Economic Sociology

The paper presents an interpretation about organizational and strategic changes of the National Steel Company (CSN), a company created in 1945 by the Brazilian state and symbol of the country's industrialization. The discussion is part of a research project whose purpose is to comprehend the recent trajectory of the company, its relations with the state and their efforts to compete in a globalized scenario. The fundamental question that guided this research was whether the steel business remains the core business of the company and its positioning in the global market for the production and marketing of steel. This exploratory research uses the approach of production networks to interpret the geo-economic relations resulting from globalization. The study supports the notion that between the date of foundation and the eighties, the company focused all its efforts to improve and modernize its steel production unit, installed in the city of Volta Redonda RJ, city located in the mai...

Os artigos jornalísticos de Karl Marx e Friedrich Engels sobre os Estados Unidos da América são materiais importantíssimos no conjunto da obra da dupla. No entanto, esses artigos foram, até aqui, abordados de maneira bastante limitada pelos estudiosos e pela militância.

The consequences of population growth and urbanization on the urban environment, climate, and water supply have
caused a wide range of issues. As a result of the rapid urbanization process, vegetation covers are being converted by impervious
and dry concrete covers. This has led to the growth of "heat islands," where urban areas experience warmer temperatures than
the areas surrounding them.

This paper argues that Karl Polanyi’s theory of the ‘double movement’ reasonably explains the development of the Occupy Movement in the context of post-financial crisis America. I argue that the 2008 financial crisis precipitated the collapse of an economy that, in Polanyian terms, was significantly disembedded from social institutions, and that the consequent social dislocation laid the foundations for a Polanyian ‘countermovement’ by society against market fundamentalism. In explaining the disembedding of the economy prior to the financial crisis, I explore the neoliberal turn of the 1970s – specifically financial deregulation and innovation. Following this, the paper finds that the movement’s substantive success in imposing social constraints on markets was limited, but that it successfully created a new socially-oriented politicaleconomic dialogue. Furthermore, the paper investigates the movement in the South African political context and finds that its applicability is limited ...

This research is a study summative evaluation PUK Strengthening Program in Solo with a quantitative approach. The goal is to measure outcome indicators and analyzes the factors that influence the achievement of outcomes based on aspects of the process and input. The analysis was done by means of univariate and bivariate with cross table, Chi Square and Kendall Tau. The results showed that the outcome indicators has not been achieved. Factors that influence the outcome of the process aspect are ability to identify and solve problems, quality of production, volume of business, business innovation, profit exhibitions, as well as participation in training. Input factors affecting outcome that is age and education of respondents.

The lack of proper waste management in developing countries results in environmental pollution and human illness. This review presents the available data on the electronic and electrical waste generated and/or transported in Africa. Particular attention is given to waste treatment and the recycling sector, as well as methods for recovering metals from e-waste. The roles and responsibilities of stakeholders and institutions involved in Africa are discussed. Design for Environment guidelines and Sustainable Product Design Concepts are illustrated to find proper strategies for managing e-waste in general, and for Africa in particular. Raising awareness among national and international institutions is necessary to improve e-scraps management in Africa. Measures should be taken to facilitate the transition of e-waste management from the informal to the formal sector, which will create decent jobs and corresponding incomes.

Penelitian ini didasari sumber permodalan pedagang pasar syariah ulul albab yang melakukan aktifitas bisnis atau jual beli di desa tanah merah kecamatan siak hulu kebupaten Kampar riau. Berdasarkan hasil temuan dan data dilapangan memberikan informasi bahwasannya sumber permodalan pedagang pasar syariah ulul albab berasal dari modal pribadi, distributor, perbankan konvensional, perbankan syariah, jula –jula tembak/rentenir/pemodal, koperasi, sesama pedagang dan pelanggan. Dimana modal sumber permodalan tertinggi yang di gunakan pedagang dalam menjalankan usahanya yakni modal pribadi dan distributor yang mencapai kisaran 31,94% ini artinya pedagang sangat selain mengandal modal secara pribadi nanum juga sangat terbantu oleh adanya distributor dan modal berikutnya diikuti sumber permodal secara pribadi yang mencapai kisaran 19,44%, hal ini berarti masih ada pedagang yang tidak menggandalkan modal usahanya dari luar seprti distributor, koperasi, lembaga keuangan lainnya atau lebih kepa...

O trabalho apresenta uma análise sobre o ordenamento territorial das áreas de atividade extrativista madeireira sob gestão do Estado e iniciativa privada e suas perspectivas no contexto do desenvolvimento regional no Amapá. A partir de dados secundários obtidos através de pesquisa documental em consultas diretas a documentos fornecidos por órgãos públicos ou em arquivos vetorizados disponibilizados por estes, realizou-se tratamento em Sistema de Informação Geográfica. Com base nas informações obtidas e no tratamento em SIG se procurou analisar o ordenamento territorial das iniciativas de exploração madeireira e os agentes envolvidos. De igual maneira se discutiu quais as perspectivas que os projetos madeireiros existentes podem gerar no sentido de fomentar o desenvolvimento sustentável baseado nessa atividad . Como resultado apresentam-se ainda mapas explicativos da configuração territorial das principais áreas bem como uma análise da situação atual dos projetos de exploração madeir...

