I have previously discussed the four questions facing applied sociologists. These questions refer to how we utilise sociological theories, methods and principles in our work, and the challenges and opportunities we encounter practising sociology outside academia. In brief, these questions are: 

1. Sociology for What? That is, why are we doing sociology and what are the "real life" constraints in which we produce our work? 
2. Sociology for Whom? Who are our users or audiences and how do we tailor our outputs for different stakeholders and clients? 
3. Sociology for Where?  What place-related issues do we encounter in delivering sociological solutions for communities and clients? 
4. Sociology How? How do we actually carry out our research, activism or activities? 

My post today for Sociology at Work addresses all these questions, through a specific focus: what is it like when applied sociologists work with differnent clients? As I mentioned previously on the S@W blog, there are not enough first-hand accounts of how applied sociologists navigate their work. Today I want to open up a conversation about how we manage our client relationships.

This post starts with an overview of the client work that applied sociologists carry out, by demonstrating how applied sociology differs from the industry projects undertaken by academics. I then share some of my general experiences working with clients in three contexts: as a researcher in the public service; as a private contractor; and as a consultant running my own business. I draw on my examples to reflect on the challenges and rewards of working as an applied sociologist. Later posts will focus on other aspects of applied work with clients, such as the types of sociological activities we carry out for clients in different industries.

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As two men were arrested this week for allegedly conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack, the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was not interested in talking about the causes of terrorism. He said: "I think, though, this is not a time to commit sociology, if I can use an expression... The root causes of terrorism is terrorists." 

Here's two introductory references if you're interested in the sociology of political violence: Political Terrorism by Alex Schmid and Albert Jongman, and one of the best resources I've read, The Psychology of Terrorism by John Horgan.

Link to news story via The Sociological Cinema.

Dr Martin Luther King Jr was born on the 15th of January 1929. Our American colleagues and others might know that King had a degree in sociology and theology (of course!). As the Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Sociology notes, King remains "a public sociologist par excellence." In celebration of the passing birthday of this pre-eminent sociologist and progressive activist, I made you this meme with one of my favourite quotes by King. Here, he argues that education is not simply about accumulating knowledge, but rather to develop a sense of morality based upon principles of social justice and then acting upon these values.

As an applied and public sociologist, we can see how Luther's sociological training influenced his "change management" leadership style, which David Frantz describes as:

building a vision, networking, communicating powerfully, identifying and dealing with differences, creating leverage to motivate people, and conceptualizing alternative strategic paths. (p.157)

If you're still studying sociology and you wonder what you can do with a sociology degree, think about King as a model for what applied sociologists can achieve outside academia.

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What are the roles that applied sociologists take on? What skills and methods do they apply in order to carry out their work? What workplace issues do they face? How do they manage their professional challenges and celebrate their triumphs? 

As I've previously written here on Sociology at Work, there is a small but dedicated scholarship on the general principles of applied sociology. Yet there are not enough first-hand accounts about how sociologists experience and carry out their client work. Our online journal Working Notes is trying to fill this void, by including profiles on applied sociologists and their research, activism and general adventures working outside academia. We need more of these stories to demystify the work we do.

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Data is necessary for robust social science but it is very expensive to collect. Current regulations limit the ability for public servants and researchers sharing their data with the public. What does the open data movement mean for applied sociologists? Here's two brief case studies on what's happening in the European Union and in the USA.

Open Data in the EU 

Towards the end of last year, The European Union unveiled new policies to make  public service data freely available. In December, Jonathan Gray wrote in The Guardian:

The announcement contained some very strong language in support of open data. Open data is the new gold, the fertile soil out of which a new generation of applications and services will grow. In a networked age, we all depend on data, and opening it up is the best way to realise its value, to maximise its potential.

There was little ambiguity about the Commissioner's support for an "open by default" position for public sector information, nor for her support for the open data movement, for "those of us who believe that the best way to get value from data is to give it away".

Gray raises several thorny issues about how the Open Data project will be administrated, including the legalities, all of which will take a long time to negotiate. I see other issues regarding research ethics, confidentiality, intellectual property and the misuse of data by people who may not be properly trained to handle it. What type of long-term effects will this project have on how research is funded in the future? Will it limit alternative data collection processes in any way? These questions require scientific input and consultation.

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Stay inspired, colleagues: What can you do with a sociology degree? Useful, world-transforming things!

Source: Collective Praxis via ZeeZee's Corner. Update 21/09/12: David H. Kessel has a version of this graphic that you can print off as a A4 poster.

Here's what's wrong with infographics pushed out by marketing firms: Gyro and Forbes have put out an infographic summarising a "study" of 543 business execs in the USA. The findings have been published in Mashable. As the image below shows, 98% of these execs check their email during their leisure time. The infographic celebrates that working while not at work is seen as "freedom" by these business-types. This is a good thing! It's research, folks!  Follow the links to see the marketing firm that carried out this survey.

New technologies certainly provide a wide suite of platforms from which to access our work 24/7. Such technology can be particularly useful while travelling or while otherwise "on the go". Yet this infographic normalises the idea that work and technology should dominate our lives. The data presented lack a critique of this behaviour. Instead, the ever-shrinking work-life balance experienced by execs is presented as "flexibility" and "empowerment". This infographic, like so many countless before it, has proven a relatively effective marketing strategy. To date, over 2,000 people have shared this link via Mashable alone. Like traditional media that also presents survey data and marketing surveys as "facts" and oh-so-impressive "science", social media makes it easy to share slick graphic designs that lack context and social critique.

I see that sociologists could reach a wider audience by  presenting their research as infographics that display socially conscious and scientifically valid results. As a discipline, we do not make good use of visual methods, and hence infographics shared via social media seem to be dominated by marketing firms that partner with well-known publishers. What do you make of this infographic? How can sociology adopt visual methods to make our findings more digestible to broad audiences?

Australia will implement an anti-racism strategy from July 2012. In this post I sketch out some ideas as to how applied sociology might contribute to this process. The 2011 Mapping Social Cohesion Report shows that 14% of all Australians have experienced racial or religious discrimination. Race Discrimination Commissioner Dr Helen Szoke (below) noted to SBS News that government and other areas of public service do not reflect Australia’s multicultural make up:

“We know that there’s an unconscious bias that exists in selection processes in employment, and you would have to say: ‘Where is the multicultural colour and look and style in the boardrooms and in positions of seniority across both government and the public service?’”

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has put out a discussion paper outlining their anti-racism vision. They are seeking for the public to get involved by commenting on the paper, attending public discussion forums and participating in the online survey, which I have done.

^{Images: HREOC and SBS News.}