Showing papers on "Field (Bourdieu) published in 2006"

Inhabited Institutions: Social Interactions and Organizational Forms in Gouldner’s Patterns of Industrial Bureaucracy

Abstract: Organizational sociologists often treat institutions as macro cultural logics, representations, and schemata, with less consideration for how institutions are ”inhabited“ (Scully and Creed, 1997) by people doing things together. As such, this article uses a symbolic interactionist rereading of Gouldner’s classic study Patterns of Industrial Bureaucracy as a lever to expand the boundaries of institutionalism to encompass a richer understanding of action, interaction, and meaning. Fifty years after its publication, Gouldner’s study still speaks to us, though in ways we (and he) may not have anticipated five decades ago. The rich field observations in Patterns remind us that institutions such as bureaucracy are inhabited by people and their interactions, and the book provides an opportunity for intellectual renewal. Instead of treating contemporary institutionalism and symbolic interaction as antagonistic, we treat them as complementary components of an “inhabited institutions approach” that focuses on local and extra–local embeddedness, local and extra-local meaning, and a skeptical, inquiring attitude. This approach yields a doubly constructed view: On the one hand, institutions provide the raw materials and guidelines for social interactions (“construct interactions”), and on the other hand, the meanings of institutions are constructed and propelled forward by social interactions. Institutions are not inert categories of meaning; rather they are populated with people whose social interactions suffuse institutions with local force and significance.

Bourdieu, the media and cultural production:

Abstract: This article evaluates Bourdieu’s analysis of cultural production in terms of its effectiveness for understanding contemporary media production. I begin by outlining the main features of Bourdieu’s work on cultural production, with an emphasis on the potential advantages of his historical account over other, competing work. In particular, I stress the importance of his historical account of ‘autonomy’ and of the emphasis on the interconnectedness of the field of cultural production with other social fields. I then draw attention to two major problems in the work of Bourdieu and others who have adopted his ‘field theory’ for the media: first, that he offered only occasional and fragmented analyses of ‘large-scale’, ‘heteronomous’ (to use his terms) commercial media production, in spite of its enormous social and cultural importance in the contemporary world; second, that Bourdieu and his key associates provide only a very limited account of the relationships between cultural production and cultural consumption. In this latter context, I briefly discuss recent debates in cultural studies about cultural intermediaries. I refer to examples from recent media production to provide evidence for my arguments. The article argues that, as practised so far, Bourdieu’s field theory is only of limited value in analysing media production. However I close by discussing the potential fruitfulness of research based on a dialogue between, on the one hand, field theory’s analysis of cultural production and, on the other, Anglo-American media and cultural studies work on media production.

In Search of a Cultural Interpretation of Power: The Contribution of Pierre Bourdieu

Abstract: This article presents the cultural interpretation of power proposed by the French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu. After a brief comment about his intellectual trajectory, in particular the fundamental meaning he attributes to social action, there is an overview of the theory of social practices Bourdieu developed in the course of almost 40 years as one of the leading social scientists of all times. A comment is then introduced about the core concepts of habitus, forms of capital and field. Finally, the last section offers insights about his cultural theory of power and defends its relevance. The case of the Brazilian Landless Movement (MST) is used to illustrate possible analytical routes to test the explanatory utility of his framework. The article suggests that the sociological theory of Bourdieu received a problematic reception in the English speaking world and proposes a reading scheme to understand his theory of social practices.

