Showing papers in "The Sociological Review in 1969"

Communication nets in science : status and citation patterns in animal physiology

Abstract: By virtue of its peculiar links with the reward system in science, the communication system plays a central part in the maintenance and growth of sdence. It is the means by which the individual scientist relates to the sodal system: he publishes his work to gain recognition, and reads the publications of others to maintain his knowledge. The formal conimunication system also forms the basis for the allocation of rewards: instrumental and consumatory. Thus it is a means of exerdsing social control. This control extends over both the activity of scientists, and over the direction of that activity. Publication of an article in an archival journal signifies a degree of recognition for the author, while legitimising the object of research and the methodology. The allocation of research funds, salaries, and prestige is often based on the individual's participation in the formal communication system.' In addition to allocating rewards and exerdsing control, the formal communication system represents the state of science. Publication renders visible the social reality of sdentists.^ It shows what is considered 'good' work and, therefore, 'rewarding'. The rush to get into print, which poses problems of information retrieval,''' is a sign of the importance of publication. The informal communication system, although important, is the distaff side. Its recognition is personal with more immediate and consumatory rewards. Legitimation of objective or methods of work is rarely given by the sodal system through informal systems of communication, though it is growing in importance as an infonnation dissemination system.** This study is designed to investigate the operation of two social

Men in the middle : a reformulation of the thesis*

Abstract: I t could be said that the crucial impaa of the sodal sciences on the world at large is one of demystification. Many common-sense theses have crumbled on scrutiny. Yet some myths have been advanced by the sodal sdences themselves. One such myth is the 'man in the middle' thesis for industrial supervisors. It is one of sodology's most dramatic tales. Industrial supervisors, classically foremen, are men in the middle.' Wedged between workers and management they represent both to each other and neither to themselves. Supervisors are constantly torn by competing demands and loyalties. They have come up from the ranks but are not part of management. Nevertheless they are the voice of the front oflSce that is heard on the shop floor. These strains are exacerbated by the continuous whittling away of their power and status by management and machine. The supervisor is robbed of the capadty to withstand the strain of his position. The middle is simply no-man's-land and supervisors sustain the scars of industrial conflict. Such a thesis is monolithic. It argues that all men in all supervisory positions in all firms experience the same kind and same degree of chronic stress. The evidence to date, of course, fails to support the thesis. This evidence, however, has primarily been concerned with predicating the stress of the position upon conflias of its role, the prime example being supervisor-worker conflia. Goldthorpe^ examined the history of coal-getting and found that the three main methods varied in their emphasis on the supervisor being in a 'service' or 'boss' relationship with his workers: the greater the emphasis on the supervisor as 'boss', the greater the conflia. This makes the work technology\" an intervening faaor in supervisor stress. Woodward^ considered variations in technology at an inter-firm level and thought

Some questionable assumptions in the theory of status inconsistency

Abstract: I n the decade since Lenski resuscitated the notion of status aystallisation' there has been a proliferation of articles on the subjea. The concept of lack of status crystallisation, or status inconsistency, has been invoked by more than a dozen authors in attempts to explain the occurrence of prejudice,cognitive dissonance,'' sodal isolation," mobility striving," psychosomatic illness," mental illness' and political attitudes' and behaviour.' Unfortunately however, such 'explanations' have taken the form of 'explanation sketches' rather than theories." No one has spelt out fully the assumed links between status inconsistency and its supposed effects—even Geschwender's recent attempt" fails in this respect. There is no formal statement of of the 'theory' of status inconsistency. Consequently, while there has been no dearth of criticism of the research procedures and operational assumptions of status inconsistency theorists,'^ there has been little critical examination of the logical structure of the 'explanations' themselves. In this paper we intend to uncover the assumptions involved in status inconsistency theory and thus expose the whole structure to CTitical analysis. We hope to show that, when examined in this way, the theory can be seen to be inadequate and that this may account for the contradictory results of research in the field.

