The Science and Profession of Involved Sociology

Abstract

In this essay, I examine the contextual and historical relationship between the national and regional associations in American sociology. Four findings emerge from the analysis of this relationship. First, the regional associations underutilize the populations they represent. Second, the constituencies of the national and regional associations are diverging. Third, the regional associations appear no longer to serve as a viable pathway for involvement in the leadership of the national association. Fourth, the disciplinary visibility of the regional associations journals has declined, on average, since 1990. These four outcomes reflect a disciplinary drift toward internal differentiation, which can only be understood as a manifestation of the culture of American sociology. Specifically, the discipline is becoming increasingly incoherent as a result of the inaccurate perception it holds of itself as a science. This misperception, historically embedded within the disciplinary culture of American sociology, appears to guide the discipline toward an overemphasis on the production of research and the establishment of a governance structure that draws heavily on faculty from doctoral-granting departments. Accordingly, following from my analysis of the discipline's culture. I concude that sociology is better positioned as a profession than a science.     

Union organizing effort and success in the U.S., 1948–2004

While union density in the public sector has increased in recent decades, private sector union density in the U.S. has declined steadily since the mid-1950s. Scholars have evoked a variety of explanations to account for the decline in union membership, but substantially less attention has been devoted to understanding the contribution of the union organizing process as governed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In this paper, we focus on two aspects of this process: union organizing effort (the effort to establish union representation elections to organize non-unionized workers) and union organizing success (success in winning union representation elections). Using annual time series data for the U.S. from 1948 to 2004, we show that there has been a long-term decline in both union organizing effort and union organizing success, which likely contributes to declining union density. We focus on three explanations for these changes: the political–legal environment for unions, deindustrialization and globalization, and employer opposition to unionization efforts. We find that each of these factors contributes to organizing effort and success and conclude with a discussion of the implications of this research for future mobilization efforts.     

Differentiation of Self and the Process of Forgiveness: A Clinical Perspective for Couple and Family Therapy

In this article we explore the role of differentiation of self in facilitating forgiveness in the context of couple and family relationships. Differentiation is defined from the Bowen perspective as the ability to connect with others without being excessively emotionally reactive to the ebb and flow inherent in all significant relationships (being able to connect to others yet also being able to self‐regulate). Forgiveness is described as the releasing of an emotional injury via a complex psychological and relational process that is less an act of will than a discovery or possibility through understanding and empathy. Differentiation of self is related to emotional intelligence and empathy. The developmental and relational benefits of such are illustrated and discussed. A rationale for viewing differentiation and forgiveness in a contextual, historical, and relational attachment paradigm is suggested. Relevant clinical cases illustrate the dynamics of differentiation and forgiveness as discovery in the context of an understanding and empathic relational environment.     

Bird diversity in a subtropical South-American City: effects of noise levels,arborisation and human population density

Cities are highly modified environments in which the only areas that resemble natural landscapes are urban parks with low human population density. Attempts are frequently made to maintain high bird diversity in cities for aesthetic or educational reasons. However, it remains unclear whether local site characteristics are important in determining bird assemblage composition or whether simplification of the assemblage is an inevitable consequence of the changes associated with human population density. From May 1998 to December 1999, we undertook bird counts at 521 points in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Our main goal was to understand the pattern of distribution of the bird species richness and density within the city and determine which variables most affect species assemblages. We recorded 132 species belonging to 43 families that are common in Rio Grande do Sul and obtained quantitative data on 121 species in survey sites. The two most abundant species (House Sparrow, Passer domesticus and Rock dove, Columba livia) were exotics. Analysis based on a reduced subset of 134 points surveyed in spring/early summer suggested that there was a North–south gradient in assemblage structure. Variation in assemblage structure was also affected by the number of trees, urban noise and human population density. However, human population density had a much smaller effect on richness and assemblage structure than variables subject to management, such as tree density and noise levels. These results suggest that complex communities may be maintained in densely populated urban areas of sub-tropical South-America given adequate urban planning.     

Vegetation composition and structure of woody plant communities along urban interstate corridors in Louisville,KY, U.S.A.

Urban forests adjacent to interstate corridors are understudied ecosystems across cities. Despite their small area, these forests may be strategically located to provide large ecosystem services due to their ability to act as a barrier against air pollutants and noise as well as to provide flood control. The woody vegetation composition and structure of forests adjacent to urban interstates is an important determinant of their ability to provide these services. However, these forest communities may be particularly susceptible to the introduction of exotic invasive species via the interstate and the surrounding city that can potentially alter current and future forest composition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of native and exotic woody vegetation and tree regeneration in forests along three interstate corridors in Louisville, KY, and to determine potential factors (e.g., traffic density) that are correlated with patterns in the woody vegetation community. We found the most important determinants of vegetation composition along these interstate corridors were the distance from the city center and the presence of an exotic invasive shrub, Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii). Compared with forested plots within 10 km of the city center, plots further from the city center had 81% lower stem density of Amur honeysuckle, 96% higher tree seedling regeneration, and 51% greater woody plant species richness. The primarily native species composition of adult trees in forests alongside urban interstates in Louisville and the regeneration of native tree species provide optimism that these forests can maintain native species while experiencing multiple impacts from the interstate as well as from the surrounding city, emphasizing their important potential for maintaining natural forest functions across the urban landscape.     

Evaluating a project on Roma education

This research note is based on the evaluation of the Comenius project Teacher‐IN‐SErvice‐Training‐for‐Roma‐inclusion (INSETRom). The project represented an international effort that was undertaken to bridge the gap between Roma and non‐Roma communities and to improve the educational attainment of Roma children in the mainstream educational system. The evaluation of the project showed that such projects can impact a teacher's confidence and attitudes, but that implementing new insights poses many challenges.