Dr. Michael Sosteric, Author at The Socjournal

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So, in an interview Bette Midler said that she was disappointment with the risque way young Hollywood tartlets were parading their bodies around. She specifically targeted little elf Ariana Grande when she said, and I quote, It’s always surprising to …

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The Socjourn has some new features! New features include: A front end registration and login system (login page / registration page) complete with author application process. Front end profile management Front end author listing Front end submission process (submission page). …

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This is a poem for the children of the world who suffer endlessly in silence because the adults in their life can’t get their proverbial shit together. Patience little ones. The day is coming fast when the silent endurance of this world’s suffering children will be nothing but a sad, bitter, memory of a long-gone hellish stew.

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For a scientists, citations are key. If your papers get cited by others, the assumption is your work is valuable. But is this a safe assumption? This article questions the validity of citation counting and finally concludes that the measurement is neither a reliable nor a valid measurement of a scholar’s “impact” on the world.

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Humanity used to believe in God, but now they believe in Darwin. This is a bit of an extreme statement, since most people still believe in God, but the sentiment is accurate. Darwin’s theories of the MECHANISMS of evolution has had a major impact on the social, emotional, and even spiritual fabric of this planet. There is a problem though. In a lot of ways Darwin’s theories seem more like canon, or ideology, than good science. This article explores early awareness of the ideological nature of Darwinian theory, and provides some suggestions on how scientists can break free of dogma that has more to do with religion than with good science.

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What is money? What is the nature of money? This is a problem that has occupied Sociologists since Karl Marx wrote his magnum opus, Das Kapital. If you go by Karl M’s massive, or by any of the many Economics 100 texts (which often don’t even bother to define money), money is a mystified, magical thing that requires incredible effort to understand. In reality though that’s not the case. Money is simply abstracted labour, pure and simple. Once you understand that, then you have the key to understanding the whole of modern society, including the pernicious problems we all face, problems caused by the easy way money allows us to accumulate labour.

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Recent discussions of cutback to our universities in Alberta, the neo-liberal led assault on post-secondary education, led one colleague of mine to decry the new instrumental rationality that pervades the social fabric. These days all things great and small come …

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The following little editorial is a response to an article in our local small town newspaper, the St. Albert Gazette. They write a response to current issues called “Our View” and in the one I am responding to, they make …

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What does Psychology, Sociology, Behaviourism, and emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual abuse have to do with each other? A concern with uplifting the human being, transcending pain and suffering, and moving towards holistic health and wellbeing. Or not. Sometimes it is just about command, control, and fitting people into the System. But not here, and not from now on. The winds of change are blowing, a hurricane is coming, and no amount of self delusion, self deception, or social propaganda are going to turn those winds away.

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Of interest to Sociologists and students is the possibility of technology to break down class barriers. Here’s an interesting paper from the journal IRRODL that discusses the revolutionary potential of “technology enhanced learning” in developing nations. Food for thought, especially considering the revolutionary potential of Moodles, Moocs, and so on. Check it out.

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