A critique of the multidimensional approach to stratification

Abstract: This paper seeks to demonstrate that there are certain fundamental flaws in the way the multidimensional approach to s t̂ratiflcation has developed in recent years. Perhaps Zelditch and Anderson, among the comtributors to this approach, felt the same when they wrote: 'contradictory results have been obtained, supposedly positive result are quite inconclusive, and it is often necessary to invent ad hoc principles to explain peculiar results in particular cases.'' They saw these defects as stemming from the vague formulation of the theory, and consequently their solution was an explicit statement of the theory and its assumptions. However, when some of the basic assumptions of the rank approachare made explicit the need to revise them becomes even clearer. In a series of papers' Blalock has shown how the rank theorists have ignored a number of crucial statistical problems, particularly the identification problem which is created by defining status inconsistency in terms of statuses on particular dimensions. The analyst by so doing is faced with too many unknowns. By having each dimension and also inconsistency between dimensions as independent variables, a set of confounded independent variables is being used. Unless a priori assumptions that considerably restria the model are made, it is empirically impossible to decide whether a given variable has the major effect on a dependent variable. It is also impossible to determine the magnitude of the inconsistency component. Any inference of an independent effect of status discrepancy is therefore somewhat dubious. Such a discussion provides a healthy antidote to the largely uncritical use made of the rank model. We are concerned in this paper with the actual formulation of the model, which means that our discussion is directed to different but related issues.

Model construction and modernization in nigeria

Abstract: The continued division of sociology and social anthropology can be explained more in terms of professional identification than in terms of distinct conceptual positions. In this paper we shall not investigate the assumptions that have contributed to the misleading autonomy of the two disciplines.^ Our concern is with an unanticipated consequence of the division which has positive implications for each discipline. We refer to the anthropologists' dislike of the deductive method of theory construaion. While sociological literature is not devoid of similar antipathy,^ it is thought that anthropologists have articulated their case with greater clarity and force. Their major criticism is that the utilization of a preconceived model distorts the universe under investigation. The data collected are given an artificial significance because they are selected in accordance with their compatibility with the model employed. This results in the a priori confirmation of the model. Such criticism has also been levelled at the attempt to construct comparative theory without first having completed adequate ethnographies of the areas under comparison. Perhaps the classical work relating to this problem has been done by Goodenough^ and Fischer.\" In the middle 1950s they conducted independent studies of residence forms on the small island of Truk. Both authors relied on census material and classified households and married couples on the basis of residence. To their disappointment, the discrepancy between what were in essence the same kind of study focusing upon identical phenomena was gross. Goodenough classified Trukese residence as matrilocal; Fischer classified it as ambilocal. What particularly disturbed the authors was that two well trained anthropologists were unable to agree as to what constituted matrilocal residence. This in spite of the fact that concepts relating to residence patterns have been defined more precisely than most other concepts.

An organisational analysis of a secondary modern school

Abstract: The school discussed in this paper is referred to by the pseudonym, Casde School. It is situated in an old market town, population about sixty thousand, which lies only a few miles away from a city specialising in car production and engineering. Highly-^aid manual work, mostly skilled and semi-skilled, is plentiful, and the general level of prosperity is high. Tliis is reflected in good housing and living conditions and the absence of slum areas. The town has a higher proportion than average of people in the upper and middle income bradsets, particularly professional and business men^ and is also popular as a place for retirement. The physical environment of the town is pleasant, and it attracts a considerable tourist traffic to its various historic buildings. The standing of Castle School in this community is high. Though most of its pupils are drawn from die homes of manual workers, not a few come from middle class homes. Among its parents it has numbered clergymen, accountants, army officers, teachers, business executives and local councillors. Some past pupils have found' their way into responsible clerical and industrial jobs, and a few, by rather devious routes, have reached universities. The majority, of course, enter manual work of some type. The school, which has averaged in size 600 to 700 pupils, receives along mih the other modem schools the residual age group after the top itwenty-five per cent have been placed in local grammar schools. This school is accepted by the local public as a successful school. It has little in common with the problem schools diat have most often monopolised attention, and is quite unlike Webb's 'Black School'^ or Hargreaves' 'Lumley School'.' It can be claimed that Castle School is not typical of modem schools. I believe, however, that there are enough schools sufficiently similar to it to make its analysis of more than local relevance.

