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The article announces the winners of the Wisconsin Sociological Association (WSA) Undergraduate Student Paper Competition including "Pupils to Peers: Socializing Graduate Students into the Counseling Profession" by Holly Kortemeier, "It's a Game of Survival in the Hood, Especially for a Black Man": Influence of Masculinity on African American Men's Health" by Christina Nelson, and "There's a Future Inmate": How Criminals and Potential Criminals are Otherized by Law Enforcement Officials."

The article calls for submission of graduate and undergraduate papers to compete for the Frank Lindenfeld Outstanding Student Paper Award organized by the Association for Humanist Sociology.

In this essay I discuss how my editorship of Sociological Focus, the official journal of the North Central Sociological Association, simultaneously places me at the margins, in relation to top-tier journals, and in the thick of things, in relation to the authors and reviewers who participate in the journal. All editors face issues related to the review process and, occasionally at least, struggle with decisions. Given the hierarchical nature of the discipline, however, editors of journals at the lower end of the rankings face additional dilemmas related to fairness and access. Concluding that the margin is a bustling place where lots of sociology gets done, I end with a strong plea that we protect our regional journals and keep them vibrant and inclusive. The easiest way to do that is for all of us to publish in them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attending and presenting at academic conferences can be an unnerving and formidable experience, especially for graduate students. In this essay, I describe some of my experiences as a graduate student, highlighting the benefits of attending and presenting at the Pacific Sociological Association annual conference and how this aided my professional development. I also provide some ideas for the Association to consider in their goal of improving the graduate student experience. Finally, I conclude with some recommendations for current graduate students attending the regional conference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a report on the status of minorities and women in sociology. In 1971, at the request of the American Sociological Council, participation by women and blacks in sociology was first assessed. That report affords a base for adding more data to assess the changes, if any, in the degree of participation by minority and women sociologists in the opportunity structure of the discipline. The concern with minorities in enlarged this year to include data on Asian Americans, Chicanos, American Indians, and Puerto Ricans, as well as with black sociologists. Along with women, these groups represent the focus of attention of two active committees formed by the ASA Council: the Committee on the Status of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession, and the Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession. The level of response, along with problems of definition, involving comparability of categories, indicates that this report may best serve as a working paper suggesting questions for more refined research. Hopefully, also, it will stimulate cooperation between the ASA and all departments of sociology to develop more reliable and valid accounting procedures so that better data on minorities and women may be routinely collected in the future. This hope is based on the assumption that facts about the number of minorities and women in sociology will promote their participation and enhance the quality of the entire sociological enterprise.

The changes to the way that the program is built for the PSA annual meetings offered some exciting new possibilities and successes, but there were also problems. This paper suggests a hybrid between the new and old systems in order to allow continued involvement by committees and other PSA members in shaping the program. Suggestions are also given for ensuring quality of papers, increasing attendance, and providing increased opportunities for interaction and networking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An informal electronic European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS) forum was set-up in September 2000 to bring together Ph.D. students, junior academics and researchers to promote participation and communication among those who are part of the EGOS community. The aim of the EGOS Network is to enable participants - particularly those who are, or feel, new' to EGOS - to become more actively involved in shaping and running events, workshops, discussion groups and similar activities. The question that ran through most of the presentations and returned in the discussion was one of self-reflection. The implication behind the colloquium theme was that organization theorists often discuss people events, and things by focusing on who or what is the case. Organization theorists, even when they take a constructivist or constructionist perspective, usually assume that it is individuals with minds who do the constructing, so constructed products are examined, rather than construction processes. This theme group turned attention to us academics. to our disciplinary communities and to our academic work practices.

In this article, the author announces the winners of the 2013 Undergraduate Student Paper Competition award that is given by the Wisconsin Sociological Association. It mentions that the winners include Samuel Carbajal from Ripon College, Wisconsin, Jena Roscizewski from Ripon College, Wisconsin and Diana Mantey from the University of Wisconsin-whitewater.

