Showing papers in "Review of Sociology in 1993"
Abstract: Research on life translt10ns highlights the normative and nonnormative changes that individuals experience over time. During the past two decades, life course perspectives have provided a strategic context for studying the genesis of life transitions and their personal and social consequences. Both population-based and individual models of transitions have become more complex, focusing on the ways that social and historical contexts shape life transitions. At the individual level, progress has also been made in identifying the mechanisms by which transitions affect outcomes. Research on life
639 citations
TL;DR: This paper argued that neither nationalism nor ethnicity is vanishing as part of an obsolete traditional order, arguing that both are part of a modern set of categorical identities invoked by elites and other participants in political and social struggles, offering both tools for grasping pre-existing homogeneity and difference and constructing specific versions of such identities.
Abstract: Neither nationalism nor ethnicity is vanishing as part of an obsolete traditional order. Both are part of a modern set of categorical identities invoked by elites and other participants in political and social struggles. These categorical identities also shape everyday life, offering both tools for grasping pre-existing homogeneity and difference and for constructing specific versions of such identities. While it is impossible to dissociate nationalism entirely from ethnicity, it is equally impossible to explain it simply as a continuation of ethnicity or a simple reflection of common history or language. Numerous dimensions of modern social and cultural change, notably state building (along with war and colonialism), individualism, and the integration of large-scale webs of indirect relationships also serve to make both nationalism and ethnicity salient. Nationalism, in particular, remains the pre-eminent rhetoric for attempts to demarcate political communities, claim rights of self-determination and leg...
509 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines early school from an educational stratification perspective and finds that life-stage and developmental considerations heighten young children's sensitivity to school influences generally, while pressures associated with social role transitions (i.e. from home child to school child) challenge them.
Abstract: Though critically important for children's long-term well being, the beginning school transition generally has been neglected by sociologists interested in issues of schooling and social inequality. This chapter examines early school from an educational stratification perspective. Life-stage and developmental considerations heighten young children's sensitivity to school influences generally, while pressures associated with social role transitions (i.e. from “home child” to “school child”) challenge them. We review how out-of-school social structural influences associated with poverty, ethnicity, and family type complicate early school adjustment. Reviewed too are various structural arrangements in the social organization of early schooling (e.g. access to preschools, the restricted socioeconomic variability of elementary schools, and various kinds of educational “tracking”) that can either reinforce or offset out-of-school influences. We conclude with a call for more work on mechanisms of educational str...
369 citations
TL;DR: A review of formal theories and models of collective action can be found in this paper, where four types of models are reviewed: single-actor models, interdependent aggregation of individual choices into collective action, collective decisions of individuals with different interests, and dynamic interactions among collective actors and their opponents.
Abstract: This review focuses on formal theories and models of collective action. There are many types of collective action, and they cannot all be captured with the same formal model. Four types of models are reviewed: single-actor models which treat the "group" behavior as given; models of the interdependent aggregation of individual choices into collective action; models of the collective decisions of individuals with different interests; and models of the dynamic interactions among collective actors and their opponents. All models require simplifying assumptions about some aspects of a situation so that others may be addressed. Models of the aggregation of individual choices have shown the greatest recent growth, have employed a wide variety of assumptions about individual behavior and coordination mechanisms, have identified complex interaction effects of group heterogeneity, and generally exhibit thresholds, discontinuities, and internal group differentiation. Models of dynamic interactions require further development but promise to be enriched by accumulating empirical time series data on collective events. Greater attention is urged to technical issues of formal symbolic mathematical analysis, experimental design, response surface analysis, and technical problems in the reduction and presentation of complex interactions.
319 citations
TL;DR: Symbolic interactionism has changed over the past two decades, both in the issues that practitioners examine and in its position within the discipline as discussed by the authors, and the role of symbolic interactionism in three major debates confronting the discipline: the micro/macro debate, the structure/agency debate, and the social realist/interpretivist debate.
Abstract: Symbolic interactionism has changed over the past two decades, both in the issues that practitioners examine and in its position within the discipline. Once considered adherents of a marginal oppositional perspective, confronting the dominant positivist, quantitative approach of mainstream sociology, symbolic interactionists find now that many of their core concepts have been accepted. Simultaneously their core as an intellectual community has been weakened by the diversity of interests of those who self-identify with the perspective. I examine here four processes that led to these changes: fragmentation, expansion, incorporation, and adoption. I then describe the role of symbolic interactionism in three major debates confronting the discipline: the micro/macro debate, the structure/agency debate, and the social realist/interpretivist debate. I discuss six empirical arenas in which interactionists have made major research contributions: social coordination theory, the sociology of emotions, social constru...
