Other Sociology Commons^™

Building Global Labor Solidarity: Where We Are Today (Early 2024), Kim Scipes

Class, Race and Corporate Power

Labor activists have long-been encouraging workers to build international labor solidarity to empower each other and to improve all workers’ lives and well-being going back to before the First International. This tradition, while dismembered by the Cold War between the US and the UK on one hand and the Soviet Union on the other, has been resuscitated since the 1970s, with efforts by activists, scholars, and some workers to build cross-national border solidarity across the globe for workers, an effort that is growing.

This paper details these efforts, dividing the work between 1978-2011 and 2011 to today, listing some of …

The State Of The Unions 2023: A Profile Of Organized Labor In New York City, New York State, And The United States, Ruth Milkman, Joseph Van Der Naald

Publications and Research

This report released by the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, State of the Unions 2023: A Profile of Organized Labor in New York City, New York State, and the United States, is a part of an annual publication series, documents recent trends in unionization patterns. The overall level of unionization in both the City and State has been roughly double the national rate over the past two decades. But recently, union density has fallen more in New York City and New York State than in the United States as a whole. In the mid-2010s, both the City and …

L’Économie Solidaire De Kabylie : Une Perspective Critique, Mohamed-Amokrane Zoreli

Journal of Amazigh Studies

Résumé :

Dans cet article, l’auteur réalise, pour le contexte de la Kabylie, une étude d’ensemble de l’évolution des pratiques d’économie sociale, du modèle originel jusqu’à la période actuelle, en passant par les différentes phases de colonisation puis d’indépendance. L’objectif est triple. Voir d’abord quels sont les ressorts, les mécanismes et les finalités des solidarités locales originelles et comment elles se mobilisent pour répondre à des besoins socio-économiques et politiques. Voir ensuite comment l’Etat-nation et la mondialisation ont impacté dans le temps long ces solidarités locales, en les démobilisant et immobilisant par différents moyens, juridiques, économiques et politiques. Voir enfin …

Trans* Streamers On Twitch.Tv: The Intersections Of Gender And Digital Labor, R. Lawson

Theses and Dissertations

Twitch.tv is a live entertainment platform where individuals live stream events, including playing video games, playing board and tabletop games, creating art, and more. Twitch has a diverse base of streamers, but Twitch has just begun. The most common approach has focused on cisgender, heterosexual white men in the cases where it has been studied. Though these streamers should be studied in sociology, this focus leaves out the experiences of both cis women and Trans* streamers. This research proposal tries to situate the relationship of Trans* streamers with both the platform and their audience, seeing if these relationships affect their …

Unwilling Gamblers And Loaded Dice: Considering Recession And Crisis As A Natural Effect Of Financial Capitalism, Darlene N. Moorman

The Downtown Review

Under financial capitalism, ordinary people are increasingly becoming 'unwilling gamblers' of a risky and unstable system. This paper explores the social and institutional change behind the neoliberal movement and considers how the politics and policies of neoliberalism have contributed to a certain environment of financial instability. Looking at the changing nature of the economy, the rapid expansion of the financial sector, and the persisting issue of moral hazard underlying risky and speculative behaviors among other items, reveals a financial system in which recessions and crises can be considered a natural, although not inevitable, effect.

The Great Resignation Among Restaurant Workers: A Content Analysis Of News Sources’ Portrayals Of The Covid-19 Labor Shortage, Mackenzie M. Williams

The Cardinal Edge

When workers left the labor market in large numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, proclamations of a labor shortage emerged extensively throughout the news. In this study, I analyze the coverage of the worker shortage among three news sources with different political orientations. Several themes emerged from analyzing a total of 75 articles. The findings showed that the perspective shown in the article, the cause of the labor shortage, restaurant worker portrayal, support of solutions, and opinion of the labor shortage all differed based on the political identity of the news source. This research supports previous findings that show there is …

Happiness And Policy Implications: A Sociological View, Sarah M. Kahl

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The World Happiness Report is released every year, ranking each country by who is “happier” and explaining the variables and data they have used. This project attempts to build from that base and create a machine learning algorithm that can predict if a country will be in a “happy” or “could be happier” category. Findings show that taking a broader scope of variables can better help predict happiness. Policy implications are discussed in using both big data and considering social indicators to make better and lasting policies.