The Pacific Sociological Association annual meeting recently added a new session type called the Research-in-Progress (RIP) session. The purpose of adding these sessions was to provide an opportunity for attendees to present research still in formative stages of completion in order to get useful feedback. Presentations ranged from doctoral dissertation proposals to nearly completed research. Early experience from RIP session organizers and discussants is that these sessions were lively and engaging, sparking a great deal of audience participation. Feedback from presenters indicated that they received useful feedback. Based on our initial experience with the RIP sessions, we believe they are a beneficial addition to the meetings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper – a version of the presidential address delivered at the North Central Sociological Association (NCSA) annual meeting in April 2022 – details research undertaken between 2020 and 2021 on violence against women in Pakistan. Three data sources are used to critically analyze the frequency and magnitude of violence against women in Pakistan: secondary data collected by Pakistan government and international organizations, social and print media in Pakistan, and in-depth interviews conducted with 337 women in Pakistan. Findings address the relationship of several variables highlighted in the literature and Hein's model of violence against women, including type of marriage, background, education, income, occupation, drug use, experiences of childhood violence, the dowry system, and control tendencies of men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on several research papers related to sociology that were presented at the British Sociological Association's Annual Conference titled "Social Futures: Desire, Excess and Waste," held in 2003. Over 120 papers were presented at the conference and there were two highly engaging plenary sessions, one presented by researcher Beverley Skeggs and one by George Ritzer. The papers challenge the one-dimensional and simplistic representation of contemporary social life and emerging social and cultural trends. The papers also ressert the importance of a critical and reflexive sociology for a social future. The papers "Intimations of Postmodernity," by Z. Bauman, and "Reflexive Modernization," by A. Giddens, U. Beck and S. Lash, have concentrated on the transformation of social relations that have unfolded over the course of the last few decades. Questions concerning rites of passage were clearly central, in thinking about the rationale for incorporating a Belonging and Isolation stream within the conference.

The papers in this special issue provide a comprehensive, in-depth look at the Pacific Sociological Association. In this Epilogue, I call attention to some of the most important challenges and opportunities facing the organization raised by the contributors to this volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recollections of past officers provide the basis for a history of the North Central Sociology cat Association (NCSA). Foci include the early environment, school participation, and forces behind its growth and current character. Contemporary issues of big school domination and image are examined through data on current numbers, school affiliations and convention participation. The latter part of the paper, based on a 1976 NCSA membership survey, compares criticisms of American Sociological Association national meetings with those of North Central, summarizing the asserts and deficits of each. Conclusions are drawn about the identifying characteristics and functions of a regional association given the image it assumes and its organizational goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on issues and themes discussed in the seventeenth conference of European Group for Organizational Studies held in Lyon in the month of July. To start with, the first topic of discussion was focused on the analogy of organizing and narrating sectioned under the heading "Narratives We Organize by." It described narrative approach to cover a wide range of perspectives, interests, and epistemological orientations in context to business organizations. Another issue for presentation focused on re-discovering history in studying organizations. A distinction was offered between organizational history and historical organization theory as a way of conceptualizing the intersection on whether organizational analysis needs to take history seriously. Other important focus of the conference acknowledged the question of whether public organizations be brought back in industry. As a result, it raised many voices for new public management, changing nature of bureaucracy, the public sector reform process, and the nature of organizational change.

The second world congress of Sociology will be organized by the International Sociological Association (ISA) under the auspices of UNESCO in the city of Liége, Belgium, from August 24-September 1,1953. Sociologists of all countries of the world, professional, research workers and students, are invited to take part in this Congress and are asked to enter into contact with the ISA Secretariat for registration and detailed information. Contributed research papers are invited for the 1953 meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society, tentatively scheduled for April 18-19 or 25-26, 1953. Papers should report empirical findings of completed research or specific methodological developments. Because of program limitations, general theoretical analyses not based on specific research cannot be accepted. professor Benjamin Keeley has joined the Department of Social Science of Illinois State Normal University and is teaching The Family and Introduction to Sociology, as well as assisting with freshman orientation courses in the social sciences.

This section offers news briefs pertaining to the Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR) as of March 1, 2021. The theme of this year's annual meeting is "Communicating Religion's Relevance." The ASR will elect three new Council members for this year. Nominations for ASR grants and awards, including the Joseph H. Fichter Research Grants, the Lifetime Achievement Award for Contributions to the Sociology of Religion, and the Robert J. McNamara Student Paper Award, are now open.

