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Showing papers on "Social system published in 1990"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Using the data from the 1987 General Social Survey, the authors found that respondents' perceptions of their egocentric networks are found to predict their involvement in national elections. But, most of the interaction terms are not significant, and their closeness to network others has few substantial effects.
Abstract: The dominant paradigm in political participation studies largely ignores the microcontexts within which citizens are embedded Drawing on generic processes of persuasion and selection, this study specifies six testable research hypotheses about individuals' attitudes and behaviors as consequences of theform and content of their ego-centric networks Using the network measuresfrom the 1987 General Social Survey, respondents'perceptions oftheir egocentric networks arefound to predict involvement in national elections The morefrequently people discuss political matters with their intimates, the greater their interest and participation in national campaigns and voting The partisan composition of the network strongly influences their participation, even after controlling for party identifications and selection effects of social attributes However, respondents' closeness to network others has few substantial effects, and most of the interaction terms are not significant For members of voluntary associations, having at least one other with whom theyfrequently discuss politics strongly boosts mobilization in internal organizational affairs and in the local community, again controllingfor social attnbutes Coiled around the heart of politics in liberal democratic societies is the participation of ordinary citizens in voting for government officials and engaging in efforts, to shape public policies Populist theories of democracy require that the citizenry interact continually with officials about their public policy concerns (Barber 1984; Pateman 1970; Riker 1982) Local participatory arenas grass-roots parties, voluntary associations, industrial workplaces constitute institutions for aggregating popular preferences They give citizens practical opportunities to acquire democratic norms, skills, and experiences These civic education functions of American civil society have been remarked upon by political commentators since Tocqueville (1945:115) Mass participation is seen as an indispensable ingredient for preserving democratic governance of society Most empirical assessments of citizen involvement in political institutions implicitly assume some multivariate theory of individual decision making Some of these explanations emphasize primarily the WMany thanks to James A Davis, Peter Marsden, and two anonymous refereesfor their helpful comments on an earlier version The data analyzed in this article comefrom the 1987 General Social Survey, James A Davis and Tom W Smith, principal investigators A module of new items was designed by a subcommittee of Lawrence Bobo, Thomas Guterbock, and myself, with assistancefrom DuaneAlwin I thank Tom Guterbockfor providing a copy of the data Direct correspondence to the author at the Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 0) The University of North Carolina Press Social Forces, June 1990, 68(4):1041-1063 This content downloaded from 1575539220 on Fri, 02 Sep 2016 05:59:36 UTC All use subject to http://aboutjstororg/terms 1042 / Social Forces 68:4, June 1990 social forces impinging upon the citizen, while others highlight the role of social psychological perceptions and beliefs Yet very few theories consider how networks of interaction among citizens affect the observed pattems of voting and participation By neglecting these connections among people, incomplete accounts of conventional political behaviors result This article considers how a theory that explicitly includes network relationships could enrich our knowledge of citizen politics The incremental strategy of theory construction followed in this article begins with a search for fundamental principles of network formation and the effects of the form and content of network structures on individual behaviors; an explicit stipulation of research hypotheses about how these generic processes explain network political phenomena; a review of earlier efforts to include network concepts in political analysis; an exploration of some recently created social network data pertaining to electoral and voluntary organization political participation; and, finally, an evaluation of the utility of these basic theoretical principles for broader classes of social behavior This strategy of interweaving theoretical and empirical analyses may ultimately lead to sounder knowledge about individual social structural relations Theory construction begins with consideration of two generic processes fundamental to any comprehensive explanation of how individuals' social relationships shape their attitudes and activities: