by ryan on
Jan 17, 2008 at 11:58 am
Article: Structural Influences on Energy Production in South and East Asia, 1971-2002. Sociological Forum, December 2007
Summary:
A number of competing theories on the environmental consequences of globalization and modernization and environmental degradation have been proposed over the last several decades.
These debates include:
- Neoliberal theories [“economic production is not necessarily as connected to natural resource exploitation as many believe” 534];
- Economic theories i.e. environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis [negative environmental impacts follow an inverted U curve during the modernization process];
- Ecological modernization [less negative environmental impact as modernization ideas are diffused through the institutions of developing countries];
- Neo-Marxist and [modernization drives environmental degradation];
- world-systems theory [wealthy core dominate global economy and utilize a disproportionate share of the world’s natural resources];
- Metabolic rift thesis [urbanization will consistently lead to the expansion of energy production and environmental degradation].
To assess these theories, York utilizes fourteen economies in Asia over twenty years as data in a magical multivariate cross-sectional time-series analysis. He concludes: 1. population growth is a key force driving the expansin of energy production; 2. modernization generally leads to an escalation in energy production; 3. In terms of globalization, the data supports world-systems theories as export intensity and debt service payments lead to higher rates of energy production.; and 4.“Modernization and globalization are key forces driving natural resource exploitation and the environmental problems stemming from them” 551.
by ryan on
Jan 17, 2008 at 11:25 am
Article: Spillover or Spillout? The Global Justice Movement in the United States After 9/11. Mobilization, December 2007
Summary: Global Justice activism declined in the U.S. after 9/11 not because activism was down but because: 1. there was a more repressive atmosphere in the U.S.; 2. a politically inspired linkage between global terrorism and transnational activism of all kinds; and 3. social movement spillout.
Spillout is defined as “the hollowing-out of a social movement when its activists shift their activities to a cognate, but differently structured, movement.” 360.
The authors argue “the shift of activism from global justice to the antiwar movement, which we term ‘social movement spillout,’ is the most important reason for the decline of the former movement.” 371 In fact, “many of the groups who participated in global justice protests eventually reappeared in peace demonstrations, and many others turned their attention into electoral politics.” 371
The idea of spillout is a positive theoretical contribution mapping the shifts of activist energy between movements.
by jon on
Jan 08, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Article: Losing my religion: the social sources of religious decline in early adulthood. Social Forces, June 2007.
Summary: During early adulthood, it’s pretty common for Americans to become less religious. Many blame the college experience: viewing Universities as a hotbed of liberal, secular ideas. However, Uecker, Regnerus and Vaaler find this stereotype doesn’t hold — it’s not the students who go to college that experience the greatest decline in religiosity:
Contrary to expectations, emerging adults that avoid college exhibit the most extensive patterns of religious decline, undermining conventional wisdom about the secularizing effect of higher education.
The authors admit that this may not have always been the case: changes in both the student population as well as college campuses may be responsible for today’s situation:
America’s institutions of higher learning - even secular state universities - instead have an (over)abundant supply of religious and para-church organizations to meet the demands of students, and they often teach tolerance and respect for religion in the classroom.
by jon on
Jan 08, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Article: Celebrity Status. Sociological Theory, December 2007.
Summary: The authors* argue that debates within sociology over class and status,which are usually grounded in the classic debate between Marxian and Weberian views of class, miss out on a distinguishing feature of status in contemporary mass society: celebrity. As they put it:
Compared with other types of status, however, celebrity is status on speed. It confers honor in days, not generations; it decays over time, rather than accumulating; and it demands a constant supply of new recruits, rather than erecting barriers to entry.
*Charles Kurzman, Chelise Anderson, Clinton Key, Youn Ok Lee, Mairead Moloney, Alexis Silver, and Maria W. Van Ryn.
by wes on
Dec 11, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Article: Democracy versus Distinction: A Study of Omnivorousness in Gourmet Food Writing. American Journal of Sociology, July 2007
Summary: Hamburgers, macaroni, and meatloaf. Traditional working-class fare or signs of a populist revolution? Although the ascendancy of the cupcake may look like a democratic swelling within the ranks of highbrow cuisine, a recent study by Josée Johnston and Shyon Baumann (American Journal of Sociology, July 2007) suggests gourmet food is still all about taste and distinction. Food critics have simply become more “omnivorous”—well-versed in many different cuisines—by showcasing the more obscure traits of everyday foods only a refined palette can discern. What makes a roadside diner or homemade casserole gourmet is their authenticity and exoticism. However, what counts as exotic or authentic depends on the expertise of someone with first-class taste and loads of frequent flier miles.
UPDATE: This Discovery was published in our Winter 2008 issue.
by jon on
Dec 05, 2007 at 12:58 pm
Article: It’s the Message, Not the Messenger: The Declining Significance of Black-White Contact in a “Colorblind” Society. Sociological Inquiry, August 2007.
Summary: Eileen O’Brien and Kathleen Odell Korgen each had two separate projects: O’Brien studied a group of white antiracist activists and Korgen studied black-white friendship pairs. When they brought their data together, they found they made for an interesting comparison. Contrary to the expectations of contact theory, whites with close black friends did not have strong anti-racist views and those whites participating in antiracism activism did not necessarily have many close black friends. They attribute this finding to colorblind attitudes. “Colorblindness” encourages Americans to treat all people purely as individuals and not as members of racial or ethnic groups. As a result, their respondents didn’t re-evaluate their view of a racial group after positive individual contact: they simply exempted that individual from what they thought about the racial group.
UPDATE: This Discovery was published in our Winter 2008 issue.
by jon on
Dec 05, 2007 at 9:21 am
Article: The Income Digital Divide: Trends and Predictions for Levels of Internet Use. Social Forces, February 2007.
Summary: Steven P. Martin and John P. Robinson examine the pace of Internet adoption. They find that while the number of people with internet access is increasing each year, the rate of increase is slowing. Importantly, they find the rate of internet adoption is slowing more dramatically for low-income citizens than their more affluent colleagues:
These differential rates of diffusion, combined with an overall slowing of the diffusion of Internet use since 2001, suggest that it may be 2009 before a majority of lowest income Americans use the Internet.
They also note that this trend doesn’t hold in many other countries. For example, the United Kingdom has similar levels of income inequality as the United States, yet has decreasing levels of inequality with respect to Internet access by income.
UPDATE: This Discovery was published in our Winter 2008 issue.