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Societal Dynamics
by Frederick BetzAt both a micro-information level and a macro-societal level, the concepts of "knowledge" and "wisdom" are complementary - in both decisions and in social structures and institutions. At the decision level, knowledge is concerned with how to make a proper choice of means, where "best" is measured as the efficiency toward achieving an end. Wisdom is concerned with how to make a proper choice of ends that attain "best" values. At a societal level, knowledge is managed through science/technology and innovation. And while science/technology is society's way to create new means with high efficiencies, they reveal nothing about values. Technology can be used for good or for evil, to make the world into a garden or to destroy all life. It is societal wisdom which should influence the choice of proper ends -- ends to make the world a garden. How can society make progress in wisdom as well as knowledge? Historically, the disciplines of the physical sciences and biology have provided scientific foundations for societal knowledge But the social science disciplines of sociology, economics, political science have not provided a similar scientific foundation for societal wisdom. To redress this gap, Frederick Betz examines several cases in recent history that display a fundamental paradox between scientific/technological achievement with devastating social effects (i.e., historical events of ideological dictatorships in Russia, Germany, China, and Yugoslavia). He builds a new framework for applying social science perspectives to explain societal histories and social theory. Emerging from this methodological and empirical investigation is a general topological theory of societal dynamics. This theory and methodology can be used to integrate history and social science toward establishing grounded principles of societal wisdom.
Societal Impacts of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (Synthesis Lectures on Computer Science)
by Carlo LipizziThis book goes beyond the current hype of expectations generated by the news on artificial intelligence and machine learning by analyzing realistic expectations for society, its limitations, and possible future scenarios for the use of this technology in our current society. Artificial Intelligence is one of the top topics today and is inflating expectations beyond what the technology can do in the foreseeable future. The future cannot be predicted, but the future of some elements of our society, such as technology, can be estimated. This book merges the modeling of human reasoning with the power of AI technology allowing readers to make more informed decisions about their personal or financial decisions or just being more educated on current technologies. This book presents a model that sketches potential future scenarios based on a discussion of the expectations today, the analysis of the current gap in the literature, and a view of possible futures in terms of technology and use cases. Specifically, this book merges literature on the technology aspects, the sociological impacts, and philosophical aspects.
Societal Implications of Community-Oriented Policing and Technology (SpringerBriefs in Criminology)
by M. R. Haberfeld Georgios LeventakisThis Brief presents new approaches and innovative challenges to address bringing technology into community-oriented policing efforts. “Community-oriented policing” is an approach that encourages police to develop and maintain personal relationships with citizens and community organizations. By developing these partnerships, the goal is to enhance trust and legitimacy of police by the community (and vice versa), and focus on engaging the community crime prevention and detection efforts for sustainable, long-term crime reduction.The contributions to this volume emphasize the societal implications of new technologies for community-oriented policing goals, such as: -Strengthening community policing principles through strengthed community feeling and lower feeling of insecurity - Reducing the fear of crime and enhancing the perception of security in large, urban environments -Enhancing citizens feelings' of empowerment, belonging, and collective efficacy Contributions to this volume were developed out of the Next Generation Community Policing (NGCP) International Conference was co-organized by nine contributing research and development projects, funded by the Horizon 2020 SECURITY Program of the European Commission. It will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, as well as related fields such as sociology, public health, security, IT and public policy.
