Acta Sociologica recent issues

Social Mobility and Education of Finnish Cohorts Born 1936--75: Succeeding While Failing in Equality of Opportunity?

Erola, J. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:55:02 PST

This is a study of the intergenerational occupational class mobility of cohorts born 1936—75 in Finland and of the role of the changes in educational attainment. The data are taken from the Finnish Census Panel, from which mobility tables for 5-year cohorts that have reached the age of 25 have been constructed at 7 time-points: 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995 and 2000. The period change in social fluidity appears to be towards greater openness for both men and women. However, the cohort differences are more significant. Class origins and destinations are more strongly associated with the youngest cohorts than with the cohorts born in 1951—65, suggesting a strengthening of social inheritance. The period change can be explained by the changes in educational attainment. However, although the changes in the origin—education association play some role in reducing cohort differences, controlling education-related variation does not change them very much. The findings suggest that, in order to explain the cohort differences, it might be worthwhile considering institutional factors other than education.

Stratification and the Poverty of Progress in Post-Communist Latvian Capitalism

Eglitis, D. S., Lace, T. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:55:02 PST

The end of communism in Eastern Europe ushered in an era of markets and modernity. Post-communist capitalism has also wrought stratification with intensified upward and downward socio-economic mobility. Examining the case of Latvia, we offer an analysis of one of post-communist capitalism’s most apparent effects: the creation of a broad and diverse mass of economically disadvantaged inhabitants. While numerous writers have framed their analyses in terms of the ‘winners and losers’ of change, most research has treated these categories as exclusive entities and has paid little attention to the sociological relationship between them or the diversity within them. This work elaborates the relationship between the economically disadvantaged and both post-communist capitalism and the upper socio-economic rungs of society. As well, we offer three ideal-typical categories for description and analysis of post-communism’s economically disadvantaged masses.

Self-Realization Options: Contemporary Marching Order in the Pursuit of Recognition

Willig, R. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:55:02 PST

On a descriptive level, the article points out that Western populations have experienced an increase in possibilities for self-realization, but also that the rise in options has led to a paradoxical increase in different forms of psychic distortion. On a more normative level, it has become clear that the neo-liberal idea of freedom, which seems to state that a free market will facilitate all forms of self-realization options, is incomplete. Application of the neo-liberal idea of freedom makes it clear in two ways that the recognition—graduation semantics are twisted in such a manner that individuals cannot cognitively make sense of what can and cannot be an object of recognition, and that intersubjective recognition relations are eroding to such an extent that commonly shared pathological development tendencies are in danger of being suppressed by the lacking ability to join in a collective will-formation. It seems that the neo-liberal idea of freedom is creating a cognitive discrepancy between a promise for more and more self-realization options through deregulation and the actual stable possibilities for individual self-realization. What is becoming evident is that no secure self-realization options are offered, but rather that the individual has to have options in order to gain recognition.

Age, Size and Change in Local Voluntary Associations

Wollebaek, D. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:55:02 PST

To what extent can conventional organizational theories help us understand changes in local voluntary associations? Using unique data from all associations in a Norwegian county, the article explores hypotheses concerning how size and age affect change behaviour. The results show that high organizational age increases the probability of core change, but decreases the occurrence of peripheral change. The average age of the field in which the organization is active is negatively related to both types of change. The findings suggest that old voluntary organizations are more tenacious than for-profit actors; they choose to attempt change rather than disband if becoming obsolete or pressured by the environment. The degrees of freedom are greater in new, non-institutionalized fields than within fields with a long history. Size has a weakly positive effect on both change indicators. Stronger data and theory-building efforts are needed if we are to extend our knowledge of this under-researched, but immensely important, organization type.

The Continuing Path of Distortion: The Protestant Ethic and Max Weber's School Enrolment Statistics

Becker, G. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:06 PDT

Things are not always as they seem. A cursory examination of a table of statistics cited in the Weber thesis appears to reveal striking differences in the educational ‘preferences’ of Catholics and Protestants. Careful scrutiny, however, on a number of grounds, especially in light of the importance that Weber attaches to these statistics in the articulation of his thesis, reveals that not only are the statistics seriously compromised by errors and omissions, but they lead to an evolving state of confusion engendered by scholars who, while engaged in the concealment or ostensible correction of these flaws by often dubious means, have published changed and conflicting versions of Weber’s statistics. By examining two recently published new English translations of the Weber thesis, this study resolves and clarifies some of the uncertainties surrounding the proper interpretation of these statistics within the context of Weber ’s theoretical argument and the socio-political climate in which they were produced. The reader is invited to explore how reverential bias in classical scholarship actually emerges.

