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In particular, the special issue contributes to the field of social and political movements by offering papers that ask (1) how can contemporary collective action critically advance social theoretical ideas, and (2) what new tools of inquiry can build on existing theoretical approaches to enhance our critical understanding of social movements. Keywords: protest; political contention; social movements; social theory EN protest political contention social movements social theory 3 6 4 02/23/23 20230301 NES 230301 Since its establishment in 1977, I Capital and Class i has provided a critical space for scholars and activists to explore existing and new forms of socio-political struggles and movements in and against capital. His areas of interest include social movement activism on the public sphere, public space and free speech, work and global political economy, voluntary activity, and Marxist theory. [Extracted from the article]

This commentary reflects on the strengths of the paper by Warde et al. entitled "Situated drinking: the association between eating and alcohol consumption in Great Britain". It suggests that practice-theoretical approaches towards studying contemporary connections between foods, food events and alcoholic drinks provides an excellent basis for overcoming the analytical limits of fields such as food studies, drinks studies, alcohol studies and related areas. This is especially so if Warde et al.'s quantitative methodology were to be yoked to two further sources of inspiration, namely Mary Douglas's structuralist analysis of food combinations within food events and Stephen Mennell's utilisation of the concepts and concerns of Norbert Elias to produce a systematic historical sociology of food. An extended inter-paradigmatic approach to the study of how alcoholic drinks relate to foods and eating practices emerges as a result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the decades, one of the continuing debates has been around the role played by market research at the boardroom level, and how it influences the strategic direction of the business. The papers in this issue include a new approach to eliciting "meaning" using semiotic methods from the United Kingdom, a further perspective on the academic-practitioner divide in marketing research from the United States. The author contends that Peircean semiotics, based on meaning being created through icons and indices (and their combinations), provides a more appropriate basis for a new research model, qualitative semiotics, that fuses qualitative methods with semiotics, rather than the two being complementary, which can be used for describing how qualitative market research methods decode consumer behavior. The new data-centric world adds a further dimension to the debate; LinkedIn, for example, has identified that "statistical and data mining" is the second most sought after skill by recruiters, but as Nunan and Di Domenico demonstrated, this is not yet a universal module in marketing research courses. [Extracted from the article]

This paper is an examination of the methodological and theoretical perspectives of a study with an inquiry focus on the experiences and perspectives of staff who worked at an injectable opiate assisted (iOAT) clinic. Twenty-two staff members, including nurses, social workers, and peer support workers, were interviewed. The goal of the study was to uncover how the clinic staff provided care to the clients who attend the clinic, their perspectives on how the clinic program impacted both them and their clients, and their experiences with the program itself. This interpretive descriptive study was underpinned by critical social theory. Thematic analysis was undertaken to identify recurring, converging, and contradictory patterns of interaction, key concepts and emerging themes. In this paper we examine and discuss how the relationship between critical social theory and interpretive description enhanced the study. Examples from the study are presented to provide insight into the relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both “theory” and “writing” engender a great deal of anxiety for the typical undergraduate sociology major. Writing-intensive theory courses increase this feeling exponentially. Active learning approaches to teaching theory are often advocated as a way to combat these fears, but few studies have tested whether these innovations effectively reduce student anxiety. This article describes and evaluates the Film Analysis Papers writing assignment designed to reduce student anxiety in an undergraduate theory course. I present data from a questionnaire that asked students to assess the effect of writing about film on theory anxiety. Findings show that the film assignment reduced anxiety about writing theoretically and improved student confidence in their ability to theorize. This study is unique in that it isolates the effect of active learning approaches on theory anxiety in order to understand whether anxiety mediates the relationship between active learning and learning outcomes in theory classes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on "Identity and Authority: Explorations in the Theory of Society," edited by Roland Robertson and Burkart Holzner. The book is more ambitious than its lackluster social-psychological title might suggest. In it the reader finds no antiquated rehashing of symbolic interactionism nor scathing indictments of authoritarian personalities, families, or societies. Only one essay's reference list deems George Herbert Mead worthy of citation, and only three pay similar passing tribute to "The Authorharian Personality." In contrast, six of the essays cite Robert Bellah, four cite Daniel Bell, and Talcott Parsons accounts for no less than thirty-five citations in six papers. Wrapping up the volume is Robertson's paper, which places the themes of identity and authority in the context of classical sociological thought. Again the author demonstrates an enviable command of the minds of the masters, but by now the reader is weary of winding conceptual travelogues even if they do reveal refreshing insights. That Robertson adds the new twist of siding with Simmel rescues his paper from the obscurity of Weber-Durkheim comparisons.

