Domestic Abuse In Public

Domestic Abuse In Public! (Social Experiment)

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Research methodology

Relationship among methodology, theory, paradigm, algorithm and method

The methodology is the general research strategy that outlines the way in which research is to be undertaken and, among other things, identifies the methods to be used in it. These methods, described in the methodology, define the means or modes of data collection or, sometimes, how a specific result is to be calculated. Methodology does not define specific methods, even though much attention is given to the nature and kinds of processes to be followed in a particular procedure or to attain an objective.

When proper to a study of methodology, such processes constitute a constructive generic framework, and may therefore be broken down into sub-processes, combined, or their sequence changed.

A paradigm is similar to a methodology in that it is also a constructive framework. In theoretical work, the development of paradigms satisfies most or all of the criteria for methodology. An algorithm, like a paradigm, is also a type of constructive framework, meaning that the construction is a logical, rather than a physical, array of connected elements.

Any description of a means of calculation of a specific result is always a description of a method and never a description of a methodology. It is thus important to avoid using methodology as a synonym for method or body of methods. Doing this shifts it away from its true epistemological meaning and reduces it to being the procedure itself, or the set of tools, or the instruments that should have been its outcome. A methodology is the design process for carrying out research or the development of a procedure and is not in itself an instrument, or method, or procedure for doing things.

Methodology and method are not interchangeable. In recent years however, there has been a tendency to use methodology as a "pretentious substitute for the word method".  Using methodology as a synonym for method or set of methods leads to confusion and misinterpretation and undermines the proper analysis that should go into designing research.

Article Credit : http://en.wikipedia.org/

How to Select a Research Topic

Selecting a Topic

The ability to develop a good research topic is an important skill. An instructor may assign you a specific topic, but most often instructors require you to select your own topic of interest. When deciding on a topic, there are a few things that you will need to do:

• brainstorm for ideas
• choose a topic that will enable you to read and understand the literature
• ensure that the topic is manageable and that material is available
• make a list of key words
• be flexible
• define your topic as a focused research question
• research and read more about your topic
• formulate a thesis statement

Be aware that selecting a good topic may not be easy. It must be narrow and focused enough to be interesting, yet broad enough to find adequate information. Before selecting your topic, make sure you know what your final project should look like. Each class or instructor will likely require a different format or style of research project.

Use the steps below to guide you through the process of selecting a research topic.

Step 1: Brainstorm for ideas

Choose a topic that interests you. Use the following questions to help generate topic ideas.

• Do you have a strong opinion on a current social or political controversy
• Did you read or see a news story recently that has piqued your interest or made you angry or anxious?
• Do you have a personal issue, problem or interest that you would like to know more about?
• Do you have a research paper due for a class this semester?
• Is there an aspect of a class that you are interested in learning more about?

Look at some of the following topically oriented Web sites and research sites for ideas.

Are you interested in current events, government, politics or the social sciences?

Try Washington File

• Are you interested in health or medicine?
• Look in Healthfinder.gov, Health & Wellness Resource Center or the National Library of Medicine
• Are you interested in the Humanities; art, literature, music?
• Browse links from the National Endowment for the Humanities
• For other subject areas try:
• the Scout Report or the New York Times/ College Web site

Write down any key words or concepts that may be of interest to you. Could these terms help be used to form a more focused research topic?

Be aware of overused ideas when deciding a topic. You may wish to avoid topics such as, abortion, gun control, teen pregnancy, or suicide unless you feel you have a unique approach to the topic. Ask the instructor for ideas if you feel you are stuck or need additional guidance.

Step 2: Read General Background Information

• Read a general encyclopedia article on the top two or three topics you are considering. Reading a broad summary enables you to get an overview of the topic and see how your idea relates to broader, narrower, and related issues. It also provides a great source for finding words commonly used to describe the topic. These keywords may be very useful to your later research. If you cant find an article on your topic, try using broader terms and ask for help from a librarian.
• For example, the Encyclopedia Britannica Online (or the printed version of this encyclopedia, in Thompson Library's Reference Collection on Reference Table 1) may not have an article on Social and Political Implications of Jackie Robinsons Breaking of the Color Barrier in Major League Baseball but there will be articles on baseball history and on Jackie Robinson.
•  
• Browse the Encyclopedia Americana for information on your topic ideas. Notice that both online encyclopedias provide links to magazine articles and Web sites. These are listed in the left or the right margins.
•  
• Use periodical indexes to scan current magazine, journal or newspaper articles on your topic. Ask a librarian if they can help you to browse articles on your topics of interest.
• Use Web search engines. Google and Bing are currently considered to be two of the best search engines to find web sites on the topic.

Step 3: Focus on Your Topic

Keep it manageable

A topic will be very difficult to research if it is too broad or narrow. One way to narrow a broad topic such as "the environment" is to limit your topic. Some common ways to limit a topic are:

• by geographical area Example: What environmental issues are most important in the Southwestern United States
• by culture Example: How does the environment fit into the Navajo world view?
• by time frame: Example: What are the most prominent environmental issues of the last 10 years? 
• by discipline Example: How does environmental awareness effect business practices today?
• by population group Example: What are the effects of air pollution on senior citizens?

Remember that a topic may be too difficult to research if it is too:

• locally confined - Topics this specific may only be covered in these (local) newspapers, if at all. Example: What sources of pollution affect the Genesee County water supply?
• recent - If a topic is quite recent, books or journal articles may not be available, but newspaper or magazine articles may. Also, Web sites related to the topic may or may not be available.
• broadly interdisciplinary - You could be overwhelmed with superficial information. Example: How can the environment contribute to the culture, politics and society of the Western states?
• popular - You will only find very popular articles about some topics such as sports figures and high-profile celebrities and musicians.

If you have any difficulties or questions with focusing your topic,discuss the topic with your instructor, or with a librarian

Step 4: Make a List of Useful Keywords

Keep track of the words that are used to describe your topic.

• Look for words that best describe your topic
• Look for them in when reading encyclopedia articles and background and general information
• Find broader and narrower terms, synonyms, key concepts for key words to widen your search capabilities
• Make note of these words and use them later when searching databases and catalogs

Step 5: Be Flexible

It is common to modify your topic during the research process. You can never be sure of what you may find. You may find too much and need to narrow your focus, or too little and need to broaden your focus. This is a normal part of the research process. When researching, you may not wish to change your topic, but you may decide that some other aspect of the topic is more interesting or manageable.