Making it Open and Keeping it Safe: e-Enabled Data-Sharing in Sweden

Axelsson, A.-S., Schroeder, R. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:06 PDT

This article focuses on data-sharing — a central aspect of an ambitious e-Science programme recently embarked on in Sweden. Data-sharing has become a powerful and promising direction in e-Science in general, even though fraught with difficulties. Sweden has a unique position in relation to data-sharing: a world-unique set of social science and medical data collections, a well-established tradition of regulations concerning data protection, a widely used form of personal identification that allows integration of databases, and a population that generally trusts researchers and the Swedish state with personal data. The aim of this study was to find out how Swedish database owners/managers and database users — key actors in the Swedish e-Science enterprise — anticipate the way that databases will be built up, managed and used in the future, and how this will influence e-Science. For this purpose, these actors were interviewed and official documents on the topic were studied. It is concluded that openness and the integrity of personal data are particularly critical elements for the success of a range of future e-Science endeavours in Sweden and elsewhere.

Splitting Up or Getting Married?: Competing Risk Analysis of Transitions Among Cohabiting Couples in Sweden

Moors, G., Bernhardt, E. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:06 PDT

In this article, we investigate which ideational variables influence the propensity of cohabiting couples to transform their union into marriage, separation or continued cohabitation. The question is particularly relevant in the Swedish context of considerable social acceptance of unmarried cohabitation even among parents. A two-wave panel study including 705 never-married respondents cohabiting at the time of the first survey shows that ideational factors influence subsequent behaviour, even when different sets of control variables are included in the model. Familistic attitudes, work-related values and reflections about the quality of the relationship prove to be predictors of the transition to either marriage or separation even when intentions are taken into account.

Local Contexts, Social Risks and Social Spending Preferences: A Multi-Level Approach

Seva, I. J. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:06 PDT

In this article, I analyse the relationship between local context and individuals’ social spending preferences in Sweden. The contextual unit studied is the municipality and the analyses are based on both individual-level survey data (n = 5,324) and municipal-level data. Multi-level modelling is used to handle data at both levels simultaneously. It is suggested that the presence of social risks in the local community affects whether individuals are willing to support high social spending. It is argued that the interdependent nature of certain social risks, such as local unemployment rates, depopulation and labour market structure, is an important factor explaining contextual influence on social spending preferences. The results indicate that the prevalence of social risks in a municipality affect the willingness of local inhabitants to support high social spending. Support for high social spending tends to be greater, taking individual-level determinants into account, in municipalities suffering from unemployment, ill health, depopulation, a low tax base and an industry sector dominated by agriculture and manufacturing. This finding also indicates that contextual influence on political attitudes might not be restricted to interpersonal interaction, as often suggested in past research.

The Role of Relations: Do Disadvantaged Adolescents Benefit More from High-Quality Social Relations?

Olsson, E. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:06 PDT

The article interrogates whether the social background of adolescents affects (1) the quality of their relations with parents and teachers, and (2) the potentially beneficial effects of these relations on school-related and psychological outcomes. Previous studies suggest that social background does affect the quality of social relations, although weakly, and that these in turn affect various outcomes. However, the results are inconclusive as to whether the quality of social relations of different importance for adolescents from different social backgrounds, and such an interaction effect could be predicted from different perspectives. The data are based on a nationally representative sample of Swedish adolescents between 10 and 18 years of age (n = 2,645) and include several aspects of social background, social relations and outcomes. The data are ideally suited to this question, in that information about social relations and outcomes is child-reported, while information on social background is parent-reported and based on register data. The results confirm that social relations are conducive to various outcomes, and show that disadvantaged adolescents have weaker relations with parents and teachers. Furthermore, they imply that relations with teachers are of particular importance for disadvantaged adolescents’ school and psychological outcomes, while parental relations are equally important for both advantaged and disadvantaged adolescents.

Book Review: Sudhir Venkatesh Gang Leader for a Day New York: The Penguin Press, 2008, 302 pp

Bjork, M. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:06 PDT

Book Review: Howard S. Becker: Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2nd edn, 2007, 197 pp

Laube, S. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:06 PDT

Book Review: A Secular Age: Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007, 874 pp

Lundberg, A. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:06 PDT

Book Review: Daniel Miller The Comfort of Things Cambridge: Polity Press, 2008, 302 pp

Persson, M. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:06 PDT

Book Review: Elin Kvande: Doing Gender in Flexible Organizations Bergen: Fagbokforlaget, 2007, 256 pp

Rafnsdottir, G. L. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:06 PDT

Book Review: Geoffrey L. Greiff: Buddy System. Understanding Male Friendship Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008, 320 pp

Johansson, T. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:06 PDT

Book Review: Suvi Salmenniemi Democratization and Gender in Contemporary Russia London and New York: Routledge, 2008, 264 pp

Carlback, H. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:06 PDT

Incoming Books for Review

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:06 PDT

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. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

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. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

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. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

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. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

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. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

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. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

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

Heidegren, C.-G. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

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

Holgersson, H. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

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

Lidskog, R. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

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

Malmqvist, K. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

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

Nyman, C. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

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

Peterson, A. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

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

Revers, M. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

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

Trondman, M. — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

Incoming Books for Review

Wed, 20 May 2009 09:01:18 PDT

Transnational Investments in Informational Capital: A Comparative Study of Denmark, France and Sweden