Societal Problems as Public Bads
by Nan Dirk de Graaf Dingeman WiertzCorruption, crime, economic inequality, religious fundamentalism, financial crises, environmental degradation, population ageing, gender inequality, large-scale migration… This book tackles many of the most pressing problems facing societies today. The authors demonstrate that similar social mechanisms lie behind many of these seemingly disparate problems. Indeed, many societal problems can be traced back to behaviours that are perfectly rational and often well-intended from an individual perspective. Yet, taken together these behaviours can – paradoxically – give rise to unintended and undesirable outcomes at the society level. In addition to addressing the causes of societal problems, the book explains why some problems rank higher on the public agenda than others. Moreover, it is shown how government intervention may sometimes provide a cure, yet other times exacerbate existing problems or create new problems of its own. This book includes an extensive amount of data on trends and geographic variation in the prevalence of different problems, as well as telling examples – both recent and historical – from a variety of countries to support its key arguments. Employing a bold multidisciplinary approach, the authors draw on insights from across the social sciences, including sociology, economics, anthropology, criminology, and psychology. Throughout the book, students are introduced to analytical concepts such as free-riding, herding behaviour, principal-agent relations and moral hazard. These concepts are essential tools for better understanding the roots of many societal problems that regularly make headlines in the news. This improved understanding will, in turn, be critical for ultimately finding solutions to these problems.
Societal Stress and Law
by Larry D. BarnettSocietal Stress and Law draws attention to the social side effects of law by developing the sociological concept of society-level stress, a corollary of the concept of individual-level stress in the biological sciences. To encourage interest in societal stress, the book looks at (1) instances of law adopted by American states that the U.S. Supreme Court held unconstitutional and (2) actions by American states with regard to a proposal to amend the federal Constitution. The Court rulings and the proposed constitutional amendment were capable of producing societal stress because they were seen by a sizeable segment of the U.S. public as being incompatible with significant American traditions. In original studies that apply logistic regression to state-level statistical data, the book identifies sociological variables that predict state differences in the adoption of this law and state differences in actions on the proposed constitutional amendment. Because these variables represent societal agents that affected whether a state experienced social stress from the rulings and proposal, the book blends theory with empirical research and illustrates how each can support the other in law-focused scholarship.
Societies and Nature in the Sahel (Routledge/SEI Global Environment and Development Series #Vol. 1)
by Philippe Lavigne Delville Emmanuel Gregoire Pierre Janin Jean Koechlin Claude RaynautThis book explores the links between environment and social systems in the Sahel, integrating ecological, demographic, economic, technical, social and cultural factors. Examining the conditions for land occupation and natural resource use, it offers a conceptual and practical approach to social organization and environmental management.
Societies in Transition in Early Greece: An Archaeological History
by Alex R. KnodellA free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. Situated at the disciplinary boundary between prehistory and history, this book presents a new synthesis of Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Greece, from the rise and fall of Mycenaean civilization, through the "Dark Age," and up to the emergence of city-states in the Archaic period. This period saw the growth and decline of varied political systems and the development of networks that would eventually expand to nearly all shores of the Middle Sea. Alex R. Knodell argues that in order to understand how ancient Greece changed over time, one must analyze how Greek societies constituted and reconstituted themselves across multiple scales, from the local to the regional to the Mediterranean. Knodell employs innovative network and spatial analyses to understand the regional diversity and connectivity that drove the growth of early Greek polities. As a groundbreaking study of landscape, interaction, and sociopolitical change, Societies in Transition in Early Greece systematically bridges the divide between the Mycenaean period and the Archaic Greek world to shed new light on an often-overlooked period of world history.
Societies, Networks, and Transitions: A Global History
by Craig A. LockardExploring history in global framework, Lockard's SOCIETIES, NETWORKS, AND TRANSITIONS: A GLOBAL HISTORY, Fourth Edition, combines the accessibility and cultural richness of a regional approach with the rigor of comparative scholarship. <p><p>Emphasizing culture, social change, gender issues, economic patterns, science and religion, it helps you unravel the connections, encounters, cooperation and conflicts of world and regional history. The author includes profiles of individuals from various walks of life as well as highlights social life and cultural artifacts such as music, literature and art. <p><p>Extensively revised, the text incorporates recent scholarship throughout, examines various debates among historians and explains how historians use original documents. Insightful questions help you reflect on the historical significance of text material -- and how it relates to you.
