Showing papers on "Cultural analysis published in 1984"

Cultural dimensions in management and planning

Abstract: The nature of management skills is such that they are culturally specific: a management technique or philosophy that is appropriate in one national culture is not necessarily appropriate in another. The paper describes the scope of (work-related) cultural differences as they were revealed by research in more than 50 countries around the world and discusses how these differences affect the validity of management techniques and philosophies in various countries within the functioning and meaning of planning.

Ethnography: contributions to nursing research

Abstract: Health and illness behaviour occur within a cultural context. Ethnographic methodology facilitates an investigation of the context in which people's health beliefs and practices evolve as well as serving to identify the cultural components of health and illness. Ethnography is primarily an inductive mode of research which may utilize several methods of data collection. Participant observation, used in conjunction with interviewing, is the most frequently used data-gathering technique. Sampling procedures in ethnography must be addressed in relation to persons interviewed and/or observed, events to be seen, topics to be considered and time frames to be established. The ethnographic method creates difficulties in establishing reliability as techniques for gathering data are highly individualistic and involve a complex admixture of observations, structured and unstructured interviews, and other procedures. The lengthy stay in a community, as well as the extensive and in-depth data-collection procedures contribute to validity of the findings and their interpretation. Data analysis is time consuming and complex. Ethnography is concerned with the context of discovery, rather than verification, and leads to narrative descriptions and interpretations of cultural phenomena. Ethnography is a means for gaining access to the health beliefs and practices of a culture. In a practice profession such as nursing, improved understanding of the meaning of clients' behaviour will enhance nursing judgements and improve nursing care.

Marxist approaches to media studies: The British experience

Abstract: Analysis of contemporary mass communication research in Great Britain reveals a Marxist paradigm growing in influence over the past two decades. Developing largely out of literary criticism, this line of British research has bifurcated, with one line moving toward cultural analysis and the other toward a more traditional social‐scientific model with particular emphasis on class and economic structures as independent variables. This paper provides an introduction to the body of cultural research and theory, and indirectly, to the growing corpus of Marxist communication study throughout the world.

Cultural Analysis: The Work of Peter L. Berger, Mary Douglas, Michel Foucault, and Jurgen Habermas

Abstract: Part 1: Introduction 1. Limiting Assumptions 2. Four Perspectives on Culture 3. Toward Clarification and Culture Part 2: The Phenomenology of Peter L. Berger 4. Intellectual Assumptions 5. Berger's Perspective on Culture 6. Culture and Social Change 7. Conclusions Part 3: The Cultural Anthropology of Mary Douglas 8. Intellectual Assumptions 9. Douglas' Perspective on Culture 10. Culture and Social Change 11. Conclusions Part 4: The Neo-Structuralism of Michel Foucault Douglas 12. Intellectual Assumptions 13. Foucault's Perspective on Culture 14. Culture and Social Change 15. Conclusions Part 5: The Critical Theory of Jurgen Habermas 16. Intellectual Assumptions 17. Habermas's Perspective on Culture 18. Culture and Social Change 19. Conclusions Part 6: An Emerging Framework 20. The Problem of Subjectivity 21. Relating Culture and Social Structure 22. The Issue of Positivism 23. Cultural Analysis

Paul Willis--Education, Cultural Production and Social Reproduction.

Abstract: Learning to Labour signalled a break from mechanistic ‘social reproduction’ theories within the Sociology of Education, towards a new appreciation of the role of cultural processes within school. This paper reviews the work of Paul Willis, focussing particularly on some of the unresolved themes of Learning to Labour and the development of his own thought since this study was produced. Areas which have been under emphasised in the past include Willis’ attempt to formulate a methodological and analytical base for cultural studies within education, the theoretical relationship between culture and ideology and the essentially active, transformative nature of cultural production within educational sites. This paper aims to clarify some of these issues.

The new journalism and the image‐world: Two modes of organizing experience

Abstract: This essay provides a cultural analysis of the New Journalism. Two modes of New Journalism are distinguished based on their ways of constructing the relationship of image to reality, observing to living, and storytelling to experience. The two modes, designated ethnographic realism and cultural phenomenology, reflect alternative ways of responding to cultural change and organizing the experience of reporting. These approaches to understanding social reality are related to the problem of creating meaning in contemporary society.

The City in Cultural Context

Abstract: 1. Introduction, "John A. Agnew, John Mercer and David E. Sopher" 2. Reflections on the cultural geography of the European city, "Paul Claval" 3. Culture and the urban order, "Amos Rapoport" 4. Culture and economy in the shaping of urban life: general issues and Latin American examples, "John Walton" 5. Culture, 'modes of production' and the changing nature of cities in the Arab World, "Janet Abu-Lughod" 6. The urban culture and the suburban culture: a new look at an old paper, "Peter Hall" 7. The Soviet city: continuity and change in privilege and place, "James H. Bater" 8. Japanese urban society and its cultural context, "Gary D. Allinson" 9. City as a mirror of society: China, tradition and transformation, "Rhoads Murphey" 10. Autonomous and directed cultural change: South African urbanization, "John Western" 11. The built environment and cultural symbolism in post-colonial Madras, "Susan J. Lewandowski" 12. A cultural analysis of urban residential landscapes in North America: the case of the anglophile elite, "James S. Duncan and Nancy G. Duncan" 13. Commentary, "John A. Agnew, John Mercer and Davide E. Sopher"

