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1.2: Sociopolitical Contexts of Education

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Deanna Cozart, Brian Dotts, James Gurney, Tanya Walker, Amy Ingalls, & James Castle

Deanna Cozart, Brian Dotts, James Gurney, Tanya Walker, Amy Ingalls, & James Castle
University of Georgia via GALILEO Open Learning Materials

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Although educational policies and practices are sometimes viewed as if they existed in a vacuum, separate from the larger social, political, and cultural contexts, one of the central tenets of multiculturalism asserts that educational decision-making is heavily influenced by each of these contexts. In particular, many scholars of multicultural education point to the importance of the sociopolitical context of education in the modern era as educational policies and practices are increasingly becoming politicized. Given the political nature of educational decision making, the educational policies and practices implemented at national, state, and local levels reflect the values, traditions, and worldviews of the individuals and groups responsible for their design and implementation, which inherently makes education a non-neutral process, though it is often seen as such. Understanding the sociopolitical context of education allows for a critical analysis of educational policies and practices in an effort to reduce educational inequalities, improve the achievement of all students, and prepare students to participate in democratic society.

In the field of multicultural education– and across the social sciences– the sociopolitical context refers to the laws, regulations, mandates, policies, practices, traditions, values, and beliefs that exist at the intersection of social life and political life. For example, freedom of religion is one of the fundamental principles of life in American society, and therefore there are laws in place that protect every individual’s right to worship as they choose. In this instance, the social practices (ideologies, beliefs, traditions) and political process (laws, regulations, policies) reflect each other and combine to create a sociopolitical context that is, in principle, welcoming to all religious practices. There are similar connections between the social and the political in the field of education. Given that one of the main purposes of schooling is to prepare students to become productive members of society, classroom practices must reflect– to some extent– the characteristics of the larger social and political community. For example, in the United States, many schools use student governments to expose students to the principles of democratic society. By organizing debates, holding elections, and giving student representatives a voice in educational decision making, schools hope to impart upon students the importance of engaging in the political process. The policies and practices that support the operation of student government directly reflect the larger sociopolitical context of the United States. Internationally, the use of student government often reflect the political systems used in that country, if a student government organization exists at all. However, sociopolitical contexts influence educational experiences in subtler ways as well.

Throughout the history of American education, school policies and practices have reflected the ideological perspectives and worldviews of the underlying sociopolitical context. As stated above, schools in democratic societies often have democratic student government organizations that reflect the political organization of the larger society, while similar organizations cannot be found in schools in countries that do not practice democracy. Similarly, if a society shares a widespread belief that some groups (based on race, class, language, or any other identifier) are inherently more intelligent than another, educational policies and practices will reflect that belief. For example, as the United States expanded westward into Native American lands during the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries, many Americans shared the widespread belief that Native Americans were inherently less intelligent and less civilized than white Americans. This belief system served as a justification for the “Manifest Destiny” ideology that encouraged further westward expansion. Not surprisingly, the larger sociopolitical context of the time influences educational policies and practices. In large numbers, young Native Americans were torn from their families and forced into boarding schools where they were stripped of their traditions and customs before being involuntarily assimilated into “American culture”. These Native American boarding schools outlawed indigenous languages and religions. They required students to adopt western names, wear western clothes, and learn western customs. While from a contemporary perspective these schools were clearly inhumane, racist, and discriminatory, they illustrate how powerful the sociopolitical climate of the era can be in the implementation of educational policies and practices. Educational policies today continue to reflect the larger social and political ideologies, worldviews, and belief systems of American society, and although instances of blatant discrimination based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, language, or any other identifier have been dramatically reduced in recent decades, a critical investigation into contemporary schooling reveals that individuals and groups are systematically advantaged and disadvantaged based on their identities and backgrounds, which will be explored in more depth in subsequent sections of this (book/class).

The role of social institutions in educational experiences are another key consideration in developing an understanding of the sociopolitical contexts of education. The term social institutions refer to the establish, standardized patterns of rule governed behavior within a community, group, or other social system. Generally, the term social institutions includes a consideration of the socially accepted patterns of behavior set by the family, schools, religion, and economic and political systems. Each social institution contributes to the efficiency and sustained functionality of the larger society by ensuring that individuals behave in a manner that consistent with the larger structure, which allows them to contribute to the society. Traffic regulations offer an example of how social institutions work together to create and ensure safety and efficiency in society. In order to reduce chaos, danger, and inefficiency along roadways in the United States, political institutions have created laws and regulations that govern behavior along public roads. Drivers found in violation of these regulations face punishment or fines that are determined by the judicial system. Furthermore, families and schools– and to some extent religions organizations– are responsible for teaching young people the rules and regulations that govern transportation in their society. The streamlined and regulated transportation system produced by the aforementioned social institutions allows economic institutions to function more efficiently. Functionalist Theory is a term used to refer to the perspective that institutions fill functional prerequisites in society and are necessary for social efficiency as seen in the previous example.

However, Conflict Theory refers to the idea that social institutions work to reinforce inequalities and uphold dominant group power. Using the same transportation example, a conflict theorist might argue that the regulations that require licensing fees before being able to legally operate a vehicle disproportionately impact poor people, which would limit their ability to move freely and thereby make it more difficult for them to hold and maintain a job that would allow them to move into a higher socioeconomic class. Another argument from the conflict theorist perspective might challenge institutionalized policies that require drivers to present proof of citizenship or immigration papers before being allowed to legally operate a vehicle. These policies systematically deny the right of freedom of movement to immigrants who entered the United States illegally, thereby limiting their civil rights as well as their ability to contribute to the American economy. Both the Functionalist Theory and Conflict Theory perspectives can contribute to a nuanced understanding of contemporary educational policies and practices by providing contrasting viewpoints on the same issue. Throughout these modules these perspectives will inform the discussion of educational institutions and how they influence– and are influenced by– other social institutions.

Much like educational policies and practices, the rules and regulations set by social institutions do not exist within a vacuum, nor are they neutral in regard to the way they impact individuals and groups. Institutional discrimination refers to “the adverse treatment of and impact on members of minority groups due to the explicit and implicit rules that regulate behavior (including rules set by firms, schools, government, markets, and society). Institutional discrimination occurs when the rules, practices, or ‘non-conscious understanding of appropriate conduct’ systematically advantage or disadvantage members of particular groups” (Bayer, 2011). Historical examples of institutional discrimination in abound in American history. In the field of education, perhaps the most well known example of institutionalized discrimination is the existence of segregated schools prior to the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954. During this era, students of color were institutionally and systematically prevented from attending white schools, and instead were forced to attend schools that lacked sufficient financial, material, and human resources. Institutional discrimination in contemporary society, however, is often subtler given that there are a plethora of laws that explicitly prevent discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or any other identifier. Regardless of those laws, social institutions and institutionalized discrimination continue to disadvantage non-dominant groups, thereby advantaging members of the dominant group. Use housing as an example, homeowner’s associations are local organizations that regulate the rules and behaviors within a particular housing community. If a homeowner’s association decides that only nuclear families can live within their community and create a bylaw that stipulates such, the practice of allowing nuclear families and denying non-nuclear families becomes codified as an institutionalized policy. While the policy does not directly state that it intends to be discriminatory, it would disproportionately affect families from cultures that traditionally have households that include aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and other extended family members, a practice that is common in many Asian, African, and South American communities. Although hypothetical, this example represents an example of the subtle ways in which institutional discrimination surfaces in contemporary society.

A more concrete example of institutionalized discrimination can be drawn from the housing market in New Orleans as homes were being rebuilt in the aftermath Hurricane Katrina. While the Lower Ninth Ward– a mostly black neighborhood– was among the most damaged neighborhood in New Orleans, just down river the St. Bernard Parish neighborhood– which was mostly white– was also heavily damaged. By 2009, most of St. Bernard Parish had been rebuilt, while the Lower Ninth Ward remained unfit for living. As families began moving back into the neighborhood, elected officials in St. Bernard Parish passed a piece of legislation that required property owners to rent only to ‘blood relatives’. In effect, the policy barred potential black residents from moving into the area and served to maintain the racial makeup of the neighborhood prior to Katrina. After several months of implementation, the policy was legally challenged and was found to be in violation of the Fair Housing Act in Louisiana courts. In 2014, the Parish agreed to pay approximately $1.8 million in settlements to families negatively affected by the policy. This example illustrates how institutionalized discrimination surfaces in contemporary society. Throughout the modules, instances of institutional discrimination in schools, as well as in American society as a whole, will be critically analyzed in order to develop an understanding of how educators can work to reduce inequality and promote academic achievement for all students.

A basic understanding of social institutions and institutional discrimination helps inform this course’s approach to key educational issues in the field of multicultural education. As the student body in American schools becomes increasingly diverse, it becomes increasingly important for future teachers to know and understand how students’ identities might impact their educational experiences as well as their experiences their larger social and political settings. While there are many issues facing education today, Nieto and Bode (2012) identified four key terms that are central to understanding sociopolitical context surrounding multicultural education. These terms include: equal and equitable education, the ‘achievement gap’, deficit theories, and social justice.

The terms equal and equitable are often used synonymously, though they have vastly different meanings. While most educators would agree that providing an equal education to all students is an important part of their mission, it is sometimes more important to focus on creating equitable educational experiences. At its core, an equal education means providing exactly the same resources and opportunities for all students, regardless of their background. An equal education, however, does not ensure that all students will achieve equally. Take English Language Learners (ELLs) as an example. A group of ELL students sitting in the same classroom as native English speakers, listening to the same lecture, reading the same books, and taking the same assessments could be considered an equal education given that all students are receiving equal access to all of the educational experiences and materials. The outcome of this ostensibly equal education, however, would not be equitable. The ELL students would not be able to comprehend the lecture, books, or assessments and would therefore not be given the real possibility of achieving at an equal level, which is the aim of an equitable education. Equity refers to the educational process that “provides students with what they need to achieve equality” (Nieto & Bode, 2012, p.9). In the case of the ELL example, an equitable education would provide additional resources– perhaps including ESL specialists, bilingual activities and materials, and/or programs that foster native language literacy– to the ELL students to ensure that they are welcomed into the classroom community and are given the opportunity to learn and succeed equally. Working towards educational equality by providing equitable educational experiences is one of the central tenets of multicultural education and will be a recurring topic throughout these modules.

