Western sociology, which mirrors the dynamic development of modern industrialised and urbanised society, has not escaped the need for radical division of work; and many of the social institutions of Western society have been made subjects of sociological specialisation. These treat various kinds of human activity as fixed behaviour patterns which, up to a point, exist in their own right but cannot be divorced from their social background. A society cannot be understood without examining its specific institutions; conversely, these can be understood only in the context of that society.