Editorial

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This study estimates the prevalence of non-take-up of social assistance using administrative data from the Canton of Bern. Regional variation in non-take-up rates is then used to study the contextual effects of social norms with respect to welfare receipt legitimacy. Social norms are proxied with the degree of urbanity, language regions and communal voter shares of left- and right-wing parties. Multiple regression analysis, extended by several robustness checks, suggests that social norms do indeed have an impact on take-up behavior.</abstract>

Non-Take-Up of Social Assistance: Regional Differences and the Role of Social Norms

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The article presents the empirical findings of a multi-site ethnography in two organizations in Swiss street-level bureaucracy. We examined both a municipal child welfare office and the police force of a medium-sized city. The focus was on the question as to whether and how ethnic differentiation takes place in such public agencies and what role it plays at work. The findings suggest that un/doing ethnicity follows an instrumental logic and that it is executed in manifold and ambivalent ways.</abstract>

Un/Doing Ethnicity in Intervening Swiss Street-Level Bureaucracy. A Police Service and a Child Welfare Service – an Ethnographic Perspective

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">In previous research, both positive and negative relationships between social status and prosociality have been reported. We argue that the nature of the observed status can explain these divergent findings. In an experimental study with technical and commercial apprentices, we show that objective status can have a positive effect on prosocial behaviour and that subjective status can have a negative effect when controlling for objective status.</abstract>

Objective Status, Subjective Status and Prosociality of Swiss Apprentices

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Two explanations for discrimination against Muslims in Switzerland are threat to secularization and xenophobia. We conducted lost letter experiments and find that distinctively religious Muslim groups are indeed discriminated against, although not to a larger degree than Christian sects. Moreover, discrimination against Muslims decreases when there is no reference to religiousness. In sum, the discrimination against Muslims seems mainly to be a result of distinctive religious characteristics attributed to this group.</abstract>

Islamophobia or Threat to Secularization? Lost Letter Experiments on the Discrimination Against Muslims in an Urban Area of Switzerland

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This article offers a social science analysis of the resilience concept’s success and common sense uses. Based on a sample of letters from the readers of the French author Boris Cyrulnik’s self-help best-sellers, the article first depicts the characteristics of the attitude of the letters’ authors towards Cyrulnik and what they expect from him. Second, it proposes to understand resilience as a language game used to communicate about suffering and then analyses why certain readers feel resilient while others don’t. It concludes that this way of reacting to adversity (i. e., tapping one’s inner resources, never giving up) is particularly desirable in a context where autonomy has become more prestigious.</abstract>

”Whatever Does Not Kill Me Makes Me Stronger”: A Sociological Analysis of Uses of the Concept of Resilience. The Case of Boris Cyrulnik’s Self-Help Books Readers

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 49 (2023): Issue 3 (November 2023)

Volume 49 (2023): Issue 2 (July 2023)

Volume 49 (2023): Issue 1 (March 2023)

Volume 48 (2022): Issue 3 (November 2022)

Volume 48 (2022): Issue 2 (July 2022)

Volume 48 (2022): Issue 1 (March 2022)

Volume 47 (2021): Issue 3 (November 2021)

Volume 47 (2021): Issue 2 (July 2021)

Volume 47 (2021): Issue 1 (March 2021)

Volume 46 (2020): Issue 3 (November 2020)

Volume 46 (2020): Issue 2 (July 2020)

Volume 46 (2020): Issue 1 (March 2020)

Volume 45 (2019): Issue 3 (November 2019)

Volume 45 (2019): Issue 2 (July 2019)

Volume 45 (2019): Issue 1 (March 2019)

Volume 44 (2018): Issue 3 (November 2018)

Volume 44 (2018): Issue 2 (July 2018)

Volume 44 (2018): Issue 1 (March 2018)

Volume 43 (2017): Issue 3 (November 2017)

Volume 43 (2017): Issue 2 (July 2017)

Volume 43 (2017): Issue 1 (March 2017)

Volume 42 (2016): Issue 3 (November 2016)

Volume 42 (2016): Issue 2 (July 2016)

Volume 42 (2016): Issue 1 (March 2016)

Swiss Journal of Sociology

The Swiss Journal of Sociology is a generalist journal with the aim to advance academic discussions and scientific knowledge in sociology. It was established in 1975 on the initiative of the Swiss Sociological Association. It is published three times a year by the Swiss Sociological Association, with the support of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences.  The journal is the leading platform for sociological debates in Switzerland and on Swiss society and its developments. It publishes work on the theory, methods, practice, and history of sociology. Although a central aim of the journal is to reflect the state of the discipline in Switzerland, articles will be accepted irrespective of the author's nationality or whether the submitted work focuses on this country.  The journal is understood as a representative medium of Swiss sociology and therefore encourages contributions from all research areas and from a plurality of theoretical schools and methodological approaches. It neither favors nor excludes any research orientation but particularly aims to promote communication between different perspectives. It publishes innovative and methodologically rigorous articles contributing to the progress of the state of research in sociology. In order to fulfil this aim, all submissions will be refereed anonymously by at least two reviewers. The journal uses a double-blind peer review process.  The journal does not have article processing charges (APCs) nor article submission charges. Rejection rate:   65%   Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 