Showing papers on "Contemporary society published in 2002"
Book•
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28 Nov 2002
TL;DR: Shields as mentioned in this paper dissects the history of the virtual world and takes his analysis beyond the technologies themselves to show how the virtual has infiltrated our daily lives at every level, from moral panics over paedophile stalkers on the net to automated telemarketing that interrupts our dinners and clogs our answer phones to the laptops which keep us connected to the office twenty four hours a day.
Abstract: From the Publisher:
Rob Shields unravels the origins and the many contemporary meanings of the virtual as a concept. Shields dissects the history of the virtual world and takes his analysis beyond the technologies themselves to show how the virtual has infiltrated our daily lives at every level. From the moral panics over paedophile stalkers on the net to the automated telemarketing that interrupts our dinners and clogs our answer phones to the laptops which keep us connected to the office twenty four hours a day, technology has become an integral part of modern living. With insight and clarity, The Virtual reveals how technology has become virtually entwined in contemporary society.
299 citations
TL;DR: The role of civil society in democratic governance around the world and the decline of social capital in the US has raised pressing theoretical and empirical questions about the character of contemporary societies and the social and institutional correlates of sound and dynamic democracies as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Recent discussion about the role of civil society in democratic governance around the world and the decline of social capital in the US has raised pressing theoretical and empirical questions about the character of contemporary societies and the social and institutional correlates of sound and dynamic democracies. This debate has reached a North American and European audience that extends well beyond academia. The predominant refrain in the debate, following Alexis de Tocqueville's 160-year-old analysis of democracy in America, attaches tremendous importance to the role of voluntary associations in contemporary democracies. Participation in such groups is said to produce social capital, often linked to high levels of social trust. Social capital in turn is conceived as a crucial national resource for promoting collective action for the common good. Beyond Tocqueville presents 21 varied essays on how civic engagement and political and economic cooperation are generated in contemporary societies, linking theoretical discourse with public policy and actual behaviors.
281 citations
211 citations
26 Sep 2002
188 citations
TL;DR: The Dynamics of Full Employment as discussed by the authors provides an internationally comparative, interdisciplinary approach to the dynamics of full employment and views the labour market not only as an economic institution, but also as a social one.
Abstract: Persistent unemployment is recognised as one of the main mechanisms of social and political exclusion. The Dynamics of Full Employment provides a new and fresh approach to the question of full employment in contemporary society. It offers an internationally comparative, interdisciplinary approach to the dynamics of full employment and views the labour market not only as an economic institution, but as a social one.
179 citations
TL;DR: Although the concepts of "media culture" and "consumer culture" have been commonly used as labels for contemporary society, they have rarely been explicitly compared as discussed by the authors, nor have there been any seriou...
Abstract: Although the concepts of ‘media culture’ and ‘consumer culture’ have been commonly used as labels for contemporary society, they have rarely been explicitly compared. Nor have there been any seriou...
175 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the results of an Internet survey of all the humanities faculties in Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and the UK are presented, along with ten practical strategies to further education for sustainability in higher education institutions.
Abstract: Presents the results of an Internet survey of all the humanities faculties in Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands and the UK and of a review of the international debate both on sustainability in general and education for sustainability in particular Argues for a complex, transdisciplinary and broad approach to education for sustainability (EfS) Such an approach has to acknowledge the relative relevance of education within contemporary society, along with other “educators” such as the media, the economy and the shadow curriculum of institutional practice It has to be fully aware of the reasons and the extent of the unsustainability of our current situation, but it also has to sketch out what a sustainable society might mean Only on this basis can we then develop effective and sensible proposals for EfS Ends with ten practical strategies to further EfS in higher education institutions
163 citations
TL;DR: The authors argues that inequality has both positive and negative effects, and argues that religious beliefs provide as strong (or weak) a justification for views toward society's implicit welfare function as do philosophical reflections behind a veil of ignorance, and that America has reached a point at which efficiently redistributing income from rich to poor is in the nation's interest.
