Dienstboten der Nation: Ausbeutung informeller Laienpflege und die Revitalisierung eines totgeglaubten Klassikers

The decline of Marxist theory is best exemplified by the concept of “exploitation”. For decades now and not only in sociology, the former mainspring of the social critique has been carving out a niche existence. While the concept of exploitation has all but vanished from the social sciences together with its Marxist legacy, it seems like everyone is talking about exploitation. Moreover, the retrenchment of Marxist theory has left a gap that has not yet been filled. This article aims to show that exploitation can be a useful instrument for the theoretical and empirical study of society. The article proposes a sociological concept of exploitation that draws on the sociologies of work, inequality and gender in an empirical analysis of so-called “caring communities” currently garnering widespread societal and political support in the context of Germany’s eldercare crisis. In so doing, the article aims to end the presumed obsolescence of a classic sociological concept that is as relevant today as it ever was.     

Klassen messen

The article investigates whether Austrian sociological research empirically addressed social class conceptions between 1945 and 1990. Contrary to the German reception, we find that, indeed, during the whole period scientific publications analyzed social relations and social change from a class perspective with an empirical approach. We embed this research in its historical context in order to work out the implicit explanations given concerning the existence of social inequalities. Moreover, we work out if post-World War II Austrian class analysis did link its work to the Austro-Marxist tradition that flourished between the two World Wars. The empirical focus of the article lies on scientific publications with an empirical approach to social classes and social change.     

Kooperation unter Konkurrenten? Regionale Kulturmuster und soziale Praktiken betriebsübergreifender Personalwirtschaft

During the recent financial and economic crisis, trade unions and employers’ associations have increasingly concluded collective agreements on so-called “collegial temporary work” that enables flexible deployment of employees, especially for small and medium sized enterprises. Empirical results show large differences in the application of those collective agreements: While the possibilities of the agreements were sometimes actively used in some regions, companies in other regions avoided implementation – despite their potential to cope with important challenges of economic crises and skill shortages. The paper selects a structuration theory perspective to analyze the reasons for the differences in the practice of this human resource management strategy by comparing two German regions (Braunschweig and the Ruhr area). The differences in the practices can be traced back to regional cultural patterns, interests of key actors, and the degree of involvement during the implementation period.     

Wilhelm Reich über den 15. Juli 1927

The psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich (1897–1957), in those days a Marxist, has been an eyewitness of the events of July 15, 1927—the burning down of the Justizpalast and the shooting down of a spontaneous mass-demonstration in the center of Vienna. In 1937 Reich wrote a report about this experience that gave him the impulse to elaborate his own Mass-psychology of Fascism in 1933.     

„In Freud und Leid,in guten wie in bösen Tagen“

This article raises the question how elderly female caregivers experience their double role as partners and caregivers. To answer this question a multidimensional role model has been developed and applied. This novel approach examines the subjective burden of spousal caregivers, considering individual and social dimensions. Results of a qualitative study show role expectations, strategies of role playing and role management as well as role-conflicts of female spousal caregivers. The study underlines the analytic potential of sociological role-theory for the examination of concrete empirical problems and critically discusses the applicability of theoretical role-concepts for applied research.     

Soziale Klasse in der Arbeitssoziologie. Zur Relevanz eines totgesagten Begriffs

Social class as analytical term has a longstanding tradition in sociology. Starting with Karl Marx and Max Weber international class analysis has developed heterogenous theoretical and empirical approaches. The paper outlines trends in the usage of social class in industrial sociology and the sociology of work in German-speaking countries from the after-war period to the paradigmatic shift heralded by Becks individualization thesis. The displacement of social class is interpreted as manifestation of symbolic struggles over the legitimate view of social reality, which has created considerable blind spots in the analysis of social inequalities. With reference to recent international developments in class research Pierre Bourdieu’s approach is used to explore ways to connect current subject-orientated approaches with questions of social class. Focussing on the class formation of subjectivity draws attention to the development of different orientations towards work and the dealing with the exigencies of work.     

