Sociological Tools Research Articles

Praying interaction rituals: Prayer, ritual, and spiritual capital in a contemporary neo-Guru movement

In this article, I contribute to the development of the sociology of prayer focusing on the practice of bhaktiyoga, or yoga of devotion, within the largely influential, although substantially understudied, Mooji’s neo-Guru movement. Methodologically, I rely on the tools of reflexive sociology, autoethnography, and discourse analysis while theoretically I advance a preliminary theorization of praying interaction rituals through a coupled reading of Mauss’ early insights, Randal Collins’ Interaction Ritual Chain Theory (IRC), and the concept of spiritual capital. The article conceptualizes collective prayer as an interaction ritual chain through which the collective identity of the community is continuously reconstituted around shared rituals, and which is in turn aimed at the acquisition of spiritual capital, the most valued type of capital within Mooji’s community of devotees. Within this framework, prayer becomes essential also in the process of becoming a ‘good devotee’.

Jak przekładać „wielkich”? Polscy tłumacze wobec mistrzów francuskiego klasycyzmu

How to Translate“the Great”? Polish Translators and the Masters of French Classicism: A Review of Michał Bajer’s Klasycyzm. Przekład. Prestiż (2020) Michał Bajer’s book offers an interesting approach to older translations. The author discusses Polish renderings of Corneille’s and Racine’s tragedies in the broadly defined Enlightenment (1740–1830). He looks at the translations from three perspectives: analysing changes at the level of rhetoric, at the level of poetics, and examining the paratextual influences, i.e., the critics’ statements with regard to both original texts and translations. The discourse is set in a historical, literary, and social context, in which the French playwrights appear as models of the classicist perfection of style, an object of imitation, which, however, undergoes constant negotiation on the part of the translators. The book proposes an interesting combination of literary, philological, and sociological tools to create a multi-layered picture of the Polish reception of the two authors.

Displacement, women intellectuals and entangled knowledge in the making of global modernity

This article offers a perspective on how the proposed conceptualisation of the idea of displacement can be used to analyse processes of knowledge formation and transformation brought about by the movement of intellectuals in modernity. It develops a theoretical framework that considers the acts of cultural mediation and spatial displacement as key aspects for understanding the structures of knowledge and cultural interpretation produced in the formation of modernity. Making use of historical–sociological tools, it examines biographical information along with the intellectual contributions of two female intellectuals, Flora Tristan (1803–1844) and Nísia Floresta (1810–1855). This contribution seeks to re-address the problem how to understand modernity from a decentred point of view. It procdeds by discussing how the history of modernity and its different cultural manifestations should be analysed with greater attention to practices of mediation and theoretical interpretations as developed by lesser-known intellectuals. Thus, the article also contributes to analysing the agency of women intellectuals in the history of modernity.

The place of care in a large Belgian modernist complex

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of care, as well as the extent to which it is undervalued in Western societies, emphasising the instrumentalization and neoliberal logic that care is subject to. Since the 1970s, various feminist theorists have developed ethics of care. This evolving and controversial ethic has become a critical tool in sociology, philosophy, economics, and public policy analysis but is still underdeveloped in architecture and urban planning. This paper adopts the feminist ethic of care to analyse and criticise the evolution of a modernist social housing complex. The Cité de Droixhe was built in the 1950s to offer various facilities, 2000 rental social housing units, and vast green areas in Liège (Belgium). However, since its creation, it has undergone major transformations including the demolition of nearly 1000 units. In this qualitative inductive research, an interdisciplinary approach between architecture and social sciences was proposed, combining archival research, semi-structured interviews, and participatory observations. The ethic of care is mobilised both as a research and methodological posture and as an object of analysis. The data collected led to questioning the place of care in the evolution of the large complex under different themes: the facilitation of reproductive work, the valorisation of care professions, and the attention paid to proximity and the daily life of the neighbourhood inhabitants. By highlighting the integration and loss of care within the different transformations of the housing estate, this study shows the importance of reasserting the value of care and making it a collective responsibility, contributing to drawing perspectives for a more feminist, equal, and caring city.