A second key term that is crucial in understanding multicultural education is the ‘achievement gap’. A large body of research has documented that students from racially and linguistically marginalized groups as well as students from low-income families generally achieve less than other students in educational settings. Large scale studies of standardized assessments revealed that white students outperformed black, Hispanic, and Native American students in reading, writing, and mathematics by at least 26 points on a scale from 0 to 500 (Nieto and Bode, 2012; National Center for Educational Statistics, 2009). Though usage of the term has changed over time, it often focuses on the role that students themselves play in the underachievement, which has drawn criticism from advocates of multicultural education because it places too much responsibility on the individual rather than considering the larger sociopolitical and sociocultural contexts surrounding education. While gaps in educational performance no doubt exist, Nieto and Bode (2012) suggest that using terms such as “resource gap”, “opportunity gap”, or “expectations gap” may be more accurate in describing the realities faced by marginalized students who often attend schools with limited resources, limited opportunities for educational advancement or employment in their communities, and face lowered expectations from their teachers and school personnel (p.13). Throughout this (book/course) issues related to the achievement gap’ and educational inequalities based on race, class, gender, and other identifiers will be viewed within the larger social, cultural, economic, and political contexts in order to create a more holistic and systematic understanding of student experiences, rather than focusing purely on the individual.

Historically in educational research, deficit theories have been used to explain how and why the achievement gap exists, but since the 1970s, scholars of multicultural education have been working to dismantle the lasting influence of deficit theory perspectives in contemporary education. The term ‘deficit theories’ refer to the assumption that some students perform worse than others in educational settings due to genetic, cultural, linguistic, or experiential differences that prevent them from learning. The roots of deficit theories can be found in 19 th century pseudo-scientific studies that purported to show ‘scientific evidence’ that classified the intelligence and behavior characteristics of various racial groups. The vast majority of these studies were conducted by white men, who unsurprisingly, found white men to be the most intelligent group of human beings, with other groups falling in behind in ways that mirrored the accepted social standings of the era (Gould, 1981). Though many have been disproved, deficit theories continue to surface in educational research and discourse. Reports suggesting that academic underachievement is a product of cultural deprivation or a dysfunctional relationship with school harken back to deficit theory perspectives. Much like the ‘achievement gap’, deficit theories place the burden of academic underachievement on students and their families, rather than considering how the social and institutional contexts might impact student learning. Deficit theories also create a culture of despondency among educators and administrators since they support the idea that students’ ability to achieve is predetermined by factors outside of the teacher’s control. Multicultural education aims to disrupt the prevalence of deficit theory perspectives by encouraging a more nuanced analysis of student achievement that considers the structural and cultural contexts surrounding American schooling.

The fourth and final term that is central to understanding the sociopolitical context of multicultural education is social justice. Throughout these modules, the term social justice will be employed to describe efforts to reduce educational inequalities, promote academic achievement, and engage students in their local, state, and national communities. Social justice is multifaceted in that it embodies the ideologies, philosophies, approaches, and actions that work towards improving the quality of life for all individuals and communities. Not only does social justice aim to improve access to material and human resources for students in underserved communities, it also exposes inequalities by challenging and confronting misconceptions and stereotypes through the use of critical thinking and activism. Finally, in order for social justice initiatives to be successful, they must “draw on the talents and strengths that students bring to their education” (Nieto and Bode, 2012, p.12). This allows students to see their experiences represented in curriculum content, which can empower and inspire students– not only to excel academically– but also engage in activities that strengthen and build the community around them. These key components of social justice permeate throughout the field of multicultural education.

In order to develop a holistic understanding of educational experiences, these modules will interpret and analyze educational policies and practices through a lens that considers the sociopolitical contexts of education. By recognizing the role that social and political ideologies have over educational decision making, multicultural approaches to education aim to reduce educational inequalities, improve the achievement of all students, and prepare students to participate in democratic society.

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Understanding social policy from the social work perspective
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Social Work and the Changing Context: Engagement in Policymaking

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Surinder Jaswal, Melody Kshetrimayum, Social Work and the Changing Context: Engagement in Policymaking, The British Journal of Social Work , Volume 50, Issue 8, December 2020, Pages 2253–2260, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaa234

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Social work’s prime responsibility is to engage with people and structures to address life challenges and enhance well-being in order to further social change, social development, social cohesion, empowerment (and liberation) of people. Engaging with people and structure requires an in-depth understanding of the local environment and the policy frameworks. Local environment such as resources, ecological community, and network of relationships between people is not static and social, economic, cultural and policy frameworks too change rapidly. The environment and frameworks within which social work professionals work and conduct research have changed and evolved over time. The socio-political landscape too has changed considerably over the last decade across the globe. The processes of globalisation, privatisation, new managerialism and technocratisation have further impacted different countries in different ways ( Gibbs, 2001). These socio-economic and political developments have brought large scale changes in the community structures, institutional power arrangements and welfare systems, which have further led to new forms of injustice, oppression and discrimination. The gaps in the social structure are widening and new vulnerabilities have been created which pose serious threats to the well-being of people. As a result, subaltern voices on equality, social justice, human rights, development, security, education, health and mental health, employment, immigration and empowerment have emerged against the socio-political structures and systems. The varied ways in which these voices have played out differs from one environment to another.

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Published: 17 April 2018

Integrating evidence, politics and society: a methodology for the science–policy interface

Peter Horton 1 &
Garrett W. Brown 2

Palgrave Communications volume 4 , Article number: 42 ( 2018 ) Cite this article

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Science, technology and society

There is currently intense debate over expertise, evidence and ‘post-truth’ politics, and how this is influencing policy formulation and implementation. In this article, we put forward a methodology for evidence-based policy making intended as a way of helping navigate this web of complexity. Starting from the premise of why it is so crucial that policies to meet major global challenges use scientific evidence, we discuss the socio-political difficulties and complexities that hinder this process. We discuss the necessity of embracing a broader view of what constitutes evidence—science and the evaluation of scientific evidence cannot be divorced from the political, cultural and social debate that inevitably and justifiably surrounds these major issues. As a pre-requisite for effective policy making, we propose a methodology that fully integrates scientific investigation with political debate and social discourse. We describe a rigorous process of mapping, analysis, visualisation and sharing of evidence, constructed from integrating science and social science data. This would then be followed by transparent evidence evaluation, combining independent assessment to test the validity and completeness of the evidence with deliberation to discover how the evidence is perceived, misunderstood or ignored. We outline the opportunities and the problems derived from the use of digital communications, including social media, in this methodology, and emphasise the power of creative and innovative evidence visualisation and sharing in shaping policy.

Introduction

As the world struggles with complex problems that affect all aspects of human civilisation—from climate change and loss of ecosystems and biodiversity, to overpopulation, malnutrition and poverty, to disease, ill health and an ageing population—never before has it been more important to base government policy for intervention upon scientific evidence. In this article, we outline a methodology for integrating the process of scientific investigation with political debate and social discourse in order to improve the science–policy interface.

Science advisors and advisory bodies with scientist representation have steadily increased (Gluckman and Wilsdon, 2016 ); for example, in the UK in the form of the Food Standard Agency (FSA), the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) or globally within the commissions and advisory bodies associated with the United Nations and/or the use of technical review panels such as within The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis. The well-established Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a model for other panels, such as the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. However, the process by which scientific evidence becomes part of a policy is complicated and messy (Gluckman, 2017 ; Malakoff, 2017 ), and there are many examples to support the view that this results in fundamental failings to deal quickly or effectively with major global challenges. For example, the time lag between the beginning of meaningful climate action in the COP21 Paris Agreement and the science that proved that greenhouse gas emissions are changing the climate, illustrates the difficulty of evidence-based policy making. It also questions the ultimate effectiveness of policy making, since there is evidence to suggest that COP21 may be too little, too late (Rockstrom et al., 2017 ). Similarly, the continued EU embargo on the use of food from genetically modified (GM) crops shows a serious disconnect between public opinion and the huge amount of scientific evidence that shows that the environmental and health risks are infinitesimal.

What is evidence?

The reasons for these apparent failures are complicated and numerous but one key issue is what constitutes evidence. Even when the problem is clearly one where science can provide a solution, evidence is not only derived from scientific investigation, but also from the political, cultural, economic and social dimensions of these issues, resulting in arguments about relative validity and worth. Hence, bias and prejudice are difficult to remove and evidence is often cherry-picked, only lightly consulted, partially worked into policy (if at all), and/or side-stepped in favour of ideological preferences. Even when evidence is abundant and clear, it is often ignored as we enter a ‘post-truth’ era where the opinions of experts are viewed with scepticism and populist solutions predominate (e.g., a 140 character tweet can brand a piece of sound scientific evidence as ‘fake news’). The ready availability and sharing of information through the internet and social media, which in some sense democratise evidence by increasing the diversity of inputs, should be a positive and welcome development. Condorcet’s mathematical Jury Theorem suggests that ‘larger groups make better decisions’ and that more, and diverse, input leads to better ‘collective intelligence’ (Condorcet, 1785 ). Thus, the increase in diverse information should foster ‘the wisdom of crowds’ (Surowiecki, 2005 ) towards ‘the better argument’ (Landemore and Elster, 2012 ). However, online content is personalised through the use of algorithms aimed to harvest and respond to existing preferences. Thus, the internet often fosters an ‘echo chamber’ effect that limits cognitive diversity and increases ‘group think’ by providing and linking information based solely on the entrenched preferences of the internet user and like-minded individuals (Grassegger and Krogerus, 2016 ). In addition, there is a view that scientific investigation is not clear, takes place outside the public sphere and often perceived as purposefully elitist. This gives rise to conspiracies about who produced the evidence and for what purpose, eroding epistemic authority. As a result, highly personalised preferences are reinforced by selective information, despite the fact that this information might amount to misinformation, exaggeration, falsehood and degraded or ‘cherry-picked’ evidence. Hence, rational policy development is thwarted because governments are tempted to use the evidence that concurs with the preconceived views of their constituents as well as their own existing political mantras, or which confirms public perceptions and aspirations, whether this mirrors the best available evidence or not.

