Social Quality Theory

Social Quality Theory PDF Author: Ka Lin
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1782388982
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
Social quality thinking emerged from a critique of one-sided policies by breaking through the limitations previously set by purely economistic paradigms. By tracing its expansion and presenting different aspects of social quality theory, this volume provides an overview of a more nuanced approach, which assesses societal progress and introduces proposals that are relevant for policy making. Crucially, important components emerge with research by scholars from Asia, particularly China, eastern Europe, and other regions beyond western Europe, the theory’s place of origin. As this volume shows, this rich diversity of approaches and their cross-national comparisons reveal the increasingly important role of social quality theory for informing political debates on development and sustainability.

Social Quality Theory

Social Quality Theory PDF Author: Ka Lin
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1782388982
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

Get Book Here

Book Description
Social quality thinking emerged from a critique of one-sided policies by breaking through the limitations previously set by purely economistic paradigms. By tracing its expansion and presenting different aspects of social quality theory, this volume provides an overview of a more nuanced approach, which assesses societal progress and introduces proposals that are relevant for policy making. Crucially, important components emerge with research by scholars from Asia, particularly China, eastern Europe, and other regions beyond western Europe, the theory’s place of origin. As this volume shows, this rich diversity of approaches and their cross-national comparisons reveal the increasingly important role of social quality theory for informing political debates on development and sustainability.

Social Quality

Social Quality PDF Author: A. Walker
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230361099
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
This collection sets out the latest research on the concept of 'social quality', developing its theoretical foundations and applying it to pressing policy issues such as the future of the European Union and sustainable global development.

Society in Action

Society in Action PDF Author: Piotr Sztompka
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226788159
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
In Society in Action, Piotr Sztompka sets forth a highly topical contribution to central theoretical debates of contemporary sociology. Taking the idea and practice of collective mobilization as his theme, Sztompka argues that modern institutions, particularly of late, are characterized by an increasing awareness of collective empowerment. The most obvious concrete expression of this phenomenon, as Sztompka makes clear, is the rise of a diversity of active social movements such as those which dramatically transformed Europe in the 1980s, from the birth of Solidarity in 1980 to the 1989 "Autumn of Nations." Sztompka connects the interpretations of such collective activity to a wider grasp of the nature of social action. The result is a comprehensive and original theory of social change which focuses on the self-transforming influence on society of its members' striving for freedom, autonomy, and self-fulfillment. He develops his theory by means of a general concept of "social becoming," the roots of which he traces to the early romantic and humanist work of Karl Marx and his followers and to two influential sociological schools of today, the theory of agency and historical sociology. Sztompka situates his theory midway between the rigid determinism of social totalities and the unbridled voluntarism of free individuals. Social change, he demonstrates, can be understood neither as the outcome of individual actions taken alone nor as structurally determined actions. Instead, he confers upon social organizations and movements a "self-transcending" quality: they express human agency yet, by virtue of their active character, are quite often able to achieve unpredictable outcomes. Throughout his analysis of social movements and revolutions in history, Sztompka emphasizes the dynamics of spontaneous social change generated from below—a theoretical testimony to the rapid and fundamental social change in Eastern Europe in recent history. Against the fashions of postmodernist malaise, boredom, and disenchantment, his theory of social becoming expresses the possibility of emancipation, of change leading to positive gains. His work registers a belief in progress, not inevitably gained, but its attainment fully dependent upon the creativity and optimism of an active citizenry.

Social Theory and the Urban Question

Social Theory and the Urban Question PDF Author: Peter Saunders
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134875118
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
First published in 1986. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The Social Quality of Europe

The Social Quality of Europe PDF Author: Wolfgang Beck
Publisher: Springer
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
This book brings together leading European social scientists to focus on the essential questions concerning the future of the European Union (EU). The Social Quality of Europe contains the most comprehensive and detailed analysis conducted so far of the relationship between EU economic and social dimensions. it introduces an entirely new concept to European discourse-social quality-which will inspire examination and debate from a unique perspective. This work consists of specially commissioned original chapters-from experts in the fields of economics, law, political science, social policy, and sociology-together with critical commentaries and syntheses focusing on employment, social protection, social exclusion, and provision for older people. it provides a unique source of reference on current economic and social policies in the EU and sets the agenda for a new debate about the quality of life aspired to by European citizens. The book is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the social sciences; policymakers at local, national, and state-of-the-art assessment of European social and economic policies.

Social Capital Theory

Social Capital Theory PDF Author: Julia Häuberer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3531926462
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
The field of social capital still lacks a recognized general theory. Accordingly, various and sometimes inappropriate measurements are used for it. Julia Häuberer contributes to filling in this gap and provides progress towards the creation of a formalized social capital theory based on the founding concepts of social capital of Bourdieu (1983) and Coleman (1988), and current concepts of Putnam (2000), Burt (1992) and Lin (2001). The second part of the monograph focuses on the quality of measurements of the more general concept of social capital derived in the first part. Therefore, the telephone survey “Social Relationships among Czech Citizens” conducted as a test-retest experiment is analyzed. This book is valuable reading for academics in Sociology and Political Science.

