Themes as Dynamic Forces in Culture

Abstract

During the past year Dr. Opler has published three papers outlining a new conceptual scheme for analyzing cultures in terms of a limited number of basic postulates or "themes." The first article established definitions of the concepts and the theoretical basis for their use;' the second was an attempt, on an admittedly limited scale, to validate the scheme by applying it to the description of a culture, that of the Lipan Apache,;2 while the third was directed primarily toward clarifying issues raised in a critical article by Albert K. Cohen, but it also intimated the uses to which t h e concept might be put on a comparative basis.3 As these three papers provide a fairly well rounded picture of the method as proposed this seems an appropriate time to examine it before it is used in a full-dress study.4The term "theme" is used here in a technical sense to denote a postulate or position, declared or implied, and usually controlling behavior or stimulating activity, which is tacitly approved or openly promoted in a society.6 1 "Themes as

Worry and Bother: Factors in Rural Women’s Health Decision Making

“…The research team then read and reread the interviews separately in an initial step in the thematic analysis process. This modified thematic analysis process was based on principles established by Opler (1945). Opler offered principles in thematic analysis based on the idea that identification of themes was a vital component in analyzing cultures.…”

Implications of design on infection prevention and control practice in a novel hospital unit: the Medical Ward of the 21st Century

“…Analysis consisted of reading of interview transcripts, field notes, and documents to discern recurring themes (Opler 1945;Ryan and Bernard 2003) related to hospital design and infection control, and then interpreting what they mean to informants and what their relationships are to each other. Themes were coded onto the transcripts, field notes, and documents with block markers using ethnographic software (QSR's NUD Ã IST Vivo 7) that also served as a means of analysing subthemes and building models of relationships between themes.…”

Retiring the Old Centurion: Life after a Career in Policing—An Exploratory Study

“…[27] Opler observed that members of a group sustain "dynamic affirmations" that reveal themselves as cultural themes. [28] In the subculture of policing, two themes are found to maintain equilibrium or correspond with one another: police isolation and solidarity. [29] "Isolation is an emotional and physical condition which makes it difficult for members of one social group to have relationships and interact with members of another social group" [30] Cain, [31] Harris, [32] Manning, [33] Reiss and Bordua, [34] Sherman, [35] Skolnick, [36] and Westley [37] all observed the division between the police and society.…”