Sociology Of Knowledge Research Articles

Valid and Reliable Measures of Generalized Trust: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey and Behavioral Experiment

Generalized trust has been one of the most frequently examined constructs since researchers first introduced measures of it in the 1940s. Despite its significance, there is a growing consensus that traditional measures of generalized trust are prone to measurement invalidity and nonequivalence, calling into question sociological knowledge about generalized trust. In this article, I advance trust research in sociology by (1) refining two new self-report measures of generalized trust—the Stranger Face Trust scale (SFT) and the Imaginary Stranger Trust scale (IST)—and (2) assessing their empirical performance on a nationally representative probability sample (N = 1,264). I compare the reliability and validity of SFT, IST, and traditional measures of generalized trust across a range of measurement validation tests. Results suggest that SFT provides the most accurate and consistent measure of generalized trust.

Domination of Domination Idea: “The Will to Power” in Contemporary Social Theory. Part II

The article discusses the "power determinism" and "power reductionism" ideas, in particular, in relation to the scientific knowledge field. Unlike the classical era of social science, based on the idea of an honest and unbiased search for truth, today the idea of scientific knowledge as politically engaged and subordinate to social movements, acting under various "progressive" slogans, has gained extraordinary popularity. This ideology of conformism in relation to these movements largely occupies a dominant position in the Western university system today. A special role in the process of reducing scientific knowledge to the factor of power was played by the ideas of such left-wing anarchists and pioneers of "cathedral nihilism" as M. Foucault and P. Feyerabend. In their work, one can find sources of a number of popular social movements for which truth is exclusively a product of certain domination forms: class, racial, gender, colonial, etc.; the autonomy of scientific knowledge is denied. In part, the popularity of power determinism is explained by strengthening of the factor of political power and expansion of opportunities for its use and camouflage, in particular, thanks to modern information technologies. Cumulatively, the expansion of "power determinism" and "power reductionism" in the field of sociological knowledge leads to a reducing of its level and authority on a social and global scale.

Dichotomy and Two-Component Polytomy in Contemporary Sociology

The article reveals the need to rethink the heuristic potential of dichotomy as a cognition method in the research of contemporary social reality, which characterizes by its structure complication and dynamics acceleration. Based on the analysis of recent works by foreign and Russian authors, it gives the description of the understanding of dichotomy and the dichotomous method in social and humanitarian knowledge, its comparison with other terms used to characterize opposites and their relationship, and the separation of dichotomies into scientific and everyday ones. This paper analyzes the practice of applying the dichotomous method in sociological research in recent years: it identifies the main sociological dichotomies and reveals their movement in contemporary sociological knowledge, which consists of the use of established dichotomies in the research of the balance between extremes, the convergence of opposites, overcoming contradictions and, conversely, their exacerbation, polarization of social relations that are observed in the contemporary world, as well as the formation of new binary pairs following the example of the dichotomy «sustainability – vulnerability». It determines the changes in the practice of dichotomous method using in the field of social and sociological cognition: on the one side, there is a transition from its use as the main research method to use in combination with other methods and methodological techniques, which allows solving a wider range of research tasks, on the other side, along with dichotomies, researchers construct two-term polytomies, which their authors call dichotomies. The author reveals significant heuristic possibilities of the dichotomous method for conceptualization, analysis and explanation of the increasingly complex and dynamic contemporary social reality: this method allows you to identify the differences between the research objects, to carry out their comparative analysis and interpretation, to reveal their dualism and opposite sides, while emphasizing the independence and interconnectedness of these extremes, to order and generalize the data obtained on the basis of this method, to develop alternative models of explanation.

