Adriana Mica Livres

The way sociology frames the relation between formality and informality is not only complex and multifaceted, but has also evolved over time. This volume offers contributions by international authors that illustrate distinct types of theoretical framings and present various sites of inquiry. It proposes a typology comprising: the sociology of informally embedded formality, the sociology of formally embedded informality, the sociology of the interaction between formality and informality and the sociology of the emergence and transformation of formality and informality.

Focusing on the sociology of unintended consequences, the book explores three key analytical frameworks, highlighting their semantic changes and theoretical revivals. By examining the use of protective headgear in boxing, it illustrates a possibilistic turn in both the specific study of unintended outcomes and the broader field of sociology. Adriana Mica's insightful analysis offers a nuanced understanding of how these dynamics shape social research and theory.

This book illustrates the applicability of the seminal and controversial metaphor of the «invisible hand» in modern sociological theory. It shows that sociologists have long been part of a field mainly associated with economists and political philosophers. Though unlike the framing that builds directly on Adam Smith, sociological theory focuses on undesirable and perverse outcomes. Furthermore, the sociological angle favors the explanation of invisible hand-like mechanisms as contingent upon social structures and broader processes. Thus, it goes beyond its classical formulation in terms of interdependence, interaction and aggregation of individual actions. This book gathers contributions of remarkable authors who are linked directly either with the invisible hand metaphor, with the spontaneous order phenomenon or with the unintended consequences issue and aims to describe the traditional and contemporary applicability of the sociological framing of the invisible hand for social sciences.

This book is an attempt to investigate the mechanisms governing the evolution of scandals over mass protests in communist Romania. It could also be framed as a study of the social-psychology of regime preservation. The main inquiry presented herein deals with the manner in which Romanian communist authorities framed acts of mass protest. The author investigates the shaming practices and the ritualization of the party moots on mass protests which followed the outburst of such like scandals. The book puts forth a hypothesis, that the dynamics of these processes are determined by the unfolding and outcome of three phenomena: the attribution of fault, the admittance of guilt/fault and – to a certain extent – the moot bullying.

This collection of essays aims to revive the sociological debate on the unintended, unanticipated and unexpected consequences of social action, as started by Robert K. Merton in a classic study of 1936. The contributing authors provide insights on both Merton's work and the reception it received in the academia. They also go beyond his original formulations to encompass new theoretical perspectives and empirical interests that have emerged in the intellectual circumstances different from, or opposed to, his functionalist theory. The contributing authors delve into fields as diverse as education, law, politics, financial markets, consumption, risks and accidents, systemic transformation, organizations and institutional work, innovations, and Polish studies.