Pub Date : 2024-07-21DOI: 10.1177/00016993241264153
Carlos Frade
This article is a critique of digital sociology and a proposal for a very different social theory of the digital. As the article aims at fundamental aspects of the discipline, it may be perceived as a polemic, even if it is meant to be a serious intervention in a field crying for debate. Drawing on the analyses of well-known digital sociology textbooks, the article argues that digital sociology is aligned to its object by virtue of a common subjective stance towards the digital and shared new materialist ontological presuppositions. The extent of this subjective alignment is revealed by two complementary aspects: what it desires, namely, to be in the ‘digital party’, and what it acquiesces to, namely, to contemporary capitalism's disqualification and existential banning of the idea of intrinsic value, and its imposition of extrinsic criteria and measurements on any realm of life which claims intrinsic value. By thus doing digital sociology renounces the very ground on which an autonomous position as a social science can be built. The alternative social theory proposed seeks to undo that alignment by realigning sociology to a stance grounded on intrinsic values and a materialism attentive to antagonism rather than to naïve notions of matter.
{"title":"Social theory and the digital: The institutionalisation of digital sociology","authors":"Carlos Frade","doi":"10.1177/00016993241264153","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993241264153","url":null,"abstract":"This article is a critique of digital sociology and a proposal for a very different social theory of the digital. As the article aims at fundamental aspects of the discipline, it may be perceived as a polemic, even if it is meant to be a serious intervention in a field crying for debate. Drawing on the analyses of well-known digital sociology textbooks, the article argues that digital sociology is aligned to its object by virtue of a common subjective stance towards the digital and shared new materialist ontological presuppositions. The extent of this subjective alignment is revealed by two complementary aspects: what it desires, namely, to be in the ‘digital party’, and what it acquiesces to, namely, to contemporary capitalism's disqualification and existential banning of the idea of intrinsic value, and its imposition of extrinsic criteria and measurements on any realm of life which claims intrinsic value. By thus doing digital sociology renounces the very ground on which an autonomous position as a social science can be built. The alternative social theory proposed seeks to undo that alignment by realigning sociology to a stance grounded on intrinsic values and a materialism attentive to antagonism rather than to naïve notions of matter.","PeriodicalId":504233,"journal":{"name":"Acta Sociologica","volume":"42 21","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141818180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-21DOI: 10.1177/00016993241264152
M. F. Hau
Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots powered by large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT are rapidly gaining popularity as labour-augmenting tools. This paper is for sociologists seeking to make the best use of this technology in their work. It presents a practice-oriented framework for using AI chatbots in sociology, building on considerations of the technical conditions of LLMs to introduce both a task categorization and the concept of a ‘knowledge funnel’. This model illustrates the relationship between the scope of knowledge and accuracy in outputs to guide sociologists in evaluating the reliability and applicability of AI-generated content in their research. The main argument driving this article is to establish a paradigm of ‘augmented sociology’ that focuses on human–AI interaction and understands LLMs as a resource rather than as a replacement. This augmentation manifests itself clearly in dialogic ideation, enhancing research by bridging domains, and broad methodological assistance. The paper's primary contribution lies in introducing specific terminologies and actionable strategies for sociologists to integrate LLM chatbots creatively and effectively in their work, filling a significant gap in the current academic understanding of generative AI's role in sociology.