Rereading the Signs: Multimodal Transformations in the Field of Literacy Education

Abstract: These two quotes, published 20 years apart, can serve as points on a compass to guide this exploration of research on multimodal transformations in a fi eld we still call the “language arts.” The fi rst is taken from Language Stories and Literacy Lessons (1984), a book that conveyed the researchers’ insistence that young children’s encounters with print be taken on their own terms rather than held up against adult literate practice. Harste, Woodward, and Burke (1984) accomplished this shift from adult conventions to child inventions by bringing a semiotic perspective to the study of young children’s literacy learning. Semiotics is an interdisciplinary fi eld of studies that examines how meaning is made through signs of all kinds— pictures, gestures, music—not just words. Expanding the conceptual lens for understanding what children did when reading environmental print or writing a story led Harste, Woodward, and Burke to conclude that literacy and literacy learning were multimodal events, a proposal that has taken on new signifi cance today. The second quote is taken from a recent essay by Anne Haas Dyson titled “Diversity as a ‘Handful’: Toward Retheorizing the Basics” (2004). In one brief sentence, Dyson catalogues the theoretical shifts that have made diversities of language, culture, and symbolic resources the “basics” of literacy practice and development. The urgency with which she argues for the need to take back the meaning of “basics” from its use in the discourse of current legislation, policies, and practices is a warning to us that the access and meaning that multimodal transformations have offered to so many children are now in danger of being erased through a narrow and regressive vision of literacy learning in school.

Stretchwork: Managing the Career Progression Paradox in External Labor Markets

Abstract: Changes in employment relationships have diminished the degree to which internal labor markets shape careers. Using comparative field studies, we examine how contract workers try to achieve career ...

The Field of Fashion Materialized: A Study of London Fashion Week

Abstract: This article, based on two studies of the fashion industry examines one of its key institutions, London Fashion Week (LFW). Drawing on the work of Bourdieu, we argue that this event is a materialization of the field of fashion.We examine how LFW renders visible the boundaries, relational positions, capital and habitus at play in the field, reproducing critical divisions within it.As well as making visible the field, LFW is a ceremony of consecration within it that contributes to its reproduction. The central aim of this article is to develop an empirically grounded sense of field, reconciling this macro-structural concept with embodied and situated reality.

Gender, Sociological Theory and Bourdieu’s Sociology of Practice

Abstract: While feminist sociology has succeeded in being recognized as a legitimate field of sociological research (yet mainly as a limited field within the broader discipline), its core objective - namely,...

Identity Confirmation Networks and Cooperation in Workgroups

Abstract: Integrating social psychological and network theory, this field study demonstrates a positive association between identity confirmation-based networks and cooperation and performance in work groups. Mutual identity confirmation (of positive and negative identities) increased cooperation in work group dyads. With position in conventional social networks controlled, structural equivalence in identity confirmation networks also increased cooperation. Advantageous positions in identity confirmation networks enhanced performance through greater cooperation, and identity confirmation mediated effects of race-based diversity.

Chapter 25 Agent-based Models of Innovation and Technological Change

Abstract: This chapter discusses the potential of the agent-based computational economics approach for the analysis of processes of innovation and technological change. It is argued that, on the one hand, several genuine properties of innovation processes make the possibilities offered by agent-based modelling particularly appealing in this field, and that, on the other hand, agent-based models have been quite successful in explaining sets of empirical stylized facts, which are not well accounted for by existing representative-agent equilibrium models. An extensive survey of agent-based computational research dealing with issues of innovation and technological change is given and the contribution of these studies is discussed. Furthermore a few pointers towards potential directions of future research are given.

GLOBAL JOURNALISM EDUCATION: A conceptual approach

Abstract: Journalism is a more or less autonomous field of study across the globe, yet the education and training of journalists is a subject much debated—but only rarely researched. This paper maps some of the salient issues when studying the structure and culture of a journalism education program to identify the key debates facing programs around the world when structuring, rethinking, and building institutions, schools, or departments of journalism where a combination of practical and contextual training is the prime focus. As a point of departure it is assumed that although media systems and journalistic cultures may differ widely, the changes and challenges facing journalism education around the world are largely similar, and thus would benefit from a “global” approach. The key literature and findings from journalism education studies in different parts of the world is thus conceptually synthesized into 10 categories, starting with philosophical notions of motivation and mission, ending with more “down-to-eart...

