Einmal mehr: Ranking oder Rating?

In his discussion of our article “Ranking and Rating Procedures for the Measurement of Values, Analyzed with an Example of the Inglehart-Index. Empirical Results of a Methodological Experiment” (KZfSS 51, 1999: 550–564) Stefan Sacchi questions the appropriateness of the methodological experiment described in our paper. In this rejoinder we show that Sacchi’s criticism does not do justice to our analysis in all respects, because — among other things — he starts from inappropriate theoretical assumptions. In addition, his own modified research design is not suitable to decide the question whether the method of ranking or of rating is more appropriate for the measurement of value orientations.     

Elitenselektion durch Bildung oder durch Herkunft?

Does the social origin have a direct effect on the unequal recruitment of the German business elites? Or, does the social origin have an indirect effect on the unequal recruitment only, by means of the unequal participation in the educational system as suggested by the functionalist elite theory? This question is examined with special reference to the business elite. For the 6.500 engineers, jurists, and economists, who received a doctor’s degree in the years of 1955, 1965, 1975, and 1985, the correlation between social origin, educational career, and professional career is analyzed by multivariate methods. The chances of achieving an executive position are 50% higher for individuals with a service class I background and 100% higher for those individuals with an upper class background in contrast to individuals with working class and middle class background. Therefore, the functionalist view can be regarded as incorrect. On the contrary, it holds that social origin has a strong direct effect on the social selection of the elites. Consequently, the social opening of the German educational system did not result into a social opening of the recruitment practices of the business elite. Rather, the opposite is the case: Social selection increased for the 1975 and 1985 cohorts.     

Spracherhalt oder Sprachverlagerung?Language retention or language shift?

Immigrant youth’s disadvantages in second language proficiency are often linked to first language use within the family. Extending the scope of previous studies this paper additionally examines language use across three generations in further contexts of everyday live and examines how these patterns relate to second language competencies. Proficiency in the second language is seen as the result of varying exposure structures and learning motivation. Using data of the German National Educational Panel Study the analyses reveal that the first language is more often used with parents than with siblings. Adolescents predominantly use German to communicate with peers, but use media in both languages. Among pupils from Turkey first language use is more pronounced across all contexts than among pupils from Poland or the former Soviet Union. If German is the only language of communication with parents, this usually applies to other contexts as well. Adolescents who talk in a foreign language to their parents differ significantly with respect to their language use in further contexts. Using German with peers reduces linguistic deficits which are related to a non-German family language.     

Säkularisierung, Individualisierung oder Marktmodell?

The debates of the religious development in the last decades have uncovered the differences of the current theories of the sociology of religion. Most of them point out different explanations of the developments of religiosity and involvement in church in the unified Europe, often combined with a critique of the traditional dominant secularization theory. In the article on the hand, a quantitative analysis of the religious vitality in Europe, focused mainly on the macro-level, using a combination of a wide range of survey data, will be conducted. The results lead to the assumption, that the secularization theory should not be rejected too fast. But its general assumptions have to be framed in cultural context, to be useful for a continuing explanation of religious vitality in Europe. The cultural-historical influence of dominant religions, the political framework or results of political repression and processes of identity formation play important roles. Including these factors, it seems to be possible, to explain the differences in religious vitality in Europe. Especially, the conflicting effects of the framework of Eastern European religion are from special interest.     

Mobilität oder Immobilität?

An ongoing controversy in transformation research concerns the relative importance of firm-internal versus occupational segmentation in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) employment system compared to the West German system. In a first step, institutions of vocational education and of the employment system focusing on their impact on labor market segmentation are analyzed. Then, the occupational careers of different birth cohorts of East and West Germans are examined. Empirical results show that the importance of internal mobility increased over time in the GDR. But this change cannot primarily be attributed to personnel policies of firms. It was mainly due to social policies, i.e. the introduction of compulsory army service and of maternity leave, since companies were obliged to take the army recruits and mothers back afterwards. Obviously, the way social policies were institutionalized affected the levels of labor market mobility in both countries more than changes of employment strategies.     

Messung von Wertorientierungen: Ranking oder Rating?

