Living a vegan life: an analysis of the conversion process to veganism in Brazil and Canada
Felipe da LuzColomé (2024)
Contemporânea, 14: 1-36
Resumo. O artigo analisa o processo de conversão ao veganismo. Para isso, com base na adaptação de um modelo de análise de conversão religiosa, discutem-se as diferentes etapas do processo de conversão ao veganismo com base em entrevistas realizadas com adeptos no Brasil e Canadá, atentando para as motivações e valores mobilizados pelos atores e como eles justificam a sua adesão a esse modo de vida. As conclusões apontam que o processo de conversão ao veganismo é fortemente marcado por operações de racionalização e reflexão sobre o sofrimento animal, que são articuladas por sentimentos morais e emoções. Ademais, ele é caracterizado pela politização crescente dos discursos e práticas que integram esse modo de vida.
Abstract. The article analyzes the process of conversion to veganism. Based on the adaptation of a religious conversion analysis model, the different stages of the conversion process to veganism are discussed drawing upon on interviews carried out with adherents in Brazil and Canada. Thus, the article explores the motivations and values mobilized by the actors and how they justify their adherence to this way of life. The conclusions indicate that the process of conversion to veganism is strongly marked by operations of rationalization and reflection on animal suffering, which are articulated by moral sentiments and emotions, as well it is characterized by the increasing politicization of discourses and practices that integrate this way of life.
This is a preprint article, it offers immediate access but has not been peer reviewed.
Abstract. The article proposes a conceptual framework to account for initiatives aimed at identifying and managing intangible assets. In contrast to recent work proposing a narrow definition of assetization rooted in a financial definition of assets, we highlight the variety of forms of assetization. We conceptualize intangible assetization as a process of transforming things into intangible assets. Intangible assetization requires some work and we construct four types of operations: the identification of what can be an intangible asset, the managization (the introduction of some management) of the identified assets, their commercialization (the search for ways of generating revenue from them), and finally their balance-sheetization (their inclusion in the balance sheet). Each of these is a trial of explicitness (Muniesa & Linhardt, 2011) that is enacting notably a certain conception of the accounting entity. This conceptual framework enables us to analyze an initiative by the French government, which in 2007 set up an in-house consultancy agency to promote the management of public intangible assets. Our analysis is based on 42 interviews and a collection of documents, from the inception in 2006, to 2021
The promised qualities of algorithmic operations in HRM: Morphology of the candidate-job matching qualification convention
Agathe Fonsagrives (2025)
@GRH, online first
Résumé. Certains recruteurs délèguent la présélection à des algorithmes quantifiant l’adéquation candidat-poste. Bien que les éditeurs promettent la neutralité comme qualité phare, l’objectivité de la quantification fait néanmoins débat. Contrairement à l’idée que la qualité d’un service résulte des attentes des clients, le conventionnalisme cherche à comprendre quel est le sens socio-économique de la qualité. Pour analyser la construction de la qualité de l’opération d’appariement RH algorithmique, nous décrivons la morphologie de la convention gouvernant la qualification au sein d’un petit groupe d’adopteurs. Un an durant, nous avons collecté chez un éditeur de logiciels de recrutement différents types de données que nous avons exploitées au sein d’une analyse qualitative reprenant les composantes morphologiques des conventions de qualification de Gomez (1994). Même si elles s’ancrent dans les préoccupations techniques et commerciales des éditeurs (productivité, objectivité), les qualités de l’opération d’appariement RH algorithmique évoluent néanmoins sous l’effet du jugement qualitatif des clients, ouvrant ainsi la voie à une potentielle meilleure prise en compte des attentes des recruteurs (adaptabilité, maturité, pertinence et transparence). Avec son prisme conventionnaliste, notre travail se démarque des nombreux travaux où la quantification en GRH est uniquement envisagée sous un angle technique.
Abstract. Some recruiters delegate pre-selection to algorithms that quantify the candidate-position match. Although publishers promise neutrality as a key quality, the objectivity of quantification is nevertheless a matter of debate. Contrary to the idea that the quality of a service results from customer expectations, conventionalism seeks to understand the socio-economic meaning of quality. To analyze the quality construction of the algorithmic HR matching operation, we describe the morphology of the convention governing qualification within a small group of adopters. Over the course of a year, we collected various types of data from a recruitment software publisher, which we used in a qualitative analysis based on the morphological components of Gomez’s (1994) qualification conventions. Although rooted in the publishers’ technical and commercial concerns (productivity, objectivity), the qualities of the algorithmic HR matching operation nonetheless evolve under the effect of customers’ qualitative judgment, opening the way to a potential better consideration of recruiters’ expectations (adaptability, maturity, relevance and transparency). With its conventionalist prism, our work stands out from the many works where quantification in HRM is considered solely from a technical angle.