This project was designed to assess whether a collaborative learning approach to teaching sociological theory would be a successful means of improving student engagement in learning theory and of increasing both the depth of students’ understanding of theoretical arguments and concepts and the ability of students to theorize for themselves. A comparison of students’ comments, reflections, and evaluations in the traditional and collaborative learning classes showed a substantial increase in student engagement and interest in social theory in the collaborative learning class, and an analysis of students’ applied and reflective papers showed improvement in understanding of theoretical concepts and ability to apply theory to social issues and problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Behavioural economics draws on many different academic disciplines from cognitive psychology and social theory through to the newer disciplines of (social) neuroscience, evolutionary anthropology and genetics. Marketing and communications practitioners are now embracing it because it puts human behaviour centre stage rather than attitudes, beliefs and opinions. Contemporary qualitative research also draws on many of the same disciplines, and also others such as semiotics, linguistics and epidemiology. However, it has always been more comfortable describing motivations, attitudes, beliefs and opinions rather than behaviour itself. Many of the principles described in behavioural economics (BE) challenge the very nature of qualitative thinking and practice. This paper examines the relationship between the two models of thinking and how each can benefit from a greater understanding of the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the authors' comments on a paper by Steven N. Durlauf describing a model for social interaction. In this comment we will focus on one specific question: Why are individuals' behaviors interdependent in Durlauf's model. We examine two possibilities: first, the external structure of the choice problem people face induces externalities; or second, individuals' intrinsic utilities are a function of choices made by other individuals. We also briefly discuss statistical estimation issues in Durlauf's model. Durlauf's paper should stimulate sociologists and economists alike to think seriously about the modeling of social interdependence of individual agents. Sociologists may find the notion of modeling the microprocess explicitly prior to carrying out empirical analyses productive. It allows for both better theoretical understanding of the relationship among the variables and of their potential effects on behavior. Economists may find the introduction of sociological perspectives and premises helpful in developing models that can both explain the mounting evidence that evades the conventional models and be applied to a much larger set of social interactions. Innovation along the boundary of sociology and economics is beneficial to both disciplines, and is critical to the development of a social theory envisioned by James Coleman, or of a socioeconomic theory, as Durlauf calls it.

This article comments on the paper Prolegomena to a Theory of Social Institutions, by Talcott Parsons. In his paper, Talcott Parsons addresses a problem on which little headway has been made since 1934 when he submitted the paper for publication to the Journal of Social Philosophy. This problem is the development of a theory of institutions, or a basis for such a theory. Parsons called his paper a prolegomena to a theory; but the prolegomena never led to the development of the theory itself either by Parsons or by others. The surfacing of Prolegomena now provides an opportunity to ask just how that theory might most profitably be developed. Prolegomena can be seen as an attempt by Parsons to establish a footing for the subjective approach to institutions based on a theory of rational action, opposing the objective approach. What Parsons calls the objective approach defines an institution as a set of social relations, a concrete social structure or organization. Parsons never explicitly defines institution in his subjective approach, but it seems clear that he means the set of regulatory norms that give rise to a concrete social structure or organization. Parson's subjective institution thus constitutes a way-station between the micro level of individual actors and the macro level of structures of relations or systems of action. In Prolegomena to a Theory of Social Institutions, a product of the early Parsons, there is a flawed but rich introduction to a theory of institutions.

