Showing papers on "Contemporary society published in 1994"
Book•
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: The authors argued that the ways in which knowledge is produced are undergoing fundamental changes at the end of the twentieth century and that these changes mark a distinct shift into a new mode of knowledge production which is replacing or reforming established institutions, disciplines, practices and policies.
Abstract: In this provocative and broad-ranging work, a distinguished team of authors argues that the ways in which knowledge scientific, social and cultural is produced are undergoing fundamental changes at the end of the twentieth century. They claim that these changes mark a distinct shift into a new mode of knowledge production which is replacing or reforming established institutions, disciplines, practices and policies. Identifying a range of features of the new moder of knowledge production reflexivity, transdisciplinarity, heterogeneity the authors show the connections between these features and the changing role of knowledge in social relations. While the knowledge produced by research and development in science and technology (both public and industrial) is accorded central concern, the authors also outline the changing dimensions of social scientific and humanities knowledge and the relations between the production of knowledge and its dissemination through education. Placing science policy and scientific knowledge in its broader context within contemporary societies, this book will be essential reading for all those concerned with the changing nature of knowledge, with the social study of science, with educational systems, and with the relations between R&D and social, economic and technological development.
7,486 citations
Book•
01 Apr 1994
TL;DR: The idea of a greenhouse effect has been well established for a century or so as mentioned in this paper, although it was not believed possible by scientists until fairly recently although the theoretical idea of the Greenhouse effect was well established.
Abstract: Contemporary societies are faced by a new spectre haunting the ‘globe’ — the changing of the world’s climate. This was not believed possible by scientists until fairly recently although the theoretical idea of a ‘greenhouse effect’ has been well established for a century or so.
351 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: Accounting as Social and Institutional Practice as mentioned in this paper is the first major collection of critical and socio-historical analyses of accounting, which gathers together work by scholars of international renown on the social and institutional nature of accounting to address the conditions and consequences of accounting practice.
Abstract: Accounting as Social and Institutional Practice is the first major collection of critical and socio-historical analyses of accounting. It gathers together work by scholars of international renown on the social and institutional nature of accounting to address the conditions and consequences of accounting practice. Challenging conventional views that accounting is a technical practice, and that it comprises little more than bookkeeping, this collection demonstrates the importance of analysing the multiple arenas in which accounting emerges and operates. As accounting continues to gain in importance in so many spheres of social life, an understanding of the conditions and consequences of this calculative technology is vital. Its relevance extends far beyond the discipline of accounting. This book will be of considerable interest for specialists in organisational analysis, sociologists, and political scientists, as well as the general reader interested in understanding the increasing significance of accounting in contemporary society.
337 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the formation of the modern nation and state in the context of the transformation of society and the restructuring of nations in a juridoco-political way.
Abstract: Part 1 Nation and the bourgeois revolution: building of the modern nation and state - a process of conflict the doctrinal genesis of the modern nation nation, nation-state and nationalism. Part 2 Nation and the working class: the national question in Marx-Engels and in the second international nation and nation-state on Marxism-Leninism contemporary society and its crisis the reconstruction of the nation within the context of the transformation of society juridoco-political restructuring of nations.
66 citations
Book•
01 Mar 1994
TL;DR: This new Journal can perhaps function between the limits of a religious denomination, but is not intellectually strong enough to support multidisciplinary dialogue on disease and health.
Abstract: stressing e.g. brain theory as an argument for holistic pastoral ministeries to persons experiencing the inherent brokeness of contemporary society (p. 27). I also wonder what can be the Church’s mystical yet nurturing influence to the predictable assurances of scientific thought (p. 47). These kind of Journals do more evil than good to the process of multidisciplinary clarification of the role of religion in our contemporary society. In that sense, this new Journal can perhaps function between the limits of a religious. denomination, but is not intellectually strong enough to support multidisciplinary dialogue on disease and health.
64 citations
TL;DR: The authors distinguish between literal, incipient, and metaphorical homelessness and argue that this distinction raises new research questions concerning the experience of households on the edge of homelessness and others who are well-housed but, for various reasons, are not “at home” in their present circumstances.
Abstract: This paper proposes that work by geographers on the relationships between housing, homelessness, and mental health should take into account recent literature concerning the nature of home in contemporary society. Towards this end, we distinguish between literal, incipient, and metaphorical homelessness. We argue that this distinction raises new research questions concerning the experience of households “on the edge of homelessness” and others who are well-housed but, for various reasons, are not “at home” in their present circumstances.
