmel's canonical status in American sociology solidify and his impact on research expand. A broad understanding of his influence, however, remains elusive. This review remedies this situation by evaluating Simmel's legacy in American sociology since 1975. We articulate Simmel's sociological orientation by elaborating the concepts of form, interaction, and dualism. Employing a network analysis of references to Simmel since 1975, we examine how Simmelian concepts have been adopted in research. We find Simmel became an anchor for change in urban and conflict studies, where scholars moved from his earlier functionalist reception toward a formalist interpretation. This formalist reception consolidated Simmel's status as a classic in network research and symbolic interactionism during the 1980s. Recent work in economic sociology and the sociology of culture, however, builds on Simmel's growing reception within relational sociology. We conclude with several ways to further articulate Simmel's ideas in the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I was initially reluctant to become a sociologist because my father, William Foote Whyte, was a prominent sociologist. Growing up during the Cold War led me in sequence through studying physics to Russian studies and then into Chinese studies, and I finally chose sociology as the best discipline for research on China, the primary focus of my career. The theoretical and methodological eclecticism of our discipline enabled me to do research on many intriguing research problems regarding contemporary Chinese society, first at a distance from Hong Kong and then through a series of collaborative surveys conducted within China. I found I could use sociological theories to more accurately and objectively interpret Chinese social patterns, while at the same time some paradoxical features of Chinese society enabled me to challenge existing social science theories. Over the course of my career I was gratified to see the sociological study of China move from being a somewhat marginal specialty into joining the mainstream of our discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Living sociology refers to the life of sociology, seen as a field of competing scientific research programs. The dynamism of each program requires, on the one hand, engaging internal contradictions and external anomalies and, on the other hand, extended dialogue among the programs themselves. Living sociology also refers to the life of sociologists as they participate in the society they study. My understanding of these two dimensions of reflexive science—the scientific and the hermeneutic—developed through the interaction of teaching and research. I trace the way I learned the extended case method in Zambia and reformulated it through collaborations with students at Berkeley, arriving at the idea of the scientific research program. I show how I tried to contribute to the Marxist research program by wrestling with anomalies that sprung from my experiences working in factories in the United States, Hungary, and Russia. Finally, I describe how teaching social theory led me to Marxist conversations with structural functionalism and with the work of Pierre Bourdieu as well as prefiguring an extended conversation between W.E.B. Du Bois and the sociological canon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cannibalism, defined as intraspecific predation, is a behavioral trait found in a wide variety of animals, although most references to this behavior are anecdotal or based on casual laboratory observations. The role of cannibalism in the dynamics of natural populations has been largely neglected; the most elegant and detailed analyses of the population consequences of cannibalism are still provided by laboratory studies of flour beetles (Tribulium) that describe the process, examine its interactions with other population processes, and attempt to derive generalities about its effects. Therefore, some authors have suggested that cannibalism is an artifact of laboratory systems or that it occurs only in cases of severe stress, especially when alternatives, such as dispersal, are not possible. My purpose in this review is to show that cannibalism is a normal phenomenon in many natural populations, to evaluate its possible roles in influencing demographic structure and population processes, and to suggest conditions for, and constraints on, its occurrence. Cannibalism may be an interaction that reduces population size before acute resource shortage causes severe physiological stress, and in this sense its effects may be analogous to those of spacing behavior or dominance hierarchies in some social animals. I also discuss cannibalism as a limiting case of predator-prey interactions among potential competitors. This review is based mainly on field experiments and direct estimates of rates of cannibalism, but I use papers describing laboratory experiments to supplement the discussion of behavioral triggers and genetic components and to fill gaps in the field evidence. I have excluded numerous references with only casual mention of cannibalistic events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews recent developments in the application of multilevel models to substantive problems in sociology. There is no single multilevel model in sociology, but rather a set of more or less closely related approaches for exploring the link between the macro and micro levels of social phenomena. Methodological developments of the last ten years are discussed mad contrasted with older methods. Illustrative examples of how multilevel analysis has contributed to sociological knowledge are provided for several areas of the discipline, including demography, education stratification, and criminology. Cautions in the use of these models for empirical research are discussed, along with possible further developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper departs from reviews of urban sociology that juxtapose competing Marxist and ecological theories, arguing instead that over the last 25 years a venerable social organization paradigm has been superseded by a fertile political economy paradigm that continues to orchestrate current research. The contributions of political economy are reviewed under six headings: historical explanation, comparative studies, socioeconomic processes, spatial relations, ethnicity and community, and political movements. The conclusion argues that urban sociology is currently in need of new directions, Some criticisms and alternatives are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper undertakes a selective review of theoretical and empirical studies of internal labor markets (ILMs). Three different conceptualizations of ILMs are identified in existing literature: (a) ILMs as all jobs within a firm; (b) as a variable describing firms or present in discrete clusters of jobs within firms; (c) and a phenomenon present in some occupational labor markets within and across firms. Some empirical