Showing papers on "Social change published in 2008"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors use an organizing framework based on institutional economics, in combination with lessons from cross-cultural psychology, to consider the social dimensions of entrepreneurship and find that entrepreneurs may partially overcome institutional deficiencies by relying on social networks that facilitate reputational bonding as a means for resource sharing.
Abstract: Schumpeter’s canonical depiction of the entrepreneur as an agent of social and economic change implies that entrepreneurs are especially sensitive to the social environment. We use an organizing framework based on institutional economics, in combination with lessons from cross-cultural psychology, to consider the social dimensions of entrepreneurship. The level and modes of entrepreneurial activity are affected by the surrounding culture and by legal rules. Entrepreneurs may partially overcome institutional deficiencies by relying on social networks that facilitate reputational bonding as a means for resource-sharing.
1,503 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the intersectionality perspective in empirical research on gender and propose a best practices resource that provides models for when and how intersectionality can inform theory and be incorporated into empirical research.
Abstract: Intersectionality, the mutually constitutive relations among social identities, is a central tenet of feminist thinking and has transformed how gender is conceptualized in research. In this special issue, we focus on the intersectionality perspective in empirical research on gender. Our goal is to offer a “best practices” resource that provides models for when and how intersectionality can inform theory and be incorporated into empirical research on psychological questions at individual, interpersonal, and social structural levels. I briefly summarize the development of the intersectionality perspective, and then review how the realization of its promise has been diverted by preoccupation with intersectionality as a methodological challenge. I conclude with a discussion of why intersectionality is an urgent issue for researchers invested in promoting positive social change.
1,273 citations
Book•
01 Apr 2008
TL;DR: Social entrepreneurship is a term that has come to be applied to the activities of grass-roots activists, NGOs, policy makers, international institutions, and corporations, amongst others.
Abstract: "Social Entrepreneurship" is a term that has come to be applied to the activities of grass-roots activists, NGOs, policy makers, international institutions, and corporations, amongst others, which address a range of social issues in innovative and creative ways. Themed around the emerging agendas for developing new, sustainable models of social sector excellence and systemic impact, Social Entrepreneurship offers, for the first time, a wide-ranging, internationally-focused selection of cutting-edge work from leading academics, policy makers, and practitioners. Together they seek to clarify some of the ambiguity around this term, describe a range of social entrepreneurship projects, and establish a clear set of frameworks with which to understand it. Included in the volume are contributions from Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize and the father of microfinance, Geoff Mulgan, former head of the British prime minister's policy unit, and Bill Drayton, founder of the Ashoka network of social entrepreneurs.
901 citations
TL;DR: Results revealed significant differences favoring children in the enriched intervention classrooms on measures of vocabulary, emergent literacy, emotional understanding, social problem solving, social behavior, and learning engagement.
Abstract: Forty-four Head Start classrooms were randomly assigned to enriched intervention (Head Start REDI—Research-based, Developmentally Informed) or “usual practice” conditions. The intervention involved brief lessons, “hands-on” extension activities, and specific teaching strategies linked empirically with the promotion of: (a) social-emotional competencies and (b) language development and emergent literacy skills. Take-home materials were provided to parents to enhance skill development at home. Multimethod assessments of three hundred and fifty-six 4-year-old children tracked their progress over the course of the 1-year program. Results revealed significant differences favoring children in the enriched intervention classrooms on measures of vocabulary, emergent literacy, emotional understanding, social problem solving, social behavior, and learning engagement. Implications are discussed for developmental models of school readiness and for early educational programs and policies.
813 citations
TL;DR: The thesis is that ideological belief systems may be structured according to a left-right dimension for largely psychological reasons linked to variability in the needs to reduce uncertainty and threat.
