The Sociology of Mobile Apps

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Lupton
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
The Political ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Tablet Computers ◽  
Sociological Analysis ◽  
Software Applications ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Political Dimensions ◽  
Political Economy Approach

Since their introduction in 2008, software applications for mobile devices (“apps”) have become extremely popular forms of digital media. Mobile apps are designed as small bits of software for devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, smartwatches, and other wearable devices. This chapter presents a sociological analysis of apps through the lens of three major theoretical perspectives: (1) the political economy approach, (2) Foucauldian perspectives, and (3) sociomaterialism. Each perspective adopts a different focus, but all elucidate important aspects of the sociocultural and political dimensions of apps. Relevant empirical research is incorporated into the discussion to illustrate how apps are designed, developed, and promoted by a range of actors and agencies and to provide examples of the ways in which people incorporate apps into the routines of their everyday lives. The chapter ends with identifying directions for further sociological research and theorizing related to apps.

scholarly journals Are men getting more emotional? Critical sociological perspectives on men, masculinities and emotions

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 779-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam de Boise ◽  
Jeff Hearn
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Gender Relations ◽  
The Political ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Political Dimensions ◽  
Men And Masculinities ◽  
Conceptual Confusion ◽  
Feminist Work

Sociological research, influenced by feminist and other critical perspectives, has noted how men’s emotional inexpressiveness was influenced, and supported, by patriarchal privilege. Such approaches have argued that ‘inexpression’ needs to be broken down in order to build gender equality and improve men’s own wellbeing. Emerging research has, however, challenged the argument that men are ‘emotionally inexpressive’ on two main premises: that, as a result of feminist critiques, many men now practise ‘softer’ or ‘more emotional’ forms of masculinity; second, that emotions always influence social action and so need to be better incorporated into sociological accounts of men’s behaviour. Yet these approaches entail some conceptual confusion as to what emotions are, how they link to social action and whether men’s emotions are inherently transformative for gender relations. This article first details how emotions and masculinity have been theorized in feminist-inspired approaches. It outlines recent work on emotions, men and masculinities before arguing for an understanding of emotions that engages with both physiologically grounded and postconstructionist debates. It finally suggests incorporating a material-discursive approach to men’s emotions, through feminist work on affect, which is attentive to the political dimensions of ‘increasing emotionality’ in order to contribute to a developing field of sociological research.

scholarly journals Are There Horticulture-related Mobile Applications for Me?

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 399-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kent D. Kobayashi
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Plant Growth Regulator ◽  
Product Information ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Crop Protection ◽  
Tablet Computer ◽  
Tablet Computers ◽  
Software Applications ◽  
Desktop Computers ◽  
Wide Range

Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers are increasingly being used to supplement the use of laptops and desktop computers. Their small size makes them portable and convenient to use. These devices are providing horticulturists with new tools for their work. Mobile applications (apps) are software applications that run on smartphones and tablet computers. They can be easily downloaded to a smartphone or tablet computer. There are hundreds of thousands of apps available, covering a wide range of topics. Many apps are free, whereas others have a cost. Horticulture-related apps for research, extension, teaching, and industry are available. These apps deal with diverse topics such as food safety, geographic information systems, hydroponics, scouting for insects, turfgrass management and weeds, plant growth regulator (PGR) calculations, conservation trees (trees suitable and recommended for conservation plantings), landscape design, plant and tree identification, crop protection product information, and industry trade publications. This article gives an overview of some of the horticulture-related apps that are available. Are there horticulture-related mobile apps for me? Yes!

Reconsideration of the Research Trajectory on the Carceral State

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-207
Author(s):  
Juliette Barbera
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Political Development ◽  
American Political Development ◽  
The Political ◽  
Carceral State ◽  
Research Framework ◽  
Research Production ◽  
Fields Of Study ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
And Control

For decades, both incarceration and research on the topic have proliferated. Disciplines within the Western sciences have studied the topic of incarceration through their respective lenses. Decades of data reflect trends and consequences of the carceral state, and based on that data the various disciplines have put forth arguments as to how the trends and consequences are of relevance to their respective fields of study. The research trajectory of incarceration research, however, overlooks the assumptions behind punishment and control and their institutionalization that produce and maintain the carceral state and its study. This omission of assumptions facilitates a focus on outcomes that serve to reinforce Western perspectives, and it contributes to the overall stagnation in the incarceration research produced in Western disciplines. An assessment of the study of the carceral state within the mainstream of American Political Development in the political science discipline provides an example of how the research framework contributes to the overall stagnation, even though the framework of the subfield allows for an historical institutionalization perspective. The theoretical perspectives of Cedric J. Robinson reveal the limits of Western lenses to critically assess the state. The alternative framework he provides to challenge the limits imposed on research production by Western perspectives applies to the argument presented here concerning the limitations that hamper the study of the carceral state.

Persons Together

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan L. Mittleman
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Jewish Tradition ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Political Dimensions ◽  
Market Relations ◽  
The Image Of God

This chapter moves into the political and economic aspects of human nature. Given scarcity and interdependence, what sense has Judaism made of the material well-being necessary for human flourishing? What are Jewish attitudes toward prosperity, market relations, labor, and leisure? What has Judaism had to say about the political dimensions of human nature? If all humans are made in the image of God, what does that original equality imply for political order, authority, and justice? In what kinds of systems can human beings best flourish? It argues that Jewish tradition shows that we act in conformity with our nature when we elevate, improve, and sanctify it. As co-creators of the world with God, we are not just the sport of our biochemistry. We are persons who can select and choose among the traits that comprise our very own natures, cultivating some and weeding out others.

