Social Control Mechanisms Research Articles

Tinjauan Sosiologi Hukum Islam Terhadap Larangan Nikah Sasuku dalam Adat Minangkabau

The prohibition of same-clan marriage in Minangkabau customs is still enforced by the Minangkabau community today, despite various differences in the application of leniencies and sanctions established in different nagari (villages) for those who engage in same-clan marriages. This prohibition was set by customary institutions at that time to address the social conditions of the community. Although the social conditions that led to this prohibition have changed, it remains upheld by the Minangkabau people to this day. In examining this phenomenon, this research utilizes an Islamic legal sociology approach to observe the shifts in social conditions that have occurred. This study aims to explore how the prohibition of same-clan marriage has maintained its existence within the Minangkabau community and continues to be practiced today. The research is primarily library-based, collecting various supporting literary sources. In Minangkabau customs, the prohibition of same-clan marriage is enforced to prevent various harms that may arise from such unions for their clans, making it considered taboo and bringing shame to their kin. This belief reinforces the community's perception of avoiding these marriages. The perception built within the Minangkabau community can be understood through the Islamic legal sociology approach as a means to prevent potential harms arising from this marriage (sad adz-dzari'ah). Additionally, the societal perception of the taboo surrounding this marriage can serve as a social control mechanism that strengthens the Minangkabau people's conviction to avoid such unions, allowing this custom to endure.

Pastoral control in remote work

Remote work presents managers with new and significant challenges. Work that occurs at distance limits managers’ abilities to observe staff behavior, raising concerns that managers may miss unspoken cues that indicate potential problems. Furthermore, in remote work contexts where observable behaviors and defined outcomes are elusive, and discretionary effort is essential, traditional behavior- and output-based controls may be insufficient. Drawing on Ouchi’s (1980) theorizing of social control mechanisms and Foucault’s (1982) notion of pastoral power, this research finds that when faced with limited observation, managers of remote teams engage pastoral control mechanisms to compensate for the lack of employee behavior oversight and to mitigate the risk of missing important cues. Practical, theoretical and ethical implications are discussed.

Relevance of Dipo Womanhood Rites as a Social Control Mechanism Among People of Yilo-Krobo in the Eastern Region of Ghana

This study based on Dipo rites was carried out in Yilo-Krobo Municipality in the Eastern region of Ghana among 350 young people aged 15–24, using mixed methods. The findings show that girls who have not done Dipo are less likely than their initiated counterparts to have sex before marriage. The study also shows that although Dipo is an old custom, it still influences sexual behaviours among young people in the study area. The study concludes that Dipo contributes positively to maintaining young people’s healthy sexual behaviour. It is suggested awareness-raising, and sensitization efforts be intensified in light of this.

How Negative Media Framing of Anti-Status Quo Protests Acts as a Social Control Mechanism: A Socio-Psychological Perspective on Protest Paradigm Framework

Abstract The present article presents a new perspective of interpreting the protest paradigm framework from Media/Communication Studies and its effects on audiences, through the socio-psychological theory of Minority Influence. Existing literature on protest paradigm, how it affects the audience’s perceptions on protest support and mobilization as well as the pathway through which it acts as an ideological mechanism of blocking social change are examined. The theory of Minority Influence is also reviewed with focus on the definition of minorities as non-privileged groups, carriers of innovation, which challenge the existing social arrangements and try to mobilize the audience towards them. A new pathway of examining protest paradigm as a social control mechanism of blocking minorities’ influence is proposed. The applications of this framework and the insights into the ideological function of system justification of the protest paradigm, through discouraging citizens’ support and mobilization towards unconventional forms of political participation are further discussed.

Organizational culture as social control mechanism

Beyond sharing values and beliefs, organizational culture can serve as a powerful social control framework. This study aims to examine how cultural norms and expectations impact employee behavior within an organization. The study looked at the concepts of organizational culture, social control, and the influence of organizational culture on employees. This study employs Schein's model of the organization, to better understand the research problem. The model focused on three layers of culture in an organization: artifacts, espoused values, and basic underlying assumptions, and how these elements influence the behaviors and performances of employees in an organization. A qualitative desk review research method was employed, and relevant materials for the study were sourced from academic databases (Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and Academia) websites and gray literature. Based on the relevant literature reviewed, the study revealed that organizational culture is an important recipe in organizations and a potent mechanism for social control. Furthermore, organizational leaders and managers leverage the power of culture to achieve either beneficial or harmful organizational goals. Based on this review, this study recommends ethical consideration in leveraging the power of culture as a social control framework in organizations.

Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan Berbasis Adat: Studi Kasus Masyarakat Kampung Naga

In the era of globalization, indigenous communities are increasingly at risk of losing their identity and traditional values. Kampung Naga, one of the oldest traditional villages in Indonesia, has a complex social and cultural system. This study aims to deeply examine the role of traditional institutions in shaping and instilling civic values in the indigenous community of Kampung Naga. Through a qualitative case study method, this research analyzes the structure of traditional institutions, decision-making mechanisms, and customary practices related to citizenship. The results of the study show that traditional institutions have a central role in preserving the values of mutual cooperation, consensus-based decision-making, and respect for nature. Customary practices such as traditional ceremonies, village meetings, and social sanctions serve as effective social control mechanisms in shaping the character of good citizens. This study concludes that the traditional institutions of Kampung Naga can serve as a model for the development of character education and citizenship rooted in local values.

Vigilance, Popular Control and Neighborhood Surveillance in Besieged Paris (1589–1591)

Abstract Surveillance studies often recall that Michel Foucault had identified the health crises of the plagues of the Ancien Régime as precursory moments in the establishment of modern surveillance. Episodes of civil wars are certainly another example. This study takes for object the capital of the kingdom of France at the siege of Paris, in 1589–1591, when Henry III and then Henri IV tried to reduce to their authority in the rebellious city, head of the Ultra-Catholic Ligue. This unprecedented experience of fear and generalized suspicion allows us to study how the usual mechanisms of social control are used for political ends, but also how new surveillance procedures emerge, based on the written word and a desire for rationalization. This article uses a wide range of sources, from municipal decisions to the reports of chroniclers, but relies mainly on the judicial archives of the Parlement and the Hôtel de Ville to draw up a social history as close as possible to ordinary Parisians. Taking a ground-level approach, the study is particularly interested in ordinary agents of urban control and forms of day-to-day and face-to-face surveillance. In this exceptional climate, the routine work of watching others in the neighborhood turned to political surveillance. The key actors were the Militia, whose action relied on the Parisians themselves, considered as “the eyes and ears” of the League authorities to know who the enemies were and to testify of the loyalty of the inhabitants.

CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY IN THE DIGITAL AGE AND THE MECHANISMS OF SOCIAL CONTROL

The article analyzes the main approaches to understanding the nature of identity construction and the mechanisms of social control in the digital age. Digitalization, globalization, and the transition of modern society to a networked or digital state have created new conditions for constructing identity, which is becoming more flexible and changeable. A close relationship between the nature of identity formation and practices of social control has been proven. The construction of identity in the digital society is a complex process involving individuals’ interaction with technology, social media and information systems. This process serves as a form of social control, establishing norms, influencing behavior, and shaping identities by social, economic, and political interests. Social networks are becoming important channels of identity formation, where individuals interact with different groups and virtual communities. The regulatory, economic, and political control mechanisms in the digital environment are described. It is proved that online platforms contribute to the construction of social ties, which ensures social control by influencing the content and nature of interactions. They also form prevailing unified patterns and models of action, influencing the identity and social behavior of individuals. Information and communication technologies offer new opportunities for self-expression and self-identification, but at the same time pose challenges to the preservation of the personal self. Therefore, it is necessary to take these issues into account in studies of digital culture and social media. Identity is not isolated or autonomous but is formed through constant interconnections with society and under the influence of various mechanisms of social control. The subject always has the opportunity to create new forms of identity and go beyond fixed roles and functions. However, it is also important to find a balance between the use of digital technologies and the preservation of real communications, while minimizing the negative consequences.