63 citations
35 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: The authors argues persuasively that new British and American conservative theories are not merely variants of economic liberalism, but also embody a search for new authoritative political and civil relations, each attempting to modify society's future course with outlooks significantly different from those of their conservative predecessors.
Abstract: A new conservative theory in Britain and America has altered the terms of political debate, not only among conservatives, but also among liberals, social democrats, and socialists. In this book, Robert Devigne explores how this conservative thought-in particular the work of the British political philosopher Michael Oakeshott, the American Leo Strauss, and their followers-is responding to the challenge of postmodernism, to the pervasive loss of civil traditions, morality, and authority in contemporary societies. Devigne argues persuasively that new British and American conservative theories are not merely variants of economic liberalism, but also embody a search for new authoritative political and civil relations, each attempting to modify society's future course with outlooks significantly different from those of their conservative predecessors. He shows that while both theories are responding to similar political problematics, their origins in different political philosophies have contributed to distinct constitutional doctrines and political objectives. Devigne explains how these separate outlooks and goals are rooted in different views on morality, authority, democracy, liberty, justice, community, and religion, and in distinct preferences toward economic, social, and foreign policy. Throughout the book, Devigne situates both theories' positions among the central debates of political philosophy and compares each theory to dominant British and American political outlooks of the past.
31 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a critical theory of self-formation for early childhood and family life education, which is based on the belief that individuals do not need an expert to tell them what to do; they are capable of becoming enlightened about hidden influences in their own personal and social situations.
Abstract: Family life education is a profession that endeavors to support families in their everyday challenges. Implicit in this mission is the notion that there may be discrepancies between actual and ideal family life. Historically, family life educators have assumed that if information is disseminated and foundation skills are taught, changes in everyday life will emerge (Brown, 1980; Morgaine, 1992a). Although these instrumental/technical approaches may be somewhat helpful, they tend to be limited in that they (a) teach only skills and facts, (b) assume an asocial perspective or presume that discrepancies are evidence of a family defect (Prilleltensky, 1990), (c) accept a single view of everyday realities, and (d) rely on the "expert" model in which professionals (a knowledgeable elite) tell family members how to improve their situations. Due to family life educators' current emphasis on respecting diverse realities (Fine, 1993) and empowering families (Morgaine, 1992c), many social services professionals are beginning to question indiscriminate use of instrumental/technical approaches. Osmond (1987) and Prilleltensky (1991) urge all human services professionals to adopt a theoretical perspective that is macro-sociopolitical--one in which the influence of global and political forces on everyday actions is considered. Previously, I have claimed that when the appropriate knowledge paradigm is coordinated with actual needs, praxis, "the action emerging from informed, integrated, and rational understandings" (Morgaine, 1992a, p. 13) is more likely to emerge. Likewise, our professional preparation of family life educators must move away from an indiscriminate reliance on instrumental/technical paradigms. Banks (1993) argues that students should learn to understand all forms of knowledge. Miller (1992) claims that teachers need to "excavate, reflect on, and analyze underlying assumptions, expectations, and constructions" (p. 103) of everyday life in order to become insightful about the complexities involved. Walker (1993) provides suggestions as to how family life educators can value diverse realities when teaching about families. DuBois (1993) claims that feminist approaches can illuminate the ways in which dominant members of society have perpetuated hierarchical assumptions in all aspects of institutional norms. EMERGENCE OF A CRITICAL THEORY This article presents a critical theory of self-formation. It has emerged from my use of critical social science, or a critical/emancipatory paradigm (Morgaine, 1992b, 1994), when contributing to the professional preparation of early childhood and family life educators. After a brief narrative of the emergence of this theory, I will present an overview of the theory and implications for its use by family life educators. Critical social science assumes that contemporary societies are oppressive in that they systematically encourage the development of certain societal groups at the expense of others. Feminist in its philosophical assumptions (Fay, 1977; Lather, 1991), critical social science seeks to expose the ways in which social and cultural realities may be hindering the human potential of all people. This exposure is accomplished by encouraging oppressed group members to examine societal structures as well as their own values, beliefs, and assumptions about everyday life. Critical social science is based on the belief that individuals do not need an expert to tell them what to do; they are capable of becoming enlightened about hidden influences in their own personal and social situations. It is assumed that praxis, or emancipative action toward making change, will occur once people are enlightened. I turned to critical social science when I experienced a discrepancy between my lived reality and my desired ends. My goal was to facilitate the development of early childhood and family life educators who would be capable of contributing to the holistic development of children and families. …
Book•
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: A number of authors, including several contributors to this collection, argue that on the eve of the twenty-first century, civil society is beginning to disintegrate everywhere as mentioned in this paper, and fifteen scholars from ten different countries address that argument by problematizing the relation between the older concept of civil society and the newer one, information society.
