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Posts in Sociology
Principles of Relief

By Edward T. Devine

This book, first published in 1904 discusses the increase in wealth and the resulting social injustices, emphasizing the community's responsibility to provide relief to those in need.It outlines the principles for charitable relief, stressing the importance of a clear policy and the need for cooperation among various charitable agencies.The author Edward Devine, presents digest of seventy-five illustrative cases to highlight the real nature of relief problems. Finally, as though prescient of modern day inequalities, he offers historical examples of disaster relief, such as the Chicago Fire and the Johnstown Flood, and the lessons learned from these events

Macmillan, 1910, 495 pages

International Journal of Comparative Sociology

MAY COTAIN MARKUP

Edited by Shivu Ishwaran

Micro-Macro Criminology Shoham links traditional criminology theories to broader cultural theories, introducing the concept of “mythogenes” to explain individual and group criminal behavior. Mythogenes are motivational structures that connect personal experiences to collective myths, influencing criminal behavior.

What Does the World Spend on Policing?by Farrell, Lane, Clark, and Tseloni:oThis paper examines global policing expenditures, highlighting the challenges of using available data sets for meta-level analysis. Itpresents three models for estimating global policing expenditure, with varying results:Per Capita Model: $264 billion (2000, inflation-adjusted)Linear Multiple Regression Model: $158.3 billion (2000, inflation-adjusted )Double Log Multiple Regression Model: $193.8 billion (2000, inflation-adjusted)

Issues and Patterns in the Comparative Study of Police Strength By Maguire andSchulte-Murray:oThe authors address the complexities of measuring police strength internationally, noting the rise in police strength outpacing population growth. They discuss the reliability of international data, primarily sourced from the United Nations World Crime Surveys (UNCJS), and provide estimates of police strength relative to population for various countries.

Women, Justice and Customs By Cyndi Banks:oBanks compares judicial discourse on custom in Papua New Guinea andCanada, focusing on its impact on women’s justice. In Papua New Guinea,the case of Miriam, an 18-year-old girl offered as compensation for her father's death,highlights the conflict between custom and constitutional rights. In Canada, Inuit customs have been used in legal defenses,sometimes leading to lenient sentencing in sexual assault cases.

Confronting the Contradiction: Global Capitalism and Environmental HealthbyMark Seis:o'Seis links environmental degradation to global capitalism, questioning the boundaries of criminology. He argues that economic globalization threatens democratic social movements and exacerbates environmental and social disparities.

Toward a Universal Declaration of the Rule of Lawby Bouloukos and Dakin:oThe authors advocate for a universal rule of law to ensure justice and sustainable development. They propose a Universal Declaration of the Rule of Law, modeled after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to provide a common framework for promoting the rule of law internationally.

Toward Comparative Studies of the U.S. Militia Movementby Freilich, Pienik, andHoward:oThis paper compares the U.S. militia movement to other social movements,providing a complex understanding of contemporary issues. The authors argue that militias share similarities with various social movements over time and place.

Crime Prevention Policy and Government Research By Gloria Laycock and RonClarke:oThe authors compare crime prevention programs in the U.S. and the U.K.,discussing the challenges of linking research to policy in different bureaucratic structures. They highlight the importance of strategic management and proactive dissemination of research findings to influence policy effectively.Conclusion:The document emphasizes the importance of including policing in comparative criminology and the need for future research to cover the many unrepresented topics and approaches. It highlights the role of judicial discretion, the complexities of integrating custom with modern legal systems, and the broader implications for human rights and gender equality. The struggle for ecological health is intertwined with the fight for human rights and democratic control over economic processes, posing significant threats to both environmental sustainability and social equity.

Brill, 2001, 260 pages

The Design of Social Research

By Russell L. Ackoff

"The Design of Social Research" outlines the principles and methodologies essential for conducting social research. It begins by defining methodologically designed research and emphasizes the importance of formulating clear research problems. The text discusses the idealized research model and practical research design, focusing on sampling techniques and the logic behind statistical procedures. It covers hypothesis testing, including analysis of variance and covariance, and the observational and operational phases of research design. The document also highlights the significance of methodological rigor in research,suggesting methods for evaluating operational specifications through pilot studies andpretests. Overall, it serves as a comprehensive guide for researchers to design effective studies, ensuring that their findings are valid and reliable.

University of Chicago Press, 1953, 420 pages

Applying a New Theory of Human Relations: The Comparative Study of Racism

By Manfred Halpern

Defensive Aggressiveness: Groups may retreat to defensive aggressiveness, risking repression of individual consciousness and creativity.

