scholarly journals Practices of Piety: An Alternative Approach to the Study of Islamic Movements

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 520
Author(s):  
Aaron Rock-Singer
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Gender Segregation ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Islamic Movements ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Do So

This article challenges the dominant organization-centered focus of the study of Islamic movements, and argues for a turn towards social practice. To do so, it traces the rise and spread of Egypt’s leading Salafi movement, Ansar al-Sunna al-Muhammadiyya (e. 1926) and its role in popularizing a series of distinct practices between 1940 and 1990. Based on the full run of this movement’s magazine, al-Hadi al-Nabawi (the Prophetic Guide, 1936–66) and al-Tawhid (Monolatry, 1973–93), the article explores the conditions in which practices such as praying in shoes and bareheaded, gender segregation and the cultivation of a fist-length beard were both politically viable and strategically advantageous. In doing so, it not only casts light on the trajectory of this movement, but also shows how and why the articulation and performance of distinct social practices are central to how Islamic movements shape society.

scholarly journals Organization Social Practice and Performance in the Kenya National Police Service: A Case of Central Police Division, Nairobi

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-89
Author(s):  
Isack Tenai ◽  
Philip Wambua
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Style ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Organization Structure ◽  
Organizational Politics ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Police Service ◽  
And Performance ◽  
National Police ◽  
Central Police

The National Police Service of Kenya has gone through numerous transformations which are aimed at making it more effective and socially aligned to the needs of the Kenyan population. The transformation has seen the renaming of the policing unit from Kenyan Police Force to its current name. The Strategy such as renaming the institution to National Police Service implies that the institution is improving its commitment to improve service delivery to the citizens in a favorable social framework. However, minimal studies have been done to determine the existence of any relationship between organizational social practices and performance of the police institution. Therefore, the current study was formulated to establish the influence of organizational social practices on the performances of the National Police Service. The independent variables of the study included leadership style, organization structure, professionalism, and organization politics. Practice and system theories were reviewed alongside relevant sources of empirical literatures were reviewed to give the current studies sound theoretical and empirical foundations. Descriptive research design was used to guide collection, analysis, and interpretation of the research data. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data was collected from 150 police officers who were purposively sampled from Central Police Division in Nairobi County. A combination of descriptive and inferential analyses were performed to establish the current trends of the study variables and relationships thereof. The study found out that the respondents were in agreement with almost statements on the four organizational social practices including leadership style, organization structure, and professionalism and organization politics. Leadership style and professionalism were established to have the highest impact (0.300; p= 0.000) and the least impact (0.093; p=0.000) respectively. Organization politics, on the other hand had a significant negative impact (-0.254; p=0.001) on the NPS performance. The study concludes that the main belief or attitude influencing leadership style is the perceived manager versus subordinates’ role. Effective decision making is improved by decentralization, narrow control span and efficiency relate positively, task routine positively and negatively affect productivity. A respectful culture is fostered by professionalism, which ensure proper handling of conflicts. Boundaries are clearly understood and minor issues solve efficiently and respectfully by professional employees. Workers are motivated with the hope that there won’t be hampering of their interest due to existence of organizational politics. Employee’s indiscipline may be resisted by the organizational politics’ help. The study recommends that transactional and transformative leadership be embraced by national police service to assist in tapping the workers’ potential, they should be involved in making decisions and new idea be welcomed into the system for positive contribution to the entities’ exponential performance. National police service should adopt an efficient, simple and universally accepted organizational structure. Employees at national police service should exercise workplace expectations and rules by following all workplace rules, completing all projects and tasks and understanding what is expected of them. Delegation of duties depending on employees’ academic achievements, specialization and interests. Transparency must be maintained at all levels to reduce politics.

Corporate Governance and Performance of Organizations

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 439-446
Author(s):  
Hamid Ait lemqeddem ◽  
◽  
Mounya Tomas ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Agency Theory ◽  
Theoretical Foundation ◽  
Quantitative Approach ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Deductive Method ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Is Theory ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Do So

There is renewed interest in the need to focus on corporate governance in an environment where it is a performance imperative for all small and large organizations, private and public, beginner or established.The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the place of corporate governance practices in organizations to ensure that the board, officers, and directors take action to protect shareholder interests and all stakeholders. It is important to focus on the effect of these practices on improving performance and competitiveness. To do so, we opted for the hypothetico-deductive method with a quantitative approach. Our theoretical foundation is theory is agency theory.

The Anti-Inflammatory Basis of Equality

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant J. Rozeboom
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Moral Standing ◽  
Moral Equality ◽  
Anti Inflammatory ◽  
In Virtue Of ◽  
Do So

We are moral equals, but in virtue of what? The most plausible answers to this question have pointed to our higher agential capacities, but we vary in the degrees to which we possess those capacities. How could they ground our equal moral standing, then? This chapter argues that they do so only indirectly. Our moral equality is most directly grounded in a social practice of equality, a practice that serves the purpose of mitigating our tendencies toward control and domination that interpreters of Rousseau call “inflamed amour-propre.” We qualify as participants in this practice of equality by possessing certain agential capacities, but it is our participation in the practice, and not the capacities themselves, that makes us moral equals. Thus, in contrast with recent accounts that simply posit a threshold above which capacity-variations are ignored, this chapter proposes moving from a capacity-based to a practice-based view of moral equality.