The problem with scientific evidence

For scientists this is a particularly difficult problem to deal with. Science establishes facts, such as the fundamental physics proving that increasing levels of CO 2 in the atmosphere will result in an increased greenhouse effect. Even when proof is elusive (such as knowing exactly how, where and when this greenhouse effect will be translated into changes in climate) the notion of evidence is sacrosanct, it being derived from objective analysis, evaluation, testing, experimentation, retesting and falsifiability. To see hard won evidence ignored, distorted or diluted in favour of what seem ill-informed subjective views leads to frustration and anger. However, a more constructive and positive response would be to realise that the evaluation of scientific evidence cannot be divorced from the political, cultural and social debate that inevitably and justifiably surrounds most major issues. Using the two examples above, the long and sometimes tortuous pathway to the COP21 climate change accord results from the difficult economic trade-offs involved and the very different socio-political perspectives of the nations of the world. In the case of GM, the emotional context of food consumption that may favour natural foods cannot be treated dismissively, nor can the legitimate concerns about increased power and control that GM might give to multinational agri-businesses. As stated elsewhere (Cairney, 2016 ), scientific investigation defines problems, but often does not identify policy-acceptable, scalable and meaningful solutions. Scientists are often not effective in communicating their findings to audiences outside academia and frequently hold naive assumptions that good evidence will be readily accepted and can quickly contribute to policy. Not appreciating the complexity and non-linearity of many of the intractable problems that science is addressing (so-called wicked problems—DeFries and Nagendra, 2017 ) is often the root cause of this failure. Thus, the question often asked is can we improve the ways in which scientific evidence is constructed, integrated and communicated, so it can contribute more effectively, efficiently and quickly into policy formulation, in ways that combat the problems of a ‘post-truth’ era.

Producing evidence

Ideas for a policy intervention follow identification of a particular societal problem and may be initiated by a variety of organisations—governments, agencies of government such as research funding bodies, political parties, pressure groups, NGOs, think-tanks or groups of concerned academics (Fig. 1 ). It may be top-down or bottom-up. This is then followed by the production of evidence about the operation, implementation and effectiveness of the policy idea, commissioned or carried out by the policy proposer. The process of evidence production normally follows a number of steps, which are depicted in Fig. 1A as a MAVS cycle—an iterative process of mapping, analysis, visualisation and sharing (Horton et al., 2016 ).

An integrated process for policy development. a MAVS—an iterative process for obtaining evidence for policy development. The first step is to map the component processes and participants in the issue, if appropriate as a system wide exercise. Then this issue is analysed using data and information and appropriate tools such as Life Cycle Assessment together with the tools of social science. The results of this analysis are then visualised in transparent form as a dashboard, ready for sharing among all stakeholders and when appropriate through publication in academic journals and/or news media. The data produced might well identify other dimensions of the issue and initiate further cycles. b Identification of a problem or opportunity that requires a policy intervention is put on the agenda. The first task to assemble evidence using the MAVS protocol. This evidence is evaluated using a two-pronged process, independent scrutiny and testing of the evidence and use of deliberative forums to address key issues arising. Repetition of this process will lead to a policy ready for implementation

The usefulness of formalising evidence generation in this way was demonstrated in addressing a specific policy question of how to reduce the environmental impact of the production of bread (Goucher et al., 2017 ; Horton, 2017 ). Mapping identified all the key actors in the wheat-bread supply chain, from whom data was obtained. This complete data set was then analysed by a standardised process of Life Cycle Assessment. The evidence clearly showed the dominant contribution of fertiliser as a source of greenhouse gas emissions—which was presented in easily visualised form, and shared via publication in a peer-reviewed academic journal (Goucher et al., 2017 ), press releases and a summary article in The Conversation (Horton, 2017 ). These were widely read and discussed across a wide variety of media. The evidence was subsequently taken up by commercial bodies in the wheat-bread industry who are now seeking ways towards a ‘sustainable bread’.

We suggest that the MAVS methodology could be similarly useful in evidence gathering for many other policy purposes. In such cases the evidence might be much more complex than in the above example, because policy more often than not is addressing complex multidimensional wicked problems rather than purely technical ones. One challenge is how to integrate scientific evidence, which is usually quantitative data, with the qualitative data obtained by social sciences. For this, further development of social indicators is crucial, including indicators of well-being, values, agency and inequality (Hicks et al., 2016 ). Furthermore, what is being suggested here is that evidence production should not be limited to only presenting analytically coherent statements about ‘facts’, ‘truth’ and ‘solutions’. Thus, evidence also needs to be generated in direct response to existing preferences as a means to either support or falsify preferences in a way that speaks to them, not over them. Here, interdisciplinary incorporation of social science techniques adds to the scientific data by providing stakeholder analysis, preference identification and social categorisation.

Lessons could be learned from recent experiments aimed to increase health policy outcomes associated with the production of evidence by means of participatory research models, which incorporate stakeholders into the design (mapping), evaluation (analysis), communication (visualisation and sharing) and implementation phases of research. By doing so, several unique features result. Firstly, stakeholders are able to provide ‘on the ground’ insights about the problems or misunderstandings the research needs to address. Hence the research questions are tailored to these needs and the final aims of the research made transparent. Secondly, by including stakeholders throughout the process, it creates ‘buy-in’ and better understanding of how the evidence was created, increasing epistemic authority while undermining conspiratory speculation and claims of elitism. Thirdly, inclusion naturally builds trust in the results, which in many cases in health research has allowed for better policy translation and outcomes, since people are more willing to adopt the rationale for a policy if they feel that they were involved in the process. As an example, positive policy results have been witnessed in a number of cases where health research linked circumcision to reduced rates of HIV infection in Africa. Although it is still a highly contentious issue in many parts of the world, the inclusion of political, religious and cultural leaders in the research process in many cases helped to alleviate existing fears and misunderstandings, which facilitated more exact communication and acceptance of the source of evidence (WHO, 2016 ).

Visualisation and sharing are particularly important steps of the MAVS process. All too often, evidence production and analysis results in lengthy and often impenetrable reports, which make the process of transparent evidence sharing impossible and often counter-productive. For example, Howarth and Painter ( 2016 ) describe the problems translating the information contained in IPCC reports into local action plans. Thus, research is urgently needed to find the best ways to visualise and then communicate evidence, for example, using clever infographics and other digital techniques. There is huge potential for evidence sharing via web-based national and international events and new online publishing models (e.g., Horton, 2017 ). Most important of all, people with expert knowledge need to be active and pro-active rather than passive and reactive; indeed one might argue they have a responsibility to do so. Jeremy Grantham, founder of the philanthropic Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment once stated ‘Be persuasive. Be brave. Be arrested (if necessary)’ (Grantham, 2012 ). Sharing of experience and approaches is also vital, to find out what works and what doesn’t, creating networks if appropriate, such as the International Network of Government Science Advice (INGSA) or less formal and spontaneous movements such as that which resulted in the March for Science. Supplementing evidence with powerful stories from ‘real life’ can also increase the effectiveness of communication. One key implication here is that what may previously have been regarded as research (in a university for example) may become an activity in which the end result, in terms of impact, advocacy and implementation, is not just an optional ‘add-on’ but an integral and obligatory part of the project.

Evaluating evidence

The next step in our methodology is evidence evaluation. This is an open and transparent process that questions the validity of the evidence. Who leads this evaluation process will depend upon who is leading the policy initiative. Given their reputation for impartiality, transparency and interdisciplinary thinking, universities could play a key independent role, so long as they have procedures to include all stakeholders, particularly those directly affected by a policy intervention. This is not always straightforward, especially when research depends upon funding by governments and various external bodies. The key is to break away from the traditional model of the ‘expert panel of mostly white male senior academics’ and strive towards diversity of experience, ethnicity and gender. Again, the criterion for such assessment is not to produce an impenetrable report, but to follow the principles of visualisation and sharing set out above.

Evidence evaluation simultaneously and equally combines discussion, debate and deliberation with testing of that evidence in further independent scientific scrutiny, including using peer review procedures well known for academic science (Fig. 1B ). Evidence from scientific investigation rarely constitutes proof and furthermore does not always meet high standards of objectivity, quality or neutrality. Therefore, it has to be independently assessed, including by consideration of evidence available from other sources and studies. Within the evaluation process it is important to locate not only where evidence is lacking or is inconclusive or ambiguous, but also to understand how evidence is perceived, misunderstood or ignored. Thus, for example, the same piece of evidence can be interpreted in different ways by different stakeholders, leading to disagreement and conflict (discussed in Horton et al. 2016 ). These then become focal points in deliberative forums that consider the tension between different actors and stakeholders.

The use of stakeholder deliberative forums within the evidence policy process not only allows for misconceptions and ideological stances to be located and understood, but also provides deliberative opportunities for various ideological positions to be held to public scrutiny by other stakeholders. Stakeholders with particularly entrenched preferences are asked to share these preferences and give their best defences and evidence to support them. This includes having stakeholder positions tested against the best evidence available and mutual requests of reason giving from other stakeholders. Deliberative forums help to undermine enclave thinking and force ideology testing via the need for public reason giving. They have had empirical success in creating intersubjective meta-understandings between stakeholders, which over time, allow crucial agreements on key factual elements within contested public policy.

There are already many cases of governments instituting deliberative forums for key policy discussions, in efforts to generate policy consensus, rather than relying on aggregative preference tallying models that only measure existing preferences and pit them against each other in simplistic minority/majority binaries. For example, there have been successful deliberative experiments trialled by the Western Australian Department of Planning and Infrastructure, in British Columbia’s ‘Citizens Assembly’, in Ireland during the Irish Constitutional Convention, and by Oregon State in its ‘Initiative Review’ (Rosenberg, 2007 ).

