Social Texts and Context


Book Description

First published in 1984, Social Texts and Context illustrates the ways in which familiar psychological concepts – femininity, the environment, groups, the self – are constructed in discourse. Novels by Thomas Hardy, Barbara Cartland, Doris Lessing, C. P. Snow, Charles Dickens and Robert Musil are examined, and the theoretical approaches of Roland Barthes, Rom Harre, Jonathan Culler, Henri Tajfel, Irving Janis and Paul Willis are discussed. Development in literary theory – such as semiology and deconstruction and in theories of social action – such as ethogenics and discourse analysis – make it difficult to treat literary and psychological texts as a neutral medium of communication. Instead, texts should be seen in terms of their fundamental constructive role in the organization of social life. As the authors demonstrate, contemporary life in both its personal and professional spheres is hedged around by discourse, conversations, newspaper articles, novels, scientific reports. This book will be of interest to students of literature and psychology.




Language, Context, and Text


Book Description




Privacy in Context


Book Description

Privacy is one of the most urgent issues associated with information technology and digital media. This book claims that what people really care about when they complain and protest that privacy has been violated is not the act of sharing information itself—most people understand that this is crucial to social life —but the inappropriate, improper sharing of information. Arguing that privacy concerns should not be limited solely to concern about control over personal information, Helen Nissenbaum counters that information ought to be distributed and protected according to norms governing distinct social contexts—whether it be workplace, health care, schools, or among family and friends. She warns that basic distinctions between public and private, informing many current privacy policies, in fact obscure more than they clarify. In truth, contemporary information systems should alarm us only when they function without regard for social norms and values, and thereby weaken the fabric of social life.




Media Studies


Book Description

Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context, 2nd Edition is a comprehensive introduction to the various approaches in the field. From outlining what media studies is to encouraging active engagement in research and analysis, this book advocates media study as a participatory process and provides a framework and set of skills to help you develop critical thinking. Updated to reflect the changing media environment, Media Studies retains the highly praised approach and style of the first edition. Key Features: Five sections - media texts and meanings; producing media; media audiences; media and social contexts; histography - examine approaches to the field including new and web media, traditional print and broadcast media, popular music, computer games, photography, and film. An international perspective allows you to view media in a global context. Examines media audiences as consumers, listeners, readerships and members of communities. Guidance on analytical tools - language, a range of theories and analytical techniques - to give you the confidence to navigate, research and make sense of the field. New for the second edition: New case studies including Google, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, the life of a freelance journalist, phone hacking at News International, and collaborative journalism. 'New Media, New Media Studies' is an additional feature, which brings into focus ways of thinking about new media forms. Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context, 2nd Edition will be essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of media studies, cultural studies, communication studies, film studies, the sociology of the media, popular culture and other related subjects.




Social Texts and Context


Book Description




Social Psychology and Cultural Context


Book Description

"Individually and collectively, the pieces balance cross-cultural psychology′s interest in the large scale community with psychology′s traditional emphasis on small groups, interpersonal processes, and individual thought, feeling, and action. The chapters range in topic, in level of analysis, and in emphasis on theory and application, but they harmonize to map the field - identifying where it has been and how it might develop. The central theme is that culture and individual psychology are inseparable and that understanding both will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of human behavior than either perspective in isolation. The book delivers: It offers important insights on the commonalties, universality, and uniqueness of human behavior. The book is dedicated to Harry C. Triandis and is truly a tribute to his work." — John F. Dovidio, Department of Psychology, Colgate University "In this book, cross-cultural psychologists from around the world honor the discipline′s founding father, Harry C. Triandis. The book has become a perfect overview of the state of the art in cross-cultural psychology." — Geert Hofstede, Tilburg University, The Netherlands "The past 10 years or so have seen a sharp increase in the number of college and university courses throughout the world that focus on culture as a powerful force that shapes the thought and behavior of all humans. It would be most difficult to organize and teach one of these courses without mentioning Triandis′s influence numerous times. I am extremely pleased that this book has been added to the cross-cultural literature." — from the Foreword by Walter J. Lonner, Western Washington State University This book celebrates Harry Triandis′s overall contribution to culture and social psychology in general, and his most original and significant contribution to this area, the concept of subjective culture. In this volume, top cross-cultural researchers who are deeply familiar with Triandis′s work critically examine the concept of subjective culture from a number of perspectives and extend it in many new directions of basic and applied social psychology. The result is an up-to-date examination of various topics and areas of social psychology from the unique perspective of subjective culture. One significant feature of this book is an attempt at framing and situating the concept of subjective culture within the current theoretical discourse on culture and psychology. Social Psychology and Cultural Context is the first survey of social psychology to integrate cross-cultural issues. This book not only utilizes several variants of the construct of subjective culture but also reflects the current state of affairs in the social domain of cross-cultural psychology. Written by world-renowned specialists, the chapters reflect valuable insights to students and researchers in both cross-cultural and social psychology.