In: Halonen, Maija/Albrecht, Moritz/Kuhmonen, Irene (eds.), Rescaling Sustainability Transitions. Unfolding the Spatialities of Power Relations, Governance Arrangements, and Socio-Economic Systems. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Open access, pp. 95-118
Abstract. In the midst of the climate crisis, growing demands for an acceleration of Europe’s transition to renewable energy have led to the institutionalization and “upscaling” of disparate and local practices of community energy. This chapter examines how new laws for “Renewable Energy Communities” (RECs) have so far been constructed and construed by an array of different technical experts who are key intermediaries for the diffusion of this legal innovation in the Portuguese energy sector. We enquire into how this new object has or has not been envisioned as a desirable and realistic response to the challenges of energy transition and climate change, and how it has been shaped by different imaginaries, discourses and social representations. In particular, we examine the spatial and temporal dimensions of these imaginaries and how expert actors anchor their visions in relation to “the common good.” By focusing on the spatial, temporal and moral dimensions of different expert representations of RECs, we aim to foreground the contingency of legal innovation and the critical moments where the polysemy of RECs and the plurality of scalar possibilities are opened up or closed down.
Extract: “4 The Social Totality in Practice These issues of distinguishing holism, individualism, liberalism and republicanism are crucial for mapping the “conceptual framework” (UNESCO, 2015, p. 10) that constitutes the dynamic notion of global citizenship education, which itself deserves “conceptual clarity” (Tang, 2015, p. 6). Education professionals, whatever their specific logic of actions, are to a large extent the guarantors of “a conception of the collective good […] in an individualistic society [whose] definition of the common good is the imperative of ensuring the autonomy of each person” (Descombes, 2013, p. 154). In sociology, Boltanski and Thévenot’s approach makes it possible to explore two aspects mentioned above. One aspect is the aspirations of individuals imbued with individualistic morality, as evidenced by the ‘worlds’ (civic, domestic, industrial, inspired, opinion, market) typified around Smith, Rousseau, Saint Augustine, etc. The other aspect is the modes of construction of what is common, based on individual interactions within situations where the hierarchy of beings in presence – and sometimes the definition of these situations – is played out, since people, with similar critical skills to sociologists’, can question social reality on the basis of a ‘world’ or ‘city’ as a typified reserve of topoi prevalent in a given society (Boltanski & Thévenot, 2006).” (p. 35)
Abstract. The objective of this article is to analyze the legislative procedure and arguments for and against the approval of Convention n. 189 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2011, and the “PEC das Domésticas” [Domestic Workers Constitutional Amendment Bill] in the Brazilian National Congress in 2013, ultimately enacted and regulated in 2015. We also examine the possible factors associated with why legal parity for domestic workers was achieved only at that moment, and not earlier. The methodology involves analyzing documents from debates at the ILO and in the Brazilian National Congress. The findings demonstrate a debate opposing economic justifications on one side and social and ethical considerations on the other. We also highlight a set of six factors associated with the delayed achievement of parity.
Résumé. Cet article entend analyser le processus de la Convention 189 de l’Organisation Internationale du Travail (OIT) en 2011 et les arguments pour et contre son approbation, ainsi que la proposition d’amendement constitutionnel concernant le travail domestique, nomée “PEC das Domésticas”, approuvée par le Congrès national brésilien en 2013 et réglementée en 2015. Ce travail cherche aussi à examiner les facteurs ayant pu contribuer à ce que cette quasi-égalité juridique des travailleures domestiques n’ait pas été mise en place plus tôt. La méthodologie utilisée est celle de l’analyse des documents produits lors des débats à l’OIT et au Congrès national. Les résultats montrent qu’il existe un conflit entre les arguments ancrés sur des justifications économiques et ceux basés sur des justifications sociales et éthiques. Ils indiquent également un ensemble de six facteurs associés à cette égalité juridique tardive.
Resumo. O objetivo do artigo é analisar a tramitação e os argumentos favoráveis e contrários à aprovação da Convenção n. 189 da Organização Internacional do Trabalho (OIT), em 2011, e da “PEC das Domésticas”, no Congresso Nacional brasileiro, em 2013, regulamentada em 2015. Também busca examinar os possíveis fatores associados para essa quase equiparação legal dos trabalhadores domésticos ter se dado apenas naquele momento, e não anteriormente. Para isso, a metodologia utilizada é a análise de documentos produzidos durante os debates na OIT e no Congresso Nacional. Os resultados demonstram a disputa entre argumentos centrados em justificações, de um lado, econômicas e, de outro, social e ética. Indicam, ainda, um conjunto de seis fatores associados para a equiparação tardia.