Krise im Betrieb

Since 2008 European societies are confronted with fundamental economic, political and social crises. While southern European countries are especially struck by the ongoing economic crisis, economic data suggests a relative stability for Austria. But what remains from the crisis also in Austria are strong feelings of insecurity and uncertainty within the Austrian population. The concrete perceptions of the economic crisis were therefore analyzed with the aid of semi-structured, quantitative interviews with workers?? councils (n?=?99). The survey concentrated itself on questions such as what the crisis means for workers, whether there are connections between the perceptions of the crisis and feelings of insecurity and uncertainty and which societal consequences these feelings of insecurity and uncertainty could have.     

Die Rückeroberung der Vergangenheit: Istanbuls visuelle Kommunikation zum Europäischen Kulturhauptstadtjahr 2010

In the context of the global competition to attract knowledge-workers, tourists, and investors, cities work carefully on their iconic representation. Star architects and marketing experts try to strengthen the peculiarities of cities and stage their distinctiveness. Following Anselm Strauss, city images play a significant role in structuring the imagination of the city “as a whole”. They help to organize everyday life in urban settings and structure local discourses (Strauss 1961). The object of analysis is the image campaign “Istanbul 2010: European Capital of Culture”. The advertising motif is considered as a “self-portrait” of the city, a communicative strategy how the city wants to be seen and understood. The argument is, that the city images select from a great pool of possible narratives and symbols (heterogeneity) certain aspects and construct a coherent and particular “image of the city” (densification). In this respect the question has to be raised what the image depicts and what it conceals. The article refers to the current debate within the field of urban sociology about the “intrinsic logic of cities” (Berking et al. 2008; Löw 2008). Thereby the “city” is conceptualized as the object of investigation rather than merely serving as the analytic context. To evaluate the advertising image a segment-analytical approach is employed (Breckner 2010).     

Linking Social Support to Psychological Distress in the Unemployed: The Moderating Role of Core Self-Evaluations

In this study, an integrative analysis involving social support and core self-evaluations (CSE) as concurrent predictors of psychological distress among unemployed adults was conducted. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between perceptions of social support and CSE with psychological distress among unemployed adults, as well as whether levels of CSE moderated the relations between social support and psychological distress. Results indicated that, along with the expected direct and additional influence, a significant social support × CSE interaction was found in explaining several dimensions of psychological distress beyond the independent effect of socio-demographic variables, social support and CSE independently. Specifically, we found significant interaction for social support × CSE in explaining stress and anxiety symptoms. Our data provide empirical support for theoretical and conceptual work connecting social support, CSE and psychological distress associated with unemployment suggesting that alone, but also in combination, these contextual and personal resources may be particularly relevant for leading to reduced psychological distress during unemployment. Finally, theoretical implications of the joint study of these constructs and their relation with psychological distress in unemployed people are discussed.     

Ästhetisches Agieren und die Auslegung von Welt – ikonische Macht in der Gestaltung von Pressefotografien

This paper is based on a research in the role of press photographies in constituting society in the field where media, politics, and the general public interact. It contrasts different versions of a photography which has been published in german newspapers. The interpretative method used here largely follows the ‘Documentary Method’ (Bohnsack). The focus lies on the image making of the editorial staff. They select, crop and modify the pictures differently. This activity can be understood as shaped by a habitus (Bourdieu) of the persons actively involved in the publishing process. By this analysis it is possible to find access to the different ‘editorial habitus’ of the papers.The paper shows how a political event is constructed as image. In every published photography, newspapers implicitly present their specific perspectives to a public which is supposed to accept them as valid representations of reality. As a rule, this ‘iconic power’ rests on the implicit assumption that photographies present reality as such. This assumption will be reinforced as its social production remains hidden. Framing the pictures is inevitable but, at the same time, excludes possibly competing interpretations. Nevertheless this ‘iconic power’ should not, as a rule, be understood as an outcome of intentional strategies. The decision to publish the ‘right’ photo in the ‘right’ frame is part of a routine. Therefore, in each case ‘iconic power’ rests on common habits in presenting ‘reality’. Every published picture enforces the worldview of the newspaper.     

Unter der Fahne des Kalifats

Ever since the proclamation of a caliphate by the so-called “Islamic State” in June 2014, the strategic communication of the terrorist organization has become the subject of public and scientific interest. A focal point of discussion lies at the skillful use of social networks by the “Islamic State”. So far, research has focused primarily on quantitative aspects of agenda setting and has neglected the visual character of terror communication and the specific functions of visuals. The article deals with a selection of video messages of the “Islamic State” that address life in the IS-capital of al-Raqqah. Based on a visual frame analysis the article discusses central topics and visual frames and questions their importance for further research on strategic terrorist communication.     