Global Perspectives on Orchestras

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Global Perspectives ◽  
Colonial Histories ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Orchestral Musicians

This book adopts global perspectives on orchestras. It draws on ethnographic, historical and comparative approaches to analyze a variety of orchestral traditions (such as symphony, steel, Indonesian gamelan, Indian film and Vietnamese court). It discusses how orchestras are embedded in socio-historical and economic contexts, and highlights intercultural, compositional and rehearsal processes. The chapters describe orchestral creativity and performance politics. Key considerations are how orchestral musicians work together and organizational infrastructures shaping the orchestra as an institution. Orchestral musicians' testimonies are included to give practitioners' views. The study of orchestras contributes to developing global music histories and comparative theorization within ethnographic disciplines. This book offers timely insights into the connections between orchestras, colonial histories, postcolonial practices, and comparative theorizations to generate appreciation of orchestral performance as a creative, political and social practice.

Postface: Brokerage as social practice

2021 ◽  
pp. 092137402110340
Author(s):  
Thomas Bierschenk
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Ideal Type ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Classical Definition ◽  
Equal Distance ◽  
Social Type ◽  
Strong Concept

This postface argues for a narrow and analytically strong concept of brokerage, which is oriented towards the classical definition by Boissevain. His ideal type emphasises the agency of brokers who actively pursue their own interests and act at an equal distance to the groups between which they mediate. Furthermore, the text argues for thinking of brokerage as a bundle of social practices instead of as brokers in the sense of a social type. While few social actors are fully-fledged brokers, many of them engage in brokerage.

scholarly journals Knowledge, Performance, and Attitude Towards Mask Use to Prevent and Control COVID-19 Outbreak Among a Group of Iranian People: A Cross-sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Vol In Press (In Press) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdolhamid Tajvar ◽  
Teamur Aghamolaei ◽  
Shokrollah Mohseni ◽  
Anahita Fakherpour ◽  
Zabihollah Damiri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Educational Levels ◽  
Final Score ◽  
Knowledge And Attitude ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Control ◽  
Do So ◽  
Good Attitude

Background: Due to the pandemic, COVID-19 cases and deaths are increasing unexpectedly and precipitately. More importantly, asymptomatic carriers could infect healthy people through sneezing, coughing, and talking. Therefore, mask usage is required to prevent and control COVID-19. Objectives: This study was aimed at examining the knowledge, attitude, and performance levels (KAP) of the Iranian population regarding mask usage to prevent and control the COVID-19 outbreak during a one-month period from early April to early May 2020. Methods: A researcher-made, validated, and reliable questionnaire consisting of 30 questions on knowledge, attitude, and performance regarding mask usage was utilized. Data collection was performed through the online method. To do so, the online questionnaire link was provided for the participants via social networks. The correct and wrong answers were scored 1 and 0 points, respectively. The final score of each dimension was calculated and classified as 0 - 50% (low), 51 - 75% (moderate), and 75% > (good). Results: A total of 1581 participants took part in the study. Although the participants had good attitude (74%) and performance (70.80%), but only 13.70% of them had good knowledge regarding mask usage. Also, significant differences were found between the participants’ knowledge and higher educational levels (P < 0.001). There were significant associations between the participants’ age, gender, educational level, and job and their knowledge and attitude levels (P < 0.05). Besides, female participants had higher performance scores than did male participants (P < 0.001). The participants with governmental jobs had significantly higher performance than unemployed ones (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The participants obtained low KAP scores; therefore, it is required to train and inform the society and enhance their KAP levels via social media regarding the importance of mask usage, including proper donning, doffing, cleaning, disinfection, and safely and hygienic disposal procedures of masks to prevent and control COVID-19.

scholarly journals ÖRGÜTSEL SÜREÇLERDEKİ KUŞAKLARARASI ÇATIŞMALARDA KÜLTÜREL DEĞİŞİMLERİN ROLÜ: AKADEMİSYENLERE YÖNELİK BİR ARAŞTIRMA

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sena ERDEN AYHÜN
Keyword(s):  
Baby Boomers ◽  
Family Environment ◽  
Gender Segregation ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Reverse Direction ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Positive Direction ◽  
Silent Generation ◽  
Intergenerational Conflicts ◽  
And Performance

