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Showing papers on "Contemporary society published in 2007"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argues that the dominant form of science education that is common across the world rests on a set of values that have no merit and that such practice has a negative impact on students' attitudes to science.
Abstract: This paper argues that the dominant form of science education that is common across the world rests on a set of values that have no merit. Moreover, such practice has a negative impact on students’ attitudes to science. It makes the case that the primary goal of any science education should be to develop scientific literacy and explores what that might consist of and why such an education is necessary in contemporary society. It concludes by examining some of the challenges that such a change might require.

191 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Most children between the ages of 5 and 16 only spend 18% of their waking hours in school (Bransford, 2006). Yet contemporary society sees school as almost the sole site of learning, whereas the re...
Abstract: Most children between the ages of 5 and 16 only spend 18% of their waking hours in school (Bransford, 2006). Yet contemporary society sees school as almost the sole site of learning, whereas the re...

85 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The essay concludes that the Confucian resources must be taken seriously in order to develop an authentic Chinese bioethics of long-term care and a defensible approach to long- term care policy for contemporary society in general and Chinese society in particular.
Abstract: Across the world, socio-economic forces are shifting the locus of long-term care from the family to institutional settings, producing significant moral, not just financial costs. This essay explores these costs and the distortions in the role of the family they involve. These reflections offer grounds for critically questioning the extent to which moral concerns regarding long-term care in Hong Kong and in mainland China are the same as those voiced in the United States, although family resemblances surely exist. Chinese moral values such as virtue and filial piety embedded in a Confucian moral and social context cannot be recast without distortion in terms of modern Western European notions. The essay concludes that the Confucian resources must be taken seriously in order to develop an authentic Chinese bioethics of long-term care and a defensible approach to long-term care policy for contemporary society in general and Chinese society in particular.

84 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
Neil Selwyn1
TL;DR: In this article, a survey of 406 undergraduate students aged between 18 and 39 years conducted to examine whether different aspects of information and communication technology (ICT) use continue to be seen in particularly gendered terms by young adults and what reasons could be identified for any gender stereotyping.
Abstract: Although it was widely noted by researchers during the 1980s and 1990s that gender role orientation and gendered stereotyping exert a considerable influence on people's engagement with technologies, there is little evidence of the influence of such gendered influences on contemporary technology users. The present study is based on a survey of 406 undergraduate students aged between 18 and 39 years conducted to examine whether different aspects of information and communication technology (ICT) use continue to be seen in particularly gendered terms by young adults and what reasons could be identified for any gender stereotyping. Analysis of the survey data show how issues of masculinity and femininity continue to be an important-if perhaps more subtle-influence on how young people perceive ICTs in contemporary society. In all, the findings confirm the continuing persistence of gender stereotypes as a frame of reference for ICTs.

83 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a series of in-depth interviews with students from nine different higher education institutions was conducted to understand the ways in which young adults choose to 'order' their friendships, and the implications of this for both sociological theorising about friendship and policy and practice within the higher education sector.
Abstract: Theorists of friendship in contemporary society have suggested that our relationships with peers are characterised by their emphasis on openness, disclosure and emotional communication. Moreover, Beck and Beck-Gernsheim argue that friendship, as a deliberately sought, trusting partnership between two people, can play an important role in countering some of the negative consequences of a market-driven society, 'acting as a shared lifeline to take the weight of each other's confusions and weaknesses'. However, drawing on a series of in-depth interviews with students from nine different higher education institutions, this paper will argue that such theorists overlook significant complexity in the ways in which young adults choose to 'order' their friendships. Indeed, it will suggest that highly individualised and ruthlessly competitive approaches to academic study can be maintained alongside more socially cooperative relationships with friends and peers, played out in non-academic arenas. The paper will discuss the implications of this for both sociological theorising about friendship, and policy and practice within the higher education sector.

53 citations


Book
28 Nov 2007
TL;DR: A short history of Secularism and its history, beginning with the Greeks and proceeding to modernity and the contemporary period, is presented in this paper, where the author argues that it is impossible to understand the idea of the Secular without appreciating that, at root, it is Christian.
Abstract: What does it mean to call Western society 'secular'? What is 'secularism'? And how should we understand the concept of 'secularism' in international relations, particularly the clash between radical Islam and the West? The Latin term from which the word 'secular' is derived - 'saeculum' - means 'generation' or 'age', and came to mean that which belongs to this life, to the here and now, in this world. It is widely used as a shorthand for the ideology which shapes contemporary society without reference to the divine.However, according to Graeme Smith, 'secularism' represents a great deal more. He offers a radical reappraisal of the notion of secularism and its history, beginning with the Greeks and proceeding to modernity and the contemporary period. The assumption that the West is becoming increasingly secular is often unquestioned. By contrast, Dr Smith discerns a different kind of society: one informed by a historical legacy which makes sense only when it is appreciated that it is religious. Secularism was born of Christianity. Daringly - and very originally - Smith argues that it is impossible to understand the idea of the secular without appreciating that, at root, it is Christian. "A Short History of Secularism" will fundamentally reshape discussions of western culture, religion and politics. It will have strong appeal to students of religion, political philosophy, and the history of ideas.