Resumen. El objetivo del artículo es analizar el procedimiento y los argumentos a favor y en contra de la aprobación de la Convención n. 189 de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), en 2011, y de la “PEC das Domésticas”, en el Congreso Nacional brasilero, en 2013, reglamentado en 2015. También busca examinar los posibles factores asociados para que esa casi equiparación legal de los trabajadores domésticos haya pasado solo en aquel momento y no antes. Para esto, la metodología utilizada es el análisis de documentos producidos durante los debates en la OIT y en el Congreso Nacional. Los resultados demuestran la disputa entre argumentos centrados en justificaciones, por un lado económicas, y por otro sociales y éticas. También indican un conjunto de seis factores asociados a la equiparación tardía.
October 17, 2024 First talk of the Canadian Sociological Association Economic Sociology RC 2024-25 Speaker Series on “Confronting Contemporary Capitalism”.
Olga Bronnikova, Sofia Gavrilova & Tamara Margvelashvili (2025)
Problems of Post-Communism, Open access
Abstract. This article explores the coexistence of the Russian émigré community and Georgian civil society in Tbilisi and the tensions between them since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It analyzes how these interactions reflect broader post-colonial dynamics, particularly focusing on the differing political grammars and histories that shape both communities. Drawing from extensive fieldwork, the study highlights the complexities of this encounter, emphasizing the influence of historical narratives, collective action, and the post-Soviet socio-political context. The paper uncovers the nuances of visibility, integration, and mutual perceptions, ultimately contributing to the broader debates on post-socialist societies, migration, and civil society development.
Extract: “Conceptualizing Civil Society by Different Grammars of Collective Action in Former Soviet Spaces The current research draws on a very specific mixture of political theory, sociology, and migration studies. First, this research looks into the way civil society in the former Soviet countries develops, and what are the grammars of collective action (civic, liberal, domestic) (Thévenot Citation2020) that started to develop in Russia and Georgia after the breakup of the Soviet Union. As Laurent Thévenot points out, when we communicate disagreement, which is often the foundation of collective political action, we need to rely on common forms in order to be understood by others. Pragmatic sociology, or the sociology of conventions, proposes to pay attention to the way in which intimate experiences and personal concerns are transformed into a common language that makes sense to others.” (p. 4)
Eva Cerio, Alain Debenedetti & Sophie Rieunier (2025)
Qualitative Market Research, 28(1), pp. 58-78
Abstract Purpose. Peer-to-peer (P2P) secondhand resale platforms (SRP) are competitive places where different value systems beyond market values interact. This study aims to investigate the conflicts that may arise in interactions between users on SRP and the extent to which these conflicts are (ir)resolved, by drawing on economies of worth theory. Design/methodology/approach. The study takes a qualitative and interpretative approach to examine 22 active users on P2P resales platforms such as Vinted, including in-depth interviews. Following the Straussian view of grounded theory, the study uses constant comparison (open, axial and selective coding) to analyze data on SRP users’ experiences. Findings. Drawing on the economies of worth theory, the study shows that SRP users rely on four different value systems or “worlds” when using the platforms (market, domestic, green and civic worlds) that come into conflict, at either an interactional (three conflicts identified) or an individual (two conflicts identified) level. The findings reveal that these conflicts are temporarily resolved at the interactional level and in a sustainable way at the individual level. Originality/value. This study sheds further light on the relationship between consumers on SRP by offering a more nuanced perspective on these exchanges than market-oriented exchanges. It also analyzes the data through the economies of worth theory, which is an appropriate lens to better understand social interactions and conventions. Finally, the study offers recommendations on how managers can improve buyers’ and sellers’ experiences on these platforms and, thus, foster their satisfaction.
