Sociology Journals Research Articles

Становление современной российской социологии: интервью с профессором Владимиром Вячеславовичем Козловским

We had a conversation with Vladimir Kozlovskiy in April 2024, coinciding with the 300th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Vladimir Kozlovskiy is a Doctor of Sciences (Philosophy), Professor, Director of the Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SI RAS – FCTAS RAS), Head of the Department of Sociology of Culture and Communication, Faculty of Sociology, Saint Petersburg State University, and Chief Co-Editor of the Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology. During the interview, the influence of culture and social processes on the development and institutionalization of Russian sociology was discussed. Vladimir Kozlovskiy is one of the leading experts in the field of the history of sociology and was awarded the II-class Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"; he is the Honoured Worker of Higher Education of the Russian Federation. His studies of civilizational development models of modern societies have made a great contribution to modern sociology. The relevance of research conducted under the leadership of Vladimir Kozlovskiy is especially high in the context of the modern development of Russian society.

사회적 연결은 득인가 실인가: 사회적 연결의 이점과 비용에 관한 연구 동향과 과제

Network theory has traditionally focused on social ties as its primary subject of study, investigating patterns of linkages and relationships among actors and the ensuing social structures from various perspectives. This paper reviews the extant literature on both the positive and negative effects of social ties and social networks. It transcends the mainstream research tradition that has predominantly emphasized positive impacts, presenting domestic and international studies that explore the constraints and costs engendered by social ties, including the excessive homogenization they can cause. Specifically, the paper delves into Granovetter’s (1973) “strength of weak ties” theory, Burt’s (1992, 1995) structural hole theory, which addresses both the patterns of connections and relationships between actors and the resultant structures, and Coleman's (1990) concept of network closure, which underscores the overall structure of social networks. In doing so, this paper presents core tenets of these theories and critically evaluates the current state of knowledge as presented in leading domestic and international management and sociology journals. Finally, considering the implications of networks and their social ties for organizational research, alongside the ease with which individuals can now join various networks through the rapid development of online and mobile social networking sites, the paper underscores the importance of focusing on the costs and constraints that actors face when navigating numerous social connections. It also highlights the necessity of being wary of confirmation bias caused by suggestion algorithms embedded in online sites and proposes directions for future research.

The impact of liminal legal status on labor market experiences: a comparative study of Sudanese asylum seekers and refugees in Israel

ABSTRACT This article examines the labor market experiences of Sudanese forced migrants in Israel under prolonged temporary legal status. It underscores how regulatory and legal frameworks, particularly the mechanism of institutional ambiguity as a form of legal violence, shape migrants’ socioeconomic outcomes. Employing a mixed-methods approach and comparative analysis, the study adopts Menjívar’s, C. (2006. “Liminal legality: Salvadoran and Guatemalan immigrants’ lives in the United States.” American Journal of Sociology 111 (4): 999–1037) concept of ‘liminal legality’ as an analytical lens to compare the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees. The findings reveal significant disparities between these two groups in employment patterns, wages, and exposure to exploitative working conditions, primarily driven by differences in legal status . Asylum seekers are disproportionately relegated to unskilled, precarious jobs at the bottom of the employment ladder, facing heightened vulnerability to exploitative working conditions. Refugees, despite their relatively ‘premium’ status, also encounter significant constraints in labor market participation, reflecting their confinement to the secondary labor market. By highlighting these disparities, this article advances our knowledge of how positions along the continuum of liminal legality shapes employment outcomes among forced migrants. It also contributes to the broader discourse on socio-political and legal barriers that hinder migrant integration.

Introduction to the digital welfare state: Contestations, considerations and entanglements

This article introduces a special issue of the Journal of Sociology focused on critical analysis of the digital welfare state. The digitalisation of welfare policy, institutions and service delivery has led to increased scrutiny, social sorting and surveillance of welfare recipients and other marginalised groups. This collection of papers contributes to current debates about digital welfare using sociological approaches which foreground the role of power relations and human agency in shaping these dynamics. We provide introductory insights into themes explored within the collection, including the connection of digitalisation with ‘the social’, the role of digital technologies in truth-making, and the importance of humans and their labour in operationalising digital welfare. In addition, we highlight the value of sociological research in revealing the various processes and relationships through which state power is constituted and expressed digitally.

