Society in Focus—Change, Challenge and Resistance

Society in Focus—Change, Challenge and Resistance PDF

Author: Lindy Heinecken

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2010-06-09

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1443823171

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The chapters in this book showcase current sociological research, as undertaken both by established and budding social scientists in South Africa and Africa. The book covers a variety of topical themes, the first of which concerns the link between society, power and the environment, and how competing interests, whether these be corporate, legal, socio-ecological or environmentalist, relate to each. Another theme includes contributions on development, democracy and service delivery. Workplace change, resistance and well-being within the agricultural, manufacturing, mining and the service sector constitute a further central focus. The remaining theme addresses the interplay of race, class, gender and power within the context of specific topics, such as HIV/AIDS, tertiary education and minority groups. The collection of work presented in this book reflects a critical stance towards reification of roles, highlights contradictions between principles and practices in society, and underscores the complexity of societal issues on a broad range of contemporary themes. As such, the chapters are notable for their empirical richness and methodological pluralism, which are of interest to an interdisciplinary audience, whether scholars, professionals or practitioners.

Chinese Society

Chinese Society PDF

Author: Elizabeth J. Perry

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 041556073X

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This introduction to Chinese society uses the themes of resistance & protest to explore the complexity of life in contemporary China. It draws on perspectives from sociology, anthropology, psychology, history & political science, & covers issues including women, labour, ethnic conflict & suicide.

On Their Own

On Their Own PDF

Author: Allison Goebel

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2015-10-01

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 077359759X

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South Africa, the most urbanized country on the African continent, displays some of the highest levels of socio-economic inequality in the world. What is life like for low-income African women in urban South Africa in the post-apartheid era? Does urban life offer new opportunities for personal development, equality for women, and freedom? Are there new forms of marginalization and danger shaping women's lives? Why are so many women heading households on their own, and what does this mean for family, livelihoods, intimacy, and citizenship? In On Their Own, Allison Goebel explores women's experiences in the rapidly urbanizing context of post-1994 South Africa. She navigates different layers of urbanization in the country and illuminates the ways through which women's experiences of urbanization differ from men's, and why these differences matter. In an approach that emphasizes women's right to the city, Goebel presents original research in a case study of the city of Pietermaritzburg, features life stories of urban women, and engages with the literature in South African history, politics, gender studies, urban studies, and environmental studies. A revealing study of the ways in which urbanization is creating urgent social, economic, and environmental challenges for South Africa, On Their Own also highlights the fraught legacies of apartheid and the aspirations of post-apartheid society for equality and opportunity across race and gender lines.

Organization Development and Society

Organization Development and Society PDF

Author: Baruch Shimoni

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-03-11

Total Pages: 211

ISBN-13: 1351264826

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Organization Development and Society: Theory and Practice of Organization Development Consulting offers a new approach for the practice of organization development (OD). The new approach, a habitus oriented OD (HOOD), sees consultees' thinking and behavior a result of habitus, a cognitive structure developed historically in endless interactions between human behavior and social structures. HOOD has two goals: The first goal is to redefine the objectives of individually oriented OD. The focus on habitus and social structure allows individually oriented OD scholars and practitioners to keep their subjective approach, which searches for consultees' inner world. However, this subjectivity searches not only for consultees' psychological but their social dispositions. It views the individual level, the habitus, as a site of social dispositions that from within the individual consultees generate thoughts and behaviors in a way that closely corresponds with the organization's social structure; with power relations and social positions and with accepted metaphors and common language. The HOOD links the concept of habitus to the field of OD and in so doing provides an alternative way to incorporate the individual and the social in OD. HOOD's second goal is to re/position OD between organizations and society and thus to produce a consulting practice that is both pragmatic and human. It is pragmatic since incorporation of habitus enables the consultant to liberate consultees' perspectives and behavior from the organization's social and structural hoops and to use these perspectives in processes of change and development. Considering the habitus as central to consulting projects is human since it enables consultants (and consultees) to identify the responsibility for organizational problems (and other phenomena) not only at the level of the individual but also at the level of the organization and the environment outside the organization.

Entrepreneurship Development in the Balkans

Entrepreneurship Development in the Balkans PDF

Author: Veland Ramadani

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing

Published: 2023-09-25

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 183753456X

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Entrepreneurship Development in the Balkans directly engages questions of innovation and risk management within various types of entrepreneurship, including female, social, migrant, and corporate entrepreneurship in the context of the Balkans.

Civil Society Organisations and State-Owned Enterprises in South Africa: Promoting Accountability and Corporate Governance

Civil Society Organisations and State-Owned Enterprises in South Africa: Promoting Accountability and Corporate Governance PDF

Author: Gudo, Julieth

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-03-09

Total Pages: 171

ISBN-13: 1040031560

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This book examines the important role which civil society organisations in South Africa play in challenging poor corporate governance in state-owned enterprises and demanding better government accountability, transparency and citizen participation. The book provides a powerful examination of the shortcomings in corporate governance in South Africa's state-owned enterprises, highlighting how civil society organisations, as citizen representatives, can push for change. It examines the legal provisions used by civil society organisations in South Africa to advance good corporate governance and accountability in state-owned enterprises. The book demonstrates the need for an enabling legal environment for civil society organisations to challenge poor governance in state-owned enterprises. Also critical is enforcing laws, so those responsible for poor corporate governance in SOEs are held accountable. The book will be useful to policy advisors, public servants and social justice activists, as well as to postgraduate students and researchers who are interested in African governance and accountability.

Green IT Strategies and Applications

Green IT Strategies and Applications PDF

Author: Bhuvan Unhelkar

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2011-06-23

Total Pages: 563

ISBN-13: 1466509112

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Bhuvan Unhelkar takes you on an all-encompassing voyage of environmental sustainability and Green IT. Sharing invaluable insights gained during two battle-tested decades in the information and communication technologies industry, he provides a comprehensive examination of the wide-ranging aspects of Green IT—from switching-off monitors, virtualizing data centers, and optimizing processes to bringing attitude change through training and the use of green metrics for reporting. Combining extensive research, literature review experimentation, and decades of practical consulting experience, Green IT Strategies and Applications: Using Environmental Intelligence is your complete reference for undertaking a successful Green IT transformation. The environmentally responsible business strategies described in this book include motivators and drivers, transformation phases, management of risks, measuring and reporting of carbon, compliance with the ISO14000 family of standards, and the crucial nexus between Lean and green—resulting in what can be called Environmental Intelligence. This environmentally conscious IT reference delves beyond the corporate responsibilities of organizations in a market-driven economy to demonstrate the importance of carbon management as an integral part of good business management. Increasing profits, reducing costs, applying innovations in business, adhering to government standards, process management, and the socio-cultural aspects of business are all masterfully intertwined with Green IT issues. This book is equipped with case studies from different industrial sectors, including hospital (service), packaging (product), and telecom (infrastructure). It provides a complete suite of strategies, applications, tools, and techniques that will enable you to establish company-wide environmental strategies, a green value system, and the forward thinking required to properly position your organization for the low-carbon economy on the horizon.