Broader Social Structure Research Articles

Nation-builders and market architects: How social origins mold the careers of law graduates over 200years in Norway.

This paper examines the types of work that jurists have historically undertaken and maps how opportunities for legal practice have been shaped by social origins across three centuries: after constitutional independence in the mid-1800s, during industrial capitalism in the mid-1900s, and at present-day advanced capitalism. I analyze historical archive data on law graduates from the 19th and 20th centuries in combination with administrative registry data from the 1990s onwards and employ correspondence analysis to explore how social backgrounds shape careers, considering transformations in class structures and the changing significance of juridical expertise over time. Within each period, jurists have served in very different roles including those that craft and cater to the institutional make-up of the state and the markets. My analysis shows that the impact of social origin on occupational outcomes has undergone significant changes, mirroring shifts in the broader social structure; from the importance of legal and political capital (within regional jurisdictions) in the 19th century to the significance of economic capital as the main structuring principle, but also a greater significance of cultural capital, in contemporary times. The ability to reach the most powerful positions among law graduates-within the polity in the 19th century, and the economy in the 21st century-has been differently structured by origins. I argue that expansion of the student body, the declining standing of the university, and heightened differentiation of the social structure and the juridical field have made intimate familiarity with the business world pivotal for forging mutually beneficial alliances between jurists and the increasingly dominant capitalist class. Today, a select group of jurists have managed to connect with and contribute to the rising power of private capital. Thus, the historical tale of jurists cannot be accurately captured by notions of uniform descent from national power structures.

Therapeutic itineraries in medical education: a device for teaching Public Health in times of pandemic

Abstract: Introduction: The implementation of innovative pedagogical strategies in medical training is the discipline of this experience report. It aims to present the systematization of Therapeutic Itineraries (TI) and the production of Singular Therapeutic Projects (STP) for users of the Brazilian Unified Health System as a learning tool for the teaching of Public Health. Experience report: created based on the experience of teachers and monitors involved with this training in the undergraduate Medical School of Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, between the years 2017 and 2019. The TIs were initially considered from a perspective restricted to the description and analysis of the organization of the health care network (HCN), the access and flows in the services. Based on the debates, contents and production of the STPs, the TIs were revisited in order to contribute to students’ understanding of the relationship between the broader social structure and the individuality of people, their needs and the health care processes. Discussion: The experience, as proposed in its formulation, allowed the articulation of theoretical and practical fields and was a tool that articulated the different programmatic contents proposed in the Discipline of Public Health II. It has also become a viable pedagogical strategy in the real circumstances of offering the discipline, in a context in which Public Health can be more present in professional training. Conclusion: The action-reflection-action process allowed, at first, to recognize the Health Care Network, a structural component of the system. Based on the construction of the STP and the debate on the lines of comprehensive care, it was possible to qualify the analysis. The systematization of TI is a theoretical-methodological approach consolidated in health research and was a tool that showed to be effective for the teaching of Public Health and for learning about the practices and reconfiguration of the work of teachers and monitors on the discipline and, therefore, a permanent education strategy for both students and those responsible for their training.

Therapeutic itineraries in medical education: a device for teaching Public Health in times of pandemic

Abstract: Introduction: The implementation of innovative pedagogical strategies in medical training is the discipline of this experience report. It aims to present the systematization of Therapeutic Itineraries (TI) and the production of Singular Therapeutic Projects (STP) for users of the Brazilian Unified Health System as a learning tool for the teaching of Public Health. Experience report: created based on the experience of teachers and monitors involved with this training in the undergraduate Medical School of Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, between the years 2017 and 2019. The TIs were initially considered from a perspective restricted to the description and analysis of the organization of the health care network (HCN), the access and flows in the services. Based on the debates, contents and production of the STPs, the TIs were revisited in order to contribute to students’ understanding of the relationship between the broader social structure and the individuality of people, their needs and the health care processes. Discussion: The experience, as proposed in its formulation, allowed the articulation of theoretical and practical fields and was a tool that articulated the different programmatic contents proposed in the Discipline of Public Health II. It has also become a viable pedagogical strategy in the real circumstances of offering the discipline, in a context in which Public Health can be more present in professional training. Conclusion: The action-reflection-action process allowed, at first, to recognize the Health Care Network, a structural component of the system. Based on the construction of the STP and the debate on the lines of comprehensive care, it was possible to qualify the analysis. The systematization of TI is a theoretical-methodological approach consolidated in health research and was a tool that showed to be effective for the teaching of Public Health and for learning about the practices and reconfiguration of the work of teachers and monitors on the discipline and, therefore, a permanent education strategy for both students and those responsible for their training.

