Rationalistic theories of the workplace and the claims typically made by organizations stress that an individual's access to the resources and advantages of an organization are determined by his or her qualifications and contributions to the collective enterprise, and that the payoffs for effort are essentially the same for all doing similar work. However, as Jon Miller shows in this book, negotiating for workplace rewards is actually far more complicated than this model allows, and he demonstrates that access to networks of organizational communication is in fact fundamentally influenced by...
Rationalistic theories of the workplace and the claims typically made by organizations stress that an individual's access to the resources and advanta...
In the past two decades, a tide of Mexican immigrants has settled illegally in the United States, and undocumented Mexicans today constitute an important component of the U.S. population. Yet due to their illegal status, information about the actual numbers of undocumented Mexicans, their living conditions, and the impact of their illegal status on their lives has been difficult to gather. In this book, the author analyzes the results of a unique survey conducted in Los Angeles County, where an estimated forty-four percent of the undocumented Mexican population lives. This survey allows the...
In the past two decades, a tide of Mexican immigrants has settled illegally in the United States, and undocumented Mexicans today constitute an import...
Since the 1940s, there has been an explosion of writings, both scientific and nonscientific, about the question of 'identity' and what it means to be an individual in today's world. This book examines sociological perspectives on identity in order to illuminate the perennial problem of defining the human person, and to pose an alternative definition of identity based on it being socially constructed. Beginning with a review of previous studies of identity, the authors present a set of propositions for organizing the wide range of uses of the term, and for arriving at an adequate definition of...
Since the 1940s, there has been an explosion of writings, both scientific and nonscientific, about the question of 'identity' and what it means to be ...
Over the last several decades, functional theory in the social sciences has fallen into disfavour. Alleged to be a static form of theory incapable of explaining social change, methodologically impotent and ideologically tainted, functionalism stands accused of being socially and politically reactionary. In this book, Michael Faia challenges the view that functionalism should be rejected. He claims that because functional theories are causal, multivariate, time-ordered, and characterized by reciprocal causation, they are in fact inherently dynamic, demand the highest methodological rigour, and...
Over the last several decades, functional theory in the social sciences has fallen into disfavour. Alleged to be a static form of theory incapable of ...
The Methodology of Herbert Blumer is a comprehensive critical account of the contributions of this important American sociologist to the methodology of social research. In a close reading of Blumer's texts, the author charts the development of Blumer's thinking, revealing a tension between an essentially realist ontology and Blumer's emphasis on the relationship of theory to methodology. The author describes Blumer's conception of methodology as a self-reflective exercise in which the principles of scientific inquiry are developed and criticized, and not merely as a matter of technique....
The Methodology of Herbert Blumer is a comprehensive critical account of the contributions of this important American sociologist to the methodology o...