  thumb|right|200|entry to the asa conference, boston, 2008. the american sociological association (asa), founded in 1905 as the american sociological society, is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. most members work in academia, but about 20% work in government, business, or non-profit organizations. the asa holds its own annual academic conference, the american sociological association annual meeting. the 103rd asa annual meeting in boston in august 2008 attracted 5,458 attendees. asa publishes several academic journals. the best known is the american sociological review and the newest one is contexts, a magazine designed to share sociology with other fields and the public. in 2010, asa's membership went beyond 14,000 and consists of various sociology-related professionals: academics (professors, students, researchers) as well as other practitioners. asa currently is the largest professional association of sociologists in the world, even larger than the international sociological association. ==mission== the mission of the asa is to advance sociology as a scientific discipline and as a profession serving the public good.http://asanet.org/about/mission.cfm == history == thumb|200px|right|lester frank ward. === founding === the american sociological association was founded in december 1905 at johns hopkins university by a group of fifty people. the first president of the association was lester frank ward. === controversies === the american sociological association is governed by a code of ethics and ethical standards. in 1970, the first asa code of ethics was written. since 1970, the code of ethics has been revised. the committee on professional ethics worked to write this code and upon completing and approving 
1905_establishments_in_the_United_States Member_organizations_of_the_American_Council_of_Learned_Societies Professional_associations_based_in_the_United_States Sociological_organisations