bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Visualization of acoustic radiation from a vibrating bowling ball
Authors: Wu Sean F. , Rayess Nassif , Zhao Xiang
Published: July 2002

This paper presents visualization of acoustic radiation from a vibrating bowling ball using the Helmholtz equation least squares (HELS) method. In conducting the experiments, the ball is excited by a vibration shaker using stationary random signals. The radiated acoustic pressures are measured using two microphones and taken as input to the HELS formulations. The reconstructed acoustic pressures on the bowling ball surface are compared with those measured at the same locations. Also shown are comparisons of the reconstructed and measured acoustic pressure spectra at various locations on the bowling ball surface. Results demonstrate that the accuracy of reconstruction based on measurements over a conformal surface is much higher than that over a finite planar surface. This is because the latter often extends beyond the near-field region, making the accuracy of measurements inconsistent. Nevertheless, satisfactory reconstruction of acoustic pressure fields over the entire bowling ball surface can still be obtained based on the measurements taken over a finite planar surface on one side of the source. In a similar manner, the normal component of the surface velocity is reconstructed. Once these acoustic quantities are determined, the time-averaged acoustic intensity is calculated. Also presented are the formulations for estimating a priori the numbers of expansion functions and measurements required by the HELS method and the guidelines for determining the reconstruction error and optimum measurement locations, given the overall dimensions of the source and the highest frequency of interest in reconstruction.
A computational algorithm for computing nonlinear auditory frequency selectivity
Authors: Meddis Ray , O’Mard Lowel P. , Lopez-Poveda Enrique A.
Published: July 2002

Computational algorithms that mimic the response of the basilar membrane must be capable of reproducing a range of complex features that are characteristic of the animal observations. These include complex input output functions that are nonlinear near the site’s best frequency, but linear elsewhere. This nonlinearity is critical when using the output of the algorithm as the input to models of inner hair cell function and subsequent auditory-nerve models of low- and high-spontaneous rate fibers. We present an algorithm that uses two processing units operating in parallel: one linear and the other compressively nonlinear. The output from the algorithm is the sum of the outputs of the linear and nonlinear processing units. Input to the algorithm is stapes motion and output represents basilar membrane motion. The algorithm is evaluated against published chinchilla and guinea pig observations of basilar membrane and Reissner’s membrane motion made using laser velocimetry. The algorithm simulates both quantitatively and qualitatively, differences in input/output functions among three different sites along the cochlear partition. It also simulates quantitatively and qualitatively a range of phenomena including isovelocity functions, phase response, two-tone suppression, impulse response, and distortion products. The algorithm is potentially suitable for development as a bank of filters, for use in more comprehensive models of the peripheral auditory system.
Holographic reconstruction of active sources and surface admittance in an enclosure
Authors: Kim Young-Key , Kim Yang-Hann
Published: July 2002

Near-field acoustic holography (NAH) is applied to reconstruct an exterior sound field, as well as an interior sound field. A numerical method is employed to reconstruct the interior sound field of an arbitrary shaped enclosure. Reconstructed sound fields are usually used in identifying noise sources. However, until now, it has not been thoroughly verified whether the reconstructed sound field of an interior also shows source distributions. Interior sound fields have been reconstructed without any thought given to this question. In contrast to an exterior sound field, reflections are added to an interior sound field and therefore, the reconstructed sound field may misrepresent the source distribution. This paper addresses a way to solve this problem. A measurement method is proposed in order to distinguish between reflections and direct radiation from noise sources.
Why pinnipeds don’t echolocate
Authors: Schusterman Ronald J. , Kastak David , Levenson David H. , Reichmuth Colleen J. , Southall Brandon L.
Published: July 2002

Odontocete cetaceans have evolved a highly advanced system of active biosonar. It has been hypothesized that other groups of marine animals, such as the pinnipeds, possess analogous sound production, reception, and processing mechanisms that allow for underwater orientation using active echolocation. Despite sporadic investigation over the past 30 years, the accumulated evidence in favor of the pinniped echolocation hypothesis is unconvincing. We argue that an advanced echolocation system is unlikely to have evolved in pinnipeds primarily because of constraints imposed by the obligate amphibious functioning of the pinniped auditory system. As a result of these constraints, pinnipeds have not developed highly acute, aquatic, high frequency sound production or reception systems required for underwater echolocation. Instead, it appears that pinnipeds have evolved enhanced visual, tactile, and passive listening skills. The evolutionary refinement of alternative sensory systems allows pinnipeds to effectively forage, navigate, and avoid predators under water despite the lack of active biosonar capabilities.
Experimental validations of the HELS method for reconstructing acoustic radiation from a complex vibrating structure
Authors: Rayess Nassif , Wu Sean F.
Published: July 2002