INTERPRETATION OF THE PHENOMENON OF SOCIAL CONTROL IN POSTMODERNISM AND METAMODERNISM

The paper presents a comparative analysis of the interpretation of the phenomenon of social control in postmodernism and metamodernism. The similarities and differences in the description of social control mechanisms are identified. The concepts of “society of the spectacle” (G.Debord), “society of surveillance” (M.Foucault) and “society of control” (J. Deleuze) are analyzed, which show the evolution of postmodernists’ views on social processes.. The concept of the “listening society” (G.Freinacht) as a metamodern alternative to the development of modern society is presented. Postmodernism focuses on criticizing society, drawing attention to its increasing fragmentation, the crisis of metanarratives, and the growing role of the media as a tool for social control. In contrast, metamodernism tries to balance modern and postmodern theories, recognizing the importance of centralized and decentralized forms of social control. This allows simultaneously taking into account the diversity of identities of a modern person and the possibility of his or her integration into society through the adoption of common norms and rules. Metamodernism seeks to reconstruct metanarratives that can contribute to new forms of social control based on cooperation and common interests. It emphasizes the importance of empathy in social control, whereas postmodernism rejects it as a false, simulated form of social relations. While postmodernism focuses more on critical analysis of existing structures, metamodernism aims to find hybrid and adaptive forms of control that combine traditional methods with the latest technologies. All these differences in the interpretation of the phenomenon of social control reflect the paradigm shift from postmodern deconstruction to synthesis and reconstruction within metamodernism.

Care and order in urban spaces: social workers and security guards

ABSTRACT Outreach work has been praised for its inclusionary potential and problematised for reproducing exclusion mechanisms. This study investigates these dynamics by exploring how spatial dimensions shape outreach work. Its point of departure is social workers employed in NGO-based initiatives in Norway. Focusing on the spatial context includes social workers’ relation to other actors who use and produce these urban spaces. In this case, the concern for and interaction with security guards is central to the social workers’ everyday work. While organised around different functions, both actors can be considered central in responding to marginalisation issues. Concerns in the literature on both outreach work and security guards’ policing include ways in which these care and order practices are engaged in mechanisms of social control and repression. The findings show how the two actors relate to each other, oppose and reproduce spatial ruling in complex ways. While their practices are shaped by spatial relations of power, dynamics of spatial in/exclusion are also constituted by embodied experiences of encounters with people subject to processes of marginalisation. As opposed to research focusing on social arrangements, this study contributes to understanding ways in which spatial dimensions of outreach work is significant.

Do I Have Symptoms of Dementia: A Discursive Study of Awareness and Shame Among People With Advanced Dementia.

This study explores the narrated experiences of individuals with advanced stages of late-onset dementia, focusing on their diagnosis awareness. Such framing is motivated by 2 reasons. Firstly, there is a lack of consensus regarding the prevalence of anosognosia among people with dementia. Secondly, research on anosognosia often neglects to address the important issues of shame and stigma associated with receiving a dementia diagnosis. For this qualitative study, a total of 27 participants ranging in age from 66 to 94 were involved. The data collected were analyzed using textual-oriented discourse analysis. Our findings indicated that individuals with dementia struggled to comprehend the medical terminology used to describe their experiences within biomedical standards. The interviewees utilized 5 negative discourses on dementia, which shaped their attitudes toward the condition and people diagnosed with it. These discourses depicted dementia as an illness, negative aging, a devaluation, a burden, and a life tragedy. Moreover, study participants did not outright reject the diagnosis but rather negotiated its acceptance within the context of shame associated with dementia. The concept of anosognosia can serve as a mechanism of social control and stigmatization of people with dementia within the dominant biomedical discourse.

The role of group (in)efficacy in controlling deviance on group cohesion and on social identity management strategies: Social control identity motivated model

The social control identity motivated (SCIM) model proposes that perceived failure of group social control mechanisms in punishing deviance increases the threat associated with the emergence of deviance in groups. Based on this assumption, this model explains the psychosocial processes involved in the consequences for social cohesion and social identity management strategies of a match or mismatch between the implemented formal social control and the mechanisms that group members expect to be implemented based on social identity motivation processes. This model explains members’ commitment to the reinforcement of ingroup social order and status quo (in case of a match), or a need to cope with perceived inefficacy of ingroup formal social control (in case of mismatch). In response to perceived inefficacy of ingroup formal social control, individuals may engage in various identity-motivated processes, including disinvestment from the ingroup, informal social control responses, or efforts to strengthen the ingroup’s normative system through social innovation or social control mechanisms reinforcement. By accounting for the interplay between formal social control mechanisms and identity motivated social control expectations, the SCIM model intends to contribute to the understanding of social identity protective strategies in response to deviance, by highlighting that (in)efficacy of group social control mechanisms shapes this dynamic. This model is justified with both direct and indirect empirical support, and we discuss the potential of the model’s applicability, as well as the need for additional research to understand determinants of each type of response, thus leaving this model open to potential refinement.

