Sociology Of Knowledge Research Articles

Doing Post-Western sociology in Central and Eastern Europe before and after the Great Change: some epistemological questions

Analyzing the sociology in Central and Eastern Europe before and after the Great Change in 1989, the article aims to present the main epistemological questions that Post-Western sociology raises for the discipline of sociology as a whole. The focus is put on a paradoxical feature in the development of sociology in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe: before 1989, under conditions of Marxist monoparadigmality, relative isolation of scientific cognition, and political and ideological pressure, sociological research in these countries was characterized by methodological rigor and conceptual innovativeness, while after 1989, in the context of institutionalized plurality of paradigms (polyparadigmality), and intensive scientific exchange, the dominant tendency is—for social scientists in the countries in question—to borrow methodologies, theories, and concepts from the Western sociological tradition, without analyzing the epistemic relevance of these loans with regard to the societies in which they are applied. This paradox is examined in terms of sociological production in two research fields: the general sociological theory of society and sociology of youth. Comparing studies and analyses carried out in these two fields in Central and Eastern Europe before and after the Great Change, the article demonstrates that Post-Western sociology is a valid research posture for a wide variety of sociological practices regardless of the concrete national, theoretical, or institutional frameworks in which researchers are working. Sensitivity to the context of research is what permits Post-Western sociology to eliminate cognitive hierarchies and inequalities and restores the epistemic autonomy of each cognitive practice, emphasizing the inevitable cultural variations in the interpretation of one and the same phenomenon and the impact of these variations on methodology. In this sense, Post-Western sociology raises important epistemological problems regarding the relationship between maintaining the disciplinary principles of sociological knowledge on the one hand, and the application of those principles in different epistemic contexts on the other hand. The main question could be formulated as follows: how does Post-Western sociology enrich the deontological and epistemological principles of the discipline and in what way does it contribute to developing its scientific project?

Dominations in Indian Sociology

The growth trajectory of Indian Sociology in the past few decades is unsurpassed. From being treated as a ‘residual category’ and a subordinate disciple, it is now a well-developed and self-sustaining discipline. There are various demands placed on sociology after Independence which explicitly contributed to its development. But this development of Indian sociology is not free from certain dominations: (1) Domination of popular trends in sociology produced by western scholars, (2) Domination of certain sections in India, (3) Domination of State and Identity Politics. These domains of domination are significantly hindering the development of Indian sociology in an inclusive manner and degrading the efficacy of the knowledge produced in this field. The only way forward for Indian sociology is to develop indigenous sociological traditions, concepts, and methods to explain the social reality of India, to recognize the diverse trends of sociological knowledge being produced and promote civility, reason, and reflexivity among diverse perspectives of sociological knowledge.

Paradigmatic upgrading of social innovation studies

The guiding idea of this analysis concerns the development of social innovation theory on the paradigmatic basis of the social interaction concept. The aims of the discussion are three-fold. First, the central task is to elaborate on a multidimensional concept of social innovation, defined as organized social change. Second, the development of the social innovation concept is used to evaluate the heuristic potentials of the sociological paradigm of social interaction. Third, the paradigm of social interaction and its capacities to guide the structuration, functioning and development of knowledge about social innovations are put under close scrutiny. The conclusion is that the suggested disciplinary paradigm of sociology and the new concept of social innovation facilitate the explanatory approach to relevant social phenomena, the overcoming of theoretical and methodological dilemmas in sociology and the systematic building up of cumulative sociological knowledge.

Social work for the elderly. Case work method in support of elderly patients with oncological diseases

Professional support for elderly people requires preparation to provide assistance in the face of a health loss, including oncological diseases, the risk of which increases especially at this stage of human development. A social worker asked to help a person who is struggling with an oncological disease needs to have a broad psychological, sociological and pedagogical knowledge. Working by applying the individual case method, a social worker focuses their support actions on a direct impact on the person and their social environment. Generally speaking, the purpose of the case work method is to strengthen the individual, raising their energy and internal abilities through a consciously directed process of individual work with the person, and (if the situation requires it) to extend the support by organising additional help from the specialised institutions , appropriate for solving a given problem. The theoretical background for the effective implementation of the case work method at the stage of diagnosis, then preparation of an assistance plan and implementation of planned intervention activities in the area of assistance to the elderly patients with an oncological disease, may be the concept of A. Maslow. It turns out that the usefulness of this theoretical concept has been repeatedly verified in practice, in processes of identifying the needs of seniors and planning interventions by social workers when dealing with the extremely difficult experience of an oncological disease in late adulthood. The advantage of the theoretical background discussed is that it indicates specific areas of biopsychosocial functioning, which requires concentration and diagnostic sensitivity of social workers in contact with a senior person that goes beyond the standard assessment of the client needs. The aim of this article is to bring closer the theoretical basis for diagnostic and intervention actions that can be undertaken by a social worker providing support to the seniors submitted to oncological treatment.