This paper presents experimental validations of the Helmholtz Equation Least Squares (HELS) method [Wang and Wu, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 102, 2020–2032 (1997); Wu and Wang, U.S. Patent Number 5712805 (1998); Wu, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 107, 2511–2522 (2000)] on reconstruction of the radiated acoustic pressures from a complex vibrating structure. The structure under consideration has geometry and dimensions similar to those of a real passenger vehicle front end. To simulate noise radiation from a vehicle, a high fidelity loudspeaker installed inside the structure at the location of the engine is employed to generate both random and harmonic acoustic excitations. The radiated acoustic pressures are measured over a finite planar surface above the structure by a microphone. The measured data are taken as input to the HELS formulation to reconstruct the acoustic pressures on the top surface of the structure as well as in the field. The reconstructed acoustic pressures are then compared with measured ones at the same locations. Also shown are comparisons of the reconstructed and measured acoustic pressure spectra at various locations on the surface. Results show that satisfactory reconstruction can be obtained on the top surface of the structure subject to both random and harmonic excitations. Moreover, the more measurements and the closer their distances to the source surface, the more accurate the reconstruction. The efficiency of the HELS method may decrease with increasing of the excitation frequency. This high frequency difficulty is inherent in all expansion theories.
Sound propagation over layered poro-elastic ground using a finite-difference model
Authors: Dong Hefeng , Kaynia Amir M. , Madshus Christian , Hovem Jens M.
Published: July 2002

This article presents an axisymmetric pressure-velocity finite-difference formulation (PV-FD) based on Biot’s poro-elastic theory for modeling sound propagation in a homogeneous atmosphere over layered poro-elastic ground. The formulation is coded in a computer program and a simulation of actual measurements from airblast tests is carried out. The article presents typical results of simulation comprising synthetic time histories of overpressure in the atmosphere and ground vibration as well as snapshots of the response of the atmosphere–ground system at selected times. Comparisons with the measurements during airblast tests performed in Haslemoen, Norway, as well as the simulations by a frequency-wave number FFP formulation are presented to confirm the soundness of the proposed model. In particular, the generation of Mach surfaces in the ground motion, which is the result of the sound speed being greater than the Rayleigh wave velocity in the ground, is demonstrated with the help of snapshot plots.
A dynamic rheological method to study the interaction between starch and lipids
Authors: Eliasson A.-C. , Kim H.-R.
Published: July 2002

A dynamic rheological method was used to follow transitions occurring during heating and cooling of starch–lipid gels that were prepared separately from the rheological measurement. A decrease in storage modulus (G′) and a simultaneous increase in phase shift (δ) were interpreted as due to a transition of the amylose–lipid complex. During cooling an increase in G′ and a decrease in δ were observed. The temperature of this transition (Tm) was found to depend on the type of starch, chain length of complexing ligand, polar head group of the ligand, and salt concentration for ionic ligands. For a hydroxypropylated potato starch lower Tm values were observed than for the native potato starch. Surfactants with longer hydrocarbon chains gave higher Tm values. The polar head influenced the stability so that it increased in the following order: cationic<anionic<nonionic. For the charged ligands Tm increased with the concentration of NaCl. This was explained as due to a generic electrostatic effect of ions on the helix–coil transformation. Not only the transition of the amylose–lipid complex was affected as described. Also the rheological properties of the starch–lipid gel at room temperature were possible to change depending on the ligand used. By combining the proper starch and surfactant/emulsifier it was thus possible to obtain very strong and elastic gels (i.e., high G′ and low δ values) or very weak and viscous gels (i.e., low G′ and high δ values).
Solo With Cancer
Authors: Narayanan Shivakumar
Published: January 2023

This essay describes the author’s experience with a socially isolated patient who declined cancer treatment because he had no one to help him after transarterial radioembolization therapy.
Perceptions of Breast Cancer Risks Among Women Receiving Mammograph Screening
Authors: Beidler Laura B. , Kressin Nancy R. , Wormwood Jolie B. , Battaglia Tracy A. , Slanetz Priscilla J. , Gunn Christine M.
Published: January 2023

Importance

Breast density is an independent risk factor for breast cancer. Despite the proliferation of mandated written notifications about breast density following mammography, there is little understanding of how women perceive the relative breast cancer risk associated with breast density.

Objective

To assess women’s perception of breast density compared with other breast cancer risks and explore their understanding of risk reduction.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This mixed-methods qualitative study used telephone surveys and semistructured interviews to investigate perceptions about breast cancer risk among a nationally representative, population-based sample of women. Eligible study participants were aged 40 to 76 years, reported having recently undergone mammography, had no history of prior breast cancer, and had heard of breast density. Survey participants who had been informed of their personal breast density were invited for a qualitative interview. Survey administration spanned July 1, 2019, to April 30, 2020, with 2306 women completing the survey. Qualitative interviews were conducted from February 1 to May 30, 2020.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Respondents compared the breast cancer risk associated with breast density with 5 other risk factors. Participants qualitatively described what they thought contributed to breast cancer risk and ways to reduce risk.

