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Sociologists increasingly face choices among competing algorithms that represent reasonable approaches to the same task, with little guidance in choosing among them. We develop a strategy that uses simulated data to identify the conditions under which different methods perform well and applies what is learned from the simulations to predict which method will perform best on never-before-seen empirical data sets. We apply this strategy to a class of methods that group respondents to attitude surveys according to whether they share construals of a given domain. This allows us to identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of the methods we consider, including relational class analysis, correlational class analysis, and eight other such variants. Results support the "no free lunch" view that researchers should abandon the quest for one best algorithm in favor of matching algorithms to kinds of data for which each is most appropriate and provide direction on how to do so.

This seems an opportune time to reflect on our paper, The Iron Cage Revisited, some 40 years after its original publication. In this essay, we recall the influences on us at the time, speculate on factors that shaped its subsequent reception, and assess selective strands of work that it may have influenced. By today's standards, it was a relatively short paper, only 14 pages, yet it has had a long life and a generous audience (68,624 citations according to Google Scholar on Oct. 15, 2023). We divide the essay into four parts: (a) our experiences at Yale in the early 1980s and the influences on us; (b) thoughts on the reception of the paper shortly after it was published; (c) reactions to the attention it subsequently received; and (d) brief reflections on subsequent institutional lines of work that we have followed. We conclude with thoughts on theorizing in organization studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Views of culture in psychology and sociology have converged markedly in the past two decades. Both have rejected what Adams and Markus (2004) refer to as the "entity" conception of culture--the view that culture is coherent, stable, and located in the heads of collectivities' members--in favor of more supple and dynamic constructs. Culture, in this new view, entails dynamic interactions between mind and environment, each of which serves as a selection regime for the other (mental structures selecting aspects of the environment as salient, and environments selectively reinforcing mental representations). In this article, the authors talk about the converging perspectives of culture and social psychology. They discuss the culture and social psychology in both psychology and sociology. They also discuss the notable convergence between psychological and sociological social psychologists in definitions and approaches to culture.

Over the past twenty years, a major development in firms' innovation strategies has been the emergence of crowdsourcing as a tool to stimulate new ideas. A growing literature has examined the process by which firms select ideas from such discussions for further development. This paper focuses upon a surprisingly neglected factor: the substantive content of employee contributions. We explore the utility of topic modelling as a means, first, to construct themes as analytic objects; second, to describe the prevalence of themes in a discussion; and, third (and most important) as a platform for the development of measures suited to addressing a wide range of research questions. Drawing on data from a company-wide innovation dialogue at IBM, we illustrate this argument by highlighting four affordances of topic modelling: (1) identifying features of written contributions that predict their subsequent recognition; (2) identifying significant collective concerns and the degree of consensus around them; (3) examining the effects on selection of alignment of posts, respectively, with elite priorities and collective concerns; and (4) assessing whether a dialogue has produced deliberative learning. Including measures of post content changed conclusions about the impact of poster status on idea selection, and revealed considerable consensus on issue salience across organisational levels and geographic regions. Posts selected for recognition were aligned disproportionately with cues from organisation elites but also reflected collective preoccupations. Finally, extended deliberation appears to have improved discussion quality and, in some instances, led to productive reframing of the problems discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews information from a quarter century of surveys, focusing on such topics as the view of public funding of the arts, differences among group attitudes toward the arts, and support/opposition views on federal arts funding. Addresses problems with surveys and investments in data collection and analysis. (CMK)

Explores Black and White attendance in American art events. Blacks generally participated more in Afro-American events, Whites in Euro-American. Differences greatest in public consumption, smaller in private. Assesses cultural convergence and competition theories with survey data. Discusses need for middle-class minorities to cultivate membership in both cultures. (Author/TES)

Eger and Hjerm's methodological critique of our 2016 study of Americans' sentiments towards the nation asserts that the latent class (LCA) models employed in our paper did not fit the data and that consequently, the paper fails to demonstrate the existence of multiple varieties of American nationalism. We challenge E&H's analyses and argue that their conclusions stem from erroneous assumptions, both about our models and about best practices for applied LCA‐based research. Based on a review of their results and additional analyses carried out with their preferred measures, we demonstrate that our model choices were justified and our 2016 findings are robust. In so doing, we offer a critique of unreflective adherence to inappropriate model fit criteria that ignores theory and concerns over the parsimony, interpretability, construct validity and external validity of model results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sociological theory and historical precedent suggest that pandemics engender scapegoating of outgroups, but fail to specify how the ethnoracial boundaries defining outgroups are drawn. Using a survey experiment that primed half of the respondents (California registered voters) with questions about COVID‐19 during April 2020, we ask how the pandemic influenced attitudes toward immigration, diversity and affect toward Asian Americans. In the aggregate, the COVID prime did not affect attitudes toward immigrants, but did reduce support for policies opening a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and reduced appreciation of California's diversity. Respondents reported rarely feeling anger or fear toward Asian Americans, and rates were unaffected by the COVID prime. A non‐experimental comparison between attitudes toward immigrants in September 2019 and April 2020 found a positive change, driven by change among Asian‐American and Latino respondents. The results provide selective support for the proposition that pandemics engender xenophobia. At least in April 2020 in California, increased bias crimes against Asian Americans more likely reflected politicians' authorization of scapegoating than broad‐based racial antagonism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews research indicating that formal educational attainment is the major predictor of a person's involvement in the arts and cultural activities. Speculates on the importance of aesthetic education to the individual's intellectual development and economic welfare. Looks at the school's role in providing equal aesthetic opportunity. Proposes further research questions. (SJL)

VISUAL SHOCK: A HISTORY OF CONTROVERSIES IN AMERICAN CULTURE BY MICHAEL KAMMEN Alfred A. Knopf, 450 pages, $35.00 GOOD AND PLENTY: THE CREATIVE SUCCESSES OF AMERICAN ARTS FUNDING BY TYLER [...]