РОССИЙСКАЯ МОЛОДЕЖЬ О РАБОТОДАТЕЛЯХ И ТРУДОВЫХ ОТНОШЕНИЯХ. РЕЗУЛЬТАТЫ СОЦИЛОГИЧЕСКОГО ОПРОСА

The subject of the study is the attitudes of Russian youth towards the employer and work ethics. The purpose of the paper is to test the stability of young people’s perceptions about the forms of relations with employers, regardless of the dynamics of external and internal economic conditions in Russia. The relevance of the study is due to the contradictions that have accumulated in the relationship between the employer and young employees, which have intensified due to the negative external and internal economic dynamics in Russia. The scientific novelty lies in the empirical base collected immediately before the introduction of unprecedented economic sanctions against Russia and a year after that, as well as in the sociological tools used. The research method is a questionnaire-based survey of the Russian youth using a quota sample (n=600 in 2022 and n=620 in 2023) with representations by gender, age, federal district and size of the settlement. In the course of the study, the authors obtained the following results: it was found that in perception of Russian youth, a negative image of the employer was entrenched, as one interested in deriving significant benefits from its position, and disinterested in the proper encouragement and development of its employees. At the same time, this image is stable and has remained practically unchanged for the period before and a year after the introduction of economic sanctions and the conduct of a special military operation, which may indicate the cultural specificity of such perceptions. The relationship between an employer and a young employee is of a predominant material nature, and if the company’s situation worsens, finding a new job for young employees will become a higher priority than fulfilling their functions. The authors conclude that employers should, firstly, provide their young employees with educational and training opportunities; secondly, review the system of material and non-material remuneration and incentives for employees, including involving them in management decisions; and thirdly, demonstrate the significance of the employer’s contribution to the development of the company, and thereby improve their image in the eyes of the company’s team.

A sociotechnological perspective of distance education systems in Bangladesh, Australia and the UK

ABSTRACT Offering education by distance provides an important sociological tool for equalising opportunities in developed nations. However, for developing nations and more particularly some of the least-developed countries in the world, it has the potential to play a much larger role in providing both basic and advanced educational opportunities and, therefore, should be viewed as a necessity rather than an option. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of distance education (DE) systems in three different countries – Bangladesh, Australia and the UK. Although commonalities and differences were evident between the three systems, a number of unified constructs and associated thematic propositions emerged, and resulted in the identification of an innovative theoretical model. The ‘Adapting Structuration Theory In Distance Education (ASTIDE)’ model, conceptualised as part of a broader study, provides an underlying theoretical basis for effective DE provision across the world.

Scales, Reefs and Bureaucracies – International Political Fieldworks

Abstract The political sociology of the international, because it refers, at least in part, to practices and configurations in which the routine superposition of a society and a state is even more problematic than it already is when the investigation is confined within national borders, may call for the deployment of particular empirical and theoretical strategies. This article outlines some of these strategies, which relate to the question of identification of the field and processes of internationalization, access to the bureaucracies of foreign affairs and war, and the question of secrecy. The article reflects on ways to capture the division of labor among and in these international organizations, and on the tracing of individual paths as a means of reconstructing the milieux of international activism. It examines the possibilities opened up by collective investigations of international events. Rooted in the idea of the unity of social sciences, the article hopes to show how the ordinary methods and tools of sociology can contribute to enriching the study of international fieldworks (and how in return the development of international political sociology can contribute to the renewal of social sciences practiced on a national scale).

Displacement frames: How residents perceive, explain and respond to un-homing in Black San Francisco

Few urban phenomena command as much attention as displacement. Scholars continue to refine conceptualisations of displacement to more effectively capture its diversity in forms, scales and temporalities. Recent research advocates a more inclusive conceptualisation, attuned to the processes of ‘un-homing’ – that is, the more subtle, ‘non-catastrophic’ forms of ‘slow violence’ that rupture residents’ phenomenological attachments to place and home. Advocates of the un-homing approach call on researchers to develop the data and analytical frameworks necessary for capturing the perceptions and lived experiences of displacement from the perspective of longtime residents. This article develops one such analytical framework, which we refer to as displacement frames. Building on the conceptual tools of cultural sociology, displacement frames are the evaluative schema through which residents make sense of, and act towards, the slow violence and micro-events of un-homing. Drawing on 32 interviews with long-time Black residents in San Francisco’s rapidly gentrifying Bayview Hunters Point neighbourhood, we identify three primary displacement frames: (1) displacement-by-design, (2) displacement-as-predation and (3) displacing-the-problem. As a product of residents’ historical experiences, networks and housing tenure, these frames simplify complex (and often ambiguous) experiences into a coherent narrative about the primary causes, conditions and consequences of displacement. In turn, displacement frames influence how and to what extent residents attempt to resist, prevent or perhaps even accept and support local displacement.

INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION OF GENDER EQUALITY: SOCIAL AND LEGAL RESEARCH

The article is devoted to the analysis of acts adopted by the United Nations in the field of women's rights and combating gender asymmetry. The authors emphasize that the activities of the UN contribute to the development of the gender dimension of social policy and the legal provision of equal status for both sexes. Representatives of the UN have repeatedly recorded trouble in the "women's issue". At this time, in particular, almost total illiteracy of the female population was recorded. This circumstance was regarded as a brake and a shear obstacle in the matter of emancipation. Appealing to the tools of gender sociology, in particular to the concept of a new gender order, it is shown that at present a special role in ensuring women's rights is played by a specially established in 2010 structural unit under the auspices of the United Nations - UN Women. With the goal of improving the status of women, this entity is guided by the principle that gender equality is at the heart of the human rights and human values ​​of the United Nations.

Analiz vozmozhnostej vliyaniya na predpochteniya naseleniya v otnoshenii klimaticheskoj politiki s ispol'zovaniem metodologii frejmirovaniya: istoriko-sociologicheskij analiz

The tools of modern sociology and behavioral economics allow us to empirically assess the possible impact on the change of prevailing preferences in the desired direction. The purpose of this work is the development and practical testing of tools for evidence-based assessment of the potential for changing preferences of the population in climate policy issues. As an information base of the study, the authors conducted an online survey of residents of Russian cities with a population of 100 thousand and more (744 respondents). The results were evaluated by multivariate regression analysis.

Death as Disaster: Andy Warhol's Aesthetics of Catastrophe

Dwelling on an interdisciplinary approach of contemporary visual representations of disaster, which incorporates the theoretical tools of visual culture, semiotics, sociology, psychology and psychoanalysis, this study focuses on the affects and effects of Andy Warhol’s series Death and Disaster (1962-1963) within the larger framework of Western culture’s approach to death, as well as of the deep social and political changes of the 1960s. Unlike the unilateral consensus of Warholian scholars who have often argued that Warhol’s pop art was devoid of intention and that its repetitive visuals were merely supposed to replicate the all-encompassing consumerist feature of the ‘60s and to commodify art, this study argues that there is a lot of subversive intent in Warhol’s obsessive representation of death and disaster. In addition, the present analysis also suggests that a so-called aesthetics of catastrophe can be identified, especially when the larger context of Warhol’s primary sources and that of the general political and social turmoil of the ‘60s is considered. The issue of repetitive representation is also addressed in its ambivalent and ambiguous effect of gradually effacing, as well as enhancing the viewers’ negative affects towards disaster and death. Departing from the contemporary Western frame of mind, which exiles death outside the boundaries of being and categorizes it simply as the ultimate disaster, the present analysis is interested in seeing how this rhetoric is articulated at the level of visual representation in Warhol’s series Death and Disaster. Aside from a semiotic interpretation of the images, the study also considers the specific psychological and sociological variables that allow for the semiotic decoding to unfold correctly. Thus, the article argues that within the larger context of the 1960s American society, Warhol’s series emerges as a subversive portrayal of political and social changes and their media coverage, of the public consumption of catastrophe and ultimately of the reification and obliteration of death in contemporary Western culture.

Towards the Conceptualization of Media Inclusion: managerial aspect

The article suggests the author’s approach to the conceptualization of the concept of “media inclusion” in the managerial aspect, which is dictated, firstly, by the absence of this term as a whole and separately of the concept of “inclusion” in domestic media studies, and, secondly, by the presence of a large body of work on the inclusion of certain types of media in the social space, which requires its own understanding. The author (1) reveals the sources of the emergence and specificity of new media in the framework of managerial discourse; (2) notes the features of the use of the concept of inclusion in the scientific lexicon; (3) shows the the specifics of considering inclusion in the media and the effectiveness of media in domestic and foreign science; and (4) conceptualizes the media inclusion from managerial the point. The methodological basis of the research is the work of F.I. Sharkov and V.V. Silkin on the genesis of the sociology of media space, which presents sociological tools for the study of the inclusion of media in social space and media space as a set of fields that unite individuals in the social information space. The author’s concept of media inclusion is based on a comprehensive study of media inclusion as a paradigm in already existing social processes at the management level.

Bringing Sociology of Law Back into Pierre Bourdieu's Sociology: Elements of Bourdieu's Sociology of Law and Dispute Transformation

The academic response to Bourdieu's sociology of law has mainly followed his Weberian focus on the role of legal professionals in state transformations. However, rereading Bourdieu's “The Force of Law” through the lens of its references and relating it to the sociology of law “of the moment” (i.e. that of the 1980s), it becomes clear that Bourdieu's sociology of law is more sophisticated than has generally been acknowledged. In this article, we reread Bourdieu's article with a specific focus on the hitherto overlooked parts that elucidate dispute transformation. We unpack one of Bourdieu's most central sources, Felstiner et al. (1981) , by rereading it in the light of Bourdieu's sociological tools. Emphasizing Bourdieu's implicit points about the pre-dispute phase accentuates how habitual dispositions and forms of capital have an impact on the possibilities available to citizens to transform a justiciable problem into a legal dispute.

