Showing papers in "The Sociological Review in 1973"

The concept of community: a re-examination

Abstract: If the concept of community is dead, it stubbornly refuses to lie down. Recent years have seen writers so frustrated by the apparent 'myth of community studies'^ that they have sought to despatch the term once and for all. The case for this execution is usually based on Hillery's unearthing, some years ago, of ninety-four different definitions of community;^ such seeming confusion and little subsequent clarification of the term leading Stacey to write it off as a 'non-concept''̂ and Pahl to comment that 'the word \"community\" serves more to confuse than illuminate the situation in Britain today.'* Yet as fast as the attempt is made to thrust the concept of community into limbo, it as obstinately emerges again; of late in such notable titles as 'community relations' and 'community development', to name but two. It would seem, therefore, that rather than turning one's back on the term, it would be useful to examine with a little more care how it has been employed in the past and to make some positive suggestions regarding its future application. What follows is intended as a starting point for the re-instatement of the concept of community. The discussion is based on a wide range of material which Reissman has usefuly termed 'the empirical', 'the ecological' and 'the theoretical' approaches to the subject.^

Life-cycle, housing tenure and intra-urban residential mobility: a causal model†

Abstract: A ny sociological study which takes a community rather than a nation / A as a framework inevitably requires an understanding of the processes of change shaping the community. The ultimate subject of inquiry may be any aspect of the community: for example, local organizations such as schools, churches, voluntary associations, or police forces; the structure of inter-personal relationships based on participation in these organizations, on proximity, etc.; or people's images of an area. In each case the fact that a defined population (or 'catchment area' or 'population base') is concerned, makes processes of change within it of crucial importance. Residential mobility is one such process and, in the words of Rossi, it 'is one of the most important forces underlying changes in urban areas.'* Rossi's own study relates mobility to organizational activity and to the structure of local social relationships. In studies such as these, residential mobility is likely to be one among a number of 'independent variables' affecting the social phenomena of interest. Residential mobility could therefore come to be seen as a 'background variable' of minor importance. However, because mobility conditions the nature of a wide range of social phenomena, it is of interest in its own right. Mobility data may relate either to individuals or to households, as in surveys, or to small areas, as in censuses. I shall only be concerned with the former type of data because it is more widely available and because interpretation is more straightforward. This is not to deny the evidence that the social composition of an area can give rise to 'structural effects' over and above effects due to household characteristics.-

Occupational specialization as an emergent process

Abstract: One of the areas of continuing interest for students of organizations has been the study of specialist groups. Much of this literature has focused on the attitudinal and value differences between executives and specialists. Scientists and engineers have been used most conraionly as empirical examples/ Conceptualization in this area has been beset by numerous analytical problems, not the least of which has been the attempt to impose the ideal-type construct of profession in an empirical area which has required a more sophisticated analytical model. Gouldner,^ Kornhauser^ and Hower and Orth* are representative of the group of authors who use either ideal-type constructs or dichotomies in their conceptualization of specialist groups. Critics of the frameworks of professions versus organizations, or cosmopolitans versus locals, have tended to do one of two things. One approach has tried to deal with the complexities of the data by creating hybrid categories—e.g. local-cosmopolitan.^ The second approach has avoided discussion of whether a particular group is or is not a profession by asking whether a group is more or less a profession.*^ This latter method of treating 'profession' as a variable rather than an ideal type would seem to have some promise if there had been agreement on what criteria to use in answering the question 'more or less'. The writings of Hughes/ Wilensky^ and HalP suggest anything but agreement on the criteria of professionalism. The preceding argument has suggested a certain amount of mismatch between theorizing about professions and empirical studies of scientists and engineers. Given this incongruity for groups like scientists, where there is at least an approximation towards professionalism

On the philosophical status of ethnomethodology

Abstract: It has been repeatedly stated by the leading spokesmen of ethnomethodology^ (Harold Garfinkel, Jack B. Douglas, Aaron W. Cicourel, Alan F. Blum and Peter McHugh) that the sociology they propose to develop is, essentially, an anti-positivistic venture, which draws heavily on phenomenological inspiration. This essay is an attempt to test the above profession of faith. In more general terms, it is an exploration into the philosophical pedigree and legitimation of ethnomethodology. Since afl&nity (or lack of affinity) with a specific philosophical attitude organized into a distinctive system of thinking does not, if taken alone, suffice to assess the validity of a scientific project, this is not an attempt to evaluate the virtues (or otherwise) of ethnomethodology as a project in sociology.

