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Approach not only rejects methodological individualism and holism, but argues that the debate between them has been replaced by a new one, between elisionary theorising and emergentist theories based on a realist ontology of the social world.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 paper, the authors argue that stepwise small-N/medium-N qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is a particularly suitable methodological approach for water resources studies because it can make use of the rich but fragmented literature for accumulation of knowledge and development of theory.
Abstract: Drawing particularly on recent debates on, and development of, comparative methods in the field of comparative politics, the paper argues that stepwise small-N/medium-N qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is a particularly suitable methodological approach for water resources studies because it can make use of the rich but fragmented water resources studies literature for accumulation of knowledge and development of theory. It is suggested that taking an explicit critical realist ontological and epistemological stance allows expansion of the scope of stepwise small-N/medium-N QCA beyond what is claimed for it in Ragin’s 'configurational comparative methods (CCM)' perspective for analysing the complexity of causality as 'multiple conjunctural causation'. In addition to explanation of certain sets of 'outcomes' as in CCM’s combinatorial, set-theoretic approach, embedding stepwise small-N/medium-N QCA in a critical realist ontology allows the method to contribute to development of theory on (qualitative differences between) the structures in society that shape water resources use, management and governance.
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TL;DR: The idea that every individual has a right to education is deeply entrenched in the international discourse on educational opportunity and inequality as mentioned in this paper, and the international discussion of access to education has extended beyond its initial focus on increasing enrollment (i.e., physical access) to highlight the importance of expanding educational opportunity by increasing access to quality education.
Abstract: Access to education is one of a range of social citizenship rights that are intended to afford members of a society an opportunity to share in a basic level of social, economic, and cultural well-being and to mitigate societal inequalities (Marshall, 1950; see also Cohen, 2010; Torres, 1998). The idea that every individual has a right to education is deeply entrenched in the international discourse on educational opportunity and inequality. For decades, global initiatives such as the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations, 1948), Education for All (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 1990), and the Millennium Development Goals (United Nations, 2000), which seek to expand access to education for marginalized populations, have affirmed equal access to education as a basic human right guaranteed to all citizens (UNESCO, 1990, 2000, 2005). Over time, the international discussion of access to education has extended beyond its initial focus on increasing enrollment (i.e., physical access) to highlight the importance of expanding educational opportunity by increasing access to quality education. Similarly, the scholarly discourse on educational inequality in South Africa has called for and evolved toward broader, more nuanced conceptualizations of access to education. In the process, theoretical and empirical analyses of educational
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on strategy as a project in which numerous stakeholders make demands and serve to condition its development, and propose a notion of a perennially unfinished project to see how it is in a continuous process of self-formation and reconstruction.
Abstract: This paper is concerned to challenge a selection of the strategy literature on the basis that it tends to follow one or other side of a polarity between a subjective and an objective approach. There is a tendency here for strategy analysis to collapse into subjectivism (e.g. a reification of personalities) or objectivism (e.g. structural determinism) respectively. In seeking to avoid the worst excesses of dualism, we focus on strategy as a project in which numerous stakeholders make demands and serve to condition its development. A notion of strategy as a perennially unfinished project allows us to see how it is in a continuous process of self-formation and reconstruction. As a project, strategy may appear in different discursive configurations depending on which of the stakeholders (e.g. managers, shareholders, competitors, suppliers, intermediaries, the financial community, consultants, regulators, and customers) a corporation is focused on impressing or placating. For example, managers might embrace a core competence narrative or cost-cutting practices in order to maintain or enhance stock market ratings in the financial community. At the same time, strategy is invariably focused on securing the support or loyalty of its customers. This may involve heavy resources being directed towards advertising and brand imaging as well as service quality as part of a strategy of constituting the subjectivity of the (actual or prospective) customer. All this takes place within the framework of constraints laid down by regulators that leave corporate decision-makers limited room for manoeuvre. The paper draws on a limited number of empirical vignettes through which to illustrate our arguments concerning this approach to strategy as a project.
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TL;DR: A collective and collaborative response to an article appearing in Leadership’s “Leading Questions” department is prepared by a team subscribing to the leadership-as-practice approach.
Abstract: A collective and collaborative response to an article appearing in Leadership’s “Leading Questions” department is prepared by a team subscribing to the leadership-as-practice approach. The focus is to represent the manner in which leadership-as-practice operates as a leadership theory and in its communal practice orientation. Among the themes addressed are leadership-as-practice’s theory development, its contribution in comparison to critical leadership theory, its approach to power, and its practicality. Emerging issues in leadership-as-practice theory and application are also reviewed.
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