This diagram comes from a book edited by Christopher Hood (et al.) It shows how contrived randomness can be seen as a method of social control in public institutions (Hood et al. 2004:8). As mentioned in a Fourcultures post on how to beat the odds and escape your fate, Hood wrote: “Contrived randomness denotes control … Continue reading Four types of institutional control
Tag: Christopher Hood
How to beat the odds and escape your fate
We hate it when things that are supposed to be random actually turn out not to be. But on reflection it's not quite that simple. We like random events to be random in entirely predictable ways. The 'Fatalism' quadrant of Grid-Group Cultural Theory includes random activity as a key aspect of social organisation. But it … Continue reading How to beat the odds and escape your fate
Tempting fate in schools: contrived randomness as educational policy
Australian economist Andrew Leigh has entered into public discussion with Noel Pearson about Aboriginal inequality by proposing that randomised trials should be initiated for those educational innovations supposedly aimed at improving outcomes for disadvantaged groups. He takes his cue from Harvard economist Roland Fryer, who is well known for testing the effectiveness of cash rewards … Continue reading Tempting fate in schools: contrived randomness as educational policy
How to be a Fatalist
Of the four worldviews of grid-group cultural theory, the one cultural theorists themselves most often exclude from the discussion is fatalism. They do this by claiming it is ‘passive’ (Michael Thompson), or ‘isolate’ (Mary Douglas), and by claiming fatalism opts out of policy debates, or is excluded by the others by definition. This betrays a … Continue reading How to be a Fatalist
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