Structure and agency

About: Structure and agency is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1265 publications have been published within this topic receiving 63660 citations.

Trinity of Change Agency: Connecting Agency and Structure in Studies of Regional Development

Abstract: The promise of connecting agency and structure in studies of regional development is to disentangle causal effects and to better understand to what extent and how individuals, groups of individuals, and organisations can shape regional trajectories. This is not without challenges because agency and structure are deep theoretical constructs, which are not easily translated into empirical research. We have devoted a research project to study how agency and structure are connected in the context of regional development and have faced many difficulties on the way. Here, we would like to share our experiences and proposed solutions grouped into six challenges, which were present in all of the 12 comparative case studies in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The challenges refer to the ontology of agency and structure, the research design, the time period of study, the spatial scale, the research instrument, and the data collection.

A Review of The Models of Land Development Process: The Structure Models

Abstract: This is the final part of a three series paper reviewing the models Df land development process. One aspect which is lacking in all the three types of models discussed earlier is the focus on the way the production of the built environment is influenced by ""ider forces, It is suggested that the structure models seek to overcome this by focu,sing cxplaination of the development process within the perspective of the structural dynamics of the modes of production. However, they barely penetrate into the details of the events of the land development process and the network of the agency relationships. Therefore, it is concluded that the land development process is best explained within the critical framework of the institutional analysis as shaped by the structure and agency approach

The Poverty and Riches of Social Citizenship in the UK: how lived experiences affect attitudes towards welfare, rights and responsibilities

Abstract: The civil-political character of citizenship makes the attitudes and experiences of citizens central to an effective examination of social citizenship and inequality. With this in mind, this thesis explores the differing ways in which those marginalised and validated by the existing citizenship configuration, negotiate the institutions and ideals that have come to structure welfare and inequality. The thesis draws on secondary quantitative data analysis of a large-scale national survey and qualitative interviews undertaken in a Northern city of England. To examine the ‘divergent discourses and practices of poor and better-off citizens’ (Jordan and Redley, 1994: 156), the attitudes and experiences of two distinct groups are explored: employed individuals living in affluent areas on an income well above the national average, and unemployed individuals living in deprived areas below the relative poverty line. Through a structured dialogue about their experiences, attitudes and behaviours, this thesis examines the everyday language, ideals and practices that underpin social citizenship, welfare and inequality. The findings of this study confirm that the topographies of social citizenship are reflected in the attitudes and identities of those experiencing deprivation and affluence. Lived experiences of inequality generate unique forms of knowledge about the relationship between structure and agency. This appears to inform conceptions of social citizenship, in particular attitudes towards welfare, rights and responsibilities. The fixed fragmentation of social politics has benefited those validated by the prevailing citizenship paradigm. Those able and desiring to proactively engage can alter the terms of citizenship in ways that serve their material and discursive ends. By contrast, lived experiences of deprivation tend to lead to defensive forms of (dis-) engagement without challenging the existing socio-political settlement. The findings of this thesis are considered with respect to their significance for social policy design and delivery as well as the character of public deliberation surrounding inequality.

Negotiating Uncertainty in the Right to Asylee Status

Abstract: The asylum system regards asylum seekers as actors with privilege and resources, and expects them to present sound cases documenting their rights to asylee status. However, the asylum system fails to consider the lack of autonomy of asylum seekers, as they must manage trauma, lack of resources, new host societies, and the asylum process. Based on interviews (n=14) with asylum seekers, general findings reveal that inherent barriers within the asylum system position asylum seekers into a context of insecurity that undermines their agency and ability to achieve asylee status. The examination of asylum seekers interacting with the United States asylum system offers a unique vantage point for exploring the relationship between structure and agency. Asylum seekers’ agency is theoretically reconfigured in an inclusive abstract action model that validates their negotiation process in mitigating vulnerability from persecution through the asylum process. However, due to asylum seekers limited agency and the structural barriers involved in attaining asylee status, structure is theorized as minimizing agency aims. I propose a revised concept of agency to account for asylum seekers’ uncertainty in securing asylee status.