bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Blumer, Herbert George (1900–1987)
Authors: Morrione Thomas J. 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
Herbert Blumer was president of the American Sociological Association (1956) and received its Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award in 1983. His pre‐eminent contribution to sociology and social psychology is his formulation of a distinctive theoretical and methodological perspective known as symbolic interactionism. Emphasizing the salience of individual and collective processes of definition in shaping action, he crafted enduringly relevant and discipline‐defining analyses of a host of subjects, including collective behavior, social movements, fashion, race relations, industrial and labor relations, social problems, morale, public opinion, social attitudes, social change, public sector social science research, and social psychology. Consistent with his pragmatist‐informed perspective, he assigned social interaction the central role in creating, maintaining, and changing social reality.
Child Abuse
Authors: Polonko Karen 
Published: September 2017

AbstractResearch indicates that over one third of adults in the United States have been victims of child maltreatment including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and/or neglect as a child. This entry reviews the definitions and prevalence of child abuse, the multiple connections between less and more severe levels of abuse, and the serious negative consequences of all degrees of violence for the child throughout the life course. Traditional and human rights models of child maltreatment are compared, with implications for the cycle of child maltreatment across generations and child abuse prevention.
Collective Memory
Authors: Schwartz Barry 
Published: September 2017

Abstract

Collective memory studies retain the emphasis of their founder, Maurice Halbwachs, by analyzing the many ways present conditions affect what we make of the past. Toward the end of the twentieth century, however, Halbwachs's “presentism” ran into neorealist opposition, largely in the fields of history and biblical scholarship, and to a lesser but significant extent in sociology. Corresponding to these emerging theoretical trends is an increasing reliance on survey research methods. The latter can never replace qualitative analyses, but its random sampling of unrelated individuals clarifies the question of what we mean when we refer to
collective
memory.

Individual minds are collective memory's building blocks, but collective memory is itself “superindividual.” Collective memory refers to the
distribution
throughout society of what individuals know, believe, and feel about past events and persons, how they morally judge them, how closely they identify with them, and how much they are inspired by them as models for their conduct and identity. Collective memory refers to neither a collection of individual ideas nor some “mysterious group memory” but to an emergent social fact which remains as individuals replace one another.
Computational Sociology
Authors: Bainbridge William Sims 
Published: September 2017

AbstractIncreasingly, computer and information science is providing new opportunities for sociologists, to develop and test theories, and to explore the new information society over the Internet. Artificial social intelligence is a general approach for evaluation of the logical implications and consistency of a theory, through the use of a technique such as multiagent computer simulation. Natural language processing is a set of techniques that can identify meaningful patterns in human language, typically written text, but also speech and gestures. Virtual worlds are a major new industry and form of online community, using visual simulations of real environments, where human behavior can be studied through such traditional methods as participant observation. Citizen science includes large numbers of volunteers in computer‐assisted research studies in many of the natural sciences, and has great potential for sociology as well.
Consumer Culture, Children's
Authors: Cook Daniel Thomas 
Published: September 2017

AbstractChildren's consumer culture refers to the institutional, material, and symbolic arrangements which organize a young person's involvement in, and movement through, the early life course in terms of commercial interests and values. Children are both subject to and arise as subjects in consumer contexts. The meanings which adhere to commercial goods are at once imposed on children, childhood, and children's social worlds and are taken up by children as resources with which they create selves, identities, and relationships.
Cultural Citizenship
Authors: Stevenson Nick 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
This entry traces through the three main stages in the debate around ideas of cultural citizenship. In the first stage ideas of cultural citizenship were used to discuss the ability of citizens to participate in the cultural life of the nation. There was an explicit concern in the sociological and cultural writing of the 1950s that working‐class people (and others) had been excluded and that cultural institutions needed to be reformed to make them more inclusive. However, after the rise of postmodernism and poststructuralism there were increasing concerns that models of cultural citizenship were not complex enough to deal with issues of cultural difference. A range of social movements from black rights organizations to feminism and from gay rights to more ecological concerns began to ask questions around otherness and alterity in this regard. Finally, more recently questions of cultural citizenship have moved on to investigate the rise of neoliberalism and the erosion of the cultural commons. In this stage of the debate some of the concerns of the first stage have been recaptured as scholars look at the effects of privatization and the downgrading of public provision more generally.
Cultural Colonialism
Authors: Amsler Sarah 
Published: September 2017