Results

Of the 2306 women who completed the survey, 1858 (166 [9%] Asian, 503 [27%] Black, 268 [14%] Hispanic, 792 [43%] White, and 128 [7%] other race or ethnicity; 358 [19%] aged 40-49 years, 906 [49%] aged 50-64 years, and 594 [32%] aged ≥65 years) completed the revised risk perception questions and were included in the analysis. Half of respondents thought breast density to be a greater risk than not having children (957 [52%]), having more than 1 alcoholic drink per day (975 [53%]), or having a prior breast biopsy (867 [48%]). Most respondents felt breast density was a lesser risk than having a first-degree relative with breast cancer (1706 [93%]) or being overweight or obese (1188 [65%]). Of the 61 women who were interviewed, 6 (10%) described breast density as contributing to breast cancer risk, and 43 (70%) emphasized family history as a breast cancer risk factor. Of the interviewed women, 17 (28%) stated they did not know whether it was possible to reduce their breast cancer risk.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this qualitative study of women of breast cancer screening age, family history was perceived as the primary breast cancer risk factor. Most interviewees did not identify breast density as a risk factor and did not feel confident about actions to mitigate breast cancer risk. Comprehensive education about breast cancer risks and prevention strategies is needed.
Kautsky, Karl (1854–1938)
Authors: Dahms Harry F.
Published: January 2023

Karl Kautsky (1854–1938) was the leading theorist of Marxist orthodoxy during the two decades following the death of Friedrich Engels in 1895. Kautsky also was a leader of German social Democracy from 1890 until 1914. At the beginning of World War I, he was among those pushing the Social Democratic Party of Germany to support the imperial government's declaration of war and subsequent war effort, which diminished his previous prominence in the eyes of many socialists, even though he later opposed the war. Immediately after the Russian Revolution, Kautsky began to reject the role, politics, and goals of the Bolshevists, inciting Lenin to denounce him as a “renegade” of the socialist movement. Kautsky's standing as a Marxist scholar and politician did not recover from Lenin's attack, but he continued to be a prolific writer and strong proponent of orthodox Marxism who retained a measure of influence in socialist circles, especially in Germany and Austria, and among dissident socialists in the Soviet Union.
Folkways
Authors: Schneiderman Howard G.
Published: January 2023

The term “folkways” was coined by Yale sociologist William Graham Sumner in his 1906 book of that name. “Folkways” is a term that describes norms, rules, and symbolic social controls that determine, shape, and regulate individual as well as institutional behavior in a society. Folkways are norms that include subsidiary prescriptive types such as mores, customs, traditions, rituals, fads, fashions, manners, and etiquette, all of which specify appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. These confer legitimacy to social actions and interactions, as well as to social institutions and associations. Folkways and their moralizing rituals, from manners to morals, are also the basis of social repetition. Customs and re‐enactments of prescribed behavior for mealtimes, work routines, holidays, and normal or special occasions, such as births and funerals, are shaped by folkways, as are the appreciation of art, as well as our relationships to science, medicine, politics, law, education, and religion, among other social institutions.
Cultural Hybridity
Authors: Marotta Vince
Published: January 2023

Cultural hybridity is a contested idea that has been understood in essentialist and nonessentialist terms. It has been used to describe the experiences of ethnic youth and biracial individuals who have similar, but different experiences of living across multiple cultures. The development of a hybrid consciousness transcends these differences because living in‐between fosters an alternative worldview not available to those living on either side of the cultural border.
Deprofessionalization
Authors: Splichal Slavko
Published: January 2023

Deprofessionalization denotes the weakening of professions as they decline in autonomy, status, power, and professional identity. It is conceptualized along five essential dimensions that contribute to the elimination of boundaries between members of the profession and “outsiders,” followed by the decline in authority of the profession: (1) routinization, automation, and algorithmization of work and knowledge processing; (2) social diffusion, demonopolization, and fragmentation of knowledge and specific technical competences; (3) bureaucratization: the rise of hierarchical control and weakening of effective self‐control of behavior through voluntary associations and codes of ethics; (4) marketization and commercialization: a shift of primary orientation from the community interest to individual self‐interest; (5) decline in prestige and trustworthiness.
Jainism
Authors: Miller Christopher Patrick
Published: January 2023

This entry describes the origins of the Jain religion, the tradition's central philosophical tenets, as well as some of the fundamental contemporary expressions of Jainism in global society. A bibliography with suggestions for further reading is also provided at the end of the entry for readers interested in learning more about these topics.
Cybermigration
Authors: Buoncompagni Giacomo
Published: January 2023