A jog és az állam a válsághelyzetekben

One of the eternal “core issues” of legal philosophy is the contemplation on when we can and cannot speak of law in the case of a social control mechanism, i.e. what social and political conditions must exist for the subsistence of positive law to be called into question. Related to this is the necessary examination of the conditions under which the state – which also constitutes law – ceases to exist, when it is clearly no longer able to perform its social regulatory function and to enforce the obedience of its subjects or citizens. The assessment of these borderline situations has always been controversial. However, there is still no exact method for determining when a state ends, when a legal system ceases to exist, nor what a state can do to protect itself in the event of situations threatening to disappear, what moral philosophical principles justify it in operating certain mechanisms of self-defence, or what kind of extra ordinem regulation can be prescribed in such occurrences. The present study, through the examination of the most important paradigms in the history of ideas, attempts to review the historically significant answers to this question.

Urban routines, spatial occupancy, and their effects on outdoor crime in Barcelona

Based on mobile phone data from the city of Barcelona, Spain, generalized linear models are used to analyse the relationship between urban mobilities and the spatial and temporal patterning of robbery and theft. The hypothesis was made that mobility fluxes may undermine social control mechanisms by altering the socio-demographic composition of urban populations, therefore increasing the risk of crime victimization. The analysis brought together indicators of land use and a measure of the ambient population disaggregated by different profiles of public space users (by sex, age, and place of residence). The results indicate that robbery and theft tend to cluster around locations that attract a higher proportion of non-residents (i.e. national and international visitors). Non-local visitors, who visit the city occasionally or once in a lifetime, lack a comprehensive knowledge of the environment which would help them to navigate safely through the urban space. Therefore, their presence not only unsettles the social routines of public spaces in Barcelona but also reflects negatively in terms of crime occurrence. This finding raises questions about how to accommodate growing mobilities in our cities without detriment to incumbent residents and their safety, which seems to be critical in post-COVID-19 urban planning.

Stratified reproduction and ableism: Women with disabilities and navigating reproduction and social control in Poland

The article applies the concept of stratified reproduction to analyse experiences of women with disabilities in Poland. Stratified reproduction – rewarding motherhood for some and disempowering others from being parents – and its relation to ableism is explored in a country context, where reproductive rights struggles are prevalent in the public sphere. Based on qualitative empirical research (in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews) with 50 women with disabilities, the article shows that women with disabilities are subjected to mechanisms of social control that limit their reproductive decision-making and discourage them from becoming parents. Social control is explored in the context of withdrawal of information about reproductive health and sexuality, navigating access and fear of custody deprivation based on ableist presumptions. The ambivalence between social expectations related to parenthood versus performing care work is explored. The analysis shows that women with disabilities navigate exclusionary norms and challenge understandings of who can become a parent and who can make decisions about who can become a parent. This article offers the concept of stratified reproduction to explain the structural inequalities experienced by women with disabilities with regard to reproduction, and highlights the importance of studying ableism as an essential factor within the reproductive realm.

Structure, Constitutional Roles and Historical Trajectory of Judicial Independence in Nigeria

The constitution delineates the functions and organizational framework of its organs. This study investigates Nigeria's judicial independence, scrutinizing its structure, constitutional mandates, and historical evolution. It finds that the Nigerian judiciary has both legal and administrative structures, with the legal structure concerned with the dispensation of justice. In contrast, the administrative structure is concerned with the appointment, removal, discipline, remuneration and qualifications of the judicial officers. The constitutional power of the Judiciary enables it to perform duties as expected, and its primary function is that of adjudication. The judiciary's responsibilities extend to interpreting laws and applying the constitution to legal queries, encompassing jurisdiction over various legal domains. This paper delves into the judiciary's independence, contextualized within historical perspectives. The judicial system, prior to the colonial rule, functioned traditionally as a religiously based social control and peace-keeping mechanism. Judicial independence assures unbiased decision-making, immune to external influences, and upholds the principles of justice. Unfortunately, there is still the judiciary's susceptibility to political influence in Nigeria up till now.