The Great Resignation: A Content Analysis Of News Sources' Portrayals Of The Covid-19 Labor Shortage., Mackenzie Williams

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

When workers left the labor market in large numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, proclamations of a labor shortage emerged extensively throughout the news. In this study, I analyze the coverage of the worker shortage among three news sources with different political orientations. Several themes emerged from analyzing a total of 75 articles. The findings showed that the perspective shown in the article, the cause of the labor shortage, restaurant worker portrayal, support of solutions, and opinion of the labor shortage all differed based on the political identity of the news source. This research supports previous findings that show there is …

Work Environment And The Teacher: A Qualitative Case Study Of Public Secondary Schools In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Edomgenet Hiba Issa

The Qualitative Report

This study examined the nexus between the public secondary school teacher and his/her work environment. To capture the nature and substance of this nexus, the study was mainly directed towards answering the following two research questions: Which attributes of work environment matter most to the public secondary school teacher? And why do they matter? The study was conducted on teachers in public secondary schools of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It adopted a qualitative case study design where data were collected through semi-structured interviews and then analyzed using a thematic analysis technique. The results show that basic school facilities, teacher-principal and teacher-student …

Futurological Fodder: On Communicating The Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, And Employment, Michael E. Samers Dr

Geography Faculty Publications

This article examines the debate concerning the employment implications of the so-called ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ (FIR) or the increasing presence of artificial intelligence and robotics in workplaces. I analyze three ‘genres’ associated with this debate (academic studies including neo-classical and heterodox/post-human approaches, the ‘gray literature’, and popular media) and I argue that together they represent ‘futurological fodder’ or discourses and knowledges that ‘perform’ the FIR and its purported consequences. I contend further that these genres involve a complex mix of ethics and politics, and I conclude with a reflection on the political implications of the FIR debate.

2020 Evaluation Of The Highway Construction Workforce Development Program, Maura Kelly, Lindsey Wilkinson

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) have partnered in a statewide effort—the Highway Construction Workforce Development Program—to recruit, train, and employ a diverse workforce for highway construction jobs throughout the state. This program, begun in 2010, supports a variety of initiatives designed to improve the recruitment and retention of women and people of color in Oregon’s highway construction trades. The programs evaluated in this report include the following: preapprenticeship programs, supportive services providing financial assistance (i.e., fuel assistance; support for overnight travel; childcare; work clothes, tools, and protective equipment; hardship funds) and …

Professional Gaming And Work: Challenges, Trajectories, And Labour Market Impacts Amongst Professional Gamers, Michael Haight

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Over the last decade the popularity of video games has risen tremendously. A new industry around professional gaming has emerged alongside this growth in the popularity of video games. In professional gaming, individuals play video games competitively while their matches and games are streamed online to a global audience. As a result of the growth in the sector, compensation for some individuals has reached well into six and seven figures. Knowledge of these salaries has resulted in an influx of individuals interested in working in professional gaming. This study investigates not only those individuals who play video games professionally, but …

The United States Of America’S Interlocked Information Industry: An Examination Into Seven U.S. Media Sectors’ Boards Of Directors, Jennifer L. Harker

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This research explores the interfirm interlock networks that currently exist among publicly-traded media conglomerates operating in the United States of America. Directorship information was gathered from annual reports and definitive proxy reports filed with the U.S. SEC for 68 media conglomerates across seven media sectors for year ending 2018. This investigation applies social resource theory to assess the social networks formed by interfirm interlocks and how such network structures address environmental uncertainty. Results indicate that not all alliances are mutually beneficial and those that are more resource-dependent endure negative cooptation effects. This research discusses how these changes in interfirm interlocks …

Citizen-Consumers Wanted: Revitalizing The American Dream In The Face Of Economic Recessions, 1981-2012, Gokcen Coskuner-Balli

Business Faculty Articles and Research

This article brings sociological theory of governmentality to bear on a longitudinal analysis of American presidential speeches to theorize the formation of the citizen-consumer subject. The 40-year historical analysis which expands through four economic recessions and the presidential terms of Ronald Reagan, William J. Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Hussein Obama, illustrates the ways in which the national mythology of American Dream myth has been linked to the political ideology of the state to create the citizen-consumer subject in the United States. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data demonstrates first, the consistent emphasis on responsibility as a …

Community Development Financial Institutions (Cdfis): An Analysis Within The Political And Economic Context Of Neoliberalism, Tracie Victoria Wynand