In a methodological study recently published in this journal (No. 3, Vol. 51, 1999: 550–564), Klein and Arzheimer compared two competing methods for the measurement of personal value orientations, namely, rating and ranking. Focussing on postmaterialist value orientations, they concluded that ratings are superior. In this article, it is argued that this conclusion is based on a misleading interpretation of findings and a questionable research design. In particular, the authors do not address the validity of the two measurement methods, implicitly assuming that they both capture the same cognitive dimension. Since it is unclear whether or not this assumption holds, a broader research approach is suggested here, which allows assessment of both the validity and the reliability of the competing methods. Given the lack of empirical evidence regarding these points, theoretical considerations, briefly outlined in the last section, are crucial for the selection of an appropriate measurement strategy.     

Erosion oder Stabilität der Beruflichkeit?

Regarding the changing patterns of mobility processes in the German labor market, this paper takes up the scientific debate on the declining significance of occupational qualifications. By comparing several labor market entry cohorts, the matching of the learned occupation and the practiced occupation is analyzed in both the horizontal and the vertical dimension of occupational mobility. In doing so, the question of a successful utilization of the skills acquired in the educational process can be addressed. Changes of occupations will be operationalized on the basis of a new professional classification by using the data set “Working and Learning in a Changing World” (ALWA). First, the Kaplan Meier survival curves show that the risks of horizontal occupational mobility have increased across cohorts. This indicates that the formerly close relationship between the education system and the employment system has weakened. Furthermore, according to our multivariate Cox regression analysis, the mobility towards inadequate status positions has increased. Thus, due to the expansion of atypical forms of employment and the increased volatility of the markets, altered mobility patterns of the younger cohorts entering the labor market can be shown. Consequently, the increase of unsuccessful transfers of skills in inter-firm mobility suggests a weakened cohesiveness between professionalism and a growing risk to loose professional qualifications.     

Gespensterdebatte oder was ist soziologische Aufklärung?

We reply to the critical comments of Richard Münch and the author group Jansen, Heidler and von Goetz on our article “Emergence of an Academic Elite? The Impact of Universities’ Size and Reputation on Research Funding” published in this journal. After reviewing some other sociologists’ statements on Münch’s thesis about the academic elite we reinforce the gain of our empirical analyses of hypotheses of the sociology of science in general, on the Matthew-Effect, and on trends to a possible cartelization and monopolization in the German science system. The main critic of unsuited data (we used applications for single grants submitted to the German Research Foundation) does not adequately consider the postulated scope of the investigated theses and our analyses do not aim at a general evaluation of the “Initative of Excellence”.     

Gl?serne Decke oder goldener K?fig: Scheitert der Aufstieg von Frauen in erste Managementpositionen an betrieblicher Diskriminierung oder an famili?ren Pflichten?

Using data from the HIS-Graduate Panel 1997, this analysis scrutinizes competing explanations for the gender gap in attainment of first management positions. Homophily, allocative and statistical discrimination as causal mechanisms which studies with a focus on organizations emphasize, in this analysis exert no explanatory power for gender inequality. Two non-organizational factors here fully account for the gender gap. Besides women??s and men??s self-selection into different fields of study, the gender-specific consequences of family formation explain the major part of the gap. Our findings show that motherhood nearly reduces the probability by half for a woman to hold a management position ten years after graduation from university. We argue that family policy and the availability of child care services moderate the size of the mother gap. In line with this reasoning, our results show that the mother gap in early management positions is smaller in East-German states than in West-German states.     

Bildung und Gesundheitsungleichheit im Alter: Divergenz, Konvergenz oder Kontinuit?t?

It is well established that health at an old age is influenced by education acquired earlier in life. Empirical evidence on the extent of health decline across educational levels, however, is heterogeneous. It remains unclear whether the health gap between individuals with high and low levels of education increases in old age (divergence), decreases (convergence), or whether it remains constant (continuity). In the present study, we investigate the effects of education on health changes with data from two waves (2004, 2007) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) for respondents aged 50?C80. We estimate OLS regression models drawing on 12 indicators of physical, mental and cognitive health. Our aim is to obtain more generalizable results about the age trajectories of health inequality. We find that divergence is the main pattern of health decline across educational levels: The health gap between individuals with high and low educational levels increases for the indicators of grip strength, limitations of general and of instrumental activities of daily living, mobility limitations, depressive symptoms, numerical ability, and time orientation. For single indicators, however, we also observe continuous (chronic diseases, subjective health assessment, memory) and convergent (fluency of speaking) patterns.     

