Sociological Processes Research Articles

Democratic backsliding against a rising wave of support for democracy? Explaining trends in attitudes toward democracy in Poland (1995–2021)

The analysis presented in this article tries to address a puzzle – the widely recognized process of democratic backsliding in Poland was accompanied by a steady increase in popular support for democracy. It poses a question if the two phenomena are substantively related. To establish possible connections between them, I test three hypotheses involving populist winner effect, deepening of socio-political cleavage, and generational change. The first one assumes that democracy is more supported by populists when they form a government; the second one – to the contrary – states that populist polarization creates a wider gap in support for democracy, while the third one proposes that the relation is spurious, as trends in attitudes represent a gradual, long-term social change, at least in part related to generational replacement. Results show that the direct link between populist democratic backsliding and pro-democracy surge is relatively weak, while both processes can be related to a deeper sociological process of ‘splintering’ within Polish society.

Subnational Environmental Policy: Trends and Issues

Policies relevant to many key sociological processes are often subnational, enacted at the regional, state/provincial, and/or local levels. This applies notably in the politics of the environmental state, where public and private subnational environmental policies (SNEPs) have major consequences for managing climate change, addressing environmental injustices, regulating land uses, greening energy markets, limiting pollution, and much more. While sociologists focus more on national policies, diverse sociological contributions emphasize the importance of SNEPs and their origins, diffusion, implementation, and sources of backlash. We begin by providing a typology of SNEPs. Next, we highlight not only environmental sociology (with its particular attention to climate change and energy) but also the sociologies of social movements, politics, the economy, science, risk, and organizations, which have each offered unique perspectives. Finally, we outline an agenda for how sociologists can further elaborate a distinctive perspective that highlights inequality, valuation, diffusion, scale shifts, and venue-shopping up to national and global policy systems.

The failure-speed ethos: notes from a glocal startup scene

ABSTRACT Technology startups are integral to local and global economies, with distinctive cultural logics that shape the nature of work in this sector and the technological developments generated therein. As an emergent market, Australian technology startups offer a window into global-local dynamics and a lens on the cultural forces at play. Based on three years of ethnographic research (2019–2022), I identify prevailing values that drive and animate both culture and practice in Australia’s startup domain. Findings show the sector suffused by a paired value set: failure and speed, converged into a failure-speed ethos. Through interviews, observations, and document analysis, I delineate and illustrate the failure-speed ethos, trace its path through migration and institutional enculturation, and examine how the demands and costs of failure and speed distribute unevenly between positions within the startup ecosystem. Findings have implications for the nature of innovation work in a globalized society, the context of technological development, and the sociological processes by which culture spreads, embeds, and endures.

Content Analysis of Chemistry Textbooks in the Chapter on Thermochemistry

This study aimed to analyze the aspects of the general chemistry textbook in the chapter on thermochemistry. We reviewed three general chemistry textbooks commonly used in basic chemistry courses. This study used a qualitative approach by content analysis. The focus of this study was the thermochemistry chapter because this topic was considered to be difficult by students. Data analysis was carried out descriptively by combining similar data within the chemical literacy framework. The analysis results indicated that the three textbooks fulfilled most of the chemical content knowledge indicators, except for chemistry as an experimental discipline. The textbooks provided insights that chemistry can be used to explain phenomena in everyday life, to make decisions and participate in social debates on chemistry-related issues, and to understand the relationship between innovations in chemistry and sociological processes. The textbooks also presented knowledge that can encourage the enhancement of high-order learning skills, particularly in the review problems section.
 Keywords: chemistry, textbook, thermochemistry

Different divergence processes of isoglosses of folk nomenclature between wild trees and rice landraces imply the need for different conservation planning based on the type of plant resources