Abstract: We trace the rise, fall, and resurgence of political ideology as a topic of research in social, personality, and political psychology. For over 200 years, political belief systems have been classified usefully according to a single left-right (or liberal-conservative) dimension that, we believe, possesses two core aspects: (a) advocating versus resisting social change and (b) rejecting versus accepting inequality. There have been many skeptics of the notion that most people are ideologically inclined, but recent psychological evidence suggests that left-right differences are pronounced in many life domains. Implicit as well as explicit preferences for tradition, conformity, order, stability, traditional values, and hierarchy-versus those for progress, rebelliousness, chaos, flexibility, feminism, and equality-are associated with conservatism and liberalism, respectively. Conservatives score consistently higher than liberals on measures of system justification. Furthermore, there are personality and lifestyle differences between liberals and conservatives as well as situational variables that induce either liberal or conservative shifts in political opinions. Our thesis is that ideological belief systems may be structured according to a left-right dimension for largely psychological reasons linked to variability in the needs to reduce uncertainty and threat.
683 citations
674 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: There is an emerging body of literature advocating a "critical" approach to community service learning with an explicit social justice aim as mentioned in this paper, where the goal is to deconstruct systems of power so the need for service and the inequalities that create and sustain them are dismantled.
Abstract: There is an emerging body of literature advocating a "critical" approach to community service learning with an explicit social justice aim. A social change orientation, working to redistribute power, and developing authentic relationships are most often cited in the literature as points of departure from traditional service-learning. This literature review unpacks these distinguishing elements. ********** A growing segment of the service-learning literature in higher education assumes that community service linked to classroom learning is inherently connected to concerns of social justice (Delve, Mintz, & Stewart, 1990; Jacoby, 1996; Rosenberger, 2000; Wade, 2000; 2001; Warren, 1998). At the same time, there is an emerging body of literature arguing that the traditional service-learning approach is not enough (Brown, 2001; Butin, 2005; Cipolle, 2004; Marullo, 1999; Robinson 2000a, 2000b; Walker, 2000). This literature advocates a "critical" approach to community service learning with an explicit aim toward social justice. Referencing the service-learning literature, I unpack the elements that distinguish a critical service-learning pedagogy. In reviewing the literature, I was challenged by an unspoken debate that seemed to divide service-learning into two camps--a traditional approach that emphasizes service without attention to systems of inequality, and a critical approach that is unapologetic in its aim to dismantle structures of injustice. The three elements most often cited in the literature as points of departure in the two approaches are working to redistribute power amongst all participants in the service-learning relationship, developing authentic relationships in the classroom and in the community, and working from a social change perspective. I wanted to understand and make clear the differences in these approaches and what they might look like in practice. How might the curriculum, experiences, and outcomes of a critical service-learning course differ from a traditional service-learning course? The critical approach re-imagines the roles of community members, students, and faculty in the service-learning experience. The goal, ultimately, is to deconstruct systems of power so the need for service and the inequalities that create and sustain them are dismantled. This article uses perspectives from the literature to uncover and explicate the meaning of a critical service-learning view. In discussing each of the three distinguishing elements of the critical service-learning approach, I examine the classroom and community components. Traditional vs. Critical Service-Learning Community service learning "serves as a vehicle for connecting students and institutions to their communities and the larger social good, while at the same time instilling in students the values of community and social responsibility" (Neururer & Rhoads, 1998, p. 321). Because service-learning as a pedagogy and practice varies greatly across educators and institutions, it is difficult to create a definition that elicits consensus amongst practitioners (Bickford & Reynolds, 2002; Butin, 2005; Kendall, 1990; Liu, 1995; Varlotta, 1997a). However, I use the terms service-learning and community service learning to define a community service action tied to learning goals and ongoing reflection about the experience (Jacoby, 1996). The learning in service-learning results from the connections students make between their community experiences and course themes (Zivi, 1997). Through their community service, students become active learners, bringing skills and information from community work and integrating them with the theory and curriculum of the classroom to produce new knowledge. At the same time, students' classroom learning informs their service in the community. Research heralds traditional service-learning programs for their transformative nature--producing students who are more tolerant, altruistic, and culturally aware; who have stronger leadership and communication skills; and who (albeit marginally) earn higher grade point averages and have stronger critical thinking skills than their non-service-learning counterparts (Astin & Sax, 1998; Densmore, 2000; Eyler & Giles, 1999; Kezar, 2002; Markus, Howard, & King, 1993). …
613 citations
TL;DR: Research on children's social functioning and peer relationships in different cultures from an integrative contextual-developmental perspective and the implications of the macro-level social and cultural changes that are happening in many societies for socialization and development of social competence are reviewed.