Migrants from Uzbekistan in the Moscow Agglomeration: Assessment of Migration Experience

The orientation of Uzbekistan towards deeper integration with the Eurasian Economic Union and maintenance the vector to migration activity of the republic citizens to Russia and to the Moscow takes place against the background of insufficient knowledge about a diverse set of migrant’s behavior, update the study of the migration experience. The paper is devoted to the features and determinants of this phenomenon. The article proposes an author's approach to the study of migration experience, overcoming disciplinary and sectoral boundaries, combining the developments of demographic and social studies. The migration experience of a person is understood as deposited impressions, beliefs formed in the process of life and work in emigration about the host country. On the basis of quantitative data, a characterization is given of subjective situations representations, events, prevailing ideas of respondents about everyday life, difficulties of settling and living in Moscow, behavioral aspects related to the setting for return migration, adaptation, support/non-support of Eurasian integration, readiness to interact with the host society, as well as migration experience. On the basis of the resulting indicators: “general work satisfaction in Moscow” and “reasonableness of expectations from coming to Moscow”, which characterize the achievements, the fulfillment of a person’s life, level of aspirations and conditions of the social environment. Two groups of migrants were identified, having different migration experience. The results of the study contribute to the development of sociological knowledge about migration, allow to explain the current and potential migration activity of citizens of Uzbekistan.

To the question of applying the concept of scientific-educational knowledge in sociology

The article is devoted to the concept of scientific-educational knowledge, little developed in modern sociological science. The subject of the research is the formation of the sociological concept of scientific-educational knowledge, its main characteristics and features of the relationship with certain types of knowledge, concepts and branches of sociological science that study them.
 The article consists of two main sections - a historical and sociological review of educational knowledge studies and a substantiation of the conceptual unity of educational and scientific-educational knowledge. The first section characterises sociological studies of knowledge, including educational knowledge. In this aspect, the concepts of A.Comte, M.Scheler, K.Mannheim, P.Berger and T.Luсkmann are considered. The author draws attention to the features of educational knowledge and its connection with educational practices, revealed in modern theories of vocational education. These theories are presented in the works of British researchers J.Furlong, G.Whitty, M.Young, J. Muller, J.Hordern, created at the intersection of the sociology of knowledge and the sociology of education. A review of previous studies of educational knowledge made it possible to identify important aspects of continuity with modern concepts. The second part of the article analyses the conceptual unity of educational and scientific-educational knowledge. The main concept list of the sociological concept of scientific and educational knowledge is revealed, including the concepts of knowledge, education, science, educational knowledge, everyday (ordinary) knowledge, sociological knowledge. The concept of scientific-educational knowledge is considered as the central one. Among the branches of sociology for which the listed concepts are key and act as categories, the article considers the sociology of knowledge, the sociology of education, the sociology of science, the sociology of everyday life. The article also shows that scientific-educational knowledge is formed at the junction of the most important areas of activity: firstly, scientific research (scientific work), secondly, education (study work), thirdly, the production, distribution and consumption of a special type of knowledge that is the result of the interaction of subjects of science and education.

Особливості розвитку української соціології в умовах російсько-української війни

The presentation (and hence the article) is based on the wills of O.O. Yakuba regarding the analysis of the development features of sociological knowledge at all three levels: general sociological theory, middle-level theories, and empirical research data. It is necessary not only to understand the structure of sociological knowledge but also the interrelationship of all components and the need for the interrelationship of theory and methods relevant to it. The article shows that the development features of sociological knowledge in Ukrainian sociology at the beginning 21st century were characterized by a violation of this organic link, disproportions in the structure of sociological knowledge. However, the search for new non-Marxist explanations at the highest level is now successfully underway as an introduction to the development of a new general theory. According to G. Ritzer’s terminology, these conditions can be evaluated as Mp, i.e. “metatheorizing-prelude”, from which Ukrainian sociology should move on to Mo conditions, i.e. the creation of an arch metatheory. At this level, modern Ukraine (a local entity) is pushed to the centre of the global, which requires a rethinking of the traditional sociological canon. At level: 2) of middle-level theories, in Russia’s ongoing large-scale aggression conditions, two theories, such as the sociology of war and the sociology of the nation, gain the most importance. The author has characterized the main features of the modern sociology of war in Ukrainian sociology, described the differences in the duel between two different social systems: democratic and authoritarian, and showed the main characteristics of the modern sociology of war, which will inevitably end with the victory of Ukraine. At level: 3) of empirical research, we currently experience the greatest success: from the beginning of the phase of the acute military confrontation till the middle of June 2022, representatives of the six leading sociological centres of the country have already carried out 35 national sociological studies of different nature; now Ukrainian sociologists actively present their results in publications and at international scientific conferences. Thus, the structure of modern sociological knowledge in Ukraine, for which Prof. O.O. Yakuba argued, remains unfinished. Still, it is possible to record significant scientific developments at the current stage at all three levels. All this makes it possible to have an optimistic view on the further development of sociology in Ukraine and on the fact that it will be able to help both in the ongoing war and in peaceful post-war reconstruction.

