Political Change in Guatemalan Indian Communities

1964 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland H. Ebel
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Broad Area ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The West ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Modernization ◽  
Catch Up

The international tensions produced in our world by the drive of the so-called under-developed societies to catch up economically with the industrialized countries of the West have compelled social scientists to focus their attention increasingly upon the social processes which are necessary if this development is to be achieved with a minimum of inefficiency and strife. That aspect of this very broad area which is of greatest concern to political scientists is usually called “political modernization.” One of the most efficient ways to study the process of political modernization is to view it as it operates at the level of the local community. In fact, it might be postulated that in those societies variously called under-developed, traditional, or primitive, it is, in the final analysis, the community and not the nation that most directly participates in this process.

scholarly journals Social Sciences in Hungary During the Cold War and After

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktor Karády
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
Book Market ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The West ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Thaw Period

Based on various types of recently explored empirical evidence, this study attempts to account for the complex and ever-changing relationship the social sciences in Hungary have entertained with their foreign counterparts, both institutionally and through their intellectual references since their birth in the early 20th century. Historically, up until Communist times, Hungary was a German intellectual colony of sorts while remaining receptive mostly to French and other influences as well. This changed fundamentally after 1948 with the process of Sovietization. This implied the outright institutional suppression of several social disciplines (sociology, demography, political science, and psychoanalysis) and the forceful intellectual realignment of others along Marxist lines. Contacts with the West were also suspended and the exclusive orientation to Soviet social science enforced through­out the long 1950s. A thaw period after this attempt at Russian cultural colonization followed the years after the 1956 anti-Bolshevik uprising. From 1963 on, the Hungarian social sciences saw the reestablishment and state-supported promotion of disciplines that were suppressed earlier, the softening of the ascendancy of official Marxism, and the opening of channels of exchange with the West. In spite of the continuation of political censorship, ideological surveillance, and occasional expulsion of politically dissident scholars until 1989, Hungarian social scientists could benefit more often and intensively from Western sponsorship (such as study grants from the Ford foundation) and collaborations. After the fall of Communism, the expansion and reorientation of the social sciences to the West, dominated by Anglo-Saxon contacts, are demonstrated by various indices, such as data on the book market of the social sciences and books purchased by libraries, translated, or cited in major reviews.

scholarly journals Future Anticipation in Sociology

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 333-341
Author(s):  
Carlos Miguel Ferreira ◽  
Sandro Serpa
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Social Situations ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The Social ◽  
Scientific Approach ◽  
The Future ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
Scientific Fields

The ability to make forecasts about events is a goal favored by the so-called exact sciences. In sociology and other social sciences, the forecast, although often sought after, is not likely to be realized unconditionally. This article seeks to problematize and discuss the connection between sociology and forecast. The object of study of sociology has particular features that distinguish it from other scientific fields, namely facts and social situations, which deal with trends; the systems of belief of social scientists and policymakers that can influence the attempt to anticipate the future; the dissemination of information and knowledge produced by sociology and other social sciences, which have the potential to change reality and, consequently, to call into question their capacity for the social forecast. These principles pose challenges to sociology’s heuristic potentials, making the reflection on these challenges indispensable in the scientific approach to social processes.

History and Social Science in the West

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Passmore
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
External Force ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The West ◽  
Grand Theory ◽  
Academic History ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter analyzes the relationship between history and various disciplines within the social sciences. Historians and social scientists shared two related sets of assumptions. The first supposition was of a world-historical shift from a traditional, hierarchical, religious society to a modern egalitarian, rational one. Second, history and social science assumed that progress occurred within nations possessed of unique ‘characters’, and that patriotism provided the social cement without which society could not function. Nevertheless, academic history seemingly differed from social science in that it was untheoretical and predominantly political. Yet historians focused on the nation’s attainment of self-consciousness, homogeneity, and independence through struggle against internal and external enemies—a history in which great men were prominent. Historians and sociologists unwittingly shared versions of grand theory, in which change was an external ‘force’ driven by the functional needs of the system, and in which meaning derived from measurement against theory, rather than from protagonists’ actions and beliefs.

