The article describes the role of the Chicago School of Sociology in the development of empirical social research. It traces the increase in the significance of the education of doctoral students on American universities at the turn of the 20th century, and the role of philanthropic foundations. It focuses on the contribution of prominent individuals: W. R. Harper, rector and founder of the University of Chicago, obtained top figures and founded journals in some major fields. A. W. Small was the first chair of the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, founded the American Journal of Sociology and wrote the first two textbooks of sociology. W. I. Thomas was responsible for the famous study Polish Peasant in Europe and America and for the theoretical foundations passed on to his successors. In 1916 R. E. Park published a project in which Chicago became a social laboratory and he inspired and was an advisor for numerous doctoral projects that later were published as sociological monographs. The methodologist E. W. Burgess organized empirical research for the school of doctoral studies that emerged in Chicago and successfully worked there for twenty years. It is beyond the scope of one article to discuss also the monographs by doctoral students at the University of Chicago. Paper examines in detail only the monograph by Park, Burgess and McKenzie titled The City.
This article considers the position of sociology in a nonsociological context, that is, the Czech Agricultural U in Prague. The substance of the paper is a consideration of the role of sociology in relation to rural issues, including their practical dimension as relates to rural development. The background of the paper is constituted by both discussions in the Czech lands & abroad, which address the role & position of sociology & its relation to the lay public, & the question of how (& also if) it is possible to cope with the skepticism of lay people (a skepticism that the authors have experienced in the exercise of their professional activities) in relation to the findings & information provided by sociology. The authors suggest that the possibility exists of presenting non-trivial findings & information for lay people. Sociologists have at their disposal many instruments for mapping the actions & ideas of specific people when investigating such issues. If the results of sociological research are embedded within specific practical measures addressing rural issues, then the chance for social acceptance increases & the project is more likely to be sustainable. In such a situation, sociology is both related to concrete practices & circumstances (the doubts of lay persons about its meaninglessness disappear), yet it also retains its academic discourse, as a part of sociology, as a science. As a reflection of the latter, the article demonstrates the interconnections between general sociology & rural sociology, because of the centrality of the countryside & agriculture in contemporary society.
La societat en què vivim es troba en un moment de transformació estructural, provocat en gran mesura per l'expansió i democratització d'internet i els mitjans socials. Aquests canvis no són aliens a la universitat, on aquesta realitat tecnològica exigeix el desenvolupament de noves competències que garanteixin l'accés de la comunitat universitària a la informació i el coneixement; però, a més, és imprescindible seguir desenvolupant una adequada comprensió lectora. En aquest treball presentem una iniciativa que té com a objectiu promocionar la lectura entre els estudiants universitaris alhora que s'intenta desenvolupar l'escriptura i les habilitats tecnològiques i mediàtiques. ; The society in which we live is in process of structural change, largely engendered by the expansion and democratization of the Internet and social media. These changes are also at work in the university, where the new technological reality calls for the development of new skills to ensure the access of the university community to information and knowledge; at the same time, however, it is essential to continue to cultivate a satisfactory level of reading comprehension. In this article we present an initiative that aims to promote reading among university students while seeking to develop writing and technology and media skills. ; La sociedad en que vivimos se encuentra en un momento de transformación estructural, provocado en gran medida por la expansión y democratización de internet y los medios sociales. Estos cambios no son ajenos a la universidad, donde esta realidad tecnológica exige el desarrollo de nuevas competencias que garanticen el acceso de la comunidad universitaria a la información y el conocimiento; pero, además, es imprescindible seguir desarrollando una adecuada comprensión lectora. En este trabajo presentamos una iniciativa que tiene como objetivo promocionar la lectura entre los estudiantes universitarios, al tiempo que se intentan desarrollar la escritura y las habilidades tecnológicas y mediáticas.
The study evaluates the potential impact of alternative models of university entrance exams – a model based on field-specific knowledge and a model relying on general aptitude tests – in the context of the Czech education system since 1998, a system that can be described as highly stratified and suffering from a notable excess of demand for higher education over supply. Using the dataset Sonda Maturant 1998, the authors show that entrance exams based on general aptitude tests may outperform the field-specific knowledge model in terms of providing access to talented students from a lower socioeconomic background. The simulations show that under the general aptitude regime the relative chances of an applicant with a university-educated father are only one-quarter higher than the relative chances of a student with a less educated father, compared to more than a one-third difference in the case of the regime emphasising field-specific knowledge. For mother's education, the respective odds ratios differ by the even larger margin of 28 percentage points.