49 citations


Proceedings ArticleDOI
14 Nov 2007
TL;DR: This paper charts how pervasive games emerge from the intersection of two long-standing cultural trends, the increasing blurring of fact and fiction in media culture, and the movements struggling over public space.
Abstract: In this paper we chart how pervasive games emerge from the intersection of two long-standing cultural trends, the increasing blurring of fact and fiction in media culture, and the movements struggling over public space. During the past few decades a third trend has given a new meaning to media fabrication and street cultures: the rise of ludus in the society through maturation of the gamer generations. As more and more activities are perceived as games in the contemporary society, fabricated media expression and performative sports pave the way for a new way of gaming. Born in the junction of playful, ordinary and fabricated, pervasive games toy with conventions and configurations of contemporary media.

48 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify frames for understanding public relations in interrelation to society's overall coordination processes, and they reconstruct ideals of public relations as reflection, the specific worldview which facilitates self-insight in relation to the social context.

48 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on different forms of care circulating within transcultural and intergenerational family and kin networks, revealing many nuances of family life and the processes by which cultural norms, values, attitudes and behaviour are transmitted, transformed and maintained across generations and geographical distance.
Abstract: Social capital theorists acknowledge that caring networks operating within and above all across households lie at the heart of families and communities. They also see these networks and family bonds as generally declining in contemporary society due to individualisation. However, there seems to be little empirical evidence documenting these processes in detail, particularly with regards to minority ethnic and transnational families. This article explicitly addresses reciprocal relationships in ethnic minority families, focusing on different forms of care circulating within transcultural and intergenerational family and kin networks. By doing so, this discussion reveals many nuances of family life and the processes by which cultural norms, values, attitudes and behaviour are transmitted, transformed and maintained across generations and geographical distance.

44 citations


Book ChapterDOI
24 Jan 2007
TL;DR: The authors of as discussed by the authors came together from very different starting points but with a common interest in how gender, sexuality and sexual orientation are used as weapons of exploitation in various arenas and particularly in sport where such behaviour deters sports participation and enjoyment.
Abstract: The authors of this chapter came together from very different starting points but with a common interest in how gender, sexuality and sexual orientation are used as weapons of exploitation in various arenas and, particularly, in sport where such behaviour deters sports participation and enjoyment. Ian Rivers and Brendan Gough, although adopting two very different methodological approaches to their research, share a common interest in the ways in which homophobia manifests itself within contemporary society (Rivers 2001a, 2001b, 2004; Gough 2002, n.d.). Celia Brackenridge and Karen Llewellyn have approached their previous work from feminist sociological perspectives. Karen Llewellyn has always been interested in gender relations and their infl uence within physical education and sport and Celia Brackenridge’s work on sexual exploitation (1997, 2001, 2003), which has focused largely on sexual harassment and abuse, was the springboard for her interest in sport as a site of homophobic bullying.

44 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
01 Feb 2007-Diogenes
TL;DR: The authors argue that truth claims may have an uncertain provenance, but we tend to incorporate them into our belief system, act upon them, and recall them through collective memory recall through collective m...
Abstract: Contemporary societies are awash in rumor. Truth claims may have an uncertain provenance, but we tend to incorporate them into our belief system, act upon them, and recall them through collective m...

Book Chapter
01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: In this paper, Durkheim provided the first systematic theorisation of the historical role and social function of mass education in terms of social integration, and pointed out that society can only exist if there exists among its members a sufficient degree of homogeneity.
Abstract: [Extract] Every contemporary society has ways of imparting knowledge, wisdom and values through organised systems, most often through public education systems. UNESCO's vision for education is stated as follows: Education is at the heart of personal and community development, its mission is to enable each of us, without exception, to develop all talents to the full and realize our creative potential, including responsibility for our own lives and the achievement of personal aims. (Delors 1996: 1) The purpose of public education, which has undergone significant transformation over time, has its roots in the development of 'public morality' instituted through religious organisations (Glen 1988). With the separation of the state from religion, the state has increasingly begun to take on responsibility for the delivery of education. Durkheim provided the first systematic theorisation of the historical role and social function of mass education in terms of social integration. He wrote: 'Society can only exist if there exists among its members a sufficient degree of homogeneity. Education perpetuates and reinforces this homogeneity by fixing in the child, from the beginning, the essential similarities that collective life demands' (1956: 70). Durkheim left a legacy of linking education with social cohesion. Social cohesion was seen as the glue that keeps the members of a social system together. As industrialisation has become more advanced, contemporary education has moved away from strict notions of public morality to focus not only on the skills and knowledge base driven by the needs of a rapidly changing economy, but on the creation of national identity and citizenship within the nation-state.