Leonid Ionin. The Drama of the Life of Max Weber. Breakthrough in Russian Scientific Biographical Analysis

The new book by Leonid Ionin about Max Weber is a notable occurrence in the Russian history of sociology and culture. It fundamentally furthers our understanding of the nature of sociological knowledge. No one else in our historical sociological literature has tried to consider the work of a sociologist in such detail against the backdrop of the life’s, or more specifically, the personal drama, of the scientist. This required not only a deep knowledge of Weber’s works from the author, but also courage. In my understanding, Ionin’s experience can become an excellent basis of knowledge for Russian researchers of the past of Russian sociology, especially the biographies of those who created the foundation of our science.

Travelling philosophers: Dewey and Russell in China

The aim of this paper is a reconsiderationof John Dewey’s stay in China,an experience abroad that influencedenormously in his intellectual and humandevelopment. Our approach willbe comparative, assessing his model ofcultural dialogue through a contrast betweenhis attitudes and actions in Chinaand Bertrand Russell’s ones. We thinkthat, thanks to this thorough comparativeresearch, we make much clearer theirrespective conceptions of the role that intellectualscould play in international politicalsceneries. One hundred year afterthey arrived to and thought about China,we think that this often-unknownchapter of the history of intellectuals canbe particularly relevant for ensuing surveysof cultural studies and sociology ofknowledge.

A review of social networks and social capital for volunteering for refugees

Volunteering is a prosocial behavior that benefits society in many ways, including refugees. This article reviewed past literature, especially past academic studies by various disciplines in the social sciences on volunteering for refugees, for example by volunteers from non-governmental organizations, that is generally facilitated by social networks. This literature review which is based on a qualitative approach and guided by a deductive research strategy analyzed several themes related to social networks, social capital, and volunteering for refugees that are found in the studies. The review aimed to demonstrate the strengths of the studies as well as identify some theoretical, conceptual, methodological, and empirical research gaps especially lack of sociological study of the empirical nature of social networks and how such nature can become the foundation for social capital for volunteering for refugees, for instance, Syrian refugees. Lack of study is also evident in terms of applying social network theory and utilizing social network analysis as an analytical and methodological tool. The review initially broadly analyzed some past studies on the refugee crisis, then followed by an overview of studies on forms of capital for volunteering and related theories of volunteering, and finally some studies on the role of social networks in volunteering. However, the gaps identified enabled the review to emphasize on the need to acknowledge the importance of close theoretical, conceptual, methodological, empirical, and practical link between social networks and social capital, particularly how social networks can act as social capital and bring benefits to enable the volunteers to help the refugees adjust to life in a new social context. Hence, the review implied its significance as it is able to contribute to new knowledge, namely sociological knowledge, on social networks and social capital for volunteering for refugees, including Syrian refugees, and on improving volunteering by non-governmental organizations and volunteers. Another significant implication is that governments can learn to create better policies regarding refugees and volunteering. Keywords: Non-governmental organizations, refugees, social networks, social capital, volunteering