Although the idea of using literature in the sociology classroom is not new, we extend it to include the teaching of sociological concepts in interdisciplinary classes. This paper explores the challenges associated with teaching sociological theories and concepts to nonsociology majors in an interdisciplinary technology and society course and suggests that literature encourages these students to exercise the sociological imagination. A review of students' weekly response papers and examinations showed that they began to learn and understand basic sociological concepts and theories while discovering a new technological culture through their readings of the autobiographical novels Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line, and the more overtly sociological The Electronic Sweatshop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article advances understanding of how coordination is accomplished in organizations. It builds on and extends recent research, which suggests that coordination is an emergent process of situated interaction aiming to realize a collective performance. In particular, the paper focuses on deliberate efforts to coordinate and contribute to objectives of large-scale integration in practice (e.g., orchestrated, year-long delivery of a megaproject). Such efforts give rise to a novel form of interdependencies, which organizational actors experience as “external” to local activities and group interactions. Drawing on recent developments in social theory, the paper proposes a framework to study coordinative action in situations where organizational actors are faced with a multitude of task-specific and “external” interdependencies. Further, through an in-depth study of a contract award project, it sheds light on the ways ongoing project coordination was adjusted to address interdependencies arising from the deliberate pursuit of two objectives: the concerted delivery of a construction megaproject and the large-scale procurement policy coordination targeted at safeguarding market competition across the European Union. Findings highlight that the situated management of external interdependencies entailed a distinctive type of agency, mediated by formalized industry-wide and policy conventions, and concerned with developing relevant evidence of coordinated contributions. The article explains how and why actors may adjust coordination efforts by alternating between coordination modes. Implications are drawn for studying coordination dynamics in other organizational settings [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I discuss the possibilities that emerge from using literary fiction as a tool for teaching social theory and critical consciousness. Focusing on data from a social theory course I taught in fall 2007, along with my experiences teaching social theory, I evaluate the utility of utilizing literary fiction in the social theory classroom. Serving as a mechanism to encourage the development of critical consciousness, literary fiction can expand classroom dynamics and establish engaged dialogue between students and teachers. In particular, it has the potential to make social theory interesting and meaningful to students who are often anxious about learning social theory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper traces relations between the study of work and the evolution of British sociology as an academic discipline. This reveals broad trajectories of marginalization, as the study of work becomes less central to Sociology as a discipline; increasing fragmentation of divergent approaches to the study of work; and -- as a consequence of both -- a narrowing of the sociological vision for the study of work. Our paper calls for constructive dialogue across different approaches to the study of work and a re-invigoration of sociological debate about work and -- on this basis -- for in-depth interdisciplinary engagement enabling us to build new approaches that will allow us to study work in all its diversity and complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Status characteristics theory predicts the emergence and structure of power and prestige orders in task groups from members’ status attributes. This paper argues that application of the burden of proof assumption, central to the theory, is inconsistent with a key concept, generalized expectation state. A reformulation is proposed that eliminates the inconsistency and gives competing predictions for a wide range of situations. The reformulation predicts that, when not directly relevant to task performance, specific characteristics (e.g., athletic or analytical ability) have less impact than diffuse characteristics (race, gender, or education) on performance expectations. The original formulation predicts equal effects. Critical tests are proposed and the paper concludes with additional comparisons of the two formulations on the grounds of parsimony and implications for intervention in settings characterized by status-based inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article asserts that mainstream sociology, or more specifically the nonproblematic sociology found in introductory sociology textbooks treats gender, race and class in profoundly unequal ways. Inequalities of Race, Class and Gender are quantified in Introductory Sociology Textbooks. By the mid-1990s, sociology textbook authors were no longer de-emphasizing gender in comparison to race and class. Discussion of the role of socialization in relation to group differentiation is more common for gender and is discussed in more detail than for either class. While there is on average almost one page more of aggregate cross-societal text on class than on gender, the proportion of texts including a significant amount is identical for class and gender. Thus, the overriding impression about mainstream sociology conveyed by the F&H paper fails to capture the growing impact of feminist questions on research agendas in the field of social stratification in general as well as on introductory textbook authors.