Reform in a normative organisation

Abstract: Students of the sociology of organisations will be familiar with Etzioni's attempt to classify organisations in terms of their compliance structure, and with the various criticisms which can be and have been levelled at his approach.' It is the purpose of this paper to examine the adequacy of his analysis by considering it in relation to the study of innovation in a religious organisation. Before doing so however it is necessary to consider certain general theoretical issues concerning Etzioni's analysis which are raised acutely in the case of normative organisations.

Sociology and medical education.

Abstract: The 1968 Report of the Royal Commission on Medical Education' has brought into sharp focus the twin issues of the relationship between the medical and social sciences, and the role of the social scientist in teaching and research in medicine. The Commission, predictably, reaffirmed the need for a more systematic integration of the social sciences in the post-graduate training of psychiatrists and specialists in community medicine; but it is in their discussion of the undergraduate medical course that the greatest challenge is thrown up for sociology. The Commission recommended, broadly, that a substantial post-graduate professional training should be the normal route to dinical practice, and that consequently the aim of the undergraduate course should be to produce not a finished doctor, but an educated man who can become a doctor by further training. To this end it is proposed to abolish the existing ist M.B. examination and to substitute a five year undergraduate degree coiurse in' medical science which, since it would net be the find passport to clinical practice, could encompass a broader range of subjects than the presenit M.B. degree. At the preclinical stage of this course it is suggested that the behavioural sciences might occupy about a tenth of the time allocated to compulsory subjects, with advanced study in psychology and sociology being permitted among a range of optional subjects. At the clinical stage of the undergraduate course the aims of teaching become more complex as the student begins to assume the social role of physician, but high among the aims which the Commission holds for this stage is one 'to demonsitrate the application of the medical and behavioural sciences to the practice of medicine'. The data and methods of both these disciplines are seen to be part of the future doctor's armament in the practice of 'whole-person' medicine, and they must therefore be included in his training.

Exchange and Power in Structural Analysis

Abstract: Sociology has many myths. Among them is the belief that there are only two main perspeaives in general sodological theory— the confiict and consensus models.' As a natural concomitant of such views there are continual efforts at critical appraisal and integration. Such efforts generally reach one or more of three conclusions: that the models display many parallels; that the models have differential utility according to the area of application; and/or that integration is possible at the cost of sacrificing the distinctive focus of each model.'' Exchange theory, however, has been largely ignored. Yet it provides a point of convergence between the competing models and suggests that each is concerned with different aspects of the same phenomenon rather than with differently conceived phenomena. Through consideration of all three models, therefore, it should be possible to construct a genuine synthesis which places the distinctive contribution of each in its appropriate context. This paper briefiy examines each theoretic model and attempts to construct such a synthesis and then in a concluding section shows how a symbolic model of sodal struaure can be generated from this synthesis.^

Plant Size: Political Attitudes and Behaviour:

Abstract: In this paper I wish to examine one aspect of a general phenomenon which has become known as the 'size-effect'. In recent years considerable data have been collected which point to the faa that the size of an industrial organisation (defined in terms of the number of employees) is inversely related to the workers' attachment or commitment (as indicated by absenteeism, labour turn-over, lateness, accidents, etc.).' In addition to these specifically industrial correlates of size, it has also been shown that there exists a positive association between plant size and the extent of left wing attitudes and/or voting patterns among workers. The following discussion comprises two main parts: in the first part the evidence for this relationship is presented and the various explanations and interpretations which have been offered are examined; the second part of the paper concerns empirical material relevant to the problem. These data were collected as a small part of a larger study of the more narrowly 'industrial' correlates of plant size.'̂

