“Transformative agency” as an object of sociological analysis: Contemporary discussions and the role of education

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-138
Author(s):  
P. S. Sorokin

Negative trends of the global social-economic development enhanced by the covid-19 pandemic explain the theoretical and practical relevance of the study of perspectives for structural transformations and their possible sources. In education, this means the need to improve the existing models of institutional practice and to contribute to the development of agency that would support positive transformations in all domains of social life. The scientific attention to agency and its transformative potential in relation to structures is still limited compared to the issues of structures reproduction. The so-called new institutionalists in sociology (including primarily J.W. Meyer and his followers) provide a promising basis for new theoretical models and empirical studies of the content, factors and effects of transformative agency. Meyers core idea is that social structures can both suppress and support the initiative formation of new social entities and the corresponding new values and modes of action. Further research in education should refer to the concepts of institutional entrepreneurship, institutional work and expanded actorhood, when using the proposed theoretical framework to empirically study (1) globally and nationally promoted initiatives in entrepreneurship education in universities, and (2) processes of transformation of institutional contexts in education under the continuing global pandemic with an emphasis on the proactive role of students.

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjola Mitaj ◽  
Klodian Muco ◽  
Jonida Avdulaj

Continuously, the relation between education and economic development has been the focus of development researchers’ studies that study long-term growth. While theoretical models recognize education as the key to a country's economic growth (Bassanini and Scarpetta, 2001; Fuente and Ciccone, 2003; Jones, 2005 Bassanini, 2007), the importance of education is very low in empirical models.The reason for this discrepancy is that for a long time education is measured by the years attended in school and not by the knowledge and skills gained, which according to an OSCE study, a student competences growth of 100 points (measuring unit) produces an increase of 2% of GDP per capita. Thanks to this identification, education is recognized as one of the main keys to development.Various empirical studies show that productivity can be increased through training (Barrett and O'Connell, 2001; Scrutinio et al., 2006). In sum, these studies show that pre university, university education and training courses positively affect the increase of production, which in turn can positively affect the economic development of a country.Thus, this article tends to evaluate the role of Albanian human capital in economic development of the country considering the relationship between education and productivity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 196
Author(s):  
Aysha N. Al-Salih

Much recent literature has studied the role of Zakat in establishing social welfare and economic sustainability. It is believed that Zakat is among the most important systems for Muslims: indeed, it enables the wealthy and rich to purify their hearts from greed by giving a part of their wealth to the needy. Therefore, Zakat redistributes income and wealth, plays an important role in poverty alleviation, and contributes to social welfare and economic sustainability. This study discusses the role of Zakat in establishing social welfare and economic sustainability by reviewing theoretical and empirical studies. This prior research is then extended by examining the historical development of Zakat and the structure of Zakat accounting method in Saudi Arabia. This study is significant in creating awareness about Zakat’s role and its impact on the social life of a society. The researcher employs qualitative research methods, reviewing traditional and contemporary Islamic sources to explicate the significance of Zakat as an institution, and elaborate its impact on social life in line with the main theme of the study. The topic of Zakat is one that has received increased attention by researchers interested in Muslim values, social welfare, economic sustainability, and accounting. However, little research has been produced on the intersections of these four topics in the specific context of Saudi Arabia. The overall findings show that Zakat has a positive impact on social welfare and economic sustainability in Saudi Arabia.


2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maggie Anderson ◽  
Laura Galloway

The focus of this paper is on the role of enterprise training among disabled people. The authors first review the literature, in particular comparing work on the theoretical benefits of enterprise training provision for disabled people with empirical studies of enterprise training initiatives for disabled people in various countries. In the analysis, low social capital is implicated as a cause of much disadvantage in economic and social life among disabled people, and this is particularly pertinent in modern knowledge-based economies where responsibility for development in the lifelong learning agenda is devolved from governments to individuals, including disabled individuals. Following this, an investigation of one publicly funded initiative in Fife, Scotland, is conducted and this is used to inform a wider debate about the potential uses and value of enterprise training for disabled people in the current stratified socioeconomic milieu. The paper argues that there is potential for enterprise training to contribute on a wider basis than simply independent entrepreneurship promotion and that the research community therefore has an opportunity to engage with this broader agenda.