I mean business: exploring women entrepreneurs’ journey in India from an emancipation perspective

Purpose This study aims to explore the process of women entrepreneurship in India from a social perspective using the concept of entrepreneurship as emancipation. Design/methodology/approach An interpretive approach is applied to address the study objectives, and based on an inductive method, the non-economic antecedents that led women to start entrepreneurship ventures are explored using 33 in-depth interviews. The study explores beyond the motivations and investigates the social process through which a women entrepreneur passes through after taking the decision to start a business venture. Findings Major findings indicate entrepreneurship as a change process where changes in both the entrepreneur and her social surroundings are observed with time. More detailed analysis reveal opposing (the entrepreneur) social forces in the initiation phase but more supportive social set up in the later phases of the entrepreneurship. The results support the process of entrepreneurship as emancipation (with stages such as seeking autonomy, authoring and declaring). Research limitations/implications The present study supports the concept of entrepreneurship as an emancipation process, and how it unfolds as a gendered process in a society where women (in general) are still not treated as equals. Practical implications The study has practical implications for entrepreneurs and their stakeholder networks. Social implications The findings have novel social implications on how a broader social structure has an influence on the entrepreneurship journey of a woman. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore the phenomenon of entrepreneurship as an emancipation for women entrepreneurs of elite families in a developing nation who have started their business from non-economic needs.

Microaggressions and Psychological Health Among College Students: A Moderated Mediation Model of Rumination and Social Structure Beliefs.

Racial microaggressions are common experiences for students of color on college campuses. Given prior research connecting microaggressions to negative mental health outcomes, it is important to better understand the social context and process through which microaggressions are associated with poorer mental health. In addition, we put forth a psycho-sociological approach to microaggressions, integrating an attention to both individual psychology and broader social structure. Specifically, the present study investigated whether the indirect association of school/workplace microaggressions and internalizing symptoms (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) through problem-focused thoughts (a subset of ruminative thinking) differed as a function of horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism and collectivism among a racially diverse sample of non-White college students (n = 549) from two universities in the USA. As hypothesized, problem-focused thoughts mediated the associations between school/workplace microaggressions and all three negative mental health symptoms. Furthermore, the indirect effect of school/workplace microaggressions on psychological health through problem-focused thoughts was stronger in students with high levels of vertical individualism (i.e., autonomous but recognize/accept inequality among individuals), compared tostudents with low or average levels. Our findings suggest that students of color who endorse vertical individualism are at a relatively greater risk of negative mental health outcomes related to school/workplace microaggressions via problem-focused thoughts. Future research is needed to examine additional factors that may buffer or strengthen the pathways between microaggressions and negative mental health in students of color.

Class Analysis of the Experience of Migration during the Partition of India

The paper conducts a class analysis of the human experience of migration during the Partition of India using a dataset constructed from 1,000 recently published oral narratives by migrants from across the Indian subcontinent. The dataset collates and maps information for four key variables: (1) origins and destinations of migrants; (2) class backgrounds of migrants; (3) modes of transport used during migration; and (4) experiences of direct or indirect violence. Satellite mapping and network analysis are used to develop an empirically grounded cartographic understanding of the relationships between these variables. The results point to a sharply hierarchical story. Differences in class background not only closely correlate with differences in mode of transport and choice of destination, but also with the timing and intensity of an episode of violence. Most importantly, migrants’ experiences show greater similarity within class background and regionality than within a religious group. Thus, not only are discussions based on the conceptual binary of religion unable to account for the large variations in the experiential aspects of Partition, they are also unable to connect these experiences to the broader social structure of the colonial polity in the Indian subcontinent. By reinstating class as an analytical category, this paper seeks to improve our understanding of the humanitarian costs and consequences of the Partition of 1947.

Alasdair MacIntyre’s challenge: Police corruption, management ethics, and the indispensable virtues of integrity and constancy

This paper investigates some of the information conditions necessary for the preservation of police officers’ individual and collective moral agency, particularly the virtues of integrity and constancy, which can diminish in markedly rule-based, informationally impoverished, or corrupt work environments. We focus on one particular work from philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, who explores the threat of social structures to moral agency by using the hypothetical case of J whose job it was to make the trains run on time while avoiding questions about the cargo. J’s supervisors and the broader social structure he occupies inhibited his capacity to be a full moral agent. In order to illustrate the relevance and application of MacIntyre’s argument to policing and the good justice, including the wider philosophical and economic problems of compartmentalization of moral agency, we draw from his framework to consider our own case study in policing inspired by a challenging era within the recent history of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (USA). Implications for leadership and management in policing are discussed.