Abstract: Any examination of contemporary society must recognize a central place for information and communication processes and for the technologies and institutions on which they rely, particularly for public communication. The essays in this volume juxtapose two central concepts of recent social and political thought -- civil society and information society - and relate them to the complex nature of contemporary public communication. A number of authors, including several contributors to this collection, argue that on the eve of the twenty-first century, civil society is beginning to disintegrate everywhere. In this volume, fifteen scholars from ten different countries address that argument by problematizing the relation between the older concept, civil society, and the newer one, information society, and offering perspectives on future directions.
TL;DR: This article argued that the dramatic categories of good and evil are ever-present parameters of morality in media accounts and that the existence of such parameters demonstrates the robust nature of the social imagination as a resource to combat the despair offered by the postmodern perspective.
Abstract: This article challenges the postmodernist view—embodied in the work of such theorists as Baudrillard and Lyotard—that contemporary society is rife with meaninglessness and objectification. Rather, we will argue, meaning is creatively negotiated, among other ways, through narratives conveyed by the mass media. In examining the metanarrative underlying American news accounts, the drama of democracy, and the application of its various genres in the cases of Mikhail Gorbachev and Clarence Thomas, we aim to show that the dramatic categories of good and evil are ever-present parameters of morality in media accounts. The existence of such parameters demonstrates the robust nature of the social imagination as a resource to combat the despair offered by the postmodern perspective. (Sociology)
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that adherence to the traditional notion of individual human rights is anachronistic and increasingly problematic for the quality of life in contemporary society, and they criticise the idea of human rights as timelessly valid and offer a contextualised account of these constructs, one able to take on board the implications of their maximalist exercise in a populous technological society.
Abstract: Theories of the influence of technology on modern Western society have failed to take into account the important role played by a widespread pattern of sociotechnical practice. The pattern in question involves the interplay of technology, rights, and numbers. This paper argues that in the context of an ever more potent technological arsenal and an ever increasing number of individuals who have access to its elements and believe themselves entitled to use them in maximalist ways, adherence to the traditional notion of individual human rights is anachronistic and increasingly problematic for the quality of life in contemporary society. To combat this situation, I criticise the idea of human rights as timelessly valid and offer a contextualised account of these constructs, one able to take on board the implications of their maximalist exercise in a populous technological society. I conclude by illustrating the struggles being waged over the adaptation of human rights to techno-demographic reality in two areas of contemporary Western society: urban planning and medicine.
TL;DR: The authors argue that the discipline of industrial relations has become marginalized, as discussion about business, work and employment has been increasingly dominated by the popular nostrums of "Enterprise Culture", "Excellence" and "Human Resources Management" notwithstanding important changes in contemporary society and industry.
Abstract: Argues that the discipline of Industrial Relations has become marginalized, as discussion about business, work and employment has been increasingly dominated by the popular nostrums of “Enterprise Culture”, “Excellence” and “Human Resources Management”. Attempts to restate the “basic case” for a critical industrial relations perspective on unerstanding the employment relationship, notwithstanding important changes in contemporary society and industry. Briefly outlines and criticizes the challenge from popular management. Next, outlines a viable, modern definition of industrial relations. Following this, makes the case for a rigorous social science approach to understanding employment relations. However, the discipline also requires an ethical vision, and the conclusion suggests how this might inform some of the key issues in contemporary industrial relations.
TL;DR: It is argued that research and practice must focus on racism rather than simply on race, ethnicity, or minority status and must take full account of racism in the study of health, illness, and health care provision in the lives of Britain's black population.