Sosyolojik Düşünme, Sosyolojik Düşünce ve Sosyolog İlişkisi Üzerine Bir Deneme

Sosyolojiyi bir bilim olarak insan ve toplumla ilgili diğer bilim dallarından ayıran sadece sosyolojinin kendi inceleme nesnesinin farklılığı ve yöntemi değildir. Aynı zamanda toplumsal olay ve olguları “sosyolojik düşünme” dediğimiz bir zihinsel çerçeve içerisinde ele alışıdır. Bu çalışmada sosyolojik düşünmenin, çok nedenlilik, bütünsellik, disiplinlerarasılık, özdüşünümsellik, tarihi kavrayış gibi birden çok özelliğiyle birlikte sosyoloğu, rastgele düşünmekten farklılaştıran yönü ele alınmaktadır. Bu sayede sosyolog, sosyal yapıların dış yüzeyinin ötesini görmeye ve sosyal olay ve olguları daha geniş bir perspektiften ele almaya başlar. Sosyolojik düşünme, sosyoloğa dünyayı anlama ve değerlendirme hususunda önemli bir zihinsel çerçeve sunar. Bu zihinsel çerçeve ya da sosyolojik tahayyülü sosyolog, sosyolojik düşünce geleneğiyle kurmuş olduğu irtibatla edinir. Sosyolojik düşünce geleneği, sosyologların toplumla ilgili sistemli bilgilerinin toplamı olarak bir sosyolojik fikirler bütünüdür. Sosyolog, bu düşünce geleneğiyle toplum arasında yer alır. Bir taraftan bu gelenek ve düşünme biçimiyle sosyolojik bilgiyi üretir, diğer taraftan da hem sosyolojik geleneği hem de sosyolojik tahayyülü besler, zenginleştirir. Bu çalışma, sosyoloğun kendi düşünce geleneği ve düşünme biçimi ile ilişkisini sorgulamaktadır. Çalışmada öncelikle sosyolojik düşüncenin neliği tartışılacak ve bu düşüncenin özellikleri tespit edilecektir. Peşi sıra ise sosyoloğun düşünce geleneğiyle irtibatı, kendi konumu ve sosyolojik düşünmeyi nasıl edindiği ele alınacaktır.

Російсько-українська війна: теорія та практика соціологічного осмислення

The article focuses on the main problematic issues in the formation of sociological discourse regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war. Attempts have been made to provide scientific answers to new challenges related to war, which appear much more slowly compared to media ones. The opinion that the issue of war becomes relevant only when a real war appears, and not its potential threat, is substantiated. It is outlined that war in world history is the norm, peace is rather an exception. It was determined that the fragile nature of peace and the constant military threat from Russia (now and in the future) poses the task of preventive and permanent, on a systematic basis, their research and analysis. A conceptual scheme for distinguishing two branches of sociological knowledge regarding military issues in the form of the sociology of war and the sociology of the army is proposed. Adaptation of N.J. Smelser’s four-level model of sociological analysis to the study of war and the army according to two criteria was carried out. It is argued that these four levels require their specification both theoretically and in selecting appropriate methods of empirical studies of the problems of war in general and the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war. A generalized table of empirical studies implemented by the country’s leading sociological centres since the beginning of the acute phase of Russian aggression is presented, with the conclusion of a significant predominance of the macro level of their implementation and the dominant use of quantitative methods. Subjects of scientific research on the other three levels of sociological analysis are proposed. Examples of international research projects by the YouGov company regarding assessing the level of assistance to Ukrainian refugees are given. The results of research conducted in Ukraine and Russia in parallel are presented, as it makes it possible to analyse the mirroring of the situation both in Ukraine and in the society of the aggressor country. It was found that the majority of studies carried out in Ukraine during a large-scale war reveal only certain aspects of modern war and the army (assessment of the level of trust in the armed forces, support for the president’s actions, citizens’ readiness to defend the Motherland, foreign policy orientations, social adaptation of the population, the level of their stress resistance etc.), which currently does not allow for the formation of a coherent architecture of sociological knowledge in the outlined stream. Based on research carried out during Russia’s large-scale aggression in Ukraine, the main thematic blocks have been identified, and their importance in the foundations of the sociology of war and the sociology of the army has been revealed. It is concluded that war is a complicated phenomenon for its professional understanding in sociology in the situation of its multi-paradigmity, therefore, the existing developments require professional discussion and effective discussions.