A sophisticated analysis must reflect on its basic categories, the elementary distinctions of the subject under study, before it can be applied. The most important of these, in sociology, concerns the fundamental element of the organization of sociality. If we start from what is still used in many theoretical analyses today, namely, that society is a totality of relations between people, we have not emphasized, but taken for granted, that the individual is the basic indivisible element of society. All further analysis is based on this, elementary distinctions can be drawn between at most two individuals, and the boundaries of broader social formations can be drawn between groups, strata, or possibly classes of individuals. Social structure thus inevitably becomes the structure of the population, as group structure, as stratum structure, as class structure. But how can the structural demarcations and mediating mechanisms of science, ideology, administration, law, economics, etc. be accommodated within it?
      Social theoretical thinking has been moving in this direction since the end of the 19th century, when it broke down "man" as a basic category of social organization and established that man participates in the functioning and construction of certain social formations in various roles and becomes a member of society through the socialization of the norms and rules of behavior associated with each role. The dissolution of traditional ties and increasing urbanization lead to an increase in the number of different roles per person and differences in their nature. Social theories based on roles and the relationships between them, rather than on the individual, have thus experienced greater resolution and have been able to examine more adequately the actual organization of society. However, a role is itself composed of elements that can be readily analyzed, and since Max Weber, the action that constructs the roles has been the focus of theoretical analysis. Behind the differences in roles are the types of actions, the motivations for actions, the pattern variables that characterize each action are well captured. As we have seen, Talcott Parsons based his understanding of the systemic formations that build sociality on the different roles that can be derived from the different types of actions, and finally the unitary action that builds the more complex formations can itself be decomposed into action components. Where do we stand with the compact conception of man! Modern social theory recombines these in its categories, typologies, and distinctions to capture the broader social formations.
        Luhmann followed this path in developing his basic categories, but was dissatisfied with the result obtained and radicalized the detachment of social theory from the individual.

La crisis pandémica ha afectado de forma contundente tanto a países en desarrollo como a países en vías de desarrollo, de forma que políticas públicas, planes de desarrollo y planes estratégicos como la Agenda 2030 han quedado impactados de forma considerable. Como metodología: examinar el ámbito de países Latinoamericanos, aquellos que se habían implicado más, y aquellos que estaban más tardíos, se realiza examinando cuáles habían establecido un departamento gubernamental a nivel de país para la implementación de la Agenda y se establecen cuatro niveles distintos. Los que no lo hubieran realizado, más difícilmente podrán incorporarse a la consecución que los ODS de forma efectiva para el año 2030. Además, invitando a la reflexión profesional, académica y científica cabe preguntarnos de qué manera, y de forma crítica, en este escenario de forma de crisis que apunta que en una mayoría de países, nos va a costar despegar unos años, es compatible el mantenimiento de la Agenda tal y com...

The social disciplines feel frustrated because the economists’ professional monopoly passes by the most interesting questions about the movement of economies in our moment of history. I make here an attempt at synthesis by introducing six classical texts from early last century that help us to clarify the task we face. All of them were written in self-conscious defiance of orthodox economics; all were prophetic in dissenting from dogma; and most significantly shaped our world. **** The West made a bridge in the last five centuries between humanity’s fragmented agrarian past and an emergent world society then driven by industrial capitalism, but no longer. The centre of human society is shifting back to Asia, where most people live and the oldest civilizations are found. The future of the world order is once again in question as four decades of financial imperialism break down in what could become another period of economic collapse, war and revolution similar to 1914-45. **** Anthropology in the 21st century will have to ask which of western civilization’s achievements have continuing validity and which are so much parochial baggage to be discarded by the rest. This will require us to address the tension between human universals and cultural particulars. Science must find a new rapprochement with world religion, education and the arts. **** My list of mentors is personal and takes one book from each: V.I. Lenin’s The Development of Capitalism in Russia (1899) launched development economics; Thorstein Veblen’s The Theory of Business Enterprise (1904) institutional economics; Max Weber’s General Economic History (1920) the historical study of economy and society; Maynard Keynes’ The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936) macro-economics and a new philosophical approach; Talcott Parsons’ The Structure of Social Action (1937) economic sociology; and Karl Polanyi’s The Great Transformation (1944) the political economy of modern capitalism and economic anthropology. **** It is increasingly obvious that we need a new idea of economy and how to study and shape it if we want to grasp what is going on in the world. The orthodox economists, having opted for parasitism on the existing social order, are powerless to help. Since 2000, with colleagues, I have been exploring the idea of a human economy.