К вопросу об институционализации пенитенциарной социологии

Nowadays a new direction of penitentiary sociology is being actualized in the scientific community, which considers significant issues of social adaptation of convicts, their subculture, stratification, and resocialization. The importance of sociological knowledge in this area is substantiated, facts about a contradictory vision of punishment as a social function are presented. The subject of the author's consideration is the peculiarities of the interpretation of penitentiary sociology and the specificity of its formation. The purpose of this article is to characterize the boundaries of the subject field of this sociological knowledge and to consider the specifics of considering prison punishment from the point of view of multifunctional purpose. The authors consider the protosociological approaches of D. Howard, S. V. Poznyshev to the issue of organizing the penal system, as well as M. Fuko sociological interpretation of the role of punishment in society.

Features of informatization of sociological knowledge

The article assumes an analysis of information as one of the most important socially significant resources of modern civilization. The authors stressed that main paradigm characteristic of modern social theory can be expressed by the thesis about the impossibility of direct access to social phenomena. In modern civilization, information is becoming one of the most important socially significant resources. The authors think that its role as a strategic resource increases with the development of network technologies that accelerate data transfer and facilitate the search for necessary information. The authors are confident that the role of higher education in this process is key. But it itself is faced with a huge number of problems, one of which is improving the quality of its functioning and guaranteeing the results of its activities. This problem is closely related to the implementation of innovations. The authors suggest that innovation in education should be understood as an innovation designed to resolve the current problem situation in order to optimize the educational process, improve its quality or organize favorable conditions for the assimilation of material by students. Based on a critical approach to reform the current system of higher education the paper touches upon the need to change the process infornatization of humanities education.. The authors conclude that the development of humanities education in the information society is aimed at implementing an interdisciplinary approach, ie should ensure the effectiveness of the development and application of humanities knowledge and form a conscious responsible choice in a variety of cultural meanings, cultural self-determination.

Educational Travel for First-Generation Students

Research on educational travel has shown significant student outcomes for personal, academic, and professional growth. However, there are financial and cultural barriers that make it harder for some groups of students to participate in programs such as study abroad and shorter-term educational travel. This article examines the unique challenges and opportunities for first-generation and low-income students in these programs. It analyzes a short-term (10-day) educational travel group of exclusively first-generation participants, including three students, a faculty member, and an administrator, studying social mobility in Denmark. Coauthored by a faculty member and student from the trip, the article qualitatively reflects on student gains in personal growth, social connectedness, professional skills, and sociological knowledge. The article concludes by advocating for more targeted programming in recruiting and supporting first-generation students in educational travel.

ГОРОД И СВЯЗИ С ОБЩЕСТВЕННОСТЬЮ В РАБОТАХ КЛАССИКОВ ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЙ СОЦИОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ МЫСЛИ

Urban studies has occupied and continues to occupy a special place in the system of sociological knowledge. G. Simmel, F. Tennis and E. Durkheim paid great attention to the problem of the genesis and evolution of large and small cities, the devel- opment of urbanization processes, various aspects of integration, mobilization and social activism within a single urban space. Classics of European sociological thought laid a powerful theoretical and methodological foundation for the scientific study of the institute of public relations in the social space of European cities of the late XIX – first half of the XX centuries. Their fun- damental differences between the countryside and the city, the specifics of private and public life in small and large cities, the antagonism between community and society, organic and mechanical solidarity, the progress of civilization and the parallel growth of social deviations allow a more adequate approach to the study of the institute of public relations, but in re- lation to modern realities, which are characterized by the processes of digitalization and globalization, the rapid develop- ment of high technologies, new opportunities for social interaction, which become available not only for the elite, but also for ordinary citizens. Without effective public relations, it is difficult to imagine the activities of city authorities and services, trade firms, corporations, police, educational and cultural institutions. We consider public relations as a universal socio-cultural mechanism that allows us to establish and maintain effective public communications between management entities and segments of the urban social environment that are important for their activities (individuals and social groups) in the mode of dialogue and search for joint solutions to current problems.