Abstract: This chapter suggests that inequality has both positive and negative effects. On the positive side, differential rewards provide incentives for individuals to work hard, invest, and innovate. On the negative side, differences in rewards that are unrelated to productivity—those that result from racial discrimination, for example—are corrosive to civil society and cause resources to be misallocated. The chapter argues that, for various reasons elaborated below, all of these forms of inequality are of concern to contemporary American society, and that America has reached a point at which, on the margin, efficiently redistributing income from rich to poor is in the nation's interest. It also argues that religious beliefs provide as strong (or weak) a justification for views toward society's implicit welfare function as do philosophical reflections behind a veil of ignorance. The chapter disputes that inequality could grow so extreme that it eventually jeopardizes any type of "widespread acceptance" of a democratic capitalist society that might be established.
143 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: In this article, Williams's granddaughter, a cultural historian who has served in the administration of MIT, uses her grandfather's and her own experience to make sense of the rapidly changing role of technology in contemporary life.
Abstract: From the Publisher:
When Warren Kendall Lewis left Spring Garden Farm in Delaware in 1901 to enter MIT, he had no idea that he was becoming part of a profession that would bring untold good to his country but would also contribute to the death of his family's farm. In this book written a century later, Professor Lewis's granddaughter, a cultural historian who has served in the administration of MIT, uses her grandfather's and her own experience to make sense of the rapidly changing role of technology in contemporary life.
Rosalind Williams served as Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education at MIT from 1995 through 2000. From this vantage point, she watched a wave of changes, some planned and some unexpected, transform many aspects of social and working life--from how students are taught to how research and accounting are done--at this major site of technological innovation. In Retooling, she uses this local knowledge to draw more general insights into contemporary society's obsession with technology.
Today technology-driven change defines human desires, anxieties, memories, imagination, and experiences of time and space in unprecedented ways. But technology, and specifically information technology, does not simply influence culture and society; it is itself inherently cultural and social. If there is to be any reconciliation between technological change and community, Williams argues, it will come from connecting technological and social innovation--a connection demonstrated in the history that unfolds in this absorbing book.
139 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a review of problems, trends and developments in key areas affecting teacher education and the teaching career, from recruitment to conditions of work, concluding that a robust and comprehensive policy for the teaching trajectory needs to be a priority for governments, and that the teaching profession should be consulted on policyformation and implementation.
Abstract: This paper attempts to position the teaching career within the context of the changing policy paradigm of lifelong
learning. The paper locates the emergence of this policy within some of the fundamental social and economic
changes which are re-shaping contemporary society. It emphasises that society’s requirement of a highly educated,
well trained, committed and effective teaching force was never more urgent. While the demands being made of
teachers have been increasing greatly, there are disturbing indications that in some countries key factors needed to
underpin a qualitative teaching profession are under stress. The paper reviews problems, trends and developments in
key areas affecting teacher education and the teaching career, from recruitment to conditions of work. The final
section of the paper proposes guidelines for action to ensure that a systematic and coherent policy prevails to support
the teaching career into the future. The paper concludes that a robust and comprehensive policy for the teaching
career needs to be a priority for governments, and that the teaching profession should be consulted on policy
formulation and implementation.
133 citations
11 Sep 2002
TL;DR: The Corrosion of Character (1998) as discussed by the authors describes the transition from The Hidden Injuries of Class (1972) in Richard Sennett and Jonathan Cobb's classic book of that title, to Sennett's recent study of the children of that generation.
Abstract: Contemporary theories of individualisation (Beck 1992; Giddens 1991,
1992) argue that modern society is giving a new importance to individuals.
Where earlier agrarian and industrial societies provided social scripts,
which most individuals were expected to follow, contemporary societies
throw more responsibility on to individuals to choose their own identities.
Social structures-classes, extended families, occupational communities,
long-term employment within a firm-which formerly provided strong
frames of identity, grow weaker. Simultaneously, society exposes
individuals to bombardments of information, alternative versions of how
life might be lived, and requires of individuals that they construct an
‘authentic’ version of themselves, making use of the numerous
identityprops which consumer-society makes available. The transition
from The Hidden Injuries of Class (1972) in Richard Sennett and Jonathan
Cobb’s classic book of that title, to Sennett’s recent study of the children of
that generation The Corrosion of Character (1998) provides one description
of this transition, which Sennett represents as involving as much loss as
gain in terms of psychic and moral wellbeing.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that sport remains an activity dominated by a particular form of masculinity based on competitiveness, aggression and elements of traditional understandings of the sporting male, and argue that gender, sexuality, age and physical ability are among the barriers to achieving individual bodily expression through organized sport.