Abstract

The term cultural colonialism refers to the extension of colonial state power through cultural knowledge, activities, and institutions (particularly education and media) or the systematic subordination of one conceptual framework or cultural identity over others. The understanding that culture is a medium for political and economic power, and for resistance, predates postcolonial theory in social and political thought. The specific concepts of “cultural colonialism” and “cultural imperialism” emerged later, as part of wider critiques of colonial and neocolonial power in post‐World War
II
movements for national independence from Anglo‐European rule. Although less popular in academic sociology now than in the 1970s and 1980s, discourses and theories of cultural colonialism have continued to appear in public debate. New critiques of cultural colonialism have emerged from within both the World Social Forum and the Occupy movements. While the political and economic systems that initially gave rise to the analytical concept of cultural colonialism have been transformed through decolonization, new knowledge is being produced to explain both global inequality and the cultural dimensions of contemporary struggles for power, autonomy, and resistance.
Definition of the Situation
Authors: Bakker J.I. (Hans) 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
The term “definition of the situation” has come to signify the “Thomas theorem” – the idea expressed by W.I. Thomas as follows: “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.” That is, when the phrase is used, it usually carries with it the connotation of the whole theorem. However, the phrase “definition of the situation” predates Thomas's famous theorem. The more general conceptualization seems to be closely related to the concept of norms and culture. The interpretation of collective norms is important for all social action. It is only in certain situations where the agent chooses to redefine the norms. Park and Burgess cite a 1919 Carnegie study where the term is used to discuss the topic of assimilation to American society, especially in terms of “Americanization”: “common participation in common activities implies a common ‘definition of the situation.’”
Demographic Techniques: Population Projections and Estimates
Authors: Long John F. 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
Population estimates and projection methods are key demographic techniques that provide information on population levels and trends by creative use of limited data. The more sophisticated methods analyze age‐specific data on population size and on births, deaths, and migration in modeling current and future change. This analysis may be based on modeling of past trends or by making use of other measured administrative data that vary with population. In recent years, stochastic forecasting methods have attempted to model the uncertainty surrounding the results of population forecasts.
Deterrence Theory
Authors: Stafford Mark C. 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
Deterrence is the omission or curtailment of a crime because of the fear of legal punishment. People may refrain entirely from crime because of the fear of legal punishment (absolute deterrence), or they may curtail or restrict their commission of it (restrictive deterrence). According to deterrence theory, people should be deterred (absolutely, restrictively, or both) if legal punishments are certain, severe, and swift. There are both objective and perceived legal punishments. Objective punishments involve what legal officials actually do in punishing offenders; perceived punishments have to do with people's perceptions of what legal officials actually do. This distinction is incorporated in different deterrence propositions, and research findings have been more consistent with some of these propositions than others. Finally, deterrence theory needs to incorporate nondeterrence variables that are also related to crime, such as extralegal punishments (e.g., stigma).
Deviance, Explanatory Theories of
Authors: Goode Erich 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
For thousands of years, humans have attempted to explain the behavior that members of their societies considered deviance, wrongdoing, or crime: “Why do some members of the society engage in serious normative violations?” Or: “What social conditions increase the likelihood that members of the society will engage in serious normative violations?” The answers theorists have given over the years have ranged from the maximization of self‐interests to neighborhood disorganization; from biological defects to poor parenting; from frustrated economic aspirations to hanging out with a criminally inclined crowd. The social and behavioral sciences do not, and probably never will, agree on the validity of a comprehensive, coherent, and consistent single explanation of what causes criminal, delinquent, and deviant behavior. It is possible that verifying such an explanation is impossible, since the domain of non‐normative behavior is so huge and diverse.
Deviance, Reactivist Definitions of
Authors: Pontell Henry N. , Ghazi‐Tehrani Adam , Burton Bryan 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
The sociology of deviance entails two major perspectives, both of which emphasize the relative nature of the phenomenon. The normative perspective views deviance as being located in customs and rules; deviance is the formal violation of one or more norms. The reactivist perspective takes a more radical approach to the relative nature of deviance, and views the existence and characteristics of deviance in how real behaviors, beliefs, or conditions are actually judged by relevant audiences. “Strict” reactivists claim that in order for deviance to exist, the act, condition, or belief must first be heard about or witnessed, and second, must be met with concrete social disapproval, condemnation, or punishment. “Soft” or moderate reactivists argue that categories of deviance exist, even if specific actors, believers, and possessors of non‐normative characteristics have not been concretely punished or labeled. More recent definitions of deviance integrate both the normative and reactivist approaches to deviance.
Ethics,Research
Authors: (Hans) Bakker J.I. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractAn undergraduate or graduate research project involving a survey questionnaire does not necessarily constitute a great risk to participants. Nevertheless, all research has to be vetted by institutional review boards (IRBs) in the United States. In Canada, a similar approach is maintained by research ethics boards (REBs), with similar concerns. Confidentiality involves the data only being used for the explicit purposes for which permission had been granted. It also requires further consent prior to disclosure to third parties. Recontacting participants in order to obtain consent for secondary use of data requires further approval. Whenever a human being is vulnerable it is highly likely that ethical approval should not be granted, especially if it is clear that their compromised position makes such persons manipulable. It can be argued that the principle of distributive justice requires that the burdens and benefits of all forms of research should be distributed among all sectors of the population. A pragmatic balance between methodological and practical concerns continues to be an elusive goal and the enormous variety of types of research undertaken make straightforward generalizations highly problematic and sometimes contested.
Economics
Authors: Reay Michael 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThe modern discipline of economics is dominated by an orthodox/mainstream approach that uses statistics, mathematical models, and experiments to explain human behavior in terms of rational utility maximization. It focuses on industrialized nations where economic activity is based on wage labor and commodity markets, and it tries to explain both individual decisions and larger patterns of employment and production. It has been more involved than other social sciences in public policy and its quantitative nature gives it a higher degree of scientific status. However, it tends to take for granted institutional, cultural, and structural contexts and is therefore typically thought of by sociologists as being too narrow to serve as a general approach to explaining social activity. Sociologists are also often wary of its association with scientistic authority, uncritical acceptance of capitalist social forms, and neoliberal policies promoting marketization and globalization.
Feminist Activism in Latin America
Authors: Shayne Julie 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
This entry discusses feminist activism in Latin America and the Caribbean, with specific attention to the second half of the twentieth century. It includes a brief history of feminist activism in the region and discussions of the definition of feminism; the causes of the emergence of feminism; the issues important to feminists; women's nonfeminist political action; regional and transnational co‐ordination of feminist activism; and the effect that the return to civil society has had on Latin American and Caribbean feminist movements.
Fordism/Post‐Fordism
Authors: Prechel Harland 
Published: September 2017