Academic anomie: implications of the ‘great resignation’ for leadership in post-COVID higher education

AbstractThe experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has ignited a near universal rethink of what is tolerable or desirable in work settings. In higher education—where discontent has been exacerbated by the pandemic—the potential for a ‘great resignation’ is a very real threat. The long-term impact of a crisis management approach in universities has led to a state of ‘pandemia’, according to Watermeyer et al., (British Journal of Sociology of Education 42:651-666, 2021b), whereby academics feel alienated and subjected to a ‘toxic’ work environment that lacks shared purpose and values. This article draws on Durkheim’s notion of ‘anomie’ to explore what leads academics to leave the sector and to consider how the outward migration of staff could be addressed through changes to leadership and management practice. Evidence is taken from an online survey distributed in the United Kingdom (UK), which collected demographic information of n = 167 academics and open-text responses to a question which asked respondents to provide their reasons for quitting higher education. Four key themes emerge which elucidate a trajectory of academic anomie: (i) declining quality of academic management, (ii) the pandemic as a disruptive awakening, (iii) the erosion of values and meaning and (iv) a sense of being ‘trapped’ within academia. Potential resolutions are suggested in respect of what respondents identify as the root cause of staff attrition—toxic management culture. Collective and inclusive governance and commitment from academics at all career stages to the leadership of groups, departments, institutions and the wider higher education sector are advocated as antidotes to academic anomie.

Research problem as a key aspect of scientific publications in a sociological journal

The text is devoted to the formulation of a research problem in an article for a sociological journal. The purpose of the article is didactic in nature and is aimed at improving the culture of writing academic text through the articulation of a research problem. The text presents all stages of pre-research practice: searching for a topic, reviewing the literature, fixing a problem situation, formulating a research problem and research questions. The peculiarity of the article is that it is based on many years of experience as a reviewer for the journal “Sociological research”, and the examples are manuscripts and publications sent to the journal. The articles are randomly selected and do not serve as a template for writing good articles, but rather to demonstrate some possible options. An important place in the work is given to the creative process of problematization. Problematization is perhaps the most difficult pre-research procedure, since a significant part of it is located in the “black box” of the researcher’s thought process. The essence of problematization is the process of deriving a new problem from existing knowledge. It acts as a way of relating knowledge and ignorance at the level of initial ideas. These are peculiar “game” manipulations of true and false, knowledge and non-knowledge. The rules presented in the text for formulating a scientific problem in an article for a sociological journal are universal. Knowing the rules means knowing the boundaries of creative freedom. The author claims that playing by the rules does not guarantee, but increases the likelihood that the article will be published, and their violation is not a force majeure obstacle to publication in the journal “Sociological studies”.

Introduction to the Special Issue of The Journal of Public and Professional Sociology: Teaching Sociology in Challenging Times

Introduction to the Special Issue of The Journal of Public and Professional Sociology: Teaching Sociology in Challenging Times

Maintaining professional face: deceptive impression management in community sport coaching

ABSTRACT This article breaks new ground in the sociology of sports work through its novel exploration of workplace deception and the associated development of an original typology of deceptive impression management. Analysis of data collected from a two-phased research design, comprising online interviews and survey responses from 102 participants, revealed that community sport coaches employed deceptive impression management to display emotional control, an ideal practice of their work, and to feign expert knowledge. These types of deceptive impression management consisted of disguising disdain, flattering insincerely, camouflaging alternative approaches, covering-up mistakes, hiding a lack of expected knowledge, and reporting favourable metrics. Drawing on theories of dramaturgical analysis [Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Anchor, Goffman, E. (1967). Interactional ritual: Essays on face-To-face behaviour. Aldine Publications, Goffman, E. (1974). Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. Harvard University Press.] and emotional labour (Hochschild, A. (1979). Emotion work, feeling rules, and social structure. American Journal of Sociology, 85(3), 551–575., Hochschild, A. R. (1983). The managed heart: Commercialisation of human feeling. The University of California Press] as used in constructing a professional image, we examine how the coaches used deception to cope with challenging work circumstances that endanger projecting a professional appearance. The present article not only advances our sociological understanding of sports work but raises important questions for the preparation, development, and support of sports workers.

Cultural heritage tourism at film-related tourism sites: staged and existential authenticity at Hengdian World Studios

ABSTRACT The trend of incorporating culture and heritage into various aspects of tourism, such as film-related tourism, is gaining momentum. In addition to the film-related attractions, film-related tourism can encourage tourists’ engagement with cultural heritage tourism and consumption of heritage products at the destination. Examining the case of Hengdian World Studios (China), the world’s largest outdoor film studio and film shooting base, this paper discusses how cultural heritage tourism is induced at a film-related tourism destination as well as how the tourism destination represents authenticity and how tourists perceive such representations. Hengdian World Studios simulates several real heritage sites in different areas of China for screen media productions as well as for tourist consumption. This paper examines the concepts of ‘staged authenticity’ (MacCannell [1973]. Staged authenticity: Arrangements of social space in tourist settings. American Journal of Sociology, 79(3), 589–603. https://doi.org/10.1086/225585) and ‘existential authenticity’ (Wang [1999]. Rethinking authenticity in tourism experience. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(2), 349–370. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0160-7383(98)00103-0) in the context of tourism studies to understand cultural heritage tourism at film-related tourism sites. The discussion is based on research undertaken at Hengdian World Studios between 2018 and 2023 drawing on ethnographic methods and online interviews with 50 tourists. This paper contributes to the understanding of authenticity issues in tourism studies from different perspectives and the interconnections between film-related tourism and cultural heritage tourism.