Investigating Quality of Urban Life

Investigating Quality of Urban Life PDF Author: Robert W. Marans
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400717423
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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Book Description
The study of quality of urban life involves both an objective approach to analysis using spatially aggregated secondary data and a subjective approach using unit record survey data whereby people provide subjective evaluations of QOL domains. This book provides a comprehensive overview of theoretical perspectives on QOUL and methodological approaches to research design to investigate QOUL and measure QOL dimensions. It incorporates empirical investigations into QOUL in a range of cities across the world.

The Emerging Consensus in Social Systems Theory

The Emerging Consensus in Social Systems Theory PDF Author: Kenneth C. Bausch
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461512638
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 551

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Book Description
In The Emerging Consensus of Social Systems Theory Bausch summarizes the works of over 30 major systemic theorists. He then goes on to show the converging areas of consensus among these out-standing thinkers. Bausch categorizes the social aspects of current systemic thinking as falling into five broadly thematic areas: designing social systems, the structure of the social world, communication, cognition and epistemology. These five areas are foundational for a theoretic and practical systemic synthesis. They were topics of contention in a historic debate between Habermas and Luhmann in the early 1970's. They continue to be contentious topics within the study of social philosophy. Since the 1970's, systemic thinking has taken great strides in the areas of mathematics, physics, biology, psychology, and sociology. This book presents a spectrum of those theoretical advances. It synthesizes what various strains of contemporary systems science have to say about social processes and assesses the quality of the resulting integrated explanations. Bausch gives a detailed study of the works of many present-day systems theorists, both in general terms, and with regard to social processes. He then creates and validates integrated representations of their thoughts with respect to his own thematic classifications. He provides a background of systemic thinking from an historical context, as well as detailed studies of developments in sociological, cognitive and evolutionary theory. This book presents a coherent, dynamic model of a self-organizing world. It proposes a creative and ethical method of decision-making and design. It makes explicit the relations between structure and process in the realms of knowledge and being. The new methodology that evolves in this book allows us to deal with enormous complexity, and to relate ideas so as to draw out previously unsuspected conclusions and syntheses. Therein lies the elegance and utility of this model.

From Anthropology to Social Theory

From Anthropology to Social Theory PDF Author: Arpad Szakolczai
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108540171
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
Presenting a ground-breaking revitalization of contemporary social theory, this book revisits the rise of the modern world to reopen the dialogue between anthropology and sociology. Using concepts developed by a series of 'maverick' anthropologists who were systematically marginalised as their ideas fell outside the standard academic canon, such as Arnold van Gennep, Marcel Mauss, Paul Radin, Lucien Lévy-Bruhl and Gregory Bateson, the authors argue that such concepts are necessary for understanding better the rise and dynamics of the modern world, including the development of the social sciences, in particular sociology and anthropology. Concepts discussed include liminality, imitation, schismogenesis and trickster, which provide an anthropological 'toolkit' for readers to develop innovative understandings of the underlying power mechanisms of globalized modernity. Aimed at graduate students and researchers, the book is clearly structured. Part I introduces the 'maverick' anthropologists, while Part II applies the maverick tool-kit to revisit the history of sociological thought and the question of modernity.

Theory-Based Data Analysis for the Social Sciences

Theory-Based Data Analysis for the Social Sciences PDF Author: Carol S. Aneshensel
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1412994357
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 473

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Book Description
This book presents the elaboration model for the multivariate analysis of observational quantitative data. This model entails the systematic introduction of "third variables" to the analysis of a focal relationship between one independent and one dependent variable to ascertain whether an inference of causality is justified. Two complementary strategies are used: an exclusionary strategy that rules out alternative explanations such as spuriousness and redundancy with competing theories, and an inclusive strategy that connects the focal relationship to a network of other relationships, including the hypothesized causal mechanisms linking the focal independent variable to the focal dependent variable. The primary emphasis is on the translation of theory into a logical analytic strategy and the interpretation of results. The elaboration model is applied with case studies drawn from newly published research that serve as prototypes for aligning theory and the data analytic plan used to test it; these studies are drawn from a wide range of substantive topics in the social sciences, such as emotion management in the workplace, subjective age identification during the transition to adulthood, and the relationship between religious and paranormal beliefs. The second application of the elaboration model is in the form of original data analysis presented in two Analysis Journals that are integrated throughout the text and implement the full elaboration model. Using real data, not contrived examples, the text provides a step-by-step guide through the process of integrating theory with data analysis in order to arrive at meaningful answers to research questions.