This special issue will discuss the challenges and dilemmas of different sociological orientations in order to complement internationalization and academic research with the uses of sociology aimed at solving social public problems in specific territorial contexts. Participants are invited to send papers on the relevance of sociological knowledge in recent years as a means to undertanding Southern European societies, at a local, regional and international level.

Guest editors

• Luis Baptista (luisv.baptista@fcsh.unl.pt)
• María Dolores Martín-Lagos López (lmlagos@ugr.es)
• Mar Venegas (mariter@ugr.es)
• Ana Romão (anaromao74@gmail.com)
• Consuelo Corradi (c.corradi@lumsa.it)

Background

Europe is facing new and radical challenges that demand extraordinary resilience from EU members, specially Southern European societies, because of their outlying position and specific social problems in comparison with their EU neighbours. The difficulties of building a united Europe in the wake of the economic, finantial and political crisis have exposed divergencies in EU governance. In this context, sociology is an important tool to inform public policies and to provide the general public with an understanding of current challenges. The uses of sociology have social, political and practical implications in fields that are especially significant for Southern European societies, such as welfare, work and employment, education, migration, social cohesion and political participation.

However, the usual tensions in the organizational research are now particularly intense in terms of how the sociological knowledge utility is understood and communicated. The trend toward internatiolization in the current research systems forces research communities to compete in a global market of scientific production, where English is the dominant language, and to publish results for an academic audience. Simultaneously there is a pressing need to make sociological knowledge relevant and applicable to regional and local problems.

Aims and scope of the Special Issue

This special issue will discuss the challenges and dilemmas of different sociological orientations in order to complement internationalization and academic research with the uses of sociology aimed at solving social public problems in specific territorial contexts. Participants are invited to send papers on the relevance of sociological knowledge in recent years as a means to undertanding Southern European societies, at a local, regional and international level. We especiaally invite papers on the following topics:

•  Empirical and conceptual approaches on social problems in Southern European societies, specially related to knowledge transfer and their use in public policies;
•  Impact of the economic crisis on the social reality of Southern Europe. Transformations in institutions, social movements and forms of coexistence;
•  Analysis and evaluation of European policies and their impact on different European realities;
•  Knowledge transfer in sociology: conceptual approaches, organizational modes and research;
•  The role of sociology as an academic and scientific discipline to detect social problems and contribute to the design of public policies in Europe.

Languages

The special issue accepts papers in Portuguese, Spanish, French; Italian and English.

Author's guidelines

People interested in contributing to this special issue are invited to consut the publication guidelines of SOCIOLOGIA ON LINE available at http://revista.aps.pt/pt/normas-autores/

Peer review

All research articles published by SOCIOLOGIA ON LINE undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two anonymous referees. The review process is organized conjointly bu the Guest Editors of SOCIOLOGIA ON LINE.

Timing

•  Extended abstracts (between 1000-1500 words) and keywords: until 15th of November to be sent to the guest editors (email)

•  Confirmation of acceptance to authors: 1st of December 2017
•  Submission of full text: 1st of March 2018
•  Double-blind review: March-April 2018
•  Decision on manuscript after review: 1st of May 2018
•  Revision and resubmission: 1st of July 2018
•  Expected date of publication (Online-First): September 2018

Coordination with "Revista Española de Sociología" and "Sociologia Italiana"

This call for papers has been released jointly by "RES-Revista Española de Sociología", the official journal of the Spanish Sociological Federation, and "Sociologia Italiana. AIS Journal of Sociology", the official journal of the Italian Sociological Association.

Authors may decide freely the journal they would like to submit their proposals (a proposal should not be sent to one of the special issues only). The Guest Editors will coordinate the evaluation processes of the articles submitted.

SOCIOLOGIA ON LINE is the journal of the Portuguese Sociological Association and is available at http://revista.aps.pt. It has an open acess policy and publishes original research on Social Sciences; reflections and short essays on the development of Sociology or on professional experiences on this area of work. SOCIOLOGIA ON LINE uses double-blind peer revies and scientific papers will be independently evaluate by at least two experts. As an emerging journal, is is being indexed in the main bibliographical databases and information systems for scientific journals.