{"title":"Towards ‘augmented sociology’? A practice-oriented framework for using large language model-powered chatbots","authors":"M. F. Hau","doi":"10.1177/00016993241264152","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993241264152","url":null,"abstract":"Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots powered by large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT are rapidly gaining popularity as labour-augmenting tools. This paper is for sociologists seeking to make the best use of this technology in their work. It presents a practice-oriented framework for using AI chatbots in sociology, building on considerations of the technical conditions of LLMs to introduce both a task categorization and the concept of a ‘knowledge funnel’. This model illustrates the relationship between the scope of knowledge and accuracy in outputs to guide sociologists in evaluating the reliability and applicability of AI-generated content in their research. The main argument driving this article is to establish a paradigm of ‘augmented sociology’ that focuses on human–AI interaction and understands LLMs as a resource rather than as a replacement. This augmentation manifests itself clearly in dialogic ideation, enhancing research by bridging domains, and broad methodological assistance. The paper's primary contribution lies in introducing specific terminologies and actionable strategies for sociologists to integrate LLM chatbots creatively and effectively in their work, filling a significant gap in the current academic understanding of generative AI's role in sociology.","PeriodicalId":504233,"journal":{"name":"Acta Sociologica","volume":"97 16","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141818695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-06-07DOI: 10.1177/00016993241260608
Sunna Símonardóttir
Fertility rates have significantly declined in advanced, industrialized nations. The factors contributing to these swift demographic changes are diverse, but it is evident that women are opting for fewer children, delaying childbirth, and a growing number of individuals are choosing not to have children. Most studies on voluntary childlessness depict it as a growing phenomenon in Western societies and predict that the voluntary childless population will continue to increase. To explore this trend, examining individuals’ and couples’ fertility choices within the context of evolving parenting culture proves insightful. This study explores the concept of modern parenthood by interviewing 12 Icelandic voluntarily childfree individuals and five couples by examining the decision-making process associated with choosing not to have a child and exploring its connection to prevailing parenting norms. The Icelandic context provides an interesting research backdrop, given its emphasis on gender equality, diverse family structures, and policies that support both parents’ participation in work and childcare. The results indicate that women perceive the role of motherhood as mentally and emotionally draining, complex, and requiring significant personal sacrifices. This suggests that narratives of intensive mothering can directly influence and inform decisions on fertility in the Icelandic context where becoming a parent is seen as a choice, which can even stand in the way of personal fulfilment and autonomy. While the interviewees acknowledge the unequal responsibilities and duties of mothers and fathers, they do not question the individualism and intensity that characterize modern parenthood.
{"title":"“Unless I could be like the typical dad”: Exploring parenthood through the perspective of the voluntarily childfree","authors":"Sunna Símonardóttir","doi":"10.1177/00016993241260608","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993241260608","url":null,"abstract":"Fertility rates have significantly declined in advanced, industrialized nations. The factors contributing to these swift demographic changes are diverse, but it is evident that women are opting for fewer children, delaying childbirth, and a growing number of individuals are choosing not to have children. Most studies on voluntary childlessness depict it as a growing phenomenon in Western societies and predict that the voluntary childless population will continue to increase. To explore this trend, examining individuals’ and couples’ fertility choices within the context of evolving parenting culture proves insightful. This study explores the concept of modern parenthood by interviewing 12 Icelandic voluntarily childfree individuals and five couples by examining the decision-making process associated with choosing not to have a child and exploring its connection to prevailing parenting norms. The Icelandic context provides an interesting research backdrop, given its emphasis on gender equality, diverse family structures, and policies that support both parents’ participation in work and childcare. The results indicate that women perceive the role of motherhood as mentally and emotionally draining, complex, and requiring significant personal sacrifices. This suggests that narratives of intensive mothering can directly influence and inform decisions on fertility in the Icelandic context where becoming a parent is seen as a choice, which can even stand in the way of personal fulfilment and autonomy. While the interviewees acknowledge the unequal responsibilities and duties of mothers and fathers, they do not question the individualism and intensity that characterize modern parenthood.","PeriodicalId":504233,"journal":{"name":"Acta Sociologica","volume":" 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141372214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-20DOI: 10.1177/00016993241250277
Alexander Dicks, Annemarie Künn-Nelen, Mark Levels, Raymond Montizaan
In this article, we study the role of automation risks in the school-to-work transition (STWT) of secondary vocational education (VET) graduates in the Netherlands. We use a combination of administrative and survey data, enriched with estimates of automation risks. Using sequence analysis, we find four ideal-type school-to-work trajectories representing the first 10 years in the labor market: employment, further education, further VET, and NEET. Multinomial regressions show that automation risk is not consistently associated with the type of school-to-work trajectory. We also investigate the relation between automation risk and starting wages and wage growth. We find that automation risk is negatively associated with starting wages, but not with wage growth.