Abstract: Social initiative and behavioral control represent two major dimensions of children's social competence. Cultural norms and values with respect to these dimensions may affect the exhibition, meaning, and development of specific social behaviors such as sociability, shyness-inhibition, cooperation-compliance, and aggression-defiance, as well as the quality and function of social relationships. The culturally guided social interaction processes including evaluations and responses likely serve as an important mediator of cultural influence on children's social behaviors, relationships, and developmental patterns. In this article, we review research on children's social functioning and peer relationships in different cultures from an integrative contextual-developmental perspective. We also review research on the implications of the macro-level social and cultural changes that are happening in many societies for socialization and development of social competence.
506 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explain the forces contributing to the formation and rapid internationalization of social ventures, using the behavioral theory of the firm to distill key attributes of social opportunities and show how these attributes influence the timing and geographic scope of social venture's international operations.
Abstract: Social entrepreneurship has emerged as an important research topic in the literature. This interest stems from social entrepreneurs' role in addressing serious social problems on a worldwide scale while enhancing social wealth, often without regard for profits. In this article, we explain the forces contributing to the formation and rapid internationalization of social ventures. We use the behavioral theory of the firm to distill key attributes of social opportunities and show how these attributes influence the timing and geographic scope of social ventures' international operations. Copyright © 2008 Strategic Management Society.
490 citations
TL;DR: The social window humankind has to prevent dangerous climate change is described and one possible strategy to relieve the collective-risk dilemma in high-risk situations is to convince people that failure to invest enough is very likely to cause grave financial loss to the individual.
Abstract: Will a group of people reach a collective target through individual contributions when everyone suffers individually if the target is missed? This “collective-risk social dilemma” exists in various social scenarios, the globally most challenging one being the prevention of dangerous climate change. Reaching the collective target requires individual sacrifice, with benefits to all but no guarantee that others will also contribute. It even seems tempting to contribute less and save money to induce others to contribute more, hence the dilemma and the risk of failure. Here, we introduce the collective-risk social dilemma and simulate it in a controlled experiment: Will a group of people reach a fixed target sum through successive monetary contributions, when they know they will lose all their remaining money with a certain probability if they fail to reach the target sum? We find that, under high risk of simulated dangerous climate change, half of the groups succeed in reaching the target sum, whereas the others only marginally fail. When the risk of loss is only as high as the necessary average investment or even lower, the groups generally fail to reach the target sum. We conclude that one possible strategy to relieve the collective-risk dilemma in high-risk situations is to convince people that failure to invest enough is very likely to cause grave financial loss to the individual. Our analysis describes the social window humankind has to prevent dangerous climate change.
481 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the changes wrought by six social processes: political mobilization, military socialization, polarization of social identities, militarization of local authority, transformation of gender roles, and fragmentation of the local political economy.
Abstract: Little attention has been paid to the social processes of civil war—the transformation of social actors, structures, norms, and practices—that sometimes leave enduring legacies for the postwar period. In this article, I explore the changes wrought by six social processes: political mobilization, military socialization, polarization of social identities, militarization of local authority, transformation of gender roles, and fragmentation of the local political economy. Some of these social processes occur in peacetime, but war may radically change their pace, direction, or consequences, with perhaps irreversible effects. I trace the wide variation in these processes during the wars in four countries: Peru, El Salvador, Sri Lanka, and Sierra Leone. I analyze the effects of these processes as transformations in social networks. These processes reconfigure social networks in a variety of ways, creating new networks, dissolving some, and changing the structure of others.
TL;DR: An examination of the ways that community psychology and allied disciplines can help increase the number and range of empowering settings, and enhance the community and societal impact of existing ones is examined.