This paper attempts to synthesize the Winchian stress on constitutive rules with the Marxian stress on material relationships by developing the concept of emergent/v material social relations. Such relationships, it is argued , arise from the constitutive rules that constitute a group's way of life. Although such relationships thus are derivative from the conscious rule-following behavior of actors. nevertheless they have an objective existence independent of actors' specific awareness. It is argued that such material relations are an important mechanism beyond the cultural rules through which our behavior is constrained, enabled, and motivated. Yet the Winchian tradition in tradition in general and contemporary structurarion theory in particular have tended to peripheralize the notion of material relations, treating them largely as epiphenomenal abstractions. This, it is argued, is a mistake and the source of an important lacuna in structuration theory. In particular. because structuration theory decenters the actor, conflates the distinction between regulative and constituzive rules, and peripheralizes social relations, it lacks an adequate explanation of motivation, as symptomized by its inordinate appeal to the unconscious. The concept of emergently material social relations overcomes this problem and offers a reintegration of the Marxian and the Winchian traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores a contrast between the Marxist and feminist traditions of emancipatorv social theory: whereas in the Marxist tradition theorists have spent considerable time and energy discussing the problem of the viability of classlessness as an emancipatory, project, feminists have spent relatively little time defending the viability of a society without male domination. The paper argues that this difference in preoccupations reflects, at least to some extent, differences in the relationship between prefigurative egalitarian micro experiences and macro institutional change with respect to gender oppression and class oppression. The paper also explores the implications of this contrast for the kinds of explanatory theory developed within the two traditions. Marxists' greater tendency than feminists to seek relatively deterministic accounts of the demise of the form of oppression on which they focus is viewed as at least partially a way of contending with the difficulty in establishing the viability of the emancipatory project of classlessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper responds to the papers published as a symposium on postmodernism in the Fall 1991 issue of the journal "Sociological Theory." It argues that postmodernism as a rhetoric and postmodernism as a methodology often diverge among theorists. Further, it contends that theorists' professional locations, including their relative disengagement from undergraduates, may help to account for their attraction to postmodern rhetoric and meta-theoretical gesticulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper builds upon ethnomethodological and social constructivist studies of representation in the natural sciences to examine sociological theory, a field that is much closer to home. An analysis of diagrams and related illustrations in theory texts shows that labels, geometric boundaries, vectors, and symmetries often are used to convey a sense of orderly flows of causal influences in a homogeneous field. These graphic elements make up what I call a "rhetorical mathematics" that conveys an impression of rationality. Although theory pictures rarely show much beyond what a text already says in its writing, they simulate a hermeneutic passage from written ideas to an independent representational or mathematical space. The paper discusses two modes of textual disruption of the rhetorical mathematics of theory pictures: parody and decoastruction. Parody makes ironic use of graphic devices in order to expose the rationalistic associations that come with the territory. Deconstruction displaces (and, if taken far enough, dissolves entirely) the Flatland of pictorial rationality. These negative maneuvers raise the possibility of using figural space for alternative modes of sociological inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses examples of integrative metatheoretical and theoretical work undertaken in the spirit of unification. Unification is defined as a recursive process in which the outcome of any one integrative episode provides ideas that may enter into further such episodes. The conceptual materials entering into integration exist at different levels and in distinct contexts. At the metatheoretical level, the examples relate to a number of contexts and issues, including methodological individualism versus holism. At the theoretical level, two examples of the idea of a unification episode are described. In each instance, the ideas entering into the integrative episode are drawn from distinct research programs. It is argued that the spirit of unification, as embodied in theoretical practice along the lines suggested by the examples, can create bridges between disparate theory enterprises so as to help break down particularistic barriers within sociological theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article locates and examines the micro-macro problem in sociology in the context of the larger problem of levels, the latter tending to include solutions to the former. Levels theory is meta-theoretical, for it is presuppositional to substantive or "sectors" theory. Levels theory constitutes the levels and therefore the "kinds" of social reality, while substantive theory looks for causal connections within and among the levels. The priority of levels over sectors theory, however, is only analytic. Historically the influence can be reversed, as levels shift in power relative to each other. The rise of sociologist Emile Durkheim's sacred self in the nineteenth century or social system in the twentieth are dramatic examples of these shifts. The article attempts to clarify the concept of levels, distinguishing several meanings of the term and choosing one to work with in the paper. The body of the article discusses the levels themselves, that is, what they are and how each is characterized. The article finally comments briefly on the connections among levels.