An adventure in freedom, from West to East: Mozart’s Don Giovanni according to Dmitri Tcherniakov
Laurent Thévenot (2024)
In: Ioulia Podoroga (ed.), Concepts migrateurs. Les lettres et les arts russes, espaces de circulations et de métamorphoses, Eur’Orbem Paris Sorbonne Editions, pp. 257-290
A propos de l’ouvrage. Comment les concepts philosophiques occidentaux se transforment-ils en imaginaire littéraire et artistique dans la Russie des XVIIIe-XXe siècles ? Comment des idées thématiquement proches émergent-elles dans la littérature et les arts, avant même d’être conceptualisées par les philosophes ? Ces deux processus s’entremêlent et enrichissent la pensée russe de cette période, laquelle s’incarne moins dans des systèmes philosophiques, au sens classique (occidental) du terme, que dans les écrits des gens de lettres ou des artistes. L’objectif de ce volume est d’explorer cette spécificité, en examinant le mouvement entre les concepts philosophiques et les images artistiques et littéraires. Il inscrit ces échanges dans deux directions, en s’interrogeant d’une part, sur la façon dont la littérature ou l’art s’approprie les concepts pour les rendre concrets, palpables, et d’autre part, sur la manière dont les images se généralisent dans la pensée théorique, reflétant la complexité sociale et politique de l’époque. On pourra suivre, au fil de la lecture, de multiples métamorphoses. Tantôt les concepts se voient littéralement mis en scène, comme celui de liberté dans l’opéra Don Juan de Dmitri Tcherniakov, tantôt une image (l’apollinien) est mise en question et détournée par son contraire (le dionysiaque), comme dans l’interprétation notamment des romans de Vladimir Nabokov ; tantôt un terme fraîchement implanté sur le sol russe devient un foyer de débats sociaux acharnés à la lisière de plusieurs disciplines, tel le terme d’aristocratie chez Léon Tolstoi. Ont contribué à cet ouvrage Tatiana Smoliarova, Wladimir Berelowitch, Hélène Henry, Olga Drobat, Luba Jurgenson, Victoire Feuillebois, Claire Delaunay, Cécile Rousselet, Olga Skonechnaya, Rosina Neginsky, Olga Medvedkova, Ioulia Podoroga, Laurent Thévenot.
About the book. How were Western philosophical concepts transformed into the literary and artistic imaginary in eighteenth- and twentieth-century Russia? How do thematically related ideas emerge in literature and the arts, even before they are conceptualized by philosophers? These two processes intertwine and enrich Russian thought of this period, which is embodied less in philosophical systems, in the classical (Western) sense of the term, than in the writings of literary figures and artists. The aim of this volume is to explore this specificity, by examining the movement between philosophical concepts and artistic and literary images. It takes a two-pronged approach, examining how literature and art appropriate concepts to make them concrete and palpable, and how images are generalized in theoretical thought, reflecting the social and political complexity of the times. In the course of the reading, we can follow multiple metamorphoses. Sometimes, concepts are literally put on stage, such as freedom in Dmitri Tcherniakov’s opera Don Juan; sometimes, an image (the Apollonian) is challenged and hijacked by its opposite (the Dionysian), as in the interpretation of Vladimir Nabokov’s novels; sometimes, a term freshly implanted on Russian soil becomes the focus of fierce social debate on the edge of several disciplines, such as Leo Tolstoi’s term aristocracy. Contributors include Tatiana Smoliarova, Wladimir Berelowitch, Hélène Henry, Olga Drobat, Luba Jurgenson, Victoire Feuillebois, Claire Delaunay, Cécile Rousselet, Olga Skonechnaya, Rosina Neginsky, Olga Medvedkova, Ioulia Podoroga, Laurent Thévenot.
The critical uses of numbers in activism: Citizen debt audit groups in three Western European countries
Jessy Bailly (2024)
Critique internationale, 2024/2 n°103
Résumé. Dans cet article, on étudie comment les chiffres sont utilisés par des militants issus de collectifs d’« audit citoyen de la dette locale » (en France, en Espagne et en Belgique) afin de critiquer la gestion par les gouvernants de la dette et des finances locales. L’article offre deux contributions. D’une part, on rend compte d’usages critiques des chiffres déjà repérés dans la littérature (alerter, critiquer les conventions comptables, introduire des indicateurs alternatifs), mais également d’usages encore non recensés mais bien présents chez les collectifs étudiés (imputer les responsabilités politiques par la quantification et pointer du doigt l’irresponsabilité des représentants politiques du fait de l’opacité des données à disposition du public). D’autre part, il s’agit d’éclairer, dans le prolongement des travaux d’Alain Desrosières et de Joel Best, le rapport aux chiffres de ces militants. Cela permet de rendre plus intelligible les usages hétérogènes et ambivalents des chiffres par les collectifs d’audit. On insistera sur certaines limites auxquelles ces activistes font face en recourant aux chiffres pour porter leur critique.
Abstract. This article examines the uses of official numbers by activists associated with groups involved in the citizen audit of local debt, in France, Spain, and Belgium, as a means to critique government management of local debt and finance, during the European debt crisis in the 2010s. The contribution of the article is twofold. Firstly, it delves into previously documented critical uses of numbers in the literature, such as issuing warnings, challenging accounting conventions, and introducing alternative indicators. However, it also highlights previously uncharted uses of numbers to challenge public authorities, which involve assigning political accountability through quantification and highlighting the irresponsibility of political representatives due to the opacity of publicly available data. Secondly, building upon the research of Alain Desrosières and Joel Best, the article seeks to illuminate the activists’ relationship with numbers (their numerical consciousness). This exploration aims to provide a deeper understanding of the diverse and ambivalent ways in which activists employ public numbers. Special attention is given to the constraints and challenges these activists encounter when using numbers to articulate their criticisms.
