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The social construction of target populations has emerged as an influential framework for understanding the public policy process. In particular, target populations have been shown to shape the allocation of benefits and burdens by political elites. However, existing studies focus on the elite level, which overlooks whether public preferences are aligned with the allocation of policy benefits and burdens by political elites. Moreover, many studies treat social constructions as homogenous, which this paper calls into question. Using a nation‐wide survey experiment, I investigate variation in public support for affirmative action policies with randomly assigned target populations. The findings indicate that the public formulates policy preferences on the basis of perceived deservingness of target groups similar to political elites. In addition, the findings uncover heterogeneity in the effect of targeting on public opinion based on ideology and racial/ethnic group identity.

Western societies stress the potential for anyone, irrespective of social background, to improve their position within society. However, disadvantaged students face barriers in gaining a good education. Two studies in secondary schools show how perceptions of identity compatibility and anticipated fit influence students' university choices. It was found that relatively disadvantaged students scored lower on identity compatibility, and that low scores on identity compatibility were associated with lower anticipated fit at a local selective (Study 1) or highly selective (Study 2) university. Anticipated fit, in turn, predicted the type of university to which participants wanted to apply; those who anticipated fitting in more at selective universities were more likely to apply to higher status universities. These relations were significant while controlling for academic achievement. Together, these studies suggest that social identity factors play a relevant role in explaining higher education choices among low-status group members.

Studies of youth‐focused encounter initiatives have long focused on the potential of such endeavors to shift the attitudes of participants. In recent years, scholarship has begun t'o address whether encounters can shift behaviors, as well—particularly in terms of motivating continued engagement in peacebuilding and social change initiatives. Yet studies have not addressed the question of how this shift occurs, that is, what mechanisms lead from encounter participation to continued social change engagement. This article draws on long‐standing research with a veteran Israeli encounter organization, Sadaka Reut, to explore what is significant in making the participation–continued engagement link. Its analysis points to personalized learning and Sadaka Reut's binational framework as particularly salient, but also addresses the inherent tensions in an approach aiming to foster critical awareness among youth who are members of both the dominant and oppressed ethnonational groups in a long‐standing conflict context.

AbstractThis article revisits Anthony Smith's landmark collectionMyths and Memories of the Nation(1999) from the perspective of recent developments in cultural memory studies. It argues for a more clearly demarcated distinction between myths and memories which acknowledges cultural memory as a site of new experiential perspectives that often work against the authority of myths, seen as the unquestioned truths about the collective past. Drawing on studies of modern memory cultures, it presents a dynamic and generative model that construes memory in terms of cultural practices of remembrance. It shows that memory is not an unchanging legacy but rather a malleable resource for making shared stories about the past. Where Halbwachs (1925) presumed that social frameworks precede and shape memory, remembrance is presented here as a cultural force that helps to redefine social frameworks and to create links between hitherto unconnected imagined communities.

What is and was the sociology of sports all about? Through the method of topic modelling, I will investigate the content of all articles (full text, N¼1923) from what has historically been the three leading sociology of sport journals – Sociology of Sport Journal, International Review for the Sociology of Sport and Journal of Sport and Social Issues – from 1984 to 2014. The study extracts 20 dominant topics: from the vague but central topic of Culture via Organization & Politics, Gender, Race, and Body to the less central, but more specific, topic of Football, Nationalism and Globalization. Additionally, I look at how the three journals have their strongholds in these topics, and how the topics have fluctuated over time. The results are discussed against the background of previous reviews and studies in the sociology of sports. ; publishedVersion ; Seksjon for kultur og samfunn / Department of Cultural and Social Studies

Los Estudios de las Mujeres llegaron a la Universidad por el impulso del feminismo como una estrategia de cambio social. Cobraron importancia a partir de los años noventa y actualmente su estrategia política ha palidecido ante enfoques con otros objetivos. El enfoque feminista del género se ha desplegado a su vez en varias interpretaciones, siendo una de éstas la que lo considera como creador de significados masculinos y femeninos en contextos discursivos determinados ; Women Studies arrived to the University pushed by feminism as a strategy of social change. These studies gained in importance in the 90's and actually this political strategy has weakened before the arrival of diversity of points of view with other purposes. The feminist gender point of view has unfolded in different interpretations, one of these considers gender the creator of masculine and femenine meanings In specifíc discursive contexts

Over the past two decades there has been a growing body of evidence, clinical and anecdotal, that equine-facilitated therapy (EFT) is a powerful tool for social workers and mental health clinicians. Recent research studies have begun to identify, name, and explain the mechanisms of EFT as a treatment tool for individual clients. However, EFT lacks a unified theoretical foundation; many studies lack an explicit theory altogether. Strong empirical support begins with a strong theoretical foundation, the research field lacks a unified voice for the scientific value of EFT. Attachment theory can guide the understanding of how EFT operates and can support more rigorous inquiry to evaluate its effect in mental health treatment. This article reviews the human-horse relationship in the context of attachment theory and concludes with a recommendation for research to strengthen the empirical base of EFT in social work practice.