The paper proposes reorienting sociology so as to give special attention to the, discovery, description, and evaluation of social inventions. The significance of this focus is illustrated with cases of social inventions found in the Mondragén system of worker industrial cooperatives in `Spain and in new models for, agricultural research and development in Central America. The paper concludes with reflections on the implications of a social inventions focus for research methods, for social theory, and for applied sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black's (1979) comment, when read in conjunction with The Behavior of Law (Black, 1976), raises several questions pertaining to the scientific adequacy of his theory of law. This paper assesses Black's theory against two criteria of scientific adequacy: generality and falsifiability. Black (1979) rejects our use of victimization survey data to test his theory because these data do not allow a comparison of that conduct initially labelled as crime and that conduct not so labelled. Our interest was not in this first-stage labelling, but in the second-stage decision by victims to increase the quantity of law by calling the police, given that the respondent had labelled some behavior as a crime. Black argues against such second-stage tests of his theory and also argues that his theory must be viewed as valid only with respect to the initial labelling of conduct as illegal; as a result, all labelling decisions predicated on the initial labelling decision are beyond the province of his theory. We also note that the basis of Black's(1979) restriction of the generality of his theory is inconsistent with his original statement of the theory (Black, 1976) in which he uses results from victimization surveys (of the same kind he now argues are irrelevant to the theory) to support his theory. In addition, Black's (1979) criteria for data sufficient to test his theory reduce the potential for testing his theory. Finally, we discuss some issues regarding conduct and its seriousness as they relate to Black's theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recurrent theme in the literature on modernization is the importance of Westernization in non-Western societies-the purchase of Western commodities and the emulation of Western styles. This paper critically examines this theme in relation to a negative case, the lack of Westernization in nineteenth-century China. Three different theories of consumption that have been offered to explain the nonacceptance of Western products in China-an economic theory, a cultural theory and a sociological theory_are analyzed from comparative and historical perspectives. On the basis of this analysis, it is suggested that Westernization during the nineteenth century can often be viewed more accurately as an indicator of stratificational continuity with the premodern era than as an indicator of modernizing changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on Prolegomena to a Theory of Social Institutions, an essay by Talcott Parsons first published in the American Sociological Review. Parsons's Prolegomena is an object lesson for those who would read past theoretical work in terms of present-day conceptual categories. Written more than a half century ago, before it became standard sociological practice to differentiate the micro from the macro, a voluntaristic approach from a functionalist approach, a focus on action from an emphasis on social system and social structure, the paper escapes latter-day pigeonholes. Prolegomena shows that the early Parsons upheld a package of ideas that circumvents such polarities by combining what he terms a voluntaristic conception of human action in which the factors of will and effort are central, with a functionalist analysis that views economic, political, educational, and other social institutions as constituting a system that regulates action in relative conformity with the ultimate common values. The goal of the essay is to arrive at social institutions and certain aspects of social structure by beginning with human action, understood subjectively in terms of the means-end schema, and proceeding from there to action systems composed of long and complex [means-end] chains--chains analytically divisible into the conditional factors of heredity and environment, an intermediate sector made up of technological, economic, and political elements, and the sector of ultimate values.

Graduate programs in sociology are noted for the excellent training they provide in quantitative data analysis and the use of large datasets. With a few notable exceptions, however, PhD programs in sociology in the United States generally fail to provide an equivalent emphasis in social theory or interpretive sociology. Mainstream American sociology has long been dominated by adherents of the positivistic tradition. The result has been an increased isolation of sociology within academe, a diminishing American contribution to the development of social theory, and a growing irrelevance of sociology to the larger intellectual trends within the humanities and social sciences. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effects of these trends upon graduate education in sociology. I argue that our graduate training programs are deficient in several ways, most especially in their narrow commitment to the positivist view of social science. The failure to develop sociology's interpretive tradition has allowed the style and intellectual creativity of sociological work to suffer as well as allowing an unproductive attitude of sociological "imperialism" to take root, thereby insuring the increased irrelevance of sociology to wider circles of intellectual discourse.! conclude with an argument for a greater balance in graduate training programs between sociology's two great traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unresolved dilemma facing many disciplines is how theory and practice can better work together to enhance the decision-making processes on the ground. This widely-known theory-practice gap often contributes to the misdiagnosis of problems and undermines the effectiveness of responses. Despite decades of research into why this gap remains, there is still a continuing