The Problem of Context


Book Description

The apparently simple notion that it is contextualization and invocation of context that give form to our interpretations raises important questions about context definition. Moreover, different disciplines involved in the elucidation and interpretation of meanings construe context indifferent ways. How do these ways differ? And what analytical strategies are adopted in order to suggest that the relevant context is "self-evident"? The notion of context has received less attention than is due such a central, key concept in social anthropology, as well as in other related disciplines. This collection of contributions from a group of leading social anthropologists and anthropological linguists addresses the question of how the idea of context is constructed, invoked, and deployed in the interpretations put forward by social anthropologists. The ethnographic focus embraces peoples from regions such as Bali, Europe, Malawi, and Zaire. Primarily theoretical in its aims, the work also draws on expertise from anthropological linguistics and philosophy in order to set the issue as much in a comparative disciplinary perspective as in a comparative cross-cultural one. R.M. Dilley is Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews.




Social Welfare in Global Context


Book Description

James Midgley provides a broad overview of social welfare, outlining key institutions, terminology, historical research, and approaches. He also details reasons for the existence of international social welfare and the challenges that arise from it. The author includes an important section on applied international social welfare that addresses the concerns of practitioners--concerns that have been neglected in much of the literature in the field. An entire section of the book is devoted to issues of social work practice, social developments, the activities of international agencies, and their collaborative efforts. While practical application is an important focus of the book, several chapters deal with key theoretical debates in the field. The author also includes descriptive chapters that provide comprehensive accounts of world social conditions and social welfare institutions.




The Social Context of Law


Book Description

This book offers an exceptionally straightforward explanation of the intertwining relationship between law and society--with emphasis on the relationship of social conditions, social ideas, and people to the creation, interpretation, and use of law. These three concepts are further used to illustrate how law is formulated in a cross-cultural context, as well as within the confines of gender, race and social class. The social context of law. The theoretical context of law. Cross-cultural context of law. Types of law. Systems of law. Practitioners of law. The purpose and usefulness of law. Gender, race, social class, and law. For anyone who desires an understanding of the significant bearing law has on contemporary life, and for those considering the legal professions, e.g., pre-law, paralegal, corrections, etc.




Understanding Social Work


Book Description

"This scholarly and engaging volume shows us where social work has come from, and so helps us understand and shape its future. The author has a gift for making the profession's complex history accessible, whilst respecting its intricacy. The result is an illuminating 'tour de force' – a book that gives perspective and hope." Suzy Braye, Professor of Social Work, University of Sussex, UK "Pierson’s richly documented overview of social work’s evolution in Britain promises to support coming generations of social workers in learning from their field’s responses to changing issues and ideas on assistance for those in need." J. Lee Kreader, Interim Director, National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University, USA This introductory textbook provides a concise account of the development of social work in Britain, from its beginnings in the industrial revolution to the present day. The book seeks to recover overlooked experiences and important but forgotten debates, whilst re-examining the concepts and approaches developed by chief architects of the profession. The book has several unique features designed to help students both understand the development of social work and to form their own judgements on the issues it raises: Timelines that mark important practice and policy developments Discussion points that pose questions for readers to think through First hand testimony and excerpts from case records showing the viewpoints, perspectives and decisions of social workers in earlier decades Documentary material that encourages students to critically reflect on the present in light of the past Understanding Social Work is written with the student and educator in mind, in a style and format that makes the history of social work approachable, relevant, and profound. The view of history embodied here is of a continuously unfolding, many-sided phenomenon that offers a rich source of ethical insight, practical experience and moral guidance.