On the Concept of Function in Social Science

Radcliffe‐Brown, A. R.

doi:10.1525/aa.1935.37.3.02a00030

Cited by 156 publications

(37 citation statements)

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“…In the Marxist tradition, symbolic system emphasizes on the political function connected to logical structure and gynecological function that is related to law or regulation. The structural functionalism concept of Radcliffe-Brown [27] describes the production of symbols by associating them to the interests of the dominant groups. There are two syntheses presented by Bourdieu.…”

Section: Graffiti In the Concept Of Phenomenology And Symbolic Interamentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review on Graffiti Phenomenon: A Study around Jakarta Indonesia

Winarso¹

2017

IJUNESST

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Section: Graffiti In the Concept Of Phenomenology And Symbolic Interamentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review on Graffiti Phenomenon: A Study around Jakarta Indonesia

Winarso¹

2017

IJUNESST

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“…Their work was particularly focussed on explaining order and stability of social systems, emphasising concepts of systemic needs, interdependency and socialisation (Harper, 2011). In the early 1900s, British anthropologists Radcliffe-Brown (1935) and Malinowski (1922) further developed and applied the sociological construct of structural-functionalism in anthropology as a means of framing ethnography and overcoming the limitations of diachronic approaches to understanding change. During this time period, similar to theorists in structural-functionalism, theorists at the Chicago School of sociology were also suggesting that social life cannot be understood without first understanding the interactions of actors within temporal and spatial contexts (Abbott, 1997).…”

Section: Development Of Structural-functionalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… Society consists of both structures and functions that are interconnected and interdependent, and ultimately focused on maintaining or mediating societal equilibrium (Radcliffe-Brown, 1935) and or necessary transformation (Dale et al, 2013b);  Social systems consist of both structures and functions that are necessary for the ongoing health or survival of that system (Chilcott, 1998);  Structures exist to meet the functional needs of a system (Merton, 1949);  Systemic functionality (i.e. how parts of the system work) across and within structures serves to reinforce and maintain the stability of the system's structures in the context of an ever-changing, complex and unpredictable system.…”

Section: Key Concepts Of Structural-functionalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the usefulness of structural–functional approaches to analyse governance of planning systems

et al. 2014

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Please note: Changes made as a result of publishing processes such as copy-editing, formatting and page numbers may not be reflected in this version. For the definitive version of this publication, please refer to the published source. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite this paper.This version is being made available in accordance with publisher policies. See http://orca.cf.ac.uk/policies.html for usage policies. Copyright and moral rights for publications made available in ORCA are retained by the copyright holders. Corresponding author: Ruth PottsThis is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted following peer review for publication in Planning Theory AbstractExisting planning theories tend to be limited in their analytical scope and often fail to account for the impact of many interactions between the multitudes of stakeholders involved in strategic planning processes. Although many theorists rejected structural-functional approaches from the 1970s, this article argues that many of structural-functional concepts remain relevant and useful to planning practitioners. In fact, structural-functional approaches are highly useful and practical when used as a foundation for systemic analysis of real-world, multi-layered, complex planning systems to support evidence-based governance reform. Such approaches provide a logical and systematic approach to the analysis of the wider governance of strategic planning systems that is grounded in systems theory and complementary to existing theories of complexity and planning. While we do not propose its use as a grand theory of planning, this article discusses how structural-functional concepts and approaches might be applied to underpin a practical analysis of the complex decision-making arrangements that drive planning practice, and to provide the evidence needed to target reform of poorly performing arrangements.

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“…Culture becomes a complex whole that includes norms and values governing nature, and social organization, including family and kinship, religious life, politics, and economy as well as the ways activities in these domains are practiced (Kuper 1999). Although his definition and subsequent approaches (e.g., Radcliffe-Brown 1935, Murdock 1949, Geertz 1973) overcame the narrow focus on the aesthetic, they still suffered from a major drawback-they conceptualized culture and cultures as rather homogeneous entities. In that sense, a society, i.e., a group of people, had one culture.…”

Section: An Anthropological Approach To Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

Culture, Nature, and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services in Northern Namibia

Schnegg¹,

Rieprich²,

Pröpper³

2014

E&S

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Defining culture as shared knowledge, values, and practices, we introduce an anthropological concept of culture to the ecosystem-service debate. In doing so, we shift the focus from an analysis of culture as a residual category including recreational and aesthetic experiences to an analysis of processes that underlie the valuation of nature in general. The empirical analysis draws on ethnographic fieldwork conducted along the Okavango River in northern Namibia to demonstrate which landscape units local populations value for which service(s). Results show that subjects perceive many places as providing multiple services and that most of their valuations of ecosystem services are culturally shared. We attribute this finding to common experiences and modes of activities within the cultural groups, and to the public nature of the valuation process.

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On the Concept of Function in Social Science

Cited by 156 publications

References 0 publications

A Review on Graffiti Phenomenon: A Study around Jakarta Indonesia

A Review on Graffiti Phenomenon: A Study around Jakarta Indonesia

Exploring the usefulness of structural–functional approaches to analyse governance of planning systems

Culture, Nature, and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services in Northern Namibia

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