Suchergebnisse

1. Der globale Kontext -- 2. Soziale Realität und Konzepte -- 3. Jahrtausende der Individualisierung -- 4. Verbesserung der Beschäftigungsfähigkeit -- 5. Organisatorische Rahmenbedingungen der Individualisierung -- 6. Grenzüberschreitende Migration -- 7. Die Krise der Migration -- 8. Zukünfte der Individualisierung.

Cover -- Half Title -- Series Information -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- 1 Multi-Paradigmatic Sociology -- The Confusing Situation -- Are There Prospects for a Constructive Solution? -- Vision of an Integrating Paradigm -- The Paradigmatic Core of Sociological Knowledge -- Symbolic Interactionism -- Social Interaction as Exchange -- Society as a Framework of Functional and Dysfunctional Interactions -- The Paradigm of the World System -- Conclusion -- References -- 2 Paradigmatic Enhancement of Sociology -- Introduction -- The Search for Solutions -- Determination Chains in Social Interactions -- Openings and Closures -- Conclusions -- References -- 3 Upgrading of Social Innovation Studies -- Introduction -- Variety and Complexity of Social Innovations -- Conceptual Model of Social Innovation -- Checking the Viability of the Conceptualization -- Conclusions -- References -- 4 Social Innovations in Crisis Management -- Introduction -- Determinants of Innovations in Crisis Management -- Environmental Impacts on Innovations in COVID-19 Crisis Management -- Technological Impacts on Innovations in COVID-19 Crisis Management -- Economic Impacts on Innovations in COVID-19 Crisis Management -- Political Impacts on Innovations in COVID-19 Crisis Management -- Cultural Impacts on Innovations in COVID-19 Crisis Management -- Actors in Social Innovations Supporting Crisis Management -- Types of Actors in Innovation-Led Crisis Management -- Modalities of Actors' Participation in Innovations for Crisis Management -- Relations of Social Innovations in Crisis Management -- The Spread of Telemedicine as an Innovative Response to COVID-19 -- Social Innovation Processes in Crisis Management -- Conclusions -- Acknowledgment -- References -- 5 Making History: Social Reality and Concepts.

This book critically engages with a series of provocative questions that ask: Why are contemporary societies so dependent on constructive and destructive effects of individualization? Is this phenomenon only related to the 'second' or 'late' modernity? Can the concept of individualization be productively used for developing a sociological diagnosis of our time? The innovative answers suggested in this book are focused on two types of challenges accompanying the rise of individualization. First, that it is caused by controversial changes in social structures and action patterns. Second, that the effects of individualization question varieties of the common good. Both challenges have a long history but reached critical intensity in advanced contemporary societies in the context of current globalization.

Eastern Europe was once clearly defined by the centralised political and economic organisation of the societies in the region. They shared the same official ideology and were members of the same alliances. After 1989, the region collapsed in an economic, political and cultural implosion. What were the moving forces of this profound change? What are its consequences and could we try to reasonably foresee any future developments? In this thought provoking book, Nikolai Genov presents a systematic description and explanation of Eastern European societal transformations after 1989. The changes experience in Eastern European societies are interpreted as adaptations to four global trends; upgrading the rationality of organizations, individualization, spreading of instrumental activism and universalization of value-normative systems. Adaptations to these trends have generally been successful however Genov notes that process has many failed characteristics as well. Mostly caused by path dependency in the societal development and by the varying quality of relevant decisions other destructive developments are due to contradictions in the global trends themselves. Guided by the assumption that the societal and supranational integration mechanisms in Eastern Europe before 1989 could not resist the overwhelming power of global trends, Genov's controversial findings question visions about the end of history and simultaneously strengthen the confidence that most complex macro-social processes can be rationally managed. This is a timely book allowing for a much needed engagement in contemporary debates on the sociological processes of Eastern European transitions.

Das englischsprachige Buch zieht eine Bilanz der widersprüchlichen intellektuellen Entwicklung der Soziologie über ein halbes Jahrhundert. Die Disziplin braucht diese Aufarbeitung der eigenen Erfahrung, um mit den neuen sozialen und kognitiven Herausforderungen fertig zu werden. The book takes stock of the in parts contradictory intellectual develoments in sociology of the past 50 years. This reckoning with the sociological experience is necessary in order to cope with new social and cognitive challenges

A couple of years ago, I tried to collect information about the ethnic policies in South-Eastern Europe for university teaching. Slovenian colleagues were very cooperative and supplied me with rich information about the social integration policies concerning Roma. This information was enough for resolving the tasks I had at that time. However, step by step, I learned more about the ethnic composition and interethnic relations in Slovenian society. I was struck by the fact that the ethnic picture there was much more complex and complicated than the single case of the Roma minority. In addition, I received a lot of information about Slovenian ethnic minorities in the neighboring countries.

The paper contains analyses of attempts at explaining the profound changes in Eastern Europe after 1989. The analyses are guided by the conceptual framework of social interaction. It covers the micro, meso and macro level of the social organization. The first target is the theory of transition. The diagnosis reveals some constructive features of the theory together with its difficulties to get operationalized and effectively used in explanations. The major deficit of the theory is the absence of a concept of society. Based on the concept of social interaction the conceptual framework of societal transformation efficiently functions as a heuristic tool and as an organizer of knowledge. Is the societal transformations conceptual framework sufficient for a full-fledged explanation of the reform processes in Eastern Europe? The search for an answer leads to increasing relevance of the region's involvement in the globalization. The conclusion is that the impact of global trends should be integrated in the explanatory procedures of the continuing transformation of Eastern European societies.