Although deliberative forums have largely been physical meetings facilitated by researchers, governments or experts, the use of the internet to broaden the scope of deliberative forums could hold promising innovation. This could allow much wider participation and larger sets of data to be collected and evaluated, aided by the use of artificial intelligence techniques. This is an area to which future research should be directed (Neblo et al., 2017 ).

Transforming knowledge into policy

The results of this two-pronged evaluation are viewed together in the process by which the evidence associated with a policy idea is transformed into a policy plan, as depicted in Fig. 1B . The policy plan can then be evaluated again, and again, step-by-step until all evidence has been validated and all stakeholder viewpoints have been reasonably satisfied or properly discredited. The policy is then ready for implementation. The anticipation here is that stakeholder ‘buy-in’ will remove barriers to policy implementation and that the use of evidence within these deliberations shape that ‘buy-in’. This is because, although politicians could still ignore evidence-based policy consensus, they would have less incentive to do so if that consensus demonstrated a clear ‘buy-in’ by key stakeholders and the public. In addition, deliberative forums often involve policy makers as key participants and thus can deliver preference alteration, particularly if they are aligned at the same time as other constituent stakeholders.

Can the methodology we describe have an effect on the development of evidence-based policy in general? Combining scientific analysis, participation and deliberation among multiple stakeholders, has been proposed to address the problem of water sustainability (Garrick et al., 2017 ), food security (Horton et al., 2017 ) and health (Lucero et al., 2018 ), and it is in such domains that we foresee it being particularly applicable. However, in many cases the full complexity and messiness of the problem may make strict adherence to this methodology difficult, and here evidence sharing through advocacy, stakeholder outreach and campaigning becomes particularly important. Politicians often take note only when public pressure mounts, for example, because of intense activity in the popular press, as in the recent policy proposals in the UK surrounding plastic bottles, coffee cups and plastic pollution of the oceans. It is perhaps less clear whether our methodology can make impact in more politically charged policy areas such as climate change, where evidence is clear but vested interests, often through ‘post-truth’ and ‘fake news’ work to undermine it. Nevertheless, having a formal framework could be a source of stability, discipline and confidence building, a recourse when problems arise and a way to break through log jams and overcome barriers. By establishing trust between scientists, government and the public, it could help build a more effective science–policy interface.

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Acknowledgements

PH thanks the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment for their generous support. We wish to thank many colleagues in the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures and the Sheffield Sustainable Food Futures group for the discussion.

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Literature as an Interpretative Method for Socio-Political Scenarios

First Online: 27 August 2016

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Luigi Mastrangelo 6

Part of the book series: Studies in Systems, Decision and Control ((SSDC,volume 66))

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The Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa explains the complex relationship between literature, politics and society, pointing out how literary works might prove an effective interpretative key of the socio-political scenarios, provided to submit them to a detailed and culturally appropriate analysis under a methodological perspective, as a form of a narrative based social simulation, of better quality, the more it proves the author’s writing skills, by which it is possible to date back to a wider and more plausible scenario analysis. Despite the paradox of “an activity that comes from loneliness, by an outcast”, literature arises from the social and political universe because its object, coming from an unraveling series of plots taken from real result of imagination or the combination of these two elements in different degrees, consists in situations and in social dynamics arising from the relationship between the characters. The works, in order to be properly interpreted, are to be contextualized, starting from the ideological issue that must be approached by two points of view, objective and subjective.

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Among the works by Reyes, collected in 13 volumes (1955–1968), stand out in this respect La testimonianza di Juan Peňa (1930), Verità e Menzogna (1950). As Ambassador he travels in France, Spain, Argentina and Brasil.

Vargas Llosa ( 2005 , p. 10).

Besides to Cent ’ anni di solitudine (1967), it is useful to remember La mala ora (1962) and L ’ autunno del patriarca (1975). He was awarded the Nobel prize in 1982.

M. Vargas Llosa, Letteratura cit., p. 12.

Ibidem, p. 15.

The two writers have also in common the attempt to get into active politics: in 1947 Sartre founded with Rosenthal and Rousset the party called Rassemblement Démocratique Révolutionnaire, similarly destined to a negative election result.

M. Vargas Llosa, Letteratura quoted, pp. 16–17.

Sartre ( 1995 , p. 137).

Sciarra ( 2009 , p. 129).

It is the ambitious Bourgois gentleman of the play by Moliere performed the first time in 1670.

Sartre, J.P. Che cos ’ è la letteratura? Quoted, p. 20.

Ibidem, pp. 23–24.

In 1853, Leo Tolstoy asks to be transferred to Sevastopol to tell the Crimean War. In Anna Karenina’s adultery (1873–1877) there is all the conformism of Russian society.

Vargas Llosa, Letteratura quoted, p. 25.

See, among the others, Di Benedetto ( 1991 ).

Baretti defends against Voltaire’ attacks the Italian literature and the Shakespearean theater. From 1763 to 1765 he directed “La Frusta Letteraria”.

Translator of the Odyssey, Pindemonte is the addressee of the Foscolo’s Sepolcri dedicated note. This theme was also developed in a poem of the same title, but with a more private than patriotic enthusiasm belonging to Foscolo.

In the three tragedies of freedom ( La congiura de ’ Pazzi 1779, Virginia 1783, Timoleone 1784), Alfieri condemns the aristocracy’s submissiveness to tyranny.

Animator of “Il Caffe”, Pietro Verri also wrote the Dialogo sul disordine delle monete nello stato di Milano (1763) and le Osservazioni sulle torture.

Cesare Beccaria was also committed with Elements of public economy (1804).

With Ivanhoe (1820) Scott shows the reader Richard the lionhearted’s England. He writes in nine volumes the Life of Napoleon (1827).

Miguel de Cervantes has to flee to Italy for his involvement in a doubtful act of violence, for which he is sentenced to the cut of the right hand: he puts himself in the wake of the Cardinal Giulio Acquaviva, second son of the Duke of Atri and nephew of the Jesuit General Claudio, author of the Ratio studiorum .

James Joyce with the Dubliners written in 1914 offers a portrait of the public life of the city. For the author of Ulysses (1927) likelihood is a rigorous operation and it represents a need both ethical and aesthetic.

Marcel Proust is the author of a work, In Search of Lost Time (1913–1927), considered a stream of consciousness novel but instead more properly sociological, since it describes through the complex transition from the I to We the French society of the early twentieth century.

William Faulkner, Nobel in 1949, deals with the issue of the decline of the South in the scenario of the Secession, also recalling a distant family affair through Colonel Sartoris (1929).

Gustave Flaubert lives in Paris the 1848 Revolution. From Madame Bovary (1856–1857) develops the “bovarysm”, which sees the migration to the metropolis as an antidote to the monotony of the province.

Honoré de Balzac adds the “de” to his surname to elevate his bourgeois origins. He publishes in 1829 Les Chouans about the Vendee rebellion.

Vargas Llosa, Letteratura quoted, p. 34.

Ibidem, pp. 38–39.

The Philosopher from Castelvetrano dealt with, among the others, Manzoni and Leopardi (1920) and Vincenzo Cuoco (1927).

Francesco De Sanctis was appointed Minister of the Public Education from March 1861 to 1862 e still in 1878 and from 1979 to 1981. His History of the Italian literature is to be appreciated as a civil, cultural and spiritual path of the Italian People.

Gramsci ( 1974 , pp. 5–29).

Dizionario delle Opere della letteratura italiana , directed by A. Asor Rosa, Einaudi, 2 tt., Torino (2000) 2006.

Xingjang and Magris ( 2012 , p. 7).

Ibidem, p. 36.

Antiseri ( 2014 , p. 29).

Russi ( 2005 , p. 63).

Sciarra ( 2007 , p. 132).

Gadamer ( 1972 , pp. 508–509).

Antiseri, D.: I cattolici e la politica. Una diserzione che tradisce l’Italia, in “Corriere della Sera”, 9 ottobre 2014, p. 29

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Luporini, C.: Leopardi progressivo, Editori Riuniti, Roma, 2006, already in Filosofi vecchi e nuovi, Sansoni, Firenze (1947)

Mastrangelo, L.: Leopardi politico e il Risorgimento. Luciano, Napoli (2010)

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Sartre, J.P.: An introducion of “Les Temps Modernes”, now in Che cos’è la letteratura? (original edition. Gallimard, Paris, 1947), Il Saggiatore, Milano, (1960), p. 137 (1995)

Sartre, J.P.: Questions de Méthode, in “Les Temps Modernes”, 1957, n. 139, pp. 338–417, then in J.P. Sartre, Critique de la Raison Dialectique, I.t., Paris, 1960, Italian translation by P. Caruso, pp. 15–139. Milano (1963)

Sciarra, E.: Gadamer e i criteri ermeneutici della comprensione sociale, in ID., Epistemologia e società. Popper, Wittgestein, Gadamer, Sigraf Edizioni Scienfiche, Pescara (2007)

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Mastrangelo, L. (2017). Literature as an Interpretative Method for Socio-Political Scenarios. In: Maturo, A., Hošková-Mayerová, Š., Soitu, DT., Kacprzyk, J. (eds) Recent Trends in Social Systems: Quantitative Theories and Quantitative Models. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, vol 66. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40585-8_36

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Considering the degree of resemblance between literature and human societies, one is convinced that literature is not just a social construct which is rooted in mere ideas, imaginations or imaginary situations. Instead, it is a social institution; a form of tradition, which has existed for a long time and is accepted as a vital component of a given society to perform certain functions. In this paper, we see literature as a social reality, which presents the state of things as they are, rather than as they are imagined to be. In the selected literary works for this study, the three writers expose and condemn the harsh and hostile social and political realities which confront the African society at different periods of its evolution. Premised on sociological approach to literary criticism, this paper justifies that literature can be employed in working out national reconstruction being a tool that can make people co-operate with one another through information sharing and dissemination.

Author Biography

Sikiru Adeyemi Ogundokun, Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria. Department of Languages and Linguistics.