Moving forward research agendas on international NGOs: theory, agency and context

Abstract: This paper sets out an argument for moving forward research on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) within developnment studies. The body of research on NGOs that emerged from the late 1980s onwards focused primarily on NGO roles as development actors and their organisational attributes, but paid less attention to theory and context. While such research had many positive strengths, it was also criticised for its normative focus, and for its vulnerability to changing development fashions and donor preoccupations. Today, attitudes to NGOs have grown more complex and ambiguous, and the institutional landscape in which NGOs are embedded is undergoing rapid change. A new wave of NGO-related research is underway which gives particular emphasis to theory, agency, method and context. Such approaches have the potential to consolidate the field of NGO research within development studies as a more stable and theoretically-grounded subject area. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Agent-based Models of Innovation and Technological Change

Abstract: This chapter discusses the potential of the agent-based computational economics approach for the analysis of processes of innovation and technological change. It is argued that, on the one hand, several genuine properties of innovation processes make the possibilities offered by agent-based modelling particularly appealing in this field, and that, on the other hand, agent-based models have been quite successful in explaining sets of empirical stylized facts, which are not well accounted for by existing representative-agent equilibrium models. An extensive survey of agent-based computational research dealing with issues of innovation and technological change is given and the contribution of these studies is discussed. Furthermore a few pointers towards potential directions of future research are given.

The New Economic Sociology: Developments in an Emerging Field (Chinese Translation)

Abstract: The New Economic Sociology does a marvelous job demonstrating that economic sociology is making a comeback, and it does an even better job showing why. This book is sure to solidify economic sociology as a critical subfield, to define the boundaries and assumptions of the subfield, and to become required reading for both researchers and students. The volume begins with the very important reminder that sociology was founded as a “science geared toward providing an institutionally informed and culturally rich understanding of economic life” (p. 1). The editors point out the important role that economic sociology played in the early thinking of sociology’s founding fathers, and they provide an outstanding history of economic sociology beginning with the founders of sociological thought through the current revival and reunification of economic sociology as a major subfield. They show that research on markets and related economic phenomena has thrived in sociology as the studies of work, occupations, and organizations particularly in the 1960s but in preceding and subsequent decades as well. They also demonstrate that sociologists have actively studied work, organizations, and labor to understand other processes, including social stratification and inequality, economic development, culture, and networks. It was not until the mid1980s, however, that economic sociology as a separate subfield began to attract attention. The volume highlights the fact that the revival of economic sociology as a separate subfield is evident in the volume of work produced on related subjects, but more important, it is also apparent in the increasingly unified set of guiding theoretical principles underlying related research. In particular, as the editors effectively note, research in economic sociology shares the assumptions that social and economic behaviors are interdependent, that there are limits to individuals’ abilities to maximize utility, and that the aggregation of individual-level behavior is complex and not well understood. Although these principles have long guided research that might be classified as economic sociology, it is only in recent years that sociologists are making these assumptions explicit, openly exploring how these assumptions contrast with the

Media, Modernity and Technology: The Geography of the New

Abstract: From best-selling author David Morley, this book presents a set of interlinked essays which discuss and examine some of the key debates in the fields of media and cultural studies. Spanning the last decade, this fascinating and readable book is based on interdisciplinary work on the interface of media and cultural studies, cultural geography and anthropology. Clearly structured in five thematic sections, the book surveys the potential contribution of art-based discourses to the field and offers critical perspectives on the emergence of the ‘new media’ of our age. Including discussion on the status and future of media and cultural studies as disciplines, the significance of technology and new media, and raising questions about the place of the magical in the newly emerging forms of techno-modernity in which we live today, this is a media student must-read.