Abstract: The pathways and processes through which empowering community settings influence their members, the surrounding community and the larger society are examined. To generate the proposed pathways and processes, a broad range of studies of community settings were reviewed, in the domains of adult well-being, positive youth development, locality development, and social change. A set of organizational characteristics and associated processes leading to member empowerment across domains were identified, as well as three pathways through which empowering settings in each domain contribute to community betterment and positive social change. The paper concludes with an examination of the ways that community psychology and allied disciplines can help increase the number and range of empowering settings, and enhance the community and societal impact of existing ones.
01 Dec 2008
TL;DR: Analysis of pooled data from the National Health Interview Survey from 1972 to 2003 shows that the self-rated health of the never-married has improved over the past three decades, and the gap between the married and the never married has steadily converged over time for men but not for women.
Abstract: Although the meanings and rates of being married, divorced, separated, never-married, and widowed have changed significantly over the past several decades, we know very little about historical trends in the relationship between marital status and health. Our analysis of pooled data from the National Health Interview Survey from 1972 to 2003 shows that the self-rated health of the never-married has improved over the past three decades. Moreover, the gap between the married and the never married has steadily converged over time for men but not for women. In contrast, the self-rated health of the widowed, divorced, and separated worsened over time relative to the married, and the adverse effects of marital dissolution have increased more for women than for men. Our findings highlight the importance of social change in shaping the impact of marital status on self-reported health and challenge long-held assumptions about gender, marital status, and health.
TL;DR: It is suggested that social and cognitive factors may play an important role in children's lie-telling abilities and that lying was related to their moral evaluations.
Abstract: The relation between children's lie-telling and their social and cognitive development was examined. Children (3-8 years) were told not to peek at a toy. Most children peeked and later lied about peeking. Children's subsequent verbal statements were not always consistent with their initial denial and leaked critical information revealing their deceit. Children's conceptual moral understanding of lies, executive functioning, and theory-of-mind understanding were also assessed. Children's initial false denials were related to their first-order belief understanding and their inhibitory control. Children's ability to maintain their lies was related to their second-order belief understanding. Children's lying was related to their moral evaluations. These findings suggest that social and cognitive factors may play an important role in children's lie-telling abilities.
TL;DR: Eye-tracking techniques are used to investigate how individuals with these two neuro-developmental disorders associated with distinct social characteristics view scenes containing people and suggest more attention should be drawn towards understanding the implications of atypical social preferences in WS.
TL;DR: Adolescence is a period of marked change in the person's cognitive, physical, psychological, and social development and in the individual's relations with the people and institutions of the social wor
Abstract: Adolescence is a period of marked change in the person’s cognitive, physical, psychological, and social development and in the individual’s relations with the people and institutions of the social wor
TL;DR: It is argued that political solidarity as a social change process involves a contest between the authority and the minority over the meaning of a shared (higher order) identity with the majority.
Abstract: Social and political change involves a challenge to the status quo in intergroup power relations. Traditionally, the social psychology of social change has focused on disadvantaged minority groups collectively challenging the decisions, actions, and policies of those in positions of established authority. In contrast, this article presents a political solidarity model of social change that explores the process by which members of the majority challenge the authority in solidarity with the minority. It is argued that political solidarity as a social change process involves a contest between the authority and the minority over the meaning of a shared (higher order) identity with the majority. When identity ceases to be shared with the authority and becomes shared with the minority, majority challenge to authority in solidarity with the minority becomes possible. The model's contributions to existing social psychological approaches to social change are also discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, the role of traditional sports clubs and local government in delivering social inclusion programs and the emerging provision of community based sport activities by community/social development organisations is detailed.
TL;DR: In this article, social-emotional competence and social support were hypothesized to have strong influences on academic trajectories during the critical period of academic skill acquisition, and the findings suggest that school psychologists and others designing interventions to improve achievement of disadvantaged students should address socialemotional competencies and classroom climate, especially teacher support of students.