The speed and intensity of communication and information flows define a media space that today is flanked by geographical space, but without replacing it. A process of deterritorialization of space and time is underway: anyone born in the second half of the twentieth century is a migrant because they move, physically and virtually, from one culture to another, in a liquid, fragmented, and participatory way. The evolution of the World Wide Web has created a social space without borders that facilitates communication between immigrant communities geographically dispersed all over the globe. The constant mediation and mediatization, the exchange of content through social media from home to host country, the construction of a migration project through chat, online news, and mobile applications have created a new form of global human mobility that could be defined as “cybermigration.”
Masculinity
Authors: Roberts Steven , Ralph Brittany
Published: January 2023

For sociologists, masculinity is not bound up with or innate to male‐sexed bodies. It is a social construct – an ideal image of manhood that is culturally specific and historically variable, but is generally situated in relation to, and characterized by, an absence of femininity. Central to sociological discussions of masculinity is the theorization of men's power, and how this is asserted, enacted against, or obtained at the expense of women, other men, and people of all genders. Accordingly, the study of masculinity is a key component of social research that aims to explain and tackle, among other things, gendered family violence, unequal divisions of labor, gendered workplace outcomes in pay and status, homophobia, and the physical and mental health effects of men's valorization of toughness, stoicism, heterosexism, (economic) self‐sufficiency, and constrained emotionality. Understanding how masculinity changes over time is also a key ambition for sociologists.
Sanctions
Authors: Henry Stuart
Published: January 2023

Sanctions are deprivation(s) of value that inflict harm on a subject in response to an act considered a harm/offense. The deprivations exist on multiple dimensions that include limits to freedom, restrictions on time, separation from significant others, punishments to the body, transformations of social identity and status, reductions of property, all of which have a negative psychological impact. They can range from informal sanctions such as stigma and social exclusion or ostracism, to formal sanctions such as corporal punishment, fines, incarceration, and ultimately death. Each is administered based on a philosophy of sanctioning that considerers the purpose and objective of the punishment. Evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of achieving these objectives is mixed.
Private Troubles and Public Issues
Authors: Tamdgidi Mohammad H.
Published: January 2023

“Personal [or private] troubles and public issues” is an expression that was originally coined by the American sociologist C. Wright Mills in his pathbreaking and highly influential work
The Sociological Imagination
, published in 1959. Therein, he advocated a mode of inquiry in sociology centering on the idea that social life can be best understood by exploring how personal troubles and public issues inter‐relate. During the last two decades, a growing debate has emerged in sociology focused on the need for moving the discipline toward a “public sociology.” As G.H. Mead argued that self and society are twin‐born, however, we need to also interpret Mills as having advocated the sociological imagination as one which regards private troubles and public issues to be also twin‐born, inseparable and equally significant. Sociologists need to explore how Mills's sociological imagination was itself shaped by his own private troubles and the public issues of his time, and how it can be further critically deepened across transdisciplinary and transcultural horizons.
Housesitting and the New Mobilities Paradigm
Authors: Taylor Emmeline
Published: January 2023

Housesitting involves residing in someone else's home, usually a stranger's, while they are away from the property, in exchange for services (looking after pets, watering plants, and collecting the mail, for example). It is a phenomenon that has existed for decades but has gathered significant momentum in recent years, in part due to online networks facilitating new patterns of initiating, negotiating, and establishing relationships and communities. The housesitting movement is symptomatic of multiple social, cultural, and economic conditions underscored by the shifting tides of late modernity: Work has become more flexible with an increase in remote working; home‐ownership is beyond reach for many; and as fertility rates in western societies have reduced, pet ownership has increased, thus requiring temporary live‐in sitters when owners travel for work or leisure. The twenty‐first century can be defined by such “new mobilities,” facilitated by interconnectivity, improved access to transport, and flexible working.
Questionnaire
Authors: Aschauer Wolfgang
Published: January 2023

The questionnaire is a prominent and widely used tool kit for empirical social analysis. With this research instrument, theory‐driven information from the social world is transferred into research and analysis. A questionnaire can use open or closed (standardized) questions to obtain qualitative or quantitative data. Questionnaires can be administered in various forms (via face‐to‐face interviewing, via telephone, as self‐administered questionnaires or online surveys). In general, they offer a cheap and efficient possibility to acquire theory‐guided information from a large sample of people.
Indigenous Knowledges
Authors: Baskin Cyndy
Published: January 2023

Indigenous Peoples are the original habitants of the lands that they now reside on. Each group has its own set of knowledges based on interconnectedness, a holistic way of looking at the world, collectivity, and responsibility for everything in the environment. Indigenous knowledges, passed on through each group's unique language, are believed to hold the key to sustainable economic and resource development.
Race and the Body
Authors: Mason Katherine
Published: January 2023