AbstractFordism represents three critical dimensions of the fragmentation and specialization of the labor process. First, whereas Taylorism developed work rules to standardize the production of parts, Fordism brought standardized parts to the worker. Second, Fordism further separated conception from execution by specifying how to assemble parts into the final product. Third, the assembly line transformed production in ways that made it possible for management to increase both the pace of work and control over the labor process. Post‐Fordism entails organizational and political‐legal arrangements that facilitated mergers and acquisitions and the creation of giant global corporations and financial institutions that exercise control over markets and domestic subsidiary corporations; accelerated globalization; and increased the role of the state in balancing production with consumption.
G
angs,
D
elinquent
Authors: Hansen Laura L. 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
The term “delinquency” is generally reserved for juveniles who display deviant or criminal behavior. Yet when we ordinarily think of gangs, particularly street gangs, we sometimes forget that juveniles are the most vulnerable to recruitment efforts of gangs. Antigang education on average begins in middle school, but by then it may be too late. This entry asks the hard questions as to why children, adolescents, and late adolescents are attracted to gang life. Discussions include the usual variables of poverty and peer pressure. Additionally there is discussion of sex/gender differences, where male gang members seem to be doing “violence” whereas female gang members seem to be enacting traditional gender roles. Risks for gang recruitment are included as well as the consequences of gang life on juveniles, including labeling.
Gay and Lesbian Movement
Authors: Valocchi Stephen 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThis entry examines the gay and lesbian movement, which refers to the manifold collective efforts to benefit people with same‐sex desire. It reviews the history of the movement in the United States and the scholarship on that movement, from the emergence of “the homosexual” as a distinct person in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century to the most recent developments, such as the legalization of same‐sex marriage.
Generational Change
Authors: Kohli Martin 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThe concept of generation can be defined with regard to society or to family – two levels which are usually analyzed separately but should be treated in a unified framework. At the level of the family, generation refers to position in the lineage (filiation). At the societal level, it refers to the aggregate of persons born in a limited period (i.e., a birth cohort according to demographic parlance) who therefore experience historical events at similar ages and move up through the life course in unison. At both levels, the concept of generation is a key to the analysis of movement across time. In the sequence of generations, families create continuity and change with regard to parents and children; societies, with regard to economic resources, political power, and cultural hegemony. In all of these spheres generations are a basic unit of social reproduction and social change – in other words, of stability over time as well as renewal (or sometimes revolution).
Goffman, Erving (1922–1982)
Authors: Smith Gregory W.H. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThis entry outlines Goffman's biography, sketches the importance of the intellectual and social contexts provided by the universities of Toronto and Chicago where Goffman studied in the 1940s and 1950s, and summarizes his major substantive contributions (dramaturgy, the interaction order, the significance of the ritual dimension, his treatments of mental patients, the stigmatized, and gender, and the concept of frame and the framing process). The continuing relevance of Goffman's ideas to contemporary sociology is examined.
Health Professions and Occupations
Authors: Riska Elianne 
Published: September 2017