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis explores Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) business models by examining the organizational structures, procedural operations, services, and geography. It aims to understand its overall behavior as a financial institution providing low-income communities financial services and ultimately the role it plays within the neoliberal context. The research identifies that CDFIs ultimately hold a mission that promotes economic prosperity from within the neoliberal project by expanding free-market capitalist beliefs and practices when servicing low-income communities. Additionally, the findings suggest that CDFIs take on the role of the neoliberal state by operating in tandem with the Nonprofit Industrial Complex (NPIC), which …

Rich In Needs: The Forgotten Radical Politics Of The Welfare Rights Movement, Wilson Sherwin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Situated temporally between the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Movement, the Welfare Rights Movement of the 1960s and 70s distinguished itself by its militant critique of waged labor. Returning to the movement’s archives I examine how the mostly poor, Black, female participants developed their “antiwork politics”, how they asserted their right to live not only meager but occasionally luxurious lives—demanding not only bread but also roses. In the courts, streets, welfare offices, department stores, policy proposals, and numerous internal debates, these women waged national battles to assert full autonomy over their families, consumption, sexuality, and their own time.

As …

Kinship, Fractionalization And Corruption, Mahsa Akbari, Duman Bahrami-Rad, Erik O. Kimbrough

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

We examine the roots of variation in corruption across societies, and we argue that marriage practices and family structure are an important, overlooked determinant of corruption. By shaping patterns of relatedness and interaction, marriage practices influence the relative returns to norms of nepotism/favoritism versus norms of impartial cooperation. In-marriage (e.g. consanguineous marriage) generates fractionalization because it yields relatively closed groups of related individuals and thereby encourages favoritism and corruption. Out-marriage creates a relatively open society with increased interaction between non-relatives and strangers, thereby encouraging impartiality. We report a robust association between in-marriage practices and corruption both across countries and within …

Dilemma And Knowledge - Book Review Of Re-Imagining Utopias: Theory And Method For Educational Research In Post-Socialist Contexts, Jessica Zychowicz

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

No abstract provided.

Justifying A New Beginning: The Case Of An Urban, Jewish Congregation In The 1970s, Tirza Ochrach-Konradi

Scripps Senior Theses

This research applies C. Wright Mills’ theory of vocabularies of motive to reveal the collective narratives, which were used to justify the atypical founding of an urban Jewish congregation in the 1970s. Prior to and during this period, US Jewish communities were migrating out of city centers into their surrounding suburbs. Most Jewish congregations followed their congregants and moved into the suburbs. This study identifies the collective justifications within the Hatchala Chadasha community, which are the accepted reasons for the organization’s atypical urban location and organizational structure. The findings of this research are based in the examination of interviews with …

Like A Jar Of Flies? A Study Of Self-Control In An Organizational Social Dilemma With Large Stakes, Matthew W. Mccarter, Jonathan R. Clark, Darcy Fudge Kamal, Abel Winn

Business Faculty Articles and Research

We study the practice of self-control in an organizational social dilemma when the stakes are large, using 47 years of vital census data from 18^th century Sweden. From 1750 to 1800, eighty percent of Sweden lived in a simple-structure organization called a bytvång or village commons. The amount of resources a village family received was a function of their size. During this period, crop failures left the population facing starvation. Using autoregressive time-series modeling, we test whether the people of Sweden continued to take steps toward increasing the stress on the commons by marrying and birthing children or practiced …

Local Governance Of Immigrant Incorporation: How City-Based Organizational Fields Shape The Cases Of Undocumented Youth In New York City And Paris, Stephen P. Ruszczyk

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

City-based organizations and governments play an important role in incorporating undocumented immigrant youth. This article investigates how localities sociopolitically incorporate these immigrants by examining the governance constellations and institutional logics of the organizational field that manages undocumented youth. Comparing sets of municipal and civil society organizations in different national settings, I use the two cases of New York City and Paris to ask how the ‘city-based organizational field of immigrant incorporation’ shapes citizenship experiences of undocumented youth. Data come from multi-level longitudinal ethnography over 8 years with two dozen undocumented youth and with organizations in each city as well as …

Making It Pay To Be A Fan: The Political Economy Of Digital Sports Fandom And The Sports Media Industry, Andrew Mckinney