Keep in mind the assigned length of the research paper, project, bibliography or other research assignment. Be aware of the depth of coverage needed and the due date. These important factors may help you decide how much and when you will modify your topic. You instructor will probably provide specific requirements.

Step 6: Define Your Topic as a Focused Research Question

You will often begin with a word, develop a more focused interest in an aspect of something relating to that word, then begin to have questions about the topic.

For example:

• Ideas = Frank Lloyd Wright or modern architecture
• Research Question = How has Frank Lloyd Wright influenced modern architecture?
• Focused Research Question = What design principles used by Frank Lloyd Wright are common in contemporary homes?

Step 7: Research and Read More About Your Topic

Use the key words you have gathered to research in the catalog, article databases, and Internet search engines. Find more information to help you answer your research question.

You will need to do some research and reading before you select your final topic. Can you find enough information to answer your research question? Remember, selecting a topic is an important and complex part of the research process.

Step 8: Formulate a Thesis Statement

Write your topic as a thesis statement. This may be the answer to your research question and/or a way to clearly state the purpose of your research. Your thesis statement will usually be one or two sentences that states precisely what is to be answered, proven, or what you will inform your audience about your topic.

The development of a thesis assumes there is sufficient evidence to support the thesis statement.

For example, a thesis statement could be: Frank Lloyd Wright's design principles, including his use of ornamental detail and his sense of space and texture opened a new era of American architecture. His work has influenced contemporary residential design.

The title of your paper may not be exactly the same as your research question or your thesis statement, but the title should clearly convey the focus, purpose and meaning of your research.

For example, a title could be: Frank Lloyd Wright: Key Principles of Design For the Modern Home

Remember to follow any specific instructions from your instructor.

Practical Exercises to Extend Your Learning

Identify three narrower aspects of the following broad topics. In other words, what are three areas you could investigate that fit into these very broad topics?

Sports

Pollution

Politics

Identify a broader topic that would cover the following narrow topics. In other words, how could you expand these topics to find more information?

Menus in Michigan prisons

Urban planning in Flint

Imagine that you have been assigned the following topics. Think of 5 keywords you might use to look for information on each.

How does air quality affect our health?

What are the barriers to peace in the Middle East?

Should snowmobiling be allowed in wilderness areas?

How can welfare reform help poor children?

Article Credit : https://www.umflint.edu

Types of literature Reviews

Traditional or Narrative literature Review

• Critiques and summarizes a body of literature
• Draws conclusions about the topic
• Identifies gaps or inconsistencies in a body of knowledge
• Requires a sufficiently focused research question

Weaknesses:

• A large number of studies may make it difficult to draw conclusions
• The process is subject to bias that supports the researcher's own work.

Systematic Literature Review

• More rigorous and well-defined approach
• Comprehensive
• Published and unpublished studies relating to a particular subject area
• Details the time frame within which the literature was selected
• Details the methods used to evaluate and synthesize findings of the studies in question

Meta-analysis

• A form of systematic review (reductive)
• Takes findings from several studies on the same subject and analyzes them using standardized statistical procedures
• Integrates findings from a large body of quantitative findings to enhance under-standing (study=unit of analysis)
• Draws conclusions and detect patterns and relationships

Meta-synthesis

• Non-statistical technique
• Integrates, evaluates and interprets findings of multiple qualitative research studies
• Identifies common core elements and themes
• May use findings from phenomenological, grounded theory or ethnographic studies
• Involves analyzing and synthesizing key elements
• Goal:  transform individual findings into new conceptualizations and interpretations

Article Credit : http://libguides.utoledo.edu/

Sociohistorical linguistics

Sociohistorical linguistics, or historical sociolinguistics, is the study of the relationship between language and society in its historical dimension. A typical question in this field would, for instance, be: “How were the verb endings -s and -th (he loves vs. he loveth) distributed in Middle English society” or “When did people use French, when did they use English in 14th-century England?”

Sociohistorical linguistics is a relatively new field of linguistic research which represents a merger of two distinct sub-disciplines of linguistics; sociolinguistics and historical (or diachronic) linguistics. Researchers in this field use sociolinguistic methods to explain historical change. This approach is particularly useful when language-internal data alone is unable to account for some seemingly inexplicable developments. Instead of relying solely upon intra-linguistic evidence and data to explain language change, socio-historical linguists search for extra-linguistic causes of change. One of the seminal works in the field is Romaine (1982)'s Socio-Historical Linguistics. Other studies such as John McWhorter's work, The Missing Spanish Creoles, are more specific in this case examining the extra-linguistic reasons why there are no creoles with Spanish as a lexifier language (as opposed to English, French, Dutch, Portuguese, etc.). Not all linguists believe that sociolinguistic methods can be applied to historical situations. They argue that the sociolinguistic means at our disposal today (e.g. face-to-face interviews, recording of data, large and diverse sampling, etc.) are necessarily unavailable to sociolinguists working on historical developments. They therefore argue that it is exceedingly difficult to do socio-historical linguistics, and that the results will always be suspect due to lack of data and access to native speakers in real-world situations. For those who question the validity of socio-historical linguistics, it is a field of conjecture rather than solid conclusions. Those arguing for the validity of socio-historical linguistics reply that it is better to use what remaining textual evidence is available to begin to posit likely scenarios rather than leave some questions completely unanswered. Methods such as social network theory (cf. Lesley Milroy) that look at human interactions and their effects on the larger society are particularly well-suited to socio-historical research.

Article Credit : http://en.wikipedia.org/

Iron cage

Max Weber

Image Credit : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Weber

Iron cage

In sociology, the iron cage is a term coined by Max Weber for the increased rationalization inherent in social life, particularly in Western capitalist societies. The "iron cage" thus traps individuals in systems based purely on teleological efficiency, rational calculation and control. Weber also described the bureaucratization of social order as "the polar night of icy darkness".

The original German term is stahlhartes Gehäuse; this was translated into "iron cage", an expression made familiar to English language speakers by Talcott Parsons in his 1930 translation of Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. This translation has recently been questioned by certain sociologists and interpreted instead as the "shell as hard as steel".

Weber wrote:

“              In Baxter’s view the care for external goods should only lie on the shoulders of the 'saint like a light cloak, which can be thrown aside at any moment.' But fate decreed that the cloak should become an iron cage."               

