Showing papers on "Social system published in 1994"

The Origins and Social Consequences of China's Hukou System*

Abstract: Throughout the 1950s China implemented a code of laws, regulations and programmes whose effect was formally to differentiate residential groups as a means to control population movement and mobility and to shape state developmental priorities. The hukou system, which emerged in the course of a decade, was integral to the collective transformation of the countryside, to a demographic strategy that restricted urbanization, and to the redefinition of city-countryside and state-society relations. This article offers a documentary study tracing the origins and development of the hukou system of population registration and control, and scrutinizes its relationship to a host of connected institutions, for clues to understanding distinctive features of China's developmental trajectory and social structure in the era of mobilizational collectivism. It considers the farreaching social consequences of the hukou system with particular attention to its implications for the creation of spatial hierarchies, especially its consequences for defining the position of villagers in the Chinese social system.

State-to-State Differences in Social Inequality and Social Bonds in Relation to Assaults on Wives in the United States

Abstract: STATE-TO-STATE DIFFERENCES IN SOCIAL INEQUALITY AND SOCIAL BONDS IN RELATION ON ASSAULTS ON WIVES IN THE UNITED STATES*THEORIES OF WIFE-BEATINGINDIVIDUAL-LEVEL VERSUS SOCIAL SYSTEM-LEVEL THEORIESMost research on the causes of wife-beating has used data on the characteristics of the persons involved (such as their education or personality) or the characteristics of the relationship (such as the degree of male-dominance in the marriage). When the research is done by sociologists, they generally make inferences from these individual or "micro level" characteristics to the "macro" or societal level characteristics from which the characteristics presumably spring. For example, macho men and male dominance in marriage are seen as a reflection of a violent and male dominant society. However, just as studies using data on social units are a questionable basis for making inferences about individuals -- what Robinson (1950) called the "ecological fallacy" -- there is also danger of what can be called the "individualistic fallacy" because one cannot be sure that relationships found by studying individuals apply to social units. Few studies have directly measured the characteristics of the society that presumably produces these macho men and male-dominant marriages.The research reported in this paper was undertaken in response to the need to test theories about the social causes of marital violence with data on the characteristics of society itself (Menzel, 1950). It uses data on rates of wife-assault in each of the 50 states of the U.S. as the dependent variable and seeks to explain why those rates differ from state to state. The theoretical focus of the paper is on three of the most frequently discussed explanations of differences between societies in the rate of wife-beating. Two of these theories concern social stratification, and specifically the violence-producing effect of inequality, and the third theory focuses on social integration versus disorganization. Investigation of these three theories was partly a matter of what data were available and should not be taken to imply that these are necessarily the most important theories. Indeed, Gelles and Straus's review (1979) covers many other theories and there is at least some evidence supporting most of them.PATRIARCHY AND CONFLICT THEORYBoth conflict theory and its more specific version in the form of the feminist "patriarchical society" theory hold that the lower the status of women in a society, the greater the frequency of wife beating. Feminist scholars have used historical and case study data to show the link between gender inequality at the social system level and wife-beating (Dobash and Dobash, 1979; Martin, 1976). There is also evidence from Levinson's cross-cultural anthropological study (1989:58) showing that wifebeating tends to be less common when women have independent social and economic resources. These propositions need to be tested using comparative data on contemporary industrial societies.Previous research by my colleagues and I found a higher rate of assault on wives in male-dominant marriages than in equalitarian marriages (Allen and Straus, 1980; Coleman and Straus, 1986; Straus, 1973; Straus, Gelles and Steinmetz, 1980). However, these studies do not directly test the theory that a male-dominant society tends to use violence to keep women in their place because it uses data on individual persons and families. That void led Kersti Yllo and me to carry out a study using the states of the United States as the societal units (Yllo, 1983; Yllo and Straus, 1990).The Yllo and Straus research was based on an index designed to measure state-to-state differences in the "status of women." This index was composed of indicators of the extent to which women approached equality with men in their economic, political, educational, and legal statues. Extremely large differences between the states were found using this measure. …

Athletic Participation and the Social Status of Adolescent Males and Females.

Abstract: This study examined the role of athletic participation in the social system of adolescent males and females. Social status was measured by criteria for remembrance after high school, type of sport ...

