Sociologie Românească

Disadvantaged Children – Between Poverty and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Gabriela Neagu — 2023-01-10

Children from disadvantaged socioeconomic and family backgrounds are one of the categories most severely affected by COVID-19. In this article, we analyze the impact of the pandemic on two categories of disadvantaged children: children living with their family of origin and who are the beneficiaries of day center services (DCS) and children living in family-type residential centers (FRC). The data analysis also reveals how public institutions (schools, administrative institutions) and private institutions (NGOs, business areas, representatives of cults, and national minorities) can work together to identify solutions and take action to support disadvantaged children. From the methodological point of view, we opted for qualitative research. Research results reveal that the pandemic affected both categories of children (difficult access to basic needs, and services, risk of dropping out of school, difficulties in the process of family reunification) but also that the intervention and inter-institutional collaboration reduced the negative effects on children, families and the community.

Developing Social Skills in Schools via Physical Education Programs: The Case of Israeli Male High School Students

Nof Amiel — 2023-01-10

This research proposal aims at studying the development of social skills among high school students through a multidisciplinary program that incorporates physical education and socialization lessons. The study will pursue a multidisciplinary approach by incorporating physical education classes and sports on the one hand with education for social skills on the other. Are students who are active or even participate in physical education classes more prone to develop their social skills than students who do not take part, or tend to remain passive or in these classes? Social skills include students’ ability to develop social communication, cooperation in a teamwork, self-discipline, assertiveness and social adaptation skills as influenced by their level of activity in physical education and sports classes. Students are also engaged in reflexive sports mediation. Reflexive mediation takes place during or after a sport session, during which students reflect (discuss and analyze) about events that took place during the sports session, and whether the action and reaction could or should have been done differently.

The Moral Careers of Male Tinder Users: An Exploratory Sociological Analysis

Maria Stoicescu — 2023-01-11

Men’s experiences and behaviors on dating apps are shaped by the gender distribution asymmetry on these platforms, usage patterns and results, motivations of use, and perceived benefits. This study contributes to the understanding of the outcomes of men’s use of dating apps, by identifying the social trajectories of use observed on Tinder. For this purpose, I use the concept of ‘career’, as discussed by Erving Goffman (1963), Howard Becker (1963), and David Matza (1969), to answer the following research question: What are the ‘moral careers’ of male users, and what are the factors that influence their engagement on the Tinder dating app? The study relies on 25 semi-structured interviews with 22 self-identified heterosexual and three self-identified homosexual male users, held between 2019 and 2022, and a sample of 22 online accounts of Tinder use, published on Quora. The analysis shows the emergence of five ‘moral careers’: the serial dater, the relationship-oriented dater, the passive dater, the episodic dater, and the discredited dater, with associated narratives. The findings contribute to the understanding of the dating practices and effects stirred by dating apps, with a focus on Tinder. It also illuminates specific masculine behaviors and goals within the app, with an accent on their dynamics.

Repatrierea forței de muncă în contextul pandemiei COVID-19

Mălina Voicu — 2023-01-11

This article aims at providing information about Romanian emigrants in terms of destinations and integration on the labour market at the destination and, at the same time, at tackling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mobility and eventual return of Romanian emigrants. For these explorations, we use quantitative data from various sources. The Repatriation of the Work Force is a research conducted in 2020, in which the local authorities from 3,181 administrative units in Romania were contacted and asked a series of questions regarding, among other topics, migration from and return migration to their locality. 742 answers were obtained, which were complemented with statistical information from Eurostat – Romanian citizens residing abroad, and the Romanian Border Police – traffic in an out Romanian borders since the beginning of the pandemic, compared to similar periods in 2019. The data provides an image of Romanian migrants abroad that is in line with what previous studies show, in terms of favourite destinations (Italy, Spain, Germany, Great Britain) and occupations at the destination (constructions, agriculture, housekeeping). Data from the Romanian Border Police show that return to Romania had some spikes in 2020, and suggests circularity and complex mobility trajectories.

Evoluții în demografia județului Sibiu, 1990-2021

Georgian Guțoiu — 2023-01-11

Romania experienced a strong demographic decline during the three decades since the Revolution of 1989. However, this decline was not by all means geographically and historically invariable. Our paper focuses on a particular territorial subdivision of the country, namely the county of Sibiu, as a case study of a space that underwent rather a smaller decline and even experienced moments of growth. While we focus on the county scale, we also employ comparisons at other geographical scales. The analysis is developed around three main demographic aspects – total number of inhabitants, migration and indicators of natural growth. Our results display a demographic profile of the county which is strongly contingent across geography and history in all three demographic aspects. The demographic decline in Romania was steady and rather consistent throughout the three decades. Indeed, Sibiu county experienced also a decline during the first two decades, but displayed a pattern of growth during the last decade, mostly explained through the economic aspects, as the county is one of the country's most important growth poles. As showed in the paper, these evolutions were sustained by recent patterns of migration and natural population development in Sibiu that were more advantageous for population growth.