The Prospects of an Applied Ethnography for Education: A Sociology of Knowledge Interpretation:

Abstract: Ethnography as an approach to apprehending and ultimately comprehending social reality no doubt has proven itself to be useful in anthropology and sociology. In many ways, it was the original way of knowing in social science. Based on qualitative methods, inductive logic, and holistic explanation, the approach predated the deductive logic, reductionistic explanation, and quantitative methods of positivism and as such has often suffered degradation by positivists as an outmoded and inadequate method. To those of us, however, who are concerned with the social, cultural, political, and even technological worlds that humans create, reify, and institutionalize, any critique of the approach as outmoded and/or inadequate indicates not the laudable advancement of social science but the almost laughable paradox of humans seeking social understanding. That is, understanding is necessarily unique, but it must be shared. In this process of sharing, the unique interpretations are rendered forth for judgment and some are judged more worthy than others. Because judgments can have various bases, humans disagree and to the extent that both particular judgments and disagreements threaten the interests of some and advantage others, there may be an attempt to change the basis of judgment to benefit ourselves or to seek a basis that is universal, if not universally fair and just. Positivism is predicated on the belief that such universal bases are attainable, and our problem is that, as humans and social scientists, we have not reevaluated this premise of positivism and as a result have reified and institutionalized the approach beyond any assessments of its usefulness to human understanding. Social scientists who use the ethno-

The Role of Cultural Studies and Social Criticism in the Sociological Study of Sport

Abstract: It has often been asserted that the sociological study of sport is confronted by a theoretical and methodological malaise (Beamish, 1981; Ingham, 1979). In the spirit of this type of inquiry, it is argued that the developing field of cultural studies can provide some provocative frames of reference for understanding the multidimensional nature of sport in society. The first section of the paper briefly traces and critiques some of the major theoretical and methodological developments in North American sport study. The midsection of the essay introduces the related field of cultural studies, and suggests a number of ways in which it might aid our understanding of the relationship between sport, culture, and society. It is asserted that cultural studies can provide an effective critique of elitist definitions of culture, in addition to making available the conceptual tools necessary to link the production of cultural forms (such as sport), to broader social and political questions. The final section of the ...

Introduction: the scope of medical anthropology

Abstract: Medical anthropology is about how people in different cultures and social groups explain the causes of ill-health, the types of treatment they believe in, and to whom they turn if they do get ill. It is also the study of how these beliefs and practices relate to biological changes in the human organism, in both health and disease. Anthropology, as a field of study, has several branches. Physical anthropology also known as human biology is the study of the evolution of the human species. Material culture deals with art and artifacts of mankind, both in the present and the past. Social and cultural anthropology deal with the comparative study of present-day human societies and their cultural systems, though there is a difference in emphasis between these two approaches. In studying society and culture, anthropologists have used two main approaches, namely, the ethnographic approach, which involves the study of small-scale societies or of relatively small groups of people to understand how they view the world and organize their daily lives. Ethnography leads to the second approach, the comparative approach, which seeks to distil out the key features of each society and culture and to compare these with other societies and cultures to draw conclusions about the universal nature of man and his social groupings. Though medical anthropology is a branch of social and cultural anthropology, its concern is also with a wide range of biological phenomena, especially in connection with health and disease.

Approaches to Black Language Studies: A Cultural Critique.

Abstract: The controversial issues surrounding black language remain unresolved (Brasch, 1981; Harrison and Trabasso, 1976; R. L. Williams, 1975). Careful analysis of the prevailing theories on black communication reveals two developments: (1) Attitudes and practices toward black language in the United States have been politically based, and (2) African Americans have the right of self-definition in determining the meaning and implications of black language. These two developments are not symmetrical-the first is rooted in white culture and the second finds its source in the black community. Various theories have been advanced and conclusions drawn in regard to black language (Brasch, 1981; Harrison and Trabasso, 1976; R. L. Williams, 1975). This analysis differs in that it represents a cultural critique of approaches to black language studies. In this discussion, I shall provide a cultural analysis of the various theories surrounding black language. In addition, I will examine the nature of the two developmentspolitically based attitudes and self-determination toward black communication-through evaluating the strengths and weak-

Cultural Transmission in Three Societies: Testing a Systems-Based Field Guide.

Abstract: The issues involved in creating and testing an anthropologically adequate theory of cultural transmission are addressed in this article. The authors introduce a field guide based on a general systems approach and a body of data gathered with it from Israel, the midwestern United States, and Zinacantan. An analytic method is described and used to compare cultural transmission processes as they affect sixto twelveyear-olds. The analysis, which includes categories such as settings, institutions, activities, groups, ability, acts, responses, and values, is designed as a test. Results are evaluated in a concluding section. CULTURAL COMPARISON; CULTURAL TRANSMISSION; FIELD GUIDES; SOCIALIZATION; SYSTEMS THEORY.