scholarly journals Networks

2021 ◽  
pp. 17-36
Author(s):  
Heather Lovell
Keyword(s):  
Smart Grid ◽  
Smart Grids ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Policy Networks ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Community Network ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sociotechnical Networks

AbstractSocial scientists study many different types of networks, from policy networks to sociotechnical networks, in order to better understand processes of change. These diverse networks have a number of characteristics in common, including interconnectedness, flows, and fragility. Exploring these characteristics in relation to smart grids helps us to better understand the social nature of energy sector innovation. In this chapter, I use these themes and concepts to assess three examples: international smart grid policy networks; a local community network on Bruny Island, Australia; and a fragile network, the digital metering programme in the State of Victoria, Australia.

Steadying the swinging pendulum – how might we accommodate competing approaches to public service delivery?

2020 ◽  
pp. 401-420
Author(s):  
Nigel Ball
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Central Government ◽  
The West ◽  
Public Service Delivery ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
Instrumental Role

This chapter reflects on the challenge of accommodating competing approaches to public service delivery. Discourse around the social determinants of health is skewed towards the parts of the population whose adverse social circumstances harm their health the most. Local authorities are much closer to the complexities of service delivery than central government departments, and thus have an instrumental role to play in efforts to support these groups. They do not play this role alone — it is shared with other local delivery agencies, such as Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships in the National Health Service (NHS), as well as private providers and local community groups. There has always been much debate around what role each of these actors should play, and how they might interact with one another so as to create masterful theatre rather than a depressing farce. This question continues to be the focus of much policymaking, experimentation, and debate. The chapter then considers the West London Zone for Children and Young People, a cross-sector delivery partnership. It also explores some of the intersecting themes across other efforts, drawing on research from the Government Outcomes Lab.

Epistemological Problems in Human Geography

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Amriah Buang
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Human Geography ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Internal Logic ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

IntroductionGeography is the study of the earth's surface as the space withm which thehuman population lives. The internal logic of this study has tended to splitgeography into two parts: physical and human. The identity of physicalgeography is the more discernible part, as it is concerned with the study, overtime, of the characters, processes, and distribution of inanimate phenomenain the space accessible to human beings and their instruments. Humangeography, on the other hand, is not so clearly defined, as it deals with problemswhich are, in the final analysis, multidisciplinary or extradisciplinary incharacter. Thus, although human geography can be consistently defined as thatpart of the social sciences which studies people solely in relation to space andplace, this study can range from synthesizing the relationship between humansocieties and the Earth's surface (in which people-environment relations areemphasized) to that of an all-encompassing coverage of all aspects of geographynot directly concerned with the physical environment.One corollary of such an all-encompassing coverage is the multiplicity ofapproaches in human geography. As geographers probe further into the truthof the human phenomena, be it the interrelationship of people (individuallyor as groups) in their physical or social environment, the spatial and temporaldistribution of human creations, or the organization of society and social processes,and as they draw increasingly from extraneous disciplines in the courseof such probing, it has become more and more obvious that it is now impossibleto forge and maintain a singular human geography.For instance, an economic geographer trying to understand the unequaldistribution of incomes among population groups in different places will be ...

The Story of Success Istanbul

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Czyżewska
Keyword(s):  
The West ◽  
Fishing Boat ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Press ◽  
Social Scene ◽  
Catch Up ◽  
The Republic ◽  
International Airlines ◽  
Hilton Hotel