Two nationwide representative studies (N = 653 adolescents; N = 1007 adults) investigated the psychological correlates of the intention to penalize public expressions of prejudice in the form of support for hate‐speech prohibition. We presented participants with preselected examples of hate speech from the Internet and other mass media and assessed their willingness to support the prohibition of public expressions of such remarks. Both studies found that social dominance orientation and right‐wing authoritarianism are positively correlated with outgroup prejudice, but they have differential effects on hate‐speech prohibition. Social dominance orientation was positively related to the acceptance of hate speech, whereas right‐wing authoritarianism was positively related to hate‐speech prohibition. In discussing this counterintuitive finding, we suggest that right‐wing authoritarians are particularly vigilant toward norm violations—and this makes them more punitive toward counternormative expressions of prejudice, such as hate speech.

Specific social categories differently affect the motivation to resist the disadvantage among the members of low‐status groups. While subgroup identity instigates collective action, common identity inhibits support for societal change. We propose that individuals who construe their disadvantage in terms of group relative deprivation (GRD) rather than individual relative deprivation are less prone to the demobilizing force of common identity salience. The moderating role of GRD in responding to superordinate category (i.e., "Poles") was demonstrated in two studies conducted in the Polish LGBTQ community. In Study 1 (N= 125), GRD moderated the effect that common identity (relative to subgroup identity) exerted on in‐group pride, which translated into support for social change. Study 2 (N= 165) confirmed GRD as the moderator of common identity influence. Both studies showed that LGBTQs who exhibited low but not high level of GRD were susceptible to the quieting effect of superordinate category.

Organizational control and environmental influences on organizational behavior are central themes in organization studies, yet little effort has been made to bring them together. In this paper we seek to contribute to filling this gap by investigating and conceptualizing environmental influences on organizational control. The paper examines patterns of organizational control and their environmental couplings through three parallel case studies of public universities in three European countries. We provide a systematic characterization of the space of configurations of control in professional knowledge-intensive organizations along the two axes of centralization of power and formalization of social relationships. We show that environmental characteristics do matter for the contestation and selection of control models. Finally, we unpack and conceptualize the synergetic influence of three environmental characteristics (institutional pressures, resource environment, and external social relationships) as providing sources of legitimacy and power for specific control regimes.

Organizational control and environmental influences on organizational behavior are central themes in organization studies, yet little effort has been made to bring them together. In this paper we seek to contribute to filling this gap by investigating and conceptualizing environmental influences on organizational control. The paper examines patterns of organizational control and their environmental couplings through three parallel case studies of public universities in three European countries. We provide a systematic characterization of the space of configurations of control in professional knowledge-intensive organizations along the two axes of centralization of power and formalization of social relationships. We show that environmental characteristics do matter for the contestation and selection of control models. Finally, we unpack and conceptualize the synergetic influence of three environmental characteristics (institutional pressures, resource environment, and external social relationships) as providing sources of legitimacy and power for specific control regimes.

The issue of social insecurity is high on the public and scientific agenda. Most research, however, looks at objective forms of insecurity like growing labour market volatilities or atypical employment. Less has been done with regard to the way people perceive these changes and the role of institutions therein. While recent studies have highlighted the relatively weak role of institutions in explaining different levels of subjective insecurity, they were limited in their understanding in the institutions–security interplay. This special issue aims to understand how institutions generate and moderate the outcomes of subjective insecurity, as well as to overcome some of the methodological limitations of previous studies. The introduction provides a state-of-the-art literature review and unfolds the research question addressed in the special issue. It concludes with some thoughts for future research in the field of social insecurity and institutions.

Dholakia and Turcan present their interdisciplinary metatheory of bubbles with short case studies of minor and major bubbles. They comprehensively identify and exemplify constructs of the theory, set its temporal and contextual boundaries, and examine the underlying economic, psychological, and social dynamics assumptions, explaining how these elements are related. By doing so, they provide a partial window into the precarious nature of contemporary finance-driven capitalism and suggest some possible ways of overcoming the wrenching ups and downs of the prevalent system. The case studies and original research in Toward a Metatheory of Economic Bubbles have far-reaching implications for the study and practice of entrepreneurship and marketing, public and corporate finance, and public policies towards innovation, economy, and finance. It contributes to the defining issues for economic sociology that describe the relationship between the economic and the social.

The article by Larisa Zabrovskaya "Social Problems of the Chinese Military Forses" studies the changing role of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the contemporary Chinese society. The dominance of the professionalization have led to a deemphasize of politics in the PLA, replacement of older cadres with younger, better educated officers, and an emphasis on leading how to fight in a modern war. The one-child family policy hardens the situation for Chinese military. ; The article by Larisa Zabrovskaya "Social Problems of the Chinese Military Forses" studies the changing role of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the contemporary Chinese society. The dominance of the professionalization have led to a deemphasize of politics in the PLA, replacement of older cadres with younger, better educated officers, and an emphasis on leading how to fight in a modern war. The one-child family policy hardens the situation for Chinese military.

The topic of right-wing extremism in European societies is subject to repeated discussions in politics, society and the media. These discourses, which are usually triggered by spectacular events, often address causes for the formation of right-wing extremist attitudes (RA). Among other reasons, such causes are considered to be social change, perception of social inequality or the existence of specific value orientations. These factors are also subject matter of various empirical studies. However, the causal relations between the explanatory approaches often remain unspecified in these studies. This neglect applies in particular to the integration of demographic variables like education or age. These concerns are accounted for in the present study by formulating a theoretically-driven model that explains RA which includes the causal relations between independent variables. This theoretical model will be tested by structural equation models using a representative survey from Germany. Adapted from the source document.