Abstract: Despite living in disadvantaged urban communities experiencing social and economic hardships, many children emerge with positive outcomes. Social-emotional competence and social support were hypothesized to have strong influences on academic trajectories during the critical period of academic skill acquisition. Participants were 282 third-grade students from six elementary schools in a Northwestern urban community. Beyond the importance of prior levels of academic competence, considerable variance in end-of-year academic outcomes was predicted by initial levels of academic social-emotional competence and improvements in social-emotional competence and perceived teacher support over the course of the year. Noteworthy is that findings were strongest for African-American students, but methodological caveats regarding research with underachieving minority youth were discussed. The findings suggest that school psychologists and others designing interventions to improve achievement of disadvantaged students should address social-emotional competencies and classroom climate, especially teacher support of students.
Book•
01 Jan 2008TL;DR: This book calls upon engineers to cultivate a passion for social justice and peace and to develop the skill and knowledge set needed to take practical action for change within the profession.
Abstract: The profession of engineering in the United States has historically served the status quo, feeding an ever-expanding materialistic and militaristic culture, remaining relatively unresponsive to public concerns, and without significant pressure for change from within. This book calls upon engineers to cultivate a passion for social justice and peace and to develop the skill and knowledge set needed to take practical action for change within the profession. Because many engineers do not receive education and training that support the kinds of critical thinking, reflective decision-making, and effective action necessary to achieve social change, engineers concerned with social justice can feel powerless and isolated as they remain complicit. Utilizing techniques from radical pedagogies of liberation and other movements for social justice, this book presents a roadmap for engineers to become empowered and engage one another in a process of learning and action for social justice and peace.Table of con...
TL;DR: This study incorporated the motivational techniques of Pivotal Response Training through peer-mediated practice to improve social interactions for children with autism during recess activities to demonstrate an increase in important social skills, namely social initiations and turn taking, during recess.
Abstract: Children with autism face enormous struggles when attempting to interact with their typically developing peers. More children are educated in integrated settings; however, play skills usually need to be explicitly taught, and play environments must be carefully prepared to support effective social interactions. This study incorporated the motivational techniques of Pivotal Response Training through peer-mediated practice to improve social interactions for children with autism during recess activities. A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to assess social skills gains in two elementary school children. The results demonstrated an increase in important social skills, namely social initiations and turn taking, during recess.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide new theoretical insights into the interconnections and relationships between women, management and globalization in the Middle East (ME), and discuss the complexities of conceptualizing women's equality and empowerment in Islamic states.
Abstract: This paper provides new theoretical insights into the interconnections and relationships between women, management and globalization in the Middle East (ME). The discussion is positioned within broader globalization debates about women’s social status in ME economies. Based on case study evidence and the UN datasets, the article critiques social, cultural and economic reasons for women’s limited advancement in the public sphere. These include the prevalence of the patriarchal work contract within public and private institutions, as well as cultural and ethical values which create strongly defined gender roles. The discussion examines the complexities of conceptualizing women’s equality and empowerment in Islamic states. The paper reveals that there have been significant achievements in advancing women in leadership and political roles, but that there are still institutional and cultural barriers embedded in business systems. Linking feminist, development and management theoretical strands a development framework is proposed which is sensitive to the Islamic Shar’ia encompassing government, organization and individual level strategies. It is suggested that scholars should integrate literatures from gender and management, development and Middle East studies, and in particular that critical scholars of gender and organization should consider the interrelations of the national and transnational in critiques of contemporary global capitalism to understand the complexity of women and social change in the ME.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse the roles higher education is expected to play with regard to various knowledge society discourses, and reflect on current challenges and expectations generated within these discourses for higher education and the implications these expectations have for research in higher education research.
Abstract: The growing importance of knowledge, research and innovation are changing the social role of universities in the globalized world One of the most popular concepts used to approach these changes in post-industrial and post-modern societies is the concept of ‘Knowledge Society’ In this paper, we will analyse the roles higher education is expected to play with regard to various knowledge society discourses We will begin with analyzing the uses of knowledge society as an intellectual device and continue by reflecting on how changes in higher education are related to knowledge society discourses in national, regional and global levels In the final section we will reflect on current challenges and expectations generated within these discourses for higher education and the implications these expectations have for higher education research
TL;DR: An intervention in rural South Africa that combined group-based microfinance with participatory gender and HIV training in an attempt to catalyze changes in solidarity, reciprocity and social group membership as a means to reduce women's vulnerability to intimate partner violence and HIV is conducted.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a frame for discussing the international rise of accountability as a key tool of social change, arguing that accountability is a global phenomenon, but the ways and means of enacting and encountering accountability are not.