and heated debate as to why it exists and how it could be resolved. This article examines the theory-practice gap through a systematic review that draws insights across diverse disciplines such as health, science, governance, and business. It builds a conceptual framework based on the findings, allowing for the analysis of the various drivers and solutions for addressing the gap. The findings show that to resolve this gap is necessary to change our perspective of the gap and understand it as a bilateral issue, where both theory and practice play a role in creating the gap. Thus, solutions to the gap need to follow a cyclical and integrative approach. As the gap may never be fully closed, the framework provides the tools to respond to it whenever it arises. Future research will be required to empirically test and advance the framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The epistemology of symbolic interaction derives from the pragmatic model of Dewey and Mead, close associates. This paper argues that the methodology of pragmatism and symbolic interaction permits the perspectives of the researcher and the people in interactive situations to bias the research. influenced by Hegel, Dewey and Mead adopted an evolutionary, holistic view of reality; progress was inevitable and people were naturally rational. In addition, their notion of the logico-theoretic component in science deviated sharply from the more common hypothetico-deductive model, in both she pragmatic and symbolic interaction approaches, the theoretic component is ambiguous; to formulate theory prior to research is thought to be risky for it may bias the research. instead, theory emerges fro,n the research process; the participants in an interactive situation contribute to it. Thus the social givens of the researcher and the participants serve as a theoretical framework, giving the research a bias which reflects the social perspective of the researcher and the distribution of power in the interactive setting. That many researchers in this tradition are liberal humanitarians obscures the problem of bias inherent in this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper re-examines the social mechanisms that lead lower-class youth to make use of college as a mobility channel. It focuses on a select group of lower-class youth who, by their enrollment in a high-status university, already give unmistakable evidence of being engaged in the process of upward mobility. The findings reveal that upward mobility is linked to a distinctive pattern of maternal authority within the nuclear family and to dependence upon the outside social structure for support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to examine sources for high social status, using the physician as an example. Functional theories and the "argument from usefulness" are examined. They are rejected primarily for the unwarranted assumption of a well integrated social system. Findings of greater or lesser Junctional importance of the various occupations seem to lack objective justification. The hypothesis is advanced that high social status is attached to those functions that appear to combine the contradictory standards of social stratification and the charismatic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical management studies (CMS) has pervaded the field of management studies, claiming to be based on the Frankfurt School of critical theory. This paper examines that claim. It starts with a brief outline of management studies vs. CMS, and of some of CMS’s goals: micro-emancipation, the production of better managers, good management, and fairer organisations. The aim is to provide an overview of current literature, to outline critical theory’s epistemological theory, and to deliver an assessment of CMS in the light of that. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite the prominence of Durkheim in social theory, various threads of work did continue around the processes of private people coming together to form publics that cut across social categories such as collective identity. (https://twitter.com/fstflofscholars/status/1589273618995109892) The observation about Twitter and what constitutes the social here is apt and seems to be what Musk is missing. On October 27, 2022, the world's wealthiest person walked into the San Francisco headquarters of Twitter Inc. carrying a kitchen sink. Back in the spring of 2022, Musk posted a tweet saying, "Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy" (https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1507777261654605828). [Extracted from the article]

This paper develops a social-theoretical approach to public demonstrations (e.g., software demos, the performances of “market pitchers,” even street protests). Public demonstrations are often viewed as proofs, persuasion tools, and theatrical performances. I argue that they play a larger set of roles in social life. Depending the spaces of their enactment, they may serve as transactional and coordination devices, cognitive and relational tools, mobilization and competition apparatuses, observatories for demonstrators, and resources for project design, management, and assessment. They constitute an important form of interaction and help to structure social relationships. My argument is based on investigations into the uses of public demonstrations by the European Commission and U.S. scientists and engineers. These studies illustrate how “demo-cracies”—regimes that use public demonstrations for the management of public affairs—have developed in industrial and postindustrial societies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sections planned for the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Society in December 1945 are Social Research, Social Theory, Social Psychology, Population Sociometry, Community and Ecology, Family Criminology, Political Sociology, Educational Sociology, and General Sessions. In addition to these formal sections, members may submit papers for possible inclusion under a special category, "Contributed Papers." The membership the Committee to be in charge and the final date for submitting proposed papers will be announced in a subsequent issue of the journal "American Sociological Review."

