Theme Biography |
Object Sociological investigation of Jean Monnet |
Context France, 1950 |
Goal Find the traces of social love in the biographical experience |
Approach Micro social |
Theoretical reference Interpretativism and Weberian approach |
Methods and techniques Documentary analysis, historical analysis |
Focus on social love Processes of institutionalization of social love |
Theme Interculture |
Object Community of Christians and Muslims |
Context Algeria (Tlemcen), 1966-2012 |
Goal Identify the reasons for the birth of a sui generis community of Muslims that shares the culture of unity with Christians |
Approach Micro social |
Theoretical reference Interpretativism and Weberian approach |
Methods and techniques Mixed methods (documentary analysis, biographical study, interviews) |
Focus on social love Social love institutionalization processes |
Result “Tragicity of acting”: no homologating conversion, but an experience of fraternity |
Theme Formation and identity processes |
Object Handicraft school for the social promotion of the population and culture of Calchaquì |
Context Argentina (Catamarca), 1970-2011 |
Goal Evaluate the evidence against the hypothesis of social love in the origin and impact of the school |
Approach Social Meso |
Theoretical reference Interpretativism and Weberian approach |
Methods and techniques Mixed methods (documentary analysis, biographical study, interviews) |
Focus on social love Social love institutionalization processes |
Result Habitus of social love: foundation of the school and birth of new daily practices |
Theme Social service |
Object Professional action of social workers |
Context Italy (Sardinia), 2010-2013 |
Goal Detect the presence of traces of social love in the relational styles underlying the help |
Approach Social Meso |
Theoretical reference Symbolic interactionism |
Methods and techniques Non-participating observation (shadowing) |
Focus on social love How social love works |
Result «Excess» of the professional behaviors of social workers with respect to the ethical constraints |
Theme Social policies |
Object Local health and social services |
Context Italy (Sardinia), 2016 |
Goal Identify good surplus practices in local health and social policies |
Approach Social macro |
Theoretical reference Public policy analysis |
Methods and techniques Documentary analysis, historical analysis |
Focus on social love Social love institutionalization processes |
Result Generativity: social policies capable of nourishing systems of trust, communities of solidarity |
Theme Biography |
Object Sociological investigation of Divjak |
Context Serbia (Sarajevo) and Bosnia, 1994-2012 |
Goal Identify characteristics of social love in the historical and biographical experience |
Approach Micro social |
Theoretical reference Historical approach |
Methods and techniques Documentary analysis, historical analysis |
Focus on social love Characteristics of social love |
Result Radicality and universality of social love |
Theme Culture of sharing |
Object Peer to peer and internet system |
Context USA and other countries, 1970-2016 |
Goal Identify characteristics of social love in historical experience |
Approach Social macro |
Theoretical reference Historical approach and typification |
Methods and techniques Documentary analysis, historical analysis |
Focus on social love How social love works |
Result Characteristics of social love: inadequacy and poor purity, related to the limited duration |
Theme Biographies |
Object Sociological survey on Perlasca |
Context Hungary (Budapest), 1944-1945 |
Goal Identify characteristics of social love in the historical and biographical experience |
Approach Micro social |
Theoretical reference Historical approach |
Methods and techniques Documentary analysis, historical analysis |
Focus on social love Characteristics of social love |
Result Radicality and universality of social love |
Theme Culture of sharing |
Object Practice of suspended assets (coffee, books, shopping, holidays and permits) |
Context Italy and other countries, 2013-2015 |
Goal Identify the reasons for the spread (virality), multiplication and differentiation of the phenomenon |
Approach Micro and meso social |
Theoretical reference Symbolic interactionism |
Methods and techniques Mixed methods (documentary analysis, biographical study, interviews) |
Focus on social love How social love works |
Result “Open solidarity”: assets suspended by an undue or necessary act, which produces a benefit without being claimed or deserved |
Theme Social service |
Object Social workers / Users of social services relationship |
Context North America (Canada and USA), 2006-2009 |
Goal Detect the presence of bidirectional transformative effects in the relationship between social workers and customers / users |
Approach Micro social |