Weber became concerned with social actions and the subjective meaning that humans attach to their actions and interaction within specific social contexts. He also believed in idealism, which is the belief that we only know things because of the meanings that we apply to them. This led to his interest in power and authority in terms of bureaucracy and rationalization.

Secularization and religion

Weber states, “the course of development involves… the bringing in of calculation into the traditional brotherhood, displacing the old religious relationship.”

Modern society was becoming characterized by its shift in the motivation of individual behaviors. Social actions were becoming based on efficiency instead of the old types of social actions, which were based on lineage or kinship. Behavior had become dominated by goal-oriented rationality and less by tradition and values. According to Weber, the shift from the old form of mobility in terms of kinship to a new form in terms of a strict set of rules was a direct result of growth in accumulation of capital, i.e. capitalism.

Effects of bureaucracies

Positive contributions

Bureaucracies were distinct from the former feudal system where people were promoted through favoritism and bribes because now there was a set of rules that are clearly defined; there was promotion through seniority and disciplinary control. Weber believes that this influenced modern society and how we operate today, especially politically.

Weber’s characteristics of an ideal bureaucracy:

• Hierarchy of command
• Impersonality
• Written rules of conduct
• Advancement based on achievement
• Specialized division of labor
• Efficiency

Weber believed that bureaucracies are goal-oriented organizations that are based on rational principles that are used to efficiently reach their goals. However, there are constraints within this bureaucratic system.

Negative effects of bureaucracies

Bureaucracies concentrate large amounts of power in a small number of people and are generally unregulated. Weber believed that those who control these organizations control the quality of our lives as well. Bureaucracies tend to generate oligarchy; which is where a few officials are the political and economic power. Because bureaucracy is a form of organization superior to all others, further bureaucratization and rationalization may be an inescapable fate.

Iron cage of bureaucracy

This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (January 2013)

Because of these aforementioned reasons, there will be an evolution of an iron cage, which will be a technically ordered, rigid, dehumanized society. The iron cage is the one set of rules and laws that we are all subjected and must adhere to. Bureaucracy puts us in an iron cage, which limits individual human freedom and potential instead of a “technological utopia” that should set us free. It is the way of the institution, where we do not have a choice anymore. Once capitalism came about, it was like a machine that you were being pulled into without an alternative option; currently, whether we agree or disagree, if you want to survive you need to have a job and you need to make money.

Laws of bureaucracies:

1. The official is subject to authority only with respect to their official obligation
2. Organized in a clearly defined hierarchy of offices
3. Each office has a clearly defined sphere of competence
4. The official has a free contractual relationship; free selection
5. Officials are selected through technical qualification
6. The official is paid by fixed salaries
7. The office is the primary occupation of the official
8. Promotion is based on an achievement which is granted by the judgment of superiors
9. The official works entirely separated from ownership of the means of administration
10. The official is subject to strict and systematic discipline within the office

Costs of bureaucracies

“Rational calculation . . . reduces every worker to a cog in this bureaucratic machine and, seeing himself in this light, he will merely ask how to transform himself… to a bigger cog… The passion for bureaucratization at this meeting drives us to despair.”

• Loss of individuality; labor is now being sold to someone who is in control, instead of individuals being artisans and craftsmen and benefiting from their own labor.
• Loss of autonomy; others are dictating what an individual’s services are worth.
• Individuals develop an obsession with moving on to bigger and better positions, but someone else will always be determining the value of our achievements.
• Lack of individual freedom; individuals can no longer engage in a society unless they belong to a large scale organization where they are given specific tasks in return for giving up their personal desires to conform to the bureaucracy’s goals  and are now following legal authority.
• Specialization; with specialization, society becomes more interdependent and has a less common purpose. There is a loss in the sense of community because the purpose of bureaucracies is to get the job done efficiently.

Bureaucratic hierarchies can control resources in pursuit of their own personal interests, which impacts society’s lives greatly and society has no control over this. It also affects society’s political order and governments because bureaucracies were built to regulate these organizations, but corruption remains an issue. The goal of the bureaucracy has a single-minded pursuit  that can ruin social order; what might be good for the organization might not be good for the society as a whole, which can later harm the bureaucracy’s future. Formal rationalization in bureaucracy has its problems as well. There are issues of control, depersonalization and increasing domination. Once the bureaucracy is created, the control is indestructible. There is only one set of rules and procedures, which reduces everyone to the same level. Depersonalization occurs because individual situations are not accounted for.  Most importantly, the bureaucracies will become more dominating over time unless they are stopped. In an advanced industrial-bureaucratic society, everything becomes part of the expanding machine, even people.

While bureaucracies are supposed to be based on rationalization, they act in the exact opposite manner. Political bureaucracies are established so that they protect our civil liberties, but they violate them with their imposing rules. Development and agricultural bureaucracies are set so that they help farmers, but put them out of business due to market competition that the bureaucracies contribute to. Service bureaucracies like health care are set to help the sick and elderly, but then they deny care based on specific criteria.

Debates regarding bureaucracies

Weber argues that bureaucracies have dominated modern society’s social structure; but we need these bureaucracies to help regulate our complex society. Bureaucracies may have desirable intentions to some, but they tend to undermine human freedom and democracy in the long run.

“Rationalization destroyed the authority of magical powers, but it also brought into being the machine-like regulation of bureaucracy, which ultimately challenges all systems of belief.”

It is important to note that according to Weber, society sets up these bureaucratic systems, and it is up to society to change them. Weber argues that it is very difficult to change or break these bureaucracies, but if they are indeed socially constructed, then society should be able to intervene and shift the system.

Article Credit : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

James Samuel Coleman

Image credit : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

James Samuel Coleman (May 12, 1926 – March 25, 1995) was an American sociologist, theorist, and empirical researcher, based chiefly at the University of Chicago. He was elected president of the American Sociological Association. Coleman studied the sociology of education, public policy, and was one of the earliest users of the term "social capital". His Foundations of Social Theory influenced sociological theory. His "The Adolescent Society" (1961) and "Coleman Report" (Equality of Educational Opportunity, 1966) were two of the most heavily cited books in educational sociology. The landmark Coleman Report helped transform educational theory, reshape national education policies, and influenced public and scholarly opinion regarding the role of schooling in determining equality and productivity in the United States.