Group vs. Individual: True societal transformation requires new individual consciousness and creativity, not just group victories.

Racism and Ideologies: Racism is compared to other ideologies like nationalism and revolution, showing how they can become reified and lead to incoherence.

Global Comparisons: The document compares the capacity of different societies, including American and African Blacks, to deal with continuity,change, collaboration, conflict, and justice in the face of incoherence.

Race and Nations Monograph Series, 1970, 41 pages

Conflict in Culture: Permission Versus Controls and Alcohol Use in American Society

May Contain Markup

By John E. Tropman

Dualistic Perspective on Values: The book explores the idea that values come in pairs of partially contradictory concepts, such as permission and control.

Alcohol in American Society: It examines the historical shifts in attitudes toward alcohol in the U.S., highlighting the cyclical nature of permission and control.

Cultural and Social Systems: The interaction between social and cultural systems is discussed, emphasizing how changes in one can lead to changes in the other.

Permission/Control Balance: The book delves into the balance between permissions and control in society, particularly in the context of alcohol use.

University Press of America, 1986, 105 pages

The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory

May Contain Markup

By Carol J. Adams

Feminist-Vegetarian Connection: The book explores the interconnections between feminism and vegetarianism, arguing that both movements challenge patriarchal structures and the oppression of animals and women.

Patriarchal Culture: It discusses how patriarchal culture authorizes the eating of animals and links this to male dominance and control.

Historical Context: The book provides a historical analysis of vegetarianism and its ties to feminist movements, particularly from the1790s to the present.

Cultural Critique: It critiques how meat consumption is embedded in cultural norms and language, reinforcing gender roles and violence.

Continuum, 2000, 256 pages

The Development of Attitude Toward the Negro

By EUGENE L. HOROWITZ

● Study Focus: The research investigates the development of attitudes toward African Americans in white children, aiming for objective, verifiable, and significant results.

● Historical Context: The study highlights the historical evolution of attitudes toward African Americans, noting legal and social discrimination dating back to the 17th century.

● Methodology: The research employs three tests involving pictorial materials to measure children's attitudes, focusing on ranking preferences and imagined social situations.

● Findings: The study finds that prejudice begins early in childhood and is influenced more by societal attitudes than direct contact with African Americans.

NY. ARCHIVES OF PSYCHOLOGY. R. S. WOODWORTH, EDITOR. No. 194. 1916. 48p.

THE NEGRO FROM AFRICA TO AMERICA

By W.D. Weatherford,

Addresses the complex issue of racial adjustment and is introduced by James H. Dillard. It explores the history and progress of Black people from Africa to America, highlighting the struggles and achievements in the face of adversity. The author emphasizes the importance of mutual understanding and trust between races to overcome racial antipathy and achieve social justice. Historical Context: The book provides a detailed account of the African background, the impact of slavery, and the ongoing challenges faced by Black people in America.

NEGRO UNIVERSITIES PRESS. NEW YORK. 1924. 483p.

THE NEGRO AROUND THE WORLD

By Willard Price

THE BLACK GIRDLE. If an inhabitant of Mars could see the Earth according to the color of its peoples, he could observe a broad black sash about the World's waist. The belt of black, within which most of the 140,000,000 black people of the globe live, follows the equator and spreads about twenty degrees to the north and the same distance south. It is not quite broad enough to take in the United States ith its 11,000,000 Negroesbut all the other important groupings of blacks in the world are within this tropical belt. It includes the 11,000,000 Negroes of Central and South America and the 10,000,000 of the West Indies. Most of the 100,000,000 Negroes of Africa are found within these limits….

NY. George H. Doran Co. 1925. 69p.

Election Policy Fundamentals: The Secret Ballot [July 5, 2024]

SHANTON, KAREN L.; WOLANIN, TYLER L.

From the document: "Provisions for a secret ballot appear in all states' laws or constitutions [hyperlink]. Consensus that the ballot should be secret--that voters should not be able to be linked to their selections--is a somewhat recent development in American history. How to preserve ballot secrecy and balance it against other election objectives like promoting transparency, protecting against fraud, and ensuring accessibility for all eligible voters is also an ongoing issue, featuring in current election policy debates."

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE. 5 JUL, 2024 4p.

Suicide in Victorian and Edwardian England

By Olive Anderson

Historical Context: The book explores the history of suicide in Victorian and Edwardian England, focusing on statistical data, personal experiences, societal attitudes, and prevention efforts.

Statistical Analysis: It examines the processes behind official suicide statistics, highlighting the variability in data collection and the challenges in interpreting these statistics accurately.