Benefits of the ‘village’: a qualitative exploration of the patient experience of COPD in rural Australia

ObjectivesThis study sought to explore patients’ experiences of living with, and adapting to, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the rural context. Specifically, our research question was ‘What are the...

L2 teacher identity development: An activity theoretic perspective

In the light of the substantial surge of interest in identity in L2 teacher research, it has become necessary to explore the inner dynamics of the development/construction of the construct. For this reason, the present study draws on data from face-to-face interviews, class observations, and the participants' Instagram pages to explore two EFL teachers’ identity development. Informed by activity theory as a conceptual lens, the iterative analyses of the data revealed that identity development was principally enacted by individual teachers. This individual identity enactment was, however, shown to be mediated by the teachers' past personal experiences, prolonged engagement in the practice of teaching, the immediate contextual and the broader social structure (family, organizational culture, community of friends/colleagues, and the society as a broad activity system), future-oriented ideals, tensions and conflicts involved in the negotiation of multiple identities the teachers experienced, and the power relations and tensions involved in parallel or alternate systems of activity they were engaged in. The article concludes by suggesting that teacher education initiatives should establish an explicit focus on teacher identity.

Strategic embeddedness and the microfoundations of collective action: A comparative institutional analysis of the rule of law and informal institutions in cooperation games

Typical accounts of the ability of social networks to enable collective action focus on either whole group or individual advantages. Adding an intermediate perspective, this paper advances a core notion of strategic embeddedness that applies to social interactions involving a subset of society. Strategic embeddedness is modeled with a game-theoretic approach that places an otherwise isolated game into a broader social structure. To facilitate a comparative institutional analysis of formal and informal mechanisms, this paper advances a complementary notion of the cooperative value of a network to evaluate the maximum payoffs possible under various network structures that define the social context of two-person cooperation games. A formal analysis indicates that decentralized network structures can maximize this cooperative value: under some conditions, these are both optimal and efficient structures that can effectively substitute for anonymous public enforcement mechanisms. In conditions where private enforcement is relatively ineffective vis-à-vis a public rule of law enforcement mechanism, then hierarchical network structures are shown to be optimal but inefficient. In general, more connectedness or a higher network density does not readily translate into more cooperation because when most players are connected to the rest of society, the added value of social networks diminishes in the absence of extraneous rules to discriminate among players with common social connections.

An Unexpected Windfall? State-level Network Efficiency and Firms' Competitive Advantage

Previous research has examined the effects of state-level dyadic social capital on firm behavior. The present study theorizes the effects of state-level network on firm asset procurement behavior and offers a comprehensive view of contingencies, proposing that the value of state-level networks differs depending on organizational attention to the external environment and foreign experience, as well as the political institutions of different states. Analysis of the global mining industry supports these hypotheses. This study theorizes that firm behavior is embedded not only in a firm's network structure but also in the broader social structure. By applying the trade network as a state-level network variable, this paper provides an interface that bridges the literature on political science and organizational management.

Parental resistance and social worker skills: towards a theory of motivational social work

ABSTRACTParental resistance is a ubiquitous feature of child and family social work, yet there has been limited research or theoretical work directed at the issue. This paper identifies social and individual reasons why parents may be resistant. Five principle causes of parental resistance are discussed, namely social structure and disadvantage, the context of child protection work, parental resistance to change, denial or minimization of abuse or neglect and the behaviour of the social worker. It is argued that motivational interviewing (MI) provides particularly useful skills and concepts for firstly reducing the social worker contribution to resistance and secondly minimizing the resistance related to other reasons for resistance. Key adaptations required in the strategic aims of MI if it is to be used in child protection work are identified and discussed, the most important of which is maintaining a focus on the child's welfare and safety. It is concluded that MI offers an opportunity to improve practice by increasing parental engagement and to make a contribution to social work theory by combining an attention to both broader social structure and the micro‐skills required in social work interviews.

Forcing the Genie Back in the Bottle: Sociological Considerations of Institutional Reform in Thailand Through the Window of Health Policy

In 2007, those behind the 2006 coup drafted a new constitution specifically aimed at turning back the political and policymaking clock to the pre-1997 era. However, in the preceding decade under the 1997 constitution, a significant transformation of Thai politics had taken place, one that has proved more resilient than expected in the face of the 2007 institutional reforms. Specifically, social cleavages have become politicized and particized in ways we have not seen before and policy-focused, populist party programs have become part and parcel of serious party campaign strategies. Focusing on health policy, we thus argue in this paper that institutional reforms have had predictable and observable implications for policymaking in Thailand, but only when considered in the context of changes to the broader social structure and other political conditions. While the 1997 reforms brought about a well-documented shift towards a more centralized, coordinated, and nationally-focused policymaking environment, the 2007 reforms have been less successful at reversing that impact. In short, the coup-makers are finding it harder than they supposed to force the genie back into the bottle.