SOCIOLOGICAL EDUCATION OF THE POPULATION OF THE USSR IN LATE 1950 - EARLY 1980

In this article, the authors analyzed relevant publications devoted to the formation of "revival" of domestic sociology, as well as the role of what place sociology occupied in science, society, education, History, Economics, etc. In addition, the time period of Soviet sociology of the late 1950s-early 1980s was covered. Within the framework of this article, a brief description of how the implementation of sociological education of the population of the USSR took place in that period is given. Going through the pages of Soviet sociology, the authors substantiate the fact that the sociology of the historical period was tightly used not only in research areas of specific universities, laboratories, but also in many industries, as well as the power structures of the USSR. Further in the work the merit of eminent Soviet scientists in creation of "Institute of concrete social researches" (which since 1972 became called "Institute of sociological researches" and since 1988 Institute of sociology of Academy of Sciences of the USSR, in a consequence of RAS) is noted. The paper substantiates the position that sociological knowledge encouraged citizens of the multinational people of the USSR to act consciously and proactively in accordance with the objective laws of social development. The next major step, on which the authors of the work purposefully sharpened their keen vision, is the role of consolidation and mutual exchange of sociological research (this was especially "vividly" reflected in the late 1960s and early 1980s) in a number of different sociological services.

DESTRUCTIVE NATURE OF MANIPULATIVE CONTENT, CREATED BY CRIMINAL LEADERS OF TOTALITARIAN PSEUDO-RELIGIOUS CULTS WITH MODERN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

Purpose of the Study: The analysis characteristics of the manipulative content, created by members of the totalitarian pseudo-religious groups, as well as the consideration of the manipulative techniques, which the criminals use to destructively influence both individual and social consciousness in pursuit of achieving their goals, constitutes the purpose of this study. Methodology: The materialistic theory of knowledge, as well as the fundamental principles of philosophy and the legal theory, formed the methodological frameworks of this work. The theoretical principles of psychological and sociological knowledge were based on the concept of a systematic (holistic) study of a personality from the holistic (gestalt) standpoint. Main Findings: The manipulative content, which the members of the totalitarian pseudo-religious groups post on social networks, evidently shows all signs of the hidden psychological impacts aimed at both conscious and unconscious components of the human psyche. Those who create such content actively use the resources of the well-known search engines, adapting them to their specific needs. When rites and ceremonies are performed, manipulative in-fluences are mixed in nature (being verbal, visual, and kinesthetic) and are deeply traumatic for the participants’ psyche. Applications of this Study: The results can be useful for the classes on Information security. With all cultural and linguistic, legal, and general social context of communications, our findings have practical importance for assessing the hidden content of the religion-related topics. Novelty of this study: The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that the author analyzed the methods, which the criminal leaders of pseudo-religious groups and movements use for creating and disseminating their manipulative messages. Moreover, the author formulated his proposals regarding the prevention of crimes committed with information technologies in the sphere of religious relations.

Whose education is it? Social consequences of commercial advertising campaigns

The aim of the article is to analyze the potential educational consequences of commercial advertising campaigns. The author creates the hermeneutics of the selected visual element of the ”Join the Procession” campaign of the Converse brand present in public space. This is an analysis of the persuasion strength of this campaign in relation to knowledge of youth psychology and sociology. The author proves that there is a third education space important for shaping the attitudes of young people – beyond home and school control, which has all the means and conditions to deny or eliminate the fi rst two actions. The author postulates the restoration and enhancement of the educational function of the school.

SOCIOLOGIA CRÍTICA E (PROTO) INTERSECCIONAL DE DU BOIS: CONTRIBUIÇÕES AOS DEBATES CONTEMPORÂNEOS SOBRE GÊNERO, INTERSECCIONALIDADE, MARXISMO E TEORIA CRÍTICA DA “RAÇA”

In this article, I analyse how Du Bois’ critical and (proto)intersectional sociological analysis, which demonstrates connections between, and is simultaneously critical of, racism, sexism, capitalism and colonialism, not only preceded, but also continues to influence, discussions on gender, race and class in contemporary debates of sociology of gender, black and intersectional feminism, as well as Marxism and critical race theory. By doing that, I will demonstrate how Du Bois's work has offered important contributions to the sociological knowledge, helping us to understand (and to criticize) racism, sexism and capitalism as (interconnected) systems of exploitation, marginalization and violence. I will do so by reading direct excerpts from Du Bois’ work, mainly from publications that have not yet been translated into Portuguese.