Long-term social development of Hungary,measured by social indicators

Social indicators of social structure, urbanisation, level of living and social mobility chances are used to study the development of Hungarian society from the period of capitalist society to the present. The impact of socialist transformations, as well as the influences of the new economic and social conditions appearing in the second half of the 1960's and leading to the economic reforms are especially investigated. Modernization, the decline of inequalities of income and of social mobility opportunities characterized the socialist transformations. Since the mid-60's new tendencies are emerging that need careful investigation.     

我国人口理论研究的文化视角与生育文化建设

与生育政策相比,生育文化对生育行为的影响更具有根本性,因而,我国建立社会主义市场经济体制过程中建设社会主义新型生育文化,对当前达到“稳定低生育水平”的目标和实现长远的社会的可持续发展都有根本意义。我国人口理论研究属于人类高层次的文化活动,是对人类在生物圈活动过程中人类与自然关系的理论掌握。我们应使其对我国生育文化的建设起指导作用,即让其引导人们认识自己的婚姻生育行为和其他生产及生活行为都与建立与生物圈互利而持久的关系有关,从而促进社会的可持续发展。     

A Sociological Review of the Reflections and Dimensions of Quality of Life of the Widows in Tehran

The article explores some of the theoretical perspectives on widows, followed by empirical findings on the issue in Tehran. Widowhood transition being pursued by drop in relations, is observed and examined from various dimensions, with the hope of improving the quality of life of the widows. Some of the socio-economic effects of widowhood as appraised by various thinkers and scientists, are reflected in the context. The phenomenon being in existence as long as socially regulated marriage continues under the cause-and-effect laws, needs probing with special reference to the modern time. That is, being subject to emotional crises, they need to be multi-dimensionally studied. Through a multi-method strategy, and with the use of questionnaire tool, data were collected. Widowhood as a common problem in old age is followed by the isolation, a period of change and new challenges, i.e., reflection of a major stressful life event. However, widows as a vulnerable social group are seen worldwide with commonalities. In other words, about half of the women householders in the world are widowed. The author reflects a clear and tangible picture of the widows’ quality of life, and their satisfaction with life through the tabulated data. Nevertheless, government and relevant agencies in Iran, need to work and plan hard to provide the widows with necessary security and support.     

The Marxist outlook on population]

Marxist population theory and world population are discussed. From his study of capitalist population theory Marx concluded, "In capitalist reproduction, poverty produces population," thus rejecting Malthusian population determinism theory and developing economic determinism. According to UN statistics, world population has stabilized since the middle of this century after having doubled every hundred years for the last 300; population in the developed countries showed a positive decrease and average net population growth of the developing countries also decreased. The premise of this paper is that population grows according to social economy development. During the last several hundred years, world wealth increased much faster than population; in the last 200 years alone, the population has increased fivefold, but wealth fortyfold. In addition, world population analysis reveals an inverse relationship between wealth and population in the developed and developing countries: the poorer the country, the greater the population. From this perspective, the study of population must begin with surplus labor. Accumulation of surplus production is the foundation of continuous social development and the basis for population growth. The major difference in methods between capitalist countries and China is that the capitalist-planned fertility affects the individual family while Chinese-planned fertility has the whole nation in mind. Human fertility is determined by the economic system. Private ownership determines the private nature of fertility and public ownership determines the public nature of fertility. Thus population development is determined by the accumulation of social wealth.     