Book
01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: Hillyard as discussed by the authors offers a new model for rural sociology and reassesses its role in contemporary society, and provides contemporary case studies that clearly demonstrate the need for a reinvigorated rural sociology.
Abstract: From fox-hunting to farming, the vigor with which rural activities and living are defended overturns received notions of a sleepy and complacent countryside. Alongside these developments, the rise of the organic food movement has helped to revitalize an already politicized rural population. Over the years 'rural life' has been defined, redefined and eventually fallen out of fashion as a sociological concept - in contrast to urban studies, which has flourished. This much-needed reappraisal calls for its reinterpretation in light of the profound changes affecting the countryside. First providing an overview of rural sociology, Hillyard goes on to offer contemporary case studies that clearly demonstrate the need for a reinvigorated rural sociology. Tackling a range of contentious issues, this book offers a new model for rural sociology and reassesses its role in contemporary society.

Book ChapterDOI
26 Jun 2007
TL;DR: The everyday use of sex/gender as cultural tool for organizing social relations spreads gendered meanings beyond sex and reproduction to all spheres of social life that are carried out through social relationships and constitutes gender as a distinct and obdurate system of inequality as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Gender is at core a group process because people use it as a primary frame for coordinating behavior in interpersonal relations. The everyday use of sex/gender as cultural tool for organizing social relations spreads gendered meanings beyond sex and reproduction to all spheres of social life that are carried out through social relationships and constitutes gender as a distinct and obdurate system of inequality. Through gender's role in organizing social relations, gender inequality is rewritten into new economic and social arrangements as they emerge, contributing to the persistence of that inequality in modified form in the face of potentially leveling economic and political changes in contemporary society.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The mid 20th century witnessed some serious attempts in studies of play and games with an emphasis on their importance within culture, and Offe identified a trend away from work and toward leisure as the means by which people establish their identities in contemporary society.

Journal ArticleDOI
Heather D'Cruz1
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss and critically evaluate a professional education program, "Diverse Bodies, Diverse Identities" that is offered to human service practitioners and social work students in Victoria, Australia.
Abstract: The complexity and diversity of populations in contemporary Western societies is becoming a significant public policy issue. The concept of ‘diversity’ has come to represent cultural, ethnic, racial and religious differences between the ‘dominant group’ and immigrant and indigenous populations. ‘Diversity training’ is amongst many strategies being implemented to address social and economic objectives in complex societies. This paper discusses and critically evaluates a professional education programme, ‘Diverse Bodies, Diverse Identities’, that is offered to human service practitioners and social work students in Victoria, Australia. It is concluded that a range of approaches is needed to address ‘diversity’ in contemporary societies.

Journal ArticleDOI
Nico Stehr1
TL;DR: The place of knowledge in prominent social theories of modern society as well as the place ofknowledge in major policy efforts that proceed from the assumption that knowledge plays a key role for large scale social transformations are discussed.
Abstract: In what sense, then, can it be said that contemporary societies are becoming more and more dependent on the production, dissemination and use of knowledge? Are we witnessing a change from a social world in which 'things' simply 'happened' to a world in which things are more and more 'made' to happen? Finally, what is the nature of the linkage between social transformations, the globalisation process and knowledge in the modern world? (1) I will discuss the place of knowledge in prominent social theories of modern society as well as the place of knowledge in major policy efforts that proceed from the assumption that knowledge plays a key role for large scale social transformations; (2) I will advance a sociological conception of knowledge and (3) I will apply it to the social analysis of change in modern society.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore and critically assess recent developments in bio-gerontology which promise a delaying of the ageing process in human beings through some form of significant life-extension.
Abstract: In this article we explore and critically assess recent developments in bio-gerontology which promise a delaying of the ageing process in human beings through some form of significant 'life- extension'. Various arguments for prolonging the human life span are being discussed intensely in the biomedical sciences: sociology has yet to make a tangible contribution to these debates. Although significant modifications to the human lifespan remain a futuristic goal, we argue that the life-extension project has immediate repercussions for contemporary society. Drawing on the available literature in the humanities and the social sciences, we discuss the value of the life- extension project and its social justice, human rights and ethical implications. For example, we consider, assuming the presence of economic scarcity, various aspects of increasing social inequality which would arise from any significant growth in life expectancy. We argue that this form of biomedical research has potentially far greater negative consequences for the status of humans than has been previously recognised, and conclude with a consideration of the religious and ethical implications of 'prolongevity'. (author abstract)