Prison officers and esprit de corps. Ingroup and outgroup relationships in prison

This paper presents a qualitative study exploring the concept of esprit de corps in prison officers (POs), through the interpretative lens of Social Identity Theory. The study relies on semi-structured interviews conducted with 26 POs working in Italian correctional facilities. Thematic analyses on the resulting data enabled us to identify POs’ esprit de corps as a complex and multidimensional construct that influences both their social identification with their professional group and their interpersonal relationships with members of their ingroup and outgroup. Findings from this study suggest that POs’ esprit de corps is a fundamental component of day-to-day prison life, taking effect on the symbolic and relational levels, fostering loyalty and cohesion among ingroup members, and contrast with members of the outgroup. We conclude that examining esprit de corps as a construct can give an important contribution to our criminological and sociological knowledge.

Terug naar Bonger

Bonger revisited. On a false start and a sudden full speed ahead in Dutch sociology Our tentative hypothesis is that institutionalization of an academic discipline, for example by way of university chairs and disciplinary training schools, contributes to scientific progress. Yet, although Bonger contributed to all of sociology’s three main problems (cohesion, inequality and rationalization), his appointment as the first professor for sociology in the Netherlands, did not make for a successful take off. Institutions also have unintended negative consequences. Bonger remained isolated, the 1921 Academic Statute only allowed him to teach minor subjects (criminology and sociology), and he hardly attracted major students. Moreover, Dutch sociology suffered badly in WOII, losing, among other scholars, Bonger. A change in the Academic Statute after WOII led to nine disciplinary training schools at existing universities, and to 12 professorships in sociology. Of the newly appointed professors, only Kruijt and Van Heek developed a successful research programme driven by one main question broken down into several sub questions. In the decades after them, Lammers, focusing on human organizations, formulated two groups of related questions that contributed to the growth of sociological knowledge.

Why does Sociology Need a New Integrative Paradigm?

The article is devoted to analyzing a new sociological paradigm proposed by Nikolai Genov, a European sociologist of Bulgarian origin, known for his work in the history and theory of sociology, social transformation in Eastern Europe and globalization. His new monograph is characterized by his desire to offer the sociological community an original outlook on the theoretical trends in the development of the discipline over the past few decades, as well as to construct a new paradigm of social interaction as a way to overcome the current theoretical crisis. It presents a rational analysis of the current state of theoretical sociology while substantiating and describing the heuristic possibilities of sociology, revealed by means of paradigmatic synthesis based on the concept of social interaction as rethought by the author. Social interactions are the prerogative of key actors operating in networks of social relations and within social processes. The new paradigm can provide sociologists with explanatory models that can serve as the basis for creating mid-level theories that would incorporate previously accumulated sociological knowledge. According to Genov, this synthesis can open up new ways for advancing sociological comprehension of controversial social problems at different levels of their consideration (macro-, meso- and micro-) and while considering modern global development trends.

Book Review of “School Zone: A Problem Analysis of Student Offending and Victimization”

The subject of school violence remains an enduring subject of media coverage and discourse in the United States and a consistent source of conversation both public and private. That, of course, reflects the steady drumbeat of school shootings in this country that justifiably garner so much attention (and horror). Yet, as School Zone makes clear, those horrific incidents that symbolize the issue of school violence represent only a small component of that issue, and the many other aspects of school violence—and school-based crime more generally—are neither interrogated nor understood nearly enough outside the realm of academic sociology, criminology, and psychology. What the authors do with this book, therefore, is shine a light on the full scope of that issue to illuminate what does and does not go on in school, attempt to answer the important question of “why?”, and distill some important lessons from this information about what can be done in response. As such, this book is both timely and needed, and it serves an important role in translating sociological knowledge for broader use.