Martin Herrnstadt & Léa Renard (2025): Alain Desrosières und die Praktiken der Enquête. [Alain Desrosières et les pratiques d’enquête] A propos, 1. Open access https://www.ouvroir.fr/apropos/index.php?id=177
Alain Desrosières (2025): Der Gegensatz zweier Formen der Enquête: Monografie und Statistik [L’opposition entre deux formes d’enquête : monographie et statistique, L’argument statistique I. Pour une sociologie historique de la quantification, Paris, Presses des Mines [copyright], 2008, S. 143–151] A propos, 1. Open access https://www.ouvroir.fr/apropos/index.php?id=178
Alain Desrosières (2025): Die Statistik: Instrument der Befreiung oder Instrument der Macht? [La statistique, outil de libération ou outil de pouvoir ?, Statactivisme. Comment lutter avec des nombres, Isabelle Bruno, Emmanuel Didier, Julien Prévieux (Hg.), Paris, La Découverte (Zones) [copyright], 2014, S. 51–66] A propos, 1. Open access https://www.ouvroir.fr/apropos/index.php?id=183
Recherche et Applications en Marketing (English Edition), online first L’article original dans l’édition française : ici
Abstract.This article aims to understand how the individuals justify the limits to their consumption efforts regarding environmental issues. We adopt an interpretivist approach, drawing on the theoretical framework of pragmatic sociology proposed by Boltanski and Thévenot. We contribute to the literature on the green gap by identifying the justifications put forward by individuals who seek to contribute to the common good. In particular, we show how they question the measurement of carbon footprints, i.e. the reality test that is supposed to assess the virtuous nature of practices. We also contribute to the literature on convention theory in marketing by exploring the justification of consumers with regard to a reality test. Finally, we propose a number of managerial recommendations. They aim to help create tools and attractive holistic narratives to push back the limits to consumption efforts.
Lisa Ruetgers, Jordon Lazell, Maureen Meadows & Elizabeth Bos (2025)
Business Strategy and the Environment, Online first, Open access
Abstract. The problem of food waste is increasingly being tackled via revenue-generating activities such as the retailing of surplus food products. Little scholarly attention has been paid to the role of the consumer in such business models, even though consumers’ perceptions and purchasing decisions are crucial to the acceptance of business innovations. This paper puts forward a process framework, informed by convention theory and legitimacy theory, to enhance understanding of ‘how’ consumer acceptance of such business models develops. Applying a multiple case study approach, this research investigates three case studies of ventures in Denmark and the United Kingdom illustrating models of surplus food reselling from retailers and manufacturers to consumers. The findings highlight three processes of acceptance: circumstantial, personal and community benefits and correspondence with social positioning. Aspects of price and convenience were the most influential in legitimising surplus food purchasing. Overall, the study makes an important contribution in demonstrating the market potential of surplus food.
Abstract. The study of morality outside of sociology can be improved, we demonstrate, with greater attention paid to aspects of situated interaction beyond abstract moral principles. We propose an inductive framework that focuses on the bottom-up, situationally framed aspects underlying moral disputes, including types of situational setting, contextual cues, and roles and relationships of involved parties. In clear-cut cases like murder, consensus on right or wrong emerges easily, influenced by either intentions or consequences. However, in complex moral disputes, situational conditions can significantly influence the valence and the degree of consensus of collective evaluation of morality. Drawing on over a million personal narratives from the online forum “Am I The Asshole?” (AITA), we present empirical analyses that build toward a “thick” understanding of moral evaluation (Abend, 2011). Our analyses find great variation in moral disagreements across settings, with those possessing strong situational norms reporting low disagreement about moral culpability; contextual cues lead to predictably divergent moral evaluations; and power disparities between involved parties resulting in blame more commonly assigned to those in power. We discuss the implications of the bottom-up framework for empirical research in sociology of morality.
Extract: “The third aspect we interrogate involves the relationally situated roles held by the parties involved in an event. The standards that comprise a moral order, as Goffman argues, are deeply rooted within shared understandings and exist beyond individual perception and cognition. We draw on the concept of ‘orders of worth’ (Boltanski and Thévenot, 1999) to explore how social relationships shape our understanding of a situated moral order.” (p. 4)