Gourt > Society > History > By Topic > Science > Institutions (1)
- This article is about institutions as social mechanisms. Please see Organization for formal establishments.
Institutions are social structures and social mechanisms of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of two or more individuals. Institutions are identified with a social purpose and permanence, transcending individual human lives and intentions, and with the making and enforcing of rules governing cooperative human behavior. The term, institution, is commonly applied to customs and behavior patterns important to a society, as well as to particular formal organizations of government and public service. As structures and mechanisms of social order among humans, institutions are one of the principal objects of study in the social sciences, including sociology, political science and economics. Institutions are a central concern for law, the formal regime for political rule-making and enforcement. The creation and evolution of institutions is a primary topic for history.
Aspects of Institutions
Although individual, formal organizations, commonly identified as "institutions," may be deliberately and intentionally created by people, the development and functioning of institutions in society in general may be regarded as an instance of emergence; that is, institutions arise, develop and function in a pattern of social self-organization, which goes beyond the conscious intentions of the individual humans involved.
As mechanisms of social cooperation, institutions are manifest in both objectively real, formal organizations, such as the U.S. Congress, the Roman Catholic Church or the Bank of England, and, also, in informal social order and organization, reflecting human psychology, culture, habits and customs. Most important institutions, considered abstractly, have both objective and subjective aspects: examples include money and marriage. The institution of money encompasses many formal organizations, including banks and government treasury departments and stock exchanges, which may be termed, "institutions," as well as subjective experiences, which guide people in their pursuit of personal economic well-being and wealth. Powerful institutions are able to imbue a paper currency with certain value, and to induce millions into cooperative production and trade in pursuit of economic ends abstractly denominated in that currency's units. The subjective experience of money is so pervasive and persuasive that economists talk of the "money illusion" and try to disabuse their students of it, in preparation for learning economic analysis.
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@love_kt srsly tho, I'll be back for good I hope & professing about stuffs at one of your fine institutions :) #ihaveaproperjobtooyaknow
tim_butcher (Tim Butcher) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:36:51 -0000
@love_kt srsly tho, I'll be back for good I hope & professing about stuffs at one of your fine institutions :) #ihaveaproperjobtooyaknow
Despite economy, Penn's endowment stays even: By Susan Snyder While some peer institutions are announcing l.. http://bit.ly/4ulShB
TweetYouTweetMe (Carol Gratz) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:30:27 -0000
Despite economy, Penn's endowment stays even: By Susan Snyder While some peer institutions are announcing l.. http://bit.ly/4ulShB
@Elissayoung I wanted to skip those institutions too! But I heard its the last year they're testing them so I got scared :(
seraphicera (Rine Seraphica) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:26:43 -0000
@Elissayoung I wanted to skip those institutions too! But I heard its the last year they're testing them so I got scared :(
via @changex: #wce09 Mohammad #Yunus: "There's nothing wrong with human beings. There's a lot wrong with the design of institutions ..."
wschroll (Willi Schroll) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:11:18 -0000
via @changex: #wce09 Mohammad #Yunus: "There's nothing wrong with human beings. There's a lot wrong with the design of institutions ..."
http://bit.ly/wuAoT By Susan Snyder While some peer institutions are ann.. http://tinyurl.com/yhoufvu http://bit.ly/IoC6E
EveX1984 (NEGO_The_Real_Twitt) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:01:41 -0000
http://bit.ly/wuAoT By Susan Snyder While some peer institutions are ann.. http://tinyurl.com/yhoufvu http://bit.ly/IoC6E
#wce09 Mohammad #Yunus: "There's nothing wrong with human beings. There's a lot wrong with the design of institutions, of concepts."
changex (changeX) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:00:48 -0000
#wce09 Mohammad #Yunus: "There's nothing wrong with human beings. There's a lot wrong with the design of institutions, of concepts."
British Society for the History of Science - Describes the society and its activities. Includes contact information, link to journal and guide to courses in the UK.
Dibner Institute - International center for advanced research in the history of science and technology. Includes programs, fellowships, events, and research. Located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
History of Science Society - Dedicated to fostering interest and scholarly research in the history of science and its social and cultural relations. Site informs about the profession, teaching and research efforts, and society activities. Publishes the journal Isis.
Meta Description: [ HSS promotes interest in science history. It offers resources for teaching and researching the history of science, technology, and medicine and their interactions with society in historical context. ]
History of Science, Medicine, and Technology at Johns Hopkins University - Undergraduate, Graduate, Doctoral, and combined MD-PhD programs in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology offered jointly through the School of Arts Sciences and the School of Medicine.
Max Planck Institute for the History of Science - Located in Berlin, Germany. Publications and preprints, online primary sources, information about the institute, and links.
Meta Description: [ Max-Planck-Institute betreiben Grundlagenforschung in den Natur-, Bio- und Geisteswissenschaften im Dienste der Allgemeinheit. ]
Mexican Society for the History of Science and Technology - Contact information and conference announcements in English and Spanish.
Needham Research Institute - Promotes the understanding of China's historic role in science by conducting research projects, writing specialized publications and organizing workshops. Page includes list of staff and event schedule. Located in Cambridge, England.
Society for the History of Natural History - International society devoted to the history of botany, zoology and geology, in the broadest sense, including natural history collections, exploration, art and bibliography.
Meta Description: [ Society for the History of Natural History ]
The Royal Society - Library - Library of the Royal Society of London, the premier British scientific institution since 1660. The library contains extensive resources for research in the history of science.
Meta Description: [ Homepage of the Library and Archives of the Royal Society ]
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