Abstract: Why and under which conditions do international student assessment programmes like PISA have success? How can the results of these assessments be useful for advocates of different, even contradictory, policies? What might explain different patterns of using assessment as a tool for school governance? Drawing on historical and comparative research, and using PISA as an example, this paper provides a frame for discussing these and other questions around the international rise of accountability as a key tool of social change. The basic argument is that even though accountability is a global phenomenon, the ways and means of enacting and encountering accountability are not. How accountability is experienced depends on deeply engrained ‘constitutional mind‐sets’, i.e. diverse cultures of conceptualizing the relation between the public and its institutions.
01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: The first issue of Subjectivity as mentioned in this paper explores the social, cultural, historical, and material processes, dynamics and structures of human experience as topic, problem and resource, including cultural studies, sociology, social theory, science and technology studies, geography, anthropology, gender and feminist studies and psychology.
Abstract: Welcome to the first launch issue of Subjectivity, previously the International Journal of Critical Psychology Subjectivity is an international, transdisciplinary journal that will explore the social, cultural, historical and material processes, dynamics and structures of human experience As topic, problem and resource, notions of subjectivity are relevant to many disciplines, including cultural studies, sociology, social theory, science and technology studies, geography, anthropology, gender and feminist studies and psychology The journal will bring together scholars from across the social sciences and the humanities in a collaborative project to identify the processes by which subjectivities are produced, explore subjectivity as a locus of social change, and examine how emerging subjectivities remake our social worlds Our aim, then, is a re-prioritization of subjectivity as a primary category of social, cultural, psychological, historical and political analysis
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the rise of social protection constitutes a response to global factors, but with considerable regional diversity, and examine the factors determining the future course of Social Protection and identifies urgent research needs.
Abstract: The concept and practice of social protection in developing countries has advanced at an astonishing pace over the last decade or so. There is a growing consensus around the view that social protection constitutes an effective response to poverty and vulnerability in developing countries, and an essential component of economic and social development strategies. This paper argues that the rise of social protection constitutes a response to global factors, but with considerable regional diversity. The paper examines the factors determining the future course of social protection and identifies urgent research needs.
Book•
30 May 2008
TL;DR: Newfield as discussed by the authors argues that the financial and political crises of public universities are not the result of economic downturns or of ultimately valuable restructuring, but of a conservative campaign to end public education's democratizing influence on American society.
Abstract: An essential American dream - equal access to higher education - was becoming a reality with the GI Bill and civil rights movements after World War II. But this vital American promise has been broken. Christopher Newfield argues that the financial and political crises of public universities are not the result of economic downturns or of ultimately valuable restructuring, but of a conservative campaign to end public education's democratizing influence on American society. "Unmaking the Public University" is the story of how conservatives have maligned and restructured public universities, deceiving the public to serve their own ends. It is a deep and revealing analysis that is long overdue.Newfield carefully describes how this campaign operated, using extensive research into public university archives. He launches the story with the expansive vision of an equitable and creative America that emerged from the post-war boom in college access, and traces the gradual emergence of the anti-egalitarian "corporate university," practices that ranged from racial policies to research budgeting. Newfield shows that the culture wars have actually been an economic war that a conservative coalition in business, government, and academia have waged on that economically necessary but often independent group, the college-educated middle class.Newfield's research exposes the crucial fact that the culture wars have functioned as a kind of neutron bomb, one that pulverizes the social and culture claims of college grads while leaving their technical expertise untouched. "Unmaking the Public University" incisively sets the record straight, describing a forty-year economic war waged on the college-educated public, and awakening us to a vision of social development shared by scientists and humanists alike.