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MonographDOI

Realist social theory : the morphogenetic approach

01 Sep 1997-Social Forces (Cambridge University Press)-Vol. 22, Iss: 1, pp 335
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Approach not only rejects methodological individualism and holism, but argues that the debate between them has been replaced by a new one, between elisionary theorising and emergentist theories based on a realist ontology of the social world.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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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, Nicolini's five dimensions of practice and three social theories (activity theory, actor-network theory and structuration theory) are discussed to highlight the combinations that are most appropriate and fruitful for addressing various theoretical and practical issues requiring the attention of project management researchers.

88 citations


Cites background from "Realist social theory : the morphog..."

  • ...In fact, a recent development in this school of through was the attempt to understand the role of actors' reflexivity in generating, maintaining and transforming structural properties (Archer, 1995; Beck et al., 1994; Feldman, 2000)....

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  • ...It should be mentioned, however, that realist critics of Giddens' point of view open the way for a more direct role for material objects, by pointing out that actors' access to resources often requires physical access as well as a direct consent by other actors; cognitive frames and taken for granted rules are not enough to offer such access (Archer, 1995; Crossley, 2011)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is argued that semiotics, the theory of signs and symbols, is at the heart of the representation and transmission of information and meaning, and is thus central to communication and information systems, but especially in their contemporary, more virtualized forms.

88 citations

Journal Article
Paul Morton1
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show how the philosophy of social science known as Critical Realism (CR) can inform information systems (IS) research and illustrate the application of CR principles in an excerpt from case study research to explain the outcomes of the interaction between organizational context and management interventions to develop and implement strategic IS plans.
Abstract: This paper shows how the philosophy of social science known as Critical Realism (CR) can inform information systems (IS) research. CR is particularly helpful for IS research where natural science methods (e.g. controlled experiments) are difficult to apply such as in organizational settings, involving IS, where complex interactions occur and outcomes are not predictable. CR shows how an open systems ontology of social reality better explains the nature of causation in complex social interactions and accounts for the fact that outcomes are not predictable. A key advantage of CR is its adoption of an objective ontology (a reality independent of the researcher) while acknowledging the socially constructed nature of knowledge (a subjective epistemology) that can, nevertheless, be assessed for validity thus avoiding the problem of relativism. CR has been used in sociology, economics, organization and management studies, marketing studies, geography, and legal studies but not much in IS research. The second part of the paper illustrates the application of CR principles in an excerpt from case study research to explain the outcomes of the interaction between organizational context and management interventions to develop and implement strategic IS plans INTRODUCING CRITICAL REALISM Realist Ontology and Epistemology Critical realism is a philosophy of social science that shares with positivism the belief that there is a reality, both natural and social, which is independent of human knowledge. However, against positivism but with the interpretive tradition, CR accepts a subjective epistemology or that knowledge is a product of the mind's interpretive activity and is also socially constructed. CR rejects however the assertion, of the strong social constructionist strand of interpretivism, that there is no independent means of establishing the validity of socially constructed knowledge claims. There can be different explanations about a given phenomenon but the adequacy of these explanations, in terms of explaining the causes of the phenomenon in question, can be assessed by reference to an independent reality. In other words CR accepts epistemic relativity, "all beliefs are socially produced" but not judgmental relativity "all beliefs (statements) are equally valid, in the sense that there can be no (rational) grounds for preferring one to another." (Bhaskar 1998a, p. 57) Hence relativism is avoided. A central idea of CR is that natural and social reality should be understood as an open stratified system of objects with causal powers. In the first strata is the domain of experiences or the empirical. The second is the wider domain of actually occurring events and 'non-events' or the domain in which causation is actualized but not necessarily experienced or resulting in events. Finally encompassing both these domains is the domain of the real, which contains the objects, which are the source of causation in the world and hence the cause of events. On this understanding an object is real if it has causal power capable of producing effects. This stratified conception of reality is illustrated in Figure 1. This defines the ontology of reality as an open stratified system of natural objects with causal powers (mechanisms), which under some conditions are actualized to produce events some of which are experienced in the domain of the empirical. Sayer (2000, p. 11-12) comments: The real is whatever exists, be it natural or social, regardless of whether it is an empirical object for us, and ... the real is the realm of objects, ... Whether they be physical, like minerals, or social like bureaucracies, they have certain structures and causal powers, ... the actual refers to what happens if and when those powers are activated, to what they do and what eventuates when they do, such as when the bureaucracy's powers are activated and it engages in activities such as classifying and invoicing, or the previously idle person does some work. …

88 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Inspired by Margaret Archer's morphogenetic sequence and the ontological depth of critical realism, a temporal framework for stigmatisation, incorporating structure and agency, is developed and used to situate experiences of stigma and discrimination amongst people diagnosed with bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder.

87 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Lynn Quinn1
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine a number of discourses which construct academic staff attitudes to teaching and learning in their disciplines, and identify four overarching sets of Discourses ( disciplinary, student deficit, skills and performativity) which represent contradictory positions to academic staff development activities.
Abstract: Using social realist theory and critical discourse analysis, this article examines a number of discourses which construct academic staff attitudes to teaching and learning in their disciplines. It seeks to explain academics' resistance to engaging in activities aimed at professionalising academic practice. The research described in the article identified four overarching sets of discourses – disciplinary, student deficit, skills and performativity – which represent contradictory positions to academic staff development activities. Understanding this resistance might enable institutions to create ideational contexts in which these discourses, which have a constraining influence, can be critiqued and possibly replaced by discourses which create enabling conditions for staff development activities in higher education.

86 citations