For all 60 years of the existence of the University of Economics, Prague (UEP) was statistics one of the taught compulsory course, and here also took place the specialized studies of statistics, which predecessor was Statistical and Actuarial engineering at the University of Special Sciences (within the Czech Technical University). The article focuses on the 50's, when at the UEP existed the independent Faculty of Statistics and when the lessons of statistics were difficulty exempted from the Stalinist dogmatism. Between the personalities is mentioned prof. Benedikt Korda (1914- 2010), who was the most famous person in the first period of Faculty, (there will be mentioned his remarkable CV), prof. Lubomir Cyhelsky (*1929), who was the head of the department in 1962-1990, and prof. Jiri Likes (1929-1994) as well, who was internationally acclaimed scientists in the theory of probability and mathematical statistics, whose name is used for one of the greatest lecture hall at the University. Since 1991 there exist at the Faculty of Informatics and Statistics the Department of Statistics and Probability (17 internal teachers and 13 internal PhD students), the Department of Economic Statistics (6 + 3) and the Department of Demography (6 + 4). Adapted from the source document.
A Indonèsia, els anys posteriors a la caiguda del règim de Suharto han estat marcats per una proliferació de la cultura devota popular en els mitjans de comunicació. Aquesta proliferació se situa en el context de la transició política d'un règim autoritari a la democràcia, la industrialització dels mitjans de comunicació i la irrupció de l'islam com una de les claus essencials per a entendre l'actual transformació en els àmbits polítics, socials i culturals de la societat indonèsia contemporània. A grans trets, la meva tesi analitza el paper de l'islam en aquesta transformació i com la cultura popular n'ha format part integral. Per mitjà del cas pràctic de la producció d'una telenovel·la religiosa, m'interessa explorar la complexitat que impregna les pràctiques religioses quan el moviment de devoció religiosa s'apropia dels mitjans de comunicació laics/capitalistes per a promoure el culte. En altres paraules, aquest article es pregunta el següent: quan la lògica del moviment de devoció religiosa i la lògica de la indústria mediàtica convergeixen, quin tipus de pràctiques religioses i cinematogràfiques es mantenen, es negocien i es qüestionen? Partint d'un marc metodològic basat en les teories sobre les pràctiques mediàtiques (Bourdieu, 1977 i 1993; Couldry, 2004; Hobart, propera aparició; Rajagopal, 2001), he estructurat en dues dimensions la meva anàlisi sobre com i per què es construeixen, ratifiquen i qüestionen les pràctiques i els estàndards: dimensió interna (on-site) i dimensió externa (off-site). ; In the last few years, Indonesia's post-Suharto's era has been marked by a proliferation of popular piety culture in the media. This proliferation is situated within the political transition from authoritarianism to democracy, the industrialization of media and the emergence of Islam as one of the important keys to unlocking the ongoing transformation of the political, social and cultural spheres of contemporary Indonesian society. My thesis, in general, is a study of the role of Islam in this transformation and how popular culture is an integral part of it. Through my study case of the production of a religious TV series, I want to explore the complexity that makes up religious practices when the piety movement takes up secular/capitalist media to further their movement. In other words, this paper asks: when the logic of the piety movement and the logic of the media industry converge, what kinds of practices in terms of religious practices and film-making practices are maintained, negotiated, and challenged? Building my methodological framework on theories of media practices (Bourdieu, 1977 and 1993; Couldry, 2004; Hobart, forthcoming; Rajagopal, 2001), I divide my analysis into how and why practices and standards are constructed, affirmed and challenged in two foci: on-site and off-site. ; En Indonesia, los años posteriores a la caída del régimen de Suharto han sido marcados por una proliferación de una cultura devota popular en los medios de comunicación. Esta proliferación se sitúa en el contexto de la transición política de un régimen autoritario a la democracia, la industrialización de los medios de comunicación y la irrupción del islam como una de las claves esenciales para entender la actual transformación en los ámbitos políticos, sociales y culturales de la sociedad indonesia contemporánea. A grandes rasgos, mi tesis analiza el papel del islam en esta transformación y cómo la cultura popular ha formado parte integral de ella. Por medio del caso práctico de la producción de una telenovela religiosa, me interesa explorar la complejidad que impregna las prácticas religiosas cuando el movimiento de devoción religiosa se apropia de los medios de comunicación laicos/capitalistas para promover el culto. En otras palabras, este artículo se pregunta lo siguiente: cuando la lógica del movimiento de devoción religiosa y la lógica de la industria mediática convergen, ¿qué tipo de prácticas religiosas y cinematográficas se mantienen, se negocian y se cuestionan? Partiendo de un marco metodológico basado en las teorías sobre las prácticas mediáticas (Bourdieu, 1977 y 1993; Couldry, 2004; Hobart, próxima aparición; Rajagopal, 2001), he estructurado en dos dimensiones mi análisis sobre cómo y por qué se construyen, ratifican y cuestionan las prácticas y los estándares: dimensión interna (on-site) y dimensión externa (off-site).
