Showing papers on "Social change published in 1979"

Central Problems in Social Theory: Action, Structure and Contradiction in Social Analysis

Abstract: Preface Introduction 1. Structuralism and the Theory of the Subject 2. Agency, Structure 3. Institutions, Reproduction, Socialization 4. Contradiction, Power, Historical Materialism 5. Ideology and Consciousness 6. Time, Space, Social Change 7. The Prospects for Social Theory Today Notes and References Index

Social origins of educational systems

Abstract: Margaret Archer's Social Origins of Educational Systems (SAGE, 1979) has been hailed as a landmark in the sociology of education. It provides a major historical and structural comparison of state educational systems, and offers the first theoretical framework to account for their national characteristics and the processes of change they have undergone. In this University Edition, Professor Archer has skilfully condensed her large-scale study into a concise textbook, which retains all the force and vigour of the original. The University Edition of Social Origins of Educational Systems will be essential reading for students of the sociology of education, and for all students involved in the comparative and structural analysis of social change.

Individuals and groups in social psychology.

Abstract: In a recent paper, Taylor & Brown have argued that, although research in social psychology needs to take into account the social context of social behaviour, the theories should aim at the explanation of individual behaviour. The present paper argues against this view as it applies to some important issues in social psychology. First, it is contended that the ‘individualistic’ bias of research in social psychology derives from the nature of the theories dominating the discipline. Second, a theory of inter-group behaviour is briefly outlined in order to show that its structure and aims are different in some important ways from the individualistic theories. The bias of these theories which is due to their assumption that social behaviour takes place inside homogeneous and unstructured social systems is illustrated using as examples the theory of belief similarity in prejudice and equity theory.

Maternal deprivation, 1972-1978: new findings, new concepts, new approaches.

Abstract: Research since 1972 in the field of "maternal deprivation" is critically reviewed. The results are used to reassess briefly the formulations proposed in 1972 and to discuss more fully the meaning and practical implications of fresh findings on new or recently revived topics. These include the development of social relationships and the process of bonding, critical periods of development, the links between childhood experiences and parenting behavior, influences on parenting, and the possible reasons why so many children do not succumb to deprivation or disadvantage.

Understanding Events: Affect and the Construction of Social Action

Abstract: Preface 1. Affect control and situated action 2. Affective reactions 3. Event construction and retroduction 4. Analysing social processes 5. Social roles 6. Current status of affect-control theory Appendix: Catalogues of social identities and interpersonal acts Notes References Index.

Social Education in the Classroom: the Dynamics of the Hidden Curriculum.

Abstract: This paper reviews recent studies on the relationship of classroom life to larger social/political institutions. It analyzes the phenomenon which Philip Jackson has identified as the “hidden curriculum”, that covert pattern of socialization which prepares students to function in the existing workplace and in other social/political spheres. The authors argue that this pattern has been largely ignored by social studies curriculum developers. By ignoring the values contained in the social processes of schooling, social studies developers failed to influence school programs in a fundamental way. To promote a more complete understanding of the dynamics of classroom life and its relationship to the larger society, the authors have identified social processes of school and classroom life which give specific meaning to the term hidden curriculum. They argue that a new set of processes will have to replace existing ones if the goals of social education are to be realized. In the latter part of the paper, ...

Father Custody and Social Development in Boys and Girls

Abstract: The effects of father custody on children's social development are being studied by comparing children whose fathers have been awarded custody, children whose mothers have been awarded custody, and children from intact families. Half of the subjects are boys, and half are girls aged 6–11 years. Families are matched on SES, family size, and sibling status. The data presented here were based primarily on videotaped observations of parent-child interaction in 60 families. The most intriguing findings to date suggest that children living with the opposite sex parent (father custody girls and mother custody boys) are less well adjusted than children living with the same sex parent. However, in both father custody and mother custody families, authoritative parenting by the custodial parent was positively linked with the child's competent social behavior. Also, in both sets of divorced families, contact with additional adult caretakers was associated with positive social behaviors shown by the child.

Characteristics And Types Of Participation In Social Worlds

Abstract: The concept of social world is given greater analytical power by categorizing differential participation through a typology of social types—strangers, tourists, regulars, and insiders. These trans-situational social types are examined in terms of their commitment, relationships, experiences, and orientation to social worlds. Social worlds are also discussed in terms of three qualities of interaction—relevance, accessibility, and receptivity.

Reproduction, production and the sexual division of labour.

Abstract: PIP: This basically economic treatise elaborates the thesis that the focal point of women's economic activities is provided by their special role in the reproduction of the labor force. Given that change in sex roles is necessary in order not to perpetuate a division of labor which places women in subordinate positions, this paper attempts to analyze the nature and functions of traditional sex roles and to study the structures that have supported them through generations in an effort to conceptualize the relevant issues and to set up a general framework from which change in social structure relating to women and their economic dependency can proceed. In addition, specific studies of concrete situations observed within and across countries and cultural barriers are used for illustration. The argument, simply stated, which the paper seeks to prove, is that male domination develops around the need to control reproduction in its different aspects; the concept of reproduction used here indicates a dynamic process of change linked with the perpetuation of social systems. It includes social as well as physical reproduction, and its meaning therefore goes beyond that of reproduction of human beings. This concept of reproduction is isolated in discussions of production and the sexual division of labor, including agrarian structures and modes of production; the commercialization and proletarization of agriculture; and the availability of labor resources and development of wage labor markets. The implications of this concept of reproduction in population policy, specifically population control, are not explicitly discussed but are tremendously important.