This entry explores how racial meanings and identities are attributed to people on the basis of bodily differences. Beginning with “race science” and eugenic ideologies, such attributions tend to treat surface‐level characteristics (skin color, facial features, etc.) as indicative of deeper between‐group differences and degrees of evolutionary “fitness” or primitivity. Today, those beliefs lead to unequal treatment in settings ranging from school discipline to policing, and from courtrooms to healthcare providers. Members of racial minority groups may also use their bodies to display racialized distinctiveness, pride, or assimilation, and the reception of these bodies necessarily varies across cultural contexts.
Reverse Socialization
Authors: Singh Pallavi
Published: January 2023

Reverse socialization is a process whereby an adult acquires knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior from children/younger members of society. Since the 1970s the role of children as socialization agents has been given its due value in the research. Developed from sociology and developmental psychology, reverse socialization is widely studied in the field of consumer behavior. The social power of children to influence elders in families depends on their own personal resources like age, knowledge, finances, and also the family environment. Recent research draws out the linear conception of the reverse socialization process and calls for understanding it in its dynamism and complexity.
Cybergang
Authors: Buoncompagni Giacomo
Published: January 2023

Recent criminological studies show how new types of crime among young people, like bullying, are emerging – in particular, the cybergang phenomenon. Increasingly, young gangs are using social networking in a strategic way to build and to reinforce their identity, to define paths of microcelebrity, and to distribute photos and videos of beatings, torture, and murder.
Causality
Authors: Manzo Gianluca , Sage Lucas
Published: January 2023

Statisticians and social and computer scientists tend to approach causality and causal inference with particular theories of causality in mind, and defend tools that are supposed to support causal claims from the point of view of that theory. This entry explains why theoretical and methodological pluralism with respect to causality can benefit causal inference. To this aim, we first discuss various understandings of the concept of causality, and of mechanisms, and emphasize that none of them can be considered as intrinsically superior to another. We then discuss typical design‐ and model‐based identification strategies of causal effects from within the potential outcome approach, and point to the crucial role of untestable assumptions for defending causal claims within experimental and observational methods. Finally, we explain how computational tools like agent‐based modeling can aid causal inference, and argue that persuasive causal claims in fact require data and arguments produced by methods that are based on different assumptions and that incorporate different views of causality and mechanisms.
Greater China
Authors: Sum Chun‐Yi
Published: January 2023

“Greater China” generally includes the mainland of the People's Republic of China (PRC), former European colonies Hong Kong and Macau, and Taiwan (the Republic of China, ROC). It occasionally encompasses Singapore, as well as diasporic Chinese communities in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. In the 1990s, “Greater China” was often used among Euro‐American corporations and English speakers to identify the nominally Chinese‐speaking region that quickly emerged as an economic and cultural powerhouse after the Cold War. Popular usage of the term gradually declined in the early 2000s, after Hong Kong and Macau came under PRC sovereignty. Critics of Sinocentrism and Han supremacy also grew weary of the concept of Greater China, which often presumed cultural and linguistic homogeneity, economic integration, and (eventually) political unity in the region, with Beijing and Shanghai as its indisputable centers.
Serious Leisure
Authors: Stebbins Robert A.
Published: January 2023

Leisure is uncoerced, contextually framed activity engaged in during free time perceived as such, which people want to do and, using their abilities and resources, actually do in either a satisfying or a fulfilling way (or both). Leisure can be hedonic enjoyment or deeply rewarding fulfillment. Serious leisure is the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or career volunteer activity that participants find so substantial, interesting, and fulfilling that, in the typical case, they launch themselves on a (leisure) career centered on acquiring and expressing its special skills, knowledge, and experience. Serious leisure is further defined by its six distinctive qualities. It is contrasted with casual leisure, or fundamentally hedonic activity engaged in for its significant level of pure enjoyment, or satisfaction.
Acculturation
Authors: Berry John
Published: January 2023

Acculturation is the process of cultural change that takes place as a result of contact between cultural groups. It is also a process of psychological change among individuals who are members of these different groups. Such contact and change occur during colonization, military invasion, migration, and sojourning (e.g., tourism, international study, overseas posting). It continues after initial contact in culturally plural societies, where ethnocultural communities maintain features of their heritage cultures. Adaptation to living in culture contact settings takes place over time. Occasionally it is stressful, but often it results in some form of accommodation. Acculturation and adaptation are now reasonably well understood, permitting the development of policies and programs to promote successful outcomes for all parties.
Action Research
Authors: Hammersley Martyn
Published: January 2023