Understanding Hegemony: A Critical Analysis through the Lens of Antonio Gramsci

Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist philosopher and political theorist, introduced the concept of hegemony as a means to understand the complex dynamics of power and control within societies. This paper delves into Gramsci's theory of hegemony, exploring its origins, key components, and implications. Through a critical analysis of Gramsci's work, this paper seeks to illuminate how hegemony operates as a mechanism of social control, shaping ideologies, institutions, and everyday practices. By examining contemporary examples, it further elucidates the relevance and applicability of Gramsci's ideas in understanding power relations in the modern world.

Don’t say “the D word”: Exploring death taboo and biopower in pregnancy loss awareness advocacy

Public relations (PR) has explored a host of taboo and stigma riddled health topics to understand the role of communication and advocacy to improve wellbeing. However, PR scholarship has not sufficiently investigated taboo as a mechanism of social control within sociocultural theory or the role of the discipline in shaping meanings about death and bereavement. As a step in this endeavor, this study explored pregnancy loss through a sociocultural perspective of PR. It employs Foucault’s biopower to tease out how pregnancy loss awareness advocates/activists perceive taboo as regulation and their methods to push back on such constraints through advocacy. Using in-depth interviews with U.S. pregnancy loss awareness advocates/activists (17), findings explicate how participants see taboo as regulating pregnancy loss through isolation, invalidation, erasure, and conflation. Findings also speak to the ways that they resist such regulation by framing pregnancy loss as a public health issue, building community, and reclaiming parental identity. This study offers implications for sociocultural PR by illustrating the complex regulatory functions taboos serve, presenting experience-based community as productive use of power, and considering the nuances of advocacy in the context of death.

Towards Anti-Carceral Leadership: Remaking Public Schools to Refuse Black Students’ Surveillance, Containment, and Control

The social movement for #PoliceFreeSchools (and the adjacent campaign on college and university campuses called #PoliceFreeCampuses) welcomes an opportunity to reimagine school discipline and safety in contradistinction to current carceral forms. Scholars have moved away from notions of “school to prison pipeline” by demonstrating the many ways schools are organized as carceral spaces (e.g., school-prison nexus). A conceptual framework of Anti-carceral leadership is put forward in this paper to underscore the need for a leadership paradigm that actively refuses the logics of the carceral state (e.g., social control). The paper underscores how the logics of antiblackness may sustain mechanisms of social control in education policy intended to undo racialized harm. The tensions of be(com)ing an anti-carceral leader and its significance for undoing technologies of punishment, confinement, and constraint that reinforce schooling as a site of Black pain and suffering are discussed.

Signals of belonging: emergence of signalling norms as facilitators of trust and parochial cooperation.

Mechanisms of social control reinforce norms that appear harmful or wasteful, such as mutilation practises or extensive body tattoos. We suggest such norms arise to serve as signals that distinguish between ingroup 'friends' and outgroup 'foes', facilitating parochial cooperation. Combining insights from research on signalling and parochial cooperation, we incorporate a trust game with signalling in an agent-based model to study the dynamics of signalling norm emergence in groups with conflicting interests. Our results show that costly signalling norms emerge from random acts of signalling in minority groups that benefit most from parochial cooperation. Majority groups are less likely to develop costly signalling norms. Yet, norms that prescribe sending costless group identity signals can easily emerge in groups of all sizes-albeit, at times, at the expense of minority group members. Further, the dynamics of signalling norm emergence differ across signal costs, relative group sizes, and levels of ingroup assortment. Our findings provide theoretical insights into norm evolution in contexts where groups develop identity markers in response to environmental challenges that put their interests at odds with the interests of other groups. Such contexts arise in zones of ethnic conflict or during contestations of existing power relations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Social norm change: drivers and consequences'.