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Approach not only rejects methodological individualism and holism, but argues that the debate between them has been replaced by a new one, between elisionary theorising and emergentist theories based on a realist ontology of the social world.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: The authors argue against the concomitant rejection of the importance of materialist factors in explaining stability and change in political science, and argue that the focus on ideas in Political Science is a good thing.
Abstract: After acknowledging the growing focus on ideas in Political Science and giving two cheers for that development, this paper warns against the concomitant rejection of the importance of materialist factors in explaining stability and change. The argument is illustrated by a focus on recent literature on globalisation and the global financial crisis.
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TL;DR: This article examined the role of occupations and work conditions in psychological distress with a model of social action in which psychological distress results from stress created by the constraints of structures of daily life, macrosocial structures, and agent personality.
Abstract: This study examines the role of occupations and work conditions in psychological distress with a model of social action in which psychological distress results from stress created by the constraintsresources of structures of daily life, macrosocial structures, and agent personality. Using longitudinal data from 6611 workers nested in 471 occupations, multilevel regression analyses confirm the model. Occupations account for 1.6 percent of the variation. Social support and job insecurity contribute to distress, but greater decision authority increases distress. Skill utilization follows a J curve. Family structure, social network outside the workplace, and the personality of the agent do not moderate the influence of the workplace, with the sole exception of strained marital relations. The findings support the hypothesis that occupations and certain workplace constraintsresources contribute independently to psychological distress. Researchers in workplace mental health must expand their theoretical perspect...
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TL;DR: Archer and the Structural Shaping of Thought as mentioned in this paper reviewed the work of Bourdieu and Bernstein to suggest that structural influences can operate by conditioning the resources available for the conducting of the internal conversation.
Abstract: Archer and the Structural Shaping of Thought, pp. 429-445 Margaret Archer has recently provided a persuasive account of the importance of the internal conversation to reflexivity. This raises questions about the shaping of such conversations by involuntary agential positioning. The work of Bourdieu and Bernstein is reviewed to suggest that structural influences can operate by conditioning the resources available for the conducting of the internal conversation. Particular emphasis is placed on the transfer of taken for granted ideas from one domain of practice to another.
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TL;DR: This paper examined how digital technology mediates the behaviour of consumers in three online systems that facilitate offline gift giving and sharing (Freecycle, Couchsurfing, and Landshare) and found that technology is used to enact and influence the management of identity, partner selection, ritual normalisation, and negotiation of property rights.
Abstract: The paper examines how digital technology mediates the behaviour of consumers in three online systems that facilitate offline gift giving and sharing (Freecycle, Couchsurfing, and Landshare). Findings derived from a netnography and depth interviews reveal how technology is used to enact and influence the management of identity, partner selection, ritual normalisation, and negotiation of property rights. The findings have significant implications for the design and management of systems that encourage non-monetary forms of collaborative consumption. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore some implications of using a critical realist theoretical framework for the study of education, in particular the core activities of learning and teaching, and the starting position is not the transmission of knowledge, but the construction of knowledge by learners.
Abstract: This article explores some implications of using a critical realist theoretical framework for the study of education, in particular the core activities of learning and teaching Many approaches have been made to understanding learning and teaching, but they tend to fall into one of two camps The first includes approaches known as objectivism, instructivism and behaviourism, and is interpreted here as embodying principles of empiricism (positivism) The second comprises various takes on constructivism, particularly social constructivism, and is interpreted here as embodying idealism (poststructuralism/postmodernism/interpretivism) This paper does not wholly endorse or reject either objectivism or constructivism, but draws elements from each The key difference for educators is that the starting position is not the transmission of knowledge, as in objectivism, or the construction of knowledge by learners, as in social constructivism Instead it foregrounds the learning environment, arising from th
63 citations