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Theorizing Social Context: Rethinking Behavioral Theory

Major behavioral theories focus on proximal influences on behavior that are considered to be predominantly cognitive characteristics of the individual largely uninfluenced by social context. Social ecological models integrate multiple levels of influence on health behavior and are noted for emphasizing the interdependence of environmental settings and life domains. This theory-based article explains how social context is conceptualized in the social sciences and how the social science conceptualization differs from and can broaden the analytic approach to health behavior. The authors use qualitative data from the “Behavioral Constructs and Culture in Cancer Screening” study to illustrate our conceptualization of social context. We conclude that the incorporation into health behavior theory of a multidimensional socio-culturally oriented, theoretical approach to social context is critical to understand and redress health disparities in multicultural societies like that in the United States.

Many of these [behavioral] theories end up blaming the victim for their own circumstances. “What, you can’t plan? What, you can’t reason?” You know. “You can’t think? You can’t believe? You don’t have knowledge? …” We need to make explicit the assumptions that guide these theories and the limitations that underlie the theories Study Key Informant 3

Over the past decade, the importance of social context to understanding health behavior and decision-making has been increasingly recognized in public health research ( Emmons 2000 ; Frohlich, Corin, & Potvin 2001 ; McKinlay 1995 ; Perry, Thompson, and Fowkes 2002 ; Revenson & Pranikoff 2005 ; Sorensen et al. 2003 ; Susser & Susser 1996 ; Williams 1995 ). Two streams of research have addressed the role of social context in health behavior: social psychological models and social ecological models. This article contributes to the emerging public health literature by suggesting a third approach to social context. Social context as used and theorized in the social science disciplines of anthropology and sociology, should be integrated with emerging social cognitive and ecological models for a more complete understanding of health behavior. We show how and why social context broadly conceived offers significant opportunities for deeper understanding of behavior as well as dynamics that likely figure importantly in health disparities.

In most social psychological theories of health behavior, social context has been consistently relegated to a relatively minor influence on individual behavior and health outcomes. While behavioral science seeks to understand, explain, and often change human behavior through the adoption of healthier lifestyles, behaviors, and attitudes, the theories employed have an individual, cognitive focus, largely abstracted from social context ( Frohlich et al., 2001 ; Singer & Weeks, 1996 ; Williams, 1995 ). Based in these theories, much prevention research places emphasis on cognitive and motivational variables including how individuals interpret behavioral information, how they value that information, and how capable they feel to use the information ( Bandura, 1984 ; Krumeich, Weijts, Reddy, & Meijer-Weitz, 2001 ; Singer & Weeks, 1996 ). Social, organizational, historical, political, and cultural influences upon individual behavior are, at best, relegated to the position of background variables, acknowledged only insofar as they affect beliefs that are theorized to be a dominant influence. Importantly, when they are acknowledged, these organizational, political, and so on, associations are mainly framed as unidirectional, the individual being the recipient or object of unchanging external forces.

Over the past decade, several critiques of behavioral models have attempted to move the focus of health promotion research and practice beyond the realm of individual behavior by demonstrating the inextricable ways that context, in a variety of forms, is integral to health and health behavior outcomes. These efforts have generated social ecological models incorporating social context ( Berkman & Glass, 2000 ; Emmons, 2000 ; Krieger, 2005 ; Kreiger & Davey Smith, 2001 ; Stockols, 1992 ); conceptualizing social context as both modifying conditions and mediating mechanisms ( Sorensen et al. 2003 ); and re-defining social contexts as risk regulators i ( Glass & McAtee 2006 ). As one critic summarized,

“There has been a gradual shift away from explaining health related behavior simply in terms of ‘health beliefs’ (i.e., health belief models etc.) toward attempting to understand the lay person’s actions in terms of their own logic, knowledge and beliefs which are grounded in the context of people’s daily lives” ( Williams 1995 :580).

This article elaborates a theoretical approach to “social context” that draws on the social sciences of anthropology and sociology to understand the multiple dimensions of social and cultural phenomena in daily life as they relate to the health behavior of underserved ii women. We define social context as the sociocultural forces that shape people’s day-to-day experiences and that directly and indirectly affect health and behavior ( Pasick & Burke, 2008 ). These forces include historical, political, legal structures and processes (e.g. colonialism and migration), organizations and institutions (e.g. schools, clinics, and community), and individual and personal trajectories (e.g. family, interpersonal relationships). Notably, these forces are co-constituitive, meaning they are formed in relation to and by each other and often influence people in ways of which they are not consciously aware. In the following, we explain the theoretical basis for this definition of social context, and detail how it is always situationally dependent.

The theoretical approach we propose here evolved from a combination of social science literature and our findings from an inductive, qualitative study of the appropriateness of several behavioral theory constructs for understanding the practice of getting a mammogram among US Filipina and Latina women. Elsewhere we detail problems with the use of health behavior theory in the study of mammography screening in underserved populations ( Pasick & Burke 2008 ). In this volume, we focus on describing the study – “ Behavioral Constructs and Culture in Cancer Screening ” (R01 CA81816, Pasick, Principal Investigator), known as the “3C’s” project – and its findings in detail. Four other articles in this volume detail study methods and findings: (a) the study overview, methods, and major findings (Pasick, Burke, et al., 2009); accompanied by in-depth analyses of three major domains of social context that emerged from our data – (b) social capital (Burke et al.2009); c) transculturation/transmigration (Joseph, Burke, Tuason, Barker, & Pasick, 2009); and (d) relational culture (Pasick, Barker, et al., 2009). These other reports examine the implications of our theoretical perspective on social context for specific behavioral theory constructs. In other words, our 3C’s study explores a more contextualized approach to health behavior (specifically, use of mammography), and draws conclusions about the validity of traditional behavioral constructs from this perspective.

The purpose of the present article is to set the stage for those articles by: (a) introducing readers to the social science theory behind our data analyses, and (b) contrasting it with dominant forms of analysis in health behavior research (health behavior theory and SE models). In the sections that follow, our data in the form of exemplary quotes serve as brief examples that illustrate various aspects of the concept of social context. We discuss some assumptions made by social psychological theories, assumptions that limit the theory’s value with regard to behavior in the context of diverse ethnic and underserved individuals and groups. Next, we examine more closely social cognitive theory (SCT) and SE models which represent important advances that embed the individual in the context of her social and physical environments. We then address the theoretical influences behind our conceptualization of the relationship between the individual and social context, highlighting key ideas in social science theory such as individual agency and rational action. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our conceptualization of social context for health promotion and practice.

Social Context and Health Behavior Theories

Health behavior theorists have made great strides in understanding cognitive processes and attitude development. Weinstein (1993) and others ( Frohlich et al., 2001 ; Williams, 1995 ) have noted, however, that there is an abundance of empirical research utilizing the same healthbehavior theories without much innovation or change. At the same time, recognizingshortcomings of individual-level factors, many public health researchers have begun to return tothe field’s ecological roots to reconsider the role of the environment in health behavior anddisease outcomes ( Berkman & Glass, 2000 ; Emmons, 2000 ; Frohlich et al., 2001 ; Krieger, 1994 ; Krieger & Davey Smith, 2004 ; McLeroy, Bibeau, Steckler, & Glanz, 1988 ). As Glass and McAtleen state,

The study of health behavior inisolation from the broader social and environmental context is incomplete, and has contributed todisappointing results from experiments in behavior change. The solution requires a shift inemphasis, a reorientation of theories and new methods ( Glass & McAtleen, 2006 , p. 15; see also Pasick & Burke, 2008 ; Pasick, Hiatt, & Paskett, 2004 ).

In addition to broadening the context addressed in research informed byhealth behavior theory (making it more “complete”), it is necessary to note the sociocultural and historical contexts in which these theories were developed ( Kuhn 1970 ; Latour & Woolgar 1986 )for these heavily influence the assumptions built into the theories and their associated limitations.

Assumptions Underlying Social Psychological Theories of Health Behavior

One key assumption informing health behavior theories is the standard or “norm” on which they are based: White, urban, middle-class Americans. The persistence of this assumed norm is linked to the social, cultural and historical context of the practice of health behavior research and theory production: Until recently, leaders in the field of health behavior have been predominantly White, male, and middle class, and employed at prestigious educational or research institutions. Their social context and experience not only shaped their research and research questions but also dictated their choice of research study participants who have overwhelmingly been White, middle-class, young adults, predominantly college students ( Ajzen 1991 ; Emmons 2000 ). The social context of urban, White, middle-class Americans has been well represented by health care providers, the health care system, and health behavior research more than has the social context of poor people, immigrants, rural populations, people of color, or national minorities. Minorities remain underrepresented among medical school faculty, admissions committees, students in research fields in medical curricula ( Fang, Moy, Colburn, & Hurley, 2000 ; Hagey & MacKay, 2000 ; Puzan, 2003 ; Liu, 2005 ; Smedley, Butler, & Bristow, 2004 ). As a result, processes of exclusion and discrimination are reproduced in the U.S. healthcare system and in the structure of public health research including the theories guiding such research.

Studies of social and cultural aspects of “Whiteness” (as an identity or set of social and cultural processes associated with racial privilege) have shown that Whiteness often remains “unmarked”, that is, an invisible and assumed norm, especially when White groups are demographically predominant in society ( Frankenberg 1997 ). “Whiteness makes itself invisible precisely by asserting its normalcy” ( Frankenberg 1997 :6). Like other racial and cultural identities, Whiteness is not monolithic; its meanings are historically specific, socially constructed and inflected by class ( Hartigan Jr 1999 ; Roediger 1991 ), gender ( Frankenberg 1993 ), and geography or local practices (e.g. Dominguez 1986 ; Joseph 2000 ). In the case of health behavior research, the (unconscious and unintentional) assumed norms of White, urban, middle class Americans have obscured many aspects of social context including differences among women’s health care options (on the basis of social, cultural, and structural barriers) and decision making processes and the complex relationships between intentions and behavior. The most influential health behavior theories are the health belief model ( Becker 1974 ; Rosenstock 1966 , 1974 ), the theory of reasoned action/theory of planned behavior ( Azjen 1991 ; Ajzen & Fishbein 1980 ), the transtheoretical model ( Prochaska & DiClemente 1992 ), and social cognitive theory ( Bandura, 1986 , 2000 ; Glanz, Lewis, Rimer, 2002 ). Using similar constructs, these theories all seek to explain health behavior through differential emphasis on one construct or another ( Redding, Rossi, Rossi, Velicer, & Prochaska, 2000 , p. 181). The foundation underlying these approaches is the belief that behavior is ultimately under the individual’s control and conscious awareness. Thus, behavior change comes about via various forms of self-regulation ( Frohlich et al. 2001 ) – cognition ( Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980 ; Becker, 1974 ), confidence in the ability to act ( Bandura 1986 , 1988 , 1991 , 1992 ), strength of one’s intention ( Ajzen & Fishbein 1980 ), or volition and self-control ( Baumeister & Healtherton 1996 ). This approach views behavior as individually defined and independently produced, as uninfluenced by the social relations embedded in the rules, values, and resources of social structures and contexts. The only context that is relevant for health behavior, in these theories, is the most immediate context (i.e., time and place).