The Contributions of the political economy approach: An analysis of Socio-economic development in Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Falih Suaedi ◽  
Muhmmad Saud
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
The Political ◽  
Developmental Studies ◽  
Socio Economic Development ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Political Economy Approach

This article explores in what ways political economy as an analytical framework for developmental studies has contributed to scholarships on Indonesian’s contemporary discourse of development. In doing so, it reviews important scholarly works on Indonesian political and economic development since the 1980s. The argument is that given sharp critiques directed at its conceptual and empirical utility for understanding changes taking place in modern Indonesian polity and society, the political economy approach continues to be a significant tool of research specifically in broader context of comparative politics applied to Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia. The focus of this exploration, however, has shifted from the formation of Indonesian bourgeoisie to the reconstitution of bourgeois oligarchy consisting of the alliance between the politico-bureaucratic elite and business families. With this in mind, the parallel relationship of capitalist establishment and the development of the state power in Indonesia is explainable.<br>

Materialities of Political Commitment?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Fearn
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Lyric Poetry ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives

Eschewing historicist certainties, this chapter reassesses the political salience of Alcaeus’ lyric poetry by investigating his literary contribution to sympotic culture. Placing Alcaeus’ politically engaged voices within recent theoretical perspectives on deixis, ecphrasis, and the distinctiveness of lyric as a literary mode, the chapter argues that Alcaeus makes a systematic issue of the question of the accessibility of the contexts gestured towards, and in so doing opens up as an alluring prospect the idea of political engagement through literature. The literary and cultural significance of proverbial statements in Alcaeus is also discussed. Alcaeus’ lyric claims are felt across time and space via their special foregrounding of both material culture and political engagement, through performance and reception.

The political dimensions of coexistence

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natacha Gagné
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Political Dimensions

scholarly journals Mobile bystanders and rubbernecks, disaster tourists, and helpers. Towards a theoretical framework for critically studying action possibilities at accident sites

2021 ◽  
pp. 205015792098482
Author(s):  
Linus Andersson ◽  
Ebba Sundin
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Communication Studies ◽  
Mobile Media ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Media And Communication ◽  
Media Practices

This article addresses the phenomenon of mobile bystanders who use their smartphones to film or take photographs at accident scenes, instead of offering their help to people in need or to assist medical units. This phenomenon has been extensively discussed in Swedish news media in recent years since it has been described as a growing problem for first responders, such as paramedics, police, and firefighters. This article aims to identify theoretical perspectives that are relevant for analyzing mobile media practices and discuss the ethical implications of these perspectives. Our purpose is twofold: we want to develop a theoretical framework for critically approaching mobile media practices, and we want to contribute to discussions concerning well-being in a time marked by mediatization and digitalization. In this pursuit, we combine theory from social psychology about how people behave at traumatic scenes with discussions about witnessing in and through media, as developed in media and communication studies. Both perspectives offer various implications for normative inquiry, and in our discussion, we argue that mobile bystanders must be considered simultaneously as transgressors of social norms and as emphatic witnesses behaving in accordance with the digital media age. The article ends with a discussion regarding the implications for further research.

scholarly journals Look at me, I’m on TV: the political dimensions of reality television participation

2021 ◽  
pp. 016344372110369
Author(s):  
Bethany Klein ◽  
Stephen Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Reality Television ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Representation ◽  
Political Dimensions

It has been over 20 years since the reality television genre attracted the attention of fans, critics and scholars. Reality programmes produced high viewing figures, suggesting a strong appetite for the form; critics dismissed the programmes as mindless and the participants as desperate for fame; and scholars assessed the formats, audiences and meanings of reality television, offering a complex, if rarely celebratory, account. While some commentators and scholars made connections between vote-based formats and electoral systems, or between opportunities afforded audiences for the deliberation of social issues and the idealized public sphere, the civic dimension of participation itself has not been explored. In this article, we take a closer look at reality television participants, drawing on press interviews and coverage in order to highlight how participants enact representative performances that might supplement more formal modes of democratic representation.

scholarly journals Archives and identity in the context of social media and algorithmic analytics: Towards an understanding of iArchive and predictive retention

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 3304-3322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Pötzsch
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
The Political ◽  
Archival Theory ◽  
Digital Archives ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Critical Approaches ◽  
And Control

This article reconceptualizes the archive in the context of digital media ecologies. Drawing upon archival theory and critical approaches to the political economy of the Internet, I account for new dynamics and implications afforded by digital archives. Operating at both a user-controlled explicit and a state- and corporate-owned implicit level, the digital archive at once facilitates empowerment and enables unprecedented forms of management and control. Connecting the politics and economy of digital media with issues of identity formation and curation on social networking sites, I coin the terms iArchive and predictive retention to highlight how recent technological advances both provide new means for self-expression, mobilization and resistance and afford an almost ubiquitous tracking, profiling and, indeed, moulding of emergent subjectivities.

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