The transition from school to work: notes on the development of different frames of reference among young male workers*

Abstract: In advanced industrial societies, young people spend between ten and fifteen years in educational organisations, isolated from the world of work. They are then obliged to enter diflFerent types of occupation that make different demands on their skills and provide different rewards. On a priori grounds one would expect this transition to represent a source of more or less serious shock experiences, yet research findings in this field^ indicate that the transition from school to work is experienced by young people as relatively smooth. This paper is an attempt to provide a fiarst approach toward explaining why it should be experienced in this mamier. It will be argued that, in the course of their passage through the school, young people acquire different frames of reference^ that direct them toward different types of occupation, their experience of which reinforces the frame of reference originally acquired at school. In this way their school experience is functional in preparing than for the world of work. In an attempt to develop a conceptual framework for the analysis of the processes involved, I have drawn on the published evidence in this field and some findings of the Leicester project. This research, conducted in the Department of Sodology at the University of Leicester, under the direction of Norbert Elias and with which the author was associated, was based on a representative sample of 1,150 young workers of both sexes who left school in i960 and 1962. There was a response rate of 77 per cent, and all the young people were interviewed in their homes. When inteswew^d, approximately one half of the respondents had had one year's experience 'of work, while the

The sources of variation in agricultural workers' images of society*

Abstract: Much of the empirical literature on rural England and Wales published before i960 has been summarised in a well-known paper by Plowman, Minchinton and Stacey.^ Their empirical findings, however, are rarely directly relevant to our purpose here, as the locality studies on which they base their discussion were predominantly of 'Highland Zone' villages where there are comparatively few agricultural workers who are not kinsmen of farmers. This notwithstanding, in pointing to the interactional, as opposed to the attributional nature of local stratification they opened the way to an understanding of one of the bases of social imagery.^ There are a variety of types of local interactional social systems and below we will specify some that are particularly relevant to agricultural workers. In using the term 'local social system' we are largely following Margaret Stacey's objection to the term 'comjnunity'.-^ Certainly we wish to move away from calling all 'non-work' aspects of workers' lives 'community'.^ The local social environment of individuals is better conceptualised as a 'social network' rather than as a 'community'. In this we are following Elizabeth Bott and other network analysts who have given us a vocabulary that allows the fairly precise specification of both the structure and the content of an individual's personal social networks.^ When we refer to the particular 'local social situation' of particular agricultural workers, we are referring to their personal social networks. Interactional status in a local social system is both a cause and a consequence of an individual's social imagery. As David Lockwood has remarked, 'for

The role of experience in the construction of social theory: an essay in reflexive sociology

Abstract: Unusually for an article in a journal of academic sociology, two personal political reminiscences provide a fundamental point of departure. I remember, first, being lost with four or five others at the end of a gruelling second day of an Aldermaston march. We had somehow managed to take a wrong turning just before reaching our overnight billet and, tired to the point of exhaustion, we found ourselves wandering bemusedly through a maze of residential streets, all semi-detacheds, lace curtains and neat grass verges. At that moment the utter remoteness of those streets from everything we were attempting to bring home to them through the march struck me with a force I can still remember today. We could see nothing stirring, nor hear any sound save our own hysterical giggling. There were no doubt people in those houses, spending their Easter holiday as they had always done; as I had always done until this particular Easter. But between them and us, there was no connection. We were in a foreign land, which was all the more foreign to me because I was acutely conscious of the fact that, in my everyday life, it was also my land. We, who were supposed to be dramatising for the whole nation the most important political issue of our time, did not touch them. The debate about the political influence of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament continues; though, as the movement recedes in memory, it declines into the fading conversation of old soldiers. For me, however, its impact is captured by the memory I have recalled. We did not touch them. Nor did we touch those in power. For a moment we thought we had, but Cuba ended that illusion and with it, C.N.D. Nor, if I am honest, can I pretend that its stated political objectives ever constituted the real meaning of C.N.D. for me. The movement may have meant many things, to other participants as to me— f̂un, an