Ungleiche Chancen im Wissenschaftssystem: Artefakt oder Realität?

The article “Emergence of an academic elite? The impact of universities’ size and reputation on research funding” by Katrin Auspurg, Thomas Hinz and Jürgen Güdler (volume 4/2008 of this Journal) discusses critically Richard Münch’s thesis of monopolistic tendencies in the German science system. Unfortunately the authors focus in their analysis on an improper object, the “Individual grants programme” (Normalverfahren) of the German Research Foundation (DFG). However, problematic developments for the German science system will rather result from the “Coordinated grants programmes” (koordinierte Programme), in particular the excellence initiative. Furthermore the authors fail to connect their analysis to the broader context of the functions and implications of the increasing role of third party funding in the German science system.     

Mehr Kinderlose oder weniger Kinderreiche?Increasing childlessness or fewer families with many children?

The decline of fertility in the course of the Second Demographic Transition is mainly caused by both an increase in childlessness and a decline of large families (three or more births). Which of these effects are stronger in Germany has been contested for a long time. An exact quantification of the particular effects is still missing. In this paper we develop a decomposition method which allows calculating the effects of the particular parity changes between cohort total fertility rates (CTFR) of different cohorts. This method is applied in order to compare German CTFRs for the cohorts the fertility decline occurred in, namely the cohorts between 1933 and 1968. The analyses are differentiated by regions and periods. The CTFR decline can be separated into four components: increasing childlessness, decreasing shares of higher order births (3+), a combined effect and a changing relation of first and second births. In Germany, the effect of the increasing childlessness accounts for 25.9 per cent of the CTFR decline, the decreasing higher order births for 68.0 per cent and the combined effect for 6.1 per cent. The relation of first and second births changed only marginally. Remarkably, these figures are based on two entirely different periods: The CTFR decline between the cohorts of 1933 and 1947 is solely based on the decline of women with three or more children. However, two thirds of the CTFR decline since 1947 is caused by an increasing childlessness. The results are relevant for fertility theories because increasing childlessness and decreasing higher order births have different reasons.     

Alfred Schütz — Ökonom und/oder Soziologe?

In 1996, Hartmut Esser published a rational choice model of the “Definition of the Situation” in this journal (KZfSS 48, 1996: 1–34). This work is based on his economic interpretation of the theory of Alfred Schutz, a co-founder of interpretative sociology. This paper analyses Hartmut Esser’s attempt to reconstruct the sociological concept of the definition of the situation by means of economic theory. It shows that Esser’s misinterpretations and abridgements of the theory of Alfred Schutz (this is especially true of the interactive aspects) lead to considerable discrepancies between Esser and Schutz in modelling the definition of the situation. In his economic modelling of the definition of the situation Esser fails to conceive the sociological essence of this concept (the construction of sense structures) because he formulates a model of rational behavior in accordance with the economic tradition. Schutz, however, advocates the construction of rational models of human behavior, which also includes “irrational” (not utility-maximizing) or “sense”-directed behavior.     

Teil-autonome Arbeitsteams oder tayloristische Produktionslinie? Welche Erkenntnisgewinne bieten simulationsbasierte Work Design Trainings

Digitalisation, flexible job markets, new technologies and innovative forms of collaboration constitute increasing challenges for employers and the design of modern work. But how can we deal with these challenges and what do we know about the effect of good versus bad work design? Based on the job demands-resources model (JRM), we present a simulation-based training during which participants experience the effects of different work characteristics. We focus on the moderating effects of job control and job demands: The JRM assumes that job demands and job control interactively affect employee exhaustion and work engagement: Jobs with high control can buffer the strain-enhancing effect of job demands (buffer hypothesis) and increase work engagement (active learning hypothesis). We test these hypotheses in a workplace simulation during which participants have to produce ice-cream. Our results support the buffer hypothesis but not the active learning hypothesis. We discuss the added value of work design simulations for organisations, practitioners, and HR professionals.     