304 citations
TL;DR: This paper reviewed the theoretical models and the research on self-esteem among Hispanic and Asian American subgroups and compared these findings to the existing literature on African American self-image, and suggested parallels between the two paradigms.
Abstract: We review the theoretical models and the research on self-esteem among Hispanic and Asian American subgroups and compare these findings to the existing literature on African American self-image. Group self-esteem refers to how the individual feels about racial or ethnic group membership. Personal self-esteem refers to how the individual feels about the self in a comprehensive manner. We describe the major paradigms of ethnic/racial and personal self-esteem utilized in studies of Hispanics and Asian Americans. These paradigms are largely informed by the literature on ethnicity and stress the macrostructural forces that affect self-concept. Paradigms of African American self-image, however, tend to focus more on the psychological mechanisms that transform social context into personal identity. We also review empirical evidence on both dimensions of self-esteem among Hispanics and Asian Americans, and we contrast these findings to research on African Americans. We conclude by suggesting parallels between the...
255 citations
TL;DR: In the late 1940s, Sutherland proposed that explanations of deviance and crime are either situational or dispositional, and that of the two, situational explanations might be the more important as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In the late 1940s Sutherland proposed that explanations of deviance and crime are either situational or dispositional, and that of the two, situational explanations might be the more important. Nonetheless, with a few notable exceptions, for the next four decades sociologists focused on dispositional theories to the near total exclusion of situational variables. However, an increasing awareness of the theoretical limitations of strategies based only on dispositions has begun to encourage researchers to reconsider situational explanations. Most of the research that explicitly examines situational dynamics in producing crime has originated in experimental psychology, symbolic interactionism, or opportunity theories. Experimental research has helped to identify the situational correlates of crime and deviance, but lacks a theoretical framework for organizing its disparate empirical findings. Symbolic interaction research has emphasized the actor's role in defining and interpreting situations but thus far has...
250 citations
TL;DR: The sociology of risk is fast becoming a recognized field of theory and research as discussed by the authors, and the following key issues, debates, and theories in this emerging field: (i) The argument over whether technological disasters are different from natural disasters, (ii) the contributions of social constructionism to theories of risk, (iii) how recent work on trust and fairness can reorient scholarship on risk perception, and why organizational, institutional, and cultural factors are more important, (iv) the arguments about organizations that appear to be error-free (i.e., high reliability organizations), and
Abstract: The sociology of risk is fast becoming a recognized field of theory and research. We consider and evaluate the following key issues, debates, and theories in this emerging field: (i) The argument over whether technological disasters are different from natural disasters, (ii) the contributions of social constructionism to theories of risk, (iii) how recent work on trust and fairness can reorient scholarship on risk perception, (iv) the theory of human error, and why organizational, institutional, and cultural factors are more important, (v) the arguments about organizations that appear to be error-free (i.e. high reliability organizations), (vi) the paradox that we must rely on organizations for responding to disasters though organizations may be precisely the wrong social instruments for such response. Throughout we emphasize the role of organizations and institutional contexts in creating, assessing, and responding to risk.
224 citations
TL;DR: This paper reviewed and integrated the literature on tax policy formation and relates it to the debates in political sociology about the social, political, institutional, and other determinants of government policy, and explored the important but often neglected effects that taxation has on such phenomena as political revolution, state building, economic organization, labor force participation, and philanthropy.
Abstract: Despite recent developments in “fiscal sociology” (i.e. the sociological analysis of taxation and public finances), few efforts have been made to synthesize scholarly developments in the field. This is particularly surprising because much of the literature on the determinants of taxation bears directly on the debates in political sociology about the social, political, institutional, and other determinants of government policy. This essay reviews and integrates the literature on tax policy formation and relates it to these general debates. It also explores some of the important but often neglected effects that taxation has on such phenomena as political revolution, state building, economic organization, labor force participation, and philanthropy. Thus, this essay demonstrates the significance and reviews recent developments in fiscal sociology.
220 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a realist versus nominalist debate within the field of international migration questions whether refugees are fundamentally distinct from immigrants or whether the category is a social construction masking similarities with immigrants.
Abstract: A realist versus nominalist debate within the field of international migration questions whether refugees are fundamentally distinct from immigrants or whether the category is a social construction masking similarities with immigrants. Contemporary refugee and immigrant flows conform to patterns of the world system. However, refugee migrations are caused by changes in the nation-state. Like immigrants, refugees organize migration through social networks, but the composition of their networks and the effects of migration on social identity differ. In a host society, both populations adapt with household economic strategies that secure multiple income sources, although the state plays a greater role in the adaptation of refugees. The partial convergence of two migration forms once presumed opposite reveals general patterns in international migration and adaptation, supporting the nominalist perspective. The remaining differences suggest that refugees are primarily distinguished by their relationship to the ...