Vigneta fertilității familiei. Studiu de caz: arborele decizional privind fertilitatea

Sorana Mocanu — 2023-01-11

This paper aims to provide an interdisciplinary approach to fertility analysis. The main objective is the use of a psychotherapeutic tool in fertility decision analysis. We used the genogram, a tool frequently utilized in systemic psychotherapy. By borrowing and using the genogram in the context of fertility decision analysis, it facilitates our understanding of the fertility decision in terms of individual and family factors, as well as cultural, economic and social factors. This article aims to study fertility decision as a process resulting from the overlapping of several determinants. Thus fertility decisions appear as the result of a biological process influenced by social factors, conditioned by cultural norms and subject to intra-familial laws that seem to determine both structurally and functionally individual decisions to have children. The assessment of all these factors influencing family fertility decision-making can also be analysed intergenerationally with the help of the genogram. The introduction of the genogram as a tool for analysing the different forces determining fertility and fertility decisions may overcame some of the challenges of measuring the influence of different functional and structural aspects of the family, which may technically hamper the scientific approach, given the changes to which the family as a system has been subjected in recent years.

Sărăcia și alți factori de risc ce favorizează comportamentul violent în viața domestică

Mariana Stanciu — 2023-01-11

Poverty, when manifested against the background of additional potentiating factors, such as a low level of education, the presence of addictions such as alcoholism, smoking, drug use, etc., is one of the most often incriminated factors responsible for the emergence and proliferation domestic violence. The inability to satisfy certain material needs determines the frustration of the individual, frustration that generates, in turn, some violent, conflictual impulses, which disturb the balance of family life. Violent behavior generates extremely serious social problems, affecting all age groups, social status and various spheres of social life. The COVID-19 pandemic, which created the conditions for an intensification of family life by organizing work from home or increasing unemployment, has led to an increase in the phenomenon of domestic violence and especially violence against women.

Les Lieux de Memoire and the Legacies of Roma Slavery in the Collective Memory. Case Study in Tismana, Gorj County, Romania

Adrian-Nicolae Furtună — 2023-01-11

This article aims to analyse the content of the local collective memory regarding slavery in Tismana, the place of the first documentary attestation of “Gypsies” in Romanian territory as slaves. To construct my theoretical framework, I use theories particularly from the field of sociology, but I also take in consideration works from the field of history and cultural studies. The research model I use is a qualitative one – ethnographic, based on the theory of social representations. The case study is based on the relationship between the local mnemonics (the presence of the monastery) that refer to the phenomenon of slavery and the Roma community. After I identify the content of local collective memory regarding the phenomenon of “Gypsy slavery” and the meanings attributed to the mnemonics relating to slavery, I analyse how this content influences the construction and assumption of Roma ethnic identity, today, in this locality. I argue how the heritage of slavery shapes the relations between Roma and the majority population nowadays. This article also aims to introduce the debate on Roma slavery in Romania into the global discussion on collective memory, identity, and the legacies of slavery.

Zilele Academice Ieșene – Sărbătoarea științei la Academia Română Filiala Iași

Meda Gâlea — 2023-01-11

For 37 years, in the fall, in Iași, there have been large-scale scientific events organized by the Iași Branch of the Romanian Academy during the Iași Academic Days. On these occasions numerous scientists, from the country and abroad, present their own results and debates take place. Through these actions to promote scientific results, but also to create the institutional framework for dialogue, the institution wants to present its own achievements to the general public and to transfer beyond the borders of science laboratories results that could be useful to the economic, social or cultural environment.

The International Colloquium of Social Sciences and Communication (ACUM 2022) and the National Conference of the Romanian Sociologists Society, 27-28 October, 2022

Corina Seserman — 2023-01-11

On the 27^th and the 28^th of October (2022), the 11^th Edition of the International Colloquium of Social Sciences and Communication (ACUM 2022) and the Romanian Sociologists’ Society National Conference took place in Brașov. The event was jointly organized by the Faculty of Sociology and Communication at the Transylvania University of Braşov together with the Romanian Sociologists’ Society. Thus, two biennial scientific events were merged: the 11th edition of the international conference in social sciences and the national congress of the Romanian Sociologists Society. Over 110 papers were presented during the conference.

Social Inequalities and Quality of Life. International Conference organised by the Research Institute for Quality of Life and the Romanian Sociological Association, 15-19 November 2021

Corina Seserman — 2023-01-11

The Social Inequalities and Quality of Life International Conference organised by The Research Institute for Quality of Life, Romanian Academy took place online, from 15 to 19 November 2021. The conference distributed 13 panels about current global challenges which impact individuals’ daily lives, and two round tables, about the challenges, risks and opportunities that Romanian society is facing. This event gathered 102 presentations from researchers coming from Romania, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Spain, The Czech Republic and The Netherlands. The conference provided an opportunity for interdisciplinary dialogue to take place about the potential policy strategies aimed to reduce social polarization and social inequalities by overcoming the structural gaps in contemporary society.