Cultural Differences: Implications for Management Development:

Abstract: Trying to understand the impact of national culture on a large business organisation is not merely an academic exercise. As an established multinational, my own company has been operating in many parts of the world for up to 70 years through a variety of economic, political and social climates within each country, as well as between each country and geographic area. The handling of this cultural dimension is a vital factor in the business success or failure of such a large commercial enterprise. For many multinationals, sensitivity to national differences and the ability to develop national variations in the ’rules’ and ways of operating businesses in different parts of the world, have also improved the chances of the continuity of these businesses, despite their foreign ownership. My interest in this dimension of business springs immediately from the range of managers who participate in central management education programmes, coming from different industries as well as from all parts of the world. This mixture of delegates is an exciting aspect of work at Chelwood BAT Industries’ Group Management Centre. The mixture is also a challenge to the effective design and methodology of our programmes. Each of these programmes which are offered at four different levels aims to develop general management abilities appropriate to the seniority of the participating managers. Typically, a programme lasts up to three weeks, and draws delegates from a range of major industries in all five continents.

Toward the Vindication of Friedrich Engels

Abstract: It is by now a commonplace that Marxism is going through an important period of theoretical (and no doubt, for the same reasons, practical) development. It has been noted by many that the ‘crude’ and ‘mechanical’1 application of Marxian categories which prevailed as orthodoxy for about a half century — starting, roughly, with the formulation of the Erfurt Program, and lasting even beyond the Stalin years — is, in many quarters, fast giving way to a far more sophisticated and sensitive means of cultural analysis. Indeed, even this occurrence of the word ‘cultural’ is itself quite significant. For the most fundamental aspect of Marxism’s current transformation may perhaps be best stated as follows: we are beginning to appreciate what it means to say that Marxian analysis is cultural analysis. It has become clear that Marx’s interest in the economic metabolism of society was rooted in his conviction that this is the way in which the interchange of the products of human creativity is to be most adequately studied. The importance of this formulation is that once Marxism is explicitly conceived as a theory concerning the production and distribution of culture, it becomes quite impossible to treat the ideational aspect of human history as it was treated by the older ‘orthodoxy’: as if it were some merely epiphenomenal dimension riding piggyback upon an essentially non-ideational ‘base’ of society, the latter ‘material foundation’ being something over which human consciousness can have no truly decisive influence.2 If there really is a science in ‘scientific socialism’, its insistence upon the materiality of human existence must not be taken to imply that the categories peculiar to human — i.e., conscious — materiality are to be accorded secondary status.

Towards a Psychosocial Cultural Analysis of Religion and Mental Health: The Mary Hemingway Rees Memorial Lecture

Abstract: It is with humble honor that I present this memorial lectureship on religion and mental health. For me, the topic is relevant because of both my personal life-long religious commitments and some 20 years of professional research in this area. For you, an audience of mental health personnel, I hope to offer cogent evidence for us all of the relevance of religion to mental health.

African-Arab Relations: A Cultural Perspective:

Abstract: In 1981, the largest contingent of Muslinrs f rom any one country making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca consisted of o w 100,000 Nigerian Mtrslims.' six centuries previously, ( I fellow West African had undertaken perhaps one of the most meinorable pilgrimages in hlIlSliJlI history. Mansa (title of ruler) Musa, riikr of the West African empire of hfa l i ascended the throne i n 1307 mid in 1324 sct .out 011 Iiisflmrboyairt pilgrimage, which was to awaken the world to the grea? wealth of Mali and tu stiniulate u desire anlorig other nations to reach the source of this wealth. Cairo and Mecca received Mama Musa, whose glilteriiig procession helped to put Africa on rlre world map. M a m a Mirsa was accompanied by an impressive caravaii consisting of 60,000 nien inclicditig a personal retitiue of 12,000 personal assistants, all clad iii brocade and Persian silk. The Eiilperor hintself rode on horseback om1 was directly preceded by 500 slases, each carrying a goldadorned staff weigh in^ approximately s ix poimdf. III addition, Mansa Musa had a baggage rrain of 80 cantels, ea-h carrying 300 poiiitds of gold. Tlie historian al-Umari ivlio visited Cairo over a decade after the Emperor's yisit, found the Caireans (then a population of approximately one niillion) still singing the praises of Mansa hiusa. So extrasagarit was the Elitperor in his expenditure flint he flooded the Cairo market with gold causing S I I C ~ I a decline in the value of gold that oiie dozen years later tltc market had not yet ful ly recorered. Mama Mura was of (otrrse, not thejirst Miislinr rider f rom West Afiica to rnake tlre pilgrimage to Mecca,' but one of the consequences of his flamboyance was the advertiscinent of both Mali and its leader well beyond the Africari coiitinent stiiirirlatirig o desire ?lot oirly aiirong the Muslim kingd o m of North Africa but also sonie European irations to reach the source of his unbelievable wealth. Mansa Musa was domestically a11 able administrator I V ~ O encouraged trade and cominerce and patroniztd education a i d architecture. I n the words of the Encyclopaedia Britannica :