Macro-economics and infant behaviour: a sociological treatment of the free-rider problem

A number of general issues in the social sciences are currently being addressed through consideration of the free-rider problem, also known as the problem of collective action. Many different ways of comparing and evaluating competing social theories can be co-ordinated as discussions of the problem. In attending to its relatively simple structure fundamental issues routinely arise, concerning the basis of social order, the nature of power, and the invariants of human nature itself, if such exist. In this paper I adopt a sociological perspective in defending the plausibility of one kind of solution to the problem, and then explore the general significance of that solution in a frankly speculative way.     

A history of the mid-south sociological association

Abstract

Prior to his death in 2018, Marc Matre, Archivist and the longest serving Secretary-Treasurer of the Mid-South Sociological Association (MSSA), submitted a paper to the journal on the history of the MSSA. Reviewers wanted revisions that Marc was unable to complete because of his infirmity, and his last professional wish was that the journal and members of the association finish the work he had started. The following is that revision. It is the combined work of many who contributed to the project as noted in the acknowledgments. Biographical information about Marc follows the list of the principal founders of the association.     

A sociological agenda for the tech age

Theory and Society - This article outlines a sociological agenda for the era of “tech,” a period when digital technologies have come to dominate our social lives. It argues that we...     

A proposed multi-level plan to market sociological competencies

One main purpose of this paper is to encourage sociologists to fully support their sociological association leaders’ efforts to further develop and implement comprehensive plans to improve the image of sociology, especially among those who can employ our graduates, but also among the general populace. Preceding a proposed multi-level plan is an attempt to integrate and present many of the competencies that sociologists and social psychologists have identified through research into a classification of sociological and social psychological skills. The typology can facilitate the selection of competencies appropriate for academic courses or seminars. In brief, the ten categories of this typology are: (1) Communication Skills; (2) Conceptual Tools; (3) Critical Thinking; (4) Problem Solving Strategies; (5) Special Competencies Applicable to Work Organization; (6) Group Dynamics; (7) Group Counseling; (8) Applied Social Research Methodologies; (9) Consulting Expertise; and (10) Competence in Self-Marketing Skills that Students Need. The several examples of skills within each of the ten classifications could be considered by faculty for possible inclusion in their syllabi. A discussion of the necessity to better inform business, industry, foundations, and government agencies of sociological competencies is provided followed by a multi-level public relations proposal, “A Plan to Put Career Vagueness Behind Us.” The plan presented is not intended to bethe plan. It can serve as a check list or supplement to the strategic plans currently being developed and implemented by the ASA and other sociological associations.     

A cross-national consensus on a unified sociological theory?

Can a standard set of sociological theories be formulated that would command consensus across the globe? Sociology developed in the context of nation-specific knowledge communities and hence constitutes a singular endeavor anchored deeply in the respective regions of its birth. Every society’s mode of sociology analysis varies. A case study — Sociology in the US — illustrates this position. A discussion of the original contours and developmental trajectory of German Sociology is utilized in order further to isolate the uniqueness of sociological theory’s ?location” in American Sociology. Pivotal differences continue to anchor nation-specific traditions and approaches to sociological theory, all of which preclude standardization attempts.     

A view from above: The evolving sociological landscape

How has sociology evolved over the last 40 years? In this paper, we examine networks built on thousands of sociology-relevant papers to map sociology’s position in the wider social sciences and identify changes in the most prominent research fronts in the discipline. We find first that sociology seems to have traded centrality in the field of social sciences for internal cohesion: sociology is central, but not nearly as well bounded as neighboring disciplines such as economics or law. Internally, sociology appears to have moved away from research topics associated with fundamental social processes and toward social-problems research. We end by discussing strategies for extending this work to wider science production networks.     

Children's gender-role stereotypes: A sociological investigation of psychological models

This study investigates sociologically the predictions of the cognitive developmental, the social learning, and the interactive models of gender-role development. We examine the effect of a variety of variables on gender-role stereotyping among a sample of 1264 four-, five-, and six-year-old children enrolled in preschool programs in a major metropolitan area. Age, sex, and race are found to be significantly related to children's gender stereotypes. With age, children increasingly associate stereotypical behavior patterns with the male and female gender roles. Children are also found to demonstrate a higher degree of gender-role stereotyping with regard to members of their own sex. An age/sex interaction effect indicates that the tendency of children to demonstrate a higher degree of same-sex stereotyping is most pronounced among four-year-olds. Finally, black children are found to be less gender-typed in their images of males and females than are white children. These data suggest that the interactive model, including both social and cognitive factors, is the best explanation of these data and should be further investigated.     

An electronic panopticon? A sociological critique of surveillance theory

The concept of an electronic Panopticon is making increasingly frequent appearances within analyses of electronic surveillance. This paper traces briefly the history of the Panopticon from Jeremy Bentham to Michel Foucault and through a series of case studies shows how the idea seems relevant in the context of computer databases. It is argued that while the Panopticon has some salience to electronic surveillance, particularly through its enhanced capacity for invisible monitoring of personal details, the notion of a ‘societal Panopticon’ is sociologically mistaken. Nonetheless, where vestiges of the Panopticon are present within electronic surveillance, they present a challenge to social analysis and to political practice.     

Power struggles: A sociological approach to activist communication

This paper proposes an alternative approach to the scholarship of activist public relations, based on the ideas of the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu; notably his understanding of activism in society. Although Bourdieu is one of the most quoted sociologists in the world (Santoro, 2011; Truong & Weill, 2012), his work has only received limited attention in public relations, and has been entirely ignored within the context of activist communication. This is despite his focus on power, relationships and the role of activists in modern democracies, all of which are central themes in public relations practice and research. Based on Bourdieu’s theory of practice, the discipline’s prevailing, dominant, industry serving, functionalist paradigm positions public relations’ role in society as to perpetuate social inequalities. However, drawing on his ideas leads us to question if public relations skills could be equally utilized to challenge existing power imbalances in society, either in support or on behalf of those groups and individuals whose voices have been drowned out by traditional public relations efforts. The author argues that Bourdieu was not only an accomplished scholar, but also an activist in his own right. It is this combination of personal experience with academic ideas that lends weight to his scholarly work through which he urged the scholarly community to utilize their skills, knowledge and research to challenge (perceived) inequalities in society. The emergence of this type of activist academic, committed to giving voice to multiple coexisting, sometimes directly competing points of views, would arguably further justify and strengthen the existence of public relations as a scholarly discipline in its own right.     

Building on Bourdieu: A sociological grasp of public relations

Bourdieu sees actors as struggling and competing to position themselves in so-called fields with the help of different forms of symbolic and material resources (capital). Here it is argued that public relations assist organizations in struggle for such positions, and a typology of different resource types is developed. By extending the sociology of Bourdieu to analyze public relations a more realistic perspective of the practice can be achieved.