The Societies of the Middle East and North Africa: Structures, Vulnerabilities, and Forces
by Sean YomThis new textbook explores the societies and populations of the Middle East and North Africa. Presenting original chapters written by the world’s leading Middle East scholars, it analyzes the social fabric of the region’s varied countries to uncover the organizing structures, human vulnerabilities, and dynamic forces that shape everyday lives. The volume can be used in conjunction with The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa textbook for a comprehensive overview of the region. Whether used as a companion text or a standalone volume, this work provides the historical and cultural context necessary for understanding the Arab world, Israel, Turkey, and Iran, since the early twentieth century. Linking past to present to future, it also ascertains the potential futures of these societies, including their overall stability and prosperity. The chapters are clearly structured, and contain insightful case studies, illustrative photographs, and visualized data. They also end with discussion questions and annotated bibliographies to help spark further research. Among the rich topics covered are: Rural life Civil society and personal identities Economic challenges, oil legacies, environmental harm Religious movements, women and gender, and youth politics. The Societies of the Middle East and North Africa is written in an accessible way, prioritizing social, cultural and economic dimensions. As such this textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the field and will be invaluable to students of Middle Eastern politics and society, as well as sociology and anthropology.
The Societies of the Middle East and North Africa: Structures, Vulnerabilities, and Forces
by Sean YomThe second edition of this well-regarded volume explores the societies of the Middle East and North Africa. Presenting original studies written by the world’s leading MENA scholars, it sheds light upon the organizing structures, human vulnerabilities, and dynamic forces that propel social change among the peoples of the Arab world, as well as Israel, Turkey, and Iran. The volume can be used in conjunction with The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa textbook for a comprehensive overview of the region. Carrying over from the previous edition, among the rich topics covered are agriculture, urbanization, development, identity, citizenship, gender, religion, civil society, the environment, and youths. This second edition adds two new chapters on refugees and public opinion, as each constitutes a crucial part of the region’s social and cultural context. This edition also updates existing chapters to account for the latest events and trends, including the COVID-19 pandemic, popular protests, and demographic growth. Written in an accessible way, the chapters are clearly structured and contain insightful analysis, memorable case studies, illustrative photographs, and visualized data that illuminate the contours of social life across this diverse region. Each chapter also ends with curated questions for discussion, followed by annotated bibliographies to help spark further research to encourage seamless adoption into classrooms.
Societies Under Threat: A Pluri-Disciplinary Approach (Frontiers in Sociology and Social Research #3)
by Jorge Vala Denise Jodelet Ewa Drozda-SenkowskaThis book illuminates the importance of threat on the representation of everyday life, from an interdisciplinary perspective. Divided into three parts, the book sets out by addressing the conceptual aspects of threat and by opening views on phenomena and social processes associated with threat. It shows how threat constitutes an analytical category that simultaneously involves social, psychological, religious, historical and political factors, and calls for a sufficiently broad conceptual definition to integrate pluri-disciplinary contributions. The second part focuses on the building of threats, mainly the environmental threats that have reached a tragic dimension today and are a core aspect of world concerns, the contemporary global terrorism, the migrations and the challenges these bring to contemporary societies, as well as the threats associated with the emergence of nationalism and the diverse aspects of excluding the Other. The final part examines the coping strategies, including oblivion, denial and defiance associated with different sources of threats, for instance those arising from epidemic and collective diseases, financial technology, natural disasters and collective traumas.