A response to ‘Keynes, Kuhn and the sociology of knowledge: a comment on Pernecky and Wojick’

A response to ‘Keynes, Kuhn and the sociology of knowledge: a comment on Pernecky and Wojick’

As tecnologias da informação no Brasil: um ensaio sobre processos tecnológicos no período de 1995-2010

neste trabalho buscaremos reconstruir o início do mercado brasileiro da internet. Para isso partiremos de matérias publicadas em sites de naturezas distintas, no período dos 15 anos iniciais do mercado da internet no Brasil. Essas notícias são importantes porque trazem questões situadas no tempo sobre o uso da internet por parte dos brasileiros, bem como o esforço do Estado na criação e controle do mercado da internet. Ainda, traremos dilemas que preocuparam os sujeitos nesse período, seja do ponto de vista dos impactos da internet e da tecnologia na vida de seus usuários, ou dos dispositivos jurídicos necessários para a proteção dos sujeitos no cotidiano da relação com a internet. Esses dados serão mobilizados na operacionalização de diferentes teorias da rede que estão em disputa no campo de produção de conhecimento da sociologia, os representantes são Castells, Elias, Granovetter e Latour. Dessa forma, através dessas teorias, iremos desnaturalizar as preocupações relacionadas ao uso da internet no Brasil, bem como relembrar que as questões que nos afligem hoje, na verdade, são antigas.

TRUST IN THE SYSTEM OF SOCIAL CAPITAL OF KAZAKHSTAN SOCIETY: THEORETICAL ANALYSIS

The study of social capital is aimed at improving the basic conditions of socialization, which determine the main vectors in forming of a competitive nation, such as education, health, culture and social security. Trust between people plays a key role in the functioning of horizontal and vertical social relations. The purpose of this paper is the study of trust as a sociological phenomenon and an indicator of measuring the quality of social ties in Kazakhstani society. Many scholars considered trust as social capital and the basis for building social relations. Simply put, social capital is the number of people who can willingly help you with solving various problems. And the vast majority of people have problems with low level of trust in each other; distrust of social and state institutions is widely developed in Kazakhstani society. Why is there a very weak level of trust in almost everything in our society? If in the studies of foreign scientists the conceptual foundations of social capital, the strategy for the interaction of social groups, various models of civil society are clearly indicated, in Kazakhstani science there is gradually an interest in studying this phenomenon, its conceptual designation in sociological knowledge, as well as the definition of the sociocultural model of civil society.

Multiplicity in Religious Theories and Explanations and Broadening of Sociological Knowledge

Multiplicity in Religious Theories and Explanations and Broadening of Sociological Knowledge

How Behavioral Aspects Influence the Sustainable Financial Decisions of Shareholders: An Empirical Study and Proposal for a Relevant Decision-Making Concept

Behavioral finance is an area or sub-discipline of behavioral economics that examines the real financial behavior and decision-making of people, including the knowledge of psychology and sociology. The objective of this paper was to identify and investigate the impact of significant cognitive, psychological and emotional factors affecting the financial decision-making of the shareholders of woodworking and furniture manufacturing and trading enterprises. This could lead to the design of decision-making concepts which take into account not only cognitive but also psychological and emotional factors and their influences on decision-making process, which could positively affect the sustainable development of the aforementioned types of enterprises. The mapping of the addressed issue was carried out by means of an empirical survey in the practice of the Slovak woodworking and furniture manufacturing and trading enterprises in the form of a questionnaire. The results of the survey were evaluated by descriptive, graphical and mathematical-statistical methods. Conclusions and recommendations were formulated based on the identification of key behavioral aspects (knowledge, security, freedom and sadness), the implementation of which could contribute to eliminating negative deviations and errors in the financial decision-making process of shareholders of woodworking and furniture manufacturing and trading enterprises.