{"title":"Automation risks of vocational training programs and early careers in the Netherlands","authors":"Alexander Dicks, Annemarie Künn-Nelen, Mark Levels, Raymond Montizaan","doi":"10.1177/00016993241250277","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993241250277","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, we study the role of automation risks in the school-to-work transition (STWT) of secondary vocational education (VET) graduates in the Netherlands. We use a combination of administrative and survey data, enriched with estimates of automation risks. Using sequence analysis, we find four ideal-type school-to-work trajectories representing the first 10 years in the labor market: employment, further education, further VET, and NEET. Multinomial regressions show that automation risk is not consistently associated with the type of school-to-work trajectory. We also investigate the relation between automation risk and starting wages and wage growth. We find that automation risk is negatively associated with starting wages, but not with wage growth.","PeriodicalId":504233,"journal":{"name":"Acta Sociologica","volume":"34 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141118782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-20DOI: 10.1177/00016993241255698
Jonathon W Moses, A. Brigham
This article introduces the concept of a Natural Dividend and describes the three types of rent that combine to produce it: a differential rent, a regulatory rent, and a locational rent. Each of these rents is associated with a classical economist (Ricardo, Marx and George, respectively), and each is shown to be a product of nature, society and/or the political authorities that manage nature on our behalf. Because the Natural Dividend is a windfall derived from our regulation of commonly held (and immobile) natural resources, it can be taxed at a higher level without distorting any underlying investment decisions.
{"title":"The natural dividend: An introduction to resource rents","authors":"Jonathon W Moses, A. Brigham","doi":"10.1177/00016993241255698","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993241255698","url":null,"abstract":"This article introduces the concept of a Natural Dividend and describes the three types of rent that combine to produce it: a differential rent, a regulatory rent, and a locational rent. Each of these rents is associated with a classical economist (Ricardo, Marx and George, respectively), and each is shown to be a product of nature, society and/or the political authorities that manage nature on our behalf. Because the Natural Dividend is a windfall derived from our regulation of commonly held (and immobile) natural resources, it can be taxed at a higher level without distorting any underlying investment decisions.","PeriodicalId":504233,"journal":{"name":"Acta Sociologica","volume":"2 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141120361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-13DOI: 10.1177/00016993241246212
Marco Albertini, Teodora Maksimovic, Letizia Mencarini, Giorgio Piccitto
This work explores the association between fertility behaviour and occupational social classes, over and above educational and income resources. We use European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data, pooling the longitudinal component for fourteen countries between 2005 and 2017. We compare the effect of the female partner's social class with that of the male partner on the likelihood of having a child, distinguishing between the effect on the first and the second child. We find consistent evidence that, vis-à-vis income and education, occupational social class does play an additional role in fertility behaviour. However, it does so differently depending on the sex of the partner and the different parities considered. Our findings indicate that when her partner is employed, the occupational social class she belongs to becomes a more significant factor and plays a pivotal role in influencing fertility behaviour.
{"title":"Her class and his class: Does social class matter for fertility?","authors":"Marco Albertini, Teodora Maksimovic, Letizia Mencarini, Giorgio Piccitto","doi":"10.1177/00016993241246212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993241246212","url":null,"abstract":"This work explores the association between fertility behaviour and occupational social classes, over and above educational and income resources. We use European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data, pooling the longitudinal component for fourteen countries between 2005 and 2017. We compare the effect of the female partner's social class with that of the male partner on the likelihood of having a child, distinguishing between the effect on the first and the second child. We find consistent evidence that, vis-à-vis income and education, occupational social class does play an additional role in fertility behaviour. However, it does so differently depending on the sex of the partner and the different parities considered. Our findings indicate that when her partner is employed, the occupational social class she belongs to becomes a more significant factor and plays a pivotal role in influencing fertility behaviour.","PeriodicalId":504233,"journal":{"name":"Acta Sociologica","volume":"78 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140708003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-04DOI: 10.1177/00016993241245308