Society Against the State: Essays in Political Anthropology
by Pierre ClastresIn this seminal, founding work of political anthropology, Pierre Clastres takes on some of the most abiding and essential questions of human civilization: What is power? What is society? How, among all the possible modes of political organization, did we come to choose the monolithic State model and its accompanying regimes of coercion? As Clastres shows, other and different regimes do indeed exist, and they existed long before ours — regimes in which power, though it manifests itself everywhere, is nonetheless noncoercive. In such societies, political culture, and cultural practices generally, are not only not submissive to the State model, but they actively avert it, rendering impossible the very conditions in which coercive power and the State could arise. How then could our own “societies of the State” ever have arisen from these rich and complex stateless societies, and why? <P><P>Clastres brilliantly and imaginatively addresses these questions, meditating on the peculiar shape and dynamics of so-called “primitive societies,” and especially on the discourses with which “civilized” (i.e., political, economic, literate) peoples have not ceased to reduce and contain them. He refutes outright the idea that the State is the ultimate and logical density of all societies. On the contrary, Clastres develops a whole alternate and always affirmative political technology based on values such as leisure, prestige, and generosity. Through individual essays he explores and deftly situates the anarchistic political and social roles of storytelling, homosexuality, jokes, ruinous gift-giving, and the torturous ritual marking of the body, placing them within an economy of power and desire very different from our own, one whose most fundamental goal is to celebrate life while rendering the rise of despotic power impossible. Though power itself is shown to be inseparable from the richest and most complex forms of social life, the State is seen as a specific but grotesque aberration peculiar only to certain societies, not least of which is our own.Not for sale in the U.K. and British Commonwealth, South Africa, Burma, Jordan, and Iraq.
Society Against the State: Essays in Political Anthropology
by Pierre Clastres Robert Hurley Abe Stein"The thesis is radical," writes Marshall Sahlins of this landmark text in anthropology and political science. "We conventionally define the state as the regulation of violence; it may be the origin of it. Clastres's thesis is that economic expropriation and political coercion are inconsistent with the character of tribal society - which is to say, with the greater part of human history."Can there be a society that is not divided into oppressors and oppressed, or that refuses coercive state apparatuses? In this beautifully written book, Pierre Clastres offers examples of South American Indian groups that, although without hierarchical leadership, were both affluent and complex. In so doing he refutes the usual negative definition of tribal society and poses its order as a radical critique of our own Western state of power.Born in 1934, Pierre Clastres was educated at the Sorbonne; throughout the 1960s he lived with Indian groups in Paraguay and Venezuela. From 1971 until his death in 1979 he was Director of Studies at the fifth section of the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris and held the Chair of Religion and Societies of the South American Indians there.Robert Hurley is the translator of the History of Sexuality by Michel Foucault and cotranslator of Anti-Oedipus by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari.
Society and Economy in Venezuela: An Overview of the Bolivarian Period (1998-2018) (SpringerBriefs in Sociology)
by Vitor Eduardo SchincariolThis book presents an overview of the economic policies adopted by the Bolivarian governments of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela between 1998 and 2018, and the economic and social results of these policies. The recent history of Venezuela has attracted much attention due to Chávez’s and Maduro’s self-declared search for socialism since the beginning of the 21st century and the economic trajectory of the country in this period, which experienced significant economic growth during the international oil boom in the first decade of the century, followed by a huge economic crisis in the second decade. The volume adopts an economic history approach, taking into account both economic and social variables to analyze the Venezuelan overall socio-economic performance since 1998. Drawing on official documents and statistics, as well as on the available literature, it presents an empirical analysis of Venezuelan economic and social histories during the Bolivarian period, describing and analyzing the achievements and limits of the policies adopted between 1998 and 2018. Society and Economy in Venezuela: An Overview of the Bolivarian Period (1998-2018) will be a useful introduction to sociologists, political economists, political scientists, economic historians and other social scientists interested in understanding the multiple interrelations between economy and society in Bolivarian Venezuela. “This book offers a thoughtful, committed and illuminating analysis of the socialist experiment in Venezuela. Its strengths and weaknesses are examined in unprecedented detail, in order to identify the drivers and limitation of 'socialism in the 21st century'. An essential work for scholars, students and citizens concerned with Venezuela.” – Alfredo Saad-Filho, King's College London
Society and Exploitation Through Nature
by Martin Phillips Tim MighallSociety and Exploitation Through Nature offers an integrated approach to the environment, linking the philosophical, social and physical sciences to environmental problems and issues. The text covers three main themes; exploitation of nature and society; the limits of exploitation through sustainability and managing environmental problems. These themes are illustrated throughout the book with global case studies.