Compared to the "Handbook of Modern Sociology," edited by Robert E.L. Faris and published a quarter of a century ago, the editor of the recent volume by Neil J. Smelser has been kind to sociological theory. The Faris volume contained only one paper—by George Homans—on sociological theory. This chapter was, moreover, placed nearly at the end of the volume. By contrast, the present Handbook contains three major chapters on sociological theory, and they can be found at the head of the procession. So far so good. But, alas, relatively few of the rest of the 22 chapters contain theoretical references. It is as if sociological theory were nearly divorced from the empirical studies that are discussed in the rest of the volume. This lack is deplorable, but unfortunately it reflects fairly adequately the contemporary state of affairs in sociology generally—that is, in both theory and research. In his introduction to the Handbook Smelser states that an overemphasis on balance "would make for a certain blandness of tone."

This article comments on Sociology: Proscience or Antiscience, a position paper written by Randall Collins. Randall Collins' (1989) recent position paper seeks to defend sociology proper from disparate attacks questioning its status as a science. Interestingly, Collins's citations supporting the premise of external attack on sociology are actually quite limited. His single extensive example involves more the quest of sociobiologists to legitimate themselves through a general critique of all social science rather than a focused assault on sociology itself. Singled out specifically by Collins are approaches that deviate from his version of sociological theory, rather than from the scientific project of sociology per se. In Collins's discussion, Michael Foucault's complex ideas are homogenized and described by a nominalist label that has no basis in his work. Collins characterizes Foucault as a discourse theorist who reduces society to a text and social action to the field of discourse. Collins simply has displaced by Foucault's emphasis on the field of power. Collins reduces the complex work of important theorists to misleading and nominalist labels that compartmentalize and trivialize serious thought. Discourse analysis cannot replace the investigation of, and theorizing about, social action and societal structures. If the above comments are instructive, however, then there is a place for textual analysis when confronted by the obfuscating metatheoretical discussions and the biblical exegesis of the classics that passes for much of sociological theory today.

Research on trickle effects has proliferated in the past decade. However, the literature has grown in a largely disorganized and fragmented fashion, with the different types of trickle effects (trickle-down, trickle-out, trickle-up, trickle-in, and trickle-around) often examined as independent phenomena. To better understand and integrate this research, we provide a comprehensive review of the empirical literature of trickle effects. In particular, drawing on an indirect social influence perspective, we clarify the definition of trickle effects as a process whereby perceptions, feelings, attitudes, or behaviors of a source affect perceptions, feelings, attitudes, or behaviors of a transmitter, which in turn affect perceptions, feelings, attitudes, or behaviors of a recipient. We then review the works collectively, cataloging them by trickle type. Next, we examine boundary conditions (moderators) of the effects, methodologies utilized, and the theoretical accounts proposed to explain the effects. Finally, we introduce a conceptual framework that allows us to organize trickle-effects research and identify paths for future trickle-effects research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increasing recognition of the importance of metaphors to theory development, metaphors' influence on entrepreneurship theorizing has been largely unexplored. This is problematic because a field's metaphors shape its underlying assumptions. This study takes stock of the entrepreneurship field through its metaphors by analyzing a corpus of highly cited entrepreneurship articles. We identify and explain eight root metaphors for entrepreneurship—parenthood, mutagen, conduit of knowledge, method, mindset, networking, exploration, and politics—underpinning the mainstream of the field. We then extend and combine the metaphors to develop a research agenda for building on the metaphors and moving beyond them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the role of institutions in the development of trust in relationships between organizations. We review various strands of literature on organizational trust and examine the assumptions made about how trust building processes are influenced by institutional arrangements. Following this conceptual analysis, we discuss four mechanisms that are pivotal in the development of institutional-based trust. We also examine four situations where the influence of institutions can be particularly conducive to building trust. Finally, we argue that each of the situations calls for specific mechanisms to be predominantly employed in order to effectively create trust in inter-organizational relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How and why people's environmental values change is a topical research issue, with major implications for sustainability policy. However, approaches based on individualistic models have had limited success in explaining the emergence of values, or developing interventions to change them. Work drawing on social practice theory takes an alternative approach, seeing values and practice as co-constructive. This paper examines how personal environmental values evolve through performance of practice, experience within specific contexts and social interaction. Drawing on a narrative-based study of UK climate change campaigners, it aims to contribute to a much-needed dialogue between sociological and psychological approaches to environmental values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, the metaphor of the iron cage, as a key component of Weber’s sociological imagination, has played a central role in organization studies. It did so both in its initial role in the sociology of bureaucracy and in its reinterpretation in institutional terms. More recently, there have been claims that the metaphors should change. The implications of this for the analysis of organization are the subject of this paper. To address these changes, we draw on debates that have been current in the sociology of consumption, where there is an emergent consensus that there has been a shift to an increasingly liquid modernity. We ask, what are the implications of liquid modernity when viewed not solely in the sphere of consumption but when we shift focus back to the sphere of production — to organizations? