scholarly journals Societal Aspects of Vulnerability to Natural Hazards

2012 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swen Zehetmair
Keyword(s):  
System Theory ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Social System ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Theoretical Concept ◽  
Niklas Luhmann ◽  
Social Phenomena

Abstract To date, social vulnerability research has focused primarily on the individual and household levels, and on social institutions relevant to these two benchmarks. In this paper, a widening of the perspective of social vulnerability to natural hazards is proposed to include socio-structural aspects. For a number of reasons, the sociological system theory, which is inextricably linked with the name of Niklas Luhmann, is an obvious choice for this undertaking. Firstly, Luhmann developed a consistent social theoretical definition of risk, which has significantly influenced risk and hazard research in social science. Furthermore, the system theory provides a theory of society that claims to be able to cover all social levels and to describe all social phenomena. The system theory assumes that in modern society social systems are formed of communications. Therefore, in this paper the view is taken that a system-theoretical inspired concept of social vulnerability must also assess communication. First, this paper describes empirical observations about the vulnerability of social systems. This is achieved on the one hand through a categorisation of four forms of social vulnerability. On the other hand, it is based on examples of vulnerability to flood risks in selected social systems. Finally, consideration is given to a system-theoretical concept of social vulnerability that sees the sensitivity of a social system in each of the respective system structures. Vulnerabilities can only be observed for a particular social system, because the configuration of system structures differs from system to system. These fundamental considerations have to be further explored infuture work on a consistent social theoretical concept of vulnerability.

scholarly journals On the End of the Conceptual Conflict in the Early Theory of Social Systems: P.A. Sorokin, T. Parsons, and L. von Wiese

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-163
Author(s):  
Nikolay Golovin ◽  
Roman Vissonov
Keyword(s):  
System Theory ◽  
Social System ◽  
Sociological Theory ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Theoretical Concept ◽  
Historical Case ◽  
Early Theory ◽  
Social System Theory ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
Communicative Theory

The dispute over the construction of a social system theory, which took place in Harvard between P.A. Sorokin (1889–1968) and T. Parsons (1902–1979), is still drawing the attention of historians and theorists of sociology. Both scientists were greatly respected by the scientific community of those times, both had their unique vision on creating a social theory and, of course, each of them claimed priority in the development of their respective system-sociological theory. According to P.A. Sorokin, who in 1951 was promoting his work “Similarities and Dissimilarities Between Two Sociological Systems” among colleagues from his department and beyond it, T. Parsons’ essays on the topic of social system theory are suspiciously similar to P.A. Sorokin’s lectures and essays — an opinion which in turn was refuted by Parsons. In response to Sorokin’s claims, T. Parsons claimed that his theoretical concept had been influenced more by other authors than by P.A. Sorokin. He also pointed to the process of convergence in system theory and highlighted plenty of other differences between their system theories. All researchers noticed the severity of this conflict, but when we look to the circumstances of the end of this conceptual debate, we find that it is not entirely clear whether it was even resolved, and more importantly — how the conflict actually ended. Analysis of this historical case conducted through the lens of Luhmann’s communicative theory helps get a clearer understanding of the problem. It allows for separating the conceptual implications of the dispute from its other aspects – personal, career, psychological, institutional aspects — which ultimately allowed looking into the conceptual essence of the conflict. The use of new and previously little-known German archival documents, copies of sociologists’ personal letters, journal reviews on sociological theory, journal publications about the conflict allowed to establish the importance of the role played by respected German sociologist L. von Wiese (1876–1969), a personal friend of P.A. Sorokin and an expert in theoretical sociology, in deescalating the conflict and ending the dispute in 1952.

The Vision of Foundations of Social Theory

1992 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
James S. Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Theory Of Action ◽  
Fundamental Change ◽  
Individual Actions ◽  
Trust Law

AbstractModern society has undergone a fundamental change to a society built around purposively established organizations. Social theory in this context can be a guide to social construction. Foundations of Social Theory is dedicated to this aim. Being oriented towards the design of social institutions it has to choose a voluntaristic, purposive theory of action and must make the behavior of social systems explainable in terms of the combination of individual actions. It has to deal with the emergence and maintenance of norms and rights, the concepts of authority, trust, law and legitimacy, the viability of organizations and the efficiency of social systems. But more important than the specific points is the vision of a new role for social theory in an increasingly constructed social environment. This vision is the motivation behind Foundations of Social Theory.