Society and Knowledge (World Perspectives #3)
by V. G. ChildeOriginally published in 1956, the well-known archaeologist here takes on the role of philosopher. The author argues that knowledge is a social phenomenon, and that our intellectual life is the product of social heritage: reality is the product of different opinions of various societies.
Society and Knowledge: Contemporary Perspectives in the Sociology of Knowledge and Science (Sociology Of The Sciences Yearbook Ser. #10)
by Volker MejaThe sociology of knowledge is generally seen as part of the sociology of cultural products. Along with the sociology of science, it explores the social character of science and in particular the social production of scientific knowledge. Knowledge in all its varieties is of crucial importance in social, political, and economic relations in modern society. Yet new realities, the editors argue in their introduction to this second edition, require a new perspective.In the past half century, the social role of knowledge has changed profoundly. The natural attitude toward scientific knowledge in science that assigned a special status to science's knowledge claims has lost its dominance, and the view that all knowledge is socially constructed has gained general acceptance. Science increasingly influences the political agenda in modern societies. Consequently, a new political field has emerged: knowledge politics.These fourteen essays by social scientists, philosophers, and historians cover fundamental issues, theoretical perspectives, knowledge and power, and empirical studies. Eight of the fourteen contributions were part of the first edition of Society and Knowledge, published in 1984, and most of these have been updated and revised for this new edition. Included in this edition are six new contributions by Robert K. Merton, Steve Fuller, Dick Pels, Nico Stehr, Barry Schwartz, and Michael Lynch.This second, revised edition builds on its predecessor in presenting cutting-edge theoretical and empirical efforts to transform the sociology of knowledge. Professionals, policymakers, and graduate students in the fields of sociology, political science, and social science will find this volume of interest and importance.
Society and New Paradigms: Challenges for Diversity and Vulnerability Inclusion
by Francisco Díaz Estrada Catalina Elena Dobre Gabriela Palavicini CoronaThis book explores new societal paradigms related to current debates and discusses how we can confront aspects of those debates which do not fit into a traditional social model. It proposes a theoretical and reflective framework for understanding new social discourse, particularly related to issues of diversity, feminism, and liminal societies. The goal is to explore such issues via humanities-centered lens, rather than just sociological or psychological. Furthermore, the book adheres to the responsibility to generate a way of thinking related to a "new" way of manifesting for our society and generating a culture for the future.
Society and Politics in India: Essays in a Comparative Perspective
by Andre BeteilleSociety and politics are subjects of continuous and animated discussion in contemporary India. The essays brought together in this collection were written or published between 1964 and 1990. In this case it was also a period of many changes in the disciplines of social anthropology and sociology, as well as in the social and political environment.
Society and Psyche: Social Theory and the Unconscious Dimension of the Social
by Kanakis LeledakisProviding interpretations and drawing critically from classical and modern social theory, post-structuralism, and psychoanalytic theory, this original study offers an alternative way of thinking about the social and the individual. It offers critical analyses of, among others, Marx, Giddens, Bourdieu, Derrida, Laclau and Mouffe, Castoriadis, Freud and modern psychoanalytic theorists, and considers their roles in advancing our present-day conceptualization of the social and the self. In theorizing that behaviour is both socially determined and autonomous, it avoids the impasses of either individualist or structuralist approaches.