BONDS OF MORALITY AND CHAINS OF POWER: HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL NETWORKS IN THE CLYDE RIVER MARITIME ECONOMY.

Breaking typical conventions of treating inter-organizational networks as atomized forms, this paper explores networks' fundamental connectedness with the broader social structure. Using data from the shipbuilding and shipping industries on the Clyde River from 1711 to 1990, I examine how horizontal intra-industry ties, vertical ties between industries, and other social institutions interacted to shape economic action in the local economy. I find that whereas horizontal ties benefited firms in both the shipbuilding and shipping industries, the vertical ties that connect actors across these industries helped builders but harmed owners. Additional analyses uncover two distinct sets of norms that influenced the distribution of value in these networks. Value appropriation in horizontal networks was governed by moral considerations, where strong firms supported their weaker counterparts. By contrast, vertical connections approximated power and dependence relations, as strong firms leveraged value from their weaker exchange partners.

Social ties and mental health.

It is generally agreed that social ties play a beneficial role in the maintenance of psychological well-being. In this targeted review, we highlight four sets of insights that emerge from the literature on social ties and mental health outcomes (defined as stress reactions, psychological well-being, and psychological distress, including depressive symptoms and anxiety). First, the pathways by which social networks and social supports influence mental health can be described by two alternative (although not mutually exclusive) causal models-the main effect model and the stress-buffering model. Second, the protective effects of social ties on mental health are not uniform across groups in society. Gender differences in support derived from social network participation may partly account for the higher prevalence of psychological distress among women compared to men. Social connections may paradoxically increase levels of mental illness symptoms among women with low resources, especially if such connections entail role strain associated with obligations to provide social support to others. Third, egocentric networks are nested within a broader structure of social relationships. The notion of social capital embraces the embeddedness of individual social ties within the broader social structure. Fourth, despite some successes reported in social support interventions to enhance mental health, further work is needed to deepen our understanding of the design, timing, and dose of interventions that work, as well as the characteristics of individuals who benefit the most.

The social construction of international imagery in the Post‐Cold War Era: A comparative analysis of U.S. and Chinese national TV news

Against the backdrop of the post‐Cold War world and within the framework of the social construction of reality, this paper argues that social structure, both internal and external, is a major influence on the news. Using data collected during a 26‐day period from China's CCTV and the United States’ ABC, this study examines how the form and content of international imagery are socially constructed. Results show that the worlds created by ABC and CCTV apparently were molded according to the logic of views from “here and there” that are bound up with the social location of the respective news organization. The social construction of reality perspective suggests that the selection and presentation of news on the two networks depend not so much on the properties of the event or issue itself, but rather on its position in the broader social structure relative to its external context.

Social and Familial Childrearing: An Examination of Daycare and the Modern Family

American families' need for out-of-home childcare increases at an accelerated rate each year; yet our society lacks a policy for—and even a national commitment to—high-quality daycare. Such a national policy needs to be formulated within an examination of the tensions between social and familial childrearing. This essay explores these contextual issues from a historical perspective. The essay discusses: first, changes in the family as they relate to changes in the economy and polity; second, the role of the family as the basis for the young child's self-identity and internalization of society's values and practices; and third, the potential implications of changing patterns of the structure and functioning of the American family. Finally, the essay examines historical and current daycare policy and practice in relation to the family and the broader social structure.

Organizational Analysis of Youth Sports

Children's sport participation, when organizationally structured, take on two general forms: houseleagues and selective leagues. It is generally assumed that value differences account for these organizational forms; the houseleague empha sizes "non serious" enjoyment, whereas the selective leagues emphasize skill display and athletic achievement. The purpose of this paper is to establish the inter organizational environment within which children sport leagues are institutio nalized. Specifically, selective leagues are able to establish organizational ad vantages, and these derive from both ideological and organizational symmetry with the institutional sector, further legitimating these forms with required or ganizational resources. Houseleague forms are unable to establish these inter organizational linkages, decreasing survival potentials. Legitimacy theory and resource dependency theory were compared to con textualize sport organizations within the broader social structure. Youth soccer programs were compared. A theoretical sample of organizational positions was chosen to establish the implications of each theory.