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Topic Review
Society 5.0.
Society 5.0. has for finality to strengthen the potential of cyber-physical-social relations in promoting the improvement of the quality of life of all people through a super smart society.
  • 87.1K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Industry 4.0
The concept of Industry 4.0 is often associated with the fourth industrial revolution industrial, given the profound implications for the productive paradigm. But what exactly is Industry 4.0? Industry 4.0 emerged in Germany in 2011, with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of German industry. In short, it applied digital technologies to production, in a close association between economy and digital technology, resulting in innovation through the integration between the real and the virtual world (Cyber-Physical Systems) in industrial activity and production.
  • 49.5K
  • 15 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Organizational Culture
Organizational culture may be considered as the shared way of being, thinking and acting in a collective of coordinated people with reciprocal expectations; it is shaped, disseminated, learned and changed over time, providing some predictability in every organization.
  • 46.5K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Social Conflict
Social conflict refers to the tension, disagreement, or antagonism between individuals or groups within a society arising from opposing interests, values, or actions. It is a fundamental concept in sociology, highlighting the role of power, resources, and societal structures in shaping conflicts that can range from interpersonal disputes to large-scale social movements.
  • 43.6K
  • 26 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Sustainability Literacy
Sustainability is an increasingly central concept, both in social practice and in scientific, economic and even political fields. The promotion of sustainability literacy is critical in enabling informed civic participation.
  • 43.1K
  • 04 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Agency (Sociology)
In sociology, the concept of agency refers to the capacity of individuals to act independently and make choices that shape their lives and the social structures around them. Agency emphasizes the idea that individuals are not merely passive recipients of societal influences or structural forces but are active participants who can exercise their will, make decisions, and initiate actions.
  • 34.9K
  • 25 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Constructivist Epistemology
Constructivist epistemology is a branch in philosophy of science maintaining that scientific knowledge is constructed by the scientific community, who seek to measure and construct models of the natural world. Natural science therefore consists of mental constructs that aim to explain sensory experience and measurements. According to constructivists, the world is independent of human minds, but knowledge of the world is always a human and social construction. Constructivism opposes the philosophy of objectivism, embracing the belief that a human can come to know the truth about the natural world not mediated by scientific approximations with different degrees of validity and accuracy. According to constructivists there is no single valid methodology in science, but rather a diversity of useful methods.
  • 31.1K
  • 28 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Socialization
Despite the plethora of definitions of socialization, this process of formation of the social human is a key concept by allowing the interconnection between society and culture.
  • 28.9K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Sociology
Sociology is a science with specificities that can offer a more rigorous knowledge of social reality. But what is sociology? There is a wide variety of definitions and it is not easy to define them directly. It is an extremely ambitious and broad theme of which we will make a brief presentation based on Ferreira & Serpa (2017), Serpa & Ferreira (2018), and Serpa & Ferreira (2019).
  • 25.6K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Inequalities in Sociology
The digital is increasingly present in everyday life, with a deep and growing social, political and economic impact, and society 5.0 is one of the possible attempts for this materialisation. However, the digital is not experienced by everyone in the same way, so this digitalisation of societies will have varied implications for individuals, namely the transformation of differences in access and digital literacy into new inequalities. Sociology – as the scientific knowledge of the reciprocal influence of interactions between individuals and the influence of the social context – will have a heuristic potential for understanding this reality. Sociology will, thus, take on, concurrently with other sciences, a relevant role concerning the subsequent development of a more balanced society in this digital dimension, increasingly important in defining the social position of the individual, and, thus, will add to a development that materialises the potential of this digital society.
  • 24.9K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Digitalisation of organisations and COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic caused profound shifts in the functioning of organisations, with the increased mobilisation of the implementation of digitalisation processes in the activities of the members of these coordinated collective units. In this perspective, based on our academic experience and recent literature, this paper offers some dimensions that seem to us relevant to ponder with special urgency, and that will shape both organisations in the near future and an organisational culture that is, in many cases, renewed.
  • 20.2K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Sustainability Digital Innovations
Sustainability digital innovations is an increasingly present element in contemporary societies. This entry is a reflection on sustainability digital innovations within the context of Society 5.0 and the inherent heuristic potentials of this relationship.