Abstract: Participation in sport remains an activity dominated by a particular form of masculinity based on competitiveness, aggression and elements of traditional understandings of the sporting male. At the same time, contemporary society continues to ascribe greater cultural capital to those who display evidence of this in their bodily practices. Those who approach sport have to negotiate these elements and it is their relationship to this particular understanding which influences their level of participation. Gender, sexuality, age and physical ability are foremost in creating bridges or barriers to achieving individual bodily expression through organized sport There is a need to assess the nature of sport participation in contemporary culture and highlight the task of academic research to become more active in confronting the wider social issues which invariably exclude a large number of the population from enjoying sport and their bodies. The arguments developed in this chapter have been drawn from research co...
TL;DR: In this article, a review of international conservation literature, three inter-related themes are explored: the emergence in the 1860− 1910 period of new worldviews on the human-nature relationship in western culture; the emergence of new conservation values and the translation of these into public policy goals, namely designation of protected areas and enforcement of wildlife legislation, by international lobbying networks of prominent men; and the adoption of these policies by the Netherlands Indies government.
Abstract: National parks and wildlife sanctuaries are under threat both physically and as a social ideal in Indonesia following the collapse of the Suharto New Order regime (1967‐1998). Opinion-makers perceive parks as representing elite special interest, constraining economic development and/or indigenous rights. We asked what was the original intention and who were the players behind the Netherlands Indies colonial government policy of establishing nature ‘monuments’ and wildlife sanctuaries. Based on a review of international conservation literature, three inter-related themes are explored: a) the emergence in the 1860‐ 1910 period of new worldviews on the human-nature relationship in western culture; b) the emergence of new conservation values and the translation of these into public policy goals, namely designation of protected areas and enforcement of wildlife legislation, by international lobbying networks of prominent men; and 3) the adoption of these policies by the Netherlands Indies government. This paper provides evidence that the root motivations of protected area policy are noble, namely: 1) a desire to preserve sites with special meaning for intellectual and aesthetic contemplation of nature; and 2) acceptance that the human conquest of nature carries with it a moral responsibility to ensure the survival of threatened life forms. Although these perspectives derive from elite society of the American East Coast and Western Europe at the end of the nineteenth century, they are international values to which civilised nations and societies aspire. It would be a tragedy if Indonesia rejects these social values and protected areas because subsequent management polices have associated protected areas with aspects of the colonial and New Order regime that contemporary society seeks to reform.
TL;DR: The authors examines ways in which the Internet and alternative forms of media have been employed to enhance political struggle in contemporary society, and are in fact redefining political struggle, using a case study of Nike Corporation to highlight that although the power and autonomy of transnational corporations operating within the global economy has been enhanced over the past few decades, there are accompanying modes of grassroots organizing which foster globalized resistance to such hegemonic tendencies.
Abstract: This paper examines ways in which the Internet and alternative forms of media have been employed to enhance political struggle in contemporary society, and are in fact redefining political struggle. It uses a case study of Nike Corporation to highlight that although the power and autonomy of transnational corporations operating within the global economy has been enhanced over the past few decades, there are accompanying modes of grassroots organizing which foster globalized resistance to such hegemonic tendencies. The analysis argues that the Internet provides the resources and environment necessary for cohesive organized resistance to corporate culture across the domains of production (labor issues) and consumption issues (marketing). The Internet and independent media have facilitated organizing strategies among emerging new social movements, such as the anti-sweatshop movement and the Culture Jammers movement. This paper draws on both modern and postmodern theory to explore ways in which marginal group...
TL;DR: In this article, a renewed methodologies for social research in order to explore and re-present the complexity of lived relations in contemporary society is presented, which can transgress conventional or traditional ways of analysing and representing research data.
Abstract: This paper focuses upon renewed methodologies for social research in order to explore and re-present the complexity of lived relations in contemporary society. Renewed methodologies can transgress conventional or traditional ways of analysing and representing research data. This paper combines socio-cultural theory; experience (life stories); and practice (exhibition/performance) defined as ethno-mimesis to explore and better understand key themes and issues evolving from ethnographic work with female prostitutes. By focusing upon life history work with women working as prostitutes and by experiencing women’s stories represented through live art we can further our understanding of the complexity of sex, sexualities, desire, violence, masculinities and the relevance of the body ‐ the gendered body, the imaginary body, the performative body, the social body ‐ within the context of post modern times, de-traditionalization, and what Stejpan
TL;DR: In contemporary society public opinion is generally mediated by the mass media, which has come to encompass the Habermasian "public sphere" as mentioned in this paper, and this arena is now characterised by the conflict between market and democratic principles, by competing interests of politicians and the media.
