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Contemporary society
About: Contemporary society is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3991 publications have been published within this topic receiving 91755 citations.
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TL;DR: The authors examines and questions the historical and cultural influences that have encouraged the appropriation of theories from the natural science, focusing upon the treatment of chaos theory as a post-modern science. But they do not address the role of science in the creation of these theories.
Abstract: Popular accounts of science have helped to stimulate greater public interest in the role of science in contemporary society. For example, chaos theory and complexity theory have proven to be highly marketable science "products". These concepts have increasingly travelled into wider culture and, notably, the study of organization. Through an interpretation that promotes a leaning towards uncertainty, unpredictability and ambiguity, these accounts of science have been seen to provoke a (postmodern) re-conceptualisation of our view of the world. Indeed the overtly philosophical style of many of these stories has provided a rich source of material for social scientists seeking to explain and legitimise developments in organization and cultural studies. Concentrating upon the treatment of chaos theory as a "postmodern science", this paper examines and questions the historical and cultural influences that have encouraged the appropriation of theories from the natural science.
15 citations
TL;DR: This article argued that educational reform can never be used as an independent force for changing social, economic, and political relationships and that attempts at reform have always failed when they violated the tenets of the policy.
Abstract: Most contemporary societies view the educational system as a powerful tool of social change. This paper argues, however, that the schools will always be used to reproduce society rather than to modify it. It contends that educational reform can never be used as an independent force for changing social, economic, and political relationships and that attempts at reform have always failed when they violated the tenets of the policy.
15 citations
Book Chapter•
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this paper, Carrington and Dowdall argue that a theory of assemblage can make a significant contribution of our understanding of the processes and practices with which young children are developing mastery of text and technology, alongside an understanding of how the world around them is constructed.
Abstract: A child born since 1994 into one of the nations of the global north has been born into a culture with virtually no collective memory of life outside the global connectivity that has accompanied the rapid spread of digital technologies and the internet. With this in mind, in this chapter I am interested in giving consideration to the textual, social, and technological contexts in which young people travel in contemporary society. To advance this consideration, the chapter will draw from analyses of two contexts: an object ethnography of LEGO blocks (see also Carrington & Dowdall, forthcoming) and a newly released virtual world. Responding to the implications of these two analyses, the chapter will argue that a theory of assemblage (Deleuze, 1991; DeLanda, 2006a) can make a significant contribution of our understanding of the processes and practices with which young children are developing mastery of text and technology, alongside an understanding of how the world around them is constructed.
15 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose an alternative approach towards the assessment of the performance of places by comparing mobile and residential populations and explore the desirability and feasibility of influencing their decisions.
Abstract: As contemporary society is increasingly structured around highly diverse flows of people, goods, and information, mobile populations will contribute more and more to the economic, environmental and social performance of their destinations. However, planning is largely focused on residential populations and their contribution to the performance of places and hardly pays attention to the implications of people on the move for these places. In this study, we propose an alternative approach towards the assessment of the performance of places by comparing mobile and residential populations. An empirical analysis of the Netherlands National Travel Survey suggests that planning could profit by analysing mobile populations and exploring the desirability and feasibility of influencing their decisions.
15 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a micro-study of a small Donegal community was conducted to examine patterns of religious belief and practice and how these have undergone change in response to wider socio-cultural transformations associated with such things as urbanization and globalization.
Abstract: Religion, in both the sense of the institution and religious practices, is embedded in society - The social forms of religious life are fully integrated into the structures of society. Secularization is a source of great debate, and is a prominent feature in the sociology of religion literature. Religion, in both the sense of the institution and religious practices, is embedded in society - the social forms of religious life are fully integrated into the structures of society. Secularization is a source of great debate, and is a prominent feature in the sociology of religion literature. The need to examine the extent to which Catholicism in Ireland has been affected by the secular movement that has swept through Western Europe is essential to understanding religion in contemporary society, and the everyday meanings people attach to religious objects/institution/terminology at the local level. Through a close micro study of a small Donegal community I examine patterns of religious belief and practice and how these have undergone change in response to wider socio-cultural transformations associated with such things as urbanization and globalization. I therefore, establish the community’s level of religiosity - from spirituality to practice. From this, a test of the applicability of Davies (1994) ‘believing without belonging’ theory to the local Irish case is conducted.
15 citations