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argue that the contemporary Western preoccupation with risk assessment is profound, but this does not mean that the concept of risk is a useful theoretical tool for understanding contemporary society in general.
Abstract: The contemporary Western preoccupation with risk assessment is profound. However, this does not mean that the concept of risk is a useful theoretical tool for understanding contemporary society in general. The talk of a risk society is part of a tendency to take risk as an all-embracing category with little attention paid either to the distinction between abstract risk and risk assessment, or to different formations of risk in time and place. We argue that a fundamental shift in the communication of risk has also emerged, particularly in the context of the war on terror. Most of the classical risk communication literature is concerned with persuading people that the authorities or companies have the expertise to take care of some problem: “there is a risk”, it says, “we can never manage it completely, but be reassured that we are taking care of it on your behalf”. With the emergence of the war on terror, a number of changes have occurred. Governments in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that new contractualism cannot be explained simply as an expansion of the market at the expense of the state, and that the illusion of the contract has real consequences on how societies are governed and how they relate to each other.
Abstract: The sociological concept of `society' has been questioned in multiple ways in recent decades. However, one central aspect of the notion has been taken so much for granted that no one has challenged it: society is not a plan and cannot be based on an agreement. Yet contemporary societies increasingly rely on voluntary contracts between individuals, groups, organizations, enterprises, states and their organs or officials. In this article, I argue that new contractualism cannot be explained simply as an expansion of the market at the expense of the state. The contract is an illusion that disguises relations of domination as voluntary partnership. It stresses agency to a point where autonomy is not only granted to but demanded of even those who have little or no capacity for it. The illusion of the contract has real consequences on how societies are governed and how they relate to each other. This is the reason why the concept of society no longer has the sense of an entity. Consequently, sociology has turned...


Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: In this article, a specific concern over the capacity of contemporary (network) governance studies to critically address the governing of networks is expressed, motivated by the proximity between the problem space informing contemporary political action, and the theoretical imagery informing governance studies, on the other.
Abstract: This chapter is motivated by a specific concern over the capacity of contemporary (network) governance studies1 to critically address the governing of networks. This concern is nurtured by the proximity between the problem space informing contemporary political action, on the one hand, and the theoretical imagery informing governance studies, on the other. When politicians, civil servants, business managers, NGOs and concerned citizens’ attempt to explain the existence and justify the need for mobilizing governance networks, they often provide a set of explanations that, I think, are remarkably close to those provided by contemporary governance studies. Perhaps the reader will agree that in contemporary society, narratives of the following type are encountered quite commonly: • Because society has grown increasingly complex, public problems cannot be solved by the state alone. Without drawing on the knowledge and resources of diverse public-and private actors, state action is doomed to failure. • While the market may serve as an excellent mechanism for solving information-demanding problems, it is incapable on its own of providing satisfactory solutions to a wide range of collective problems, such as social and economic inequality and environmental problems. • It is therefore necessary to include and stimulate the participation and interaction of a wide range of state, market and civil society actors in order to provide legitimate and effective solutions to contemporary problems.


01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: In which ways does the media discursively make sense of contemporary society? In which ways the public, through the media, deal with and negotiate ongoing changes in society? How can we study... as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In which ways does the media discursively make sense of contemporary society? In which ways does the public, through the media, deal with and negotiate ongoing changes in society? How can we study ...

Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, a stage model of Black adolescent racial identity from the perspective of its use by educational researchers in the United States who employ it to explain the academic and social decisions that Black youth make in secondary schools was examined.
Abstract: A stage model of Black adolescent racial identity from the perspective of its use by educational researchers in the United States who employ it to explain the academic and social decisions that Black youth make in secondary schools was examined. Researchers often draw on stage models to explicitly challenge forms of White dominance in studies conducted with and about Black students. However, we posit that the ethics that inform this body of work are constrained by an ideology of respectability. We argue that respectability undermines the capacity of much of Black adolescent racial identity research to inform policies and practices that fully affirm Black humanity and support Black student academic success. We conclude with a discussion of the significance of racial identity research about Black youth populations. Introduction Historically, social movements have exerted influence on dominant institutions in society, albeit each with its own inflection. Examples abound in the United States; clandestine anti-slavery activities among captive and free Africans during both the colonial and ante-bellum periods, the network of African Free Schools of the mid- 1 800s, the National Baptist Convention and its auxiliary, the Women's Convention, at the turn of the twentieth century, and the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s represent some of the earlier social movements that successfully intervened in particular ways to demonstrate how people of African descent in the United States were depicted in social science and the popular media. More recently, Black social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, commonly called the Civil Rights-Black Power era, have provided the impetus for an intellectual challenge to disparaging characterizations of Black culture and life in contemporary U.S. society (e.g., Cross, 1991;Jones, 1991;Ladner, 1998[1973]). Since the mid-1980s, scholars in the fields of education, psychology, anthropology, sociology, social work, and counseling have illuminated an array of cultural resources that Black youth draw on to mediate their experiences across various social settings and contexts. For the most part, scholars who challenge research that disparages Black culture and life often associate this body of scholarship with a particularly White conservative brand of racism. Certainly, this perception is not without foundation (Stefancic & Delgado, 1996). However, there is ample evidence to indicate that conservatives, liberals, racists and antiracists alike promulgate the idea that Black culture is of limited value in society and that it offers little in the way of social or psychological capital in contemporary society (Scott, 1 997). This idea was evident, for example, in the public outcry in the aftermath of the 1996 resolution passed by the Oakland school board to promote written English acquisition among its Black students by using their home language as the starting point of instruction. More recently, similar criticism was expressed in the widely publicized remarks made by Bill Cosby in 2004 during a 50th anniversary commemoration of Brown v. Board of Education in which the prominent educator and philanthropist proffered a withering critique of the current state of Black culture and life and ridiculed what he characterized as the use of poor grammar by segments within the Black community. It is against this background that we analyze a stage model of Black identity born of the 1970s social movements that educators often use to explain the developmental processes of Black students and their academic and social decisions in school; this is especially indicated in the appeal of the work of Beverly Daniel Tatum (1997) in teacher education programs and professional development workshops. For the most part, those who employ this model in their educational work also demonstrate commitments to the ideas of diversity and social justice. For instance, educators often use such research to inform culturally responsive curriculum and policy to reduce racial disparities in academic achievement. …


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors explored the perceptible changes in religious beliefs and practices among the Han Chinese in urban areas during this ten-year period and concluded that, while commercialism and rationalism continue to dominate the ideological sky of urban China, spiritual beliefs have also gained a strong footing in contemporary society and demonstrate a complex religiosity.
Abstract: Drawing on relevant data from surveys conducted in 1995 and 2005, this article explores the perceptible changes in religious beliefs and practices among the Han Chinese in urban areas during this ten-year period. Through analysing the survey data, the article attempts to examine these changes—the increasing awareness of religious others and the more revealing interaction between change and continuity—in the context of greater changes of society, economy, and politics. It concludes that, while commercialism and rationalism continue to dominate the ideological sky of urban China, spiritual beliefs and practices in various forms have also gained a strong footing in contemporary society and demonstrate a complex religiosity.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: The authors argue that describing the ideologies of global capitalism as the dominant faith system in the world today is indeed appropriate, and even necessary if one is fully to understand the role of religious belief and behavior in contemporary society.
Abstract: By the mid-1990s scholars of religion had begun to analyze the ideologies associated with global capitalism as a new, hegemonic world faith system, which some referred to as the Religion of the Market. Many have taken polemical positions, either arguing that it is a "false faith" which needs to be exposed, or that it is the appropriate faith for our times. Still others refuse to see global capitalism as a religion and reject the analytical paradigm altogether. This essay argues that describing the ideologies of global capitalism as the dominant faith system in the world today is indeed appropriate, and even necessary if one is fully to understand the role of religious belief and behavior in contemporary society. Moreover, since discussions of global capitalism as a faith system currently lack a coherent or widely recognized framework, adopting and refining the Religion of the Market paradigm will facilitate and improve future scholarly analysis of the faith dimensions of global economics.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The role in the family has been readjusted and re-defined in contemporary society as discussed by the authors, though they have been re-interpreted and redefined in contemporary societies, though they are strongly influenced by the above features.
Abstract: Family has a long historical course in Greece. The turbulent periods of Hellenic history and the fluctuations of the political, social and economic life have influenced Hellenic family strengths. Nevertheless, there have been some basic elements on which the family has been based and acquired a continuous stability and homogeneity. These features are: religion, language, a rich cultural heritage, tradition and customs. Roles in the family are strongly influenced by the above, though they have been readjusted and redefined in contemporary society.