BackgroundThe intensification of production and socio-economic changes have accelerated the loss of local traditional knowledge and plant resources. Understanding the distribution and determinants of such biocultural diversity is essential in planning efficient surveys and conservation efforts. Because the concept of biocultural diversity in socio-ecological adaptive systems comprises biological, cultural, and linguistic diversity, linguistic information should serve as a surrogate for the distribution of local biological and cultural diversity. In this study, we spatio-linguistically evaluated the names of local trees and rice landraces recorded in Ehime Prefecture, southwestern Japan.MethodsHierarchical clustering was performed separately for the names of local trees and rice landraces. By considering innate flora differences and species having multiple local names, a novel distance index was adopted for local tree names. For the names of rice landraces, Jaccard distance was adopted. V-measure and factor detector analysis were used to evaluate the spatial association between the isogloss maps of the folk nomenclature derived from the clustering and multiple thematic maps.ResultsLocal tree names showed stronger spatial association with geographical factors than rice landrace names. One folk nomenclature group of trees overlapped well with the slash-and-burn cultivation area, suggesting a link between the naming of trees and the traditional production system. In contrast, rice landraces exhibited stronger associations with folklore practices. Moreover, influences of road networks and pilgrimages on rice landraces indicated the importance of human mobility and traditional rituals on rice seed transfer. High homogeneity and low completeness in the V-measure analysis indicated that the names of local trees and rice landraces were mostly homogenous within current municipalities and were shared with a couple of adjacent municipalities. The isogloss maps help to illustrate how the biological and cultural diversity of wild trees and rice landraces are distributed. They also help to identify units for inter-municipal collaboration for effective conservation of traditional knowledge related to those plant resources and traditional rice varieties themselves.ConclusionsOur spatio-linguistic evaluation indicated that complex geographical and sociological processes influence the formation of plant folk nomenclature groups and implies a promising approach using quantitative lexico-statistical analysis to help to identify areas for biocultural diversity conservation.

Impostorization in Academia, Psychological Distress, and Class Reproduction

Might “impostor syndrome” be more than the private trouble it is often described to be? Instead, might it be deeply rooted in sociological processes? I explore this possibility drawing on my personal experience and Pearlin’s insistence that much that distresses us in our personal lives originates in social structures. I use Bourdieu’s theory to conceptualize the processes that may instill the “syndrome,” and once in place, surreptitiously recreate inequality. I test this conceptualization, using new sociologically relevant measures, in a stratified sample of over 2,000 American college students. Experiencing impostor concerns in college was significantly related to low parental income. Results were consistent with a model in which impostor concerns mediate the association of low parental income to depression/anxiety and low college persistence. Cultural aspects of impostorization played a larger role than the intellectual aspects emphasized in the traditional conceptualization of impostor syndrome. I advocate the replacement of the within-the-person term “impostor syndrome” with the sociological term “impostorization.”

Испанская конкиста как культурная травма: легитимация травмирующего события в испанской прессе

The article examines the process of legitimation of the conquest in the Spanish mass media political discourse. The study appears to be relevant due to the recent intensification of controversy surrounding the justification of Spanish colonization, as well as the process of delegitimization of this historical event in the Latin American media. The scientific novelty of the paper lies in that it provides an analysis of cultural traumatization and legitimation as interconnected sociological processes that are linguistically represented in the Spanish political media discourse. The study is carried out on the basis of written and oral discourse of Spanish politicians and public figures legitimizing this traumatic event. In the course of the work, it was established that the process of legitimation of the conquest is most clearly manifested at the stage of theorization of the object of legitimation aiming to objectify its adequacy and is implemented through the strategy of moral assessment and the substrategy of analogy: the unpleasant facts of Aztec imperialism are described, there are references to the British, Arab and Dutch conquests, the expediency of which is not questioned by society. Where the Conquest is rationalized with the use of a predictive substrategy and a result-oriented substrategy, there are indicated potential negative consequences of the absence of Spanish conquest as well as the benefits of civilization that appeared in the conquered territory after the arrival of the colonizers. At the promotion stage, a strategy of appeal to authority is implemented – there are presented opinions of authoritative political and public figures and historical figures legitimizing the conquest and denying all accusations as well as the need to apologize to the former colonies. At the stage of final rooting, the conquest becomes a habitual social context.