The Personality of a Modern Bribetaker

A persistent negative situation in the sphere of corruption in Russia, as well as the enforcement of a new National Anti-corruption Plan for 2021-2024 approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of August 16, 2021 № 478, the search for new forms and methods of preventing this criminal social phenomenon and of counteracting it gain a special urgency. Experience shows that criminal law measures are not sufficient for counteracting corruption. Due to this, the role of criminology seems especially vital. A comprehensive study of the criminal’s personality will help to improve the effectiveness of preventive work for the category of people under consideration. The goal of the work is to research specific socio-demographic, moral-psychological, role and criminal law characteristics of the personality of a bribetaker in Russia today. The research is based on the analysis of Russian and foreign publications in journals of law and sociology. The empirical part consists in studying the decisions of the courts of general jurisdiction of different subjects of the Russian Federation (from 2018 to 2023) and official statistical information on criminal prosecution under Art. 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Besides, the author carried out a content analysis of electronic mass media on high-profile cases of bribery involving officials at different levels. It was found that, at the present time, a bribetaker in Russia is male (with a growing share of female bribetakers), aged 30-49, a Russian citizen with a higher education, married with underage children, employed by law enforcement or state and municipal bodies. He is described favorably as a responsible, sociable and competent person both at work and in personal life. Key individual psychological features include emotional stability, ability to control and manipulate people, ability to build necessary connections, denial of moral and criminal norms, avarice, tolerance to corruption, thirst for power and a desire to prove himself through illegal actions.

Acculturation of Chinese international students in the US: Does sojourner status really matter?

AbstractDrawing upon the conceptual framework of ‘the sojourner’ in Siu's (American Journal of Sociology 58, 1952 and 34) work, this study employed semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with 59 Chinese international students and visiting scholars to investigate how their plans to return to China might shape their acculturation experiences in the United States (US). Those interviewed expressed a range of plans, including an immediate return to China, a postponed return, an undecided return and a clear refusal to return. Except for Chinese visiting scholars who were determined sojourners, a majority of the students interviewed regularly negotiated and adjusted their decisions to return based on their experiences in the US. By further exploring the post‐migration experiences of those who expressed some intention to sojourn, this study identifies four types of sojourning mentality, including (1) exploratory, (2) pragmatic, (3) disillusioned and (4) detached. Each type was found to distinctively influence and interplay students' experiences with acculturation and acculturative stress.

Is it time sociology started researching incompetence?

There appears to be a mismatch between apparent incompetence in the world and the amount of sociological research it attracts. The aim of this article is to outline a sociology of incompetence and justify its value. I begin by defining incompetence as unsatisfactory performance relative to standards. Incompetence is thus intrinsically sociological in being negotiated and socially (re)constituted. The next section foregrounds how widespread and serious incompetence is. This renders effective sociological understanding crucial to welfare. The article then systematically analyses uses of the term in the British Journal of Sociology (a good quality general journal) to assess the current state of research. This analysis fully confirms the neglect of incompetence as a research topic. The next section proposes suitable methods for preliminary incompetence research addressing distinctive challenges like the stigma of being incompetent. These sections then allow incompetence to be better contextualised by other contributing concepts like power, bureaucracy and meritocracy. The final section justifies suggestions about directions for future research.

Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Volume 50, Issue 4 (2023)

Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Volume 50, Issue 4 (2023)

Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Volume 51, Issue 3 (2024)

Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Volume 51, Issue 3 (2024)

Women’s Employment: A Bibliometric Approach

This paper aims to analyze how contributions have been made to the literature on women's employment with a quantitative bibliometric approach. Main articles, authors, institutes, countries, journals, and most cited authors' genders of women's employment literature were determined, and how they differed in the context of developed and developing countries was discussed. As far as we know, this kind of quantitative literature review on women's employment has not been done before, and the literature differences between developed and developing countries have not been examined in this way. While the number of publications written for developed and developing countries is constantly increasing, the publications of developed countries are always more than those of developing countries. While the journals in which articles about developed countries are published are mostly sociology journals, the journals of the articles about developing countries are journals with the theme of economy and development. The USA is the country where the most publications are produced for both, while developing countries such as South Africa, in particular, stand out in the developing countries list. In terms of institutes, while there are institutes of developing countries in developing countries’ institute list, universal institutions such as the World Bank also publish very effectively. 75% of the most cited authors are women in developed countries, while this rate is 50% in developing countries.