Conservation and development of human resources through the return migration policy

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to develop the theoretical and methodological foundations for the study of return migration policy based on its information support, including regression analysis and authors’ sociological research on return intentions of Ukrainian migrants.
 Methodology / approach. The mathematical tools were used for the assessment of Ukraine’s economical losses, related to migration. With the help of the sociological method (survey) migrants’ intentions and main motives to return were investigated. Stepwise regression model was built for identification of main factors of Ukrainian population’s international migration. Besides, general scientific methods were used in the study, such as: analysis, generalization, systematization, tabular and graphical.
 Results. Analysis showed the lack of statistical and sociological information on international migration (particularly return migration) of Ukrainian population. It substantiates the need for improving the system of information provision of migration policy. The results of the survey of the migrants from the Carpathian region of Ukraine (conducted in 2020) show low level of their readiness to return. According to the answers to the questionnaire, there are two main circumstances that could motivate migrants to return: high level of wages and general improving of economic situation in Ukraine. Due to the regression model it was found that the emigration of the population is influenced by the following factors: average monthly wages, gross regional product per capita, foreign direct investment per economically active person and the share of the population with incomes below the subsistence level. The article provides main benefits and ways of implementation of the return migration policy. Particularly, circular migration is considered as a good way to slow down losses of human resources. It is beneficial for all institutional units of the migration process.
 Originality / scientific novelty. The methodology for the consequences of international migration study is improved. In particular, the formula for determination of migration losses through the calculation of economic activity losses is proposed and calculated for the first time. The theoretical foundation of return migration policy is developed. In particular, the model of return migration process on the individual level is elaborated. The sociological tool for the return migration investigation is developed and tested.
 Practical value / implications. The practical recommendations for the human resources conservation are worked out. The questions for the survey, developed by the authors, could be used in further investigations in this issue. The model of return migration process is useful for developing a comprehensive return migration policy, which could support migrants at all stages of this process: decisions making, movement and reintegration.

Conservation and development of human resources through the return migration policy

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to develop the theoretical and methodological foundations for the study of return migration policy based on its information support, including regression analysis and authors’ sociological research on return intentions of Ukrainian migrants.
 Methodology / approach. The mathematical tools were used for the assessment of Ukraine’s economical losses, related to migration. With the help of the sociological method (survey) migrants’ intentions and main motives to return were investigated. Stepwise regression model was built for identification of main factors of Ukrainian population’s international migration. Besides, general scientific methods were used in the study, such as: analysis, generalization, systematization, tabular and graphical.
 Results. Analysis showed the lack of statistical and sociological information on international migration (particularly return migration) of Ukrainian population. It substantiates the need for improving the system of information provision of migration policy. The results of the survey of the migrants from the Carpathian region of Ukraine (conducted in 2020) show low level of their readiness to return. According to the answers to the questionnaire, there are two main circumstances that could motivate migrants to return: high level of wages and general improving of economic situation in Ukraine. Due to the regression model it was found that the emigration of the population is influenced by the following factors: average monthly wages, gross regional product per capita, foreign direct investment per economically active person and the share of the population with incomes below the subsistence level. The article provides main benefits and ways of implementation of the return migration policy. Particularly, circular migration is considered as a good way to slow down losses of human resources. It is beneficial for all institutional units of the migration process.
 Originality / scientific novelty. The methodology for the consequences of international migration study is improved. In particular, the formula for determination of migration losses through the calculation of economic activity losses is proposed and calculated for the first time. The theoretical foundation of return migration policy is developed. In particular, the model of return migration process on the individual level is elaborated. The sociological tool for the return migration investigation is developed and tested.
 Practical value / implications. The practical recommendations for the human resources conservation are worked out. The questions for the survey, developed by the authors, could be used in further investigations in this issue. The model of return migration process is useful for developing a comprehensive return migration policy, which could support migrants at all stages of this process: decisions making, movement and reintegration.

Сельская самозанятость: методические подходы к измерению и анализу

The article presents the experience of applying the theoretical and methodological means and tools of sociology to study the process of integration and differentiation of rural residents, taking place on the basis of family management. It is shown that the range of differences within the actors of self-employment is determined by the demographic composition, the production potential of the farmstead, and the orientation towards development. Integration issupported by the similarity of cultural values. From the point of the managerial function of sociology, the author’s ideas about the need and possibility of the transition of family business entities to the status of formal farming are presented.

