Spaces of Informalisation: Playscapes,Power and the Governance of Behaviour

Geographers have contributed a great deal towards an understanding of social control across different spaces and the ways in which power is exercised in the interests of élite groups to the detriment of marginalised ‘others’. Little attention however, has been given to decontrolled spaces: spaces where the standard of conduct expected of previous generations is no longer as rigid and formalised as it once was. This paper draws on the work of Norbert Elias and Cas Wouters in exploring how previously prohibited behaviours become admissible within particular social situations, groups and settings: a process known as informalisation. The informalisation thesis posits that a long-term perspective can elucidate the ways in which gradual changes in expected standards of behaviour are linked to corresponding changes in social habitus and the power differentials that characterise the social relations between élite and outsider groups. The paper contends that a revision of the sociological concept of informalisation, emphasising spatial context and difference, can contribute a great deal to debates in human geography. It is argued that the spatialisation of Elias' work could provide a useful theoretical framework with which to enhance the geographer's understanding of the relationship between group identities, power, social change and governance. Conversely, a focus on the spaces of informalisation may also advance the theory from a sociological perspective. The theory is applied to specific playscapes and highlights the uneven, problematic nature of contemporary governance projects and the related problem of social misdiagnoses in the quest towards the ‘non-antagonistic’ city.     

Metaphor and social action: how worker attention is translated into capital

Using the example of attention, this paper argues that there is a tendency to treat conceptual metaphors as representational resources at the expense of critically examining how they are implicated in the material structuring of social action. Rather than understanding metaphor in terms of transference, it is proposed that the concept of translation be applied to how we theorise the workings of metaphor. By translating rather than merely transferring concepts from one domain to another, metaphors function as semiotic materialisations that give structure to social action. It is through metaphor that human attentional processes are made to be translated into the material practices of knowledge work under cognitive capitalism. However, for attention to be translated from cognitive process into labour more than a simple associative process must take place. The attention-as-labour metaphor does not just transform how we think about work, it lends itself to transforming how work is performed and managed. In this way, as discursive resources metaphors participate in the constitution not only of our understanding of social realities but also how we build and act within those realities. Thus, metaphors are not just evidence of asymmetries in power relations but also function as instruments of those asymmetries.     

Knowing and Skilling in Contemporary Public Administration

Knowledge is the latest buzzword in public administration, yet contemporary debates demonstrate a poor understanding of how knowledge is constructed and valued and of how public administration knowledge frames are changing in response to major structural shifts in political imperatives. In particular the retreat from economic rationalism and the embracing of social and human capital ideas with the search for 'third ways' and 'triple bottom lines' are bringing more constructivist knowledge frames back into play. In this way centralised 'rational/expert' knowledge is being challenged by knowledge arising from cooperative, local inquiry and multiple knowledge frames are now being brought to bear in public administration. Yet public administration, as a profession, seems unsure of whether this is an elegant finesse implying little real change or an exposure of the naked pretension of previously dominant unitary frameworks. This article uses a historical comparison to show how changes in the ontology and epistemology of public administration are demanding new skills of contemporary public administrators.     

Performative Bodies,Tactical Agents and Political Selves: Rethinking the Political Geographies of Childhood

Theoretical elaboration and conceptualisation of children's political geographies is presently in a state of modification. Since the concepts of childhood and politics are not commonly brought together, there is plenty of work to be done. This article concentrates on revealing some political aspects of childhood and bringing up other focal questions concerning children's political geographies. Special attention is paid to children's agency and tactics to reach a better understanding of their ways of participating in politics. The theoretical foundations for this paper are in critical social theory. Following the thoughts of Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, Michel de Certeau and Nigel Thrift on the potentials of non-representational theory, it explores performativity and body politics in general.     

STRUCTURE AND ACTION AS CONSTRUCTS IN THE PRACTICE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION*

Abstract: In this paper we first examine the dominant instrumental paradigm of organization, and the critique to which it has been subjected from both social action theory and a more structural analysis of organizational life. Secondly, we draw on critical theory to construct an alternative paradigm. This addresses some of the problems left by critiques of the dominant paradigm, focuses on the relationship between structure and action, and the way in which each of these constitutes, and is constituted by, the other. In the final section we outline the implications of this analytical approach for analysis and practice in public administration. Public administration is about what people do, but also about how this activity is perceived and talked about. This distinction between thought and practice is not the same as the distinction between the academic and the practitioner. Although the academic operates largely in the world of thought — through teaching, research and writing — the work of the practitioner also rests on foundations in the world of thought, namely, the perception of the organization as an instrument for the accomplishment of some purpose, and of the administrator as the controller of that instrument for the better achievement of the end. We contend that these approaches to analysis and practice mask significant aspects of the ways that relationships within and between organizational contexts come to be structured and conducted, and do not provide a basis for understanding or evaluating either organizational processes or the activities of managers within these.     