Economic Restructuring, Coping Strategies and Social Change: Implications for Institutional Development in Africa

Abstract: Since the early 1980s, most African countries have experienced unsatisfactory rates of economic growth and profound changes in livelihood systems, which have affected the way their modern institutions function. However, when confronted with evidence of poor economic performance in countries undergoing adjustment, the international financial institutions often blame governments for their lack of political will in regulating the activities of bureaucrats and vested interests. They recommend policies aimed at restructuring public sector institutions through privatization, public expenditure cuts, retrenchment, new structures of incentives and decentralization. Despite efforts to implement these measures in a number of countries, the problems of low institutional capacity remain. Two key contradictions appear to explain why institutions have been largely ineffective in crisis economies in Africa: the growing contradiction between the interests of bureaucratic actors and the goals they are supposed to uphold; and the contradiction between the institutional set-up itself and what goes on in the wider society. To understand how these contradictions work, it is necessary to look more closely at the set of values and relationships that anchor institutions on social systems. The issues here are social compromise and cohesion; institutional socialization and loyalties; overarching sets of values; and political authority to enforce rules and regulations. The crises in these four areas of social relations, which are linked to the ways households and groups have coped with recession and restructuring, have altered Africa's state institutions so that it has become difficult to carry out meaningful development programmes and public sector reforms without addressing the social relations themselves.

Coherent social action

Abstract: Formal analyses of social action for Distributed A.I. (DAI) have focussed, almost exclusively, on scenarios in which participat- ing agents have a joint intention to act. While such scenarios are significant, there are many examples of artificial and natural social systems in which joint intention not only does not occur, but is not even a practical possibility. This paper proposes that a deep theory of social action should account for the whole spectrum of social ac- tion types within the same framework. It is argued that coherence is an attribute which unifies different types of social action, and is therefore a possible starting point for a deep theory. A discussion and subsequent formalisation of coherence is then presented. This model of coherence is used as the foundation upon which to build a new formalisation of team action. The framework in which these formalisations are presented is a new quantifiedmulti-modal logic.

Research as a Process of Change: Action Science in Organisations

Abstract: As the process of organisational change is frequently, if not typically, a complex somewhat messy sequence of plans, meetings, conflicts, revisions and compromises between individuals, teams, across the inter-departmental group in order that an organisation adapt to environmental forces driving change (Rashford & Coghlan 1994), it is more than useful to reflect on how such complex processes might be researched. The author, in the role of internal process consultant to a religious organisation, engaged in a study of how that organisation managed its planned change over a twenty year period. He was commissioned to undertake this study in order that the current leadership might better understand the developments which had taken place in previous administrations and so provide the organisation with some frameworks for its own learning. The research involved three elements: study of archival documentation to which the researcher had open access, interviews with the key actors and then submission of the findings to the organisation to initiate further discussion and reflection. Accordingly, it was clear from the outset of the brief that the research would itself constitute an intervention to enable the organisation understand its history and engage in a reflective learning process. The research was undertaken through action science, which addresses how the generation of data in a social system with a view to helping the system learn about itself is a scientific process. The aim of this article is to present action science as a valid and useful way of doing research in organisations. Action science is a contemporary development of action research (Argyris 1993, Argyris, Putnam & Smith 1985), which is particularly appropriate to organisational research. Schein (1987b), in his notion of the "clinical perspective in fieldwork", articulated an approach in which the researcher works as an organisation development consultant in an organisation (Schein 1987a) and utilises the experience of the organisation to generate and develop theory of how organisations work and change (Bartunek 1983). This article describes the concept of action science, outlines its origins in Lewinian action research, develops its application to research in organisations through the "clinical perspective in fieldwork" as an intervention discipline oriented toward problem-solving, contrasts it with the participant-observer approaches of ethnography and shows how case study data can be utilised as action science. Action Research Action research developed from the work of Kurt Lewin and his colleagues, and the colleagues they formed in turn, who established a tradition of scholar-practitioners in group dynamics and social psychology (Patnoe 1988). Lewin aimed at providing a way of solving practical problems and of discovering general laws of group life. Action research involves a process of planning, taking action and then fact-finding about the results of that action in order to plan and take further action (Marrow 1969, Lewin 1973, Cartwright 1978, Peters & Robinson 1984, Weisbord 1987, Israel, Schurman & Hugentobler 1992, Chisholm & Elden 1993, Elden & Chisholm 1993). From his gestalt perspective, Lewin viewed individuals' action as taking place against and partially determined by a social background. Therefore, he judged that it was essential to discover the meanings that actors themselves give to events from their social context. Marrow, Lewin's biographer, states: Theory was always an intrinsic part of Lewin's search for understanding, but theory often evolved and became refined as the data unfolded, rather than being systematically detailed in advance. Lewin was led by both data and theory, each feeding the other, each guiding the research process (1969, p. 128). After Lewin's death, action research became integral to the growth of the theory and practice of organisation development (Clark 1972, Foster 1972, Frohman, Sashkin & Kavanagh 1978, Susman & Evered 1978, Shani & Pasmore 1985, Weisbord 1987, Schein 1989, French & Bell 1990, Burke 1994). …

Information in nature, human behavior, and social life

Abstract: The notion of information seems to be growing into one of the central, unifying concepts of modern science, natural as well as social or behavioral. Conceived basically as the degree of order or organization of a system, any system, it originated in the discipline of thermodynamics in which, briefly, it turned out to underlie a system's capacity for converting energy, i.e., for doing 'work' of some kind. Now, the fact that humans, too, are physical systems, does not automatically imply that this notion of information or order should also be relevant to the explanation of human behavior or social life. Yet, this is precisely what the autonomous development of theory in this area reveals. In this contribution we explore, briefly and informally, the meaning and role of the notion in scientific theory, in the attitudes underlying individual behavior, and in the structure of social systems as a prime determinant of their power, cultural and economic development, and of the quality of life therein.