Professional ideology and social situation

Abstract: The concept of professional ideology has a basis in the everyday experience that members of the same occupational group tend to think and behave in characteristic ways. Occupational differentiation seems to be one of the important dimensions along which the commonsense beliefs studied by ethnomethodologists vary systematically. This paper sets out the complex set of ideas and beliefs about cancer treatment and cancer research which were held by doctors and scientists in a hospital and laboratory specialising in the treatment and study of the disease. The main aim of the paper is to show how these beliefs were related to the work situation of the two groups and also to their relationship with each other and with various groups of role others, some outside the organisation itself. Professional ideologies face both inward and outward; in Dibble's terms they are both 'parochial' and 'ecumenic'.^ In their original insights on the subject both Sorokin and Whitehead stress the parochial aspect, the limited frame of reference through which the members of any profession approach their work and, by extension, wider issues in society.^ The ecumenic aspect of a professional ideology, however, is founded on the particular interests of the group and on their need to address others with different, maybe competing, interests. Mannheim's attempt to extend Marx's concept of ideology to show that all knowledge and belief is related to the situation of its production, should not be allowed to obscure the various different mechanisms involved.^ Professional ideologies result from the need to make sense of recurrent work problems and tasks within a particular organisation and career setting and of the need to present the work to others in the community, to compete for attention, control and resources.^ The use of the concept of professional ideology does not involve making claims or assumptions as to whether the actual beliefs included are true or false. There are points of conflict between the three broad ideologies held by the doctors and scientists in this study and points of difference over matters of fact. There is no intention of arbitrating

Geographical mobility and religious behaviour

Abstract: While there has been a considerable amount of research into the extent and causes of geographical mobility (or internal migration), much of which has been recently summarised by JansenS the effects of internal migration on social institutions and on the behaviour of individuals have received little attention. The effect of migration on the family has been studied by Parsons,^ Litwak'* and Sharp and Axelrod.* Litwak and Szelenyi^ have studied the effects of mobility on primary group structures, and Locke and Duvall^ were able to show that internal migrants have a higher rate of mental illness than life residents. The only previous studies (of which we are aware) which are concerned with the relationship between geographical mobility and religious behaviour are those by Stouffer,̂ who showed that both vertical and horizontal mobility are related to increased tolerance and nonconformity, and Jitodai's^ study of the relationship between migrant status and church attendance. Geographical mobility has the effect of breaking the control of the community over the individual. In a static society the individual is firmly embedded in the cultural tradition and institutional structure of the community.** Religion in a Durkheimian sense both reflects and legitimates the socio-cultural system, and in such a society religion is to be seen as a communal activity;^\" men participate in religious activities because these are prescribed by the community. In such communities men tend to adhere to the traditional beliefs, which are inculcated by a commonly shared experience of socialization and maintained by mutual reinforcement processes. To a limited extent the non-mobile are also subject to such forces even within an open and

Merton, retreatism and drug addiction: the testing of a theory *

Abstract: Despite the seminal place that Robert Merton occupies in the development of sociological theory, the application of his theories to specific patterns of behaviour does not seem to have attracted the attention of many of those engaged in empirical research. There are of course notable exceptions/ particularly among those concerned to explore the existence, extent and definition of anomie, and in one case by those seeking an explanation of delinquency.Nevertheless, his theories appear to have passed from the status of new theory to being incorporated into an accepted body of knowledge without ever having been subjected to empirical test. This is not to say that Mertonian theory has not been subject to searching criticism. However, it seems that most of the criticism directs attention to the philosophical basis of Merton's theory, and to the assumptions on which the theory rests, rather than the application of his theory to specific testable situations.

Headmasters and schools: some preliminary findings *

Abstract: The recent development of educational administration as a distinct field of study associated with the sociolc^ of education has been accompanied by a growing concern with the nature of leadership in educational settings and particularly with the role of the headmaster. Frequently, however, observations on the nature of the headmaster's task are characterised by general statements relating to the increased complexity of educational organisations associated with their increase in size, and also by diffuse references to changes occurring in the wider society which, according to the observers, make certain designated traditional leadership styles inappropriate. Thus Taylor has argued recently that: 'It is no longer so easy for tJie head to be in close personal contact with his staff and pupils, to be able to claim that he knows everyone in the school . . . The skills involved in co-ordinating the work of several departments and house txnits, in interpreting the school to the community in which it serves, in initiating innovation and encouraging others to innovate, all become of greater importance; the head must add managerial skills to his existing commitment to educational objectives and the needs of children.'^