  • 19.3K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Sociology and History
Sociology and History as consolidated scientific and academic projects have maintained a peculiar and paradoxical relationship. The growing disciplinary and subdisciplinary specialisation of these two sciences poses relevant epistemological and methodological challenges in order to face potential situations of isolation, fragmentation and enable the apology of an interdisciplinary perspective characterised by the historicity of social structures, actions and senses.
  • 18.6K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
List of Socialist States
Several past and present states have declared themselves socialist states or in the process of building socialism. The majority of self-declared socialist countries have been Marxist–Leninist or inspired by it, following the model of the Soviet Union or some form of people's or national democracy. They share a common definition of socialism and they refer to themselves as socialist states on the road to communism with a leading vanguard party structure, hence they are often called communist states. Meanwhile, the countries in the non-Marxist–Leninist category represent a wide variety of different interpretations of the term socialism and in many cases the countries do not define what they mean by it. Modern uses of the term socialism are wide in meaning and interpretation. Because a sovereign state is a different entity from the political party that rules that state at any given time, a country may be ruled by a socialist party without the country itself claiming to be socialist or the socialist party being written into the constitution. This has occurred in both one-party and multi-party political systems. In particular, there are numerous cases of social democratic and democratic socialist parties winning elections in liberal democratic states and ruling for a number of terms until a different party wins the elections. While socialist parties have won many elections around the world and most elections in the Nordic countries, many of those countries have not adopted socialism as a state ideology or written the party into the constitution. Several countries with liberal democratic constitutions mention socialism. India is a liberal democracy that has been ruled by non-socialist parties on many occasions, but its constitution makes references to socialism. Certain other countries such as Croatia, Hungary, Myanmar, and Poland have constitutions that make references to their communist and socialist past by recognizing or condemning it, but without claiming to be socialist in the present.
  • 18.5K
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Social Order
Social order refers to the structured arrangement of norms, values, roles, and institutions within a society that guides individuals' behavior, maintains stability, and regulates interactions. It encompasses the established patterns of social organization and governance that provide cohesion, predictability, and coherence to social life, shaping the dynamics of social relations and collective behavior.
  • 18.4K
  • 02 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Ivan Illich
Ivan Illich (1926-2002) was a very well-known author, mainly in the 1970s, for his provocative publications, such as Deschooling Society (1970), where he proposed the eradication of the School as an institution.
  • 18.4K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Social System
A social system refers to a complex network of interrelated social entities, such as individuals, groups, organizations, and institutions, that interact and influence one another within a shared environment or society. These interactions are guided by norms, values, roles, and patterns of behavior, which collectively shape the functioning and structure of the social system. Social systems exhibit patterns of organization, stability, and adaptation, serving various functions and purposes within society.
  • 17.9K
  • 02 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Social Sciences and COVID-19
This entry seeks to provide an answer to the question of what is the relevance of Social Sciences for understanding the multiple implications and challenges posed by the COVID-19 contagion pandemic.
  • 16.2K
  • 16 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Social Theory
Sciences and societies are increasing their demands of contributions from social theorists. International programs of research strengthen now the priorities of social impact and co-creation. Social impact means the presentation of evidence that scientific studies are contributing to social improvements, for instance, oriented to the UN Sustainable Development Goals; in order to develop and evaluate social impact, all sciences need the dialogue and collaboration of social theories. Co-creation means to create knowledge through dialogue between scientists and citizens, what also needs social theories. This demand is generating an increasing relevance of those social theories able to make these contributions, most of them, elaborated by networks and teams of different individuals from diverse disciplines. Traditional social theories created in the 19th and 20th centuries, mostly developed by individuals, provided important elements that are now included in the new theoretical process. 
  • 15.4K
  • 22 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Social Evolution
Social evolution refers to the gradual and continuous change in social structures, behaviors, and institutions over time. It encompasses the development and transformation of societies, including advancements in technology, shifts in cultural norms, and alterations in political and economic systems, often driven by factors such as innovation, conflict, and interaction with the environment. This concept underpins various theories in sociology and anthropology, offering insights into how societies adapt and evolve in response to internal and external pressures.
  • 15.1K
  • 26 Jan 2024
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