Symbolic Communication: Signifying Calls and the Police Response

by John Van Maanen, Trevor Pinch, Peter K. Manning

This first major empirical work on the semiotics of social action goes a long way toward answering substantive, theoretical and pragmatic questions on how codes actually operate in a specific social setting. It underscores the important yet often ignored role of the police as "sign" or "information workers." Calls to the police represent a rich variety of human troubles, concerns, and needs by focusing on how police handle calls from the public, how...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262132346
• ISBN13: 9780262132343
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: MIT Press (MA)
• Length: 309 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"