Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
559,723
result(s) for
"Social theories"
Sort by:
Conspirituality : how new age conspiracy theories became a health threat
\"Conspirituality takes a deep dive into the troubling phenomenon of influencers who have curdled New Age spirituality and wellness with the politics of paranoia--peddling vaccine misinformation, tales of child trafficking, and wild conspiracy theories. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a disturbing social media trend emerged: a large number of yoga instructors and alt-health influencers were posting stories about a secretive global cabal bent on controlling the world's population with a genocidal vaccine. Instagram feeds that had been serving up green smoothie recipes and Mary Oliver poems became firehoses of Fox News links, memes from 4chan, and prophecies of global transformation. Since May 2020, Derek Beres, Matthew Remski and Julian Walker have used their Conspirituality podcast to expose countless facets of the intersection of alt-health practitioners with far-right conspiracy trolls. Now this expansive and revelatory book unpacks the follies, frauds, cons and cults that dominate the New Age and wellness spheres and betray the trust of people who seek genuine relief in this uncertain age. With analytical rigor and irreverent humor, Conspirituality offers an antidote to our times, helping readers recognize wellness grifts, engage with loved ones who've fallen under the influence, and counter lies and distortions with insight and empathy.\"--Publisher.
Book
On Network Theory
Research on social networks has grown considerably in the last decade. However, there is a certain amount of confusion about network theory-for example, what it is, what is distinctive about it, and how to generate new theory. This paper attempts to remedy the situation by clarifying the fundamental concepts of the field (such as the network) and characterizing how network reasoning works. We start by considering the definition of network, noting some confusion caused by two different perspectives, which we refer to as realist and nominalist. We then analyze two well-known network theories, Granovetter's strength of weak ties theory [Granovetter, M. S. 1973. The strength of weak ties.
Amer. J. Sociol.
78
(6) 1360-1380] and Burt's structural holes theory [Burt, R. S. 1992.
Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition
. Havard University Press, Cambridge, MA], to identify characteristic elements of network theorizing. We argue that both theories share an underlying theoretical model, which we label the network flow model, from which we derive additional implications. We also discuss network phenomena that do not appear to fit the flow model and discuss the possibility of a second fundamental model, which we call the bond model. We close with a discussion of the merits of model-based network theorizing for facilitating the generation of new theory, as well as a discussion of endogeneity in network theorizing.
Journal Article
Toward a General Theory of Strategic Action Fields
In recent years there has been an outpouring of work at the intersection of social movement studies and organizational theory. While we are generally in sympathy with this work, we think it implies a far more radical rethinking of structure and agency in modern society than has been realized to date. In this article, we offer a brief sketch of a general theory of strategic action fields (SAFs). We begin with a discussion of the main elements of the theory, describe the broader environment in which any SAF is embedded, consider the dynamics of stability and change in SAFs, and end with a respectful critique of other contemporary perspectives on social structure and agency.
Journal Article
Misbelief : what makes rational people believe irrational things
\"Misinformation affects all of us on a daily basis, from social media to larger political challenges, from casual conversations in supermarkets to even our closest relationships. While we recognize the dangers that misinformation poses, the problem is complex, far beyond what policing social media alone can achieve, and too often our limited solutions are shaped by partisan politics and individual interpretations of truth. ... Ariely argues that to understand the irrational appeal of misinformation, we must first understand the behavior of 'misbelief,' the psychological and social journey that leads people to mistrust accepted truths, entertain alternative facts, and even embrace full-blown conspiracy theories. Misinformation, it turns out, appeals to something innate in all of us, ... and it is only by understanding this psychology that we can blunt its effects\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Resilience thinking meets social theory
The concept of resilience in ecology has been expanded into a framework to analyse human-environment dynamics. The extension of resilience notions to society has important limits, particularly its conceptualization of social change. The paper argues that this stems from the lack of attention to normative and epistemological issues underlying the notion of ‘social resilience’. We suggest that critically examining the role of knowledge at the intersections between social and environmental dynamics helps to address normative questions and to capture how power and competing value systems are not external to, but rather integral to the development and functioning of SES.
Journal Article
Power, politics, and paranoia : why people are suspicious of their leaders
\"Powerful societal leaders - such as politicians and Chief Executives - are frequently met with substantial distrust by the public. But why are people so suspicious of their leaders? One possibility is that 'power corrupts', and therefore people are right in their reservations. Indeed, there are numerous examples of unethical leadership, even at the highest level, as the Watergate and Enron scandals clearly illustrate. Another possibility is that people are unjustifiably paranoid, as underscored by some of the rather far-fetched conspiracy theories that are endorsed by a surprisingly large portion of citizens. Are societal power holders more likely than the average citizen to display unethical behaviour? How do people generally think and feel about politicians? How do paranoia and conspiracy beliefs about societal power holders originate? In this book, prominent scholars address these intriguing questions and illuminate the many facets of the relations between power, politics and paranoia\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
The New Sociology of Morality
Sociology was once integral to the scientific study of morality, but its explicit focus has waned over the past half-century. This article calls for greater sociological engagement in order to speak to the resurgence of the study of morality in cognate fields. We identify important treatments of morality, some of which are not explicitly so, and identify those treatments that build a distinctly sociological focus on morality: room for culturally divergent understandings of its content, a focus on antecedent social factors that shape it, and a concern with ecologically valid explorations of its social importance.
Journal Article
Drift into Failure
This book explores complexity theory and systems thinking to better understand how complex systems drift into failure. It studies sensitive dependence on initial conditions, unruly technology, tipping points, diversity - and finds that failure emerges opportunistically, non-randomly, from the very webs of relationships that breed success and that are supposed to protect organizations from disaster. It develops a vocabulary that allows us to harness complexity and find new ways of managing drift.
eBook