Religiosität und politische Orientierung – Radikalisierung,Traditionalisierung oder Entkopplung?

In Germany as in other European countries the share of religious and churched persons is shrinking. The process of secularization is progressing gradually but inexorably and affects both Christian churches alike. In this contribution we examine if and how the numerical shrinkage of religious core segments affects the relation between religiosity and political attitudes. From secularization theory one can derive three partly opposing expectations. The radicalization thesis—particularly popular in the USA—assumes religious groups feel threatened by an increasingly secular society and this ties them together, radicalizes and mobilizes them. A second expectation rests on the assumption that in particular younger, economically well-off and highly educated people leave the churches. Through this process the social composition of the remaining church members changes leading not to radicalization but to traditionalization and withdrawal from politics. Finally, according to a third view it can be expected that the secularization process affects the entire society leading to a disintegration of tight religious milieus which in turn leads to a dissolution of social control and a decoupling of religiosity and political orientations. The central finding of our analyses is that—in support of our third hypothesis—religion loses its function for political attitudes and behaviors. In the German context the effect of religiosity on politics has been nearly exclusively studied with respect to voting behavior. By extending the focus to a wide range of other attitudes and behaviors and by taking a dynamic perspective this contribution thus closes an important research gap.     

Beratung von Netzwerken – oder: Wen und Was beraten wir eigentlich?

A network is a social infrastructure. This definition of the quite ambiguous term “network” is the starting point of this paper. It offers a clear distinction of “networks” from related concepts of “cooperation” and “organisation”. Furthermore it offers a clearer understanding of network consultancy. The authors suggest points of intervention on the level of network nodes (individuals, organisations), of cooperations within the network and in the design of communication and learning in the network.     

Individuelle Qualifikation, berufliche Schlie?ung oder betriebliche Lohnpolitik – was steht hinter dem Anstieg der Lohnungleichheit?

This article examines the change of income inequality in the last few years. Two topics are in the center of the analysis: Which factors drive mainly the increase of income inequality ?C an increased demand for higher qualifications or processes of social closure? At which level does the change of income inequality take place ?C at the individual, the occupational or at the firm level? It turns out that economic theories like the thesis of the ??skill ?C biased technological change?? and sociological approaches as the theory of social closure both deliver important insights in the ongoing processes underlying the increase of income inequality. Beyond that it can be shown that firms play a major role in shaping these processes ?C a fact that has been widely neglected by both theoretical approaches.     

III. „Generationenbeziehungen — Innenansichten von Familien“? oder „Kein Krieg der Generationen!“

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Dualismus oder Reduktion – Eine Antwort auf Gregor Bongaerts

Gregor Bongaerts (2016b) has objected to my criticism of arguments in favor of a non-reductive sociology (both articles in this journal) and my proposal of a reductive individualism more generally. This contribution defends reductive individualism as a viable program in social theory. Bongaerts’s main objection, that I do not distinguish sufficiently between creation (Urheberschaft) and causation (Verursachung), can only be understood as an objection if one conceives the social sense of an action as an irreducible collective concept. Although this possibility cannot be excluded a priori, it poses a number of fundamental challenges. Firstly, it has to be asked whether or not this position can be connected with a realization proviso (that everything social is ultimately realized by individuals). Secondly, the attribution argument used by Bongaerts is either no objection to individualism, or it is threatened by a logical regress, since it is not plausible that subsequent interpretations of an action can produce the subjective meaning related to action. Finally, the question arises whether a collectivist argument does not require a collective bearer of meaning-attribution, the existence of which can hardly be asserted within the framework of a practice theory inspired by Bourdieu. The essay ends with some questions, especially with regard to the multi-dimensionality and unity of Bongaerts’s concept of meaning (Sinn).     

Diversity Management – Mittel zur Anti-Diskriminierung,neoliberales Phänomen oder alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen?

Diversity Management is getting more and more popular. This development is being criticized by agents of the gender-approach. They object that the diversity approach lacks a sufficient theoretical foundation and that it is a neoliberal concept. In this article we try to analyze the concept of diversity management with the means of the sociological systems theory and to put it in relation to the gender approach. Thereby we show that diversity management is an approach of organizational development which can proof useful for both the employees and the company.