СОЦИАЛЬНОЕ ТВОРЧЕСТВО ОДАРЕННЫХ ДЕТЕЙ КАК ИНСТРУМЕНТ ПОВЫШЕНИЯ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ РЕШЕНИЙ В ПРОЦЕССЕ СОЦИАЛЬНОГО ПРОЕКТИРОВАНИЯ

The article deals with the problem of developing skills of social creativity and social design among gifted children, which is associated with important scientific and practical tasks in various related fields of sociological knowledge, such as the sociology of education, economic sociology, social psychology, marketing sociology, political sociology, and many others. The significance of the research is due to the fact that currently the development of society, its rapid renewal and innovation dictates the need to expand the traditional knowledge about the models of formation and development of gifted youth as a special socio-demographic group, search for and identify innovative complex sociological models of competencies and their empirical inclusion within the modules in the educational process. The article considers the results of the research within the framework of the project "Modeling of groups of competencies of social creativity of gifted youth in the Republic of Tatarstan" with the financial support of the Kazan open University of talents 2.0. The methodological and theoretical research on social creativity is based on a fairly extensive analysis of the essence and sources of social creativity, its types and forms, and the features of its formation in the conditions of society. The article discusses and compares theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of social creativity. The article shows the identified, analyzed and systematized competencies of social creativity of gifted youth as tools for the social effectiveness of economic decisions in the process of social design. Building a competence model based on the degree of their determination involves determining labor knowledge, labor skills, and labor skills, as well as identifying their criteria and indicators in order to form educational modules and determine the best ways to implement it in practice based on the model of social creativity competence groups.

SOME ASPECTS OF THE HISTORY OF THE APPLICATION OF THE PROFILING METHOD

The article is devoted to the analysis of the origins of the method of profiling the identity of an unknown criminal. The development of the application of the possibilities of profiling the personality of a criminal and the practice of its application in the activities of law enforcement agencies in the investigation of crimes are investigated. Based on the concept of profiling, as from English. Profile is an integrated crime prevention technique by highlighting the characteristics of persons who committed a crime or are preparing to make it on the basis of psychological, criminological, criminalistic and sociological knowledge; a set of methods and techniques for assessing and predicting human behavior based on the analysis of the most informative signs, forensic portrait of a person, characteristics of appearance, non-verbal and verbal behavior, location, etc. We noted that there is a lot of research by foreign and Ukrainian scientists on the problems of using profiling technology, but not enough attention has been paid to the history of the practice of applying the profiling method. The main names of scientists and the features of their teachings were listed in the abstract, as the stages of development of the introduction of the profiling method in the practice of disclosing and investigating crimes by law enforcement agencies. We said that now the technology of the profiling method is not used as a mandatory measure in the investigation and disclosure of crimes. There are fundamentals of such activities, but it is too early to talk about the widespread use of profiling. At the same time, it can be noted that profiling was successfully used in the disclosure of some resonant crimes related to serial killings. We agreed with individual authors that research on forensic profiling and the behavioral aspects of crimes in Ukraine are in the early stages of development. We noted that since profiling is a young science, it is constantly evolving, and its fields of application are expanding. Today, profiling techniques are used in the field of preventive medicine to correct and prevent the emergence of diseases of psychosomatic etiology. There is also the so-called family profiling, with the help of which specialists try to help family members in solving their family problems. In addition to forensic, criminal and criminological, there is aviation, anti-terrorist, research, psychological, information security profiling, typological. Also, transport, hotel business profiling, personnel, banking and the like. We concluded that profiling technology is a universal comprehensive and modern tool that is advisable to use in law enforcement agencies in investigative, operational, personnel and administrative activities, etc. The history of its development is only gaining momentum. However, today, in law enforcement agencies, not only the profiling technique is not widely used. They do not use this term at all.

RE-BUILD LABORATORY CONSTRUCTION IN SOCIOLOGY LEARNING

Purpose of the study: This study aims to reconstruct the concept of a sociology laboratory in learning sociology in high school, as a first step to developing a sociology laboratory that is integrated with sociology learning.
 Methodology: This study uses a qualitative descriptive approach with data sources derived from informants, sociology class observations, and lesson plan analysis. While data collection techniques include interviews, observation, and document analysis. Data analysis uses a content analysis approach that seeks to combine research findings with relevant theory analysis.
 Main findings: The results of the study indicate that the sociology laboratory in learning is an experimental attempt to apply sociological knowledge by involving students so that students have the sensitivity and concern to be critical and be able to solve social problems that occur in society. So far, the concept of developing a sociology laboratory in learning has not been developed on an ongoing basis so that the spirit of scientific sociology has not been fully understood by high school students.
 Applications of this study: This research is useful for sociology teachers who are interested in developing sociology learning through laboratories to support the achievement of sociology learning objectives, namely students have a critical attitude and are sensitive to various social problems that occur in society.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: The existence of a sociology laboratory in learning has not been maximally developed in high schools so this study can be used as a theoretical study of the importance of sociology laboratories in sociology learning in high schools.