Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@@The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration.
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.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe ethnomethodologically informed ethnography (EM) as a methodology for information science research, illustrating the approach with the results of a study in a university library.
Abstract: This paper describes ethnomethodologically informed ethnography (EM) as a methodology for information science research, illustrating the approach with the results of a study in a university library. We elucidate major differences between the practical orientation of EM and theoretical orientation of other ethnographic approaches in information science research. We address ways in which EM may be used to inform systems design and consider the issues that arise in coordinating the results of this research with the needs of information systems designers. We outline our approach to the “ethnographically informed” development of information systems in addressing some of the major problems of interdisciplinary work between system designers and EM researchers.
159 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the conceptual and practical difficulties of achieving such a synthesis by evaluating several strategies for integrating voluntarist and structural factors in the analysis of regime change are discussed. And three distinct strategies are analyzed: the funnel, path-dependent, and eclectic strategies.
Abstract: The oscillation of the study of political regime change between voluntarist and structural approaches has increasingly led scholars to seek research strategies for synthesizing the two approaches. This article addresses the conceptual and practical difficulties of achieving such a synthesis by evaluating several strategies for integrating voluntarist and structural factors in the analysis of regime change. It examines competing ways of conceptualizing agency and structure and assesses the varied consequences that different conceptualizations have for explaining regime transformation. The article also analyzes three distinct strategies for integrating agency and structure: the funnel, path-dependent, and eclectic strategies. Each integrative strategy isanchored by a different conceptual base and has characteristic strengths and limitations. The conclusion explores future directions for developing integrative strategies.
159 citations
TL;DR: This paper describes the moves made by members of a high-tech manufacturer to introduce environmental considerations into the design of new manufacturing processes, and builds on recent work on resources and organizational boundaries to address how organizational contexts shape opportunities for and barriers to issue selling.
Abstract: This paper considers how issue sellers advance new issues within an organization over time, and how they gain competence at doing so. Using ethnographic, archival, and interview data spanning a six-year period, it describes the moves made by members of a high-tech manufacturer to introduce environmental considerations into the design of new manufacturing processes. A significant shift occurred in the pattern of moves used over time, and explanations for the shift are found in two accompanying dynamics: The gradual accumulation of assets by the group advancing the issues and their adjustment of moves used based on earlier experiences. The findings are used to develop a model of issue selling as resourcing; that is, a practical accomplishment through which issue sellers' moves enact key schemas held by issue recipients, triggering their attention and action on the issue. Issue selling as resourcing builds on recent work on resources and organizational boundaries to address how organizational contexts shape opportunities for and barriers to issue selling, and to identify how issue sellers learn to operate effectively within them.
159 citations
TL;DR: A relational constructionist theoretical lens, an emphasis on joint consultant-client practices, and a proper contextual embedding constitute a relational practice perspective that embodies in a new form and language those foundational ideas as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Process consultation as conceived and reformulated several times by Edgar Schein constitutes a seminal contribution to the process of organization development in general and to the definition of the helping role of the consultant in particular. Under the pressure of a pragmatic turn in organizational change work, the practice of process consultation was fading away during the eighties and nineties. In some particular training and organizational consulting contexts nevertheless, the foundational principles and practices of process consultation are experienced to be more relevant than ever before. A relational constructionist theoretical lens, an emphasis on joint consultant—client practices, and a proper contextual embedding constitute a relational practice perspective that embodies in a new form and language those foundational ideas.
159 citations
Cites background from "Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@..."
...Practice’ and Giddens (1984) on ‘Structuration’, th e relational practices and the context in which...
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01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: In the context of the National Community Water and Sanitation Programme (NCWSP), a multilevel analysis of interrelationships between institutions, policy instruments and actors pointed to a variety of inconsistencies in programme planning and implementation which put the long-term sustainability of water supply at stake.
Abstract: This study deals with the implications of policies of the so-called demand-driven approach of community water supply in rural and small urban areas in Ghana. In the context of comprehensive reforms in the water sector a transition of roles and responsibilities as well as the establishment of new institutions and actors were supported by numerous international donor organisations. Reorienting the water sector policies resulted, among others, in the National Community Water and Sanitation Programme (NCWSP), which started to operate in 1994. The policies directed at sustainable drinking water supply were to ensure community ownership and sustainability of facilities by beneficiary capital cost contributions, private sector participation, and cost-recovery water tariffs. After ten years of programme implementation a multilevel analysis of interrelationships between institutions, policy instruments and actors point to a variety of inconsistencies in programme planning and implementation which put the long-term sustainability of water supply at stake. Capacity and resource constraints at national, district and local levels, legal pluralism and diverging interests of the actors in the water sector were not amenable to reaching the ambitious objectives of the programme. There was a pervasive lack of knowledge bases for informed decision-taking and of coordination among aid agencies. While water supply infrastructure was in high demand, the inability or unwillingness of communities to pay their share of capital cost contributions was a cross-cutting issue of major concern. Where improved systems had been established sustainability was often doubtful because of insufficient levels of water tariffs and, concerning small urban supply systems, by ineffective management, operation and maintenance. Utilisation of the improved sources once established or rehabilitated turned out to be limited, which was due to both environmental (water quality and quantity) and socio-political factors involving issues of acceptance, ‘elite capture’ and equity. Ongoing reforms, particularly in the framework of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy, were aiming to resolve some of the problems. The peculiar logic of the world of development aid constituted differing interests and institutional constraints among the actors, which are ultimately considered to be at the root of the difficulties observed.
159 citations
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