Abstract: In contemporary society public opinion is generally mediated by the mass media, which has come to encompass the Habermasian ‘public sphere’. This arena is now characterised by the conflict between market and democratic principles, by competing interests of politicians and the media. The presentation of information for debate becomes distorted. The opinion of the ‘public’ is no longer created through deliberation, but is constructed through systems of communication, in conflict with political actors, who seek to retain control of the dissemination of information. The expansion of the internet as a new method of communication provides a potential challenge to the primacy of the traditional media and political parties as formers of public opinion.
01 Nov 2002
TL;DR: The Culture of Control: Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society as mentioned in this paper, by David Garland (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), is a seminal work in the field of criminal justice.
Abstract: The Culture of Control: Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society. David Garland (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001).
Book•
01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: Frosh as mentioned in this paper explored the question of how to understand the personal in contemporary social life through three themes: "troubled masculinities", "postmodernism and family therapy" and "beyond discourse".
Abstract: Book synopsis: Throughout the human sciences, recent debates have centred on the relationship between social structures and subjectivity. These debates have been exemplary in the areas of gender, discourse and psychotherapy. Drawing on postmodernism and on psychoanalysis, scholars in these areas have attempted to theorise the social 'human subject' as a site for the expression of cultural and linguistic forces, whilst struggling to maintain the possibility of personal agency and political resistance.
In this book, which draws on some of Stephen Frosh's most innovative work, the question of how to understand the 'personal' in contemporary social life is explored through three themes: 'troubled masculinities', 'postmodernism and family therapy' and 'beyond discourse'. The studies which make up the book centre on the task of constructing theories which are genuinely 'psychosocial' in the sense of dealing with processes of social construction and with personal agency, in a context that celebrates the diversity of cultural and subjective forms. The book thus represents a substantial contribution to thinking around the intersections between psychology, psychoanalysis, systems therapy, postmodernism and social theory.
Stephen Frosh is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Centre for Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London. He was previously Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Tavistock Clinic, London. He is the author of numerous academic papers and several books, the most recent (with Ann Phoenix and Rob Pattman) being Young Masculinities: Understanding Boys in Contemporary Society.
TL;DR: Benhabib et al. as mentioned in this paper explored ideological differences, theoretical disputes, social processes, and institutional change in the United States and found that the terms of social solidarity have changed as the society itself has changed.
Abstract: Never before has the legitimacy of a dominant American culture been so hotly contested as over the past two decades. Familiar terms such as culture wars, multiculturalism, moral majority, and family values all suggest a society fragmented by the issue of cultural diversity. So does any social solidarity exist among Americans? In Diversity and Its Discontents, a group of leading sociologists, political theorists, and social historians seek to answer this question empirically by exploring ideological differences, theoretical disputes, social processes, and institutional change. Together they present a broad yet penetrating look at American life in which cultural conflict has always played a part. Many of the findings reveal that this conflict is no more or less rampant now than in the past, and that the terms of social solidarity in the United States have changed as the society itself has changed. The volume begins with reflections on the sources of the current "culture wars" and goes on to show a number of parallel situations throughout American history--some more profound than today's conflicts. The contributors identify political vicissitudes and social changes in the late twentieth century that have formed the backdrop to the "wars," including changes in immigration, marriage, family structure, urban and residential life, and expression of sexuality. Points of agreement are revealed between the left and the right in their diagnoses of American culture and society, but the essays also show how the claims of both sides have been overdrawn and polarized. The volume concludes that above all, the antagonists of the culture wars have failed to appreciate the powerful cohesive forces in Americans' outlooks and institutions, forces that have, in fact, institutionalized many of the "radical" changes proposed in the 1960s. Diversity and Its Discontents brings sound empirical evidence, theoretical sophistication, and tempered judgment to a cultural episode in American history that has for too long been clouded by ideological rhetoric. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Seyla Benhabib, Jean L. Cohen, Reynolds Farley, Claude S. Fischer, Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr., John Higham, David A. Hollinger, Steven Seidman, Marta Tienda, David Tyack, R. Stephen Warner, Robert Wuthnow, and Viviana A. Zelizer.