The Individual in Context: Social Cognitive Theory

Of all the health behavior theories, Albert Bandura’s SCT represents a major advance in the field because it explicitly goes beyond individual factors in health behavior change to include environmental and social factors ( Bandura 1986 , 1997 , 2002 ; Redding 2000 , p.184). Thus, SCT serves as the best psychological theory against which to examine social science theories to understanding context and its influence on behavior.

SCT seeks to explain human behavior in terms of a triadic, reciprocal model in which a person’s behavior, personal factors (including cognitions and personal characteristics), and the environment in which the behavior is performed interact and influence each other ( Bandura 1986 , 1997 ; Glanz et al. 2002 , pp. 165, 168). The dynamic nature of this framework, with its recognition of the individual as agent in control of his or her own life is noteworthy for moving health behavior theory beyond mechanistic views of human behavior ( Bandura 1997 , 2002 ; Glanz et al. 2002 ). Most empirical investigations and measures originating in SCT, however, overlook this dynamic, more complex formulation in favor of universal and greatly simplified measures of attributes that are devoid of social or cultural input or environmental influence (i.e., a measure for self-efficacy is “How confident are you that you can get a mammogram every year?”). In SCT, social context is considered as it relates to attitude development and assessment (Terry & Hogg, 2000), and is equated with social environment, largely conditioned by social and subjective norms, a network of social influences, that “aid, retard, or undermine efforts at personal change” ( Bandura 1994 , p. 43). Normative influences within the social environment regulate behavior through social and self-sanctions ( Bandura 1986 ) including social approval, rewards, and censure or other punitive consequences. In a volume addressing the relationship between attitudes, behavior, and social context, Terry and Hogg (2000) clearly delineate the limits of the SCT concept of social context:

People’s attitudes are developed and expressed as behaviors in a context that is social; it contains other people who are actually present or who are invisibly present in the social norms that define social groups to which we do or do not belong (2000: 2).

Thus, social environment is important, in part, because it provides models for and influences on behavior ( Baronowski et al. 2002 ). However, social environment – not exclusively a techno-built environment, residential site or locale – “is not simply a fixed entity that inevitably impinges upon individuals. People select, construct, and negotiate environments partly on the basis of their self-beliefs of efficacy” ( Bandura 1994 : 49). Following the logic of this theory, where efficacy is construed as representing individual knowledge evaluation and action, individuals armed with necessary information and the belief that they can act on this information can restructure their lives to avoid detrimental outcomes. And they can select beneficial social environments that promote the desired lifestyle or behavior ( Bandura 1994 :49). This conception of social context as a normative social environment that enables free choice within the limits of self-efficacy is narrower than the multidimensional understanding and operationalization of social context we advocate.

Social Ecological Models

SE models integrate multiple levels of influence found in intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, community and public policy processes ( Stokols 1996 ). The term ecology refers to the study of the relationships between organisms and their environments; SE models are noted for emphasizing the “interdependence of environmental conditions within particular settings and the interconnections between multiple settings and life domains” ( Stokols 1996 , p. 286). This interdependence is similar to Bandura’s concept of reciprocal determinism, which also notes the mutual influence of behavior, personal and environmental factors ( Bandura 1986 ; Sallis & Owen 2008 ). SE models are based on the assumption that health is influenced by multiple facets of physical and social environments; that environments themselves are multidimensional (e.g. social or physical, actual or perceived); that human-environment interactions can be described at various separate levels, such as individual, family, organizational, or population level; and that there is reciprocal feedback across different levels between groups of people ( Sallis & Owen 2008 ; Stokols 1996 ).

The promise of SE models is their ability to address multiple levels of social and physical environments, and to intervene, focusing on different targets, at these different levels – individual behavior at the intrapersonal and interpersonal levels, organizational change at the community and institutional level, and policy change at the systems level ( Best et al. 2003 ; Emmons 2000 ). Healthy People 2010 (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2000) and the Institute of Medicine’s report on promoting healthy behavior ( Smedley & Syme 2000 ) note the need for multilevel interventions and there is increasing evidence that multi-leveled approaches informed by SE models are bringing about improvements in some aspects of population health ( Emmons 2000 ; Sallis & Owen 2008 ). A challenge to the SE models, however, is their reliance on preexisting health behavior theories and constructs for intervention at each level.

THEORIZING HEALTH BEHAVIOR IN SOCIAL CONTEXT

Theory developed over the past 20–30 years in the disciplines of sociology and anthropology can further broaden our understanding of context with many implications for understanding health behavior. Next we turn to social science theories of the relationship of the individual to social structure. These theories and the qualitative data collected in our study – inserted as sidebars throughout this article, and taking the form of illustrative quotes – show (a) that the relationship between an individual and her social context is complex, shaped and constituted by social, cultural, economic, political, legal, historical and structural forces; (b) that this relationship is multi-directional, co-constitutive, and constantly in formation; and (c) that the multi-layered influences in which the individual is embedded are often beyond the level of individual consciousness.

Int: When you decided to stop taking the medicine, did you talk to someone?

SP: No, I decided myself… I couldn’t stand that medication anymore. I thought, well, they had already operated … but they didn’t explain to me either. If they explained it, I didn’t understand. Why did I have to take that medicine? When I left the hospital, they gave me my medicines and that was it. They said to take it, but they didn’t tell me what it was for. I am very sure they didn’t tell me what it was for. (L13)

This interview with a Latina immigrant illustrates the complex interplay of her experience interacting with medical providers in her home country and the US combined with cultural norms of respect for authority (e.g. you don’t ask questions) and the limitations of the US healthcare system (disjointed care, lack of communication). Thus, the behavior of taking or not taking one’s medication, embedded in this wider context, is a social practice.

Culture and Context

Culture governs and yet is influenced by social context. We understand culture (in an anthropological sense) as the patterned process of people making sense of their world and the (conscious and unconscious) assumptions, expectations, knowledges, and practices they call upon to do so. The term patterned indicates that culture is not random. Instead there are consistencies within culture that are at the same time flexible and situationally responsive; the term process indicates that culture is not bounded or static but rather dynamic, fluid, constantly being shaped and reshaped. People bring culture into being as they go about making their world – making the structures, institutions, rituals and beliefs that reflect and (re)produce individual and collective sense-making activities ( Bourdieu 1990 ; Geertz 1973 ). Culture is not distinct from or equivalent to religion, politics, or any other social institution such as economics or kinship; rather it is an integral part of all of them—forming them and being formed by them according to situation and circumstance. Thus, culture is a dynamic process that changes over time and across space, whether in contact with or in isolation from other groups, and is not a discrete entity with a material presence, fixed attributes or clear boundaries. It is the outcome of the interactions, feelings, and thoughts of many people and their diverse, often overlapping, sometimes contradictory, attempts to make sense of their world and live in it. This view of culture differs from the discrete, bounded, identifiable categories taken up in social psychology ( Triandis 1989 ). For example, rather than typifying some cultures as individualist or collectivist, simple or complex, this more flexible view of culture recognizes a range of acceptable but different orientations within a given cultural group, some of which become more or less emphasized in different situations or contexts. Thus, an analysis of behavior in social context requires an understanding of the dynamic nature of culture and the processes by which it is brought into being.

The concept of social practice, as developed by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1990) helps us to understand behavior in social and cultural context—that is, within the wider structures and patterns of social life ( Jenkins 2002 ; Williams 1995 ). Our goal is to provide a theoretical approach to conceptualize the influence of wider structures and patterns (i.e., context) on individual behavior. The concept of social practice reflects the understanding that no behavior occurs in isolation from its immediate and broad context; the term social practice indicates that a health behavior is not only a product of context broadly defined, but also contributes to and alters that context. This perspective marks an epistemological shift from, and broadens the focus of, the traditional objectives of behavioral science research. That is, we view behavior in relationship to the surrounding expectations, social structures, and resources rather than viewing behavior as solely under individual control. We posit that these behaviors simultaneously constitute, and are constituted by the rules, relationships, expectations, and resources of social structures. Therefore, analyses of behavior require theory that addresses the multiple interacting dimensions of social structures and people’s awareness of, conformity with, and resistance to those structures.

Int: “Okay, and how does this [core values of kapwa and loob ], influence or affect their [Filipino young adults’] behavior, their decisions?”

KI: “ Yyyyyyyyes, well that’s what I found out, that even though they no longer speak Tagalog, when they hear the concept and it’s explained to them they will say ‘ohhhhhhh so that’s what it is’. They’ve always known it intuitively because that’s what, how they were raised. And so they now have the linguistic part of it, to explain what they have always known and what they have always felt.”(KI04)

A Filipino sociologist explained how awareness and understanding of core cultural values remained under the surface, outside of conscious awareness as embodied experiences; not fully understood until discussed and given names.