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is a series of case studies and sociological examinations of the role that the sports media industry and mediated sport fandom plays in the political economy of the Internet. The Internet has structurally changed the way that sport fans access sport and accelerated the processes through which the capitalist actors in the sports media industry have been able to subsume them. The three case studies examined in this dissertation are examples of how digital media technologies have both helped fans become more active producers and consumers of sports and made the sports media industry an integral and vanguard …

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

Structural Identity Theory And The Dynamics Of Cross-Cultural Work Groups, P. Christopher Earley, Marty Laubach

Marty Laubach

The creation of a global village, transnational corporations, internet and similar influences remind us constantly that a science of organizations and management is incomplete without the integration of concepts of culture and self-awareness. It is no longer appropriate to discuss organizational activities and employee actions without incorporating a more complete view of where such activities take place. Not only must we include an immediate social context, but we must deal with the international and cultural aspects of the social world as well. More than ever, understanding of employee action requires knowledge of how action is related to the environment in …

Should Sociologists Stand Up For Science? Absolutely!, Janet M. Ruane

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Standing up for science is part of sociology's mission as a social science. Standing up is also consistent with our field's ethical obligation to identify and avoid research compromised by conflict of interests.

Negotiating Race, Work And Family: Cape Verdean Home Care Workers In Lisbon, Portugal, Celeste Vaughan Curington

Doctoral Dissertations

In Portugal, high levels of women’s labor force participation, rapidly aging populations, along with the retrenchment of welfare states, has led to the expansion of publicly subsidized private care work such as home care. Much of this caring work is carried out by low-paid citizen and migrant women from the former Portuguese colony of Cape Verde, an independent archipelago nation off the West African coast. At the same time, Portugal is a “post-colonial” setting, with comparatively progressive policies around family settlement for migrants, and where the language of “legal race” does not exist. Taking the lived experiences of Cape Verdean …

Introduction To A Special Issue On Inequality In The Workplace (“What Works?), Pamela S. Tolbert, Emilio J. Castilla

Pamela S Tolbert

[Excerpt] While overt expressions of racial and gender bias in U.S. workplaces have declined markedly since the passage of the original Civil Rights Act and the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission a half century ago (Eagly and Chaiken 1993; Schuman, Steeh, Bobo, and Krysan 1997; Dobbin 2009), a steady stream of research indicates that powerful, if more covert forms of bias persist in contemporary workplaces (Greenwald and Banaji 1995; Pager, Western, and Bonikowski 2009; England 2010; Heilman 2012). In line with this research, high rates of individual and class-based lawsuits alleging racial and gender discrimination suggest that many …

Trigger Warnings: From Panic To Data, Francesca Laguardia, Venezia Michalsen, Holly Rider-Milkovich

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Following a practice that originated online, university faculty and staff have increasingly used “trigger warnings” to alert students to the possibility that they might be affected or even harmed by potentially traumatic material. This practice has led to a passionate debate about whether such warnings stifle or encourage student expression and academic freedom, and whether they are beneficial or detrimental to learning. In this article, we illustrate the history and current state of this debate and examine the scientific support for the arguments for and against the use of such warnings. Specifically, we question the scientific basis for the suggestion …

To Work More Or Less? The Impact Of Taxes And Life Satisfaction On The Motivation To Work In Continental And Eastern Europe, Orkhan Nadirov, Khatai Aliyev, Bruce Dehning

Accounting Faculty Articles and Research

Using country-level data from 2000-2013, we test the relationship between life satisfaction (measured as how people evaluate their life as a whole rather than their current feelings) and the motivation to work (measured as aggregate hours of work). Our hypothesis is that even after controlling for average labor income tax rates in countries with high and low average hours worked, there is a significant negative association between the motivation to work and life satisfaction. The main findings of this paper are that the increase in the motivation to work per employee comes at the expense of life satisfaction, and differences …

Happiness Index Methodology, Laura Musikanski, Scott Cloutier, Erica Bejarano, Davi Briggs, Julia Colbert, Gracie Strasser, Steven Russell

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

The Happiness Index is a comprehensive survey instrument that assesses happiness, well-being, and aspects of sustainability and resilience. The Happiness Alliance developed the Happiness Index to provide a survey instrument to community organizers, researchers, and others seeking to use a subjective well-being index and data. It is the only instrument of its kind freely available worldwide and translated into over ten languages. This instrument can be used to measure satisfaction with life and the conditions of life. It can also be used to define income inequality, trust in government, sense of community and other aspects of well-being within specific demographics …