Abstract: Ed Waqar I U Ahmad Open University Press, £12.99, pp 247 ISBN 0-335-15697-5
The social science analysis of “race” and health in Britain over the past 15 years or so has been marked by a high level of mutual denigration as successive researchers have vied with their predecessors to show that their work does full justice to the political reality of the lives of minority groups in contemporary society in ways which the work of others failed to do. Ahmad's collection of commissioned pieces is no exception.
The editor sets out the aim of the book in the first chapter as providing a critical introduction to the study of health, illness, and health care provision in the lives of Britain's black population. Ahmad sums up what he means by “critical” in this context by arguing that research and practice must focus on racism rather than simply on race, ethnicity, or minority status and must take full account of …
Book•
30 Jul 1994
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address the nature and functions of modern organizations at both the macro and micro levels, with theoretical, empirical, and analytical essays by leading scholars of organization and administrative theory.
Abstract: This edited original collection addresses the nature and functions of modern organizations at both the macro and micro levels. With theoretical, empirical, and analytical essays by leading scholars of organization and administrative theory, the volume will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in manayement, public ndministration, and organizational behavior. Grouped into four sections, the work's chapters explore society and the modern organization, public organization design and the reorganization of governance, the administrative state and public administration, and critical perspectives on the relationship between organization, individual, and administration.
TL;DR: The rapid growth of conservative Protestantism in North America since the 1970s has affected all strata of contemporary society as mentioned in this paper, and this religious revival also challenges the Hutterites, one of the oldest communal groups in the Western world.
Abstract: The rapid growth of conservative Protestantism in North America since the 1970s has affected all strata of contemporary society. Social scientists have tended to focus their investigations on how this religious movement has impacted mainstream churches. However, this religious revival also challenges the Hutterites, one of the oldest communal groups in the Western world. The Hutterites have long been known for their communal lifestyle, uniformity in religious belief, and success in maintaining strong commitment to their colonies. A crisis has arisen as numerous members reject the basic Hutterite tenet that communal living is essential for salvation. Many have embraced a contemporary, conservative Protestant interpretation of Christianity in which a "personal relationship with Christ" is emphasized. This conversion is manifested in the way most Hutterite converts change from being emotionally reserved to being outspoken. The article explores the religious change among Hutterites in terms of the cultural co...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors of the book Hayat Muhammad Husayn Haykal's biography of the Prophet have been analyzed from a different perspective, namely, from the bottom up.
Abstract: This paper is an attempt to rethink the much-discussed topic of the so-called crisis of orientation among, or shift of, Egyptian intellectuals who turned to Islamic subjects in the 1930s. Those intellectuals who, during the 1920s, had adhered to the principles of Westernization and secularization were said to have abandoned these principles to embrace Islam and Arabism a decade later. The commonly ventured historical account of this shift attempted to describe and explain it from the "top down," that is, from the perspective of the intellectual producers, either on the basis of content analysis of their texts or through the reconstruction of authorial intentions. It was assumed that the impact of this shift on the culture and politics of contemporary society could be extracted from the meanings invested by the authors in their texts or from the context of the act of writing. This paper approaches the subject from a different perspective, namely, from the "bottom up." While not ignoring authorial intentions or the meanings with which authors invested their texts, I emphasize the ways in which readers reinterpreted intellectual literature on Islam as they consumed it and argue that a proper understanding of the social and political impact of literary products cannot be attained without also understanding the reception of these products. I concentrate especially on one of the major representative texts My special thanks are due to Ursula Wokoeck for her thoughtful comments and valuable suggestions on earlier drafts of this paper. Poetics Today 15:2 (Summer 1994). Copyright ? 1994 by The Porter Institute for Poetics and Semiotics. CCC 0333-5372/94/$2.50. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.101 on Sat, 08 Oct 2016 05:29:15 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 242 Poetics Today 15:2 of this shift, Muhammad Husayn Haykal's biography of the Prophet, and reconstruct the different interpretations of this work's major communities of contemporary readers in the discursive context of their different "horizons of expectations." Through recontextualizing the "crisis of orientation" debate in the paradigm of reader-response criticism and reception theory, the paper is intended to show that each community of readers produces an autonomous interpretation, "another reading." Despite differences among the various reading communities, some common features emerge from their interpretations of Hayat Muhammad, which are, in many respects, different from both authorial meanings and authorial intentions. These readers viewed Haykal's intellectual reorientation as a fundamental shift from a Western orientation to an Islamic one, yet they did not experience this as crisis, disorientation, or confusion. They perceived Haykal's new orientation, expressed in Hayat Muhammad, not as a shift to orthodox or traditional Islam, but as Haykal's attempt to adapt Islam to modern conditions and to present the life of the Prophet as a model for contemporary society. Finally, for its readers, Hayat Muhammad represented an effort to construct a collective identity, an Islamic form of an ideal "imagined community" which would be both progressive and authentic.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that parents need to consider their personal experiences of mothering and fathering in relation to the under structural tensions shaping their individual responses which impact in turn on the broader situation.