Society and Religion in Early Ottoman Egypt: Studies in the Writings of 'Abd Al-Wahhab Al-Sha 'Rani
by Michael WinterThe sixteenth century was a watershed in Egyptian his- tory. After being the center of powerful Islamic empires for centuries, Egypt was conquered in 1517 and made an outlying province of the Ottoman Empire. This study illuminates aspects of Egypt's social, intellectual, and religious life in the sixteenth century, as described by the Egyptian Sufi 'Abd al-Wahhb al-Sha'rn, one of the last original writers before cultural decadence permeated the Arab world in the late Middle Ages. A prominent social commentator, Sha'rn reflected the intense Turkish-Egyptian struggle of the period and provided a vivid and intimate account of the Muslim world during the later medieval stage. Now in paperback, Society and Religion in Early Ottoman Egypt attempts to give a comprehensive analysis of Shaærani writings.
Society and Social Pathology: A Framework for Progress (Critical Political Theory and Radical Practice)
by R. C. SmithThis book offers one of the most comprehensive studies of social pathology to date, following a cross-disciplinary and methodologically innovative approach. It is written for anyone concerned with understanding current social conditions, individual health, and how we might begin to collectively conceive of a more reconciled postcapitalist world.Drawing reference from the most up-to-date studies, Smith crosses disciplinary boundaries from cognitive science and anthropology to critical theory, systems theory and psychology. Opening with an empirical account of numerous interlinked carises from mental health to the physiological effects of environmental pollution, Smith argues that mainstream sociological theories of pathology are deeply inadequate. Smith introduces an alternative critical conception of pathology that drills to the core of how and why society is deeply ailing. The book concludes with a detailed account of why a progressive and critical vision of social change requires a “holistic view” of individual and societal transformation. Such a view is grounded in the awareness that a sustainable transition to postcapitalism is ultimately a many-sided (social, individual, and structural) healing process.
Society and State in the Gulf and Arab Peninsula: A Different Perspective (Routledge Library Editions: The Arab Nation)
by Khaldoun Nassan Al-NaqeebThis book is both a history and contemporary analysis. Charting the main turnpoints as the growth of cities, trade routes, the petroleum industry and growth of the authoritarian state the author argues that central bureaucratic control is limiting growth. He describes the state as governed by the interests of the ruling family who continue to block opportunities for social mobility. He is also critical of the lack of a broad, productive base in the economy, the export of capital and its effect on investment in local resources, as well as the technological dependence on the West.
Society and the Death of God (Routledge Studies in the Sociology of Religion)
by Sal RestivoThis book advances the "strong" programme that sociology and anthropology provide a scientific foundation for arguing that God and the gods are human creations. Contending that religion is one – but not the only – way to systematize and institutionalize the moral order of a society, the author argues that religion reflects the fundamental human need for belonging and the social function of compassion. As such, our transcendental and supernatural ideas are really concerned with our everyday lives in communities and, faced with the severity and immediacy of the global problems with which the world is confronted – existential threats – it is increasingly important to abandon delusions and correct our mistake in reference, not by eradicating religion, but by grounding it more explicitly in earthly matters of community, social solidarity, belonging, and compassion. A wide-ranging study of the roots, nature, and purpose of religion and theistic belief, Society and the Death of God will appeal to sociologists, social theorists, and philosophers with interests in the scientific study of religion and the role of religion in the life of humankind.
Society and the Environment: Pragmatic Solutions to Ecological Issues (Routledge Studies In Food, Society And The Environment Ser.)
by Michael CarolanSociety and the Environment examines today's environmental controversies within a socio-organizational context. After outlining the contours of 'pragmatic environmentalism', Carolan considers the pressures that exist where ecology and society collide, such as population growth and its associated increased demands for food and energy. He also investigates how various ecological issues, such as climate change, are affecting our very own personal health. Finally, he drills into the social/structural dynamics (including political economy and the international legal system) that create ongoing momentum for environmental ills. This interdisciplinary text features a three-part structure in each chapter that covers 'fast facts' about the issue at hand, examines its wide-ranging implications, and offers balanced consideration of possible real-world solutions. New to this edition are 'Movement Matters' boxes, which showcase grassroots movements that have affected legislation. Discussion questions and key terms enhance the text's usefulness, making Society and the Environment the perfect learning tool for courses on environmental sociology.