scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Journal ArticleDOI

Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@@The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration.

01 May 1986-Contemporary Sociology-Vol. 15, Iss: 3, pp 344
TL;DR: Giddens as mentioned in this paper has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade and outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form.
Abstract: Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In "The Constitution of Society" he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens' concern to connect abstract problems of theory to an interpretation of the nature of empirical method in the social sciences. In presenting his own ideas, Giddens mounts a critical attack on some of the more orthodox sociological views. "The Constitution of Society" is an invaluable reference book for all those concerned with the basic issues in contemporary social theory.
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed a differentiated understanding of hierarchy as either formal or informal and applied this analytical framework to several types of organization, including representative democratic and network organizations, and found that the persistence of hierarchy in different types of organizations can be explained by different dynamic relationships between formal and informal hierarchy.
Abstract: This paper addresses the paradox that despite all organizational change towards flatter and postmodern organizations, hierarchical order is quite persistent. We develop a differentiated understanding of hierarchy as either formal or informal and apply this analytical framework to several types of organization. The analysis reveals that hierarchy is much more widespread than thought; in particular, postmodern, representative democratic and network organizations are much less ‘alternative’ and ‘hierarchy-free’ than their labels and common understanding may suggest. The main argument is that the persistence of hierarchy in different types of organization can be explained by different dynamic relationships between formal and informal hierarchy.

226 citations


Cites background from "Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@..."

  • ...…(groups, organizations, societies) are made up of two large groups of elements: one is abstract institutions, the other is specific actors – and all the multiple and dialectic relationships between these elements as it is addressed by, for example, structuration theory (Giddens, 1976, 1984)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article examined the role of discourses in the construction and regulation of sporting masculinity within a semiprofessional British football (soccer) team and found that these discourses have limited influence beyond the playing field, highlighting the segmentation of the sporting and social identities of these players.
Abstract: This study examined how coaches and players constructed and regulated masculinity in organized sport. Using participant observation, the authors examined the role of discourses in the construction and regulation of sporting masculinity within a semiprofessional British football (soccer) team. Two predominant discourses were present: (a) masculinity establishing discourse and (b) masculinity challenging discourse—heuristic tools to understand the use of toxic language in the construction and maintenance of masculinity. Coaches frequently used discourses that drew on narratives of war, gender, and sexuality to facilitate aggressive and violent responses for enhancing athletic performance. However, the authors also found that these discourses have limited influence beyond the playing field, highlighting the segmentation of the sporting and social identities of these players and a loosening of the traditional and empirically evidenced ability of sports to socialize men into narrow forms of masculinity.

225 citations


Cites background from "Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@..."

  • ...Finally, we have already discussed that coaches may continue to use this discourse because of inertia and history (Giddens1984), but we theorize another reason why masculinity challenging discourse may still work among the players within this sport setting....

    [...]

  • ...Even if athletes or coaches intellectually object the use of this discourse, the perceived enhancement this discourse has on player effort, combined with the history of gendered (often toxic) language in the sport, reinforces their use of it and adds inertia to the tradition (Giddens, 1984)....

    [...]

  • ...Although our critical analysis locates problematic effects of such discourses used by coaches and players, we also recognize the possibility that some acts have unintended consequences which may systematically feedback to be the unacknowledged conditions of further actions (Giddens, 1984)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce the method of sequence alignment as a tool for analyzing the sequential aspects within the temporal and spatial dimensions of human activities, and demonstrate the merits of sequence alignments for geographic research, using a database composed of forty space-time sequences of visitors who had visited the Old City of Akko (Israel).
Abstract: This article introduces the method of sequence alignment as a tool for analyzing the sequential aspects within the temporal and spatial dimensions of human activities. Sequence alignment was first developed during the 1980s and employed by biochemists to analyze DNA sequences. Toward the end of the 1990s it was adapted for use in the social sciences. However, unlike other social sciences practitioners, geographers have not, until now, exploited this method. In contrast to traditional quantitative methods, sequence alignment, as its name suggests, is directly concerned with the order (sequence) of events, and is therefore well suited for the pursuit of time-geographic research. To demonstrate the merits of sequence alignment for geographic research, a database composed of forty space-time sequences of visitors who had visited the Old City of Akko (Israel) was used. The sequences were obtained by means of GPS devices, which were distributed among the visitors tracked and which they operated for the...

225 citations


Cites background from "Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@..."

  • ...…to a certain extent tempered his initial enthusiasm, questioned time geography’s ‘‘naı̈ve and defective conception of the human agent,’’ which meant that it would often consider individuals ‘‘independently of the social settings, which they confront in their day-to-day activities’’ (Giddens 1984)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, an interpretive field study of Big 6 accounting firms was conducted to understand the interplay between structural and social facets of these firms as shaped by the relative power of their administrative and practitioner agents.
Abstract: The study reported here drew upon select portions of institutional theory, the sociology of the professions, and structuration theory to analyze the exercise, resistance and transformation of control in Big 6 accounting firms. Its focus is on understanding the interplay between structural and social facets of these firms as shaped by the relative power of their administrative and practitioner agents. We examined these issues by means of an interpretive field study which found that the firms have implemented the formal, structural practice of management by objectives (MBO) as one element in an array of rationalizing strategies in the expectation that MBO would provide an integrated approach to effecting management control. We also found that mentoring has become an important social force shaping, and in turn being shaped by, the exercise of formal control. It is concluded that the structural and social processes of MBO and mentoring, while serving primarily the administrative and practitioner components of the firms, have become interpenetrated or mutually constitutive in actual practice, each serving a spectrum of interests, functions and purposes. Our results further suggest that, as ongoing processes, MBO and mentoring are infused with power and self-interest, and that they serve as instances of the constraints, media and outcomes of structural and social change within the Big 6 firms.

225 citations

01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest that the concepts underlying participatory approaches to development should be subject to greater critical analysis, drawing on research on water resource management in sub-Saharan Africa and on social theory concerning the recursive relationship between agency and structure.
Abstract: This article suggests that the concepts underlying participatory approaches to development should be subject to greater critical analysis. Drawing on research on water resource management in sub-Saharan Africa, and on social theory concerning the recursive relationship between agency and structure, it illustrates the need for a more complex understanding of issues of efficiency and empowerment in participatory appro- aches. Particularly, two key concepts are examined: ideas about the nature and role of institutions: and models of individual action. The article concludes by identifying the questions such an analysis raises about the relationships between community, social capital and the state. Copyright ',€) 1999 John Wiley & Sons. Lid.

224 citations

References
More filters
Book
01 Jan 1975

98 citations