Understanding Cooperative Behavior in Labor Management Cooperation: A Theory-Building Exercise

This article proposes a theory of how mandated institutional cooperation transforms into individual cooperative behavior. Using qualitative strategies, we draw insights about cooperation in three public-sector efforts of labor-management cooperation (LMC). We report an association between critical shifts in the roles of stakeholders and the change from adversarial to cooperative labor relations. While managers became team players along with their employees, labor representatives assumed managerial responsibilities. These changes were also associated with a service-oriented perspective, better understanding of the other's experiences, and a view of cooperation as partnership. At the heart of these transformations, we found critical changes in communication patterns associated with incrementally growing levels of trust. We propose a model that depicts the links between collective and individual levels of organizational action related to LMC. We conclude that the positive shifts in mental models regarding work and the value of cooperation justify the promotion of LMC efforts.     

Against Legitimacy

Beetham has recently made an impressive contribution to the understanding of Legitimacy which he holds to be central to both political and social theory. As a social science concept, capable of playing a significant part in the explanation of the workings and breakdowns of political systems, however, legitimacy so defined proves difficult, sometimes impossible, to apply and runs the serious danger of misleading explanation. The case against legitimacy is argued through a combination of theoretical and empirical considerations and in place of legitimacy a case is made for the experience of government behaviour and the capacity for collective action as the more fruitful foci of social theory.     

Capitalism,nature, socialism a theoretical introduction∗

This article expounds the traditional Marxist theory of the contradiction between forces and relations of production, over‐production of capital and economic crisis, and the process of crisis‐induced restructuring of productive forces and production relations into more transparently social, hence potentially socialist, forms. This exposition provides a point of departure for an “ecological Marxist”; theory of the contradiction between capitalist production relations and forces and the conditions of production, under‐production of capital and economic crisis, and the process of crisis‐induced restructuring of production conditions and the social relations thereof also into more transparently social, hence potentially socialist, forms. In short, there may be not one but two paths to socialism in late capitalist society.

While the two processes of capital over‐production and underproduction are by no means mutually exclusive, they may offset or compensate for one another in ways which create the appearance of relatively stable processes of capitalist development. Study of the combination of the two processes in the contemporary world may throw light on the decline of traditional labor and socialist movements and the rise of “new social movements”; as agencies of social transformation. In similar ways that traditional Marxism illuminates the practises of traditional labor movements, it may be that “ecological Marxism”; throws light on the practices of new social movements. Although ecology and nature; the politics of the body, feminism, and the family; and urban movements and related topics are usually discussed in post‐Marxist terms, the rhetoric deployed in this article is self‐consciously Marxist and designed to appeal to Marxist theorists and fellow travelers whose work remains within a “scientific”; discourse hence those who are least likely to be convinced by post‐Marxist discussions of the problem of capital's use and abuse of nature (including human nature) in the modern world. However, the emphasis in this article on a political economic “scientific”; discourse is tactical, not strategic. In reality, more or less autonomous social relationships, often non‐capitalist or anti‐capitalist, constitute “civil society,”; which needs to be addressed on its own practical and theoretical terms. In other words, social and collective action is not meant to be construed merely as derivative of systemic forces, as the last section of the article hopefully will make clear.     

公共管理运动中的理性主义批判

公共管理运动是20世纪70年代后发展起来并产生广泛影响的政府治理理论和运动。它为政府改革和公共行政学研究提供了新的思路。然而，由于其理论和实践标准是建立在理性主义基础之上，因此公共管理运动存在着许多值得反思和批判的缺陷：对人性的认识的偏颇；对市场机制的过分崇拜以及不恰当的顾客比喻等。这些缺陷使得公共管理运动只能成为公共行政学研究的一个视角，而不能成为其替代模式。     

规划性变迁视角下的农民工走向与对策

社会作为一切人和社会关系的总和,无时无刻不在发生变迁。农民工是中国从传统农业社会向现代工业社会转变时期的产物,反映了社会变迁的特性。社会变迁有两种类型:一种是放任主义的自然变迁,一种是体现人的意志的规划性变迁。将农民工纳入规划性变迁中,有助于改善其生存状况,使之成为社会变迁的有机组成部分。纵观改革开放以来的历次五年规划/计划,农民工在规划性社会变迁中由消极限制到积极保障,一方面反映了农民工为我国现代化建设做出了巨大贡献,另一方面也要求通过国家规划创造条件,逐步实现农村转移人口市民化,使农民工作为一个特有的过渡性社会群体最终趋于消失。     