2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karim Hamadache ◽  
Julienne Brabet

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enrich empirical studies on institutional entrepreneurship (IE), more specifically those focusing on the role of the IE in building a new field (here the orphan drug [OD] field). This research addresses the main paradoxes of IE theories: a deterministic vs free agent point of view; an individual hero vs a collective action approach; and a change vs reproduction perspective. Design/methodology/approach – A case study of the role of an IE in the building of the OD field in Europe conducted through interviews with the main actors and in-depth documentary research. Findings – The case highlights the IE resources as products of a dynamic historical process driven by values; the process of building the field as an interaction between framing issues, mobilizing agents and resources, transforming a policy window into a political opportunity. It relativizes the IE role: an indispensable catalyst of collective action that can also reinforce the hegemonic bloc while changing the rules. Originality/value – The paper highlights the necessity of longitudinal analysis to address the agent/structure paradox.


2022 ◽  
pp. 92-119
Author(s):  
Daniel B. le Roux ◽  
Douglas A. Parry

The chapter investigates digital distraction in college classrooms from the perspective of self-regulation theory. To this end, the chapter commences with a brief analysis of the distinction between behavioural and cognitive shifts in attention, the role of intentionality in digital distraction, and the concept of online vigilance. Thereafter the general premises of self-regulation theory are described, and prominent theoretical models that have emerged in this domain are briefly outlined. Two models deemed particularly applicable to digital distraction are selected from these. The first is the value-based choice model which frames self-regulation as a process of deliberative decision-making which foregoes action taking. The second is the process model which emphasises the strategies individuals employ to prevent goal conflict. Both models are described before being applied as interpretive lenses to analyse key findings from empirical studies of digital distraction.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1149
Author(s):  
Mateusz Dróżdż ◽  
Paweł Krzyżek ◽  
Barbara Dudek ◽  
Sebastian Makuch ◽  
Adriana Janczura ◽  
...  

Pets play a crucial role in the development of human feelings, social life, and care. However, in the era of the prevailing global pandemic of COVID-19 disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), many questions addressing the routes of the virus spread and transmission to humans are dramatically emerging. Although cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been found in pets including dogs, cats, and ferrets, to date there is no strong evidence for pet-to-human transmission or sustained pet-to-pet transmission of SARS-CoV-2. However, an increasing number of studies reporting detection of SARS-CoV-2 in farmed minks raises suspicion of potential viral transmission from these animals to humans. Furthermore, due to the high susceptibility of cats, ferrets, minks and hamsters to COVID-19 infection under natural and/or experimental conditions, these animals have been extensively explored as animal models to study the SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and transmission. In this review, we present the latest reports focusing on SARS-CoV-2 detection, isolation, and characterization in pets. Moreover, based on the current literature, we document studies aiming to broaden the knowledge about pathogenicity and transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2, and the development of viral therapeutics, drugs and vaccines. Lastly, considering the high rate of SARS-CoV-2 evolution and replication, we also suggest routes of protection against the virus.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey H. Kahn ◽  
Daniel W. Cox ◽  
A. Myfanwy Bakker ◽  
Julia I. O’Loughlin ◽  
Agnieszka M. Kotlarczyk

Abstract. The benefits of talking with others about unpleasant emotions have been thoroughly investigated, but individual differences in distress disclosure tendencies have not been adequately integrated within theoretical models of emotion. The purpose of this laboratory research was to determine whether distress disclosure tendencies stem from differences in emotional reactivity or differences in emotion regulation. After completing measures of distress disclosure tendencies, social desirability, and positive and negative affect, 84 participants (74% women) were video recorded while viewing a sadness-inducing film clip. Participants completed post-film measures of affect and were then interviewed about their reactions to the film; these interviews were audio recorded for later coding and computerized text analysis. Distress disclosure tendencies were not predictive of the subjective experience of emotion, but they were positively related to facial expressions of sadness and happiness. Distress disclosure tendencies also predicted judges’ ratings of the verbal disclosure of emotion during the interview, but self-reported disclosure and use of positive and negative emotion words were not associated with distress disclosure tendencies. The authors present implications of this research for integrating individual differences in distress disclosure with models of emotion.