Personal Experiences: The book delves into individual case histories,particularly through coroners' records, to understand the personal andsocial contexts of suicide during this period.

Societal Attitudes and Prevention: It discusses the societal attitudes towards suicide and the various efforts made by authorities and individuals to prevent it, including legal, medical, and philanthropic interventions.

Clarendon Press, 1987, 475 pages

Honour and Violence

By Anton Blok

Main Themes: The book explores the relationship between honor and violence, particularly in contexts where central control over violence is weak or absent

Case Studies: It includes studies on Sicilian mafia, rural banditry in theDutch Republic, and various cultural practices related to honor and violence.

Anthropological Approach: The author emphasizes the importance of understanding social action as paradoxical and influenced by unintended consequences.

References: The document contains numerous references to other works and studies, highlighting its academic rigor.

Wiley, Feb 8, 2001, 358 pages

Portrait of an Exile

By Andrew Graham-Yooll

Survivor Narratives: The book explores how women navigate domestic violence and its aftermath, emphasizing their resilience and the complexities of their experiences

Therapeutic Movement: It discusses the development of therapeutic approaches within the domestic violence movement, including the integration of trauma theories.

Institutional Challenges: The text highlights the difficulties survivors face with institutions like courts and social services, which can sometimes perpetuate their trauma.

Gaslighting: The book delves into the psychological manipulation known as gaslighting, showing how it affects survivors' perceptions of reality and their credibility.

Junction Books, 1981, 128 pages

What is Antiracism? And Why It Means Anticapitalism

By Arun Kundnani

Liberals have been arguing for nearly a century that racism is fundamentally an individual problem of extremist beliefs. Responding to Nazism, thinkers like gay rights pioneer Magnus Hirschfeld and anthropologist Ruth Benedict called for teaching people, especially poor people, to be less prejudiced. Here lies the origin of today 39 liberal antiracism, from diversity training to Hollywood activism. Meanwhile, a more radical antiracism flowered in the Third World. Anticolonial revolutionaries traced racism to the broad economic and political structures of modernity. Thinkers like C.L.R. James, Claudia Jones, and Frantz Fanon showed how racism was connected to colonialism and capitalism, a perspective adopted even by Martin Luther King.Today, liberal antiracism has proven powerless against structural oppression. As Arun Kundnani demonstrates, white liberals can heroically confront their own whiteness all they want, yet these structures remain.This deeply researched and swift-moving narrative history tells the story of the two antiracisms and their fates. As neoliberalism reordered the world in the last decades of the twentieth century, the case became clear: fighting racism means striking at its capitalist roots

London: Verso, 2023. 304p.

Building a Whole-of-Government Strategy to Address Extreme Heat

WICKERSON, GRACE; BURTON, AUTUMN

The passage that follows includes several links embedded in the original text. From the document: "From August 2023 to March 2024, the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) talked with +'85 experts' to source '20 high-demand opportunity areas for ready policy innovation' and '65 policy ideas.' In response, FAS recruited '33 authors to work on +18 policy memos' through our 'Extreme Heat Policy Sprint' from January 2024 to April 2024, 'generating an additional +100 policy recommendations' to address extreme heat. Our experts' full recommendations will be published in April 2024; this report previews key findings. In total, FAS has collected '+165 recommendations for 34 offices and/or agencies.' Key opportunity areas are described below and link out to a set of featured recommendations. The accompanying spreadsheet includes the '165 policy ideas' developed through expert engagement. [...] America is rapidly barreling towards its next hottest summer on record. While we still lack national strategy, states, counties, and cities around the country have taken up the charge of addressing extreme heat in their communities and are experimenting on the fly. [...] While state and local governments can make significant advances, national extreme heat resilience requires a 'whole of government' federal approach, as it intersects health, energy, housing, homeland and national security, international relations, and many more policy domains. The federal government plays a critical role in scaling up heat resilience interventions through research and development, regulations, standards, guidance, funding sources, and other policy levers. 'But what are the transformational policy opportunities for action?'"

FEDERATION OF AMERICAN SCIENTISTS. JUN, 2024. 34p.

Pro-Palestine US Student Protests Nearly Triple in April

HO, BIANCA; DOYLE, KIERAN

From the document: "Pro-Palestine demonstrations involving students in the United States have nearly tripled from 1 to 26 April compared with all of March, ACLED [ [Armed Conflict Location and Event Data]] data show [...]. New York has been one of the main student protest battlegrounds since the Israel-Palestine conflict flared up in and around Gaza last October, and the arrest of more than 100 students at Columbia University in New York around 18 April heralded a new wave of campus demonstrations."