Early life

As the son of James and Maurine Coleman, he spent his early childhood in Bedford, Indiana, and then moved to Louisville, Kentucky. After graduating in 1944, he enrolled in a small school in Virginia, but left to enlist in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Coleman received his bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in 1949. In 1955, while studying to receive his Ph.D. from Columbia University, he was influenced by Paul Lazarsfeld.

Career

Coleman achieved renown with two studies on problem solving: An Introduction to Mathematical Sociology (1964) and Mathematics of Collective Action (1973). He taught at Stanford University and the University of Chicago. In 1959 he moved to Johns Hopkins University where he taught until 1973 before returning to Chicago. In 1959 he moved to Johns Hopkins University, where he taught as an associate, and eventually as a full-time professor in the social relations department. Upon his return he became the professor and senior study director at the National Opinion Research Center. In 1991 Coleman was elected President of the ASA. In 2001, Coleman was named among the top 100 American intellectuals, as measured by academic citations, in Richard Posner's book, Public Intellectuals: A Study of Decline.

Major contributions

The Coleman Report

Coleman is widely cited in the field of sociology of education. In the 1960s, he and several other scholars were commissioned by the US Department of Education, to write a report on educational equality in the US. It was one of the largest studies in history, with more than 650,000 students in the sample. The result was a massive report of over 700 pages. The 1966 report—titled "Equality of Educational Opportunity" (or otherwise known as the "Coleman Report")—fueled debate about "school effects" that is still relevant today. The report was commonly presented as evidence, or an argument, that school funding has little effect on student achievement. Upon a more thorough reading of the "Coleman Report", it was found that student background and socioeconomic status are more important in determining educational outcomes of a student. Additionally, differences in the quality of schools and teachers, has a small positive impact on student outcomes.

Coleman found that, by the 1960s, segregated black and white schools received nearly equal funding. This research also suggested that African American students benefited from schooling in non-segregated classrooms. This was a catalyst for the implementation of the desegregation of busing systems, that ferried African American students to integrated schools. In 1975, Coleman published new research, that further investigated the effects of school busing systems. These busing systems were intended to bring lower-class African American students to upper-class racially integrated schools. Upon advancements in school desegregation, white parents began to move their children out of integrated schools in large numbers. This mass exodus was termed "white flight". In 1966, Coleman wrote an article explaining that African American students only benefited from integrated schooling if the student majority was white.

Coleman's findings regarding "white flight" were not well received in some quarters, particularly among some members of the American Sociological Association. In response, efforts sprang up during the mid-1970s to revoke his ASA membership. Despite efforts, Coleman remained a member of the ASA, and eventually became their president. In another controversial finding of the "Coleman Report", it showed that 15 percent of African American students fell within the same range of academic accomplishment as the upper 50 percent of white students. The tests administered in these schools, did not appear to measure intelligence, but rather measured the student's ability to learn and perform in an American schooling environment. The report states: "These tests do not measure intelligence, nor attitudes, nor qualities of character. Furthermore they are not, nor are they intended, to be 'culture free.' Quite the reverse: they are culture bound. What they measure are the skills which are among the most important in our society for getting a good job and moving to a better one, and for full participation in an increasingly technical world."

Social capital

In Coleman's Foundations of Social Theory, there is a chapter that discusses his theory of social capital. Social capital is a set of resources that are found in family relations and in a community's social organization. Coleman believed that social capital is useful for the cognitive or social development of a child of young person. There are three main types of capital discussed; human capital, physical capital, and social capital. Human capital is an individual's skills, knowledge, and experience, which determine their value in society. Physical capital, being completely tangible and generally a private good, originates from the creation of tools to facilitate production. In addition to social capital, these three types of investments create the three main aspects of society's exchange of capital. According to Coleman, social capital and human capital are often complementary. By having certain skill-sets, experiences, and knowledge, an individual can gain social status, and therefore receive more social capital.

With the exchange of capital, comes Coleman's theories on obligations and expectations. He describes the situation of doing favors for someone as "credit slips". Should an individual need a favor, he is essentially giving someone else a credit slip, which signifies that they will be paid back for their goods and/or services. For an individual to believe that their favor will be reciprocated, Coleman believe there are two vital conditions. The first, is that there needs to be a level of trustworthiness in a social environment, to be able to believe the obligation will be met. Second, the individual needs to take into account the extent of the obligation.

While social capital has value in use, it is something that isn't easily exchanged. Coleman explores the idea of relative capital. He believed that capital's value was truly dependent on the social environment and the individual. With this being the case, the value of human capital, and physical capital, will change as well.

Coleman also explores the idea that social capital isn't as easy to invest in compared to human and physical capital. To invest in physical capital, is usually a good decision both financially and economically. To invest in human capital, is to make oneself more intelligent and experienced; surely a positive thing. When it comes to social capital, the incentive to invest isn't always personally appealing. According to Coleman, when an individual invests in social capital, they aren't necessarily investing in themselves. Investment in social capital leads to investment in the social structure, which the capital lies. This in turn will benefit those individuals and populations, which are a part of that particular social structure.

Legacy

Coleman was a pioneer in the construction of mathematical models in sociology with his book, Introduction to Mathematical Sociology (1964). His later treatise, Foundations of Social Theory (1990), made major contributions toward a more rigorous form of theorizing in sociology based on rational choice.[citation needed] Coleman wrote more than thirty books and published numerous articles. He also created an educational corporation that developed and marketed "mental games" aimed at improving the abilities of disadvantaged students. Coleman made it a practice to send his most controversial research findings "to his worst critics" prior to their publication, calling this "the best way to ensure validity."

At the time of his death, he was engaged in a long-term study titled the High School and Beyond, which examined the lives and careers of 75,000 people who had been high school juniors and seniors in 1980.

Coleman published lasting theories of education, which helped shape the field. With his focus on the allocation of rights, one can understand the conflict between rights. Towards the end of his life, Coleman questioned how to make the education systems more accountable, which caused educators to question their use and interpretation of standardized testing.

Coleman's publication of the "Coleman Report" included greatly influential findings that pioneered aspects of the desegregation of American public schools. His theories of integration also contributed to this. He also raised the issue of narrowing the educational gap between those who had money, and those who didn't. By creating a well-rounded student body, a student's educational experience can be greatly benefited.