Between the East and the West - The Istanbul Hilton bore many colloquial names, the press called it ‘Conrad’s Palace’, Hilton’s employees called it ‘Little America’ and the people of Istanbul called it ‘The Ship’. Irrespective of the name, there is no doubt that the hotel changed the social scene of 1950s’ Istanbul and opened its oriental door to the West. Most visitors to Istanbul these days arrive at one of the city’s international airports, but it is still quite easy to imagine that one gets off the Orient Express and is suddenly transported to the oriental world of bright colours, a myriad of smells, the buzz of the Grand Bazar and the sound of muezzins calling for the evening prayer. When you arrive at the Sirkeci Station, you find yourself just a step away from the Eminönü harbour where local men wait for their daily catch on the Galata bridge. You can stop for a minute to taste grilled fish sandwiches served directly from the fishing boat. Head north, up narrow cobbled streets, leaving the monumental Galata tower on your left, and reach Taksim Square where local socialites meet for coffee and a slice of pistachio baklava. You can also accept a shopkeeper’s invitation for a quick glass of çay – he won’t charge you a penny, it is merely a local way of saying “hello, you are welcome”. One can easily imagine going back in time, men wearing their finest suits and ladies showing off expensive pearls and fashionably tailored hats. You can hear İlham Gencer playing piano in one of many fancy coffee houses. Men are busy competing in a round of Okey while ladies catch up with daily gossip. The time moves slowly here, the air is hot and sticky, people hide from the sun in the shade of Judas trees. Leaving the Republic Monument behind you, head into Cumhuriyet Street. Passing lush Gezi Park and the offices of many international airlines and shipping companies shaded by the alley of trees, and look to your right. There it is, the majestic Hilton Hotel, symbol of modernity, comfort and globalization. This is Conrad’s Palace in Istanbul.

scholarly journals Neopagan Narratives: Knowledge Claims and Other World ‘Realities’

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 213-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Delamont
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Academic Texts ◽  
Charles Tilly ◽  
Everyday Practices ◽  
The Social ◽  
Other World ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Knowledge Claims

The late Charles Tilly argued that good social science required both detailed analyses of the minutiae of everyday life and of the big structures and large social processes. This paper argues that analyses of social scientists’ everyday practices, and particularly of their autobiographical narratives, are one way to illuminate the large-scale social processes that are ongoing in the social sciences. The specific focus, ethnography on neopagans, leads to a discussion of four ‘big’ questions of the type Tilly advocated. The inextricable links between academic textual conventions, the use and abuse of narrative data, and ‘access’ to the ‘realities’ and ‘knowledges’ of believers in other worldly phenomena in other dimensions or times, are explored. There has been a rapid growth in neopaganism in all the industrialised Anglophone countries since the 1960s. Ethnographers, particularly women, have conducted fieldwork in such groups, exploring the cosmologies and practices of neopagans. An analysis of the published accounts of such fieldwork raises questions about ethnography, gender, and particularly how claims to authenticity are made in academic texts. The specific topic - who can speak about neopaganism? - has wider applications when other types of narrative are explored.

scholarly journals Remembering the West End: social science, mental health and the American urban environment, 1939–1968

Urban History ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
EDMUND RAMSDEN ◽  
MATTHEW SMITH
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Health It ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The West ◽  
The Social ◽  
Psychiatric Theory ◽  
Social And Physical Environment ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACT:Analysing the urban renewal of Boston's West End during the 1950s, we examine how psychiatrists, social scientists and urban planners understood the relationship between the urban environment and mental health. For psychiatrist Erich Lindemann, the West End offered a unique opportunity to study how acute stress and loss affected populations, thus contributing to social psychiatry, which sought to prevent mental illness by addressing factors in the social and physical environment. While Lindemann's project provided a sophisticated response to the often simplistic arguments about the cities and mental health, it also highlighted the challenges of applying social psychiatric theory in practice.

Sustainable Illegality: Gagauz Women in Istanbul

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bayram Unal
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Ethnic Origin ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Survival Strategies ◽  
Preferential Treatment ◽  
National Group ◽  
Turkish Migrants ◽  
Illegal Migrants ◽  
Sociological Inquiry ◽  
The Social

This study deals with survival strategies of illegal migrants in Turkey. It aims to provide an explanation for the efforts to keep illegality sustainable for one specific ethnic/national group—that is, the Gagauz of Moldova, who are of Turkish ethnic origin. In order to explicate the advantages of Turkish ethnic origin, I will focus on their preferential treatment at state-law level and in terms of the implementation of the law by police officers. In a remarkable way, the juridical framework has introduced legal ways of dealing with the illegality of ethnically Turkish migrants. From the viewpoint of migration, the presence of strategic tools of illegality forces us to ask not so much law-related questions, but to turn to a sociological inquiry of how and why they overstay their visas. Therefore, this study concludes that it is the social processes behind their illegality, rather than its form, that is more important for our understanding of the migrants’ survival strategies in destination countries.

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