Action research and social policy: some recent british experience*

Abstract: The methodology of action research, whereby the knowledge and research techniques of social science are combined in a practical application to plan and achieve change, has been used in some fields of social science for a considerable number of years. Researchers and consultants interested in the solution of problems in work organisations have made regular use of action research, and have produced a considerable literature on the subject.̂ Systematic attempts to use the interplay of action and research as the basis for promoting planned change designed to deal with social problems appear to be of more recent origin, although since action research is a form of applied research and is often conducted outside the academic world, early attempts to use such an approach may simply have escaped notice through lack of reporting. However, with the exception of the Bristol Social Project in the mid-fifties,̂ there seem to be few examples of such enterprises in Britain prior to the advent of the Educational Priority Area project in 1968' and the Community Development Project in 1969.* This paper discusses the experience of these projects as research enterprises, and points to some of the difficulties involved in conducting action research in the field of social problems. It considers two main problems which face projects of this sort—that of providing findings of general relevance, and that of working in a local situation where there is no single power structure. To demonstrate the significance of these problems, it looks briefly at the conduct of action research in work organisations for comparison. It is difficult to offer a definition which specifies the criteria of an action research approach without making the definition too wide; this is particularly true at a time when action research appears to be en-

Retirement: a rite de passage *

Abstract: The literature of social gerontology is rich in studies which describe how the social status of the retired man is qualitatively different from other social statuses. The loss of an occupational identity, the loss of an occupation, the loss of a sense of purpose, the loss of male peers, the loss of financial independence and sometimes the loss of health, all contribute to singling out the retired man from other men. Old age has become a 'social problem', largely perhaps because society can find no socially useful role for ageing people to play. The people constituting such a 'social problem' are often regarded as homogeneous, identifiable by one characteristic—^although, as Smith aptly points out, 'other than the faa that they may look old, the aged possess no significant or distinctive attributes that might lead to special recognition.'̂ The impression is sometimes received, however, that, just as retired people ofl&cially become occupationally anonymous and are told simply to describe their occupation as 'retired', so in a wider sense the very fact of ageing is assumed to be the only salient characteristic, over-riding all the others which normally differentiate human beings from each other. Another way of looking at this process is to say that the system of age-grading which permeates childhood is revived towards the end of the life-cycle. Many primitive and semi-civilised societies pay much more attention to these changes in status that does our own and some have evolved elaborate rites de passage in order to help people through the transition. As Van Gennep remarks: 'transitions from group to group and from one social situation to the next are looked on (in semi-civilised societies) as implicit in the very fact of existence, so that a man's life comes to be made up of a succession of stages with similar ends and beginnings; birth, social puberty, marriage, fatherhood, advancement to a higher class, occupational specialisation and death.'^

Social reality and social stratification

Abstract: Controversy over the nature of man and society, and in particular over the ability of the perspective of the natural sciences adequately to study these phenomena, has continued unabated in the social sciences. Reduced to its bare essentials, it concerns the role of consciousness in social action. Those insisting on a distinction between the natural and social sciences do so on the assertion that there is a basic difference in subject-matter: that, unlike material objects (and to the best of our knowledge, other forms of life), man interprets his physical and social situations and acts on such interpretations — ĥis overt behaviour is neither the sum total nor necessarily the most important aspect of his behaviour. Although few sociologists would still claim that such 'subjective' factors are of no importance, the research and writing of many indicate that they proceed as if^ this were the case: theories and methodologies of an absolutist nature, that ignore the problems of 'meaning', are clung to with great tenacity. The question of whether this is because of the structure of academic careers (which favours a large output of 'objective' data almost regardless of its 'subjective' validity) or because of a lack of ingenuity, is not of central importance here. Whatever the case, many sociologists seem to find it diflScult to theorize adequately and to conduct research incorporating such 'subjective' factors as consciouness, social meanings, interpretations and so on, especially if they are concerned with macrosocial phenomena and problems. It is the concern of the writer to present the critical concepts and assumptions of a phenomenologicallyinformed theory of man and society,^ particularly in relation to the analysis of social stratification, and briefiy to demonstrate some of the advantages and limitations of such an approach.