Book•
28 Jun 2002
TL;DR: Gargi Bhattacharyya as discussed by the authors guides students through the key theoretical debates in the area from the early history of sexology, through Foucault's technologies of self to Judith Butler on the performance of identity, and shows how these theoretical positions apply to sexuality as it is experienced in contemporary society.
Abstract: In this broad-ranging introduction to the study of sexuality, Gargi Bhattacharyya guides students through the key theoretical debates in the area from the early history of sexology, through Foucault's technologies of self to Judith Butler on the performance of identity Bhattacharyya shows how these theoretical positions apply to sexuality as it is experienced in contemporary society, and covers key topics such as:* the ideology of heterosexuality* sex and the state* sex, race and 'the exotic'* age and sexuality* sex education and pornographyThe book argues that the study of sexuality is an essential part of broader debates on gender, race, citizenship and community Topical and original, it provides a systematic overview of theory combined with up-to-the minute discussion of social and race issues It gives students a lucid map of the terrain, and an exciting starting point for their own investigations
TL;DR: The Culture of Control by David Garland as mentioned in this paper summarizes the totality of dramatic changes in response to crime during the last 30 years and attempts to explain these changes through a set of basic social and cultural transformations, distinctive rifts in the social organization of late modernity, yielding a sense of profound ontological uncertainty for all, and the free market and socially conservative politics that accompanied these transformations, on the other.
Abstract: Expectations are high when the author of Punishment and Welfare (Garland 1985) and Punishment and Modem Society (Garland 1990) appears back on stage with a new volume. They are heightened when prominent scholars, on the book's flap, promise the reader a "brilliant" (Richard Sennett) or "marvelous" (Bruce Western) book, "a remarkable and visionary exegesis" (Mitchell Duneier), "essential reading" (Loic Wacquant), and "the most important book on the sociology of punishment and social control since Foucault's Discipline and Punish" (Jonathan Simon). And indeed, in The Culture of Control, David Garland, seeking to understand Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society, offers an analysis of amazingly broad scope. The author summarizes the totality of dramatic changes in response to crime during the last 30 years. And he attempts to explain these changes through (1) a set of basic social and cultural transformations, distinctive rifts in the social organization of late modernity, yielding a sense of profound ontological uncertainty for all, on the one hand, and (2) the free market and socially conservative politics that accompanied these transformations, on the other. Historic depth reaches from the Hobbesian through a Marxian to a late modem problem of order, while focusing on the latter. The substantive
TL;DR: The aim of the paper is to argue that: firstly, orthodox and non-orthodox medicines reflect political economic aspects of the social context in which they are located and do not exist in a social vacuum ensuring their ontological distinctiveness.
Abstract: It is widely assumed that there is a high level of medical pluralism in contemporary society. For example, both orthodox and non-orthodox medicines are simultaneously available to the public. What ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on microfascism as a line of flight with respect to the social bond and ask what happens to the project of subversion when power itself goes nomadic and when the idea of transgression is solicited by the new "spirit of capitalism".
Abstract: Focusing on the film Fight Club (Fincher 1999), the article deals with how microfascism persists in the network society in spite of its public denial. Considering microfascism as a line of flight with respect to the social bond, it asks what happens to the project of subversion when power itself goes nomadic and when the idea of transgression is solicited by the new “spirit of capitalism”. It is argued that every social order has an obscene supplement that serves as the positive condition of its possibility, and that increasing reflexivity today is accompanied by (re)emerging nonsymbolic forms of authority. In this context, the article deals with the question of violence and relates this to the problematics of critique, flight and act(ion) in contemporary societies.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The concept of social capital has precipitated burgeoning debate and exciting opportunities for public health research as discussed by the authors, however, as the debate has been formed it has focused almost exclusively on the way in which formal agencies can work in partnership to help local communities' build their social capital.
Abstract: The concept of social capital has precipitated burgeoning debate and exciting opportunities for public health research. However, it would seem that as the debate has been formed it has focused almost exclusively on the way in which formal agencies can work in partnership to help 'local communities' build their social capital. There has been little exploration of how these agencies themselves may be a site for the development or erosion of social capital, or of the complex interplay between organizational culture and social capital. This article suggests that this is an important area to explore in our attempts to understand social capital within contemporary society and the role it may play in improving public health.
