Functionalism, Exchange and Theoretical Strategy (RLE Social Theory)

Functionalism, Exchange and Theoretical Strategy (RLE Social Theory) PDF Author: Michael Mulkay
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317651839
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 263

Get Book Here

Book Description
M.J. Mulkay traces the development of certain recent versions of functionalism and exchange theory in sociology, with special attention to 'theoretical strategy'. He uses this term to refer to the policies which theorists adopt to ensure that their work contributes to their long range theoretical objectives. Such strategies are important, he believes, because they place limits on the theories with which they are associated. He shows how each of the theorists he studies devised a new strategy to replace the unsuccessful policies of a prior theory in a process of 'strategical dialectic'. This often has unforeseen consequences for the direction of theoretical growth, and the author interprets changes in theoretical perspective largely as products of these strategical innovations.

Functionalism, Exchange and Theoretical Strategy (RLE Social Theory)

Functionalism, Exchange and Theoretical Strategy (RLE Social Theory) PDF Author: Michael Mulkay
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317651839
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 263

Get Book Here

Book Description
M.J. Mulkay traces the development of certain recent versions of functionalism and exchange theory in sociology, with special attention to 'theoretical strategy'. He uses this term to refer to the policies which theorists adopt to ensure that their work contributes to their long range theoretical objectives. Such strategies are important, he believes, because they place limits on the theories with which they are associated. He shows how each of the theorists he studies devised a new strategy to replace the unsuccessful policies of a prior theory in a process of 'strategical dialectic'. This often has unforeseen consequences for the direction of theoretical growth, and the author interprets changes in theoretical perspective largely as products of these strategical innovations.

Functionalism, Exchange and Theoretical Strategy (RLE Social Theory)

Functionalism, Exchange and Theoretical Strategy (RLE Social Theory) PDF Author: Michael Mulkay
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317651847
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Get Book Here

Book Description
M.J. Mulkay traces the development of certain recent versions of functionalism and exchange theory in sociology, with special attention to 'theoretical strategy'. He uses this term to refer to the policies which theorists adopt to ensure that their work contributes to their long range theoretical objectives. Such strategies are important, he believes, because they place limits on the theories with which they are associated. He shows how each of the theorists he studies devised a new strategy to replace the unsuccessful policies of a prior theory in a process of 'strategical dialectic'. This often has unforeseen consequences for the direction of theoretical growth, and the author interprets changes in theoretical perspective largely as products of these strategical innovations.

Functionalism, Exchange and Theoretical Strategy

Functionalism, Exchange and Theoretical Strategy PDF Author: Michael Mulkay
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing
ISBN: 9780751201031
Category : Sociology
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Get Book Here

Book Description
This study examines the development of functionalism and exchange theory in sociology by looking closely at the work of five major theorists in chronological order. Particular attention is given to variations in theoretical strategy and to the way in which each theorist was led to devise a new strategy in response to the demonstrably unsatisfactory strategies of his predecessors. Intellectural change during this phase of sociological theory is seen to have been neither continuous nor cumulative but to have been characterized by radical alterations in direction as theorists tried unsuccessfully to find the procedures which would generate a truly scientific theory of society. The reasons for this disappointing pattern of uncertain theoretical development are studied in depth.

Talcott Parsons and the Social Image of Man (RLE Social Theory)

Talcott Parsons and the Social Image of Man (RLE Social Theory) PDF Author: Ken Menzies
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317650549
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 202

Get Book Here

Book Description
This account of Talcott Parsons’s work clarifies his basic concepts and sets out their correlation. Dr Menzies believes that the philosophy of science working within the confines of the analytic-synthetic distinction tends to provide a rigid, static and sterile account of theories. He presents a more dynamic account of the scientific enterprise in order to come to grips with the amorphous nature of theory, and to provide the basic framework for his analysis of Parsons. Menzies argues that Parsons’s central problematic in The Structure of Social Action is utilitarianism in general and the classical economists’ account of the rise of capitalism in particular, and as such the book is not a reconciliation of positivistic and idealistic elements and these run throughout his subsequent work. Two major strands in Parsons’s work – the social action theory and the systems theory (structural-functionalism) – are separated and examined individually.

