@article{017126f0f0ce48c7aaa30376af42aa1b,
title = "An Emerging Action Science of Social Settings",
abstract = "Seymour B. Sarason's innovative ideas have influenced much of my work. These same ideas-in particular, his concepts of social settings, behavioral and programmatic regularities, and the universe of alternatives-also serve as the foundation for an action science of social settings. Questions regarding theory, measurement, intervention, and research design and data analysis are central to the development of this action science, and there have been recent innovations in each of these areas. However, future challenges remain for the field. We must continue to move forward to advance an action science of social settings and make a real difference in people's lives.",
keywords = "Action science, Intervention, Measurement, Social regularities, Social settings",
author = "Edward Seidman",
note = "Funding Information: To date, the William T. Grant Foundation has funded, at least in part, three promising methods for the measurement of social regularities—behavioral observations of interactions and practices, self-reports of setting norms, and social networks. Each method holds considerable promise. Yet, new analytic challenges have surfaced in the development of each. What follows is a description of the evolution of each of these methods, the analytic challenges they have presented, and the progress made. Funding Information: The first major intervention project funded after I began my work at the William T. Grant Foundation in 2004 enabled me to circle back to my earliest childhood concerns with misunderstanding and conflict across different racial and ethnic groups. Patricia Gurin and her colleagues (e.g., Nagada et al. (2009) were creating innovative settings on university campuses around the country, known as Inter-group Dialogues, to foster meaningful communication between social identity groups. The groups were established in accordance with two conditions—composition of the group (i.e., equal numbers of {\textquoteleft}{\textquoteleft}two different social identity groups that share a history of contentious relationships with each other or have lacked opportunities to talk to each other in meaningful ways,{\textquoteright}{\textquoteright} p. 46) and prescribed pedagogical practices.",
year = "2012",
month = sep,
doi = "10.1007/s10464-011-9469-3",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "50",
pages = "1--16",
journal = "American journal of community psychology",
issn = "0091-0562",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",
number = "1-2",
}