The purpose of this essay is to discuss the base of sociology from an existentialistic perspective. The discussion takes it's position in the debate on the crisis of sociology, and aligns with Alvin Gouldner's understanding of the crisis. Gouldner believed that the crisis of sociology was mirrored in a sociological method that failed to describe the social reality that it meant to describe; a lack in self-criticism and self-reflexivity, a lack in self-containment in relation to state interests and a lack in moral engagement. This raises a number of questions, which I discuss in the essay. What is the role of sociology in our society? How shall we form a method that responds to the social reality that we sociologists aim to describe? How can we make sociology more moral?Existentialism offers a starting point to describe these questions.

Virkesmätning har i alla tider utförts manuellt av virkesmätare. Den senaste tioårsperioden har mycket hänt och tekniska hjälpmedel blir allt vanligare vilket gör virkesmätning mer automatiserad. Mätramar vid sågverk har funnits länge men mätningen av massaved har inte utvecklats i samma takt. Datorer, kameror och annan teknisk utrustning har blivit billigare samtidigt som kostnaden för arbetskraft blivit högre. Branschens krav om en mer rationell virkesmätning talar för att virkesmätningen i framtiden kommer att bli mer obemannad.Uppdragsgivare för detta examensarbete var Holmen Skog.