A sociological framework for the study of television production

Abstract: Social scientists working in the field of mass communication have been almost exclusively preoccupied with questions about the audience for the media. This paper is based on the premise that this type of investigation should be complemented with an analysis of the struaure and process of media production itself, so as to establish how it is that the audience is provided with one type of media output rather than another. Its purpose is to put forward a sociological framework within which answers to such questions may be attempted. At a theoretical level two principal difficulties face us in this task. First, in attempting to answer questions about media output, the physical produa which is the result of the social interaction has to be incorporated into the analysis. In the case studies of industrial sociology, for example, the technology of production and features of the product may be taken into account as variables explaining various features of organisation and interaction., but they are rarely themselves the subjea of study. Secondly, there is, we feel, a very artificial distinction between macro and micro levels of sociological analysis. In the course of the next seaions we shall examine two approaches, the sociology of art and the sociology of organisations, which, while both obviously relevant, are neither entirely adequate because each is largely restriaed to one particular level of analysis. The sociology of art has tended to produce statements about the relationship between general cultural themes and relevant features of the social struaure. Organisation theory, on the other hand, has been preoccupied with institutional structure and with behaviour at the level of interpersonal interaction. This paper can be seen as an attempt to integrate these two approaches.

Some sociological aspects of university development in england

Abstract: Popular discussions of English universities frequently involve the drawing of a distinction between the oldest universities and the 'rest', between 'Oxbridge' and 'Redbrick' or 'Qvic' universities.' In recent years elaboration has become necessary and there are now references to 'New' and 'Technological' universities. Considerations of the British university system have naturally always involved greater sophistication. The Report of the Committee on Higher Education ('Robbins Report') suggests seven groups for such a consideration, viz.: (i) Oxford/Cambridge, (2) Scottish Universities, (3) London, (4) Older Civic Universities, (5) University of Wales, (6) Younger Civic Universities, (7) New Universities.'' The bases of this grouping are not fully, nor too explicitly discussed by the Report. They appear to be date and mode of establishment, features of current organization—^administrative, academic and social; and what can best be described as traditional differences in 'ethos'. W. H. G. Armytage, in another discussion, suggests six types of British university proper: (i) Collegiate, (2) Scottish, (3) Qvic, (4) Federal, (5) Technological, (6) New.' Sociological divisions, typologies, or classificatory schemes dep«id for their success on a more explicit, complete definition and isolation of the variables considered relevant and being manipulated in the analysis, than either of the aforementioned.* Such a process, in institutional analysis at any rate, demands a background of f>ersonal knowledge of the subject of analysis (via perhaps participant observation) and/or accessible historical data relating to the developmrait of events and relationsliips leading to the contemporary situation. These historical data provide first insight into problems and intimations of fruitful hypotheses as well as being sociologically valuable in their own right.'' Unfortunately the sociology of education in England

Changes in hungarian society during 1945–1970

Abstract: The fundamental features of the social transformation which have taken place in Hungary are generally known. Public opinion is, however, less informed about the dimensions of the changes in the structure of society and about the trends and character of the processes which brought about these changes. The exact description of the social changes and, in addition to this, the analysis of the interrelations demand empirical, documentary information on the one hand, and the exploration of the connections between the factors instrumental to the changes in question, on the other. The complexity of the factors in this regard is generally known: economic, social, political, technical, cultural, demographic and health and welfare elements can all have a role-both separately and in interrelation with one another-in the formation of society. To disregard any of the groups of factors involves the risk of simplification and, through this, of distorted reality. At the same time, for practical reasons the trends and aspects of the examinations and analyses are, of necessity, limited. Admitting, indeed, emphasizing the necessity of an interdisciplinary attitude, the present study intends to approach the subject from the angle of demography, relying in the first place on statistical data. An approach· of this kind is justified on the one hand by the recognition that in the social sciences empirical and quantitative attitudes cannot be dispensed with; on the other hand, owing to the interdisciplinary character of demography, the demographical outlook somewhat decreases the danger of one-sidedness. Nevertheless, both the character of the data at disposal and the extent of this study call for setting out the bounds of the theme and the structure of its discussion. Founded on the logical order of the analysis-also considering the points resulting from the character of the material at our disposal-the following outline seems expedient: I. The modification of the social structure in connection with the