India's Political Economy, 1947-1977: The Gradual Revolution

Abstract: This book addresses the fundamental paradox of India's political economy: how can the goals of economic growth and reduction of economic and social disparities be reconciled without unleashing the disruptive violence of a direct attack on the propertied castes and classes. The author illuminates the contradiction between the practice of accommodative politics and the commitment to social change that characterized India's development policies. Using data from interviews conducted over a 30-year period, Professor Frankel analyses the strategy of democratic social transformation adapted from Gandhi's two-pronged approach: class accommodation combined with an indirect attack on the social basis of exploitation. She examines the failures in implementation of basic social reform that led India during the post-Nehru period into an economic and political impasse. The author shows how these failures not only limited India's progress toward economic growth and social justice, but also disrupted the political consensus that had made a stable democracy possible. The new chapters engage critically with the economic liberalization programme that India initiated since 1991.

The Urban Crucible: Social Change, Political Consciousness, and the Origins of the American Revolution

Abstract: For purposes of review it is fruitful to examine Gary B. Nash's The Urban Crucible as if it were two books. One is a complex, largely descriptive study of the social, economic, and political history of the key port cities of colonial America--Boston, New York, and Philadelphia--from 1690 to 1776. The other, drawing its energy from the rich detail of the first, is an evolutionary study of the socio-economic origins of the American Revolution. The two are woven together by material, focus, and theme: usually neglected materials, such as wills, inventories of estates, tax rolls, poor relief lists, voting records, shipping logs, and records of construction starts are imaginatively used; the focus is on the 'lower orders' of colonial urban society; and emphasis is placed upon the theme of modernity. This is rendered as a fitful but clear movement in urban society in three possible directions: from corporatism to laissez-faire, from traditional, kinship, deferential society to acquisitive, atomistic, democratic society, or (in an ironic echo of Perry Miller) a declension from organic community to mechanistic, individualistic society. The 'first' book represents a much needed departure from the myriad town and regional studies which for more than a decade have dotted the historiography of early America. For although Nash scrupulously preserves the integrity of each city--making clear, for example, both that ethnic rivalries in Philadelphia were very different from political rivalries in New York and religious

Revivals, awakenings, and reform : an essay on religion and social change in America, 1607-1977

Abstract: In "Revivals, Awakenings, and Reform," McLoughlin draws on psychohistory, sociology, and anthropology to examine the relationship between America's five great religious awakenings and their influence on five great movements for social reform in the United States. He finds that awakenings (and the revivals that are part of them) are periods of revitalization born in times of cultural stress and eventuating in drastic social reform. Awakenings are thus the means by which a people or nation creates and sustains its identity in a changing world. "This book is sensitive, thought-provoking and stimulating. It is 'must' reading for those interested in awakenings, and even though some may not revise their views as a result of McLoughlin's suggestive outline, none can remain unmoved by the insights he has provided on the subject."-"Christian Century" "This is one of the best books I have read all year. Professor McLoughlin has again given us a profound analysis of our culture in the midst of revivalistic trends."-"Review and Expositor"

Exploring Social Psychology

Abstract: Preface. About the Authors. 1. The Field of Social Psychology: How We Think About and Interact with Others. 2. Social Perception and Social Cognition: Internalizing Our Social World. 3. Attitudes: Evaluating the Social World. 4. The Social Self: Personal and Social Identities. 5. Prejudice and Discrimination: Understanding their Nature, Countering their Effects. 6. Relationships: From Attraction to Parting. 7. Social Influence: Changing Others' Behaviour. 8. Helping and Harming: Prosocial Behaviour and Aggression. 9. Groups and Individuals: The Consequences of Belonging. 10. Applied Social Psychology: Health, Work, and Legal Applications References. Name Index. Subject Index. Credits.

Contemporary social psychology in historical perspective.

Abstract: This paper presents an assessment of the current state of social psychology in the light of its historical and social context. The discipline is viewed as a social system, and an attempt is made to show how the properties of this system have influenced the research techniques, substantive content, and theories of contemporary social psychology. It is suggested that the field's basic mission should be defined as the attempt to understand how society influences the cognition, motivation, development, and behavior of individuals and, in turn, is influenced by them. It is proposed that this definition provides a basis for integrating all of social psychology, including its two main subdivisions and several areas of specialization. The entire history of social psychology as a field of empirical research extends over a period of only approximately eighty years. And since most of its growth has occurred within the past four decades, it is largely the product of scholars who are still active in the field. In this paper, I would like to draw upon my own experience as a social psychologist over the past