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author describes the use of active and collaborative learning strategies in an undergraduate sociological theory course. A semester-long ethnographic project is the foundation for the course; both individual and group participation contribute to the learning process. Assessment findings indicate that students are able, through application of theoretical concepts to field observations, to connect theory to the ‘‘real world’’ and see the link between theory and methods. Furthermore, students report that they believe the field experience and group interactions are more beneficial to their learning experience than traditional lecture alone. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper the author connects conceptual and methodological development, typically presented as distinct processes. She argues that these processes are-or should be- underpinned by a common philosophical and theoretical stance. Using Gramsci's The Prison Notebooks (1971), usually considered for its theory of social relations, the author outlines the work's epistemological tenets. She then discusses the methodological ramifications of Gramsci's perspective, relating his ideas to contemporary scholarship, especially by those working from feminist, critical race theory, and other critical perspectives. Because social theory and research methodology tend to be discussed as separate spheres and Gramsci's work generally is taken up for its social theory, much of the methodological work reviewed here is not identified as Gramscian. Nonetheless, Gramsci's ideas can have currency especially for qualitative researchers. An important message to take from The Prison Notebooks is to consider epistemology, theory, and methodology together rather than sequentially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the fall of 2000 at their annual meeting the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) identified the need for Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs to better prepare managers for public sector careers by providing them with enhanced critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding of social class and inequality. This essay will address one approach in which public policy and administration educators have attempted to enhance the critical thinking skills of their students through a form of social analysis which utilizes critical theory (critical social analysis) and experiential knowledge (praxis). This paper will analyze these methods through two graduate MPA courses: Race, Inequality, and Public Policy (PPA 533); and Urban Affairs (PPA 610). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the meaning and significance of the term 'social practice' and its relation to strategy-as-practice research from the perspective of social theory. Although our remarks are also applicable to other practice-based discussions in management, we discuss strategy practices as a case in point and thus contribute to the strategy-as-practice literature in three ways. First, instead of simply accepting the existence of a unified 'practice theory', we outline a genealogical analysis revealing the historical-contingent conditions of its creation. This analysis shows that social practices in general and strategy practices in particular can be approached from either a neo-structuralist and/or neo-interpretative perspective. Second, based on this theoretical argument, we discuss different characteristics of strategy practices and emphasize those aspects not yet fully considered by strategyas-practice research (e.g. the physical nature of practices). Third, we show that, when studying strategy practices, given an understanding of the alternative theoretical approaches available, the practice of strategy research itself needs to be adjusted so as to accommodate a stronger emphasis on an ethnographic approach that is directed towards uncovering the contextual and hidden characteristics of strategy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article encourages contributions about various aspects and dynamics of standardization, such as social theories of practice and micro-political approaches. It highlights possible topics for the papers including growth and context of standardization, implementation of standards, and transformation of organizations. It discusses the importance of standards and standardization in organizational regulation. In addition, it presents requirements for contribution which submitted to the Editorial Office osofficer@gmail.com.

The conceptualization of the relation between individual and structure is central to social science. After making some key definitions, this paper overviews some recent developments in the social theory of structure and agency, and makes a novel addition, based on a concept of habit derived from pragmatism and Veblenian institutional economics. Processes of habituation provide a mechanism of ‘reconstitutive downward causation’ where institutional circumstances may affect individual preferences. Finally, special characteristics of organizations are discussed, endorsing an evolutionary analytical approach that combines insights from both evolutionary economics and organization science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]