The phenomenon of change in the cultural structure brought about differences in values, beliefs and behavior in the social structure. The fact that the phenomenon of change is not acknowledged by adult generations, the inability to understand the behaviors of new generations brings about the possibility of conflicts between new and adult generations. The conflicts that individuals primarily experience in the family environment also manifest themselves when they are beginning to work within an institution. Many theoretical-based studies in the literature show that conflicts that occur during generations may be related to cultural changes.In the study, it was tried to determine whether the X generation academicians working at the universities had experienced conflict with the Y generation of the younger generation. In addition, the Y generation academics were investigated whether they lived in conflict with the elderly generations, named  X generation,, Baby Boomers generation and silent generation. In addition in the survey; the relation between the avoidance of variables measuring the cultural dimensions and uncertainty, power distance, collectivism I, collectivism II, assertiveness, gender segregation, being orientation for future and performance, differentiations in humanistic approach and intergenerational conflicts are searched.Data are collected over the web sites by survey method, face to face meeting and via fax and 428 applicable interview results have been provided.  In the analysis of the data, the structural equality model was utilized. As a result of the analyzes made; It has been determined that the X generation is rarely conflict with Y generation, the Y generation is rarely conflict with X generation, Baby Boomers generation and silent generation. Collectivism II and performance orientation and relation of intergenerational conflicts has been found in reverse direction where the relation of intergenerational conflicts with gender apartheid dimension was in positive direction.

From discursive event to discourse événement: A case study of political–religious discourse in Argentina

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 677-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Eduardo Bonnin
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Religious Discourse ◽  
Theoretical Point ◽  
Political Field ◽  
Strategic Goals ◽  
The Government

This article analyses the interplay between religious and political discourse in Argentina, departing from a case study located in the transition towards democracy in April 1987, and conveying military, political and religious discourse within the conflicts that surrounded the government of President Raúl R. Alfonsín (1983–9). It involved a well-established discourse genre, the homily, within an historical social practice, the Catholic mass; but it also included the violation of one of its main features, namely the monopoly of talk by priests. By challenging the bishop’s monologue, questioned by the homily, President Alfonsín settled a different ground, neither religious nor political, an événement that required urgent recontextualization. The mass media, as privileged agents representing contemporary social practices, recontextualized it through the multimodal attribution of genericity (Adam and Heidmann, 2004) in two main different ways, ascribing the event to either a religious or political field. In both cases, as we will see later, the actions and actors involved were consistently opposite, responding to different ideological motivations and with different strategic goals. The underlying theoretical point is that genres are not fixed in events, but rather represent ways of dealing with the exceptionality of événements that bring out ideological or political tensions.

Social Activism in the ‘Blackosphere’

2011 ◽  
pp. 2286-2399
Author(s):  
Lynette Kvasny ◽  
Fay Cobb Payton ◽  
Kayla D. Hales
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Black People ◽  
Social Activism ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Internet Activism ◽  
Collaborative Activities ◽  
Underserved Groups ◽  
Do So

Using Denning’s model of Internet activism as a sensitizing framework, this chapter describes the manner in which Black bloggers (referred to as the ‘Blackosphere’) express and negotiate their ethnic identity online. We analyze discussions in the Blackosphere in response to the Jena 6 case to illustrate how the Internet has empowered Black people, changed media publicity, and served as a means of collaborative activities that support social activism. It is our hope that this chapter will encourage researchers to explore further how and why historically underserved groups engage in social activism on the Internet, and the various technologies and social practices they use to do so.

Holism and individualism in history and social science

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajeev Bhargava
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Psychological States ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Social Facts ◽  
Individual Actions

Methodological individualists such as Mill, Weber, Schumpeter, Popper, Hayek and Elster argue that all social facts must be explained wholly and exhaustively in terms of the actions, beliefs and desires of individuals. On the other hand, methodological holists, such as Durkheim and Marx, tend in their explanations to bypass individual action. Within this debate, better arguments exist for the view that explanations of social phenomena without the beliefs and desires of agents are deficient. If this is so, individualists appear to have a distinct edge over their adversaries. Indeed, a consensus exists among philosophers and social scientists that holism is implausible or false and individualism, when carefully formulated, is trivially true. Holists challenge this consensus by first arguing that caricatured formulations of holism that ignore human action must be set aside. They then ask us to re-examine the nature of human action. Action is distinguished from mere behaviour by its intentional character. This much is uncontested between individualists and holists. But against the individualist contention that intentions exist as only psychological states in the heads of individuals, the holist argues that they also lie directly embedded in irreducible social practices, and that the identification of any intention is impossible without examining the social context within which agents think and act. Holists find nothing wrong with the need to unravel the motivations of individuals, but they contend that these motivations cannot be individuated without appeal to the wider beliefs and practices of the community. For instance, the acquiescence of oppressed workers may take the form not of total submission but subtle negotiation that yields them sub-optimal benefits. Insensitivity to social context may blind us to this. Besides, it is not a matter of individual beliefs and preferences that this strategy is adopted. That decisions are taken by subtle strategies of negotiation rather than by explicit bargaining, deployment of force or use of high moral principles is a matter of social practice irreducible to the conscious action of individuals. Two conclusions follow if the holist claim is true. First, that a reference to a social entity is inescapable even when social facts are explained in terms of individual actions, because of the necessary presence of a social ingredient in all individual intentions and actions. Second, a reference to individual actions is not even necessary when social facts are explained or understood in terms of social practices. Thus, the individualist view that explanation in social science must rely wholly and exhaustively on individual entities is hotly contested and is not as uncontroversial or trivial as it appears.

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