195 citations
TL;DR: Work and occupation studies are divided into two broad categories: those focused on gender, inequality, and career/life cycle issues, and those focusing on unions and industrial and labor relations.
Abstract: I review recent studies of work and occupations. Most of this work proceeds at the individual level, studying individual characteristics of workers, qualities of the work experience, and, to a lesser extent, stages of the work experience. Structural analysis is less common and often treats structural phenomena as aggregates rather than emergents, except in the area of labor relations. A substantial literature—probably a third of the total—examines particular occupations. In general the literature is divided into two “sides”—one focused on gender, inequality, and career/life cycle issues, the other on unions, and industrial and labor relations. Between these are smaller foci on theoretical issues and on general structures of work. I conclude that with the possible exceptions of Marxism and the study of professions, subfields of work and occupations lack the synthetic theory that would enable synthesis of empirical results. I also consider the twofold role of politicization in the area: the positive role of...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on how macrocomparative sociologists address the threats to validity which surround sample selection, research design, and data and measurement in comparison.
Abstract: Macrocomparative research has a broad reach within the discipline. We review recent books and articles engaging in comparison, either of nations or of structures and processes within two or more nations. We focus on how macrocomparative sociologists address the threats to validity which surround sample selection, research design, and data and measurement. Nearly all the studies we investigate have explanation as a goal. A major threat to many studies (almost a third) is the failure to apply any method of control. Most authors wish to draw general conclusions, but problems of sampling raise questions about their ability to do so. Researchers agree that measurement is problematic. However, issues surrounding measurement are largely neglected. We describe these and more specific empirical findings regarding the practice of macrocomparative research.
TL;DR: This article reviewed the changes in the age structure of modern labor markets that have led to a dramatic decline in the employment of older workers and examined different explanations of the role of the welfare state, the labor market, and the life course.
Abstract: This essay reviews the changes in the age structure of modern labor markets that have led to a dramatic decline in the employment of older workers. We document this trend and explore future trends, examine different explanations of the role of the welfare state, the labor market, and the life course. Each of these perspectives offers different views into the social meaning of early retirement.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review some recent advances in analyzing two types: event histories and panel data, with an emphasis on how panel data allows one better to take account of unobserved variables in a more robust manner.
Abstract: It is common to all types of longitudinal data that one observes some social unit from at least two points in time. With such data several opportunities for analysis arise that are not present in cross-sectional data, for example, to study change processes and to account for unobserved variables in a more robust manner. There are many types of longitudinal data. I review some recent advances in analyzing two types: event histories and panel data. In Part I of this article I focus on seven recent advances in analyzing event history data: (i) techniques for dealing with unobserved explanatory variables, (ii) peculiarities of various sampling frames, (iii) time-aggregation bias, (iv) discrete time methods, (v) estimation procedures such as those based on Cox's partial likelihood, (vi) local hazard-rate models, and (vii) continuous state space models. In Part II of the article I focus on recent advances in analyzing panel data, with an emphasis on how panel data allows one better to take account of unobserved...
TL;DR: The authors studied the relationship between literature and group identities, connecting institutional and reader-response analyses; reintroducing the role of authorial intentionality; and developing a clearer understanding of how literature is and is not like other media.
Abstract: Building on earlier work in the production of culture, reception aesthetics, and cultural capital, sociology of literature research during the past few years has concentrated on readers' construction of meaning and on networks within literary systems New directions include studying the relationship between literature and group identities; connecting institutional and reader-response analyses; reintroducing the role of authorial intentionality; and developing a clearer understanding of how literature is and is not like other media
TL;DR: This review considers both determinants and consequences of change in the medical care sector, and focuses on major perspectives in organizational theory which either have been used or could be used to study these changes.
Abstract: The focus of this review is macro-level organizational change in medical care organizations in the United States, with particular emphasis on the decade of the 1980s. We begin with a brief review of the historical context of this sector and discuss several important trends characterizing the industry since 1980. The body of this review focuses on major perspectives in organizational theory which either have been used or could be used to study these changes. We consider both determinants and consequences of change in the medical care sector.
TL;DR: The authors argued that over the last 25 years, a venerable social organization paradigm has been superseded by a fertile political economy paradigm that continues to orchestrate current research in urban sociology and argued that urban sociology is currently in need of new directions.