This chapter provides an overview of Malaysia's national interests and threat perception since its founding years since 1957, and how Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Razak defined the main principles and drivers of Malaysia's foreign and defence policies. From the Mahathirism since the 1980s until Najib's tilted preference in US-China strategic competition in the 2010s, domestic drivers are also identified as the main drivers for decision-making and foreign policy outcome of Malaysia. The strength and weaknesses of each distinct period are cross-examined with the opportunities and threat assessment by the respective regimes, hopefully be able to provide readers a clarified account of why and how Malaysia navigated great power competition the way it does.

This study analyses technical efficiency (TE) levels among small-scale raspberry producers in Central Chile. Special attention is given in to investigate the impact of the marketing channel used by the farmers on their technical performance. The data used in this study were obtained from a farm-level survey of 139 small-scale raspberry farmers. A stochastic production frontier model was used to evaluate the association between TE, extension, training and farmers’ decisions to sell their production directly to the agro-industry or indirectly through an informal middleman. The empirical results show that the decision to sell raspberries using informal channels is negatively associated with farm productivity and revenues. The analysis also reveals a positive relationship between TE and income among experienced and trained farmers. Implementing food quality and safety standards was also found decisive in increasing farm income. Policy implications stemming from these results are also di...

Resumen La provisión de vivienda de socorro, después de las catástrofes naturales, es un tema de vital importancia; la necesitad de albergues debe ser solucionado rápidamente para que las victimas tengan la oportunidad de regresar a sus actividades cotidianas tan pronto como sea posible y permitir una rápida recuperación económica. El diseño de la vivienda definitiva constituye una parte importante del proceso de reconstrucción después de un desastre natural, sin embargo debe considerar el contexto de la historia y factores sociales de una comunidad determinada. Una recuperación de la vivienda que responda a las necesidades de la población de acuerdo a los recursos disponibles y el patrimonio cultural es una prioridad. Este ensayo analiza las consideraciones del contexto local y patrimonio arquitectónico durante el proceso de reconstrucción, después del terremoto en Chile del año 2010. Los casos de estudio muestran iniciativas de reconstrucción realizadas por organizaciones de socor...

Since the early 1990’s, tourism development has been promoted to replace employment lost to downsizing, outsourcing and automation in both urban and rural America. These efforts are actively supported by state and local chambers of commerce. However, despite the enthusiasm for tourism within city halls and business membership organizations, planning theorists have expressed concerns about the wage structure of the industry. Specifically, given the significant public investment in the industry, planners are being asked by some theorists to consider the distribution of economic benefits between labor and capital. This dissertation explores this issue and concludes with a study focused on the origins and distribution of public economic benefits – areas that have received little attention to date. Using Power to Tax theory as a theoretical framework a strong relationship was established between hotel revenue per capita (a proxy for hotel taxes) and local government wages per capita. The...

Charles Tilly (1929–2008) was a pioneer in joining sociology and history. Throughout his career, he was especially concerned with the ways in which ordinary people made political claims, and how this was shaped by transformations in the state and in capitalism. Most often seen as a structuralist, Tilly was nevertheless deeply concerned with how to understand actors. This article traces Tilly's work from early research on French contention through his later, synthetic work on mechanisms and regimes to show how Tilly's understanding of actors, agency, culture, and social construction developed. Further, we show how this development went hand in hand with Tilly's development of distinctive methodological approaches to historical and sociological data.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare the tasks and responsibilities of public and private parties in the building control systems of the 27 European Union (EU) countries.Design/methodology/approachTo gather the necessary information, a questionnaire on building regulatory systems was distributed to experts in each country, and the major legal documents in each jurisdiction were reviewed. The information was organized into thematic tables that describe all the countries studied. The themes within the tables are: regulatory framework, application, plan approval, site inspection, completion, and supervision.FindingsThe paper finds that there are many similarities between the building control systems of the various EU countries. Public parties in all countries set the regulatory framework, check planning applications, issue building permits, conduct final inspections, grant completion certificates, and supervise the operation of the system. The main difference between them con...

Plant disease outbreaks are increasing and threaten food security for the vulnerable in many areas of the world. Now a global human pandemic is threatening the health of millions on our planet. A stable, nutritious food supply will be needed to lift people out of poverty and improve health outcomes. Plant diseases, both endemic and recently emerging, are spreading and exacerbated by climate change, transmission with global food trade networks, pathogen spillover, and evolution of new pathogen lineages. In order to tackle these grand challenges, a new set of tools that include disease surveillance and improved detection technologies including pathogen sensors and predictive modeling and data analytics are needed to prevent future outbreaks. Herein, we describe an integrated research agenda that could help mitigate future plant disease pandemics.