Residential Encounters with Historical Narratives: Traumatic Rememberances in Salt and Saffron

Kamila Shamsie’s literary contribution as her 2nd renowned work of an art emerges as a historical narrative which emphasizes in shaping our understanding of the traumatic past and its impact on the present. It provides a framework for interpreting partition events, constructing collective memory, and shaping national identity as well. It explores the role of female agency in memorizing and passing down these reminiscences to the next generation by storytelling and portrays them as inheritors of the legacy pigeonholed by courage, bravery, and audacity to keep these traumatic memories The present study aims to scrutinize identity, trauma, and memory as the three main themes, with the goal of understanding and illuminating the complex interactions between them. The novel deals with these three themes from a whole different perspective as Aliya shows some aspects of her identity as a postcolonial comeback and her dadi who experiences the partition by herself which becomes a traumatic episode of her life and eventually the memory that is quite prominent in the novel by every character. Maurice Halbwachs’ philosophy of collective memory stands out as a crucial element that has a significant influence on how historical and sociological processes happen. He argues that the memory of individual develops while having a deeper interaction with the community and shapes according to the larger events beyond the capacity of that particular individual. Furthermore, it bridges the gap between imaginary presents and historical realities, as they conjure up alternative interpretations of the past while being grounded in the factual framework of historical events.

Conceptualizing and Modeling Relational Processes in Sociology: Introducing Disjointed Fluidity

Conceptualizing and Modeling Relational Processes in Sociology: Introducing Disjointed Fluidity

Centring micro-politics in system leadership in a multi-academy trust

System leadership has historically been used normatively as a concept to promote and privilege multi-site working across education institutions as part of a so-called self-improving system. In this article, we argue that a consequence of this definition is that any superficially ‘leaderful’ practice in such multi-site institutions is understood and legitimated through a system leadership lens. We argue further that when multi-academy trust (MAT) actors understand what they do as system leadership in this way, they may misdiagnose the role and importance of micro-politics as an explanatory model for their practice and motivations. Accepting a system leadership framing for their practice enables participants to underplay how they engage in careerist micro-political strategies and ploys within a wider framing of collaboration, networking and normal MAT functioning. To make these arguments, we draw on interview and observation data and analysis from a case study investigating literacy policy in a MAT in England. Our analysis contributes to the growing critical literature on system leadership and prompts questions about what organisational and sociological processes its claimed use conceals.

Karakter Eğitiminin Sosyolojik Temelleri

Character and values education has gained importance in many societies since the first moments of the emergence of the phenomenon of education, and moreover, it has formed the basis and ultimate goal of educational processes. While values education focuses more on the adoption of the current values in society, character education focuses on universal virtues such as wisdom, justice, love, courage, honesty, etc. Character education is a sociological process by nature. Character development in students is under the influence of family, school and social environment as well as individual characteristics. Character education is based on the socialization of the individual. In this respect, a good individual is a sufficiently socialized individual. School and family constitute the basis for the formation and transmission of moral codes in the individual. In this respect, while some educational sociologists consider this socialization process as an automatic process outside the individual’s preferences, some contemporary sociologists have put forward the concept of individual character with a less deterministic perspective. Keyword: Character, character education, sociological foundations of character

Joslyn, Jacqueline. 2022. Conceptualizing and Modeling Relational Processes in Sociology: Introducing Disjointed Fluidity. Bingley: Emerald Publishing

Joslyn, Jacqueline. 2022. Conceptualizing and Modeling Relational Processes in Sociology: Introducing Disjointed Fluidity. Bingley: Emerald Publishing