Selected works

• Community Conflict (1955)
• Union Democracy: The Internal Politics of the International Typographical Union (1956, with Seymour Martin Lipset and Martin Trow)
• The Adolescent Society (1961)
• Introduction to Mathematical Sociology (1964)
• Models of Change and Response Uncertainty (1964)
• Equality of Educational Opportunity (1966)
• Macrosociology: Research and Theory (1970)
• Resources for Social Change: Race in the United States (1971)
• Youth: Transition to Adulthood (1973)
• High School Achievement (1982)
• The Asymmetrical Society (1982)
• Individual Interests and Collective Action (1986)
• Social Theory, Social Research, and a Theory of Action, article in American Journal of Sociology 91: 1309-1335 (1986).
• Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital, article in The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 94, Supplement: Organizations and Institutions: Sociological and Economic Approaches to the Analysis of Social Structure, pp. S95-S120 (1988).
• Foundations of Social Theory (1990)
• Equality and Achievement in Education (1990)
• Redesigning American Education (1997, with Barbara Schneider, Stephen Plank, Kathryn S. Schiller, Roger Shouse, & Huayin Wang)

Article Credit : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Micro-Macro Integration

Beginning in the 1980s there was renewed interest in the micro-macro linkage. Despite the early integrationist tendencies of the classical theorists, much of 20th-century theory was either micro-extremist or macro-extremist in its orientation. On the macro side are theories such as structural functionalism, some variants of neo-Marxian theory, and conflict theory. Conversely, symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology, exchange and rational-choice theory are all examples of micro-extremism. Thus micro- and macro- extremism can be seen as a development in modern theory, and indeed, many of the classical theorists can be understood as having an interest in the micro-macro linkage. A renewed interest in micro-macro integration arose in the 1980s.

There are two strands of work on micro-macro integration. The first involves attempting to integrate various micro and macro theories, such as combining structural functionalism and symbolic interactionism. The second involves creating theory that effectively combines the two levels of analysis. This chapter focuses primarily on the latter.

Integrated Sociological Paradigm

George Ritzer has attempted to construct an Integrated Sociological Paradigm built upon two distinctions: between micro and macro levels, and between the objective and subjective. This produces four dimensions: macro-objective, large-scale material phenomena such as bureaucracies; macro-subjective, large-scale ideational or nonmaterial phenomena such as norms; micro-objective, small-scale material phenomena such as patterns of behavior; and micro-subjective, small-scale ideational or nonmaterial phenomena such as psychological states or the cognitive processes involved in "constructing" reality. These are not conceptualized as dichotomies, but rather as continuums. Ritzer argues that these dimensions cannot be analyzed separately, and thus the dimensions are dialectically related, with no particular dimension necessarily privileged over any other.

Ritzer has utilized this integrated approach to look at the consequences of the rise in consumer debt in Expressing America: A Critique of the Global Credit Card Society. He attempts to integrate micro and macro by focusing on the micro-level personal troubles it creates, as well as the macro-level public issues involved. Personal troubles are those problems that affect an individual and those immediately around him or her. In the case of credit cards, individuals are accumulating large amounts of debt, resulting in prolonged periods of financial trouble. Public issues tend to be those that affect large numbers of people. Credit cards create public issues because of the large number of people indebted to credit card companies, which have given rise to bankruptcies and delinquencies. Ritzer demonstrates the dialectical relationship between the personal troubles and public issues created by policies and procedures of credit card firms, such as deluging the populace with pre-approved cards, as well as targeting minors for credit cards.

Multidimensional Sociology

Jeffrey Alexander has used an integrative approach that very much resembles Ritzer's. Though the dimensions along which he differentiates the levels of social phenomena differ, they mirror the distinctions created by Ritzer: rather than micro-macro, Alexander uses problems of order, which can be either individual or collective. Rather than subjective-objective, Alexander uses problems of action, which range from materialist (instrumental, rational) to idealist (normative, affective). Despite this similarity in analytical approaches, Alexander and Ritzer differ in the strategy used to integrate the various levels of analysis. Unlike Ritzer, Alexander privileges the macro over the micro. Alexander sees micro-level theory as unable to adequately deal with the unique nature of collective phenomena and unable to adequately handle macro-level phenomena generally. More specifically, Alexander's sympathies lay with collective/normative-level-oriented theory. Only this form of theory can sufficiently deal with macro-level phenomena while remaining coherent and without constructing structural dopes that act at the whim of macro-objective level phenomena.

Micro-to-Macro Model

James Coleman (1926-1995) has attempted to apply micro-level rational-choice theory to macro-level phenomena. As an overall integrative approach this is unsatisfactory as it provides insufficient insight into the macro-micro connection. Using Max Weber's (1864-1920) Protestant Ethic thesis, Coleman built a model explicating his integrative model. To Coleman, these various levels of analysis were related causally, and thus did not take into account feedback among the various levels. Allen Liska has tried to improve upon this model by giving more attention to the macro-to-micro linkage and to relationships among macro-level phenomena, though the relationships are still causal. Liska also argues for the increased use of a particular way of describing macro phenomena, aggregation. Unlike structural and global explanations, which rely on poorly understood processes such as emergence, the meaning of aggregation is easily elaborated.

Micro Foundations of Macrosociology

Randall Collins's integrative approach, which he calls radical microsociology, focuses on interaction ritual chains, that, when linked together, produce large scale, macro-level phenomena. Hoping to centralize the role of human action and interaction in theory, Collins rejects the idea that macro-level phenomena can act, instead focusing on the premise that, ultimately, someone, an individual, must do something in order for action to occur.

Back to the Future: Norbert Elias's Figurational Sociology

One European of note, Norbert Elias (1897-1990), has contributed significantly to an integrative sociology. Elias developed the notion of figuration to avoid analytically dichotomizing levels of analysis. Figurations are social processes that interweave people in relationships, creating interrelationships. Figurations are not static, coercive macro-structures, but rather are conceptualized as relatively fluid processes of inter-relationships among individuals that create shifting relations of power and interdependence. Elias makes relationships between people central, particularly relations of interdependence, in contradistinction to individualistic and atomistic approaches.

