Patrick Trabal

Bio: Patrick Trabal is an academic researcher from University of Paris. The author has contributed to research in topics: Discipline & Agency (philosophy). The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 31 publications receiving 147 citations. Previous affiliations of Patrick Trabal include Paris West University Nanterre La Défense & School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences.

The Fight against Doping in Sport as a Sociology Issue : Construction of a Research Programme

Abstract: This article examines the ways in which Sociology questions the fight against doping. By focusing on the particular place of this subject in relation to other health issues, the author lists and pinpoints the strengths and weaknesses of existing approaches. He then proposes a research program, initiated by the group he directs, with an aim to examine the connections between the values defended by the fight against doping, the tensions in the implementation of policies and the realities in the field. This work puts in perspective 15 years of studies and makes it possible to consider the challenges for an up-coming international observatory.

La sociología pragmática y el modelo de la balística sociológica

Abstract: La corriente pragmática que se describe en este artículo es la sociología de la controversia y del conflicto. El modelo que se expone es la balística sociológica, que se desarrolló con el objetivo de analizar las trayectorias de determinados problemas sociales, así como las de los actores que toman parte en los procesos de disputa y de los argumentos que movilizan. Además, se analiza cómo estos actores usan los principios morales y la fuerza de las redes de las que forman parte. Aunque estos problemas sociales puedan seguir trayectorias muy diversas, el modelo plantea el ciclo ideal de las controversias dividido en cinco etapas: emergencia del problema, controversia, polémica, movilización y regulación. Se concluye que el modelo resulta particularmente útil para el estudio de causas y movilizaciones de larga duración, en los que haya participado un gran número de actores, interviniendo en varias arenas de discusión. Asimismo, permite superar el clivaje entre los niveles macro y micro y dar cuenta, en todo momento, de los sucesos inesperados y de los efectos que se producen en los procesos de acción pública. Sin embargo, para que dicho análisis sea posible es necesario combinar distintas estrategias metodológicas y resulta conveniente emplear herramientas informáticas que permitan estudiar un gran volumen de datos.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

'Hard' women and 'soft' women. The social construction of identities among female boxers

Abstract: This article uses a combination of Bourdieu's concept of habitus theory and an interactionist perspective to examine women's participation in the traditionally `man's world' of boxing. The two major aims of the study were to identify how women entered and stayed involved in boxing and the types of identities that they forged in the process. The data were collected via participant-observation and in-depth interviews with a sample of women boxers and their coaches. It was found that the women's entry into and continued involvement in boxing depends on both disposition and situation. It was also concluded that women boxers occupied an ambivalent position: on the one hand, by definition, they challenged the existing gender order; on the other hand, they also reinforced the status quo by displaying traditional modes of femininity. This tension was related to the modalities of boxers' practice (`hard' or `soft') and their social histories. In short, the process of identity-formation among women boxers was insep...

The Socialization of Young Cyclists and the Culture of Doping

Abstract: The objective of this article is to understand how the specific interactions between actors involved in the production of performance influence the socialization process by which cyclists learn the...

Personal Reasons for Withdrawal from Team Sports and the Influence of Significant others among Youth Athletes

Abstract: The aim of this study was to identify the main reasons for withdrawal from team sports and to examine the influence of significant others (i.e., coaches, parents, peers, and siblings) in the decision making concerning withdrawal from youth sports. An attempt was also made to compare withdrawal components and the influence of significant others in terms of gender, level of competition and years of involvement in youth sports. The participants in this study were young football (American soccer) (n=397), ice hockey (n=88) and basketball (n=50) players who had terminated their participation in their sports. Principal component analysis was used to reduce the number of withdrawal items and identify principal withdrawal components. The results indicated that having other things to do and a decline in excitement were the most important reasons for withdrawal. Coaches and teammates appeared to be the two main groups of significant others who influenced young player's decision making related to their withdrawal. S...