Publications [#256456] of Kenneth C. Land

Book Chapters

1. Land, KC; Hernes, G, Social Change: Models, in International Encyclopedia of Behavioral and Social Sciences, edited by Wright, JD (2015), pp. 192-198, Elsevier, ISBN 9780080970868 [doi]
   (last updated on 2024/04/23)

   Abstract:
   This article defines models of social change in terms of how established social forms - rites, tools, languages, structures, hierarchies, and rules, whether they are simple or complex - are maintained or changed. It commences by citing the distinction of social facts from individual actions, identifies three requirements of theories of social change, shows how the 'Population, Organization, Environment, and Technology' (POET) model can be used to understand the loci of change identified in different models of social change, focuses on actors and structures and actor assumptions and structure assumptions as key elements of models of social change, and notes the distinctions of intentions of actors from the effects of their actions and expectations from desired consequences. The article concludes by identifying examples of formal systems - mathematics, statistics, and computational algorithms - that have been used to develop and assess models of social change.