The History of Manners

Elias demonstrates his integrative approach in his best-known work, The Civilizing Process, which has two volumes, The History of Manners and Power and Civility. This work deals with the expansion of civility, or manners, across society. More abstractly, it relates changes in the structure of society to changes in the structure of behavior. The History of Manners deals primarily with the diffusion of manners (micro), while Power and Civility deals primarily with the changes in society that brought rise to the diffusion of manners (macro). Central to Elias's work are the changing levels of interdependence among people. This was the result of increases in differentiation in society from competition. Increased differentiation leads to increased interdependence, which in turn leads to an increase in consideration for other people. This has a number of effects: a transformation of control, from being relatively little and external, to an interiorization of control by individuals, who self-police. It also creates what Elias calls a shifting frontier of embarrassment created by a lack of self-control over impulses, and thus changes in manners. These changes were diffused throughout society by the creation of certain types of figurations. According to Elias, these figurations made it possible for a king to emerge, and it was in the king's court, populated by nobles, from which the habits and rules of the day emanated. Because nobles had long dependency chains, Elias believed they needed to be particularly sensitive to others. The king's increasing power, particularly through taxation and the monopolization of the means of violence, also encouraged sensitivity among nobles. Thus the civilizing process is tied to the "reorganization of the social fabric" through competition and interdependence. These macro level changes made possible a set of relationships that produced wide-scale changes in micro-level patterns o

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Abraham Lincoln

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The 16th US President, Abraham Lincoln, was assassinated on this day150 years ago.

John Wilkes Booth, an actor, shot Lincoln at point blank range in the back of his head at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC during an evening performance of "Our American Cousin." Lincoln succumbed to his injuries the next day.

Lincoln was perhaps the most instrumental factor in the ultimate abolition of slavery in the US. On his death anniversary, here’s a look at five interesting facts about the assassination.

Lincoln’s premonition about his assassination just a few days before his death

According to this story, just a few days before his assassination, Lincoln talked about a dream. He reportedly said that in the dream, he walked into the East Room of the White House to find a covered corpse surrounded by soldiers and mourners.

When he asked one of the soldiers who had died, the soldier replied, “The president. He was killed by an assassin.”

This story came to the fore when Ward Hill Lamon – Abraham Lincoln’s former law partner and friend – published it nearly 20 years after the assassination. Some historians have reservations about this account.

When the President addressed slavery in a speech, Booth vowed it was "the last speech Lincoln will ever give"

In a speech delivered from a White House window on April 11, 1865, Lincoln said that the time had come to give voting rights to African-Americans.

Booth was in the audience and according to Harold Holzer, author of the new book "President Lincoln Assassinated!", Booth “bristled at Lincoln's words, declaring that the president's message ‘means negro equality’”.

Booth then added: "That's the last speech he'll ever make."

Two years before his assassination, Lincoln went to watch a play in Ford’s Theatre in which John Wilkes Booth was the villain

According to Holzer, Lincoln not only saw Booth perform in a play in 1863 but he saw him at Ford's Theatre, where Booth would assassinate him two years later.

Lincoln watched the play "The Marble Heart" in which Booth played the villain.

Holzer said that during the play, Booth directed many of his villainous speeches towards the presidential box, prompting a companion to tell Lincoln: "He almost seems to be reciting these lines to you."

Lincoln reportedly replied: "He does talk very sharp at me, doesn't he?"

At Ford’s Theatre, the audience did not initially realise the President had been shot

Reportedly Lincoln was laughing at the line, "Don't know the manners of good society eh? Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, old gal; you sockdologizing old man-trap!" when he was shot.

The spot report filed by the Associated Press on April 14, 1865 says:

“The theatre was densely crowded, and everybody seemed delighted with the scene before them. During the third act and while there was a temporary pause for one of the actors to enter, a sharp report of a pistol was heard, which merely attracted attention, but suggested nothing serious until a man rushed to the front of the President's box, waving a long dagger in his right hand, exclaiming, 'Sic semper tyrannis,' and immediately leaped from the box, which was in the second tier, to the stage beneath, and ran across to the opposite side, made his escape amid the bewilderment of the audience from the rear of the theatre, and mounted a horse and fled.”

Booth attacked Major Henry Rathbone, who was closest to Lincoln in the theatre, and escaped.

‘John Wilkes Booth was not a deranged lone madman’

Historian Terry Alford, whose book Fortune's Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth was published recently, has been quoted as saying that contrary to what many people believe, Booth was not a lone madman. In fact, Alford said, Booth was politically motivated to assassinate Lincoln.

"John Wilkes Booth was one of those people who thought the best country in the history of the world was the United States as it existed before the Civil War," Alford said. "And then when Lincoln came along, he was changing that in fundamental ways."

Booth was born in a well-known family of actors and was a good thespian himself. He was captured 12 days after Lincoln’s assassination. 

Article Credit : http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/

Ethnic group

An ethnic group or ethnicity is a socially defined category of people who identify with each other based on common ancestral, social, cultural or national experience.  Membership of an ethnic group tends to be defined by a shared cultural heritage, ancestry, origin myth, history, homeland, language and/or dialect, ideology, symbolic systems such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing style, physical appearance, etc.

The largest ethnic groups in modern times comprise hundreds of millions of individuals (Han Chinese being the largest), while the smallest are limited to a few dozen individuals (numerous indigenous peoples worldwide). Larger ethnic groups may be subdivided into smaller sub-groups known variously as tribes or clans, which over time may become separate ethnic groups themselves due to endogamy and/or physical isolation from the parent group. Conversely, formerly separate ethnicities can merge to form a pan-ethnicity, and may eventually merge into one single ethnicity. Whether through division or amalgamation, the formation of a separate ethnic identity is referred to as ethnogenesis.

Depending on which source of group identity is emphasized to define membership, the following types of ethnic groups can be identified:

• Ethno-racial,  emphasizing shared physical appearance based on genetic origins;
• Ethno-religious, emphasizing shared affiliation with a particular religion, denomination and/or sect;
• Ethno-linguistic, emphasizing shared language, dialect and/or script;
• Ethno-national,  emphasizing a shared polity and/or sense of national identity;
• Ethno-regional, emphasizing a distinct local sense of belonging stemming from relative geographic isolation.

In many cases – for instance, the sense of Jewish peoplehood – more than one aspect determines membership.

Ethnic groups derived from the same historical founder population often continue to speak related languages and share a similar gene pool. By way of language shift, acculturation, adoption and religious conversion, it is possible for some individuals or groups to leave one ethnic group and become part of another (except for ethnic groups emphasizing racial purity as a key membership criterion).