西方“超老化观感”研究述评

“：超老化观感”在本质上反映了一个元观念的转变①，即从一个物质的和理性的世界观转向一个更超越自然的世界观，并且通常伴随着生活满意度的增加；这一转变经历了在自然、自我、社会与个人的关系这三个方面的变化；其关键特征有追求沉思与积极独处、高度自我控制的活动与高生活满意度和获得成熟与智慧；其发展受年龄、性别、种族、生活环境或文化背景等多重因素的影响“。超老化观感”理论在护理、心理咨询、教育等多个领域有独特的实践应用价值，因而，加强该理论的本土化研究将对我国老年学学科建设及老龄事业的发展有重大的指导意义。     

Work-Related Demands Emanating from Social Change and Their Relation to Trait-Like and Occasion-Specific Aspects of Subjective Well-Being

Following current macro-level social change people are increasingly confronted with new demands encompassing perceived uncertainties concerning their job and career prospects. Studies utilizing concurrent assessments showed that perceiving a high accumulation (“load”) of such demands is negatively related to individuals’ subjective well-being. Without further evidence the interpretation of the direction of these effects, however, is equivocal. Based on the concept that individuals have a rather stable trait-like level of subjective well-being from which they may vary when confronted with changes of the external ecology, the current study examined the relationship between the reported load of demands and subjective well-being assessed as general life satisfaction and average satisfaction in domains of life (i.e., family, work, finances, and leisure). We expected that a higher load of demands corresponds to a temporary decline in well-being, while at the same time differences in the stable trait-like level of well-being account for differences in the reported demand load. For the purpose of our study, we analyzed three annual waves of assessment of German adults aged between 18 and 43 years (N = 488). Utilizing a trait-state-occasion model, we separated trait-like aspects of well-being from occasion-specific deviations. Overall, our results confirmed our expectation that effects indeed run in both directions. The higher the reported load of work-related demands, the more respondents’ well-being negatively deviated from the stable trait-like level. Beyond that a higher trait-like level of well-being corresponded to a lower demand load. Both effects revealed almost equal strength and remained stable after controlling for participants’ employment status, family status, and educational attainment.     

The Gap in the Subjective Wellbeing of M��ori and New Zealand Europeans Widened Between 2005 and 2009

We compared the self-reported subjective wellbeing of M??ori and New Zealand (NZ) Europeans in two NZ national postal samples. The first sample was collected in 2005 before the global financial crisis of 2007/2010. The second was collected in 2009 while the crisis was ongoing. Both samples contained large and arguably representative samples of the indigenous peoples of NZ, M??ori (Ns = 289 and 964) as well as the now-majority group, NZ Europeans (Ns = 2,769 and 4,073). NZ Europeans?? scores on the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) were near-identical across the 2005 and 2009 samples. However, M??ori, who were already lower than NZ Europeans on the PWI in 2005, showed a further decrease in 2009. We argue that this gap in wellbeing widened because material advantages experienced by NZ Europeans as a social group provides a systemic buffer which protects their personal wellbeing from the impact of economic privation. M??ori, who had already experienced systemic disadvantage, were not privileged with this buffer, and thus, the effects of the 2007/2010 global financial crisis impacted their personal wellbeing to a greater extent.     

Genetische Diskriminierung und soziale Ungleichheit. Hierarchiebildungen am Beispiel der Erkrankung Hereditäre Hämochromatose

This article discusses possible interconnections between the analysis of genetic discrimination and the analysis of social inequalities. Findings from a survey focussing on individuals affected by hemochromatosis are presented; the survey was carried out as part of Germany’s first systematic study of genetic discrimination. The experiences and apprehensions described are discussed with reference to Bourdieu’s forms of capital interlinking with structures of social inequality. In conclusion, the analysis shows that genetic discrimination and the workings of social/symbolic, economic and cultural capital are mutually constitutive for the corresponding hierarchy formation.     

Videoüberwachung von Demonstrationen und die Definitionsmacht der Polizei. Zwischen Objektivitätsfiktion und selektiver Sanktionierung

The paper examines the use of video surveillance in the context of protest policing, drawing on group discussions and expert interviews with the riot police as well as ethnographic fieldwork. The use of video surveillance is legitimised by the police through a promise of objectivity and stringent compliance to the law. The author analyses the use of video surveillance as a contingent process of actively constructing evidence. It consists of a series of decisions in three phases: starting with the determination of the potential to use surveillance to the police oriented application, and finally, the follow up phase, focusing on the developments of results and prosecution. The variety of courses of action to make use of surveillance right up to manipulation of results is considered to be an expression of sociological discretion, in which the police definitional power rests. Especially, the involved technology allows for existing contingencies apparent in every substep to become invisible through material objectifications and abstractions. In this process, the law proves to be only one motive for agency among others. The idea of the police being determined by law becomes visible as a necessary fiction.