Action research is aimed simultaneously at producing knowledge and at bringing about some sort of practical improvement, whether in terms of personal development, technical efficacy, or sociopolitical change. Phases of inquiry often alternate with phases of action, with each informing the other. It has been applied and developed in a variety of contexts, including business organizations, community projects, social work practice, and the professional development of school teachers.
Age Identity
Authors: Rozario Philip , White Chireau
Published: January 2023

This entry focuses on the definition of age identity. It traces the theoretical development and influences of the concept, from Goffman's concepts of stigma and impression management to postmodern theories that emphasize intersectionality and epistemologies that focus on individual subjectivities. Additionally, it provides some empirical examples and offers suggestions for future examinations of the concept.
Arendt, Hannah (1906–1975)
Authors: Walsh Philip
Published: January 2023

Hannah Arendt was a key intellectual figure of the twentieth century, whose writings have impacted philosophy, political theory, and the social sciences. Although she held sociology in low regard, her ideas have had significant influence within the field. Her engagements with totalitarianism, social movements, power, politics, morality, evil, and the self have shaped how sociologists have taken up these subjects, and her style of theorizing presents important challenges to sociological theory. This entry discusses her contributions in each of these areas, with particular emphasis on their significance for sociology.
Braudel, Fernand (1902–1985)
Authors: Derluguian Georgi
Published: January 2023

The most influential and decorated “mega‐historian” of the twentieth century brought his vast erudition and elegance to the study of past worlds beyond the confines of academic disciplines and national narratives. His nuanced macro/micro‐perspective, originally Durkheimian, became an alternative to Marxist, Weberian, and neoclassical views of capitalism. In turn, it inspired the world‐systems analysis of Immanuel Wallerstein and Giovanni Arrighi. The historically grounded portrayal of global capitalism as a monopolistic “anti‐market” force could prove Braudel's greatest legacy.
Celebrity and Celetoid
Authors: Driessens Olivier
Published: January 2023

Celebrity, a central category in media‐saturated societies, mostly denotes individuals with significant visibility gained through recurrent media representations. Its connotation is sometimes negative, and its supposedly frivolous character is possibly one of the reasons why it has remained understudied sociologically. This entry discusses several perspectives on celebrity that clearly demonstrate its social and sociological importance. One of these is that celebrity operates as a status system and is embedded in stratification and social inequalities. Another is the labor of (self‐)branding and visibility management, which links to celebrities' commodification and role in capitalist economies. Their activism and politics are also briefly discussed, which leads to a number of questions for future research.
Conflict Theory of Crime and Delinquency
Authors: Gilmore Elizabeth L. , Buckler Kevin
Published: January 2023

The notion of perpetual intergroup struggle is central to conflict theory. Generally speaking, conflict theory addresses the struggles between groups in the context of power differential and oppression. Conflict theory seeks to identify the origins of group conflict, illuminate the conditions in which conflict develops and solidifies, and theorize on the elimination of the conflict.
Consumption, Spectacles of
Authors: Trier James
Published: January 2023

In the phrase “cathedrals of consumption,” “cathedrals” refers to settings designed to attract people and compel them to spend their time and money. For a setting to become a cathedral, consumers have to be enchanted, which is to say that the setting must create a spectacular aura that draws people to it and seduces them to consume. In this sense, “spectacular” and “enchanted” are synonymous, signifying a positivity, at least from the perspective of the capitalists who have designed and invested in these cathedrals of consumption. In one sense, this same positivity is also in play in the phrase “spectacles of consumption.” Just as spectacular auras must permeate the atmosphere of cathedrals of consumption, the same kinds of enchanting auras must enliven spectacles of consumption. The positivity in all of these spectacles is that no matter what their content is, the requirement that the spectacle of consumption be enchanting is essential for making a profit. In a another sense, however, “spectacles of consumption” signifies something inherently and profoundly negative. In this latter sense, spectacles of consumption are to be critiqued and challenged, and their enchanting aspects are interpreted as being seductively corrosive and perniciously alienating.
Cultural Capital
Authors: Coulangeon Philippe
Published: January 2023

“Cultural capital” refers to cultural endowments that convey power and status. In its three forms – objectified (e.g., books), institutionalized (e.g., diplomas), and embodied (e.g., tastes and manners) – it draws symbolic boundaries between social groups or classes. Traditionally indexed on the divide between high and popular culture, these boundaries are now drawn more on the gradient of cultural diversity, contrasting culturally open elites to the more restricted and fragmented popular cultural repertoires.
Cultural Diversity and Aging: Ethnicity, Race, and Minorities
Authors: Torres Sandra
Published: January 2023