Aquest article, mitjançant les ciències polítiques i la pedagogia i l'estudi de cas de dues organitzacionsexpertes, el Community University Parnership Programme de la Universitat de Brighton i l'Oficina d'ApS de la Universitat de Barcelona, mira de fer una aproximació de diferents conceptes implícits en el partenariat educatiu, apostant per una intervenció educativa i social activa en la nostra comunitat en pro del desenvolupament comunitari.Aspectes que ens donen pistes per a possibles vincles socioeducatius en el futur. ; This article takes the political sciences and pedagogy and the case study of two expert organizations – the University of Brighton'sCommunity University Partnership Programme and the ApS Office at the Universitat de Barcelona – as the basis for examining a series of concepts implicit in the educational partnership, and setting out the case for active educational and social intervention inthe community in the interests of community development – factors which provide clues for possible socio-educational links in the future. ; Este artículo, mediante las ciencias políticas y la pedagogía y el estudio de caso de dos organizaciones expertas, el Community University Parnership Programme de la Universidadde Brighton y la Oficina de ApS de la Universidad de Barcelona, mira de hacer una aproximación de distintos conceptos implícitos en el partenariado educativo, apostando por una intervención educativa y social activa en nuestra comunidad en pro del desarrollo comunitario. Aspectos que nos dan pistas para posibles vínculos socioeducativos en el futuro.
This paper focuses on "The Philadelphia Negro": a community study that stands at the start of American social research. This somewhat forgotten empirical study from 1899 describes the historical conditions and the economic and social causes and circumstances behind the formation and existence of the "Seventh Ward", a slum neighbourhood in Philadelphia inhabited by African-Americans. The study used survey and other methods of observation and analysis of historical, economic and social data. The study was written by the erudite Harvard University graduate William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, an African-American, and an economist, historian and sociologist. Using primary and secondary literature and archive sources this paper shows that Du Bois was the author of the first empirical social research study in the United States. It looks at his life, his research, and his opinions on racial issues. He created a programme of research on the African-American population and from 1898 to 1910 he headed the first school of sociology on the American continent at the University of Atlanta. He published the results of scientific analyses of the lives of African-Americans in the south of the United States in sixteen volumes of the Atlanta University Studies. Racial prejudices among the American sociological elites prevented both Du Bois and his work from receiving the attention they rightly deserve.
"In recent years, sociology in Britain -and in national contexts influenced by British sociology- has been diagnosed by various parties as suffering from a wide range of ailments. These forms of selfcriticism become ever more acute in terms of their potential effects as huge transformations in university funding regimes are brought to bear on the social sciences. But none of these critiques engages satisfactorily with what is a much more foundational and serious set of problems, namely the very nature of sociology itself as a historically-situated form of knowledge production. Sociology claims to know the world around it, but in Britain today much sociology seriously fails in this regard, because it operates with radically curtailed understandings of the long-term historical forces which made the social conditions it purports to analyse. A sophisticated understanding of the contemporary world is made possible only by an equally sophisticated understanding of very long-term historical processes, precisely the sort of vision that mainstream British sociology has lacked for at least the last two decades. This paper identifies the reasons for the development of this situation and the consequences it has for the nature of sociology's knowledge production, for its self-understanding, for its claims to comprehend the contemporary world, and for its apparent social "usefulness". A markedly more selfaware and historically-sensitive sociology is proposed as the answer to the pressing question of what aspects of sociology should be defended in the turbulent context of British higher education today." (author's abstract)