Sociological Theory in Use (RLE Social Theory)

Sociological Theory in Use (RLE Social Theory) PDF Author: Kenneth Menzies
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317657187
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

Get Book Here

Book Description
Central to most sociologists’ self-image is the claim that their theories are based on research. However, using a random sample of 680 articles appearing in major American, British and Canadian journals, Dr Menzies shows that in some areas of sociology the wide gap between theory and research means that much of sociological theory is virtually untested. He explains how theory is embodied in eight particular types of research, critically examines these research theories, and contrasts them with the positions of modern theorists. The sample of journal articles also permits a comparison of British, American and Canadian sociology. By contrasting on how researchers us theories, Dr Menzies is able to reassess several theories. For instance, symbolic interactionist research uses embedded causal claims and stands in a dialectical relationship to other sociological research, while the research version of conflict theory depends on external causes to explain social change. The implications of using statistical techniques like factor analysis and regression are also considered in relation to the form of explanation.

Advances in Social Theory and Methodology

Advances in Social Theory and Methodology PDF Author: Karin Knorr Cetina
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317652622
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book Here

Book Description
After a period in which sociology was torn apart by the polarized claims of micro- and macro-methodology, an increasing number of sociologists are now attempting a fusion of the two approaches. In this volume, some of the most distinguished sociologists set out possible resolutions of the debate. Each of the chapters, placed in perspective by the editors’ prologue, approaches the problem from a unique angle. Aaron Cicourel argues for a macro-basis of social interaction; Randall Collins shows how the macro consists of an aggregate of micro-episodes; Troy Duster presents a methodological model for generating a systematic data base across different contexts of social action through his examination of the procedures governing screening for inherited disorders. Rom Harré launches a philosophical attack on what he sees as a spurious bifurcation of micro- and macro-levels. Anthony Giddens explores the problem of unintended consequences, and Gilles Fauconnier, through a depiction of Jesuitical casuistry, shows how vital clues to macro-structure can be elicited from the micro-phenomenon of language. Victor Lidz continues the language theme in his chapter on the implications of advances in linguistic theory for macro-systems theory. Niklas Luhmann illustrates the micro-macro problem by the communication about law in interaction systems. The theory of historical materialism is reassessed by Jürgen Habermas. Taking the example of Renault and electric vehicles, Michel Callon and Bruno Latour investigate how micro-actor status is attained and the sociologist’s involvement in this transformation. Finally, Pierre Bourdieu, writing on men and machines, analyses the historical imperatives that create the complex relation between man and his environment.

Marx and Marxism

Marx and Marxism PDF Author: Peter Worsley
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134451547
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 137

Get Book Here

Book Description
Discusses varieties of Marxism, distinguishing between ideas that remain valid, those that are contestable, and those that should be discarded. Emphasises connections between theoretical debates real political struggles.

On the Nature of Social and Institutional Reality

On the Nature of Social and Institutional Reality PDF Author: Eerik Lagerspetz
Publisher: Sophi Academic Press
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Get Book Here

Book Description
What is the nature of the social reality? How do the major social institutions like money and law exist? What are the limits of individualistically-oriented social theories? These and related problems are intensely discussed in philosophy, in legal theory and in the methodology of social sciences. This collection brings together the different traditions of the contemporary discussions. It includes new and thought-provoking articles by John Searle, Margaret Gilbert, Ota Weinberg, Raimo Tuomela, Eerik Lagerspetz, Michael Quante, Maria Cristina Redondo and Paolo Comanducci.

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Culture Theory

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Culture Theory PDF Author: Anu Kannike
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789949033034
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 442

Get Book Here

Book Description


Operationalising e-Democracy through a System Engineering Approach in Mauritius and Australia

Operationalising e-Democracy through a System Engineering Approach in Mauritius and Australia PDF Author: Soobhiraj Bungsraz
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811517770
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 399

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book describes how the Systems Engineering (SE) methodology can be used to harness technology and enhance democracy within any political system. Moreover, it provides a practical roadmap for countries and politicians who are willing to change their existing system of governance to one that allows the people to have a meaningful say. In this regard, the book compares and contrasts two countries, Mauritius and Australia, highlighting how SE and e-democracy can be implemented in different contexts.