Sociological conceptualizations of what it means to have an ethnic and racial minority status, and of how these identification grounds affect our lives, have evolved over the past five decades. These advancements have also had implications for how sociologists make sense of the challenges and opportunities that cultural diversity entails. Research on aging that focuses on (national) culture, ethnicity, race, minorities, and diversity has yet to be informed by the sociological advancements in question. This entry addresses why this is the case and discusses the conceptualizations of ethnicity and race that inform research on aging. In addition, this entry exposes the ways in which the sociological imagination on aging and old age in relation to culture, ethnicity, race, minority status, and diversity could be advanced.
Culture, Production of
Authors: Grazian David
Published: January 2023

The production of culture perspective focuses on the ways in which the symbolic elements of culture are significantly shaped by the systems within which they are created, distributed, evaluated, taught, and preserved. The initial focus was on the production of expressive symbols such as artworks, scientific research reports, popular culture, religious practices, legal judgments, journalism, and other parts of the culture industries. Now, the perspective is also applied to situations where the manipulation of symbols is a byproduct rather than the purpose of the collective activity.
Demography: Historical
Authors: Mosk Carl
Published: January 2023

Demographic history is shaped by technological breakthroughs, such as the Neolithic Revolution beginning around 10,000
bce
, and the first Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century. Hunting and gathering peoples experienced anemic population growth; the diffusion of settled agriculture exploiting domesticated plants and animals engendered slow secular increase – albeit punctuated by dramatic reverses – in human numbers. The first and second Industrial Revolutions unleashed dramatic growth. Given the importance of understanding population dynamics, theories have flourished: notable are Malthusian theory exploring preindustrial demography, and demographic transition theory accounting for demographic developments after industrialization. Given the extant statistical record, research in demographic history implicitly differentiates between core and periphery zones. In the core, documentation being relatively satisfactory, evidence points to homeostatic Malthusian equilibriums ultimately ushering in demographic transitions, fertility often increasing prior to experiencing secular decline. In the periphery where evidence is scanty, theorists of population dynamics have struggled to apply principles applicable to the core.
Deviance, Absolutist Definitions of
Authors: Perrin Robin D.
Published: January 2023

Sociologists define deviance as behavior that violates a norm and is judged negatively by a society. Many, however, misunderstand this conceptualization, instead assuming that the study of deviant behavior is the study of inherently wrong behavior. This absolutist conception, while relevant to our understandings of the origin of norms and reactions, is not a sociological conceptualization of deviance.
Elite Culture
Authors: Salverda Tijo
Published: January 2023

Elite culture has often been associated with high culture, and in opposition to low culture. Today, this distinction is less evident. However, elites' cultural practices, events, and status symbols remain of importance to the understanding of power in society. Yet, for a better understanding of elites' efforts to shape exclusive cultural environments and distinguish themselves from other social groups, their cultural occurrences should be understood in relation to their paradoxical interactions with other social groups.
Exploitation
Authors: Woodcock Jamie
Published: January 2023

Exploitation involves an unfair relationship, in which one party benefits at the expense of another. Due to this unfairness, exploitation is a highly emotive concept, involving value judgments from different perspectives. In order to comprehend exploitation in sociological terms, it needs to be considered in this relational manner: understanding who is being exploited, why, and by whom. Throughout this entry, the key themes of exploitation will be discussed, including harmful or mutually beneficial exploitation, the role of paid and unpaid work, key theorists like Marx, and recent developments with digital technology.
Family Demography
Authors: Casper Lynne M. , Hook Jennifer L.
Published: January 2023

We begin by reviewing tools and terminology commonly used in family demography. We then examine the sweeping changes in family and household composition and living arrangements over the last 50 years with a focus on the United States, followed by consideration of other industrialized countries. We then discuss the rise of social demography of the family, which looks at the causes and consequences of family change and variation.
Female Genital Mutilation
Authors: Johnsdotter Sara
Published: January 2023

“Female genital mutilation” (FGM) or “female genital cutting” (often FGM/C) are the most widespread terms to designate nonmedical practices that alter or affect the external female genitalia. Medical consequences are often classified into immediate and long‐term complications. FGM/C in some form is practiced in more than 30 countries, primarily in Africa and Asia, and there is vast variation as regards motives and age of the girls who undergo the procedure. FGM/C is illegal in Europe, North America, and Australia, and in most high‐prevalence countries in Africa. Few cases of illegal FGM/C procedures have reached criminal courts in the west. A growing body of research demonstrates that cultural change regarding FGM/C attitudes and practices among migrant communities may be an important explanatory factor. Current contested issues include how the prevalent zero‐tolerance approach to FGM/C is in line with the general acceptance of male circumcision, intersex surgery, and cosmetic female genital surgeries.
Globalization and Global Justice
Authors: Agartan Kaan
Published: January 2023

