Residuality and inconsistency in the interpretation of socio-theoretical systems

This article addresses the interpretation and criticism of theoretical systems. Its particular focus is on how to assess the success of theories in dealing with some specific phenomenon. We are interested in how to differentiate between cases where a theory offers an unsatisfactory acknowledgement of a specified phenomenon and those where a theory offers a deeper, more systematic understanding. We address these meta-theoretical issues by developing Parsons’s analysis of positive and residual categories in various respects including a focus on mutual support as the basis of positivity, differentiating synectic (reconcilable) and antinomic (irreconcilable) residual categories, and distinguishing divisions that are central to systems from those between centre and periphery. We also consider how this conceptual toolkit can be put into practice

Socialinio veiksmo struktūra

Translation: Parsons, Talcott. 1968. The Structure of Social Action. New York: Free Press; 697-726.Vertimas: Parsons, Talcott. 1968. The Structure of Social Action. New York: Free Press; 697-726

Elective affinities of the Protestant ethic : Weber and the chemistry of capitalism

Peer reviewedPostprin

Militarization and social development in the Third World

In this study we integrated the modernization and dependency theories of development to suggest the ways whereby militarization can affect development. We examined the effects of three components of militarization highlighted in these theories on the social development of ninety-two developing countries. Overall, our findings support the dependency theory's emphasis on the detrimental impact of international trade on disadvantaged nations. There is a significant negative correlation between arms import and social development. Arms export and indigenous spending are correlated with social development in the expected directions but their beta coefficients are not significant. The diverse ways these three aspects of militarization have been shown to affect social development help to explain some of the conflicting findings in the literature and point to the need to study these variables in their disaggregated form.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69141/2/10.1177_144078339503100105.pd

Familie und Schule: zwei Orte der Erziehung.

B