research using each conceptualization is described. Evidence apropos several arguments about the theoretical origins of ILMs is assessed and some topics of future research are indicated. This review documents the absence of consensus about the characteristics defining the ILM concept; a resulting diversity of approaches to the measurement or location of ILMs further hinders both accumulation of findings and the comparative study of ILMs. The most promising of the theoretical origins of ILMs relates scarcities of highly skilled workers to job structures generating increasing skill and knowledge among workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The core of the paper is an analysis of the meaning of sociology in the USSR, as defined by the participants and outsiders alike. The review is based on the study of programmatic statements, the character of references in sociological writings, and available biographical information on their authors. All of these help to locate Soviet sociology within the intellectual enterprise in general and to establish whether it is actually a counterpart of what is called "sociology" in the West, or a different branch of intellectual activity which for some reason uses its name. Most of the findings are derived from an analysis of Sotsiogicheskie Issledovania (Sociological Research), the only specifically sociological journal in the USSR, published since 1974. These findings are compared with parallel observations on representative samples of the American Journal of Sociology and the American Sociological Review. The conclusion is that Soviet sociology, although it uses some of the methods of Western sociology, is an activity of a different nature on the whole. It is a branch of social technology, a managerial science oriented towards the promotion of the goals and the increase of the ideological and administrative efficiency of the Soviet government. At the same time, the review draws attention to sociologically significant work in other areas of Soviet scholarship, particularly ethnography. It suggests that under the conditions of ideological control of social sciences obtaining in the USSR, sociology is more likely to develop in areas which, like ethnography, are regarded by the authorities as esoteric and inoffensive, rather than in the discipline called "sociology" there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This occasionally biographical paper deals with three cognitive and social patterns in the practice of science (not `the scientific method'). The first, "establishing the phenomenon," involves the doctrine (universally accepted in the abstract) that phenomena should of course be shown to exist or to occur before one explains why they exist or how they come to be; sources of departure in practice from this seemingly self-evident principle are examined. One parochial case of such a departure is considered in detail. The second pattern is the particular form of ignorance described as "specified ignorance"; the express recognition of what is not yet known but needs to be known in order to lay the foundation for still more knowledge. The substantial role of this practice in the sciences is identified and the case of successive specification of ignorance in the evolving sociological theory of deviant behavior by four thought-collectives is sketched out. Reference is made to the virtual institutionalization of specified ignorance in some sciences and the question is raised whether scientific disciplines differ in the extent of routinely specifying ignorance and how this affects the growth of knowledge. `The two patterns of scientific practice are linked to a third; the use of "strategic research materials (SRMs)" i.e. strategic research sites, objects, or events that exhibit the phenomena to be explained or interpreted to such advantage and in such accessible form that they enable the fruitful investigation of previously stub-born problems and the discovery of new problems for further inquiry. The development of biology is taken as a self-exemplifying case since it provides innumerable SRMs for the sociological study of the selection and consequences of SRMs in science. The differing role of SRMs in the natural sciences and in the Geisteswissenschaften is identified and several cases of strategic research sites and events in sociology, explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the accomplishments and shortcomings of Arab sociology during the last few years are assessed from the perspective of Arab sociologists. This assessment of Arab sociology from the insiders' perspective involves (a) reviewing selected papers presented at one of the most recent Arab sociology conferences, (b) analyzing the results of a survey of 36 Arab sociologists, and (c) describing in detail the major contributions of Arab sociologists and social scientists to the study of Islam, with particular reference to Islamic social movements. Recent socioeconomic changes and political events in the Arab world help explain the rising interest in sociology. Arab sociologists view theft discipline as still in process of becoming and in a state of crisis. The sociopolitical and disciplinary aspects of this crisis and the solution suggested to remedy it are described. Arab sociological studies of Islamic social movements have the following features: (a) an emphasis on the diversity, complexity, and historical specificity of these movements, (b) a recognition of the need for an interdisciplinary approach, (c) a focus on the sociolagical characteristics of leaders and followers, (d) analyses of the origin of the movements, and (e) an emphasis on the need for a methodology more personal and subjective than the one used in the West. This research, as well as the survey of Arab sociologists. indicates that there is a noticeable trend toward the substantive indigenization of Arab sociology and that Arab sociologists are aware of the need to be innovative and flexible in their selection and use of research methods. These also show that there has been little theoretical indigenization of Arab sociology. This may explain, in part, the sense of crisis felt by Arab sociologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews survey research explaining the social patterns of distress. There are four basic patterns: (a) The higher one's social status the lower one's distress; (b) women are more distressed than men; (c) married persons are less distressed than unmarried persons, and: (c) the greater the number of undesirable events in one's life the greater one's distress. The major forms of distress are malaise (such as lethargy, headaches, and trembling hands), anxiety (such as feeling afraid, worried, or irritable), and depression (such as feeling sad, worthloss, or hopeless). Sociological theory suggests that alienation, authoritarianism, and inequity produce distress. The research indicates that distress is reduced by control, commitment. support, meaning, normality, flexibility, trust, and equity. The