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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.
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TL;DR: A review of the emergence of the new ecology and the highlighting of contrasts with earlier “balance of nature” perspectives is presented in this paper, with a focus on nonequilibrium dynamics, spatial and temporal variation, complexity, and uncertainty.
Abstract: ▪ Abstract This review asks the question: What new avenues of social science enquiry are suggested by new ecological thinking, with its focus on nonequilibrium dynamics, spatial and temporal variation, complexity, and uncertainty? Following a review of the emergence of the “new ecology” and the highlighting of contrasts with earlier “balance of nature” perspectives, work emerging from ecological anthropology, political ecology, environmental and ecological economics, and debates about nature and culture are examined. With some important exceptions, much social science work and associated popular and policy debates remain firmly wedded to a static and equilibrial view. This review turns to three areas where a more dynamic perspective has emerged. Each has the potential to take central elements of new ecological thinking seriously, sometimes with major practical consequences for planning, intervention design, and management. First is the concern with spatial and temporal dynamics developed in detailed and s...

645 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a two-year study into teacher agency against the backdrop of large-scale educational reform is presented, focusing on teachers' beliefs in order to understand the dynamics of teacher agency and factors that contribute to its promotion and enhancement.
Abstract: There is an ongoing tension within educational policy worldwide between countries that seek to reduce the opportunities for teachers to exert judgement and control over their own work, and those who seek to promote it. Some see teacher agency as a weakness within the operation of schools and seek to replace it with evidence-based and data-driven approaches, whereas others argue that because of the complexities of situated educational practices, teacher agency is an indispensable element of good and meaningful education. While the ideological debate about the shape and form of teacher professionalism is important, it is equally important to understand the dynamics of teacher agency and the factors that contribute to its promotion and enhancement. In this paper, we draw from a two-year study into teacher agency against the backdrop of large-scale educational reform – the implementation of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence – in order to explore these questions. We focus on teachers’ beliefs in order to ge...

639 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A framework that begins by discussing the meaning and role of network dynamics and goes on to identify the drivers and key dimensions of network change as well as the role of time is presented, which concludes with theoretical and methodological issues that researchers need to address in this domain.
Abstract: An extensive body of knowledge exists on network outcomes and on how network structures may contribute to the creation of outcomes at different levels of analysis, but less attention has been paid to understanding how and why organizational networks emerge, evolve, and change. Improved understanding of network dynamics is important for several reasons, perhaps the most critical being that the understanding of network outcomes is only partial without an appreciation of the genesis of the network structures that resulted in such outcomes. To provide a context for the papers in this special issue, and with the broader goal of furthering network dynamics research, we present a framework that begins by discussing the meaning and role of network dynamics and goes on to identify the drivers and key dimensions of network change as well as the role of time in this process. We conclude with theoretical and methodological issues that researchers need to address in this domain.

635 citations


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

  • ...Giddens’ (1984) conception of the duality of structure and action is also apropos....

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  • ...Network persistence through inertia is the extent to which network interactions are reproduced over time and across a number of actors who develop what Giddens (1984) refers to as “structural properties,” or institutionalized frameworks that are reproduced across time and space....

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  • ...These microfoundational explanations can be respectively termed as agency (Sewell 1992, Emirbayer and Goodwin 1994, Emirbayer and Mische 1998), opportunity (Blau 1994, Giddens 1984, Granovetter 1973), inertia (Kim et al. 2006), and exogenous and random factors....

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  • ...Inertia includes the pressures for persistence and change (Giddens 1984, Portes and Sensenbrenner 1993, Coleman 1988) and refers to the durability of social structures as well as the social processes by which the focal actor’s actions are influenced, directed, and constrained by norms and…...

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that a paradigmatic shift is occurring in economic geography toward a relational economic geography, based on three propositions: from a structural perspective economic actors are situated in contexts of social and institutional relations, in dynamic perspective economic processes are path-dependent, constrained by history.
Abstract: In this paper, we argue that a paradigmatic shift is occurring in economic geography toward a relational economic geography. This rests on three propositions. First, from a structural perspective economic actors are situated in contexts of social and institutional relations. Second, in dynamic perspective economic processes are path-dependent, constrained by history. Third, economic processes are contingent in that the agents’ strategies and actions are open-ended. Drawing on Storper’s holy trinity, we define four ions as the basis for analysis in economic geography: organization, evolution, innovation, and interaction. Therein, we employ a particular spatial perspective of economic processes using a geographical lens.

633 citations


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

  • ...The resulting interdependence between contextual structure and contingent action corresponds with those reflexive mechanisms at the heart of structuration theories, as developed by Giddens (1984) and Bourdieu (1977)....

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  • ...More importantly, they also create a basis for mutual communication, collective learning, and joint problem-solving, without which a technical and social division of labor and economic interaction would not be possible (Giddens, 1984; Hodgson, 1988)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work discusses the assumptions that underlie path dependence, and provides the outlines of an alternative perspective which is labelled as path creation, a notion of agency that is distributed and emergent through relational processes that constitute phenomena.
Abstract: We discuss the assumptions that underlie path dependence, as defined by Vergne and Durand, and then provide the outlines of an alternative perspective which we label as path creation Path creation entertains a notion of agency that is distributed and emergent through relational processes that constitute phenomena Viewed from this perspective, ‘initial conditions’ are not given, ‘contingencies’ are emergent contexts for action, ‘self-reinforcing mechanisms’ are strategically manipulated, and ‘lock-in’ is but a temporary stabilization of paths in-the-making We develop these points using a narrative approach and highlight the theoretical and methodological implications of our perspective

629 citations


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

  • ...As these reinforcing mechanisms can generate structurational processes (Giddens, 1984), actors have to be ever vigilant to change their strategies as these processes unfold, just as Microsoft did when it first publicly ignored Sun’s Java and then embraced it to ‘poison’ it....

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  • ...We do not deny that there will be emergent situations that are both the outcomes and medium of actions (Giddens, 1984)....

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  • ...There is continuing scholarly interest in the constitution of paths driven by structurational processes wherein structure is both medium and outcome of practices (Giddens, 1984)....

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  • ...We do not deny the role of emergent outcomes (what the authors have called ‘contingency’) that then serve as medium for ongoing actions (Giddens, 1984)....

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References
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Book
01 Jan 1975

98 citations