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Since its introduction by Anthony Giddens in the early 1980s, the use of the concept of “agency” as a way to accommodate an irreducible element of voluntarism into sociological explanations has grown exponentially in the literature. In this chapter, we examine the most prominent theoretical justifications for adopting the notion of “agency” as an integral part of such explanations. We distinguish three broad sets of justifications: the meaningfulness/intentionality of social action, the need for “agency” to explain change in social structures, and the link between agency, social accountability, and human dignity. We find that none of these provides a convincing rationale for the analytical utility of agency. This raises the question of what work it actually does perform in the sociological literature.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether cognitive factors mediate the relationship between parental knowledge/support and delinquency escalation.

Using data from early adolescent youth enrolled in the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) study, two analyses were performed. The first analysis cross-lagged parental knowledge and cognitive impulsivity as predictors of delinquency escalation and the second analysis cross-lagged parental support and moral neutralization as predictors of delinquency escalation.

In both analyses, the indirect effect of a change in parenting on delinquency escalation via a change in cognition attained significance, whereas the indirect effect of a change in cognition on delinquency escalation via a change in parenting did not. In neither case did the direct effect of parenting on delinquency achieve significance.

This study was limited, however, by exclusive reliance on self-report measures to assess all variables in this study and the use of explicit rather than implicit measures of cognitive impulsivity and moral neutralization.

The practical implications of these results are that they point to ways in which improved parenting can lead to crime deceleration; reduced cognitive impulsivity and moral neutralization can lead to crime deceleration.

These results imply that social variables like parental knowledge and support stimulate a change in cognition as part of the process by which delinquency escalates during early adolescence.

The unique contribution this study makes to the field is that it highlights the role antisocial cognition plays in mediating between social factors and delinquency as part of the crime acceleration process that often occurs in early adolescence.

This compact case study was developed from secondary sources readily available in the public domain. These secondary sources included websites, videos and articles.

Throughout 2023, social media companies faced a wide range of criticism on several fronts. Critics claimed that the companies were not doing enough to manage content and the algorithms were influencing American public opinion in the Israel-–Hamas war. Others argued that social media was negatively impacting the mental health of American youth. In response, the platforms reiterated their neutrality and emphasized the features, functions and policies that were designed to address the issues and encourage a positive user experience. As generative artificial intelligence (AI) grew in popularity, the impact on social media was inevitable. Was the convergence of social media and AI inspiring progress or exacerbating problems? How would society balance the opposing forces in a rapidly evolving environment?

This case should be used in marketing and management classes at the undergraduate level. Applicable concepts include AI, social media, content and information.