It has been common for studies presented as about American sociology as a whole to rely on data compiled from leading journals ( American Sociological Review [ASR] and American Journal of Sociology [AJS]), or about presidents of the American Sociological Association [ASA], to represent it. Clearly those are important, but neither can be regarded as providing a representative sample of American sociology. Recently, Stephen Turner has suggested that dominance in the ASA rests with a 'cartel' initially formed in graduate school, and that it favors work in a style associated with the leading journals. The adequacy of these ideas is examined in the light of available data on the last 20 years, which show that very few of the presidents were in the same graduate schools at the same time. All presidents have had distinguished academic records, but it is shown that their publication strategies have varied considerably. Some have had no ASR publications except their presidential addresses, while books and large numbers of other journals not normally mentioned in this context have figured in their contributions, as well as being more prominent in citations. It seems clear that articles in the leading journals have not been as closely tied to prestigious careers as has sometimes been suggested, and that if there is a cartel it has not included all the presidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a conceptual paper on the application of German social-philosopher Jü rgen Habermas's "theory of communicative action" (TCA) in corporate brand management. It offers a review of the sociological literature of Habermas's TCA to determine its connection to the corporate brand management and human interactions. It mentions the selection of literature to examine the relation of TCA in sociology. It considers Habermas's TCA as one stream in sociological theory. Moreover, it notes the function of the paper in facilitating a comprehensive understanding for interaction management within corporate brand management.

The author of the article shares his numerous encounters with sociologists. The World Congresses that are organized every forth year by the International Sociological Association (ISA) had never-before 1970-been situated within any of the countries of Eastern Europe which at that time were known as members of the Soviet Bloc. The first ISA World Congress to occur within the Soviet Bloc took place late in the summer of 1970 in Varna, Bulgaria. Sociologist Andrei Zdravomyslov was such an individual, a face emerging out of faceless anonymity. At one of the first plenary sessions in one of the large assembly halls at the World Congress in Varna he presented a paper comparing the conceptual frameworks of Marxian historical materialism and Western structural functionalism. In the debate after the presentation of papers, the author asked for the floor and tried to convey one of his darling ideas, namely that classical Marxism as well as Western structural functionalism lack a proper understanding of certain structural contradictions emerging in what he called "modes of information and cognition" in contemporary societies.

This article presents information related to a business meeting. The annual AKD business meeting was held on August 31, 1986, at the New York Hilton. Jerry Michel, scholar at the Memphis State University and AKD President presided the meeting. Those present were: Candace Clark, Helen Clarke, Al Clarke, Ken Davidson, David Demo, Marie Fuller, Rose Helper, Mark Butter, Lyn Lofland, Mike Malec, Betty Maynard, Annabelle Motz, Wayne Seelbach, Don Shoemaker, Jim Skipper, Jim Williams, Kenneth Wilson and Donna Darden. In addition to normal items of business, the following announcements and decisions were made at the meeting. The winners of the 1986 paper competition were as follows First prize: Tracey Watson, Skidmore College, Second prize: Jane Melada, Montclair State and third prize: William Axinn, Cornwell. Watson's paper, "Women Athletes and Athletic Women: The Dilemmas and Contradictions of Managing Incongruent Identities," will be published in the journal "Sociological Inquiry." The Council voted to name Dennis Peck, scholar at the University of Alabama-Bitmingham, as new editor of the journal.

Four recent collections of essays lend credence to the impression of progress in sociological scholarship. Sociology Today presents revisions of papers originally prepared for the 1957 annual meeting of the American Sociological Society, under the presidency of Robert K. Merton. With fair consistency the authors have presented an appraisal of its current state with reference to the more or less standard specialties encompassed by contemporary sociology, and with somewhat less consistency the authors have essayed the task of identifying current problems of theory and method. The Symposium on Sociological Theory consists of nineteen longish chapters and an extended introduction by the editor. Review of Sociology and Sociology in the United States of America are comparable in topical coverage to Sociology Today. In a paper of major importance Reinhard Bendix and Bennett Berger have suggested renewed attention to the many "dual tendencies," simultaneously present, which sociologists conventionally recognize but conveniently forget in their preoccupation with self-regulating systems.

The article presents information on various conferences and seminars in the world of sociology that appeared in the 1963 issue of the "International Journal of Comparative Sociology." The Fifth World Congress of Sociology has its session on "The Sociology of Development." In the final plenary session on "The Sociology of Development", with Y.A. Zamoshkin in the chair, gist of four principal papers were presented This was followed by discussion of the papers and the reports by representatives of five Work Groups. The International Sociological Association's Committee on Family Research, under the chairmanship of Reuben Hill, held its Seventh International Seminar on Family Research was held from September 9-15, 1962 at Washington D.C. The Committee on Family Research, it may be noted in passing, has taken over the laudable task of fostering and administering the annual international family research seminars from the UNESCO Institute for Social Sciences at Cologne, whose Director of Research, Dr. Nels Anderson, took care of the Seminars as administrative secretary for several years. The Committee's second major task has been to solicit and organize a symposium issue of the "International Social Science Journal," on "Progress in Family Research" with John Mogey as the editor. The third task has been organization of the programme of the family section of the Fifth World Congress of Sociology.