01 Feb 2002
TL;DR: In this article, the authors look at some ways in which women and their lives were depicted on sarcophagi from imperial Rome and find that women were depicted in conventional social roles, as wives and mothers within the family.
Abstract: How people are commemorated in death tends to say more about society’s expectations than about them as individuals; major life experiences and personal characteristics are usually presented in terms that relate to the ideals and aspirations of the age. Roman women were no exception. More often than not the imagery used in their memorials represented their personal experiences in terms of what contemporary society valued in women, so that we learn more about what their roles were expected to be than what they experienced first hand. This essay looks at some ways in which women and their lives were depicted on sarcophagi from imperial Rome. As funerary memorials, the scenes carved on these sarcophagi provide many examples of women depicted in conventional social roles, as wives and mothers within the family. These reflect and reaffirm the qualities expected of elite women in contemporary Roman society, where their sexuality and ability to bear children were vital to the continuation of the family. Yet sarcophagi also include images that offer alternative views of Roman womanhood, where women appear to transgress accepted social roles, particularly in terms of power and gender. Some of these images are interestingly, if not uniquely different from the rest because they were formed in the production and usage of the sarcophagi themselves.
TL;DR: The authors argue that racial profiling is embedded in much larger social developments that must be explored in order to understand the role race now plays in the maintenance of social order in contemporary American society.
Abstract: In the United States the phenomenon of racial profiling has emerged as an important and controversial issue within political and criminal justice policy debates. For the most part, these debates have assumed a sort of racism at work in order to explain law enforcement's use of criminal profiles largely determined by racial classifications. Accordingly, many have worked to expose this allegedly racist behavior in the hopes that such exposure will bring an end to the practice. This essay argues that racial profiling is embedded in much larger social developments that must be explored in order to understand the role race now plays in the maintenance of social order in contemporary American society.
TL;DR: The authors examined Malcolm X as a critical theorist and argued that his social and political philosophy provides radical theorists with a new paradigm and point of departure for developing an Africana critical theory of contemporary society.
Abstract: The principle objective of this article is to examine Malcolm X as a critical theorist. Malcolm is viewed as a significant contributor to the Africana tradition of critical theory as articulated by several Africana Studies scholars and Africana philosophers in specific. This article argues that Malcolm's social and political philosophy provides radical theorists with a new paradigm and point of departure for developing an Africana critical theory of contemporary society.
TL;DR: The authors argue that while Beck's work may provide an eloquent description of contemporary society, it often risks to limit our understanding of ecopolitics, restricting the manner in which we can explore issues in this increasingly important intellectual space.
Abstract: Ulrich Beck's writings about risk and ecopolitics have been heralded as one of the most perceptive responses to the 'chaos' and 'uncertainty' of the contemporary world, resulting in various collections of essays concerned with clarifying and extending his Risk Society thesis. On the basis of all this intellectual noise one would assume that Beck's work would provide a useful starting point from which to understand the myriad complexities of ecopolitics. However, it is the contention of this article that while Beck's work may provide an eloquent description of contemporary society, it often risks to limit our understanding of ecopolitics, restricting the manner in which we can explore issues in this increasingly important intellectual space. In particular, the article explores Beck's proposal for new formations of ecological democracy and his dismissal of writings from the Marxist tradition.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the socio-technical and institutional bases of risk as a device for arbitrage of social problems in such diverse levels as the selective provision of social services, determination of guilt and/or danger in criminal behavior, allowance of credits in the financial system, management of human resources in the labor area, and others.
Abstract: In the last two decades, social sciences have been registering and analyzing the growing appearance of a new way to codify the dangers and threats that characterize social life in contemporary societies. This consists of the proliferation of discourses and technical/ political practices organized in function of risk. We can observe that there exists consensus in the sociological literature about the definition of risk as social construction and the complex relationships between risk and scientific - technical knowledge. This work especially discusses the socio - technical and institutional bases of risk as a device for arbitrage of social problems in such diverse levels as the selective provision of social services, determination of guilt and/or danger in criminal behavior, allowance of credits in the financial system, management of human resources in the labor area, and others.