persuasion and selection Persuasion Processes In routine interactions with other individuals and institutions, people are continually bombarded by recurrent efforts that seek to change their beliefs and behaviors Persuasion occurs when one social actor intentionally transmits information to another that changes the latter's actions from what would have occurred in the absence of that information It is the influence dimension of social power that relies on the application of information, rather than the domination dimension that uses sanctions to control others (Ktioke 1990b, Chapter 1) Persuasion whether taking place in a classroom, used car lot, or medical clinic operates by providing information intended to alter an actor's perception of the connection between an action and its consequences It requires a structural relationship between two or more actors, because a communication channel must exist between influencer and influencee For persuasion efforts to be effective, the target of influence must believe the information to be credible and/or the source to be trustworthy Impersonal media may carry less weight than personal contacts with others to whom one has intense emotional and instrumental connections Hence, the networks of stable social relationships among social actors are critical to any theoretical explanation of how attitudes and actions are formed and changed Balance theories (Anderson 1979; Heider 1944), contagion (Burt 1987b), social comparison (Erickson 1988), and social evaluation theories (Gartrell 1987) each emphasize that individuals' perceptions of their significant others' preferences strongly influence how a person comes to view his or her world As sources of material, emotional, and normative rewards, the other actors in one's personal network provide the meaningful standards against which one can evaluate his or her own sensations and performances People constantly compare themselves to those with whom they have close ties and seek to emulate the attitudes and actions of these intimates The recurrent communications within these small, intimate networks construct the grand interpretive schemas that anchor people to larger social systems This content downloaded from 1575539220 on Fri, 02 Sep 2016 05:59:36 UTC All use subject to http://aboutjstororg/terms Networks of Political Action / 1043 The collectively shared thoughts and deeds of network members are powerfully compelled toward uniformity by universal desires to conform to group norms and to avoid social sanctions for deviant behavior The consequence of successful mutual persuasion is social cohesion or solidarity Persuasion processes span many social arenas, ranging from fashions in clothing, to professional performance standards, to religious ideologies In principle, the acquisition of political opinions and actions should be no different The persuasive political effects of a social network can be stated as hypotheses that use a standard terminology An "ego-centric network" consists of a focal individual ("ego") and a set of others ('alters") to whom ego is directly connected by ties of varying intensity (eg, frequency of interaction; emotional depth) When the opinions and actions of an ego's alters are consistent (homogeneous), ego faces overwhelming social pressures to adopt the same preferences When the alters' orientations are divided, ego's preferences are most likely to be influenced by those with whom he or she is more closely tied than by the alters with whom ego has weaker links When the opposing preferences of alters are evenly balanced in intensity and strength of ties to ego, these conflicting social cues cannot be easily reconciled Ego is most likely to take a middling position, to vacillate, to delay a decision, or to remain uncommitted If indecision is psychologically painful, ego may seek other sources of information, and perhaps change his or her network by dropping some alters and picking up new ones Thus, variation in the intensity of affect and the political composition of an ego's network should be positively related to ego's conformity to the political orientations of his or her alters Stated as formal research hypotheses: (1) The more politically homogeneous an ego's alters, the more frequent the political interactions ego has with alters (2) The more politically homogeneous an ego's alters, the greater the similarity between ego's and alter's political attitudes and behaviors (3) The closer ego feels to alters and the more frequently ego discusses political matters with alters, the higher ego's political interest and the more frequent ego's participation in political activities The homogeneity effects are postulated to occur through mutual influence, that is, by ego and alter changing one another's views through discussion, argument, exemplification, and other persuasion processes However, ego-centric network homogeneity may also occur through the selection of partners who already hold compatible views, as described in the next section