presence or absence of these accounts for the social patterns of distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of school desegregation will become clearer as we develop a more comprehensive awareness of variability in the desegregation "situation." In this paper, we distinguish three dimensions of a situational analysis: macro/micro, objective/subjective, and proximal/distal. We use these dimensions to evaluate the research on students' academic achievement, self-esteem, and intergroup relations, identifying points along each dimension where research seems well advanced and points where more research is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, sociologists and anthropologists have conducted significant studies of modem life using concepts and perspectives derived from symbolic anthropology. This paper discusses the theoretical and methodological problems entailed, including the distinction between symbolic and nonsymbolic actions. Research on three major areas of behavior is reviewed: (a) studies of institutions, especially politics, law, and social control; (b) studies of ceremonial events, including life-cycle rituals, sports, and festivals; and (c) studies of everyday life, including consumer goods and food, and popular culture. We conclude with a discussion of the methodological issues of location and dimensionality and the different forms of symbolic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews and critiques recent studies of hazards and disasters from a general sociological perspective. Historical attempts to define and interpret disasters in sociological terms are important, and such efforts inevitably raise basic questions about the social order. C. E. Fritz's earlier definition of disaster is revised to reflect the growing awareness in the field that patterns within the social order are both causes and consequences of environmental vulnerability. The revised definition points to four core dimensions of disaster: events, impacts, social units, and responses. Using the latter two for illustrative purposes, recent research on social networks and organizational forms of association related to disasters is highlighted. This section is followed by a review of the kinds of questions that sociologists have been asking about the social order, as evidenced by several recent large-scale studies. While contemporary work has greater substantive breadth and more methodological rigor than earlier studies, there are continuities over time as well. The paper closes by presenting some comments about interdisciplinary and cross-cultural research on disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the body of sociological and anthropological literature on tourism. Following a historical survey of the field, the principal concepts and approaches to the study of tourism are surveyed. The main body of the paper discusses the four principal issue areas in the field: (a) the tourist-his motivations, attitudes, reactions, and roles; (b) the relations and perceptions of tourists and locals; (c) the structure of the tourist system; and (d) the socioeconomic and sociocultural impact of tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When social scientists think of their intellectual ancestors, they usually conjure up an image of a man alternating between the classroom and his study, with side excursions to the library. Only a few means of production were at his disposal-comfortable Victorian armchairs, pigeonhole desks, scratchy pens and stiff paper, and the reference volumes of his extensive private library At least, this is the nostalgic image of the nineteenth and early twentieth-century sociologist. There is some evidence that this myth is somewhat overdrawn Many of our more prominent ancestors engaged in extensive firsthand data collection. We have only to think of Booth and Le Play to conjure up alternative images of Victorian figures interviewing the poor However, even those who are known today mainly for their "theoretical" work, also engaged in some data grubbing Max Weber played an important role in the early social survey movement in Germany and Durkheim and his students played similar roles in France. In this country, Ward, Ross, Giddings, and their students dabbled, although not as extensively, in generating social data directly from observations "in the field" Nevertheless, the predominant work styles of our intellectual forebears were not too far from the mythical image of nostalgic recall; or, at least, they were closer to that image than we are today The art and practice of social science has changed. We are in a period in which empirical social research is the predominant style of sociology and social psychology. For better or for worse, we are committed to a style of social science which regards the collection and analysis of empirical data very highly Indeed, we emphasize empirical work so strongly that it often appears that social researchers prefer to collect their own data even when suitable equivalent data already exist (Rossi 1972 267-68) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the physical anthropology of Aborigines in Australia which is divided into two areas of inquiry which includes the origin of the Aborigines and the operation of microevolutionary processes in the very special environment of the country. This literature presents an anthropometric research on the living Aborigine Australians. Furthermore, it discusses the increase in the number of professional workers interested in the Australian Aborigines as models for human evolution as well as the areas of inquiry involved in the pursuit of biological anthropology in Aboriginal Australia.

The article focuses on the fundamental principle in developments in the area of social dialectology and sociolinguistics in Canada. Dialectology has its roots in the tradition of dialect geography and linguistic atlas work well established in France and Germany. A classic review article surveyed the interinfluence of geographic and social factors in the creation and maintenance of diverse linguistic repertoires in speech communities of several kinds. Hence, social and geographic factors were shown to be interrelated in differentiating speakers. It is important to note that degrees of geographic distance in dialectology have been traditionally equated with relative lack of contact of speakers.

The article presents a literature review that discusses the linguistic theory in relation to syntax, semantics and pragmatics. It provides a definition of linguistic theory, the details of issues of theory in syntax and semantics and some of the problems in accountability. Furthermore, the literature includes a discussion of the criteria which involve category and rule types, rule applicability, naturalness of linguistic generalizations, and diachrony versus synchrony. This provides a discussion of the more restricted area which is based principally on the linguistic theory as defined by the transformational generative point of view.