Knowledge and the practice of sociology

Noting that sociology, like other disciplines, usually discusses itself as if its content—its body of knowledge—were created by a wholly intellectual process, I am adopting in this paper the approach of the sociology of knowledge by emphasizing the existential factors that influence knowledge. I employ the poorly developed concept of occupation, and argue that in the United States academic disciplines like sociology are best analyzed as professions, which areorganized occupations. American professions sustain their present position by the functional differentiation of members into separate administrative, research or scholarship, and practice roles. Practice roles serving lay clients or patrons provide the basic economic support of the profession as a whole. The characteristic practice role of most academic arts and science disciplines is teaching. Using sociology and its special position in the undergraduate curriculum as an example, I suggest that the contingencies of teaching influence what knowledge is used, underlie at least part of the public image of the discipline, and determine some of what becomes part of the published corpus of the discipline's knowledge.     

Toward the new pattern of medical practice

As this article is being written, in the fall of 1993, we are waiting for the details of the President's plan for extending health insurance coverage of some kind to all members of the population while also containing costs. All observers, including practicing members of the medical profession itself, believe that a sharp break with the past is developing, most particularly a break with the old pattern of practice that flourished during the golden years between the end of World War II and the end of the 1960s, when the federal government made its first effort to control costs. In this article, I will discusses changes in the conditions of American medical practice that most observers can agree on. Then, I will summarize the major conceptions of the future shape of medical practice. I will conclude with my own view of critical issues in the constitution of practice, issues whose resolution depends not only on broad public policy initiatives, but also on the activities of physician executives within the medical community.