Suchergebnisse

The preparation, serving and eating of food are common features of all human societies, and have been the focus of study for numerous anthropologists - from Sir James Frazer onwards - from a variety of theoretical and empirical perspectives. It is in the context of this previous anthropological work that Jack Goody sets his own observations on cooking in West Africa. He criticises those approaches which overlook the comparative historical dimension of culinary, and other, cultural differences that emerge in class societies, both of which elements he particularly emphasises in this book. The central question that Professor Goody addresses here is why a differentiated 'haute cuisine' has not emerged in Africa, as it has in other parts of the world. His account of cooking in West Africa is followed by a survey of the culinary practices of the major Eurasian societies throughout history - ranging from Ancient Egypt, Imperial Rome and medieval China to early modern Europe - in which he relates the differences in food preparation and consumption emerging in these societies to differences in their socio-economic structures, specifically in modes of production and communication. He concludes with an examination of the world-wide rise of 'industrial food' and its impact on Third World societies, showing that the ability of the latter to resist cultural domination in food, as in other things, is related to the nature of their pre-existing socio-economic structures. The arguments presented here will interest all social scientists and historians concerned with cultural history and social theory

Late 20th century developments in social sciences and humanities have placed
particular focus on the symbolic aspects of reproduction of social order,
stressing the importance of discursive work in the process. It has become
widely accepted that discourse is profoundly embedded in society and culture,
and hence, closely related also to all forms of power and social inequality.
Therefore, it rightfully assumes a central position among the research
objects of contemporary social sciences. The aim of this article is to
critically examine the impact of the interpretive turn on the study of
culture and symbolic registers of society. The analysis focuses on three
approaches to the study of discourse, culture and society: critical discourse
analysis, Pierre Bourdieu?s sociology of culture and Jeffrey Alexander?s
strong program in cultural sociology. These approaches are further analyzed
according to their position within Burawoy?s division of sociological labor,
particularly between critical and public (engaged) sociology. Finally, the
author suggests that engagement in detailed reconstructions of discursive
manifestations of power, symbolic struggles and/or discursive codes in a
society can provide valuable insight that could open up space for social
engagement. However, in order to fully grasp the importance of symbolic
aspects for the everyday reproduction of social order, the focus of analysis
must also be placed on the role cultural traits and practices (understood as
a discursive resources like any other) play in constructing stratificational
categories, identities and distinctions, masking the very roots of
inequalities that created the perceived cultural differences in the first
place.

"This book explores the ways in which globalization has impacted the human experience with a specific emphasis on the field of education and human development and presents critical perspectives on the global changes that are occurring as a result of globalization"--

Papers presented before the 77th annual meeting of the Am. academy of political and social science, Philadelphia, Pa., Apr. 13-14, 1973.

In the conditions of decentralization and changes in the social paradigm, creating unique breakthrough ideas regarding transforming the region into an innovative territory is of particular importance. Innovative communities have a unique potential in these conditions – a new type of relationship between the government, business, and civil society. However, in transformational and crisis societies, the creation and development of innovative communities are associated with a significant range of problems that need to be solved. A significant part of these problems has socio-psychological reasons, which often lead to destructive actions, significantly reducing the potential of innovative communities. The study aims to determine the socio-psychological reasons for the destructive aspects of the development of innovative communities at the local level and to develop proposals for increasing the effectiveness of the innovative communities' development at the local level, considering the potential of using the archetypal methodology. The research goals are also to determine the factors of implementing innovation models in communities and to focus on overcoming problematic aspects in this field. Modern approaches to the definition of innovations were considered to determine the features of the development of innovative communities. It has been determined that innovation is a social process; therefore, the most crucial thing for innovation is to create an appropriate innovation climate based on safety and trust, in which people feel involved and are not afraid to express new ideas. This is especially important since innovations, especially the most radical and systemic, relate to the need to go against orthodox opinions to offer other forms of work and cooperation. Therefore, when managing innovative processes, it is necessary to consider the factor of human behaviour and understand how to encourage people to show initiative, put forward new ideas, and motivate and encourage their implementation. It is substantiated that it is vital for the public administration field that innovation's success depends not only on the manager's role in the process but primarily on the performers and participants (human resources). In this regard, the innovative community as a new form of organizational development is one of the most positive in innovation. It was determined that innovative communities could unite a wide range of stakeholders and be divided according to geographical or thematic principles. Community members freely share knowledge, resulting in new approaches, ideas, and talent retention and development. People are kept together only by a sense of involvement in collective experience and knowledge, a sincere desire to maintain relationships, and mutual obligations remain. Innovative communities, when they unite individuals and entire teams, can implement large-scale innovative projects. It is shown that any innovative community is formed on a specific basis. It is based on individual or collective creativity, ambition, spirit, and intellectual history of the place (heredity, archetypes). Ambition, spirit, and intelligence presuppose risk-taking ability and a track record in management. Only after the emergence of this combination of economic, resource and management factors, such as business incubation, project financing, creation of intensive horizontal connections between all participants, infrastructure, etc., are involved. From the point of view of destructive behaviour, the peculiarities of the innovation process are considered. It is also shown that innovation is a positive process according to the generally accepted position. Still, it is necessary to remember the other side, that innovation is a forced measure necessary to maintain or respond to changes. It is substantiated that it is necessary to agree on the scope of application and the duration of their existence to eliminate the factors of destructive behaviour when creating innovative communities. It has been determined that one of the leading causes of destructive actions within innovative communities is excessively rigid expectations, an excessive degree of subjective certainty that exceeds objective predictability.

Social Psychological Foundations of Health and Illness is a summary of current research in social-health psychology. The chapters, written by distinguished leaders in the field, provide brief surveys of classic developments in each area of study followed by extended discussion of the authors' research programs. Includes state-of-the-art descriptions of new findings and theories concerning social aspects of physical health and illness. Discusses virtually all of the major topics studied in the contemporary field of social-health psychology. Contains chapters written by leading figures in the fi

Risk is a part of life. How we handle uncertainty and deal with potential threats influence decision making throughout our lives. In The Risk Society Revisited, Eugene A. Rosa, Ortwin Renn, and Aaron M. McCright offer the first book to present an integrated theory of risk and governance. The authors examine our sociological understanding of risk and how we reconcile modern human conditions with our handling of risk in our quest for improved quality of life. They build a new framework for understanding risk-one that provides an innovative connection between social theory an.