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"There are growing accounts of innovative, often collaborative institutional approaches to water management that seem to respond better to new challenges in supply and water quality management. While some describe these new institutional designs as a 'third way', as opposed to traditional state-centered or market-based modes, we find that the most salient features of it to characterize even those effective state or market designs. The fundamental ingredient, which is patterned relationships, is one that arises when social networks are built around the formal (state or market) institutions. The necessary plane of description is not on the dimension of structure (state, market, or otherwise) but in the nature and workings of these relational networks. We describe necessary features of these networks. We illustrate these points with a case study: the Environmental Water Account (EWA), a novel market-based program for negotiating water allocations around the San Francisco Bay-Delta (California, U.S.A.). We point out how this institution worked precisely because it was not merely a market-based program but, rather, built in features of an effective social network. In this way, we found a capacity of the EWA to adapt to the dynamic nature of water resources and needs, along with the uncertainties inherent in a complex social-ecological system." (author's abstract)

Presents a theory of social norms that illuminates the relationship between institutions & networks, maintaining that, although individual social relations are at the heart of that relationship, economic social network theories have not linked norms to social networks at the institutional level. Social exchange theory is built on to provide the theoretical basis for identifying the mechanisms that supply the missing link. It is argued that norms are by-products of ongoing social relationships, upheld by social approval/disapproval that acts as a self-reinforcing mechanism, while the rewards exchanged between individuals furnish the social mechanisms essential to economic life. Constraints, which include the state, laws/regulations, organizations, ideology, & informal norms, determine economic performance by shaping the structure of incentives. Six propositions explaining variations in organizational performance are discussed. The model is applied to a case study of cooperation & productivity at Cornell U's (NY) Large Experimental Organization, a consortium of research scientists, to illustrate the effectiveness of the conceptual framework. 3 Figures, 89 References. J. Lindroth

Examines the long-term institutional history of US capitalism, suggesting that it arose in a context characterized by several features: a stress on short-term decision making; low capacity but highly adaptive industrial sectors; weak commitment to collective governance, but high reliance on state regulation; strong interest in continuous economic change; & weak commitment to economic equality. These qualities are traced to social norms & economic processes that have shaped the economic context since the founding of the country. Among processes described are the late-19th-century merger movement, the consequent growth of hierarchically coordinated firms, & the logic of networks among these firms. In response to post-WWII economic challenges from abroad, US firms have deepened networks among themselves in the absence of other associative institutions. However, these developments have come at the cost of equity, which, without the buffer of strong social institutions at the local-regional level, may result in greater social disorder & incivility. D. Ryfe

Explains the new institutionalist perspective in sociology, which integrates approaches from sociology, economics, & political science. New institutionalism builds on the work of classical sociologists such as Talcott Parsons (1937), who acknowledged that institutions affect social & economic action, but goes on to explain their emergence, operation, & changes. The institutionalist paradigm rejects neoclassical assumptions but accepts a choice-within-constraints framework of analysis as the key to understanding macrolevel collective action, the appearance of institutional structures, & dynamics of institutional change. It is maintained that institutions are a form of capital consisting of a network of rules & norms that control social relationships & include constraints that determine choices by actors. This context-bound rationality does not eliminate rational action but helps solve the free rider problem while maintaining the centrality of institutional structures. 65 References. J. Lindroth

Discusses the impact of the American Indian Movement (AIM) on Native American people & communities, drawing on personal experience as an AIM activist since the early 1970s. Specifically, it is argued that the AIM has (1) allowed members to become role models for their communities; (2) resisted racist stereotypes & myths concerning Native American peoples; (3) worked to bring about major institutional change in educational institutions; (4) created a network of grassroots activists who form a social network of doers in the Native American community; & (5) brought to Native American peoples a great deal of personal & institutional respect. In making these contributions, AIM activists have paid a heavy price. Many have been murdered; others have suffered from substance abuse, unemployment, & personal loneliness; & still others have been denied many professional opportunities. However, even with these sacrifices, it is concluded that being an AIM activist is a noble & worthy cause. D. Ryfe

Concludes an edited Vol of 16 Chpts that analyzes aspects of US organizations using data from the 1991 National Organizations Study. Results generally indicate that larger establishments are more complex than smaller establishments, exhibiting greater differentiation, decentralization, formal job descriptions, & lower administrative intensity. It is suggested that the analyses presented in this Vol may be extended in a variety of ways, eg, there is a need to obtain multiple informants within organizations to better test social psychological theories about employee motives, beliefs, & behaviors. Further, longitudinal research that provides more than a cross-sectional snapshot of organizations would be helpful in identifying large-scale historical changes, institutional development, & ecological dynamics. Finally, future research might map the environments of organizations in greater detail to produce a better picture of interorganizational networks. D. M. Smith