The Concept fo Intelligence—A Sociological Perspective

Abstract: The significance of the phenomenological revolution in sociological methodology lies in its injunction to examine the concepts and understandings of the common-sense world; to regard, in short, the problems arising from common-sense constructions of the world or from 'natural logic', as Whorf calls it,' as themselves problematical. Concepts have careers: once born they pass through various stages of development and transformation. Unlike people they are probably eternal; they arise phoenix-like from one shape transformed into another. So they will vary from time to time and from place to place. Not only are they forever changing but at any one time they may exist in several different forms; these forms may be so unlike as to conflict with each other. A concept which first appears in one context may suddenly reappear in a different guise somewhere else and be put to purposes which contradict or even negate its function in the former context. Another characteristic of concepts is one they do share with people; they are the children of men and, like children, they contain the potential for dominating their parents. Created to satisfy one need they survive to be utilised for another and ultimately to create needs unconnected with their original function. Concepts are social constructs: they are the products of social situations; and they are among the components of rationalisations and motivations produced to explain and justify actions—actions which can be seen to be functional for one group in its interactions with other groups. Some concepts relate to the perceived characteristics of people and have an evaluative, typification or classification function. They are always the result of interaction between people; they always refer to relationships between people and not to qualities which exist sui generis

The role of national courses in the teaching and development of sociology: the canadian case*

Abstract: In the past two years considerable interest has been centred on the sociology of sociology, i.e. the study of developments within the discipline in terms of their relationship to the culture and structure of the societies in which they occur.' A recent example discusses the impact on the discipline in the U.S.A. of changes within universities.^ Studies of sociology curricula are rare, but there were some in the U.S.A. at least as early as the beginning of the century.^ To the best of our knowledge there has been no published work on Canadian sociology curricula, and although there are a number of brief historical accounts, there are no intensive and analytical studies on the development of the discipline here.^ Using data collected in 1971 from university departments across Canada in which sociology is taught, this paper presents an empirical examination of the rapid and widespread increase in the past few years of university courses bearing the label 'Canadian Society', the first having been introduced at Toronto in 1940. Various descriptions of this kind of course have been used, e.g., 'an examination of Canadian society and its changitig structure through the use of basic concepts, principles and methods of sociology'. Its main characteristic is that it focuses on a general study of Canadian social structure as distinct from using Canadian data or examples in other sociology courses. It appears that this kind of course has been introduced in an atmosphere of controversy, which is not unexpected and is characteristic of any healthy academic milieu. One question which has been raised in regard to Canadian Society courses is the extent to which they are compatible with a nomothetic approach to social science. Those raising

Class, culture and generation *

Abstract: Amixture of wonder, contempt, fear and romanticism is evident in adult responses to the activities of young people. Sociologists have so far portrayed in varying degrees these attitudes. They are a long way from attaining a reasoned conception which would provide both the tools for collecting pertinent empirical data and a framework for analysing the causes and consequences of young people's activities. Without this the 'data' remain bewildering, their relevance questionable and our understanding of the relations between the young and adult members of societies one of the more nebulous areas of sociolc^. To discuss only some of the recent observations on youth as a factor in social change and to attempt some assessment of the contribution which these have made to our understanding of change in the third quarter of the twentieth century, is a very large subject. On the whole the influence of new generations in bringing about social change has not been as systematically analysed as some other aspects of social development. The currently popular focus on youth has grown, I would suggest, out of the spectacular events involving your^ people in many parts of the world. While certainly not ignoring them or prejudging their relevance, we should beware of automatically defining our central problems in terms of temporary exigencies, including the interests and world views of those who select and report particular activities. In order to clarify the kinds of questions which researchers could usefully pursue, it is necessary to look at the problems of conceptualisation which we face, the divisions in terms of theoretical models which exist, and the difficulties of obtaining relevant material about groups of which most, if not all of the researchers are not members. Before discussing the specific problems involved in a systematic analysis of youth and social change I shall consider some relevant aspects of the present status of theories of change.