For Bourdieu, conscious and deliberate intentions are necessary but insufficient explanations for behavior ( Jenkins 2002 ). Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, central to his theory of practice, serves as his critical response to the idea that conscious and deliberate intentions alone are sufficient explanation of why people do what they do: Habitus is “embodied history, internalized as second nature…” ( Bourdieu 1990 : 56). It reflects “the presence of the past” in how people deal with their current conditions and in how they anticipate the future and it accounts for how social conditions are reproduced. The active presence of these past experiences – strongly influenced by class (i.e. socioeconomic) formations in Bourdieu’s theory – inform perceptions, thought and action, albeit unconsciously ( Bourdieu 1990 : 54). In Bourdieu’s theory of habitus , “unconscious” means an embodied awareness that influences practice yet is outside conscious awareness or below the threshold of consciousness. This is distinct from a psychological or Freudian concept of the unconscious or subconscious in that for Bourdieu, the unconscious is a product of social forces rather than individual psychology. Habitus exists only in and through the practices of individuals and their interaction with each other and their environment, thus habitus “is not just manifest in behavior, it is an integral part of it (and vice versa)” ( Jenkins 2002 : 75, emphasis in original). Habitus “shows that routine behavior is the product, not simply of biological or psychological motivation, but also of larger social, cultural, and historical forces. In doing so, it shows how individual behaviors relate to social rules and morality” ( Crossley 2004 : 239). Bourdieu conceptualizes the relationship between individual agency and social structures as continually interconnected and co-constitutive, rather than discrete and separable. In other words, habitus is a dialectical product of the social structure, which informs the practices of individuals, which in turn constitute the social structure. Here, then, is a key point of departure from SE models which see behaviors as occurring at various fixed levels that are reciprocally influential but not flexibly and ineradicably co-constitutive. A critical element of Bourdieu’s concept of habitus is that its influences are outside conscious awareness, and therefore are observable in the practices of individuals but not reportable by them in the form of conscious attitudes or beliefs. “ Habitus provides individuals with class-dependent, pre-disposed, yet seemingly ‘naturalized’ ways of thinking, feeling, acting, and classifying the social world and their location within it” ( Williams 1995 : 586). Thus, people are not consciously aware of all the influences on their behavior. In Bourdieu’s theory, practice emerges from the relationship between external constraints, such as economic and socio-political conditions, and predispositions or unconscious internalizations of social constraints ( Bourdieu 1990 :50). Such pre-dispositions are naturalized, comprise “common sense,” are so obvious and feel so right and proper within a given cultural or social context that members of the group cannot further explain them; they just are. Social “rules” that govern etiquette and morality comprise examples of naturalized pre-dispositions. Practices of daily life, therefore, emerge from the individual’s relationship with social structures and their internalized unconscious (system of) pre-dispositions – from the economic, social and other cultural processes in conjunction with “common sense.”

Anthony Giddens (1984) also tackles the relationship of individuals to the social structure in his theory of structuration, but in a slightly different way. He argues that individuals engage in their historically and spatially rooted environments in a reciprocal manner: Individuals pursue goals within the constraints, opportunities and resources available in their local environments and by doing so re-create somewhat imperfectly the social structures of these local environments ( Giddens 1984 ; Glass & McAtee 2006 ). That is, because of the variability of practices, social structures are reproduced with differences rather than identically, leading to social change. For Giddens (1984 , p. 25), “structure is not ‘external to individuals’: as memory traces and as instantiated in social practices, it is in a sense more ‘internal’ than exterior to their activities”. Thus he differs from Bourdieu in that he sees the individual as more autonomous, and less constrained by social and class structures. Giddens views individuals as productive agents creating the social structure through their practices ( Giddens 1984 ; Frohlich et al. 2001 ), whereas Bourdieu, through his concept of habitus , gives more weight to class and social structure as determinants of perception and practice ( Bourdieu 1977 ; Frohlich et al. 2001 ).

Although conceptualizing the role of the individual and her agency in relationship to social structure differently, both Giddens and Bourdieu are useful in our elaboration of “social context” as each attends to the powerful but unconscious or out of conscious awareness influences of social structures. And each views the separation of structure and agency as an abstract heuristic exercise rather than a representation of reality.

Rationality versus Reality

In his more recent work, Bandura also “rejects a dualism between personal agency and a disembodied social structure” ( 2002 , p. 8). However, in practice, he constructs a “multicausal model” (2002: 8) that tends to remain focused on measuring self-efficacy as a predictor of behavior change in terms of “personal agency exercised individually; proxy agency in which people secure desired outcomes by influencing others to act on their behalf; and collective agency in which people act in concert to shape their future.” (2002 abstract) Thus, in his SCT, Bandura envisions a world of crosscultural and intracultural variation, but one in which individuals — whether acting alone, on behalf of, or in concert with others—have varying degrees of a measurable efficacy to achieve their goals. As an example, he argues that

the higher the people’s perceived efficacy to fulfill educational requirements and occupational roles the wider the career options they seriously consider pursuing, the greater the interest they have in them, the better they prepare themselves educationally for different occupational careers…People simply eliminate from consideration entire classes of occupations they believe to be beyond their capabilities ( Bandura 2002 : 9)

In this formulation, individual agency and self-efficacy are separate from social structures, and social context as a “structuring structure” ( Bourdieu 1990 :53) drops out of frame. Unlike Bourdieu’s and Giddens’ theories, Bandura’s social structure is not internalized and normalized in the individual’s unconscious. In contrast to Bandura’s formulation, we argue that a person may not ‘simply eliminate’ various options from consideration ( Bandura 2002 : 9) because of a lack of self efficacy or agency, but rather a person may choose quite rationally within the constraints that she unconsciously recognizes as constituting her “sense of reality” ( Bourdieu 1990 : 60), her social world, her knowledge of social opportunities and social costs. This contrasts with the “rational actor theory” postulation underlying SCT that “rational action can have no other principle than the intention of rationality” ( Williams 1995 ), with rational choice being clearly perceived and fully articulated. Instead, we see one’s rational intention or sense of efficacy as a product of what Bourdieu calls this “sense of reality,” which importantly is often “concealed,” semi-consciously perceived or only dimly recognized. For Bourdieu, this “sense of reality” is integral to social reproduction.

“That’s the experience of the Chicano here, not necessarily being one [American] or the other [Mexican]. You go to Mexico and you’re not Mexican…So it’s taken a long time for me to understand what that experience was for me, to the point that I knew that education was important and I have always wanted to go to school… But when it came time to get my bachelors [degree], there was a feeling that I was going to lose something. I didn’t understand that. A lot of it has to do with my own observing of people and seeing who was where in my world. I felt like if you became an educated person that you would lose who you were, and I didn’t want to do that…[It’s] having an awareness of how history played on you, how it affected you. You have those senses all your life, but you don’t understand them, so it’s important for us to talk about them, “my God, now I know” (GK08)

This Director of a community-based organization serving Latino immigrants, noted that at the moment she made her decision about her education, she wasn’t fully conscious of what she had observed and internalized. Her decision not to pursue her degree may not have appeared rational to an outsider, and she wouldn’t have been able to report or explain it clearly at the time. She had a feeling—a ‘sense of reality’ or internalized cultural understanding of what education meant in her social context—that constrained her decision-making process.

Individual Behavior in Context

The theoretical approach to social context proposed here takes into account this theoretical understanding of the mutually constitutive relationship of individuals and social structures, the unconscious dispositions of individuals that reflect their social context, and the fluidity of both. For a more concrete understanding of social context, we can consider various interacting realms that all influence the individual and are influenced by the individual. The most immediate includes family interactions, neighborhood, and community relationships and support (e.g. interactions between friends, coworkers, and members of the same community groups, such as church organizations; see also Pasick, Barker, et al., 2009). The contextual realm of institutions or organizations includes the structuring of access and barriers to healthcare and the ability to mobilize resources to get what one needs. It is here that we see the individual institution interfaces, including experiences of welcoming and unwelcoming contexts, and negotiations over services and resources (see also Burke et al. 2009). The political/historical/legal realm includes historical memories ( Trouillot 1995 ), experiences of migration, discrimination, colonization, neocolonization, and decolonization ( Strobel 2001 ), as well as large-scale demographic, politico-economic, cultural and historical factors, laws (e.g. regarding citizenship), regulations, and policies (see also Joseph et al., 2009).

“….you can access your loob [inner self] and you grow to understand its depth and breadth…and how encompassing it is in all aspects of your life. It empowers you and gives you your sense of identity, which is different from your colonial identity…you come home to yourself…you develop [strength]…and get ready to take risks and to act ‘cause you have the confidence and sense of power.” (KI04)

This Filipino sociologist discussed the impact of the discrimination and “colonial identity” many Filipinos contend with due to the history of relations between the US and the Philippines. This history impedes agency, she argued, and those able to get past this and to access their “inner selves” experience renewed confidence and ability to act. In this way, she shows how colonial identity and historical processes can impact health behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

The need to move behavioral theory beyond the individual level focus to incorporate community, organizational, and systems-level factors – has been noted repeatedly in the field of public health ( Emmons, 2000 ; Frohlich et al., 2001 ; McKinlay, 1995 ; Perry et al., 2002 ; Revenson et al., 2005 ; Sorensen et al., 2003 ; Susser & Susser, 1996 ; Williams, 1995 ). SCT, through its recognition of the interplay of the individual and her environment and SE models, through the incorporation of multiple levels of influence (interpersonal factors and processes, institutional factors, community factors, and public policy) have made substantial progress in this direction.

The theoretical approach to social context outlined herein differs from both SCT and SE models in several ways. First, rather than describing rather static, fixed levels that are separate from each other and to which different forms of intervention may be directed, social science theory purports that the relationship between the individual and her social context is constantly dynamic, shaped and constituted by social, cultural, economic, political, legal, historical and structural forces. Second, this relationship is multi-directional and co-constitutive. Third, social context encompasses multiple realms including both cultural and social domains of influence, as illustrated in Bourdieu’s concept of habitus (embodied history, presence of the past). Last, like habitus, our concept of social context incorporates elements and processes that are outside conscious awareness. Other articles in this volume, addressing the domains of transculturation, social capital, and relational culture (Joseph et al.; Burke et al.; and Pasick, Barker et al., respectively) further illustrate our theoretical approach to social context with extensive qualitative data and detailed analytic discussion. These three articles illustrate the patterned yet imperfectly shared realms of social context which arise from individuals and their practices and serve to tie people to their families, communities, organizations, and histories. The influences of these various realms can and should be identified and taken into account in studies of health behavior if the findings of such studies are to contribute to successful public health interventions aimed at changing health behavior.