262 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A framework is developed to explain the link between dominance and kinship phenomena, assuming that power brought by alliances among non-kin is allometrically related to those involving relatives.

140 citations


Book
01 Dec 1990
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a history of what the social landscape and the organizational scenery of the world and everyday life in the context of social systems, structures, and landscapes.
Abstract: Part 1 Social systems, structures, landscapes: the world and everyday life the world of the new theoretical movement system and lifeworld system, structure and structuration a new grand theory? the history of what the social landscape. Part 2 The organizational scenery: paradigms lost what is organized? and what is not organized? how is it organized? types of organizations individuals, organizations and social landscapes the organizational scenery and the social world. Part 3 The individual domain: organizations in everyday life movements among multiple realities the seriality of everyday life getting off the track. Part 4 Between organizations: individuals and organizations in the environment the terrain interaction within and across organizational sectors the nation-state as an organization of compromises the organizational limits of the welfare state the movements and adaptions of capitalist enterprises the linking of affiliations in everyday life. Part 5 A summary - organized actors, unorganized organizations: individuals and organizations unorganized organizations.

55 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the utility of the adaptation paradigm for understanding the health consequences of rural Peruvian social relations is examined, and the desirability of linking data, methods, and theoretical perspectives from sociocultural and biological anthropology, and provide methodological examples for conducting this type of research.
Abstract: In this article I argue for the desirability of linking data, methods, and theoretical perspectives from sociocultural and biological anthropology, and provide methodological examples for conducting this type of research. I specifically examine the utility of the adaptation paradigm for understanding the health consequences of rural Peruvian social relations. Long-term historical trends in the Nunoa District in the rural Peruvian highlands reveal that large-scale political-economic and other social forces helped shape a local social structure that creates ongoing adverse living conditions for many segments of the population. Biological manifestations of social stressors are seen in the form of high mortality and poor child growth, especially among economically marginalized populations. Analysis of household morbidity and social characteristics demonstrates strong links between health status and factors such as informal interhousehold social support networks, education, and family demographic composition.

46 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The World-Systems model has the potential of offering a conceptual point of departure of great value to students of social change in regions other than Europe during the early modern era as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Among the results of recent scholarly interest in the “World-Systems” perspective has been a revival of the debate concerning the origins of capitalism and the modern world economy. Despite the fact that the World-Systems approach at times seems as Eurocentric as some of the theories it purports to oppose, since the origins and “core” developments of both mercantilism and capitalism are considered to have been uniquely rooted in the socioeconomic experience of early modern Europe, it nonetheless offers historians the promise of studying social structural and economic changes in non-Western societies without recourse to the value judgments and prejudices implicit in models of development that employ such terms as “traditional society,” “underdevelopment,” or “modernization.” By demonstrating that market and productive forces external to a particular regional economy and social system can intrude upon that system, dominate it, and eventually stimulate its transformation, thus creating wider changes in intrasocietal social relations, the World-Systems model has the potential of offering a conceptual point of departure of great value to students of social change in regions other than Europe during the early modern era.

34 citations


Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the interrelationships between autonomy and self-referentiality of modern science as a social system and show that such relationships can be found in the literal sense of the Greek word autonomy, which means that an entity or a system is regulated by rules that are generated by itself.
Abstract: The following considerations try to analyze the interrelationships between the autonomy and self-referentiality of modern science as a social system. Such interrelationships are obvious. Even if one only considers the literal sense of the Greek word autonomy one will realize that it says that something — an entity or a system — is regulated by rules that are generated by itself.

24 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The relationships organized by marriage and kinship in small-scale societies have long been a mainstay of anthropological approaches to society as mentioned in this paper, however, these approaches have varied in contentious ways through the years.
Abstract: The relationships organized by marriage and kinship in small scale societies have long been a mainstay of anthropological approaches to society. These approaches have, however, varied in contentious ways through the years. Some have stressed adherence to positive rules of marriage and behavior embedded in kinship terminologies (Levi-Strauss 1969 [1949]); others have stressed social organization as an outcome of statistical patterns of behavior (Murdock 1949). Still others have discussed social organization in terms of decision-making models, themselves structured by an embedded hierarchy of rules available to the conscious repertoire of social actors (Keesing 1967). More recent and promising analyses have attempted to join the improvisations of human agency with accounts that recognize the role of structured historical relationships and their strategic recreation (Bourdieu 1977). These are largely subsumed under the heading of practice approaches (Ortner 1984, 1989:11-18) and themselves encompass applications to various sets of data from historical (Bourdieu 1976) and secondary ethnographic sources (Collier 1988) to actual analyses of process among contemporary groups (Bradburd 1984). Among the advantages of practice approaches is an explicit concern with individual strategic behavior conducted within particular contexts of meaning and prestige rather than in response to an integrated, highly structured set of rules (Bourdieu 1976:119-120). This stress on defining particular local contexts does not exclude economic considerations from the understanding of practice although they are not given a priori analytic prominence. Moreover, where other approaches have stressed logical coherence, either in parallels between behavior and terminology or in normative systems, the practice perspective allows for the simultaneous existence of apparently contradictory motivations. Indeed, these points of tension provide actors with the alternatives that give flexibility to social systems. Leach recognized the importance of these inconsistencies in his work on the Kachin, suggesting that the "overall process of structural change comes about through the manipulation of these alternatives as a means of social advancement" (1977:8). Recent work demonstrates the pivotal position of marriage in recreating and extending political and domestic statuses in classless societies. Much of this work, however, seems to imply that any particular society will be defined by highly integrated ideal models which define the differences along which inequalities are structured. Jane Collier's (1988) three models of social inequality defined by marriage, for example, take social inequality as a necessary condition in all societies, but appear to assume single discourses of social interaction within any particular setting. Even Leach's recognition of