Engineering education in change. A case study on the impact of digital transformation on content and teaching methods in different engineering disciplines

ABSTRACT This study investigates the question of how Engineering education in the Nordic region responds to the challenge of educating future engineers who are ready for professional practice in a digital world. Particular interest is put on identifying who is responsible for the implementation of digital knowledge and what and how subject content is addressed. Our study draws on Bernstein’s pedagogical device model (Bernstein, B. 2002. “Editorial: Basil Bernstein’s Theory of Social Class, Educational Codes and Social Control.” British Journal of Sociology of Education 23 (4): 525–526). The study focuses on the questions of if/how digital transformation leads to change of engineering education content and/or pedagogical approaches. Narratives of 20 university teachers have been collected and analysed. Findings reveal three areas of consideration; there is a connection between how digital knowledge is valued and how the subject is introduced in engineering education, differences in digital knowledge can be linked to the generation gap and, universities are seldom seen as the driving force for digital innovation. It is concluded that education must reflect on the purpose for which digitalisation takes place, continuous training targeting digital transformation should be offered to senior teachers and, universities need to provide increased focus and dedicated time for educational development.

Gender differences in rewards for academic performance: the Case of North American environmental sociology

ABSTRACT Although the subfield of environmental sociology within the United States has achieved near-equal gender representation in recent years, little has been done to assess gender equality beyond numerical representation. Using data collected from 401 environmental sociologists’ curricula vitae (CVs), this study investigates gender differences in publishing productivity and associated academic rewards in American environmental sociology. Findings indicate gender differentials in overall publishing productivity, with men producing more articles than women, but no significant gender differences for publication in flagship sociology journals, author-level citation accrual, or first job placement. Findings suggest the American environmental sociology subfield has greater gender balance for some scholarly rewards, but less so for overall publishing productivity. While results indicate improvement in some potential locations of gender inequality, more research is needed to assess other locations and to confirm that gender equity is within reach for the subfield.

Lifetimes of Punishment: The Imperial Feedback Loop of Anti‐Asian Violence

As opposed to limiting the scope of anti‐Asian violence to “hate,” this article frames anti‐Asian violence as inextricable from U.S. empire. Building on Go (2020) American Journal of Sociology 125(5):1193, I theorize what I call the “imperial feedback loop” to conceptualize anti‐Asian violence within a postcolonial and transnational context. Using a series of life history interviews, I chart the pathways of two Cambodian American refugees along the migration‐to‐school‐to‐prison‐to‐deportation pipeline. I find that cyclical and intergenerational trauma, the criminalization of Cambodian youth, and refugee deportability sustains the psychological and structural violence of the imperial feedback loop. I relate these findings to Du Boisian scholarship on criminality and imperialism and Asian Americanist scholarship on refugee subjectivity. I conclude by suggesting the interruption of the imperial feedback loop through anti‐PIC and anti‐border organizing and scholarship that critiques the roots of imperial violence and builds toward abolitionist democratic futures.

Mental Health Care Access Among Arab Immigrants in the United States: Application of Public Arena Model

Arab immigrants constitute a sizable portion of the US population, and their adjustment and relocation challenges might escalate mental health issues. Nevertheless, mental health care accessibility among such populations is not recognized as policy issue. Hence, it is crucial to explore the political tools that might be employed to improve immigrants’ access to mental health treatment. The Public Arenas Model (Hilgartner and Bosk, American Journal of Sociology 94:53–78, 1988) provides better understanding of how access to mental health care is defined in the public sphere, why mental health inaccessibility among Arabs has not received attention, and how stakeholders worked to raise the public’s attention to such issue (Smith, Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice 10:134–142, 2009). Ultimately, several policy options are proposed to address Arab immigrants’ access to mental health care issue, including increasing mental health service providers’ language proficiency and cultural competency, integration of behavioral health and primary care services for immigrant populations, and considering novel modes of mental health delivery.

A contribution to the critique of Irish sociology

Irish society is situated within a period of epoch-defining social change. We are facing in to a short number of decades, which promise the significant re-shaping of the political and social contours of our nation. Irish sociology's disciplinary mandate is to analyse that change, yet a historical debate has found new expression – heightened by the 30th anniversary of the Irish Journal of Sociology (IJS) and the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Sociological Association of Ireland (SAI) – as to whether the discipline is utilising the appropriate means to achieve its ends. The current sociological division of labour is unevenly balanced, with empirical inquiry and sub-disciplinary focus privileged over systemic and synthesised social theorising. In the absence of such theorising, sociology runs the risk of remaining an empirical adjunct to other disciplines, as opposed to its rightful position at the centre of the constellation of social sciences. This paper acts as a contribution to the critique of Irish sociology, considering the extent of the disciplines absent centre, providing an analysis as to how we have reached our particular disciplinary juncture and offering certain proposals regarding appropriate analytical anchors for future theoretical focus.