Abstract: This paper departs from reviews of urban sociology that juxtapose competing Marxist and ecological theories, arguing instead that over the last 25 years a venerable social organization paradigm has been superseded by a fertile political economy paradigm that continues to orchestrate current research. The contributions of political economy are reviewed under six headings: historical explanation, comparative studies, socioeconomic processes, spatial relations, ethnicity and community, and political movements. The conclusion argues that urban sociology is currently in need of new directions. Some criticisms and alternatives are suggested.
TL;DR: The authors assesses sociological and historical research relevant to the emergence and consolidation of the American middle class in the nineteenth century, and argue that different occupational groups overlap in time and represent a heterogeneous and historically shifting middle class rather than distinct entities.
Abstract: This review assesses sociological and historical research relevant to the emergence and consolidation of the American middle class in the nineteenth century. On the one hand, macrosociological theories have relied on a two-class model which renders the middle class a residual social category. Yet, on the other hand, community studies of the “new” social history—while they have opened up new avenues of inquiry into the complex social processes underlying middle class formation—have tended to focus on particular decades of the nineteenth century, leading to a fragmented view of the occupational composition of the middle class. Distinct literatures have developed around the study of particular occupational strata: artisans, small capitalists, white-collar wage earners, and the petite bourgeoisie. We argue here that different occupational groups overlap in time and represent a heterogeneous and historically shifting middle class rather than distinct entities. The argument for the integrity of a distinct middl...
TL;DR: The authors depicts the career of the author as a complicated journey from European beginnings to American destinations and emphasizes crucial turning points that finally led the author from antifascist radical intellectual to established member of the American sociological community.
Abstract: This paper depicts the career of the author as a complicated journey from European beginnings to American destinations. It emphasizes crucial turning points that finally led the author from antifascist radical intellectual to established member of the American sociological community. It attempts to show lines of divergence but also lines of continuity in his thought and contributions. This essay attempts to show the extent to which his background influenced the themes and orientations of his sociological work. The paper may be read as a contribution to the sociology of knowledge from the autobiographical point of view. It stresses the various stages of the author's career and attempts to show the extent to which these stages are reflected in his writings and general orientations. The paper closes with a bird's eye view of the recent past and the probable future of American sociological thought.
TL;DR: This paper explored cultural differences in the perception of face between Chinese and Japanese and analyzed how these differences affect communication between people from the two cultures, in-depth interviews were conducted in an academic setting.
Abstract: This paper has two purposes: 1. to explore cultural differences in the perception of face (mianzi) between Chinese (from the People's Republic of China) and Japanese; and 2. to analyze how these differences affect communication between people from the two cultures. To tackle qualitative differences in the perception of face in the two cultures, in-depth interviews were conducted in an academic setting. The interviewees were: 1. five Japanese who lived in China; 2. eight Chinese living in Japan; 3. two Japanese who have been teaching Chinese students for over ten years; and 4. an American who lived in China and now lives in Japan. The data were analyzed through the KJ method.
TL;DR: The authors clarified views of ideological or theoretical frameworks in the literature of the influence of study abroad on the modernization of Japan and China in order to present further possible ways to research in this field.
Abstract: This study will clarify views of ideological or theoretical frameworks in the literature of the influence of study abroad on the modernization of Japan and China in order to present further possible ways to research in this field.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine and reveal the concepts of the crowd and the public referring to Park's studies of collective behavior after 1921, and reveal their common understandings among the collective-behaviornists.
Abstract: It is widely known that there is a critical situation in the theories of collective behavior though many contributions, practically and theoretically, have been made untill now. This dead alley of the theories is, in particular, due to the concepts without precision and minutenesses which would make the common understandings among the collective-behaviornists and suggests us to return to Park's studies, that is, contents of arguments of the founder of this sociological domain. This paper aims mainly to examine and reveal the concepts of the crowd and thepublic referring to his studies of collective behavior after 1921.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the self-narrative theory proposed by K. J.Gergen and M. M. Gergen, which can be considered to be very insightful in explaining self, in that (1) it understands self as a product of self-Narrative-acts, in other words, the reflexivity and historicity of self and (2) it understand self as communicative and relational phenomenon, not an isolated entity.
Abstract: This paper focuses on the self-narrative theory proposed by K. J. Gergen and M. M. Gergen. This theory can be considered to be very insightful in explaining self, in that (1) it understands self as a product of self-narrative-acts, in other words, the reflexivity and historicity of self and (2) it understands self as a communicative and relational phenomenon, not an isolated entity, which means social constructedness of self. But it is considered to be still insufficient, because it fails to grasp fully the reflexivity of self, that is to say the relation to oneself. So extending their theory to cover this reflexivity fully makes possible a comparative sociology of self.