Rural Romania in the new capitalism: 1990-2020. Pro Universitaria, Bucharest, 2022. Iulian Stănescu & Flavius Mihalache (editors)

Sebastian Fitzek — 2023-01-11

Authors and coordinators Stănescu Iulian and Mihalache Flavius capture a moving picture of the Romanian village, as it was inherited after the Romanian Revolution, transforming, and reinventing itself in an interesting story of an adventure between survival and authenticity of each land. The archetype of the Romanian peasant in the 21st century is the Odyssey of a lone wolf, alienated from the unitary vision of his mission of universality and at the same time motivated to live in the strangest challenges and in an endless European modernization. The coordination of such a volume is itself an adventure in the history of the most archaic place where Romanian-ness was born as a source of immortality and a return to the origins of a people tormented by the curse of finding own solutions to a global movement that has always caught it unprepared in its historical evolution. The authors who have subscribed to this volume are not just researchers, but voices that bring that mosaic of images to a complex picture, almost complete but never exhausted.

Introducere în studiul stratificării şi mobilităţii sociale: teorii, măsuri şi modele de analiză. Editura Tritonic, București, 2022. Cătălin Augustin Stoica

Horia Mihai — 2023-01-11

Cătălin Augustin Stoica's volume Introduction to the Study of Social Stratification and Mobility: theories, measures and models of analysis can be considered a starting point in developing a theoretical understanding of the concepts mentioned in the title. Although the book is mainly addressed to students in the area of social sciences, we can say that the language is widely accessible to the general public. It should be appreciated that the reader does not need a theoretical background before reading the book, as each concept is defined and analysed in such a manner, that makes the transition from common knowledge to scientific knowledge. Stratification and social mobility could not be dealt with separately, and in order to make intelligible how these concepts are intertwined in the dynamics of social life, the author presents them in a theoretically evolutionary scale. The explanation of the concepts is carried out starting from classics such as Marx and updated to the contemporary era with the help of authors that include Erik Olin Wright. From the conceptual trunk outlined by the theories of the aforementioned authors, sprout the branches of sub-chapters such as 'Power and Privilege' or 'Theories of the Elites', whose purpose is to broaden the reader's understanding of the subject. Through his book, Cătălin Augustin Stoica succeeds in offering a new approach to concepts studied for many decades in the field of sociology.

Sociologi în comunism. Începuturile unei profesii fără statut, în anii socialismului târziu. Editura Tritonic, București, 2021. Sorin Mitulescu (coordonator)

Zoltán Rostás — 2023-01-11

This reviewed book is the first authentic document about sociological education between 1966 and 1989 in Bucharest. The testimonies, interviews and analyzes of Sorin Mitulescu and his colleagues describe the unfair employment of young graduates. This was due to the unprofessional preparation of the establishment of sociological education.

Noile vieți de apoi; imortalitatea socială în contextul tehnologiilor digitale. Editura Tritonic, București, 2020. Ștefania Matei

Laurențiu D. Tănase — 2023-01-11

Following doctoral studies in sociology, an interesting work has been published on the impact of digital technologies on the commemorative practices of cultural heroes. The book is structured around the analysis of many case studies that help the reader to better understand the new social and cultural contexts of the hereafter. The research author is Dr Ștefania Matei, who carefully analyses the social processes that articulate the posthumous presence and highlights the mutations she observes în practice and the meanings of social immortality due to the influences of digital facilities.

Emoțiile sociale. Despre rușine, vinovăție, regret şi dezamăgire. București, Editura Tritonic, 2020. Septimiu Chelcea

Ana Maria Nițu — 2023-01-11

The current paper is a review on Septimiu Chelcea’s book Emoții sociale. Despre rușine, vinovăție, regret şi dezamăgire [Social Emotions. About shame, guilt, regret and disappointment], Bucharest, Tritonic Publishing House, 2020. Chelcea’s work captures the plurality of social emotions and their role in sociology and psychosociology as well as social and cultural theory. He explores auto reflexive secondary social emotions such as shame, guilt, regret and disappointment to emphasize the importance of the study of social emotions especially in the sociological field. The review includes an overview on the main introductory theories as well as the theories on each of the social emotions included in the study.

Dezastrul produs în urma inundațiilor. Experiențe din mediul rural [Flood-induced disasters: Experiences from rural areas]. Tritonic, Bucharest, 2019. Anca Mihai

Filip Alexandrescu — 2023-01-11

The book reviewed here is one of the very rare social scientific analyses of flood-induced disasters in Romania. The monograph is a valuable contribution to the Romanian literature in the social sciences, because the author makes a sustained effort to advance a sociological understanding of the disasters tiggered by floods. In this sense, any given flood is not the disaster but only the trigger of a social disaster. The disaster ensues from the ways in which the flood interacts with pre-existing socio-economic and spatial conditions and inequalities. The book is structured into six chapters and an introductory piece. Its appeal is wide-ranging and it includes all social scientists interested in flood-induced or climate change-induced disasters. Experts and stakeholders involved in the management of floods or similar systemic hazards would also greatly benefit from reading this informative piece.