AbstractA profession is a prestigious white collar occupation that is based on theoretical and practical knowledge and training in a particular field, such as medicine. The specialized knowledge and the restricted practice are regulated by a central body of the profession to ensure the quality and the ethical conduct of its members. These characteristics separate the profession from an occupation which is a specific type of work done in the market. For example, caring is work done both outside the market and inside the labor market. In the latter case it is a collective activity organized as various health occupations. Sociologists differ in their views concerning the power of the professions, the character of health occupations, and on the division of labor in healthcare.
Health and Religion
Authors: Clair Jeffrey Michael , Bateman Lori Brand , Gibson Philip 
Published: September 2017

AbstractConcepts of health and illness in human society originated from traditional religious views about life and death. Even in the twenty‐first century, where the influence of religion has diminished, it remains a key social structure in western society. Religion not only shapes the interpretation of health events, but also individual health behaviors and the social support available to individuals during negative life events. Contemporary studies show that religion is positively associated with physical and mental health, as well as longevity and mortality. Religious involvement, measured by attendance at services and feelings of religiosity, is positively associated with physical health, general happiness, and satisfaction, as well as being inversely related to undesirable social psychological states, such as depression. Religion may also have negative effects on health, particularly when it is used as a substitute for medical treatment. This entry discusses three pathways between religion and health – the social control of health behaviors and lifestyles, the development and maintenance of social support networks, and the development of individual coping mechanisms – as well as the broader influences of religion on healthcare such as group action and the doctor–patient relationship.
Homophobia
Authors: Dean James Joseph 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThe term homophobia was coined in the early 1970s by the psychologist George Weinberg. Defined as “the dread of being in close quarters with homosexuals,” the term has since taken on a life of its own across the social sciences. Homophobia is characterized by negative attitudes towards lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered persons, which can result in discrimination, harassment, and even violent action.
H
urricane
K
atrina
Authors: Peek Lori , Erikson Kai 
Published: September 2017

Abstract

This entry focuses on Hurricane Katrina, a powerful storm that made landfall on August 29, 2005. The hurricane generated one of the most deadly and destructive disasters in
US
history, and it still stands as the most costly natural catastrophe on record. Katrina affected approximately 90,000 square miles of land and inundated 80 percent of New Orleans after the levee system surrounding the city failed. Residents of coastal communities and cities all along the
US
Gulf Coast were placed under mandatory evacuation orders, and some 1.5 million persons fled the threatened region before landfall. Upwards of 120,000 more had to be rescued and evacuated following the storm. A decade after Katrina, tens of thousands of persons remained permanently displaced. The mental and physical health impacts, as well as the environmental and economic damages, have been enduring. Katrina is perhaps most telling, however, in terms of the racial, social class, age, and gendered disparities that it so clearly revealed in terms of who was most affected and who has faced the most challenges in recovering.
Identity, Deviant
Authors: O'Brien Patrick K. , Adler Patricia A. , Adler Peter 
Published: September 2017

AbstractIdentities refer to the way people think of themselves. This is important in the field of deviance because people's perceptions of situations and themselves are likely to affect their behavior. If people conceive of themselves as deviant, they are more likely to engage in further deviant behavior than if they have a nondeviant identity.