The Blue Beret

The Blue Beret

LEO PALAYENG

This article examines the historical and sociological processes that led to the electronification of traditional Acholi musical repertoires in the northern region of Uganda. Akena P’Layeng Okella, also known as Leo Palayeng, is presented as a leading figure in this transformation of traditional music to electronic music, which has become known as Acholitronix. Palayeng is also my main interlocutor. Through Palayeng’s biography, the influence of digital technology in the production, distribution, and reception of musical traditions is discussed. The new, digitised repertoire was first integrated into wedding ceremonies, and then played in bars and clubs in the city. It finally reached the international, alternative electronic club scene. This process of transformation in the repertoire is part of a long history of local and international musical influences in Uganda. The extent to which information and communication technologies have played a decisive role in the dissemination of musical genres, the adoption or adaptation of musical instruments and techniques, and the creation of local, national, or even pan-African musical identities since the 1980s, is described in the article. The place that these forms of digital musical traditions have on online platforms is also discussed. Based on these observations, the contours of the transformation and switch from the acoustic to the electronic – while being considered by the actors as being the same music – are described.

The Imperialist Question: A Sociological Approach

: This article provides a conceptual background to the general theme of this Special Issue ‘On Imperialism in the Middle East’. First, we posit that the concept of imperialism can be understood as a sociological process, through an approach that centres the primacy of politics vis-à-vis accounts that sever theory and praxis via empiricism. In probing this issue, the article shows how dominant academic narratives explaining wars in the region disarticulate them from history. Second, we show that wars, waste, and militarism—also termed as accumulation by waste—are the predominant activities of the US-led imperialist age, historically unleashed on the South of the world. Consequently, we end discussing how the study of US-led imperialism becomes the focus around which each article in this issue recentres its analytical contribution.

BENTUK PENGELOLAAN KELAS OLEH GURU DALAM PEMBELAJARAN SOSIOLOGI DI KELAS XI IPS 1 SMA NEGERI I SIBERUT UTARA KABUPATEN KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI

The problem in this study is that when the teacher teches in the classroom, it is found that student often come in and out during teaching and learning activities and student respond to the actions of their friends who make jokes so that the class becomes noisy and the teacher has difficulty in creating comfortable atmosphere in the learning process of sociology, so that the expected class management does not run as sxpected because it stiil encounsters obstacles in its implementation. The purpose of this study was to describe the form of classroom management carried out by teacher in learning sociology in class XI IPS I student at SMA Negeri I Siberut Utara Mentawai Islands Regency.The teory in research is the Behavioristic theory proposed by Burhus Frederic Skinner. This research was conducted with a qualitative approach. In the selection of informants using purposive sampling technique with the number of informants 6 people. The types of data used in this research are primary data and secondary data. Data collection methods used are non-participant observation, in-depth interviews and document studies. Meanwhile, the data analysis unit used by the group with data analysis was Milles Huberman, namely data collection, data reduction, data presentation and drawing conclusions. The result showed that the form of classroom management by teachers in learning sociology in class XI IPS I SMA Negeri I Siberut Utara Mentawai Islands Regency it can be concluded that there are 3 ways to manage classes namely physical 1. Physical management activities include: a) the room where the teaching and learning process takes place,. b) Seating arrangement, c) Ventilation and light regulation, d) Arrangement of goods, e)Arrangement of teaching tools 2. Time management activities carried out by the teacher by entering the classroom the teacher enter according to the lesson schedule and the teacher has allocated time in opening the lesson, explaining, and closing the lesson 3. The activity of managing student by means when while studying it is found that students who like to seize in class are told to leave or not to be moved to the front seat. aiaf the student is found not to make the student own assignment, he will be expelled from class.