Theoretical reference Social constructivism |
Methods and techniques Secondary analysis / meta-analysis |
Focus on social love How social love works |
Result “Generativity” of care relationships: the clients observed are not passive subjects, but producers of the operators |
Theme Community Study (in the footsteps of the classic Lynd & Lynd) |
Object Sociological investigation on a religious little town |
Context Loppiano (FI) Italy, 2005-2007 |
Goal Analyzing the social link of the religious community in everyday life |
Approach Micro and meso social |
Theoretical reference Interactionism |
Methods and techniques Ethnography (documentary analysis, participant observation, structured, semi-structured and in-depth interviews, survey, focus group, diary on perception and use of time) |
Focus on social love Social link in everyday reality and life trajectories |
Result Social love contributes to community building in multicultural contexts |
Meta-analysis
• Bibliographic references
• Targets
• Methodology
• Steps of the analysis
• Results
• Tables
– Cataldi S., Sena B. (2019), Overabounding and social actions: a meta-analysis of multiple case studies, “Sociologia”, Anno LIII, 1, pp. 34-46, ISSN: 0038-0156. – Cataldi S., Sena B. (2019), Meta-analysis of case studies in organizational vocational contexts: the cases of social workers, nurses and school operators, SAGE Research Methods Cases Part 2, SAGE Publications, London: 1-18, ISBN: 9781526490971, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526490971 – Cataldi S., Sena B. (2018), La fenomenología del ágape entre la memoria y la imaginación colectiva. Un meta-análisis utilizando el case study approach, Las encrucijadas abierdas en America Latina. La sociologia en tiempos de cambio, XXXI congreso ALAS, Montevideo (Uruguay), 3-8 Diciembre 2017. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1. Critically evaluate studies and surveys conducted by various scholars on the subject of social love, including through the use of different techniques and methodological approaches, in order to integrate the results achieved by various authors into a single coherent and meaningful analytical framework. 2. Contribute to the analytical and empirical clarification of the concept of social love through its operationalization in concrete case studies drawn from different social contexts. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
For the survey, the meta-analysis tool was chosen in its qualitative variant with the aim of integrating, broadening, deepening and generating new meanings and interpretations of social love, by critically comparing the results produced by 12 primary researches of qualitative type present in the literature on case studies of social love (Araújo, Iorio and Cataldi, 2015; Cataldi and Cristao R., 2011; Iorio, 2014; 2015; Callebaut and Paglione, 2015; Demartis 2012a; 2012b; 2015; Cataldi, Gallelli and Iorio, 2016). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1. First step: reconstruction and critical comparison of the defining components of the concept of social love in the various case studies analyzed. 2. Second step: analysis of the dimensions of the concept of social love, extrapolated from the contribution of Sorokin (1954) on the basis of a five-dimensional model: intensity, extension, duration, purity and adequacy. 3. Third step: comparison of the concept of social love with concepts-terms, such as help, altruism and gift. 4. Fourth step: identification of the antecedents and effects of social love 5. Fifth step: analysis of the logic of social action that distinguishes social love, with respect to reasons and dynamics, such as exchange, duty and gift. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• The analysis made it possible to better identify not only how social love manifests itself, but also how it does not manifest itself in empirical phenomenology. In particular, social love is distinguished: from help because, by taking care of the other, it does not need to respond to a condition of need; from altruism, because while the latter relates to an attitude or a disposition, social love is concrete and has an eminently practical dimension and recognition of the other as unique and irreducible; from the gift, because while the latter simultaneously recalls both the idea of offering and that of obligation (Marci, 2012, 29) and therefore activates a social bond based on the circuit of giving-receiving-returning agape, defining itself as surplus, is characterized by unconditionality and the breaking of expectations. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Table 1: Concepts terms similar to social love
Table 2: Antecedents and effects of agape observed in the analyzed case studies
Tab. 3: The logic of exchange, duty, giving and social love
Source: Elaboration from Baviera et al. (2016) |