Lay participation in organizational decision making

Abstract: I nvestigation of the sociological factors of participation in decisionmaking processes has recently become one of the central topics in the study of formal organizations. The problem of participation arises on two levels: in the first place in the distribution of participation in organizational decision-making in the organizational structure and, secondly, in its non-formal power relations.! It should be added that more studies are devoted to the latter than the former. Yet the problem arises-since organizational decisions are interpreted as decisions made by experts-as to lay participation, Le. the element not closely connected with the organization in organizational decisionmaking. This concern-although it may have importance in productive (industrial and cultural) organizations-is characteristic overwhelmingly of political organizations and state political organizations at that. The investigations reponed here are concerned mainly with those statepolitical organizations where the functioning of the lay element has been shaped in a historical process. In this paper we are thinking mainly of the judiciary and of elected local government bodies. This paper is intended to formulate hypotheses about some manifestations of lay participation in the organizational decision-making process, relying on the results of two surveys3 in Hungary. This is done in a hypothesis-like manner because, although experiences and results obtained in other countries had also been evaluated and analysed when the survey was made the general formulation of conclusions must await additional proofs and the elaboration of further details. One of the relevant surveys approached the social manifestations of lay judges' (lay assessors in Hungarian usage) pancipation in the judicial decision-making process on a national scale; the other survey, intended to ascertain the relationship between local elected bodies and administrative-executive organizations as well as the participation of elected local council members in decision-making processes, cannot be fully assessed yet, and will be offered here as a pilot study. Starting from the

A Comment on Sociological Research and Interest in Britain and the United States

Abstract: In the March 1968 issue of Sociological Review, Carter reports the results of a survey of sociological research in Britain. The rqjort is based on the responses of 416 sociologists, about three-quarters of whom hold teaching and research positions' at British universities.' Carter's report describes the interesits and research activities of his respondents, the research interesits of itheir gradiiate s.tudents, and the social organization and financial sources for research in Britain. The report also includes assessments by the respondents as to how 'neglected' sub-fields within sociology have been and the likelihood of growth in different areas. On a more limited scale, in the Summer 1968 issue of Sociological Quarterly, I reported the research interests of 53 leading American sociologists and their assessments about the quality of work within the various sub-fields of sociology in the United States.^ Unfortunately, there are only a few areas on which the two studies overlap. And, of course even on those issues, the British responses are more likely to represent a cross-section of ithe profession, while the American responses come from subjects who were pre-selected because of their elite status within the profession. Nevertheless, I chink the few comparisons that are available are interesting enough to be worth noting. Table I lists the areas that British and American sociologists report they are working in currently. The British list is based only on the responses of the 216 sociologists who are imiversity teachers. It includes professors^ readers, senior lecturers and assistant lecturers. It does not include research associates or assistants, or lecturers at Colleges of Technology, Commerce or Educaition. The respondents in this category should then be most comparable to the American respondents. The fields in Table I are listed in the order of frequency that sociologists mention they are working in a particular area. On the British side, 172 sociologists mentioned 186 research projects. On

Work-Performance, Interests, Powers and Environment: The Case of Cyclical Slowdowns in a Hungarian Factory

Abstract: Contemporary sociology can exercise its most useful activity in economic life perhaps by contributing through its empirical findings to the overcoming of certain illusions. Illusions in general are not merely the suppositions of presumed relations, having no base. They rather stem from the fact that effective and in many cases firmly based indirect relations are conceived as direct ones. Thus they are uprooted from the complicated system of relations of productive activity and are made absolute. Such illusions have been widespread in Hungarian economic thinking especially for the past few years, as a natural by-product of the introduction of Economic Reform, the establishment of a somewhat decentralized model of the centrally planned economy in 1968. The measures of the Reform called attention to a multitude of new or formerly overshadowed relations, the validity and limits of which are difficult to be judged in the short run. Some of them have been absolutized. By means of industrial sociology, if properly implemented, these relations can be put in their due places and their indirect character can be revealed in the process of their confrontation with reality. Of course, along with the application of sociology the natural risk is incurred that newly absolutized relations and inadequately founded generalizations will emerge, to be added to the already existing illusions. In our study, refraining from the attribution of an unduly general validity to our observations gained through modest means, we wish to challenge some absolutized ideas concerning the relations between workers' behaviour and material as well as non-material incentives. In Hungary, generally speaking nearly everyone agrees that frequent troubles on the shopfloor in factories-slowdowns, work of poor quality,