The structure of action and interaction: The structural similarity of systems in social science

Abstract: The term structure is one of the most common words in the vocabulary of the social sciences. Yet, even a cursory glance at the literature reveals that a clear conception of what it means and does, is quite generally lacking. In this contribution we try and develop just such a conception, and show that, and how, it is essential to understanding the mechanics and dynamics of social systems at any level of inquiry. In particular, it will appear that both individuals and social groups of any kind or size represent nonlinear dynamical systems, something which is not without important consequences for behavioral or sociological research. Moreover, the structure of these several systems turns out to have precisely the same form. As a consequence, too, the common distinction between micro‐ and macrosociology loses much of its dogmatic or theoretical meaning.

Norbert Wiener and the Social Sciences

Abstract: Aims to analyse the influence of Norbert Wiener’s ideas on the social sciences and on social systems, including society as a whole. Describes Wiener’s own attitudes regarding the applicability of cybernetics to social systems and his vision on the development of modern society. Highlights sociologists and political scientists who were inspired by his ideas and deals with researchers who tried to apply his ideas to social systems. Concludes by evaluating to what extent specific ideas of Wiener have impacted on the social sciences.

Sociological theory and the problem of collective subjectivity, with special reference to Marx, Parsons, Habermas and Giddens.

Abstract: This thesis stresses the centrality today of synthetical sociological theories, such as those of Habermas, Giddens and Alexander, but criticises them for neglecting the problem of collective subjectivity. The failure to consider this topic stems from deep problems in the history of sociology. Emerging from the social thinking of the Enlightenment and the Counter-Enlightenment, sociology has been keen on perceiving social life in the mould of a polarisation between active individuals and passive societies or, more generally, social systems or structures. Although the dialectics between subject and object plus the notion of interaction have allowed for bridges between those two poles, a crucial idea has not been receiving enough attention. Marx - with the concept of social class - and Parsons - with the concept of collective actor - produced two important departures from the presuppositional universe of the Enlightenment. But their elaboration does not suffice and, more regrettably however, those synthetical theories have not acknowledged and worked on the problems and concepts Marx and Parsons highlighted. The concept of collective subjectivity is, therefore, introduced to resume their insights and connect them to the issues and formulations put forward in synthetical theories. A critique of the philosophy of the subject, aiming at its decentring, is moreover pursued, for Marx and Parsons still embraced some of its main tenets. The concept of collective causality holds centre stage for the definition of collective subjectivity. Alongside collective causality, interaction, dialectics, levels of (de)centring, the syllogism of the general, the particular and the individual, plus multidimensionality, furnish the categorial axis for the development of the thesis. Concerned with general theoretical questions, this study makes, however, reference to "middle range" theories, in order to develop, ground its propositions and suggest ways in which its concepts may be useful in more empirically oriented research.

On the Social Legacy of B.F. Skinner Rhetoric of Change, Philosophy of Adjustment

Abstract: The legacy of BF Skinner for social improvement is examined A significant discrepancy is noticed between the rhetoric of change contained in his writings and the underlying philosophy of adjustment to the social order Promises to modify the environment to advance human welfare were reverted into practices of changing individuals to promote the effective functioning of the social system A critique of Skinner's theory of values reveals that it is unable to provide a conceptual framework for the `good' society It is argued that even though radical behaviorism is frequently used to maintain undesirable social institutions, it could be employed to foster beneficial macrosocial changes This contrast is analyzed in terms of (a) a discrepancy between theory and practice; (b) a preoccupation with technology over ethical decision-making; and (c) a neglect of power issues in institutional and societal settings

The Concept of Social Rights

Abstract: The popularisation of the term “social rights” is accompanied by its acquisition of an exhortatory and rhetorical weight without a development of a statement of its meaning. This paper attempts an analysis of its meaning in the national legal context and an identification of issues and framework categories rather than an exhaustive treatment of a vast subject. The identification of a legal systemic meaning may aid an understanding of social rights as a concept of constitutional social theory, and also provide a basis for comparison with other legal and social systems, which is important since the term “social rights” is often used in a context which transcends national barriers as if it had a uniform meaning.