Ethnicity is often used synonymously with ambiguous terms such as nation or people.

Terminology

The term ethnic is derived from the Greek word ethnos (more precisely, from the adjective ethnikos, which was loaned into Latin as ethnicus). The inherited English-language term for this concept is folk, used alongside the latinate people since the late Middle English period.

In Early Modern English and until the mid 19th century, ethnic was used to mean heathen or pagan (in the sense of disparate "nations" which did not yet participate in the Christian oikumene), as the Septuagint used ta ethne ("the nations") to translate the Hebrew goyim "the nations, non-Hebrews, non-Jews". The Greek term in early antiquity (Homeric Greek) could refer to any large group, a host of men, a band of comrades as well as a swarm or flock of animals. In Classical Greek, the term took on a meaning comparable to the concept now expressed by "ethnic group", mostly translated as "nation, people"; only in Hellenistic Greek did the term tend to become further narrowed to refer to "foreign" or "barbarous" nations in particular (whence the later meaning "heathen, pagan").

In the 19th century, the term came to be used in the sense of "peculiar to a race, people or nation", in a return to the original Greek meaning. The sense of "different cultural groups", and in US English "racial, cultural or national minority group" arises in the 1930s to 1940s, serving as a replacement of the term race which had earlier taken this sense but was now becoming deprecated due to its association with ideological racism. The abstract ethnicity had been used for "paganism" in the 18th century, but now came to [be] express the meaning of an "ethnic character" (first recorded 1953). The term ethnic group was first recorded in 1935 and entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 1972. The term nationality depending on context may either be used synonymously with ethnicity, or synonymously with citizenship (in a sovereign state). The process that results in the emergence of an ethnicity is called ethnogenesis, a term in use in ethnological literature since about 1950.

Definitions and conceptual history

Ethnography begins in classical antiquity; after early authors like Anaximander and Hecataeus of Miletus, Herodotus in ca. 480 BC laid the foundation of both historiography and ethnography of the ancient world. The Greeks at this time did not describe foreign nations but had also developed a concept of their own "ethnicity", which they grouped under the name of Hellenes. Herodotus gave a famous account of what defined Greek (Hellenic) ethnic identity in his day, enumerating

1. shared descent ( "of the same blood"),
2. shared language ("speaking the same language")
3. shared sanctuaries and sacrifices
4. shared customs ("customs of like fashion").

Whether ethnicity qualifies as a cultural universal is to some extent dependent on the exact definition used. According to "Challenges of Measuring an Ethnic World: Science, politics, and reality",  "Ethnicity is a fundamental factor in human life: it is a phenomenon inherent in human experience." Many social scientists, such as anthropologists Fredrik Barth and Eric Wolf, do not consider ethnic identity to be universal. They regard ethnicity as a product of specific kinds of inter-group interactions, rather than an essential quality inherent to human groups.

According to Thomas Hylland Eriksen, the study of ethnicity was dominated by two distinct debates until recently.

• One is between "primordialism" and "instrumentalism". In the primordialist view, the participant perceives ethnic ties collectively, as an externally given, even coercive, social bond. The instrumentalist approach, on the other hand, treats ethnicity primarily as an ad-hoc element of a political strategy, used as a resource for interest groups for achieving secondary goals such as, for instance, an increase in wealth, power or status. This debate is still an important point of reference in Political science, although most scholars' approaches fall between the two poles.
• The second debate is between "constructivism" and "essentialism". Constructivists view national and ethnic identities as the product of historical forces, often recent, even when the identities are presented as old. Essentialists view such identities as ontological categories defining social actors, and not the result of social action.

According to Eriksen, these debates have been superseded, especially in anthropology, by scholars' attempts to respond to increasingly politicised forms of self-representation by members of different ethnic groups and nations. This is in the context of debates over multiculturalism in countries, such as the United States and Canada, which have large immigrant populations from many different cultures, and post-colonialism in the Caribbean and South Asia.

Max Weber maintained that ethnic groups were künstlich (artificial, i.e. a social construct) because they were based on a subjective belief in shared Gemeinschaft (community). Secondly, this belief in shared Gemeinschaft did not create the group; the group created the belief. Third, group formation resulted from the drive to monopolise power and status. This was contrary to the prevailing naturalist belief of the time, which held that socio-cultural and behavioral differences between peoples stemmed from inherited traits and tendencies derived from common descent, then called "race".

Another influential theoretician of ethnicity was Fredrik Barth, whose "Ethnic Groups and Boundaries" from 1969 has been described as instrumental in spreading the usage of the term in social studies in the 1980s and 1990s. Barth went further than Weber in stressing the constructed nature of ethnicity. To Barth, ethnicity was perpetually negotiated and renegotiated by both external ascription and internal self-identification. Barth's view is that ethnic groups are not discontinuous cultural isolates, or logical a prioris to which people naturally belong. He wanted to part with anthropological notions of cultures as bounded entities, and ethnicity as primordialist bonds, replacing it with a focus on the interface between groups. "Ethnic Groups and Boundaries", therefore, is a focus on the interconnectedness of ethnic identities. Barth writes: "... categorical ethnic distinctions do not depend on an absence of mobility, contact and information, but do entail social processes of exclusion and incorporation whereby discrete categories are maintained despite changing participation and membership in the course of individual life histories."

In 1978, anthropologist Ronald Cohen claimed that the identification of "ethnic groups" in the usage of social scientists often reflected inaccurate labels more than indigenous realities:

... the named ethnic identities we accept, often unthinkingly, as basic givens in the literature are often arbitrarily, or even worse inaccurately, imposed.

In this way, he pointed to the fact that identification of an ethnic group by outsiders, e.g. anthropologists, may not coincide with the self-identification of the members of that group. He also described that in the first decades of usage, the term ethnicity had often been used in lieu of older terms such as "cultural" or "tribal" when referring to smaller groups with shared cultural systems and shared heritage, but that "ethnicity" had the added value of being able to describe the commonalities between systems of group identity in both tribal and modern societies. Cohen also suggested that claims concerning "ethnic" identity (like earlier claims concerning "tribal" identity) are often colonialist practices and effects of the relations between colonized peoples and nation-states.