The hero at the bar of eternity: the Bakhtin Circle's juridical theory of the novel

The work of the Bakhtin Circle has juridical foundations that derive from neo-Kantian philosophy. The work of Hermann Cohen, Max Scheler and Georg Simmel are of special importance. An examination of this intellectual tradition leads to an examination of some of the works of Voloshinov, Bakhtin, Pumpianskii and Kagan, highlighting the centrality of the juridical person and the structures of judgement in the now famous and influential Bakhtinian theory of the novel. Bakhtinian theory also has implications for social theory more widely, as recent work has shown. An analysis of the juridical foundations of the theory is important for understanding the nature of the theory and assessing its usefulness for contemporary theory.     

Is Anti-Rationalism Rational? The Case of F. A. Hayek*

The theme addressed is the criticism of constructivism and rationalism in politics as presented in the political theory of F. A. Hayek. Hayek's thesis is that goal-directed rationality in politics is counter-final. The main argument of this article is that on closer examination Hayek appears to be a constructivist himself. The purpose of Hayek's anti-rationalism is primarily ideological and instrumental. Hayek wants to induce certain anti-rationalistic beliefs because he believes rationalism has bad consequences. Yet this very project can be considered a case of goal-directed rationality. Furthermore, the argument is that Hayek mixes abstract philosophical doctrine with empirical theory. In his critique of constructivism, Hayek confuses two notions of ‘rationality’. On the one hand he argues against epistemological rationalism associated with Descartes, and on the other he argues against the subjectivistic, action-oriented notion of ‘rationality’ associated with the idea of ‘economic man’. Arguments against Cartesian rationalism do not, however, imply the impossibility of goal-directed rationalism in politics. The so-called information problem cannot be solved at an epistemological level. It is a practical problem, which Hayek has certain ideas how to solve. The argument here, therefore, is that Hayek's thesis of ‘tacit knowledge’ is not an expression of skepticism as is often believed.     

Health planning rationality

Health planning theory has failed to operationalize the concept of rationality into terms useful for theory building. The concept of rationality has also generally not been translated into a useful tool for the health planning practitioner. In order to decrease the mystique associated with rationality and to aid in refinement of the concept, four attributes of health planning rationality are proposed:

1. Health planning rationality is “bounded” due to the magnitude of problems and man's limited problem-solving abilities;
2. Health planning rationality has multiple dimensions (technical, social, legal, political and economic);
3. The multiple dimensions of health planning rationality interact as complements and substitutes; and
4. Health planning rationality may be conceived of as the exposure of problems to cognitive processes.

     

The place of local social realities in developmental work

There have long been attempts to humanize the conduct of development by taking into account the mental and cultural constitution of those amongst whom it is to occur. Very largely, these have been unsuccessful owing in part to the conception that has been used of the things of which account has to be taken. In consequence, developmental thought has remained mechanistic and impersonal generally and corresponding problems afflict development practice. Seeing this approach exemplified in the two articles by Rondinelli and Mandel (1981a, 1981b) the author takes issue with it. He argues in the light of experience with health planning and medical practice that fresh attention should be given both to understanding local social realities and to the way in which development work could be related to such realities. In the process the author suggests that the value of the approaches characteristic of social anthropology should be more widely recognized.     

The limits to participatory planning: a reply to Adaman and Devine

This paper considers the relation between Bataille and Mauss in the light of the evidence that whilst the two authors are often linked, the relation between the two was characterized by a lack of reciprocity. It argues that it is not surprising that Mauss never mentions the work of Bataille, as Bataille’s sociology, and his theory of sacrifice, searches for meaning of acts in relation to certain vital needs of human nature – an approach which offends against the implacable rationalism of Mauss, and his belief, in the 1930s, in the triumph of reason and progress.     

Examining the Effects of Social Media Use on Job Satisfaction in the Australian Public Service: Testing Self-Determination Theory

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between social media usage for work purposes and employee job satisfaction in the public sector. Because social media is a relatively recent phenomenon, the ways in which it affects employee attitudes such as job satisfaction are not well-known. Using self-determination theory (SDT) as a framework, this study tests whether perceived competence, relatedness, and autonomy mediate the relationship between social media usage for work purposes and employee job satisfaction. Data were obtained from the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC). Overall, results generated from the structural equation models support SDT, suggesting that employees using social media for work purposes have higher self-determination and higher self-determination increases their job satisfaction. In particular, the effect of competence to job satisfaction is very high. However, while social media usage for work purposes can enhance employees’ need for autonomy and competence, it does not have any statistical effect to employees need for relatedness. In addition, social media does not have any statistical and direct effect to job satisfaction. The results suggest that social media has an indirect effect to job satisfaction. This article discusses the implications of these findings.     