ARMED CONFLICT LOCATION & EVENT DATA PROJECT. 2 MAY, 2024. 5p.

Overview of the Impact of GenAI and Deepfakes on Global Electoral Processes

CERVINI, ENZO MARIA LE FEVRE; CARRO, MARÍA VICTORIA

From the document: "Generative Artificial Intelligence's (GenAI) capacity to produce highly realistic images, videos, and text poses a significant challenge, as it can deceive viewers and consumers into accepting artificially generated content as authentic and genuine. This raises concerns about the dissemination of false information, disinformation, and its implications for public trust and democratic processes. Additionally, this phenomenon prompts critical ethical and legal inquiries, including issues surrounding the attribution of authority and accountability for the generated content. [...] This article delves into the impact of generative AI on recent and future political elections. We'll examine how deepfakes and other AI-generated content are used, along with their potential to sway voters. We'll also analyze the strategies various stakeholders are deploying to counter this growing phenomenon."

ITALIAN INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL STUDIES. 22 MAR, 2024. 44p.

Zero Returns to Homelessness Resource and Technical Assistance Guide

By Thomas Coyne; Sean Quitzau; and Joseph W. Arnett

This publication of Zero Returns to Homelessness, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), and the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments, provides a reference guide on housing access for practitioners, including state leaders working to address homelessness as part of their Reentry 2030 goals. It details best practices and strategies around reentry housing, building from four essential steps that have worked in neighborhoods around the country as leaders have expanded housing opportunities for people reentering their communities: Collaborate, Assess, Connect, and Expand. Every year, tens of thousands of people experience homelessness as they return to their communities from incarceration. Gaps and barriers, such as housing policies that bar people with conviction histories from renting, persist that reduce even the limited amount of housing people can access when returning. Because of this, people returning from incarceration are almost 10 times more likely to experience homelessness and more often cycle through public systems designed to respond to emergencies and not provide long-term solutions. However, in states such as Ohio, Connecticut, and Utah, communities are making strides in preventing homelessness when people return from incarceration. These communities are working toward a bold, new vision—Zero Returns to Homelessness—which aims to ensure that all returning residents have access to a safe, permanent place to call home.

New York: The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, 2024. 65p.

Russia and the Far-Right: Insights From Ten European Countries

edited by Kacper Rekawek, Thomas Renard and Bàrbara Molas

Russia’s influence over far-right/ racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist (REMVE) milieus in Europe is multi-faceted and complex. It involves direct activities, such as financing or political support, as well as indirect activities, such as disinformation campaigns. In some cases, Russia was associated, albeit remotely, with some far-right violent incidents in Europe, including the alleged coup attempt by the sovereign movement Reichsburger, in Germany. Recognising the increasingly confrontational policy of Russia vis-à-vis Europe, and the growing threat from far-right extremism in Europe, this book thoroughly and systematically reviews Russia’s relationship with diverse far-right actors in ten European countries over the past decade. The countries covered in this book include Austria, The Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, and Sweden. The chapters are authored by some of the world’s most authoritative experts on extremism and Russian influence.

Overall, this edited volume is the first such comprehensive attempt at mapping the scope and depth of Russian influence over far-right extremism in Europe, resulting in the identification of key patterns of influence and offering some possible recommendations to counter it. This book is both a leading scholarly work, as well as a wake-up call and guide for action for European policy-makers.

Dangerous or Endangered? Race and the Politics of Youth in Urban America

by Jennifer Tilton

How do you tell the difference between a “good kid” and a “potential thug”? In Dangerous or Endangered?, Jennifer Tilton considers the ways in which children are increasingly viewed as dangerous and yet, simultaneously, as endangered and in need of protection by the state.
Tilton draws on three years of ethnographic research in Oakland, California, one of the nation’s most racially diverse cities, to examine how debates over the nature and needs of young people have fundamentally reshaped politics, transforming ideas of citizenship and the state in contemporary America. As parents and neighborhood activists have worked to save and discipline young people, they have often inadvertently reinforced privatized models of childhood and urban space, clearing the streets of children, who are encouraged to stay at home or in supervised after-school programs. Youth activists protest these attempts, demanding a right to the city and expanded rights of citizenship.
Dangerous or Endangered? pays careful attention to the intricate connections between fears of other people’s kids and fears for our own kids in order to explore the complex racial, class, and gender divides in contemporary American cities.

New York; London: NYU Press, 2010; 203p.