Munk, M. D. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:13:54 PST

In this article, I analyse the acquisition of informational capital, i.e. academic capital, measured as student mobility and understood as transnational investments in prestigious foreign educational institutions. In the 1990s, educational `zones of prestige' were the United States, the United Kingdom and, to some extent, Germany and France. Official statistics from Sweden, Denmark and France regarding the outflow of students reflect increasing student mobility. In particular, the study reveals that students from the upper and upper-middle social classes (measured by parental occupation) are more likely than students from other social classes to pursue transnational investments, even though students from the middle and working classes have now entered the arena. This has also been found in a recent analysis of Danish academic emigrants. All in all, studies confirm the hypothesis that students from the upper classes are more likely than others to invest in specific informational capital in the field of education, in national environments and in international settings.

Higher Education or Vocational Training?: An Empirical Test of the Rational Action Model of Educational Choices Suggested by Breen and Goldthorpe and Esser

Becker, R., Hecken, A. E. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:13:54 PST

Our aim in this article is to reveal crucial factors affecting the access to higher education claimed in rational action theories in Germany. Data on the educational choices of high school graduates in Saxony support the basic assumptions of the rational choice model suggested by Esser and by Breen and Goldthorpe. First, working-class children are likely to be diverted from higher education by their self-evaluated school achievement. In contrast to expected economic returns from education, theoretically expected class-specific motives of status maintenance are crucial factors in regard to class-specific educational decisions. Besides class differences of expectations regarding intergenerational upward mobility or educational success at university, it is subjective estimation of educational costs that is pivotal in the decision against higher education in favour of alternative vocational education — depending on the actual allocation of financial capital between social classes. The initial economic distribution among high school graduates leads to socially selective educational decisions and, consequently, to inequality of educational opportunity in higher education. While these rational choice theories explain class-related inequality, they do not explain the gender inequality in higher education marginally favouring women.

Anti-Immigrant Attitudes and Cross-Municipal Variation in the Proportion of Immigrants

Hjerm, M. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:13:54 PST

In this article, I set out to test a specific case of group threat theory, namely the size of the minority population. My general aim is to test whether the proportion of immigrants in Swedish municipalities has any effect on anti-immigrant attitudes. More specifically, I examine whether visibility of immigrants matters, via country of origin, as well as whether different contexts intensify the relation between size of the minority population and anti-immigrant attitudes. I conclude that the proportion of the foreign-born population has no effect on anti-immigrant attitudes, whereas people have fewer anti-immigrant attitudes in municipalities with a high proportion of the most visible groups of immigrants. A recent influx of immigrants to the municipality does not matter for levels of anti-immigrant attitudes. However, the economic context matters in that anti-immigrant attitudes of people are strongest in poor municipalities with a large share of immigrants. The political context, on the other hand, does not matter.

The Structural Bases of Protest Events: Multiple Memberships and Civil Society Networks in the 15 February 2003 Anti-War Demonstrations

Diani, M. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:13:54 PST

The marches on 15 February 2003 challenging the imminent attack on Iraq attracted highly heterogeneous demonstrators often engaged in different types of associations and protest activities. In this article, I suggest we expand our view of the mobilizing networks that facilitated people's involvement in the demonstrations by looking not only at associations but also at what I define as 'protest communities', namely, sets of activists sharing a sustained participation in protest activities. Network analysis shows that in some countries peace associations played a more prominent role than peace protest communities, while in other countries the opposite was the case. The former were more central in inclusive political systems, the latter, in exclusive systems. Drawing on a survey of 15 February demonstrators conducted in eight Western democracies, the article highlights the connection between political opportunities and relational, not merely behavioural, variables.

Book Review: Raewyn Connell Southern Theory. The Global Dynamics of Knowledge in Social Science Cambridge: Polity Press, 2007, 271 pp

Lundstrom, C. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:13:54 PST

Book Review: Loic Wacquant Urban Outcasts. A Comparative Sociology of Advanced Marginality Cambridge: Polity Press, 2008, 342 pp

Salmenhaara, P. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:13:54 PST

Book Review: Tim Jordan Hacking: Digital Media and Technological Determinism Cambridge: Polity Press, 2008, 160 pp

Soderberg, J. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:13:54 PST

Book Review: Max Weber Agrarrecht, Agrargeschichte, Agrarpolitik. Vorlesungen 1894--1899, ed. Rita Aldenhoff-Hubinger, Max Weber Gesamtausgabe Abt. III Bd. 5. Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 2008, xii + 524 pp

Tribe, K. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:13:54 PST

Book Review: Peter K. B. St. Jean Pockets of Crime: Broken Windows, Collective Efficacy, and the Criminal Point of View Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2007, 278 pp

Wasterfors, D. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:13:54 PST

Incoming Books for Review

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:13:54 PST