The transformational model of social activity and economic analysis: a reinterpretation of the work of J.R. Commons

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to examine the problem of anti-social financial practices which seems to be a taken-for-granted reality in many parts of the world and particularly in developing countries. The paper locates the role of actors within the theory of transformational model of social activity proposed by Bhaskar (1989) and advocates radical reform to minimise attendant problems created by these antisocial financial practices. Design/methodology/approach – The paper proposed Bhaskar’s (1989) theory of transformational model of social activity which suggests that the society provides the necessary conditions for intentional human activity and that intentional human action is a necessary condition for it. This is because it is difficult to separate people’s perception from the wider social context in which the phenomena arise and the way and manner in which the practices are constructed. To help understand why antisocial financial practices have become so deeply embedded in the Nigerian sociopolitical and economic systems, the views of significant others (professionals, tax officials, non-governmental organisations, media and regulators) were solicited about the structures that influence the activities of the social actor involved in these antisocial financial practices in Nigeria. Findings – Using results from 24 interviews, the paper argues that social structures, such as globalisation, history, politics and social networks, have influenced and [re]shaped the attitudes and behaviours of actors towards committing antisocial financial practices. Practical implications – The paper, therefore, advocates a radical reform that could minimise the attendant problems created by these antisocial financial practices of actors and the enabling structures. Social implications – Where antisocial financial practices are embedded in the society, they become part of the daily routines and in that process are normalised. Originality/value – The paper is a general review of the literature and evidence on contemporary issues.

Download Full-text

Routines, Artefacts and Technological Change: Investigating the Transformation of Criminal Justice in England and Wales

Journal of Information Technology ◽

10.1057/jit.2014.10 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 294-311 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Federico lannacci

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Social Activity ◽

Social Practices ◽

Transformational Model ◽

Organisational Routines ◽

Role Position ◽

Practical Implications ◽

Regulative Function ◽

New System

Organisational routines embed and are increasingly embedded within IT artefacts. In this paper, I challenge the conventional notion that warrants the primacy of human activities in the study of routines and bring artefacts in general and IT artefacts in particular to the very centre of my theorising. Through an in-depth case study of crown prosecutors’ work, I endeavour to explain the way legislative and IT artefacts are implicated in the transformation of police-prosecutor routines. I show that legislative artefacts play a constitutive role that generates a new role position and a new system of social practices while IT artefacts serve a regulative function that enforces a newly programmed sequence of steps onto pre-existing practices. I argue for the benefits of foregrounding legislative and IT artefacts to develop a nuanced account of organisational routines that responds to recent calls for research that contextualises the IT artefact outside single settings. I draw on the Transformational Model of Social Activity to unpack the causal linkages between legislative and IT artefacts. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Download Full-text

Activity Engagement in Cognitive Aging: A Review of the Evidence

Perspectives on Neurophysiology and Neurogenic Speech and Language Disorders ◽

10.1044/nnsld23.1.35 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yvonne Rogalski ◽

Muriel Quintana

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Cognitive Aging ◽

Social Activity ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Omega 3 ◽

Neuroprotective Effects ◽

Activity Engagement ◽

Age Related ◽

Age Related Cognitive Decline

The population of older adults is rapidly increasing, as is the number and type of products and interventions proposed to prevent or reduce the risk of age-related cognitive decline. Advocacy and prevention are part of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA’s) scope of practice documents, and speech-language pathologists must have basic awareness of the evidence contributing to healthy cognitive aging. In this article, we provide a brief overview outlining the evidence on activity engagement and its effects on cognition in older adults. We explore the current evidence around the activities of eating and drinking with a discussion on the potential benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, alcohol, and coffee. We investigate the evidence on the hypothesized neuroprotective effects of social activity, the evidence on computerized cognitive training, and the emerging behavioral and neuroimaging evidence on physical activity. We conclude that actively aging using a combination of several strategies may be our best line of defense against cognitive decline.

Download Full-text