Functionalism and explanation in social science

Abstract: I n this essay I shall look again at a familiar but still puzzling question: namely, can functionalism provide satisfactory explanations of sodal phenomena? My hope is that, by attending to the differences between various kinds of functionalist statement, some light can be shed on the problem. By a functionalist statement, I mean, in this context, a statement that imputes a sodal function to some phenomenon, such as an institution. I shall not be concerned to assess the truth of such statements—on the contrary, I shall usually assume, for the purposes of argument, that they are true. My concern will be to discover whether a true functionalist statement can, by pointing out the sodal function of a phenomenon, explain why that phenomenon exists, or why it developed, or why it has persisted. We must begin by clarifying the concept of 'social function', which is by no means a simple one. It is convenient here to look at two definitions given by one of the founders of funaionalism, RadcliffeBrown. The first (which is a slight modification of an earlier definition by Durkheim) is as follows: ^ the function of a social institution is the correspondence between it and tbe necessary conditions of existence of the sodal organism. Thus an institution can be said to be functional if it fulfils, or helps to fulfil, one or more of the necessary conditions of existence of 'the sodal orgatiism'. In the same essay, Radcliffe-Brown also defines^ the function of 'any recurrent activity' as the contribution it makes to maintaitiing the continuity of the sodal structure to which it belongs. On this view, a sodal activity is functional if it helps to maintain the structure of its sodety. Are these two defitiitions of Radcliffe-Brown equivalent to one another? This depends, I believe, on how one is to interpret a key phrase in the first definition, which refers to the 'necessary conditions of existence of the social organism'. If for any social organism (let us

The anticipation of cognitive inconsistency.

Abstract: This paper describes a case of the anticipation and avoidance of cognitive inconsistency—dissonance niight be a better word but the term 'cognitive dissonance' now has a specialised meaning that would be inappropriate here. The potential cause of inconsistency was a workers' pension scheme introduced by a large engineering company. It was anticipated by the management of the company that the scheme would have some effect on the men's cognitive system within industry; that it would 'change the company's image', and 'change the men's attitudes to the company'. This was not the primary reason for introducing the scheme. It was claimed that the primary reason was to benefit the men but it was expected that, as a secondary effect, the scheme would lead to some change of attitudes. The men and in particular the shop stewards anticipated similar consequences of the scheme and wished to avoid them. The methods by which they did so are described below.

Sociology and the study of psychiatric disorder.

Abstract: Anyone who seeks to present the case for a sodological approach to h\\ the study of psychiatric disorder may be excused for confessing to a certain amount of diffidence on entering on his task. Because psychiatry emerged and developed as a substantive branch of conventional medicine, work in this area has been dominated by models of personality and mental functioning which closely reflect the concepts and practice of physical medicine.^ Within this frame of reference the basic causes of any psychiatric abnormality are assumed to lie inside the individual organism and the reasons for any emotional or behavioural disturbance are sought in some imbalance of biochemical functioning or a unique pattern of interpersonal relationships. Although there has in recent years been a resurgence of interest in 'social' and 'community' psychiatry,^ psychiatry as a field of study is still, par excellence, the province of the physician and the clinical psychologist. Sociological variables are assumed to have, at the most, secondary significance in the onset of psychiatric breakdown. Environmental pressure, for example, is presumed to a a as the 'trigger' which sets off a chain of pathological responses in a predisposed personality.' Cultural provisions and expectations, it is also generally accepted, may set their stamp on the content, but not the form, of mental illnesses; to take a somewhat CTude example, the symptoms of schizophrenia will vary between cultures according to the particular objects—palm trees, television sets, etc.—to which delusions can be attached; but the actual disease entity—schizophrenia—is held to be universally the same.*

An enquiry into some aspects of religion in relation to psychiatry.