Saasi ruminates on the potential for populist communication & democratic improvement that may derive from Internet usage. Discussion is hung on the concept of a digital network, with its technological, social, & corporate roots. An attempt at discerning the Internet's actual impact upon the public is divided into two analyses, one from a structural point of view, & the other from an individual, practical perspective. Examination of public spheres settles on a definition derived from Habermas & cites criticism of his theories. Views of a shared community as advocated by Tomlinson are embedded in examination of the pluralism, fragmentation, & institutional impositions attending views of the Internet. There is exploration of the political dimensions of arguments on private & public spheres. The Internet's potential for resolving issues of disenfranchisement & alienation is considered. Contradictions between the Internet's utopian & commercial uses are suggested. 28 References. M. C. Leary

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the countries of central and eastern Europe were eager to reshape their societies both in terms of transforming the social system and upgrading the physical environment. The European transport network policies were considered an appropriate instrument for the latter. More importantly, the transport policies highly affected spatial development as they preceded the first European spatial policies. As Serbia suffered from internal social and political problems, it was excluded from the support offered to the European Union Member States. However, due to the geopolitical importance of the Western Balkans, the entire region has become an interesting target for investments from Russia, China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. In extreme need of an economic upturn, the Western Balkan states are usually forced to accept the conditions of foreign investors, no matter what the consequences for society and space. An example that illustrates such ad-hoc political decisions is the Belgrade Waterfront project, which is growing on an 90-ha area, including the recently closed railway station and its shunting yard. As spatial planners and other relevant experts are considered too weak to oppose the political regime, and as the only true critics of the project came from citizen organizations, the paper highlights the role of the civil sector, considering it a tool for transforming the spatial planning approach of a transitional society. Critical analysis of both the regulatory and institutional framework of spatial planning in Serbia indicates a paradox: on the one hand, formal documents highlighting the need for and the role of the civil sector exist, but they are not implemented in spatial planning practice; on the other hand, the mechanisms for active participation have already been developed by the civil sector, however, the institutional framework necessary for formalizing these informal instruments is missing. Solving this issue is a small step towards the progress of Serbian spatial governance, still in transition.

Inside the offices, paper-workers produce and combine documents. Their desks are covered with paper: with files, bundles and briefs. And the production goes on. Solicitors dictate notes, secretaries type letters, and the legal clerks compile sets of evidence. It is exactly through these paper-trails that things are set into motion for the day in court. The analysis of courses of mobilisation provides some potentials for a cross comparative perspective. Crucial here is the hypothesis generating inventiveness of the researcher. Beyond case-related story-telling, there is the need to create analytical devices that open up the micro-perspective. The data logs suggested above are just a starting point on the way to formalisation and generalisation. It remains the most challenging task to change from the single-case perspective to a cross-case or even cross-cultural perspective. Tracing mobilisation is by no means a new approach in social science or discourse analysis. Many of the ideas presented here stem from the empirical work done in interactionist ethnography, ethno methodology and Actor Network Theory. Here, I would like to finish with some observations on the significance of this research methodology for socio-legal studies. How can it profit from this perspective? The proposed research design, first of all, implies a critical reflection on socio-legal studies and its dominant research foci. How is it that either talk or text, either the drama in court or the rules of the books occupied sociolegal attention? Does one, in the text-book manner, need to declare the primacy of either oral or written language in legal discourse? The analysis of mobilisation allows one to transcend these debates. Despite the affinities with workplace studies, ethno methodology, and Actor Network Theory, the analysis of mobilisation is not identical to these fields of research. Tracing mobilisation does not directly aim to grasp the social organisation of the law firm, the solicitor's workplace, or the legal apparatus. It, moreover, focuses neither solely on local events, nor on the institutional talk. But what then does it offer? As I understand it, tracing mobilisation makes accessible representational projects in their socio-material course. The course includes various sites and layers of social praxis such as accumulative file-work, extended correspondence, or relatively self-driven events. This multi-sitedness directs the formation of legal discourse, and the involvement of subjects and objects. As a micro-sociologist, I was firstly interested in how court hearings are interactively accomplished. (text extract)