Implications for Practice

Our purpose was to present a theory-based article to demonstrate the complex nature of health behavior, and the need to attend to the multiple realms of social context at play when women make decisions about their health care. We contend that attention to social context as theorized here illuminates assumptions and limitations of current theories of health behavior and so will enable us to improve theory and, ultimately, to improve health research about, and services for, women. Without an understanding or conceptualization of the context within which women make decisions--including the multiple intersecting realms of context, both conscious and unconscious, which inform those decisions--it is impossible to gauge what these decisions mean to women, and hence to precisely predict the decisions they will make.

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Object name is nihms424633f1.jpg

* Access & Early Detection for the Underserved- Pathfinders 1998–2003

A mammography & Pap screening intervention trial underway when 3Cs began

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the National Cancer Institute, grant #RO1CA81816, Pasick, PI. The authors would like to thank the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

i “Risk regulator” is a class for variables that capture aspects of social structure that influence individual action. It is defined as “a relatively stable feature of a particular patch of the social and built environments, residing at levels of organization above the individual … but below larger-scale macro-social levels” ( Glass & McAtee, 2006 , p. 10).

ii “Underserved” here refers to poor, underemployed, undereducated, and sometimes limited English proficient women essentially women who are not adequately cared for by the current structure of health care in the United States.

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The Rise of Adolf Hitler: a Complex Path to Power

This essay is about Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, examining the factors that contributed to his ascent. It discusses the impact of the Treaty of Versailles and the economic turmoil of the Weimar Republic, which created a climate of despair and disillusionment in Germany. Hitler’s oratory skills, political strategies, and propaganda helped him gain support. Key events like the Beer Hall Putsch, the Great Depression, and his appointment as Chancellor in 1933 were pivotal. The essay highlights how Hitler consolidated power through the Reichstag Fire, the Enabling Act, and the Night of the Long Knives, transforming Germany into a totalitarian state and setting the stage for World War II and the Holocaust.

How it works

Adolf Hitler’s ascent to authority stands as one of the most pivotal and unsettling episodes in contemporary annals. His elevation was not an abrupt event but rather a gradual progression fueled by an array of socio-political dynamics, economic tumult, and Hitler’s own Machiavellian political maneuvers. Comprehending this ascendancy necessitates a thorough exploration of the intricate interplay of post-World War I circumstances, the shortcomings of the Weimar Republic, and Hitler’s compelling charisma.

The aftermath of the Great War laid the groundwork for Hitler’s rise.

Germany found itself disgraced and financially crippled by the Treaty of Versailles, which exacted severe reparations and territorial concessions. This treaty bred widespread animosity among Germans, who harbored feelings of betrayal and indignation. The Weimar Republic, established in 1919, was perceived as feeble and ineffectual in addressing the economic and social crises afflicting the nation. Hyperinflation in the early 1920s decimated the savings of countless middle-class Germans, while the onset of the Great Depression in 1929 exacerbated unemployment and economic instability. In such an atmosphere of despondency and disillusionment, extremist political ideologies found a receptive audience.

Adolf Hitler, once an obscure Austrian artist and veteran of the Great War, aligned himself with the German Workers’ Party in 1919, later rebranded as the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), or Nazi Party. Hitler’s eloquence and propaganda prowess swiftly catapulted him to a leadership role. He pledged to restore Germany’s former glory, repudiate the Treaty of Versailles, and combat the perceived menace of communism and Jewish influence.

His oratorical prowess struck a chord with many Germans who yearned for change.

The thwarted Beer Hall Putsch of 1923 marked a turning point for Hitler. Though the coup attempt to overthrow the Weimar government failed and led to his imprisonment, it bestowed upon him national notoriety. During his nine-month incarceration, Hitler penned “Mein Kampf,” delineating his ideological vision for Germany, including his anti-Semitic convictions and the concept of Lebensraum, or living space, which justified German expansionism. This period allowed Hitler to refine his strategy, transitioning from violent revolution to attaining power through legitimate political means.

The Great Depression played a pivotal role in Hitler’s ascent. The economic collapse precipitated mass unemployment and deepened public discontent with the Weimar Republic. The Nazi Party, which promised economic recovery, social stability, and national rejuvenation, garnered significant support. In the 1930 elections, the Nazis emerged as the second-largest party in the Reichstag, Germany’s parliament. By 1932, they had become the largest party, albeit without an outright majority.

Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor on January 30, 1933, stemmed from political maneuvering and the underestimation of his resolve by conservative politicians who believed they could manipulate him. President Paul von Hindenburg and other conservative leaders believed that by integrating Hitler into the government, they could leverage his popularity to stabilize the country while keeping him in check. This miscalculation proved catastrophic.

Upon assuming power, Hitler swiftly moved to consolidate his authority. The Reichstag Fire in February 1933, which the Nazis attributed to communists, provided a pretext for the Reichstag Fire Decree, suspending civil liberties and enabling the arrest of political adversaries. The Enabling Act, ratified in March 1933, bestowed dictatorial powers upon Hitler by authorizing him to enact laws without parliamentary approval. Leveraging these powers, Hitler dismantled democratic institutions, quashed opposition, and established a totalitarian regime.

Hitler’s consolidation of power also entailed the alignment and control of key state apparatuses. The Night of the Long Knives in 1934 witnessed the purge of the SA’s leadership, perceived as a threat to Hitler’s authority. This purge solidified the loyalty of the German military, which had regarded the SA with suspicion. Upon President Hindenburg’s demise in August 1934, Hitler merged the positions of Chancellor and President, proclaiming himself Führer and seizing absolute control over Germany.

Propaganda and indoctrination played pivotal roles in sustaining Hitler’s grip on power. Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda, orchestrated extensive campaigns to disseminate Nazi ideology and glorify Hitler. The regime controlled the media, arts, and education to propagate its doctrines and suppress dissent. The Hitler Youth and League of German Girls were established to indoctrinate young Germans and ensure the allegiance of future generations.

In summation, Hitler’s ascent to power was a multifaceted process influenced by Germany’s post-World War I milieu, economic instability, the vulnerabilities of the Weimar Republic, and Hitler’s own political acumen and ruthless tactics. His adept exploitation of German despair and resentment, coupled with strategic political maneuvers and effective propaganda, enabled him to transfigure Germany into a totalitarian state. The repercussions of his rise were catastrophic, precipitating World War II and the Holocaust, which left an indelible imprint on history. Understanding the factors that facilitated Hitler’s ascent is imperative in averting similar travails in the future and ensuring that the lessons of history endure.

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Socio-political issues and environments are becoming more complex and challenging. In this introduction to the special issue on 'The Management of Socio-Political Issues and Environments: Organizational and Strategic Perspectives', we take stock of the burgeoning research on how firms interact with socio-political actors and environments over the last few decades, specifically research on ...
Creative literary works and sociopolitical context
Download now. Creative literary works and sociopolitical context. 1. 2. Creative Literary Works and Sociopolitical Context. 3. Creative Literary Works Creative is characterized by originality and expressiveness, so it can mean making something or it can be something new and innovative. 4. Creativity is about working in a highly focused way on ...
46 Examples of Political Context
This includes anything that would influence political strategy and outcomes such as systems, parties, leaders, issues and opinions. The following are common examples of what is included in political context. Campaign financing. Campaign ground game - how well a party is connecting to voters person to person. Campaign issues - central issues ...
Literature as a Reflection on Socio-political Realities: An Examination
Considering the degree of resemblance between literature and human societies, one is convinced that literature is not just a social construct which is rooted in mere ideas, imaginations or imaginary situations. Instead, it is a social institution; a form of tradition, which has existed for a long time and is accepted as a vital component of a given society to perform certain functions.
Lesson 6 drafts sociopolitical context in creative writing
9. It refers to the standpoint or angle from which the story is told. 10. This refers to the struggle between two entities. Literary context means understanding the literary genre. Determining the literary genre helps in understanding the context. of the passage. The author and the reader agree through the genre.
Theorizing Social Context: Rethinking Behavioral Theory
In SCT, social context is considered as it relates to attitude development and assessment (Terry & Hogg, 2000), and is equated with social environment, largely conditioned by social and subjective norms, a network of social influences, that "aid, retard, or undermine efforts at personal change" ( Bandura 1994, p. 43).
Creative Writing
Context in essays are usually provides the background of the topic, the scope of the topic and any essential definitions. For instance, in composing your introductions, it often begins with a broad opening statement that makes the subject matter and background. ... Social/Socio-Political Context - features of the society sets an impact on the ...
The Rise of Adolf Hitler: a Complex Path to Power
Essay Example: Adolf Hitler's ascent to authority stands as one of the most pivotal and unsettling episodes in contemporary annals. His elevation was not an abrupt event but rather a gradual progression fueled by an array of socio-political dynamics, economic tumult, and Hitler's own Machiavellian
How does local context matter? Assessing the heterogeneous impact of
Semantic Scholar extracted view of "How does local context matter? Assessing the heterogeneous impact of electric vehicle incentive policies in China" by Jian Shao ... Semantic Scholar's Logo. Search 218,848,413 papers from all fields of science. Search. Sign In Create Free Account. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.142770; ... Economics, Political ...
Socio political essay examples Free Essays
Socio political issues affect personal opinions; these often result in artworks‚ protesting authorities and sending messages to the public.Socio Political art is a conceptual expression of an idea. This style of art focuses on communication‚ reflecting socio political events transpiring during the time and allowing the audience to convey the artist's response.

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1.2: Sociopolitical Contexts of Education

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Social Work and the Changing Context: Engagement in Policymaking

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Integrating evidence, politics and society: a methodology for the science–policy interface

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What is evidence?

The problem with scientific evidence

Producing evidence

Evaluating evidence

Transforming knowledge into policy

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Literature as an Interpretative Method for Socio-Political Scenarios

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Metaphor in Socio-Political Contexts

Defining Contemporary Art: How Have Socio-political and Economic Forces Shaped the Way We Look at, Create and Define Art in Our Times?

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The Rise of Adolf Hitler: a Complex Path to Power

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