The sociology of professions has so far had limited connections to emergency services occupations. Research on emergency occupations tends to focus on workplace culture and identity, often emphasizing continuity rather than change. Police officers, firefighters and paramedics have their historical roots in manual, technical or ‘semi-professional’ occupations and their working lives still bear many of the hallmarks of blue-collar, uniformed ‘street-level’ work. But uniformed emergency services - like many other occupations – are increasingly undergoing processes of ‘professionalization’. The organizations in which they are employed and the fields in which they work have undergone significant change and disruption, calling into question the core features, cultures and duties of these occupations. This paper argues that sociology of work on emergency services could be helpfully brought into closer contact with the sociology of professions in order to better understand these changes. It suggests four broad empirical and conceptual domains where meaningful connections can be made between these literatures, namely: leadership and authority; organizational goals and objectives; professional identities; and ‘extreme’ work. Emergency services are evolving in complex directions while retaining certain long-standing and entrenched features. Studying emergency occupations as professions also sheds new light on the changing nature of ‘professionalism’ itself.

中文翻译：

---

超越“蓝领专业精神”：穿制服的应急服务工作专业化的连续性和变化

迄今为止，职业社会学与紧急服务职业的联系有限。对应急职业的研究往往侧重于工作场所的文化和身份，通常强调连续性而不是变化。警察、消防员和护理人员的历史根源在于体力、技术或“半专业”职业，他们的工作生活仍然带有蓝领、穿制服的“街头”工作的许多标志。但是，与许多其他职业一样，穿制服的紧急服务正在越来越多地经历“专业化”过程。他们受雇的组织和他们工作的领域发生了重大变化和混乱，对这些职业的核心特征、文化和职责提出了质疑。本文认为，紧急服务工作的社会学可以帮助与职业社会学进行更密切的接触，以便更好地理解这些变化。它提出了四个广泛的经验和概念领域，可以在这些文献之间建立有意义的联系，即：领导力和权威；组织目标和目的；职业身份；和“极端”的工作。紧急服务正朝着复杂的方向发展，同时保留了某些长期存在且根深蒂固的特征。将紧急职业作为职业来研究也为“专业主义”本身不断变化的性质提供了新的视角。它提出了四个广泛的经验和概念领域，可以在这些文献之间建立有意义的联系，即：领导力和权威；组织目标和目的；职业身份；和“极端”的工作。紧急服务正朝着复杂的方向发展，同时保留了某些长期存在且根深蒂固的特征。将紧急职业作为职业来研究也为“专业主义”本身不断变化的性质提供了新的视角。它提出了四个广泛的经验和概念领域，可以在这些文献之间建立有意义的联系，即：领导力和权威；组织目标和目的；职业身份；和“极端”的工作。紧急服务正朝着复杂的方向发展，同时保留了某些长期存在且根深蒂固的特征。将紧急职业作为职业来研究也为“专业主义”本身不断变化的性质提供了新的视角。