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.

Explaining Civil-Military Relations in New Democracies: Structure, Agency and Theory Development

Abstract: This article discusses the structure-agency problem in explaining civilian control of the military in new democracies. The authors first provide a systematic analysis of the core contents of the structure-agency problem and its implications for theory-building in civil-military research: the agential entities whose interactions are constitutive of civil-military relations, the relevant environmental factors, and the theoretical argument which links agents’ behaviour with the environment. Based on these meta-theoretical deliberations, the authors analyze four recent attempts to explicitly connect structure and agency in explaining civil-military relations in new democracies. The analysis shows that while being important contributions to theory development in the field, none of these theories have consistently dealt with the agency-structure problem in explaining civil-military relations in new democracies.

The Individual/Agent and Culture/Structure in the History of the Social Sciences

Abstract: In facing up to the problem of structure and agency social theorists are not just addressing crucial theoretical problems in the study of society, they are also confronting the most pressing social problem of the human condition.

Walking a tightrope or navigating a web: Parameters of balance within perceived institutional realities

Abstract: Synopsis This paper leverages Structuration Theory within the greater framework of Institutional Theory to broaden the balance discourse cross-culturally. We argue that the application of the balance concept can be expanded if one allows a move beyond the structure-argument for a bi-polar, equal weighting conceptualization of “work” versus “family”, and beyond a process argument focusing on psycho-behavioral components. Instead balance can acknowledge the differences between structure and agency and the interaction between them (i.e., agentic process ). Agentic process suggests that women actively seek to address as well as modify a multitude of institutionally mandated and idiosyncratic structures (i.e., roles and responsibilities) through day-to-day behaviors. Ultimately, balance is a matter of the ease of navigation between and across these different types of structure. With a set of qualitative data drawn from three societies within the Arab Middle East, we find preliminary support for an enriched conceptualization of balance readily applicable cross-culturally.

Becoming professional : an exploration of the social construction of identity

Abstract: Becoming professional involves identity work The way in which people are 'transformed' into professionals has a fundamental impact on selves, yet the process has received scant attention from researchers Based on ethnographic research, involving in-depth interviews, participant observation and documentary analysis, this thesis examines the social practices responsible for 'shaping' undergraduate occupational therapy (OT) students into professional people By situating the everyday experiences of OT students in broader theoretical debates about structure and agency and the social construction of identity I suggest that the professional person is socially constructed The process involves being externally defined by others, which has implications for self-definition However, notwithstanding evidence that becoming professional is narrowly prescribed, I highlight a certain capacity for agency The notion of becoming professional is presented as a progressive narrative of the lived experiences of the OT students The narrative illustrates the tensions and uncertainties inherent in change as students begin to position themselves in relation to varying practices and discourses implicit in OT Their ambiguous location in terms of the professionalisation process is highlighted through a need for social support that is vital for definition and re-definition of self-hood Immersion in practice partially resolves the ambiguity of developing professional identities as students learn to respond to its demands For example, the taking up of caring discourses provides a focus of particular importance within OT The thesis contributes to an understanding of professional socialisation at both theoretical/conceptual and practical levels Social constructionism offers a lens through which professional socialisation may be viewed from an entirely new perspective Furthermore, increased awareness of the dynamics of the process has implications for the practice-base of OT education Finally, greater insight into the lived experience of becoming professional may benefit potential students

Non-Disabled Children's Ideas about Disability and Disabled People.

Abstract: This article discusses findings from an Economic and Social Research Council-funded study exploring non-disabled children’s ideas about disability. This represents the first in-depth sociological investigation of children’s ideas about disabled people as members of wider society. Data are presented from focus group discussions with children aged 6–7 and 10–11. The article draws upon William H. Sewell Jr’s theorizing of structure and agency and, in particular, employs his concept of ‘cultural schemas’. The article explores non-disabled children’s enactment of various cultural schemas relating to disability and argues that although they are capable of questioning, even transforming, schemas, they are primarily engaged in enacting a series of ‘hegemonic’ schemas that maintain their privileged position as non-disabled people. The article concludes by urging schools and educationalists to do more to encourage non-disabled children to think differently and positively about disabled people.