Systems Theory and Journalism

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armin Scholl ◽  
Maja Malik
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Systems Theory ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Functional Differentiation ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Niklas Luhmann ◽  
External Observer

Observing, describing, and analyzing journalism as part of society requires theories on a macro level. Unlike normative theories, which criticize journalism with respect to its achievements and failures within society, systems theory operates with the concept of function in a non-normative sense. Based on the groundwork of Talcott Parsons’ theory of social systems, Niklas Luhmann developed systems theory further and radicalized it by strictly avoiding any kind of structural conservatism. His approach is built on the assumption that social systems operate autonomously on the basis of the functional differentiation to their environment. Macro-level systems, i.e., societal systems, fulfill unique functions for and within society. Functional autonomy and singularity make a modern society highly efficient but force each system to rely on the functional performances of all other societal systems. Hence, societal systems are structurally coupled and interdependent. Epistemologically, systems do not exist as ontological units but are strictly observer-related, be the observer the system itself or an external observer, such as the scientific community is. In journalism research, Luhmann’s systems theory has been applied to journalism as a societal system. Several competing approaches with different perspectives on the system observed (journalism, the mass media, or the public sphere) have been developed with respect to identifying the basic characteristics on which the system operates. Despite their differences they have this in common: journalism is not considered the sum of individual journalists and their (individual) way of working, instead, the systems-theoretical perspective is holistic. However, compared to theories of professionalism, which is also a holistic concept, systems theory neither identifies journalism with the profession of journalism, nor commits it to professional journalism. Instead, the structure of journalism is flexible, i.e., functionally equivalent, as long as its function is fulfilled. This function can be specified: journalism provides society periodically with current, independent, factual, and relevant information. Empirically, systems theory helps defining the population of journalists by deducing it from its function. Unlike mere empirical approaches, which arbitrarily draw samples from an unknown population, it is possible to clearly draw distinctions between journalism and other forms of public communication, such as public relations, advertising, propaganda, or lay communication. Still, it is challenging to operationalize such an abstract theory, as it is not specially made for hypothesis-driven research.

scholarly journals NIKLAS LUHMANN’S SOCIAL SYSTEMS THEORY: THE ISSUE OF SUBSYSTEM AUTONOMY

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (4/2020) ◽  
pp. 151-170
Author(s):  
Milorad Djuric ◽  
Djordje Stojanovic
Keyword(s):  
General Theory ◽  
Social System ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Niklas Luhmann ◽  
Dynamic Complexity ◽  
Theoretical Position ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Classical Sociology

Niklas Luhmann articulates the basic elements of his authentic theoretical position as criticism of, as he calls them, classical sociology or classical organisation theory. While within these orientations, (social) systems are mainly interpreted as centralised entities whose structures are stabilised by purpose determined at the top, Luhmann, in his general theory of social systems privileges internal differentiation in which subsystems autonomously define their purposes, making society more flexible and capable of responding to environmental challenges. In that sense, the main intention of this paper is the creation of cognitive interest for the notions of complexity and flexibility, i.e. for the issue of subsystem autonomy, as the important elements of Luhmann’s general theory of social systems. Our premise is that the establishment of subsystem autonomy is not a matter of mere, a priori, theoretical and/or practical arbitrariness, nor does it mean an introduction into deconstruction of the system, but it represents a necessary step in the creation of successful responses of the social system to problems arising from the immense and dynamic complexity of its own environment. In other words, through the process of internal differentiation, by establishing subsystem autonomy, the social system increases its own complexity, i.e. ability to adjust to the environment. Thus, challenges arising from the environment are not transferred to the whole, but localised and processed in the appropriate, autonomous parts of the system. By so increasing its internal complexity, the system undeniably acquires the necessary flexibility, or capability for a faster and more efficient creation of alternative.

Sincerity, authenticity and profilicity: Notes on the problem, a vocabulary and a history of identity

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 575-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Georg Moeller ◽  
Paul J. D’Ambrosio
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Functional Differentiation ◽  
Second Order ◽  
The Self ◽  
Niklas Luhmann ◽  
Basic Vocabulary ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind

This essay attempts to provide a preliminary outline of a theory of identity. The first section addresses what the sociologist Niklas Luhmann has called ‘the problem of identity’, or, in other words, the mind–society (rather than the mind–body) problem: In how far can the internal (psychological) self and the external (social) persona be integrated into a unit? The second section of the essay briefly defines a basic vocabulary of a theory of identity. ‘Identity’ is understood as the existentially necessary formation of a coherence between the ‘self’ (the ‘I’ as it is experienced in thoughts and feelings), its body and its social ‘persona’ (the individual person with its social attributes). Three different major paradigms of identity formation are distinguished from one another: a sincere identity is constructed through a firm commitment of the self to its social roles; an authentic identity is constructed through the creation of a social persona on the basis of one’s unique and original self; a ‘profilic’ identity, as we call it, is shaped by successfully presenting a personal profile under conditions of second-order observation as they prevail, for instance, in the social media, but also in other contemporary social systems. In the third section of the essay, we present a sketch of the historical sequence of these three paradigms of identity. Although these paradigms are not mutually exclusive and can coexist, it seems that sincerity flourished in pre-modern society, while authenticity came to prominence along with the functional differentiation of modern society and is now, along with the increased significance of second-order observation, gradually overshadowed by the influence of profilicity.