23 citations


Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: An understanding of the social behavior and organization of microtine rodents is relevant to theory regarding regulation of numbers and population cycles and social tolerance and modal diversity may be closely linked to whether populations are likely to fluctuate.
Abstract: An understanding of the social behavior and organization of microtine rodents is relevant to theory regarding regulation of numbers and population cycles. Unclear or typological concepts of social organization and inadequate data on year — round social structure are barriers to this understanding. The social organizational mode is defined as a subunit of social organization within a species, such as the exclusive territories of breeding female meadow voles. All the modes at any particular time in a population make up the social organization of that population, whereas the social system consists of all the social organizations that exist for a species throughout its range and annual cycle. Defining under what circumstances the modes vary is the approach most likely to show significant linkages between social behavior and population processes. Social tolerance and modal diversity may be closely linked to whether populations are likely to fluctuate.

19 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Relative Strangers as discussed by the authors studies the stepfamily as a social system in its own right, and examines the processes at work in this system, a sociological study of the step-family.
Abstract: Relative Strangers studies the stepfamily as a social system in its own right, and examines the processes at work in this system. A sociological study of the stepfamily, this book will appeal to social workers, counsellors, family therapists, sociologists, teachers and educated readers interested in the American family.

19 citations


Book
12 Jul 1990
TL;DR: The authors Unravelling Talcott Parsons' theoretical development: 1. Talcott Parsons: the roots of his thought: 2. The Amherst papers Part III. Convergence and its construction Part IV. The Social System Part V. Conclusion Appendix List of references Indexes.
Abstract: Preface Part I. Unravelling Talcott Parsons' theoretical development: 1. Introduction Part II. Talcott Parsons: the roots of his thought: 2. Talcott Parsons in relation to the thought of his time 3. The Amherst papers Part III. The Development of Theory: 4. Maz Weber and the vision of a unified social science 5. The position and prospects of sociology at Harvard in the 1930s 6. Convergence and its construction Part IV. The Theory: 7. Conceptualising The Social System 8. Developing The Social System 9. Formulating The Social System 10. The Social System Part V. Parsons' Theory as it Stood at 1951: 11. Conclusion Appendix List of references Indexes.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Camic, Charles. 1989. "Structure after 50 years: The Anatomy of a Charter." American Journal of Sociology 95:38-107 as mentioned in this paper ; Coleman, James S. 1990.
Abstract: Camic, Charles. 1989. "Structure After 50 Years: The Anatomy of a Charter." American Journal of Sociology 95:38-107. Coleman, James S. 1990. Foundations of Social Theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Devereux, Edward C., Jr. 1961. "Parsons' Sociological Theory" in The Social Theories of Talcott Parsons, edited by Max Black. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Parsons, Talcott. 1937. The Structure of Social Action. New York: McGraw-Hill. _ . 1951. The Social System. New York: The Free Press.