Some factors associated with the employment of sociology graduates in social work

Abstract: In Britain the relationship between sociology and social work has been marked by a certain ambivalence. Whilst both disciplines share a common ancestry that was almost invariably concerned with the problem of poverty,̂ there has nevertheless existed within sociology a noticeable attempt to de-emphasize the policy concern that played such an important part in the founding of the subject as an area of independent academic study. Although such currents may have characterised sociology at the formal level, to the intending social worker such a course of study is frequently regarded as the only appropriate university path to the profession; indeed, as Joan Abbott found amongst those graduating in sociolc^ and anthropology in 1966, a desire for some sort of career in social work had prompted a majority of students to select a sociology degree course.̂ From what we have said above, reasons such as these are likely to be regarded with some apprehension by academic sociologists.'' In fact, it may be that the antipathy shown towards social work by members of sociology staff accounts, at least in part, for the fact that a good many sociology students drop the idea of becoming social workers between the time of entering and leaving university.* It is also possible that the nature of sociology itself contributes to some disenchantment with social work by placing an emphasis upon structural analysis: small scale welfare activities come to be seen as being largely ineffective and consequently having little claim to the status of a rigorous academic discipline. In fact, the interaction which we have suggested takes place between staff, students and the knowledge base of sociology, may also explain why it is that Abbott found a lower propensity amongst female students to change their occupational plans from social work to some alterna-

Socio-political correlates of community action: conflict, political integration, and citizen influence*

Abstract: This paper is an analysis of the relationship between the degrees of conflict and political integration in communities and the degrees of citizen influence in community action. By using data from a nationwide study of the Model Cities Programme in the United States we will analyse how social conflict and political integration were related to the degree of citizen influence in the 148 cities that participated in the Model Cities Programme.' Following a discussion of the three major variables and a description of the methodology used in the study, we will present our findings. Our interpretation of the data will be presented in the concluding section.

"Putting God over": the faithful counsellors.

Abstract: The relationship between some elements of the Christian faith and counselling has already been examined by Paul Halmos in his The Faith of the Counsellors.^ But the main concern in this paper is not the 'borrowing' from religion but rather with the 'borrowing' by religion. The original borrowing may indeed have been done by the counsellors but the suggestion here is that the clergy are now taking something 'in exchange' from the counselling ideology. This re-establishment of territorial rights manifests itself in an increasing interest among clergy at the local level in what is known as 'pastoral counselling'. Considerable space has been devoted in American and, more recently, in British religious journals to articles on pastoral counselling —its nature, methods and similarities with and difference from 'professional', 'secular' counselling.^ Before proceeding to consider these issues the question 'why pastoral counselling?' arises. Why, in other words, should the Church attempt a marriage with counselling rather than remaining 'just good friends'? In a society in which institutional religion is regarded as at least waning if not, to many, totally irrelevant as a part of the reality of everyday life, the official bearers of this form of religion might be expeaed to experience some degree of social insecurity. They increasingly have the status of a cognitive minority in that their taken-forgranted knowledge is not shared, not taken-for-granted by a large part of the society in which they must operate at the level of day-to-day interaction. As Berger has put it: 'The theologian more resembles a witch doctor stranded among logical positivists—or, of course, a logical positivist stranded among witch doctors. Willy-nilly he is exposed to the exorcisms of his cognitive antagonists. Sooner or later these exorcisms will have their effect in undermining the old certainties in his own mind.'^

Bread and justice: the national welfare rights organisation

Abstract: This account of the National Welfare Rights Organisation (NWRO) is one of a series of studies in community action, in which a key objective is to explore and account for the differences in perspectives and achievements between the welfare rights movements which developed during the mid 1960s first in the United States and then in Britain. Although the major preoccupation of the paper is with NWRO as indisputably the major and most durable manifestation of the American welfare rights movement, in order for us to be able to consider important comparative questions, such as why in Britain we have both the Claimant Unions (CUs) and the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), we have to begin by examining, however briefly, the external history of the social forces and events which surrounded the birth of the movement. As the paper will suggest, these differences and similarities between the welfare rights movement (the UK organisations having both consciously and unconsciously been influenced by the US experience) stem not only from economic considerations, but also from significant political and cultural differences between the two societies. These differences are played out within the internal history in terms of the people, the ideas, the structures and struggles of the movements themselves. It is then, a brief outline of the particular domestic problems facing Americain the 1960s with which I will begin.