scholarly journals Peculiarities of the Contemporary Family: Relationships Model in Russia and in the World

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 283-295
Author(s):  
Iuliia S. Pinkovetskaia ◽  
Olga A. Danilova ◽  
Anton V. Lebedev ◽  
Aleksandr A. Somkin
Keyword(s):  
Family Relationships ◽  
Social System ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Family Relations ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Marital Relations ◽  
The Family ◽  
The World ◽  
New Phenomena

Modern society is currently undergoing the stage of transition. Such a change has an impact on all social institutions, including the family and family-marital relations. People are becoming increasingly liberated and independent. This affects marital relations, which are currently being built according to new paradigms associated with greater responsibility for oneself and less for the partner. All these are new phenomena of our social reality, requiring a new understanding and development of new social practice. To validly disclose the features of the modern model of family relations, we will build our considerations in line with evolutionary, functional, empirical and interactionist approaches, based on the assertion that the family is, first of all, a small social group, where each partner has their own, often opposing, interests, and which at the same time acts as an integral social system.

Perubahan Sosial Masyarakat Akibat Konversi Minyak Tanah Ke LPG di Kelurahan Tanjungpinang Barat

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Indrati Sri Suciati ◽  
Suryaningsih ◽  
Emmy Solina
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Social System ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Sampled Data ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Basic Set ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Behavior

Social changes are any changes in social institutions within a society, which affect the social system, including the values, attitudes and behavior patterns among groups in society. Pressure on the definition is the basic set of social institutions as human beings, the changes which then affect other social systems. Based on preliminary observations of this LPG conversion program apparently was sudden and unplanned comprehensively. Framework will be operationalized concept refers to the opinion Selo Soemardjan and Bertrand which state that social change affects the social system, where the elements of the social system, namely beliefs, feelings and thoughts, goals, rules / norms, status/ role and facilities. Qualitative research with a qualitative descriptive design format, which aims to describe, to tell a variety of conditions, situations and phenomena of social realities that exist in society. Sampled data were collected through interviews with informants as many as 14 people. From the research results can be concluded that the kerosene to LPG in the Village of West Tanjungpinang has given the change to more efficient public spending among others so survival is more assured, the pattern of behavior among members of the public is more awake, environmental sustainability is maintained by the reduction of air pollution so as to create of a society that is more practical, efficient and effective

Social exclusion in Ukraine: features and forms of manifestation in modern society

2020 ◽  
pp. 144-152
Author(s):  
Mariya Karpyak
Keyword(s):  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Categorical Analysis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ukrainian Society

Modern socio-economic transformations and the development of ideas of universalization of individual rights and needs emphasize the urgency of overcoming the new forms of inequality and finding effective mechanisms for consolidation and integration of social systems to avoid negative social phenomena that threaten national security, preventing the exclusion of certain groups from public life, forming the stable social ties and interpersonal cooperation, which is an important condition for the successful development of the state and society as a whole. The changes taking place in Ukraine today are marked by the ambivalence of their impact: on the one hand, there are positive changes towards the necessary reforms, on the other – the aggravation of social tensions due to instability, bottlenecks or imperfections of the reform process itself, increasing income gaps and limiting the access of large sections of the population to resources, including basic social services, etc. Despite the significant number of scientific papers on the phenomenon of social exclusion, the issue of substantiation of the forms and features of social exclusion, as well as the dynamics of its spread in Ukrainian society remains insufficiently elaborated. Thus, the purpose of this article is to study the phenomenon of social exclusion in Ukrainian society. In the context of the study, the reasons underlying the formation of the phenomenon of social exclusion in Ukraine in the early stages of statehood are substantiated, the problems that determine its spread in modern Ukrainian society, and the consequences of the impact on society are highlighted. A categorical analysis of the phenomenon of social exclusion is carried out, in particular by forms of manifestation, criteria and factors, scale of distribution, levels of formation, and nature of social ties. Based on the analysis, the peculiarities of the manifestation of social exclusion in Ukraine at different stages of development of Ukrainian society are revealed.

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