Complex concepts with varying connotations: In search for conceptual definitions

One of the fundamental challenges for sociology is the interpretation of its key terms, which is determined by the fact that many words of everyday language and scientific discourse are the same despite implying a much higher level of generalization as sociological categories. Certainly, such challenges are more typical for the empirical research - when sociologists turn their theoretical concepts into sets of empirical indicators which have to be clear enough for the respondent to understand and answer the questionnaire and for the sociologist to interpret these answers correctly. Nevertheless, the lack of generally recognized conceptual definitions is no less important, because the general picture of social reality is necessarily made of them (the society is described as either fair, consisting of trustworthy institutions that provide opportunities for being happy, or in the opposite statements). The article presents a possible reconstruction of the strategy that sociologists use in the search for conceptual definitions for such complex concepts with varying connotations as love, happiness, trust and justice. This strategy consists of two steps: focus on the macro-sociological dimension of the phenomena under study as determining its various manifestations and everyday interpretations (the key step in the study of love and happiness); and identification of objective and subjective indicators of the phenomenon under study (the key step in the study of trust and justice). For instance, in the study of love and happiness, there is the obvious micro-sociological perspective that implies personal responsibility for being happy and loved, and the hidden macro-sociological perspective that implies social standards for identifying and achieving love and happiness; trust is defined as a source of social order, cooperation, institutional, organizational and everyday interactions, which reduces the level of uncertainty; in the searches for the conceptual definition of justice, there are two main approaches - the first approach considers justice as one of many grounds for developing some theoretical model; the second approach reconstructs justice either as an ideal political-philosophical model of social order or as a means of the comparative analysis of its practical implementations.

The paradoxical self: duality and ambiguity in the works and lives of Oscar Wilde and Morrissey

Oscar Wilde’s and Morrissey’s lives seem to be full of contradictions. Their art constitutes a reaction against materialism, traditional lifestyle and social standards, as well as defence of individualism and freedom of thought. So far, their works have been analysed only from a very limited perspective of the tension between aesthetics and ethics. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that what prevails in their art is the state of ambivalence and ambiguity in relation to the issues connected with religion and morality, innocence and experience, life and death. This article aims at demonstrating multiplicity of personalities of the artists mentioned and ethical ambivalences of their works. Taken together, Wilde and Morrissey’s creative outputs present a clash between different spheres of life, the divided consciousness and the split between body and soul. Thus, the oscillation between opposite standpoints and values excluding each other is not only the result of the artists’ personal experience but it may symbolise the paradox and absurdity of the human existence as well.

Aesthetic Work as Cultural Competence: Chasing Beauty in the Coproduction of Aesthetic Services

Prior research stresses the importance of consumer participation in service coproduction. We examine the coproduction of aesthetic services, which are services in which beauty is a critical outcome. Consumers face challenges communicating their aesthetic tastes because of technical constraints that are understood by service providers but that consumers do not fully understand. To fill this gap, consumers do aesthetic work in communities of practice. Service providers also face challenges, as they must coproduce with consumers whose aesthetic tastes are formed amid shifting social standards. In this qualitative study, we highlight aesthetic work as a different type of consumer work that involves developing cultural competence. We identify four types of aesthetic coproduction in which cultural competence is distributed differently within the service dyad: aesthetic codesigning, aesthetic consenting, aesthetic yielding, and aesthetic reigning. We explore the managerial implications that arise as consumers increasingly use online social resources that shape and increase aesthetic expectations. We examine the unintended consequences of aesthetic service coproduction in which providers’ technical and aesthetic expertise is difficult for consumers to understand often leading to disappointing outcomes.

Who benefits from the introduction of Western social standards?

The authors of the article have raised the problem of the influence of the Western liberal system of values on the conceptual foundations of the development of the Belarusian society, the formation of its national identity. The contours of new risks and challenges arising in this process in various spheres of national security of Belarus are outlined. A number of issues of strengthening the sovereignty of the Belarusian state in the context of global interpenetration of the standards of social behavior of various countries, which are proposed to be taken into account in the preparation of a new edition of the Concept of National Security of the Republic of Belarus, are considered.

Application of Unjustified Indicators of Performance of Government Programs in the Field of Physical Culture and Sport as a Factor of Non-Certification

The purpose of the work was to study the application of individual performance indicators in the State Targeted Social Program for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports until 2020 as an important aspect of compliance with state social standards and guarantees for the provision of social services in physical culture and sports and its effectiveness. Materials and methods. The study used theoretical analysis, systematization and generalization of scientific literature, documentary sources and guidelines in the field of physical education and identified the main problems of the physical training system. Results and discussion. The central executive body did not provide the use of available pre-published and statistically sound reference indicators, did not analyze its own statistics on the development of reserve sports and statistics of the State Statistics Service of Ukraine on the permanent deterioration of the demographic situation of the population of Ukraine. As a result, it was not possible to create conditions for training in children’s and youth sports schools for 270,506 children aged 6 to 18, which, in our opinion, made it impossible to form a full-fledged reserve sport. At the same time, even the increase in funding by the leadership of the united territorial communities in 2020 could not affect the development of reserve sports by attracting up to 13 percent of children and youth aged 6 to 18 to classes in children’s and youth sports schools and made it impossible to comply with state social standards. Conclusion. In the course of our study, the indicators of the effectiveness of the State Targeted Social Program and the dynamics of growth of reserve sports were analyzed and the destructive factors that affect the effectiveness of the formation of reserve sports were identified. Among other things, the use of knowingly inaccurate professionally unsubstantiated data for the formation of some basic and at the same time socially significant indicators of reserve sports growth in the State Targeted Social Program was revealed, as a result of which youth sports schools in terms of their funding, the number of which as of 2020 decreased from to 1231 children’s and youth sports schools instead of 1298 children’s and youth sports schools planned for funding in the State Targeted Social Program