Social scientists have thus focused on how, when, and why different markers of ethnic identity become salient. Thus, anthropologist Joan Vincent observed that ethnic boundaries often have a mercurial character. Ronald Cohen concluded that ethnicity is "a series of nesting dichotomizations of inclusiveness and exclusiveness".  He agrees with Joan Vincent's observation that (in Cohen's paraphrase) "Ethnicity ... can be narrowed or broadened in boundary terms in relation to the specific needs of political mobilization. This may be why descent is sometimes a marker of ethnicity, and sometimes not: which diacritic of ethnicity is salient depends on whether people are scaling ethnic boundaries up or down, and whether they are scaling them up or down depends generally on the political situation.

Approaches to understanding ethnicity

Different approaches to understanding ethnicity have been used by different social scientists when trying to understand the nature of ethnicity as a factor in human life and society. Examples of such approaches are: primordialism, essentialism, perennialism, constructivism, modernism and instrumentalism.

• "Primordialism", holds that ethnicity has existed at all times of human history and that modern ethnic groups have historical continuity into the far past. For them, the idea of ethnicity is closely linked to the idea of nations and is rooted in the pre-Weber understanding of humanity as being divided into primordially existing groups rooted by kinship and biological heritage.
• "Essentialist primordialism" further holds that ethnicity is an a priori fact of human existence, that ethnicity precedes any human social interaction and that it is basically unchanged by it. This theory sees ethnic groups as natural, not just as historical. This understanding does not explain how and why nations and ethnic groups seemingly appear, disappear and often reappear through history. It also has problems dealing with the consequences of intermarriage, migration and colonization for the composition of modern day multi-ethnic societies.
• "Kinship primordialism" holds that ethnic communities are extensions of kinship units, basically being derived by kinship or clan ties where the choices of cultural signs (language, religion, traditions) are made exactly to show this biological affinity. In this way, the myths of common biological ancestry that are a defining feature of ethnic communities are to be understood as representing actual biological history. A problem with this view on ethnicity is that it is more often than not the case that mythic origins of specific ethnic groups directly contradict the known biological history of an ethnic community.
• "Geertz's primordialism", notably espoused by anthropologist Clifford Geertz, argues that humans in general attribute an overwhelming power to primordial human "givens" such as blood ties, language, territory, and cultural differences. In Geertz' opinion, ethnicity is not in itself primordial but humans perceive it as such because it is embedded in their experience of the world.
• "Perennialism", an approach that is primarily concerned with nationhood but tends to see nations and ethnic communities as basically the same phenomenon, holds that the nation, as a type of social and political organisation, is of an immemorial or "perennial" character. Smith (1999) distinguishes two variants: "continuous perennialism", which claims that particular nations have existed for very long spans of time, and "recurrent perennialism", which focuses on the emergence, dissolution and reappearance of nations as a recurring aspect of human history.
• "Perpetual perennialism" holds that specific ethnic groups have existed continuously throughout history.
• "Situational perennialism" holds that nations and ethnic groups emerge, change and vanish through the course of history. This view holds that the concept of ethnicity is basically a tool used by political groups to manipulate resources such as wealth, power, territory or status in their particular groups' interests. Accordingly, ethnicity emerges when it is relevant as means of furthering emergent collective interests and changes according to political changes in the society. Examples of a perennialist interpretation of ethnicity are also found in Barth, and Seidner who see ethnicity as ever-changing boundaries between groups of people established through ongoing social negotiation and interaction.
• "Instrumentalist perennialism", while seeing ethnicity primarily as a versatile tool that identified different ethnics groups and limits through time, explains ethnicity as a mechanism of social stratification, meaning that ethnicity is the basis for a hierarchical arrangement of individuals. According to Donald Noel, a sociologist who developed a theory on the origin of ethnic stratification, ethnic stratification is a "system of stratification wherein some relatively fixed group membership (e.g., race, religion, or nationality) is utilized as a major criterion for assigning social positions".  Ethnic stratification is one of many different types of social stratification, including stratification based on socio-economic status, race, or gender. According to Donald Noel, ethnic stratification will emerge only when specific ethnic groups are brought into contact with one another, and only when those groups are characterized by a high degree of ethnocentrism, competition, and differential power. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own culture, and to downgrade all other groups outside one's own culture. Some sociologists, such as Lawrence Bobo and Vincent Hutchings, say the origin of ethnic stratification lies in individual dispositions of ethnic prejudice, which relates to the theory of ethnocentrism. Continuing with Noel's theory, some degree of differential power must be present for the emergence of ethnic stratification. In other words, an inequality of power among ethnic groups means "they are of such unequal power that one is able to impose its will upon another". In addition to differential power, a degree of competition structured along ethnic lines is a prerequisite to ethnic stratification as well. The different ethnic groups must be competing for some common goal, such as power or influence, or a material interest, such as wealth or territory. Lawrence Bobo and Vincent Hutchings propose that competition is driven by self-interest and hostility, and results in inevitable stratification and conflict.
• "Constructivism" sees both primordialist and perennialist views as basically flawed, and rejects the notion of ethnicity as a basic human condition. It holds that ethnic groups are only products of human social interaction, maintained only in so far as they are maintained as valid social constructs in societies.
• "Modernist constructivism" correlates the emergence of ethnicity with the movement towards nationstates beginning in the early modern period. Proponents of this theory, such as Eric Hobsbawm, argue that ethnicity and notions of ethnic pride, such as nationalism, are purely modern inventions, appearing only in the modern period of world history. They hold that prior to this, ethnic homogeneity was not considered an ideal or necessary factor in the forging of large-scale societies.

Ethnicity is an important means by which people may identify with a larger group. Many social scientists, such as anthropologists Fredrik Barth and Eric Wolf, do not consider ethnic identity to be universal. They regard ethnicity as a product of specific kinds of inter-group interactions, rather than an essential quality inherent to human groups. Processes that result in the emergence of such identification are called ethnogenesis. Members of an ethnic group, on the whole, claim cultural continuities over time, although historians and cultural anthropologists have documented that many of the values, practices, and norms that imply continuity with the past are of relatively recent invention.

Ethnic groups differ from other social groups, such as subcultures, interest groups or social classes, because they emerge and change over historical periods (centuries) in a process known as ethnogenesis, a period of several generations of endogamy resulting in common ancestry (which is then sometimes cast in terms of a mythological narrative of a founding figure); ethnic identity is reinforced by reference to "boundary markers" - characteristics said to be unique to the group which set it apart from other groups.

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