Global justice (GJ) is a term that lies at the heart of the question of fair distribution of benefits and burdens across the world. While it has been, to date, mostly political philosophers who examined the normative underpinnings of the obligations to the globally disadvantaged and left behind, the deep‐seated processes of globalization continue to have a real and tangible impact on the lives and fortunes of people all around the world. After painting in broad strokes the two approaches (minimalist and cosmopolitan) on GJ, the entry points to the possible ways through which sociological inquiry can be informed by this rich conversation, and can in turn inspire new directions in the debate.
Global Warming
Authors: Everuss Louis , Lever‐Tracy Constance
Published: January 2023

Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have significantly increased the concentration of atmospheric “greenhouse gases,” which has led to a warming of the earth's climate. This global warming and related climate changes are creating a less stable and habitable environment for life, such as by radically altering precipitation patterns, causing more destructive weather events, and melting polar ice and consequently generating sea level rises. While sociological research on global warming has traditionally been limited, recent sociological scholarship has generated knowledge on the social and structural features of global warming. Sociological work has demonstrated how global warming and climate change is an outcome of dominant political and economic systems and how it is impacting communities and creating inequalities. This analysis is essential to challenging the political systems, public apathy, and climate change denialism that are entrenching global warming trends and pushing the world toward catastrophic natural tipping points.
Kuhn, Thomas and Scientific Paradigms
Authors: Wray K. Brad
Published: January 2023

This entry describes Thomas Kuhn's theory of science, with special attention given to the role played by paradigms and paradigm changes. After discussing the ambiguities in the concept “paradigm,” it distinguishes between three senses of paradigm: the paradigm as exemplar, the paradigm as theory, and the paradigm as disciplinary matrix. It then examines the impact that the concepts had in the social sciences, particularly in sociology. Finally, it discusses Kuhn's later views on science, where he conceptualized what he called paradigm changes as lexical changes. It also discusses the fate of the paradigm concept.
Lone Parents
Authors: Haux Tina
Published: January 2023

Lone parenthood has become more accepted in many countries but continues to evolve. In addition, the general economic climate, labor market, and social security policies in place to support lone parents, as well as general attitudes toward families and gender norms, continue to affect the lives of many families and children. This entry discusses employment and social security policies and recent developments in the scholarship on lone parents.
Media Literacy
Authors: Potter W. James , Christ William G.
Published: January 2023

As people spend more time with the growing variety of media and become more engrossed in their media exposures, concern about media literacy has increased. This concern has attracted a wide variety of people who have created a huge literature of ideas. Some of those ideas address conceptual issues, such as what literacy about media should mean and in what ways literacy is important. And some of those ideas are suggestions about what individuals, groups, institutions, and society should do to reduce the risk of problems the media may be stimulating, while helping the public to take greater advantage of the opportunities the media offer.
Music and Media
Authors: Schneider Christopher J.
Published: January 2023

Music is a feature of societies and cultures worldwide. The study of the relationship between music and media has developed into an important subfield of the sociology of music, reflecting the significance of mediation on music. This entry outlines modern developments and changes in the production and consumption of music that are attributed to evolving media formats – from radio and television to physical recorded media products such as vinyl records to mobile app‐based platforms like on‐demand music streaming services.
Music and Social Movements
Authors: Rosenthal Rob
Published: January 2023

Recent emphasis on the cultural aspects of social movements has led to attention to the various roles music has played. Analysis has become considerably more sophisticated, moving beyond one‐dimensional lyric analysis, with its attendant assumption that audiences simply receive the message therein contained, to considerations of many dimensions of music, music‐making, and the variety of uses of music in the creation and maintenance of social movements.
Nostalgia
Authors: Bennett Julia
Published: January 2023

Nostalgia is a longing for a past that is believed to be preferable to the present time. Nostalgia uses shared cultural memory rather than personal memory in depicting the past. Nostalgia has been present in sociology since its beginnings but has become prominent in the late twentieth and early twenty‐first centuries in cultural and political life. Much of the heritage industry is premised on a form of nostalgia, remembering the past as a time of greater community and tighter social bonds. Recent politics, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States, has been shaped by a conservative nostalgia for a past utopia of modern life.
Social Structure and Organizations
Authors: Joseph‐Goteiner David , Fligstein Neil
Published: January 2023

Organizations populate modern society as the main vehicles for actors to attain their goals. They are, however, creatures of the society in which they exist. This entry explores how scholars have conceptualized the link between organizations and social structures. Beginning with Stinchcombe's seminal 1965 article, scholars have struggled with three questions: What social structures are organizations embedded in? Do those structures present hard or soft constraints on organizations' ability to survive? Can actors in organizations change the direction of their internal organization in such a way as to control their environment? Three main perspectives to these questions in organizational theory are considered: population ecology, institutional theory, and network analysis. A comparison of recent developments in these research programs suggests that while there remain differences, some common themes have emerged.