Realist social theory : the morphogenetic approach
TL;DR: The Morphogenetic Cycle: the basis of the morphogenetic approach 7. Structural and cultural conditioning 8. The morphogenesis of agency 9. Social elaboration.
Abstract: Building on her seminal contribution to social theory in Culture and Agency, in this 1995 book Margaret Archer develops her morphogenetic approach, applying it to the problem of structure and agency. Since structure and agency constitute different levels of stratified social reality, each possesses distinctive emergent properties which are real and causally efficacious but irreducible to one another. The problem, therefore, is shown to be how to link the two rather than conflate them, as has been common theoretical practice. Realist Social Theory: The Morphogenetic Approach not only rejects methodological individualism and holism, but argues that the debate between them has been replaced by a new one, between elisionary theorising and emergentist theories based on a realist ontology of the social world. The morphogenetic approach is the sociological complement of transcendental realism, and together they provide a basis for non-conflationary theorizing which is also of direct utility to the practising social analyst.
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TL;DR: In this article, the emancipatory potential of critical realism can be realized and how it may contribute to critical accounting research. But the work in this paper does not address the question of how critical realist research interventions in accounting can be matched with the contingent possibilities of emancipation.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the way in which managerial concerns with the "bottom line" gradually subverts broader conceptions of company "competitiveness" which include improving the skills, knowledge and commitment of shopfloor employees.
Abstract: TCS (previously the Teaching Company Scheme), claimed to be the UKs premier technology transfer mechanism, employs recent graduates to improve the competitiveness of primarily small and medium‐sized enterprises. The data are drawn from the author's experience of acting as academic supervisor on a two‐year TCS programme in PaperProds. Structuration theory acts as a “sensitising device” to the way in which the actions and discourses of owner‐managers in small firms exercise power. The author demonstrates the way in which managerial concerns with the “bottom line” gradually subverts broader conceptions of company “competitiveness” which include improving the skills, knowledge and commitment of shopfloor employees. In this particular programme the TCS associate found that he constantly had to reconcile the managing director's view that workers were disposable factors of production with his own implicitly “humanist” perspective.
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...Recently Archer (2000, p. 465) makes the case for retaining what she describes as “analytical dualism” because there is “great utility” in differentiating structure/agency (for a critique of Archer (1995) see King (1999))....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors encourage exemplars of applied work, reflections on the use of critical realism, and metatheoretical developments, to be submitted to the call for papers.
Abstract: The aim of our initial call for papers was to encourage the submission of exemplars of applied work, reflections on the use of critical realism, and metatheoretical developments. We were not disapp...
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TL;DR: In this article, the invisible role of observational learning in the development of leadership practice is explored in the form of empirical qualitative research that utilizes a time-line interview technique with 34 managers to enable in-depth data to be revealed of observational leadership learning.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the invisible role of observational learning in the development of leadership practice. A model of observational learning and leadership practice is suggested to help guide theorizing and design intervention.Design/methodology/approach – The approach takes the form of empirical qualitative research that utilizes a time‐line interview technique with 34 managers to enable in‐depth data to be revealed of observational leadership learning. Data analysis is through a phenomenological grounded theory approach.Findings – The paper illustrates that observational learning from “notable people” is a prominent influence of these managers' conceptions of leadership. Such observational learning differed between men and women and between employed and self‐employed contexts.Research limitations/implications – The variety, availability and diversity of people to observe and engage with are argued here to have significant implications for the development of leadership prac...
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: Yettick et al. as mentioned in this paper explored whether rural school districts face disadvantages as they attempt to follow the law's provisions and, if so, if the rural-specifi c section ameliorates these disadvantages.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to inform the upcoming and overdue reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by exploring whether rural school districts face disadvantages as they attempt to follow the law’s provisions and, if so, if the law’s rural-specifi c section ameliorates these disadvantages. The research drew upon interviews and survey results from rural Colorado as well as from a comparison group of non-rural school districts in the state. The fi ndings suggest that rural districts are indeed uniquely administratively disadvantaged when it comes to the law. However, they also share certain challenges with their non-rural counterparts. The article concludes with policy recommendations that address challenges experienced by districts across the rural-urban continuum as well as challenges that are specifi c to the rural context. Citation: Yettick, H., Baker, R., Wickersham, M., & Hupfeld, K. (2014). Rural districts left behind? Rural districts and the challenges of administering the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 29(13), 1-15.
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