Myths and the definition of policy problems

In this paper we argue that behind widely accepted problem definitions are myths, stories which draw on tradition and taken for granted knowledge. These myths, which may or may not be true in a factual sense, are important to the definition of problems because they link public issues to widely accepted ways of understanding the world and to shared moral evaluations of conditions, events, and possible solutions to problems. Such myths perform a double-edged function in a policy or planning process. On the one hand, they can provide creative inspiration for policies, a way of translating community values into action proposals, and a powerful means to communicate to a broad public and rally support. They can mediate social and economic change by allowing new policies to carry familiar meaning. On the other hand, a myth can conceal crucial contradictions and realities, legitimize policies that benefit the powerful, and support anachronistic perceptions of policy problems. These ideas are explored in case histories of two areas of urban policy. In one we trace the support for home ownership to a transformation of the Jeffersonian myth of the independent yeoman farmer as the ideal citizen. This use of myth made home ownership the cornerstone of US housing policies and helped suppress alternatives. Though debate over home ownership occurs in the context of housing policy, the tacit purpose is to maintain a myth which is central to our identity as a nation. In the second example, public officials and analysts engaged in an explicit myth-making process to garner support for public-private partnerships as a central tool in urban redevelopment. The myths, which drew on familiar themes, made socially beneficial cooperation seem easy to achieve and legitimized new political and institutional arrangements though it also concealed implementation difficulties. Though myths complicate the effort to use rational, systematic analysis, they are an inevitable part of policy making and planning processes. Planning professionals must openly confront myths and make creative, responsible, use of them rather than allow policies and plans to be subject to their unexamined influence.     

农民工媒介形象嬗变:从“边缘人”到“新市民”

运用再现理论对《人民日报》、《新民晚报》、《羊城晚报》的历史研究发现,媒体建构的农民工群体正在蜕去早期的形象,经历着从都市"边缘人"到成长中的"新市民"的时代嬗变。这对于正确认识真实的农民工群体,正确认识城市化过程中的客观表象及背后的社会心理变迁,揭示大众传媒助推农民工融入城市的作用具有重要意义。     

Judith N. Shklar and American citizenship

It is claimed that although the European debate about social rights has concentrated on the formation of citizenship, American political and social theory has focused almost exclusively on civil liberties and individual rights. The specific characteristics of American history – the Declaration of Independence, slavery, the Civil War, the persistence of the race issue and the civil rights movement – explain this fundamental difference. This article explores some of the exceptions to this claim in the work of sociologists and political scientists such as W.E. DuBois, Talcott Parsons, Morris Janowitz, Rogers Smith and Michael Schudson, but the contrast between individual rights and social rights remains important. The American tradition is explored primarily through the work of Judith N. Shklar whose approach to cruelty, misfortune and inequality represented a major and innovative approach to what we might call the phenomenological foundation of justice and rights. She emphasised the importance of earning a living to the basic American understanding of dignity and responsibility. The article concludes by speculating that the credit crunch and more importantly the endemic character of unemployment and under-employment in the modern economy radically undermine access to rewarding employment for the majority of the population. These economic and social changes – ‘the financialization of capitalism’ – make the defence of social citizenship more rather than less important.     

The paradox of principles: the dialectics of Hayek's liberalism

The success of Hayek's ideas and the political project they served is especially attested by the appreciation and appropriation of his theories by socialist intellectuals whose rehabilitation was one of his life-long preoccupations. His work, however, continues to elicit contradictory epithets such as ‘remarkable consistency’ and ‘irremediable eclecticism’, ‘propaganda’ and ‘social science’. The apparent paradox is underlined by Hayek’s own forceful rejection of dogmatic rationalism and all forms of intellectual and political eclecticism. This paper attempts to relate and resolve these conundrums by re-examining his work in the light of yet a third question that haunted him ever since his youthful conversion from Fabian socialism to militant liberalism, namely how to reconcile the decline of liberal capitalism, considered the freest and most efficient order conceivable, with an evolutionary discourse that precluded such a possibility. By anchoring the discussion in this central question, rather than the customary focus on a particular theory, tradition, discipline or set of privileged texts, this paper demonstrates that both eclecticism and ideological closure are intrinsic to Hayek’s singular quest to advance the cause of ‘progress’ against the permanent threat posed by collectivism.