G. Oddsson
{"title":"Book Review: Civilization, Modernity, and Critique: Engaging Jóhann P. Árnason’s Macro-Social Theory by Ľubomír Dunaj, Jeremy Smith, and Kurt Mertel","authors":"G. Oddsson","doi":"10.1177/00016993241245308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993241245308","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":504233,"journal":{"name":"Acta Sociologica","volume":"19 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140744425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-20DOI: 10.1177/00016993241240909
M. Hansen
{"title":"Book Review: The Emotional Life of Populism: How Fear, Disgust, Resentment, and Love Undermine Democracy, Polity by Eva Illouz","authors":"M. Hansen","doi":"10.1177/00016993241240909","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993241240909","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":504233,"journal":{"name":"Acta Sociologica","volume":"22 43","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140226805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-19DOI: 10.1177/00016993241233431
Hans-Peter Y. Qvist
Although time is a finite resource, much sociological research suggests a positive association between engagement in informal helping activities and formal volunteering. However, it remains unclear whether this relationship is causal and, if so, in which direction the causality runs. To address these issues, I draw on two-wave panel data from Denmark. Using a cross-lagged panel model, I find no evidence that formal volunteering hours affect informal helping activities. However, in the reverse direction, I find evidence of a right-skewed inverse U-shaped relationship. Specifically, the time individuals dedicate to formal volunteering marginally increases with time allocated to informal helping activities, but only as long as their informal helping obligations remain modest. However, once these informal helping obligations reach approximately 20 hours, the time individuals spend on formal volunteering decreases with informal helping hours. These findings suggest that even exceptionally helpful individuals, often referred to as “super-helpers,” must balance their acts of kindness and their available time and energy. Moreover, I argue that while many people are motivated to engage in formal volunteering to benefit others, those with family and friends requiring assistance tend to prioritize these responsibilities before volunteering.
虽然时间是有限的资源，但许多社会学研究表明，参与非正式帮助活动与正式志愿服务之间存在正相关。然而，这种关系是否是因果关系，以及如果是的话，因果关系的方向是什么，目前仍不清楚。为了解决这些问题，我利用了丹麦的两波面板数据。利用跨滞后面板模型，我没有发现正式志愿服务时数影响非正式帮助活动的证据。然而，从反向来看，我发现了右斜反 U 型关系的证据。具体地说，个人用于正式志愿服务的时间会随着分配给非正式帮助活动的时间的增加而略有增加，但前提是他们的非正式帮助义务保持适度。然而，一旦这些非正式帮助义务达到约 20 个小时，个人用于正式志愿服务的时间就会随着非正式帮助时间的减少而减少。这些研究结果表明，即使是乐于助人的人，也就是人们常说的 "超级助人者"，也必须在他们的善举和可用的时间与精力之间取得平衡。此外，我认为，虽然许多人都有参与正式志愿服务以造福他人的动机，但那些有家人和朋友需要帮助的人往往会优先考虑这些责任，而不是志愿服务。
{"title":"Balancing acts of kindness: Reassessing the relationship between informal helping and formal volunteering","authors":"Hans-Peter Y. Qvist","doi":"10.1177/00016993241233431","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993241233431","url":null,"abstract":"Although time is a finite resource, much sociological research suggests a positive association between engagement in informal helping activities and formal volunteering. However, it remains unclear whether this relationship is causal and, if so, in which direction the causality runs. To address these issues, I draw on two-wave panel data from Denmark. Using a cross-lagged panel model, I find no evidence that formal volunteering hours affect informal helping activities. However, in the reverse direction, I find evidence of a right-skewed inverse U-shaped relationship. Specifically, the time individuals dedicate to formal volunteering marginally increases with time allocated to informal helping activities, but only as long as their informal helping obligations remain modest. However, once these informal helping obligations reach approximately 20 hours, the time individuals spend on formal volunteering decreases with informal helping hours. These findings suggest that even exceptionally helpful individuals, often referred to as “super-helpers,” must balance their acts of kindness and their available time and energy. Moreover, I argue that while many people are motivated to engage in formal volunteering to benefit others, those with family and friends requiring assistance tend to prioritize these responsibilities before volunteering.","PeriodicalId":504233,"journal":{"name":"Acta Sociologica","volume":"1 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139958551","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-01DOI: 10.1177/00016993241229881
Alon Helled
{"title":"Book Review: Territory and democratic politics. A critical introduction by Oscar Mazzoleni","authors":"Alon Helled","doi":"10.1177/00016993241229881","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993241229881","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":504233,"journal":{"name":"Acta Sociologica","volume":"23 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139822198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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