Abstract: This enquiry was largely intended to investigate some of the relationships which may exist between psychiatric illness and religious denomination, but, as will be seen, the opportunity was taken to widen the area of interest. That the form of religious belief and the sliucture of personality should be related seems a priori inevitable. Spinks' points out that the divisions of Christendom have psychological as well as theological and historical explanations and discusses at some length Sheldon's typology in relation to various religions, claiming that Christianity has features corresponding to all three temperamental types. How far different personalities choose different view-points of universal truths and how far they fabricate—in character—^the 'truths' themselves are questions obviously outside our sphere of interest but as Hunt^ comments, 'Thus is philosophy, like dothing, cut to the shape of the philosopher rather than to that of fact.' Does religious belief, or its absence, carry specific psychological hazards and benefits? For example, Inge\" in a resume of the gifted but intolerant Calvin makes the passing comment '. . . and there is no doubt that his teaching about reprobation has driven many persons to despair and suicide . . .' How far is lack of religious belief problematic as Oates* implies: 'Because of the sheer boredom of their tasks and the monotony of their lives, many people are famished for a sense of meaningful purpose in life'? Was Freud° justified in suggesting that, at a price depicted in unattractive terms,'. . . religion succeeds in sparing many people an individual neurosis'? And as Ostow° suggests ' . . . many neurotic individuals, whose illness prevents

The Past and Present of Hungarian Sociology

Abstract: History determines the way each and every society grows and develops, and every social science, but particularly sociology, is indivisibly tied to the society in which it appeared, the society whose problems and traditions shaped its particular features. I recall such well-known truths to indicate that the peculiarities, problems and arguments of present day Hungarian sociology cannot be understood if we consider them merely in the context of present day sociology as it appears throughout the world. Sociology, other than Hungarian, is, of course, applicable to the Hungarian scene but there are points of view in sociology, as well as problems, which have peculiar Hungarian aspects. One must establish those peculiar social realities which have affected the historical development of Hungarian sociology and the social traditions which are still affecting Hungarian sociology today. The character of the discipline can be understood only in terms of the past and present condition of Hungarian society.

The Role of Values in the Long Range Planning of Distribution and Consumption

Abstract: Economists and sociologists in European socialist countries are asking with increasing frequency whether the specific features of the consumption structure which have historically come into being in these societies will be maintained in view of the dynamism of a rising standard of living, or whether perhaps a change to a model more appropriate to a higher level will have to occur. Will it be possible, in the latter case, to follow along the path trodden by the economically developed western countries, or will it be necessary to find ways that are more appropriate to socialist aims? This question is particularly topical in Hungary. The new economic mechanism affecting first of all the sphere of industrial production carries with itself the need for changes in other aspects of social life too. Their integration in a comprehensive programme of social transformation, of which a long-range model of distribution and consumption is an organic part is an essential precondition for the success of the economic reform too. What follows is a sociological approach to a number of problems connected with this task.

On the place of sociological approaches in the methodological model of environment planning

Abstract: Furious debates are going on about the distinction between 'environment' and 'biosphere' on the one hand, and between their 'protection' and 'rehabilitation' on the other. By rehabilitation I mean the creation of a new, ecologically planned environment. We doubt whether this is a suitable occasion for declaring ourselves in this matter, increasing thereby the number of definitions to 'n+I'. We must admit that, in the following, these terms as categories, supposing and completing each other, will alternate in an arbitrary way, according to how the sound of the sentence demands it. Attention, however, has to be called to the fact that the term 'model' will be used in the four following senses: (a) By 'end-model' we mean the architect's vision of the desirable (yet realizable) environment as compared to the diagnosis of the actual situation. The 'vision' of the world . . . of Hungary . • of a concrete town and its environs, say, in 2000. (b) In the 'actual model' of environment protection we should like to 'diagnose' those professional activities by which society at present reacts to the deterioration of the natural environment; (c) and in the 'ideal' (but not utopian!) model, that structure of activities-that strategy-by which the intellectual and material potentialities of the society could be mobilized for the conception and realization of the end-model. (As to developing this 'ideal' model we are not 'agnostic': we think that it is precisely the main task of sociological analysis to contribute to that.) (d) And as to the 'methodological model' of planning-and that is the actual subject of our study-it has to feed back the strategy of realization and mobilization into the 'end-model' itself. In other words,