Acta Sociologica current issue

Is Participation Good or Bad for Workers?: Effects of Autonomy, Consultation and Teamwork on Stress Among Workers in Norway

Kalleberg, A. L., Nesheim, T., Olsen, K. M. — 2009-05-20

Research on the consequences for employees of opportunities to participate in decision-making (defined here as having autonomy and being able to consult in organizational decisions and to work in teams) has produced inconsistent results. Some writers argue that worker participation is a good thing for workers, since they are able to make decisions and develop skills. Others, especially those in the critical management tradition, regard workers' opportunities to participate in decisions as another form of exploitation that results in increased work intensity, more ambiguity and greater stress. In this article, we examine the consequences of Norwegian workers' participation in decisions on job stress — both directly and through their effect on skill development, workload, support and ambiguity. We find that autonomy and consultation in decisions reduce job stress, while teamwork increases job stress.

Public Opinion on State Responsibility for Minimum Income Protection: A Comparison of 14 European Countries

Pfeifer, M. — 2009-05-20

In this article I investigate attitudes towards a subfield of European welfare states in comparative perspective: minimum income protection. My goal is to demonstrate that certain socio-economic characteristics matter universally for attitude formation, but that their impact varies according to specific welfare state institutions. Analysing poverty risks and the structural position of minimum income protection schemes in the welfare state, I hypothesize that attitudes may be more polarized in generous welfare states than in less generous states. Additionally, I assume that labour market performance may have an influence on attitudes, leading to more sympathetic positions towards state responsibility in times of high unemployment. Using data from Eurobarometer 56.1 (2001) and performing country-wise regressions, I demonstrate that individual socio-economic traits impact on attitudes depending on national contexts. Combining preferences and degrees of polarization shows that attitudes might be formed in the interplay between welfare state and labour market.

Cannabis Use: Subcultural Opposition or Social Marginality?: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study

Pedersen, W. — 2009-05-20

Cannabis is the most commonly used illegal drug, and numerous studies of cannabis users have been carried out in biomedical and epidemiological disciplines. However, surprisingly few researchers from sociology or other social science disciplines have investigated cannabis use in recent years. During its introduction phase in the 1960s, cannabis use was associated with a so-called 'hang-loose ethic', subversive political values and particular music preferences. In this article I ask whether this continues to be the case. I look for associations that indicate social marginalization and I analyse data from a longitudinal study of the Norwegian population in which a sample was followed from their early teens (in 1992) until their late 20s (in 2005). The results show that the recruitment base for cannabis use during adolescence had much in common with cannabis use in the 1960s. Music preferences such as hip-hop and heavy metal and subversive political attitudes were robust predictors of adolescent initiation into cannabis use. Indicators of parental social marginalization played no role. Conversely, a high level of parental education was positively associated with cannabis initiation. However, when the sample entered their 20s, cannabis users were increasingly located at the margins of society and characterized by poor education, unemployment and low levels of income.

London Calling?: Preferred Emigration Destinations among Icelandic Youth

Bjarnason, T. — 2009-05-20

Preferred emigration destinations among adolescents reflect images and stereotypes of other countries that continuously emerge in a multitude of local and global discourses and from concrete experiences with other countries. The affinities of Icelandic adolescents are split among the islands of the Northern Atlantic, continental Nordic countries, European core countries and North American countries. If they had to leave Iceland, however, the largest proportion of Icelandic adolescents would want to move to the United States. Girls are more likely to choose the Nordic countries, in particular Denmark, and boys English-speaking countries with a reputation for economic and military power, such as the United States and Britain. Adolescents are more likely to prefer migrating to Europe rather than North America if they are proud of their Icelandic nationality, live in cohesive communities, have more educated parents and feel closer to Europe. Adolescents who want to move abroad are, in contrast, most likely to have North American destinations in mind. Recent geopolitical changes, however, may shift the attention of Icelandic adolescents eastward towards the European continent.

Managing Time and Childcare in Dual-Earner Families: Unforeseen Consequences of Household Strategies

Forsberg, L. — 2009-05-20

The article documents how dual-earner families employ different household strategies when managing time and childcare in everyday life. In particular, the focus is the unforeseen consequences of household strategies, that is, novel emerging problems, cultural ideals and subjectivities. In this ethnographic study of eight middle-class couples in Sweden, I analyse three household strategies: delegating, alternating and multitasking. While parents apparently use these strategies to juggle the multiple demands of everyday life in a time-efficient way, they also comply with a norm of involved parenthood. Thus, when employing household strategies, the parents balance between enacting themselves as involved parents and running the risk of being understood as uninvolved.

Book Review: Rosemary Crompton Class and Stratification Cambridge: Polity Press, 2008, 304 pp

Bihagen, E. — 2009-05-20

Book Review: Joachim Fischer Philosophische Anthropologie. Eine Denkrichtung des 20. Jahrhunderts Freiburg/Munchen: Verlag Karl Alber, 2008, 684 pp

Heidegren, C.-G. — 2009-05-20

Book Review: Tim Ingold and Jo Lee Vergunst (eds) Ways of Walking. Ethnography and Practice on Foot Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008, 205 pp

Holgersson, H. — 2009-05-20

Book Review: Ortwin Renn Risk Governance. Coping with Uncertainty in a Complex World London: Earthscan, 2008, 368 pp

Lidskog, R. — 2009-05-20

Book Review: Wendy Griswold Regionalism and the Reading Class Chicago, IL and London: University of Chicago Press, 2008, 213 pp

Malmqvist, K. — 2009-05-20

Book Review: Richard Lampard and Kay Peggs Identity and Repartnering after Separation London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, 255 pp

Nyman, C. — 2009-05-20

Book Review: Philip Smith Punishment and Culture Chicago, IL. and London: University of Chicago Press, 2008, 217 pp

Peterson, A. — 2009-05-20

Book Review: Howard S. Becker Telling about Society Chicago, IL and London: University of Chicago Press, 2007, 313 pp

Revers, M. — 2009-05-20

Book Review: Jeffrey C. Alexander The Civil Sphere Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006, 793 pp

Trondman, M. — 2009-05-20

Incoming Books for Review

2009-05-20