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On Organizations And Oligarchies: Michels In The Twenty-First Century, Pamela S. Tolbert, Shon R. Hiatt

Pamela S Tolbert

[Excerpt] A central problem for those interested in studying and explaining the actions of organizations is how to conceptualize these social phenomena. In particular, because organizations are constituted by individuals, each of whom may seek to achieve his or her interests through the organization, questions of how decisions are made in organizations and whose preferences drive those decisions are critical to explaining organizational actions. Although early organizational scholars spent much time wrestling with these questions (e.g. Barnard 1938; Simon 1947; Parsons 1956; March and Simon 1958), more recent work in organizational studies has tended to elide them, adopting an implicit …

Voice And Context In Simulated Everyday Legal Discourse: The Influence Of Sex Differences And Social Ties, Calvin Morrill, Tyler Harrison, Michelle Johnson

Calvin Morrill

Everyday legal discount refers to the spoken language with which ordinary people constitute the law-in-action. In this article, we experimentally investigate the social distribution of rule-and relationally-oriented discourse found by ethnographers in small-claims court settings. We examine the influences of sex differences and social ties between disputants on these types of discourse in a mock small-claims setting using a quantitative content coding scheme. We do not find empirical support for sex differences in the production of simulated everyday legal discourse. The relational context of a dispute (operationalized as the strength of social ties between disputants) has significant effects on the …

Seeing Crime And Punishment Through A Sociological Lens: Constributions, Practices, And The Future, Calvin Morrill, John Hagan, Bernard E. Harcourt, Tracey Meares

Calvin Morrill

No abstract provided.

Studying Displacement: New Networks, Lessons Learned, L. Peek, A. Fothergill, J. Pardee, Lynn Weber

Lynn Weber

No abstract provided.

Katrina’S Imprint: Race And Vulnerability In America, Lynn Weber

Lynn Weber

No abstract provided.

Response To Maines, Lynn Weber

Lynn Weber

No abstract provided.

Reply To Lauer, K. Takayama, Lynn Weber

Lynn Weber

No abstract provided.

On The Absolute Or Relative Basis Of Perception: The Case For Middle Class Identification, Lynn Weber

Lynn Weber

No abstract provided.

Contrasting Simmel’S And Marx’S Ideas On Alienation, Jorge Capetillo-Ponce

Jorge Capetillo-Ponce

Aside from their many affinities, the fundamental difference between these two thinkers is that they address the problem of alienation from two very different standpoints and with very different moral preoccupations. Marx’s moral vision is that of a revolutionary thinker who seeks to guide the masses toward the fulfillment of an impossible task: “the solution of the riddle of history,” the construction of a totally new society, free of alienation, on the ruins of the existent one. What chiefly inspires Simmel is a concern for individualistic values. Simmel thus is more “micro” and Marx more “macro” in their respective sociological …

Letter From The Editors, Melvyn L. Fein, Linda A. Treiber

Linda A. Treiber

A letter from the editors, welcoming readers to the special issue on Faculty Development Abroad.

Review Of After A Fall: A Sociomedical Sojourn By Laurel Richardson, Linda A. Treiber

Linda A. Treiber

This a review of Richardson, Laurel. 2013. After a Fall: A Sociomedical Sojourn. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press. ISBN: 978-1-61132-317-7, paperback, 268 pages. The book is an example of an autoethnography, detailing Richardson's stay in a nursing home.

Genocide In The Modern Era, Jennifer A. W. Joe

Jennifer Wright Joe

A presentation on how genocide has continued to be a problem well into the 21st century, despite the attention called to it by World War II.

The Care-Cure Dichotomy: Nursing’S Struggle With Dualism

Linda A. Treiber

Living Sociology, Claire Renzetti, Daniel Curran

Daniel J. Curran

Living Sociology, Second Edition, provides students with an engaging introduction to sociology as a scientific discipline that produces useable and relevant knowledge. This comprehensive text covers the essential concepts and principles of sociology while affording special attention to diversity issues and intersecting social inequalities. Multicultural, global, and feminist perspectives on social life in the United States and in other societies are integrated throughout the text, helping to broaden students' outlooks. A complementary emphasis on real world application encourages students to see themselves in the course material and to extend their understanding of issues surrounding contemporary social policies. This textbook invites …

Between Selves And Collectivities: Toward A Jurisprudence Of Identity, Meir Dan-Cohen

Meir Dan-Cohen

No abstract provided.

Towards A Professional Sociology On China, Xiaogang Wu

Xiaogang Wu

This article identifies two internal tensions that Chinese sociology has constantly encountered since the discipline was reestablished in 1979: public versus professional and indigenization versus internationalization. I argue that professionalization is a necessary and crucial step to achieving unity in the study of social changes in contemporary China and to contributing to general knowledge in the discipline of sociology.

Deification Of Market; Homogenization Of Cultures: 'Free Trade' And Other Euphemisms For Global Capitalism, Gwendolyn Yvonne Alexis

Gwendolyn Yvonne Alexis

In this book chapter, I argue that states and MNCs enter into extraterritorial pacts with global institutions like the WTO, UN, and IMF to derive economic benefit from international trade. Given that both entities are drawn to international trade by the quest for financial gain, there is no justification for attributing to either corporations or their countries of national origin malevolent intent such as colonization of the world under the banner of a particular culture. Economic actors direct their deliberate and intentional activities towards achieving economic goals; and this is done to such an extent that they are often willing …