Turkic Borrowings in Russian

The vocabulary of any functioning language consists of original and borrowed words. The Russian language is no exception. Turkic borrowings form a significant layer of the vocabulary of the Russian language, filling it with meanings that are of great scientific interest both in philological terms and as a subject for ethnographic and historical research. In order to more accurately define the boundaries of the term “Turkism”, corresponding to the true origin of words, all Turkisms are divided into primordial and historical. The connection of languages of different systems is a historical process based on historical, cultural and interstate relations, scientific and technological progress, the development of scientific areas, etc. The mutual influence of languages is an integral part of the historical, cultural, political and sociological process. Thus, the language reflects emerging innovations and enriches itself by borrowing words from other languages. The vocabulary of any functioning language is made up of native and borrowed words. The Russian language is no exception. Turkic borrowings form a significant layer of the vocabulary of the Russian language, filling it with meanings that are of great scientific interest not only in philological terms but also as a subject for ethnographic and historical research. The connection between the Russian and Turkic peoples that arose since ancient times, their close contact, due to territorial proximity and the vital need to maintain trade and economic relations, demanded from the peoples who speak these languages a practical knowledge of the languages of their neighbours.

Measuring Team Hierarchy During High-Stakes Clinical Decision Making: Development and Validation of a New Behavioral Observation Method.

Hierarchy is often cited as a cause of health care team failure; however, there are no validated measures of team hierarchy. Research on group processes in sociology provides a theoretical framework-status characteristics and expectation states (SCES)-that explains the mechanisms that produce the observable power and prestige order (status hierarchy) of the team. The authors use this formal theoretical framework to gather evidence of validity by adapting the method to measure the status hierarchy of medical teams. In this retrospective, secondary analysis, the authors analyzed archived videorecorded training exercises conducted between 2007 and 2010 of mixed-gender health care teams of first-year residents and nurses engaged in simulated, complex decision-making scenarios. Analyses were conducted in 2013 with data reanalyzed in July 2022. By adapting the SCES framework for the unique features of academic health care, they developed and refined a coding method from videos and transcripts. To examine validity, they consider the content, response process, internal structure, relation to other variables, and consequences of the framework. Having established an acceptable level of coding reliability for key variables for videos and transcripts, the authors demonstrate relation to other variables, specifically detailing how the coding scheme delineates 2 status characteristics-occupation and gender. The mean numbers of statement types by gender and occupation were largely as predicted. Directives, question directives, patient work, and knowledge claims were more likely to be coded during video than transcript coding, whereas questions, statements of fact, and compliance were more likely to be coded during transcript than video coding. However, the relative rates of each statement type by status remained largely consistent among the coding methods. This study provides important insight into the mechanisms by which hierarchy impacts team decision making and develops the necessary framework and measurement tool to perform larger studies.

Will you infect me with your opinion?

Opinion formation is one of the most fascinating phenomena observed in human communities, and the ability to predict and to control the dynamics of this process is interesting from the theoretical as well as practical point of view. Although there are many sophisticated models of opinion formation, they often lack the connection with real life data, and there are still sociological processes that need to be explained. To address this, we propose a model describing the dynamics of opinion formation which mimics the process of the virus or disease spreading in the population. The introduced model is motivated by the model of disease spread with three possible channels — direct contact, indirect contact, and contact with “contaminated” elements. We demonstrate that the presence of “contaminated” elements, which in the case of on-line communities can be represented as the content published on the Internet, has considerable impact on the process of opinion formation. We argue that by using a simple mechanism of opinion spreading via passive elements, the introduced model captures the meaningful elements of opinion formation in complex communities. The presented work provides a step towards formulating universal laws governing social as well as physical or technical systems.

A Synthesized Approach to Explaining the Expansion of Surveillance: Risk Perceptions and Surveillance as a Positive Feedback Loop

This paper is a review of partially available surveillance literature which attempts to synthesize information about the field of surveillance within sociology. It will provide a clearer understanding of the expansion of surveillance. This paper argues that modern surveillance paradigms evolve much like a positive feedback loop in the biological sense, where increasing surveillance feeds back into the need for more surveillance, causing (if left unchecked) an exponential rise in the level of surveillance within society. This position is supported through evidence from a thought-provoking philosophical anecdote, surveillance assemblages, risk as a psychological and sociological process and its effect on surveillance, surveillance capitalism, and national security and its role in this expansion. Finally, this paper concludes with a possible recommendation for dealing with surveillance going forward, how to end the feedback loop, and shows where future research within sociology and surveillance as a focus could be taken.