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Social system

About: Social system is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2974 publications have been published within this topic receiving 92395 citations.


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TL;DR: In this article, the authors develop a conceptual scheme for use in empirical studies of the response of individual scientists to exogenous change, based on an adaptation of Resource Dependence Theory (RDT).
Abstract: There is general consensus in the study of science, and especially research policy studies, that a wave of profound change has struck academic science in the past decades. Central parts of this change are increased competition, growing demands of relevance and excellence, and managerialism reforms in institutions and policy systems. The underpinning thesis of this article is that, if seen from the perspective of individual scientists, these changes are exogenous and lead to greater environmental complexity and uncertainty, which in turn induces or forces individuals towards strategic planning and organizing in order to maintain control over their own research programs. Recent empirical studies have made various worthy contributions to the understanding of the macro-level (institutions, policy and funding systems, and broader epistemic developments) and the micro-level (individual and group behavior) developments of the social system of science, but there is a lack of comprehensive conceptual tools for analysis of change and its effect on individual scientists. This article takes the first steps towards developing a conceptual scheme for use in empirical studies of the (strategic) response of individual scientists to exogenous change, based on an adaptation of Resource Dependence Theory (RDT). The intended theoretical contribution builds on conceptualization of the individual researcher as crucially able to act rationally and strategically in the face of potentially conflicting demands from a growingly unpredictable environment. Defining a basic framework for a broad future research program, the article adds to the knowledge about the recent changes to the academic research system and calls for renewed interest in organizing in science and an analysis of the complex social system of science from the perspective of its smallest performing units: individuals.

16 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is argued that every social system has two problems (functions) it must solve to survive: to cope with the physical environment and to control deviant behavior.
Abstract: PARSONS CONTENDS that every social system has two problems (functions) it must solve to survive.' One of these is to cope with the physical environment (the instrumental function), the other to control deviant behavior (the expressive function). In systems having a highly complex division of labor, the instrumental function becomes further differentiated into policy-making (goal attaining) and production (adaptive) functions. The expressive function often subdivides into pattern-maintenance (socialization of the young) and integrative (formal means of control) functions. Thus, subsystems develop and become organized around the fulfillment of these functions.

16 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address the issue of training and development in Spain and provide an outline of relevant institutions, networks and sources with regard to the issue, showing how a new constituency of interests have emerged and coalesced.
Abstract: The article will address the issue of training and development in Spain. First, the general economic and labour market context will be outlined. Second, the public policy context of training and development and the institutions of regulation will be considered in terms of the way challenges have been responded to by the state and social actors, with an emphasis on developments in lifelong learning and the reality of corporate strategy and practice. Finally, the article will provide an outline of the relevant institutions, networks and sources with regard to the issue of training and development, showing how a new constituency of interests have emerged and coalesced. There is a tendency in the literature and debates related to training and development to speak in terms of binarisms. On the one hand, there are social systems that are deemed to exalt the virtues of training and create high levels of economic investment and political involvement in this area, whilst there are others who fail both to prioritise it and develop extensive systems of social engagement. These types of approaches tend to have difficulty dealing with some of the more complex realities of training, and the myriad of typologies and hybrids, that constitute national training systems such as Spain's.

16 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a cross-sectional analysis of Austrian consumers regarding payment systems was carried out by applying social representations theory and found that consumer groups transpose the abstract concept of payment systems into tangible objects and processes in a similar way, however, their social background impacted which value was attached to established as well as new means of payment.
Abstract: Social systems play a pivotal role in shaping customers? views, the adoption process and subsequent product diffusion for novel products. Perceptions of Austrian consumers regarding payment systems were assessed in a cross-sectional analysis applying social representations theory. Social representations help to unravel the sources of individuals? attitudinal or perceptual similarities and differences, which often stem from inter-group differences. In short, they are useful for the investigation of ?deeper structure? aspects of consumer behaviour, as has been shown in previous studies (e.g, Penz and St�ttinger, 2008; Roland-L�vy, Boumelki, and Guillet, 2010; Stewart and Lacassagne, 2005). This may be seen as a further step forward for marketing research, which operates largely on social phenomena. This study addresses the shortage of non-cognitive based research in marketing by offering a methodological approach that uses triangulation based on associative answers from social groups. A four-step analytic design revealed that consumer groups transpose the abstract concept of payment systems into tangible objects and processes in a similar way, however, their social background impacted which value was attached to established as well as new means of payment. Cash is still seen as the prototypical form of payment; newer forms, such as credit-cards or ATM cards appear already in the periphery of representations, urgently needing well-concerted marketing efforts to become recognized as substitutes for cash. From a managerial view, the research employs social phenomena as a basis for segmenting natural rather than nominal groups in order to better serve consumers? needs in an increasingly connected social reality.

16 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Judith Bessant1
TL;DR: In this article, a sociology of policy-making is proposed to understand policy intent and how that can be known given the collective nature of policymaking and the assumption that intent is what individuals rather than groups possess.
Abstract: The article asks how we can best understand policy-making processes, and how a sociology of policy-making might proceed. Specific consideration is given to policy intent and how that can be known given the collective nature of policy-making and the assumption that intent is what individuals rather than groups possess. I inquire into various sociologies of social systems and social action as well as liberal humanist ideas about the individual and rational action, asking what they offer for understanding policy intent. The contributions of the post-foundationalists and network theories are also examined in this light. Attention is given to the work of Norbert Elias, and it is argued that his `personal pronouns as figurational model' in conjunction with discourse analysis provides a basis for developing a sociology of policy-making that acknowledges human agency and the collective and social nature of policy-making.

16 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202316
202237
2021111
2020115
2019117
2018122