ALQALAM ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Zaki Ghufron

Islamic Boarding school is an islamic education institution which has an identical tradition in indonesian muslim societuy. This institution has emerged long before the colonialism era in Indonesia. In its long history since years to pursue the concept of modernism, islamic boarding school, sometimes ,has also been perceived negatively because of transnasionalism ideology which is adopted in recent years. In that case, this paper aimed to describe the existence of islamic boarding school in indonesian social life. By argumenting and comparing some previous studies in this case to gain an accurate result. Moreover, this paper is intended to answer some western perception about islamic boarding school in Indonesia, and finally emphasize the role of islamic boarding school as a government partner and its function in creating democracy.  Keyword: Islamic Boarding School, Tradition, Modernization.


Author(s):  
Dubravka Glasnović Gracin

AbstractA mathematics textbook can be described as an officially authorized and pedagogically designed mathematics book written to provide mathematical knowledge to students. This description suggests the authority of the textbook - because it has been authorized by an administrative source and because it deals with authorized knowledge. This paper provides an overview of research on mathematics textbooks. The emphasis is on questions concerning the extent to which and how textbooks are used in mathematics education in Croatia and in the world.Research results show that mathematics textbooks are widely used in mathematics education worldwide. This finding points to the need for research on the content and structure of textbooks. Such studies are combined with the associated results on how textbooks are used in the classroom and which methods teachers apply in using textbooks in mathematics education. The results of the empirical studies show that teachers use textbooks for lesson preparation and pupils use mathematics textbooks for exercises to a great extent. These results imply that such an important role of textbooks in mathematics education deserves additional attention, with the goal of understanding and improving mathematics education.Key words: mathematics education; overview; research on textbook---SažetakMatematički udžbenik može se opisati kao službeno autorizirana i pedagoki osmiljena matematička knjiga napisana s ciljem da učenicima ponudi matematičke sadržaje. Taj opis sugerira autoritet udžbenika jer ga je autorizirao administrativni izvor i jer sadrži autorizirano znanje. Ovaj članak daje pregled istraživanja matematičkih udžbenika, a naglasak je na pitanjima u kojoj mjeri i kako se udžbenici koriste u nastavi matematike u Hrvatskoj i u svijetu.Rezultati raznih istraživanja pokazuju da se udžbenici u velikoj mjeri koriste u nastavi matematike irom svijeta. Taj nalaz ukazuje na potrebu za istraživanjem sadržaja i strukture matematičkih udžbenika. Uz to, prikazani su rezultati istraživanja o tome na koji se način udžbenici koriste u razredu i koje metode nastavnici prakticiraju prilikom upotrebe udžbenika na nastavi. Rezultati empirijskih studija pokazuju da nastavnici udžbenike većinom koriste za pripremu nastavnog sata, a učenici udžbenike koriste u najvećoj mjeri za vježbanje. Ti rezultati ukazuju na to da tako važna uloga udžbenika u matematičkom obrazovanju zaslužuje dodatnu pažnju s ciljem razumijevanja i poboljanja nastave matematike.Ključne riječi: istraživanje udžbenika; nastava matematike; pregled.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 600-612
Author(s):  
L.F. Nikulin ◽  
V.V. Velikorossov ◽  
S.A. Filin ◽  
A.B. Lanchakov

Subject. The article discusses how management transforms as artificial intelligence gets more important in governance, production and social life. Objectives. We identify and substantiate trends in management transformation as artificial intelligence evolves and gets more important in governance, production and social life. The article also provides our suggestions for management and training of managers dealing with artificial intelligence. Methods. The study employs methods of logic research, analysis and synthesis through the systems and creative approach, methodology of technological waves. Results. We analyzed the scope of management as is and found that threats and global challenges escalate due to the advent of artificial intelligence. We provide the rationale for recognizing the strategic culture as the self-organizing system of business process integration. We suggest and substantiate the concept of soft power with reference to strategic culture, which should be raised, inter alia, through the scientific school of conflict studies. We give our recommendations on how management and training of managers should be improved in dealing with artificial intelligence as it evolves. The novelty hereof is that we trace trends in management transformation as the role of artificial intelligence evolves and growth in governance, production and social life. Conclusions and Relevance. Generic solutions are not very effective for the Russian management practice during the transition to the sixth and seventh waves of innovation. Any programming product represents artificial intelligence, which simulates a personality very well, though unable to substitute a manager in motivating, governing and interacting with people.


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