Accounting for public space

Abstract: How is accounting implicated in the ordering of public space? Starting from the assumption that public space is that portion of an institutional field where, in part because of the participation of the media, there is relatively more openness in the flow of information and in the ability of field participants to engage in public discussion and debate, the study examines the relationship between accounting and public space in the context of educational reforms in Alberta, Canada. Using a variety of archival, conversational, interview and focus group data as well as the theoretical insights of Bourdieu and Foucault, the analysis highlights how the financial and accountability mechanisms used by the provincial government as part of its reform initiatives facilitated changes in the types and amounts of capital of certain field participants, encouraged the partitioning of generic social groupings such as parents and academic labour into more finely distinguished social groupings, and introduced new ways of saying and doing into the field. While these accounting and accountability changes were constraining on certain field participants they were also productive in that the new flows of accounting information created new opportunities within the field for certain field participants.

Women and education

Abstract: Published in the year 2005, World Yearboook of Education 1984 is a valuable contribution to the field of Major Works.

A survey of economic theories and field evidence on pro-social behavior

Abstract: In recent years, a large number of economic theories have evolved to explain people’s pro-social behavior and the variation in their respective behavior. This paper surveys economic theories on pro-social behavior and presents evidence — mainly from the field — testing these theories. In addition, the survey emphasizes that institutional environment might significantly interact with pro-social preferences and explain some of the variation in observed pro-social behavior.

Robots make computer science personal

Abstract: They also make it more hands-on, real, practical, and immediate, inspiring a new generation of scientists' deep interest in the field.

Theoretical Approaches in Media Management Research

Abstract: The chapter makes a synthetic analysis of known research in the field of media management and identifies theoretical approaches based on content analysis of material published for over 10 years in academic journals. The following developed theoretical approaches are analysed in depth: strategic management, structural theories, transnational media management and organizational culture theories, technology, innovation and creativity, leadership and media labor force research. In each section the authors provide in depth analysis of research outcomes and future outlook in developing media management theory. 29 pages long chapter aims to stimulate future thought, and with is very comprehensive reference list aims to be a reference source for students and fellow researches.

Toward a Theory of a Right to Health: Capability and Incompletely Theorized Agreements.

Abstract: One would be hard pressed to find a more controversial or nebulous human right than the “right to health”—a right that stems primarily, although not exclusively, from Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and requires governments to recognize “the right of everyone to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.”1 While activists, nongovernmental organizations, and scholars have made significant progress in promoting a human rights approach to health and the field of health and human rights more generally,2 the question of a philosophical and conceptual foundation—a theory—for the right to health has fallen through the cracks that emerge from an interdisciplinary intersection of medical ethics, international relations, international human rights law,

Playing the field(s): an exploration of change, conformity and conflict in girls’ understandings of gendered physicality in physical education

Abstract: This paper draws on data from a year‐long ethnographic study of a group of 12‐ to 13‐year‐old girls that explored the processes through which they negotiated gendered physicality within the context of physical education. Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and social fields and McNay’s extension of his work underpin a discussion of three contexts where girls experience and process understandings of gendered physicality: football and curriculum; home/school; and (hetero)sexuality. Girls’ identification of inequitable practices, modifications of behaviours with regard to perceived norms, and reflections on inconsistencies within and across social fields indicated the susceptibility of the gendered habitus to subversions. The notion of regulated liberties rather than resistance captures girls’ more subtle negotiations of gendered power relations as well as the ambiguities most girls experienced. Implications for teaching include creating space for critical inquiry, incorporating inclusive practices, recognizing g...

Systems Approaches and Their Application: Examples from Sweden

Abstract: Within a conceptual framework that is developed in the two first chapters, the actual application of systems thinking is described across a broad field of cases representing research, teaching, dec ...

How Technology Has Influenced the Field of Corporate Communication

Abstract: This commentary serves as a sequel to and an update of the author's earlier article “Corporate Communication as a Discipline: Toward a Definition.” In addition to presenting new information about the field of corporate communication, the author discusses the particular effect that technology has had on the field as both a function in business and a discipline within the academy. He focuses specifically on the challenges and opportunities that new technologies have brought to the field and explores possibilities for teaching and research.