This article addresses the concern expressed by many within the Pacific Sociological Association in recent years that their regional organization is increasingly seen by Research I University sociologists as no longer meeting their professional needs, thus leading to (a) decreasing rates of membership and participation within, (b) a decline in the amount of high quality professional work associated with, and (c) a diminishment of the professional status of, the PSA. Using data gained from a membership survey of sociologists at the 29 Research I Universities in the Western Region of the United States and Canada, the empirical basis of these claims is examined, and their possible implications explored. The results of this investigation suggest that although PSA membership among faculty members at PhD-granting institutions may have declined somewhat over time, this has occurred for a number of very comprehendible reasons, some associated with but others external to the Pacific Sociological Association as a professional organization. In light of these findings, it is the main recommendation of this paper that the PSA should continue to approach this issue in a careful and reasoned manner, doing what it reasonably can to try to meet the professional needs of Research I University sociologists in the 21st century, but being mindful not to jeopardize what has made the PSA important and attractive to its growing number of other constituencies in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expanding interest in marine planning and management raises important questions for the spectrum of marine, coastal and terrestrial environments. The role of state regulation in mediating conflicts over the use and development of the marine resource has spatial implications across these domains. Governance of the marine represents a very particular challenge since it involves a highly complex mix of common, legal and customary property rights and sets of defined territorial jurisdictions. The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 and subsequent policy iterations have changed institutional and organizational relations. The legislation included provisions for the extension of statutory land use planning controls to include coastal and transitional waters (i.e. to the 12-nautical mile limit), meaning that finfish and shellfish farming are subject to the terrestrial planning regime. This represents a turn from self-regulation to arrangements for state planning controls. This paper traces this evolution in terms of a moving equilibrium as both state and market have sought to minimize the transaction costs involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on a need of theiorizing childhood in sociology. He states that theorizing means developing theories of childhood by a sociologist and it provides justification for editors of social science journals who might reject papers if they are atheoretical. He cites eight theoretical projects identified by sociologists named Camis and Gross including constructing general analytical tools for use in empirical research and reconstructing current theoretical approaches.

Copyright of Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article, presented as the presidential address at the 2009 presidential address at the 2009 Association for Humanist Sociology Annual Meeting, in New Orleans, LA, describes different ways AHS serves as a resource for doing change work, drawing heavily on the author's experiences with the association since 1993. It concludes by calling for members to fully utilize these different resources the Association offers, and to reach out to colleagues and students and, in the process, expand the Association's potential as a resource for doing change work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section offers news briefs about the Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR). The candidates for president of the organization are Lynn Davidman of the University of Kansas and Roger Finke of Pennsylvania State University. The ASR Grants for 2010 are the Robert J. McNamara Award, Joseph H. Fichter Research Grants, and Ralph A. Gallagher Travel Grants.

Copyright of Sociología del Trabajo is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Boundaries can be seen as barriers or as places of contact. It has been suggested that we are ‘prisoners of borders’, of all kinds of borders (political, religious, social, cultural, linguistic etc.). While this statement appears to be somewhat exaggerated, it holds some truth. Boundaries are elements in spatial organization, and they influence daily life in many ways (not only for people living right along them). The paper addresses the question if we must call ourselves ‘prisoners’ or if we simply have to live with all kinds of borders. Departing from theoretical observations, the paper discusses the various aspects boundaries assume in the European context before looking at a few concrete Swiss examples. They reveal that even regions at a certain distance of the state border will feel its effects (the case of Zurich airport), but the most important benefit can been drawn by people living in the border area itself (through price differences between the two countries, as exemplified by the Swiss-Italian border). There may be asymmetry on state borders, but this asymmetry can also swing around: the advantages often lie on both sides. The paper concludes by pointing to the persistence of the boundary concept. They are a necessity for the organization of space and society, but they are not absolute. There are always holes in these prison walls, and the examples where boundaries were impermeable are probably rare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information related to various congresses and conventions of International Social Science Council. The XIVth General Conference of the International Federation of Social Science Organisations was held in Naresuan University in Phitsanulok, Thailand last November 17-19, 1999 with the theme 'Interface of Social Sciences with Science and Technology: A Social Science Assessment of Development and Application of Science and Technology.' The different papers touched on various aspects related to the perception of technological and social needs of the people, meeting the problem of poverty and sustainability with science and technology innovations, and the kind of fund support given by the state to science and technology. The Programme Committee for the XVIIIth International Political Science Association World Congress chaired by William M. Lafferty, has drawn up the preliminary programme. Several conferences organised by International Sociological Association Research Committees, Working and Thematic Groups or national members have been scheduled for the year 2000.