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: In this paper, a reformulation of the problem of social self-regulation within the conceptual frame of self-organization seems to provide a new conceptual solution, which can be seen as a breakthrough toward a better understanding of selforganization as a process that has self-regulating effect.
Abstract: It was E. Durkheim who put the problem of social self-regulation on the agenda of sociology when he wrote his Division of Social Labor Though mostly not read from this perspective, Durkheim’s model of the relation between social differentiation and individualization can be seen as a breakthrough toward a better understanding of self-organization as a process that has self-regulating effect.2Whereas in Durkheim’s writing the problem of self-regulation is not clearly distinguished from his notion of social solidarity, a reformulation of the problem within the conceptual frame of self-organization3 seems to provide a new conceptual solution.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Mar 1990
TL;DR: In this article, the links between social engineering and sociotechnics (and its various forms) are drawn and examples of the concepts of socotechnical duels, social warpiness, and maneuverability of social factors are given.
Abstract: The article draws the links between social engineering and sociotechnics (and its various forms). It introduces and gives examples of the concepts of sociotechnical duels, social warpiness, and maneuverability of social factors. Also an attempt is made to describe links among various types of social systems and types of sociotechnical activities. Finally, the concept of sociotechnical paradigm (teleological scheme of efficient social activity) is developed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that the systemic variable of the economic model of human development has significantly impacted on the making of older people with developmental disabilities a dependent population.
Abstract: The literature refers to older people with developmental disabilities as the “new service population.” How and why this population emerged as a special category is discussed conceptually with refer...

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: In the United States, discourse on law and order are often juxtaposed to discourse on social justice as discussed by the authors, and the disagreements over order and justice are often rooted in the pluralistic nature of American society.
Abstract: In the United States, discourse on law and order are often juxtaposed to discourse on social justice Indeed, throughout American history, corrective justice (as with punishment) has often been found in opposition to distributive justice (as when all individuals get their fair share in life) Proponents of corrective justice call for law and order to prevent disruption of the social order, while opponents look to social justice as the means for creating a more orderly social system Some have explained the disagreements over order and justice as rooted in the pluralistic nature of American society (Pound, 1906) Others have argued that what you see depends upon where you sit (Black, 1976; Chambliss, 1982; Nader, 1986) Whatever the origin of the dis-sensus, debates about order are really debates about justice However, it may be that discourse centered on law and order or social justice does little more than sustain the status quo, while discussion of injustice would force an examination of concrete events rather than abstract ideals and interrupt the oscillation between government programs to cure law and order problems and government programs to address questions of social injustice The central question of this chapter is a conceptual one—what type of discourse would work to produce needed social transformations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The idea of ethical endogeneity has been used by as discussed by the authors to argue that society is not merely a reflection of the social policies undertaken by the collective of members of a democratic and decentralized polity, but also reflects multiple rounds of social transformation realized by the reverse relation of the ecological environment on the polity itself.
Abstract: In recent times there have been attempts by well known economists towards integrating the questions of ethics and values in the body framework of economic theory. Yet their pursuits have remained subservient to one or the other of received economic doctrines. This has proven to be a drawback in the development of an independent inquiry into the possibility of treating the problem of ethical integration as an endogenous phenomen of the system. The idea of ethical endogeneity here means, that society is not merely a reflection of the social policies undertaken by the collective of members of a democratic and decentralized polity. It must also reflect multiple rounds of social transformation realized by the impact of the reverse relation of the ecological environment on the polity itself. Contrary to this concept, the view on ethics and values in the social system presented by the contemporary school of economists and philosophers has the essence of exogeneity. That means ethics and values are made to impact upon the economy but from outside the system. In the system itself they become irrelevant. Vickrey has the following words on the treatment of values by economists in the area of normative economics: “But it is only recently that economists have begun to probe into the systems of values that underlie their discussions, and indeed in many cases the judgements are implicit, rather than explicitly stated.”

Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe a phenomenological approach to the understanding and explanation of how people and organizations make the decision to become involved in community action, and three sufficient conditions to induce cooperation are presented.
Abstract: The paper describes a phenomenological approach to the understanding and explanation of how people and organizations make the decision to become involved in community action. Three sufficient conditions to induce cooperation are presented. Community action is presented as the result of a cooperative system of people and organizations that choose to become involved independently, based on their absolute and dynamic values. A model for community involvement is described that includes a problem, the social structure, convergence of interest, and goal formation. Formation of effective initiating, recruitment, and execution sets is presented as an important consideration for all community action. This article is an essay on community-wide efforts at change as seen by the author in more than 30 years of direct experience in the business of community development education. It is written to present core ideas designed to give a clearer understanding of the communities in which we live. We know, to begin with, that each community has a history of successful and not-so-successful "community development" efforts. As a result of these efforts, over time the relationships among people and between their systems tend to become fragmented and highly polarized. Positions are taken; sides are drawn as problems arise and are resolved. Conflicting relationships tend to develop among social systems and the people in these systems when their attention is turned to community development problems. The solutions of these problems generally call for significant commitment and cooperation on the part of units (social systems) and people directly affected by the problem.



Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: The authors argue that no one who thinks very long about social institutions believes that any currently existing system is optimal, and when we try to explain why existing systems are deficient, we usually appeal to normative principles that formulate conditions which we think any fully adequate social system should satisfy.
Abstract: Every society is characterized by a system of social institutions. We regard some of these systems as superior to others. But no one who thinks very long about social institutions believes that any currently existing system is optimal. When we try to explain why existing systems are deficient, we usually appeal to normative principles that formulate conditions which we think any fully adequate social system should satisfy. There are, of course, differences of opinion over these principles. Some social and political philosophers advocate adequacy conditions that others dispute. However, such disagreements usually take place in the context of a shared assumption that it is possible (at least in principle) for some system of social institutions to meet all of the adequacy conditions that need to be imposed on such systems.

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jul 1990
TL;DR: Parsons' major exposition of The Social System as mentioned in this paper was the first attempt to prove that sociological theory should be given a high priority in the social science professions, and the main motivation was not simply a search for high social, or even professional, status for himself.
Abstract: Characteristic transitions in Parsons' theoretical development In The Structure the discovery of convergence had been documented. Parsons had found that all the recent social theories analysed could be cross-matched with each other. The book's construction emphasized the ‘empirical conclusions’. The Social System , by way of contrast, was constructed along different lines. All the discoveries had been made previously to it. What remained was the task of packing them all into this work: ‘his major exposition’. Sooner or later Parsons would have had to make his definitive formulation of The Social System . The Structure of Social Action had concluded with the confident proclamation that the foundations for theory-building were soundly laid (T. Parsons 1937a: 775). As we have shown, the primary motivation was not simply a search for high social, or even professional, status for himself. It was an attempt to prove that sociological theory should be given a high priority in the social science professions. There would be some residual benefit to himself in becoming known as the discipline's ‘incurable theorist’, but he had already won a place for himself in the intensely competitive milieu of Harvard and was Chairman of its innovative Department of Social Relations. In the late 1940s he worked to satisfy himself that all the effort was worth it. We have noted that it was in the transition from a logical to a critical (comparative) analysis of Marshall's theory that Parsons began the process of theoretical refinement which resulted in the major sociological theory of twentieth-century American sociology.

Book ChapterDOI
Chih-yu Shih1
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: In this article, the study of Chinese diplomatic drama should start by identifying China's various national self-images from a cybernetic perspective, and psychoculture is the field of alternatives where world views and the associated norms known to Chinese leaders are available to conceptualise China's national selfimage.
Abstract: Psychoculture, for the present purpose, is the study of thinking patterns associated with social norms and historical experiences within the realm of a particular cultural experience. Norms are the subjective aspects of roles, the basic units of a social system regarding functions that hold the society together to survive all kinds of environmental and historical changes. From the cybernetic perspective, the study of Chinese diplomatic drama should start by identifying China’s various national self-images. Psychoculture is the field of alternatives where world views and the associated norms known to Chinese leaders are available to conceptualise China’s national self-image.

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: The use of a social system concept is well known through the development of Talcott Parsons's theory as mentioned in this paper, and the use of social system concepts are well known in sociological studies.
Abstract: The word ‘system’ is interpreted in various ways by different people. To some of my colleagues in computer science and management information systems, the word implies computer systems, and a systems analyst usually means computer systems analyst. To the scholars in organisational psychology, the word is used for organisational systems. They argue that the study of business, social or any other organisation needs an overall approach, meaning any change in one area is going to affect another area. In sociology, the use of a social system concept is well known through the development of Talcott Parsons’s theory.