Sociological Tools for Improving Women's Representation and Experiences in Strength and Conditioning Coaching

ABSTRACT Women are underrepresented in strength and conditioning (S&C) coaching, arguably more so than women in sport coaching. They account for approximately 6–16% of strength and conditioning coaches at all levels, thus negatively affecting the gendered experiences of women working in S&C. Based on evidence from coaching research, this is likely because of longstanding patterns of structural bias and discrimination, which is inherent in sport, but it is important for future strength and conditioning coaches (SCCs), both men and women, that more equitable practices and opportunities are implemented. In this article, we present 3 sociological perspectives as tools for those working in S&C, including individual coaches, educators, governing bodies, and organizations, to critically examine their gendered practices and environments. We hope that by doing sociology within their day-to-day practice, those working in S&C can develop a better awareness of structural bias and forms of discrimination that affect women SCCs' experiences and then, where possible, make positive changes for women working in the field.

Teachers’ narratives about the possibility to teach controversial history of the 1965 affair in Indonesia

Some Indonesian teachers have entangled alternative versions in their teachings on the 1965 affair, a controversial vicious and political event in Indonesia, to counterbalance or even contest the communist coup narrative in the history lesson curriculum and school textbooks. Employing the sociological tools of Margaret Somers, this paper dissects the stories of eleven high school history teachers about what enables them to teach multiple interpretations of the 1965 affair. The inclusion of different accounts in their teachings is navigated by various narratives of the affair that they acquired or fabricated in certain socio-historical and political settings. However, teaching is far from an independent pedagogical action. Accordingly, the extent to which each teacher could easily teach multiple versions was related to surrounding actors inside or outside of the school and their narratives of the 1965 affair and communism, as well as perceived absence of any institutional practice to veto such teachings.

Methodologies of Memory Studies and Sociology of Philosophy in the Study of the History of Philosophy and Science

While interest towards Memory Studies has long been popular when it comes to studying cultural traditions and social groups, the field of science (scientific traditions) describes issues using the traditional language of history, philosophy and sociology of science. This happens despite Memory Studies potentially being a productive asset in this problem field. This paper brings together Memory Studies and R. Collins’ sociology of philosophy, while presenting a new strategy for problematization based on the history of philosophy. Memory Studies and sociology of philosophies are presented as two complementary approaches that have interdisciplinary prospects for understanding the methodological problems of the humanities in general and philosophy in particular. The foundations of the approaches are analyzed, a comparative analysis is conducted of the conceptual apparatus, examples of explication of sociological tools in the field of current philosophical discussions are considered. How does philosophy work with the past, how does the “past-present” dialectic unfold in the community of philosophers, how do mnemonic practices determine the lines of power in this field? How are “sacred texts” selected in academic communities, what role do mnemonic practices play when it comes to generational bonds? What sort of practices circulate in the community in terms of condemning or accepting figures from the past? All of these issues are analyzed in the study, based on the concepts of Memory Studies and sociology of philosophy while invoking the ideas of R. Collins’ critics, as well as methodological historical and philosophical works. The approach offered by the author makes it possible to expand Memory Studies and sociology of philosophy into the field of history of philosophy and lay the foundations for such studies in the history, sociology and philosophy of science.

Social Encounters and the Worlds Beyond: Putting Situationalism to Work for Qualitative Interviews

In Goffman's terms, qualitative interviews are social encounters with their own realities. Hence, the ‘situational critique’ holds that interviews cannot produce knowledge about the world beyond these encounters, and that other methods, ethnography in particular, render lived life more accurately. The situational critique cannot be dismissed; yet interviewing remains an indispensable sociological tool. This paper demonstrates the value that situationalism holds for interviewing. We examine seemingly contradictory findings from interview studies of middle-class identity (cultural hierarchies and/or egalitarianism?). We then render these contradictions comprehensible by interpreting data excerpts through ‘methodological situationalism’: Goffman's theories of interaction order, ritual, and frontstage/backstage. In ‘situationalist interviewing,’ we suggest that sociologists be attentive to the ‘imagined audiences’ and ‘imagined communities’. These are key to identifying the situations, interaction orders, and cultural repertoires that lie beyond the interview encounter, but to which it refers. In sum, we argue for greater situational awareness among sociologists who must rely on interviews. We also discuss techniques and measures that can facilitate situational awareness. A promise of situational interviewing is that it helps us make sense of contradictions, ambiguities, and disagreements within and between interviews.