A report of a discussion in Paris between U.S. economist Williamson and French social scientists Favereau and Lazega is used as a demonstration of the influence of nationality on organization theories. This influence has played a role in the founding of the European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS) and of the journal Organization Studies. The General Hierarchy of Systems shows why a universal consensus about any theory of organization is basically impossible. People from different countries, including authors of theories, have different paradigms in mind as to `in the beginning was', like the market in the U.S.A., and power in France. The paper pleads for giving more attention to the nationality of organization theories, and for lifting the existing taboo on discussing the role of nationality in our theorizing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current adoption controversy in the United States has prompted researchers to study factors that influence adoptees' attitudes towards obtaining identifying information1 about their birth parents. This paper considers the usefulness of some recent methodological perspectives on the contextuality of meaning for the purpose of conducting and analyzing adoption interviews. I will argue that, because of the tendency among researchers to look only for adoptees' reasons for or against requesting genealogical knowledge, the dilemma-ridden nature of their thinking has been ignored. Theoretically, the paper proposes an alternative approach to adoption research and raises the issue of the sociological and methodological significance of ambivalence. Empirically, it shows that contradictory or ambivalent attitudes towards the disclosure of identifying information can be interpreted, not as signs of inconsistency, immaturity or delusion, but in terms of two intersecting moral vocabularies: the ethic of self-discovery and the ethic of reciprocity. Rather than merely expressing individual differences in experience or temperament, these vocabularies reflect moral themes in the culture at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this very personal essay, I suggest four aspects of the PSA meetings which contributed to the creation of a 'wild west' atmosphere, namely the methods used for the creation of sessions, the content of the sessions, the high level of social interaction, and the focus on student involvement. I conclude with a concern about the increased focus on making the meetings more prestigious and professional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses about the 1960 Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Society which will be held at the Statler-Hilton Hotel, New York City, August 29, 30, and 31. A list is provided about sessions and chairmen that have been arranged by President Howard Becker and the 1960 Program Committee. Members may submit papers directly to the chairmen or, if they are uncertain about the appropriate chairman, to the Program Committee, in care of Michael Hakeem, 434 Sterling Hall, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. Papers should not exceed 1,500 words in length and must be received by February 1, 1960 at the latest. In order to allow the widest opportunity to participate in the annual program, each person is allowed to read only one paper if he is the sole author, and to contribute to two programs only if he is joint author in each case or is a chairman or discussant in one case. Auditor's Report for the year ended November 30, 1958 provides details related to the accounting system of the American Sociological Society which uses only cash journals to record financial transactions.

This paper was presented to a symposium on "Methodology in Sociology" jointly sponsored by the Methodology Section of the American Sociological Association and Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois, June 10 and 11, 1970. Otis Dudley Duncan, Robert McGinnis, and Paul F. Lazarsfeld and the editors of this volume made valuable comments on earlier drafts of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was funded, in part, by National Institutes of Health grant No. 5-T01-GM-01526. An earlier version of this paper was presented to a symposium, Methodology in Sociology, jointly sponsored by the Methodology Section of the American Sociological Association and Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois, June 10-11, 1970. The authors are especially grateful to G. William Walster for his helpful comments on the earlier version of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 65th annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, held at Washington, D.C., August 31 through September 3, 1970. At that time, it was distributed as Workshop Paper EME 7030 by the Social Systems Research Institute, University of Wisconsin. Work on this project was in part supported by the Graduate School Research Committee of the University of Wisconsin, by the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Public Health Service (M-6275), and by the Social and Rehabilitation Service, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (CRD-314). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports about plans for the Fifth World Congress of Sociology, sponsored by the International Sociological Association, to be held in Washington D.C. between September 2 and 8, 1962. The major topics to be discussed are, "Sociologists, Policy Makers and the Public," "The Sociology of Development," "The Nature and Problems of Sociological Theory." The general plan is to have the main paper on each of the three major themes published in advance in two volumes of the "Transactions." The World Congress will follow immediately upon the meetings of the American Sociological Association and will also be held in the Shoreham. Two generous grants have been made in support of the Congress, one of $50,000 from the ACLS-SSRC Committee administrating a Ford Foundation grant, and one of $25,000 from the National Science Foundation. These monies will be largely used to defray the travel cost of foreign scholars who are preparing papers. It has been hoped that the presence of scholars from abroad may be facilitated teaching opportunities in American universities either before or after the Congress.