A New Time of Reckoning, a Time for New Reckoning: Views on Health and Society, Tensions between Medicine and the Social Sciences, and the Process of Medicalization

This article seeks to capture variations and tensions in the relationships between the health–illness–medicine complex and society. It presents several theoretical reconstructions, established theses and arguments are reassessed and criticized, known perspectives are realigned according to a new theorizing narrative, and some new notions are proposed. In the first part, we argue that relations between the medical complex and society are neither formal–abstract nor historically necessary. In the second part, we take the concept of medicalization and the development of medicalization critique as an important example of the difficult coalescence between health and society, but also as an alternative to guide the treatment of these relationships. Returning to the medicalization studies, we suggest a new synthesis, reconceptualizing it as a set of modalities, including medical imperialism. In the third part, we endorse replacing a profession-based approach to medicalization with a knowledge-based approach. However, we argue that such an approach should include varieties of sociological knowledge. In this context, we propose an enlarged knowledge-based orientation for standardizing the relationships between the health–illness–medicine complex and society.

Review Essay: The Sicilian World of Gaetano Cipolla

Review Essay: The Sicilian World of Gaetano Cipolla

(RE)THINKING HISTORY

The present work aims to show the academic production of three great thinkers, Harriet Martineau (1802-1876), Flora Tristan (1803-1804) and Marianne Weber (1870-1954), erased from the history of the development of sociology as a scientific and who had considerable contributions in debating topics that are still of interest to sociologists and social scientists, such as the relationship between the researcher and the object, the female condition, neutrality of knowledge, religion, among others considered fundamental for the development of sociological knowledge. To achieve this objective, we will use bibliographies that help us to think about the questions posed by these thoughts, and their main research themes, as well as authors that help us to critically think about the formation of sociological thought, showing that its structuring is much broader than weigh only through the canons reveal to us.

Sociography: Writing Differently

Sociology is just as much an art form as it is a science. And while sociologists and those in cognate disciplines have long experimented with their writing, the search for new academic forms and practices has acquired new urgency and potentiality. How we write up our research is of paramount importance: our language can be used in experimental and innovative ways to offer nuanced, critical commentary without foreclosing alternative viewpoints, and without excluding others from dialogue. Sociography offers spaces for new sensibilities and sensitivities; unresolved or incomplete argument; multiple, multi-dimensional and multiplying possibilities: for writing differently. As an intervention in writing the social, our collection works to resist the ideological promotion of dry, dispassionate, and seemingly ‘objective’ discourse, one which has traditionally upheld a set of dominant, privileged voices. And in so doing, our collection explores the potential of new ways of writing the social for both a trans- and post-disciplinary academy and a wider reading public; and seeks forms of writing that do justice to the critical curiosity that animates sociology. In sum, the challenge embraced by this collection is to argue for and showcase a praxis that activates sociological knowledge and enlarges the sociological imagination.

Is Russian Sociology of Labor Ready to Respond to New Challenges? (Analytical Review of Two Scientific Conferences)

This article provides an analytical review of two major conferences on sociology of labor, held in December of 2021 and March of 2022. The central problem was the precarity of work and the situation of employees given conditions of unstable employment caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The thematic continuity of the events made it possible to realize the persistence and scale of the precarity phenomenon both as a topic of sociological knowledge and as a social problem. In particular, it is shown that precarious work, being intrinsic to an increasing number of people of various professions, warps not only the social role of the employee, but also undermines the role of work as the value- and meaning-forming framework of human life. The empirical data presented by the speakers proved that precarious employment is becoming a new form of exploitation, since it means a relatively low price of labor, a decline in an employee’s qualifications, a limited number of social guarantees, vulnerability in crisis situations. Remote work, something that has become widespread during the pandemic, has brought about not only certain advantages for both the employee and the company (efficiency, saving time and other resources, advanced training in the field of information technology), but also new forms of exploitation (extending the work day, using personal and familial resources for work, etc.). The article closes with conclusions regarding the potential demand for the theoretical, methodological and applied aspects of the scientific discussions held when it comes to counteracting the precarization of employment and labor relations.