Abstract: SUMMARY: The provision of parenting education in Australia has increased dramatically in recent years in response to the rapid changes in contemporary society and the involvement of professionals in family life and relationships. Informed by a critical perspective which highlights the impact of individuals and society upon each other, the paper argues that the value base of parenting education programmes needs to be made clear. Parents need to be helped to consider their personal experiences of mothering and fathering in relation to the under structural tensions shaping their individual responses which impact in turn on the broader situation. A study being undertaken in Melbourne, Australia is drawn on to illustrate certain aspects of parenting education, and ways in which programmes can perpetuate dominant ideologies which can disadvantage parents, but especially mothers, are noted.
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a survey of families whose structure is at variance with both historical and traditional views of families, including the conventional perspective that families comprise a mother/housewife, a father/sole earner, and a child(ren).
Abstract: The chapters contained in this book represent families whose structure is at variance with both historical and traditional views. The conventional perspective that families comprise a mother/housewife, a father/sole earner, and a child(ren) is demographically in the minority in U.S. contemporary society (Wetzel, 1990). Each chapter and its research findings reveal a reformulation and redefinition of the parental role. The implications for children extend far beyond the family unit and pervade all institutions and aspects of our society and culture.
Book•
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: The collapse of communism has led, if not to an actual transition to a world in which everything is experienced as relative, then at least to a greater awareness of already living in such a world.
Abstract: The collapse of communism has led, if not to an actual transition to a world in which everything is experienced as relative, then at least to a greater awareness of already living in such a world. Contemporary societies were not prepared for this and feel cast adrift. The so-called transition period ushered in by this collapse is marked by a threefold crisis, analysable as the manifestation of the global redistribution of a relation to meaning, affecting centrality, identity and mediation and testifying to a revelation of the relation of believing through the truth of believing. What is at work here, and what forces us to set aside our traditional categories of analysis, is, beyond the difficulty of expressing a relationship to movement and pluralism (the religious being constantly called upon to participate in the management of this expression), the pursuit of a long process of disenchantment with politics. The lack of a plausible politics in this perspective explains the recourse to religious categories...
Book•
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: The American Experiment as discussed by the authors is a collection of 29 lectures from outstanding teachers of American politics to offer a comprehensive overview of American government, from the founding to the role of public opinion and mass media in contemporary American society.
Abstract: Dissatisfied with existing textbooks, the editors of The American Experiment have assembled 29 lectures from outstanding teachers of American politics to offer a comprehensive overview of American government, from the founding to the role of public opinion and mass media in contemporary American society. Written at a level accessible to beginning students, The American Experiment can be used in place of a main or supplemental text in introductory courses as well as a layperson's guide to American government.
TL;DR: The need to create a new social studies course is mandated by cardinal changes in the country as mentioned in this paper, by the desire to resurrect Russian statehood and overcome the "image of the enemy" in relations with other states; by substantial changes in social sciences and opportunities that have opened up to explore the diversity of worldview positions, by perestroika in the sphere of education, designed to make it more humane and to shape citizens who are integrated into contemporary society and desirous of improving it.
Abstract: The need to create a new social studies course is mandated by cardinal changes in the country—by the desire to resurrect Russian statehood and overcome the "image of the enemy" in relations with other states; by substantial changes in the social sciences and opportunities that have opened up to explore the diversity of worldview positions, by perestroika in the sphere of education, designed to make it more humane and to shape citizens who are integrated into contemporary society and desirous of improving it; and by educators' and school students' vigorous rejection of the old content of the social disciplines. The old content deprived students of the opportunity to become properly acquainted with the multicolored picture of contemporary life in the country and the world; it failed to foster the correct orientation under rapidly changing circumstances and realization of one's own place in them.