The article reports on the eighteenth biennial congress of the Institut International de Sociologie (IIS), held in Nürnberg, Germany from September 10 to 18, 1958. The congress was attended by 295 participants including 221 from 31 countries. Several hundred papers were discussed during the first four days. After these sessions, the members traveled for five days to see postwar Germany. They viewed the reconstruction of Kassel, East Germany and West and East Berlin. The receiving station at Marienfeld in the West Berlin was also inspected. It is the place where peoples who flee from East Germany are held until their placement in West German industries and occupations. IIS is the oldest sociological organization, founded by René Worms at Paris in 1893. Scientific papers may be written in English, French, Spanish, Italian, or German. They are printed in bound volumes for distribution to the members. Membership is elective but national quotas are limited to prevent one country's domination. Eminent sociologist, Professor Hans Freyer, was president of this congress. Professor K. Valentin, general secretary of the U.S., was host this year.

PSA's shift to inclusion began in the 1990s as a response to the declining membership and the domination of the association by scholars from the Ivory Tower universities--those institutions focusing primarily upon research. Cracking the Ivory Tower refers to this inclusion which involved encouraging student participation; inviting faculty from teaching-focused colleges; expanding program topics on teaching or issues of gender, race, sexual orientation; hosting inclusive receptions; and electing some officers from non-elite schools. As inclusion has dramatically increased membership and promoted more representative participation, governance now faces new challenges, especially the executive director's workload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Founded in 1929 by Emory S. Bogardus, the PSA is the oldest regional sociological association. During its 85-year history, the association has steadily increased in membership, participation, registration and size of its annual meeting, complexity of organizational structure, and has moved from a gemeinshaft to a gesellshaft culture and to a more inclusive and democratic association. Much of this change has mirrored the growth of sociology in general and of higher educational institutions in U.S. and has been made possible essentially through the work and effort of volunteers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an introduction to the journal, stating the journal started out as a regional sociology journal started by the Pacific Sociological Association, and examines the trend in the regional representation of authors submitting articles to the journal from its creation to 2013.

In this paper the author analyzes the contribution that V. I. Dobrenkov made to contemporary Russian sociology. The focus of his analysis is both the scientific-pedagogical work of Dobrenkov, and his organizational-cultural mission. The paper analyzes the encyclopedic contribution of Dobrenkov (as a part of his collaboration with A. Kravchev), in compiling the 15 volumes (with over 10000 pages of text) of Fundamental Sociology, which is a seminal work. In them they considered both the origin and development of sociology in the world and Russia, as well as the basic theories and methods, categories, problematic fields, the structure and dynamics of contemporary society. In addition, the paper offers an overview of the latest studies written by Dobrenkov on globalization in Russia, value-oriented sociology and the sociological education in Russia. Special attention was paid to the organizational work of Dobrenkov regarding the founding of a new Faculty of Sociology in modern Russia, as well as the renewal of the Russian sociological association where he now serves as president. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article summarizes the panel discussion on research and teaching related problems in small departments held at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Society in Denver, Colorado, on September 9, 1950. The discussion aimed to recognize the large number of its members who teach in smaller colleges and universities. It also tried to study teaching and research in the smaller institutions and to identify their problems and their contributions to the development of sociology.

Information on several papers discussed at the 17th International Sociological Association (ISA) World Congress of Sociology held in Gothenburg, South-Western Sweden in July 2010 on the sociological knowledge is presented. Topics include sociological perspective of sustainability, imagination and action in biology, and power and religion in the society. The congress featured the speakers including Michel Wieviorka, Tseh Lee, and several participants from different countries.

Aim: To investigate the current concepts related to the definition of human viability in a historical perspective. Methods: A review of the international literature was performed by using PubMed, Google, Embase to find definitions of Human Viability. The papers collected were divided chronologically. Results: Over the years, many authors have debated the concept of the limit of human viability, starting from Ballantyne in the early 1900. The definition differs from author to author. Conclusion: The definition of human viability is still under discussion. It depends primarily, but not only, on gestational age. A number of genetic, cultural, social and technological variables are also influential. This definition could have an impact on legislation and the widespread misunderstanding of this concept in the lay public could also be enhanced by a frank discussion among clinicians and other professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]