Wolves in the City of Domesticated Women: The Queer Wild of Olivia Rosenthal

In 2009, in the city of Nantes, a pack of six wolves was released in a public park as part of Stéphane Thidet’s art installation. A book of short stories accompanied the event. One of the authors involved was Olivia Rosenthal, who then incorporated her story into the novel Que font les rennes après Noël? (2010), in which captive wolves are reintroduced to the city. In this post-natural environment, animals provide a semblance of the wilderness for residents, yet remain enclosed in an extended zoo designed by man – an act that domesticates both sides of the fence by separating humans from wolves. Rosenthal’s protagonist is one of such captives. Her life and the lives of animals are presented in parallel narratives. She grows up in a strictly controlled environment, and social standards are imposed on her. In a semi-autobiographical vein, Rosenthal explores issues of queer and gender marginalization as well as emancipation. At the same time, she seeks to dismantle the binary oppositions that place animals, women, and non-heteronormative persons on the other side of the fence. Relying on queer ecofeminist theory developed by Greta Gaard (1997) as well as trans-species urban theory formulated by Jennifer Wolch (1998), this paper argues that we should challenge the hierarchical approach to human and non-human life, as it silences differences and denies voice, rights, and agency to women, non-heteronormative persons, and animals. Tracing inspirations behind Olivia Rosenthal’s novel, this paper also contemplates the ethics of using live animals in Stéphane Thidet’s La Meute (2009) as well as Mircea Cantor’s Deeparture (2005) – two art installations that place captive wolves in an artificial environment.

Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of a Novel Bio-Based Multilayer Panel for Construction Applications

The bioeconomy can be integral to transforming the current economic system into one with reduced environmental and social impacts of material consumption. This work describes a bio-based multi-layer panel that is based on residual coniferous bark. To ensure that the presented bio-based panel positively contributes to environmental protection while remaining competitive with conventional products and meeting high social standards, the development of the panel is accompanied by a life cycle sustainability assessment. This study performs a comparative LCA and LCC of the developed panel to conventional benchmark panels, as well as a qualitative social life cycle assessment. While the panel performs only economically marginally weaker than the benchmarks, the results are more heterogeneous for the environmental dimension with benefits of the bio-based panel in categories such as climate change, acidification, and ozone formation and detriments in categories including eutrophication. The S-LCA analysis shows that all of the involved companies apply social principles in direct proximity; however, social responsibility along the supply chain could be further promoted. All results need to be viewed with the caveat that the manufacturing processes for the new panel have been implemented, to date, on a pilot scale and further improvements need to be achieved in terms of upscaling and optimisation cycles.

Corporate social responsibility in Islamic banks: to which extent does Abu Dhabi Islamic bank comply with the global reporting initiative standards?

Purpose The purpose of this case study is to explore whether Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) complies with the Global Reporting Initiative Standards in terms of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure practices for the period 2014–2019. Design/methodology/approach By analysing both annual and sustainability reports of the bank using content analysis for each Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) category, 100 universal standards, 200 economic standards, 300 environmental standards, 400 social standards. The authors then compute and discuss the degree of compliance of ADIB disclosures by using annual charts and graphs. Findings Results show that, although ADIB issues sustainability reports, numerous GRI standards do not appear in the bank’s reports such as general disclosures GRI 102, economic disclosures items such as anti-competitive behaviour GRI 206 and environmental disclosures such as gas emissions GRI 305 due to the nature of bank’s activities. However, the bank focuses mainly on social standards GRI 400 including community services, training and development. Hence, ADIB partially complies with the GRI standards (2016) especially social disclosures. Research limitations/implications The study encompasses some limitations: first, due to the discretionary nature of CSR reporting, many items were ignored or missed for the full period. Second, the disclosure of a sustainability report by the company was only available for the year 2017, which, in turn, makes it difficult for comparison. Practical implications The findings of this study have important implications for academics and researchers, and practitioners as they pave the way for further investigation regarding CSR compliance of Islamic financial institutions. The results also have important implications for Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions in developing a CSR reporting standard if Islamic banks are to enhance their image globally and to maintain competitive advantages. Originality/value This paper contributes to the growing debate on CSR disclosures in the Islamic banking industry by comparing ADIB practices with regard to the GRI standards.

How sociology of emotions is possible, and how it helps to understand happiness and justice

The article is a reflection-review of the book by Scott R. Harris An Invitation to the Sociology of Emotions (translated from English by O.A. Simonova; Moscow: HSE; 2020). Certainly, such a type of scientific works does not need a review after publication, but this book requires special attention for sociology of emotions seems to be a marginal area of Russian sociology, at least in the institutional perspective. After a brief description of the origins and manifestations of the affective turn, the author considers its consequences for social sciences (recognition of the cultural nature of emotions, perception of emotional standards in the course of socialization, etc.), and reconstructs the sociological model for the study of emotions as developed by Harris: reliance on symbolic interactionism and the social exchange theory, analysis of the normative aspect of emotions (cultural expectations about how one should feel in different situations, social standards for assessing the acceptability of emotions, etc.) and of the procedural side of the emotional life (exchange of emotions, management of emotions, identification of emotions, and emotional labor).