The mobility problem in Britain: new findings from the analysis of birth cohort data

Social mobility is now a matter of greater political concern in Britain than at any time previously. However, the data available for the determination of mobility trends are less adequate today than two or three decades ago. It is widely believed in political and in media circles that social mobility is in decline. But the evidence so far available from sociological research, focused on intergenerational class mobility, is not supportive of this view. We present results based on a newly‐constructed dataset covering four birth cohorts that provides improved data for the study of trends in class mobility and that also allows analyses to move from the twentieth into the twenty‐first century. These results confirm that there has been no decline in mobility, whether considered in absolute or relative terms. In the case of women, there is in fact evidence of mobility increasing. However, the better quality and extended range of our data enable us to identify other ‘mobility problems’ than the supposed decline. Among the members of successive cohorts, the experience of absolute upward mobility is becoming less common and that of absolute downward mobility more common; and class‐linked inequalities in relative chances of mobility and immobility appear wider than previously thought.     

Intergenerational Exchanges of Middle‐Aged Adults With Their Parents and Parents‐In‐Law in Korea

The authors investigated patterns of support exchanges between Korean adult children and their parents and parents‐in‐law, gender differences in these patterns, and implications of children's marital quality for exchange patterns. Data were from a nationally representative sample of married adults (N = 920, age 30–59 years) with at least 1 living parent and 1 living parent‐in‐law. Latent class analysis was applied to 12 indicators of exchanges (financial, instrumental, emotional support given to and received from parents and parents‐in‐law). Five classes of exchanges were identified, 3 showing balanced patterns of exchanges with parents and parents‐in‐law across three types of support and 2 classes with unbalanced patterns (e.g., giving instrumental and financial but not emotional support). The findings revealed variability in intergenerational exchange patterns, with a mix of patrilineal traditional and balanced patterns. Significant associations of exchange patterns with adult children's marital quality suggest the importance of balanced exchanges with parents for marriage.     

Respectability,morality and disgust in the night‐time economy: exploring reactions to ‘lap dance’ clubs in England and Wales

The night‐time economy is often described as repelling consumers fearful of the ‘undesirable Others’ imagined dominant within such time‐spaces. In this paper we explore this by describing attitudes towards, and reactions to, one particularly contentious site: the ‘lap dance’ club. Often targeted by campaigners in England and Wales as a source of criminality and anti‐sociality, in this paper we shift the focus from fear to disgust, and argue that Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEVs) are opposed on the basis of moral judgments that reflect distinctions of both class and gender. Drawing on documentary analysis, survey results and interview data collected during guided walks, we detail the concerns voiced by those anxious about the presence of lap dance or striptease clubs in their town or city, particularly the notion that they ‘lower the tone’ of particular streets or neighbourhoods. Our conclusion is that the opposition expressed to lap dance clubs is part of an attempt to police the boundaries of respectable masculinities and femininities, marginalizing the producers and consumers of sexual entertainment through ‘speech acts’ which identify such entertainment as unruly, vulgar and uncivilized. These findings are considered in the light of ongoing debates concerning the relations of morality, respectability and disgust.     

Model Selection Information Criteria in Latent Class Models with Missing Data and Contingency Question

Latent class analysis (LCA) has been found to have important applications in social and behavioral sciences for modeling categorical response variables, and nonresponse is typical when collecting data. In this study, the nonresponse mainly included “contingency questions” and real “missing data.” The primary objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of some potential factors on model selection indices in LCA with nonresponse data.

We simulated missing data with contingency questions and evaluated the accuracy rates of eight information criteria for selecting the correct models. The results showed that the main factors are latent class proportions, conditional probabilities, sample size, the number of items, the missing data rate, and the contingency data rate. Interactions of the conditional probabilities with class proportions, sample size, and the number of items are also significant. From our simulation results, the impact of missing data and contingency questions can be amended by increasing the sample size or the number of items.     

“中国梦”思想构境中的高校思政课语言生态环境

中国梦思想构境理论是基于张一兵教授所开创的构境理论基础上提出的,高校思想政治课语言生态环境建设是中国梦思想构境中的重要内容,也是和谐校园构建过程中的主要标尺。践行中国梦思想构境理论必须建设高校思政课语言生态环境,必须高度重视高校思想政治理论课教师的言语行为。根除教师的语言暴力,培养教师的语言素质,有利于增强中国梦思想构境理论对大学生的思想教育,净化高校中国梦思政课语言生态环境。     

浙北农村社会阶层区隔化及对村庄治理的影响

中农阶层是中国农村社会中的治理主体阶层,中农阶层成为维系中国社会稳定的重要社会阶层力量。进一步的研究发现,中农阶层在农村社会治理中的结构性位置与农村社会阶层的深层结构有关,农村社会阶层关系的区隔化使得数量庞大的中产阶层不仅无法在村庄治理中发挥应有的"中间价值",反而被吸纳进由富人治村与派性格局所形塑的治理结构之中。在富人治村不可逆的结构性背景下,国家的农村政策制定应充分考虑到村庄社会的阶层结构现状,加大对合适的阶层特别是农村中产阶层的扶植力度,以保障农村社会公共建设具有可供倚靠的治理主体阶层。     

征地拆迁对农村阶层分化的影响——基于湖北省荆门市城郊农村的调查

在城郊农村阶层分化背景下,征地拆迁本质上是对土地增值收益在农村各阶层间的再分配过程,它涉及到阶层间的博弈关系,必然对农村各阶层的状况、阶层流动和阶层关系产生影响,重构农村阶层结构。征地拆迁对农村各阶层的影响因各阶层的权力、土地和社会关系差异而不同,在征地拆迁过程中有的阶层实现了向上流动,而有的阶层则在经济、声望和职业地位等方面都下降了。征地拆迁中的阶层博弈既促成了精英阶层内部的利益联盟,也产生或加剧了其他阶层与农村体制精英的对立关系,农村阶层关系愈发紧张。     

农民上访的阶层对抗解释

立足于浙北D镇的个案考察,引入阶层对抗的解释框架,集中在村庄政治场域,对富人阶层参政以及村级资源分配逻辑的分析,揭示经济分化背景下农民上访行为背后所反映的阶层性特点。富人阶层通过对村级权力位置的争夺获得村级资源和利益的分配权,并遵循私人化、市场化的分配逻辑将底层排斥于外,并引起其中部分直接利益受损的底层村民以上访为主要斗争方式进行反抗。这说明在大量利益不断注入以及富人阶层当政的情况下,村庄缺乏合理、有效的利益分配机制,各阶层之间在村级资源和利益上形成了一种竞争和博弈关系。     

论18、19世纪英国郊区兴起的道德推动力

在18、19世纪英国郊区兴起和发展的过程中,中产阶级的家庭理想和宗教理想起到了重要的推动作用.一方面,中产阶级希望使家庭与工作相分离,希望女性可以完全投身于家庭事务当中,远离城市的公共领域;另一方面,他们又服膺福音派的主张,认为城市充满诱惑和罪恶,而乡村有利于宗教美德的培养.中产阶级日益倾向于在城市中心区从事各种经济活动的同时,居住在环境优美、道德纯净的郊区.因此,中产阶级的家庭理想和宗教理想成为近代英国郊区兴起的重要道德推动力.     

高校国际合作班英语教学实践和反思

以盐城工学院国际合作班英语教学实践为例，分别从建设过硬的师资队伍、紧扣培养方案合理安排课程、实施情感教育、创新教学方法和改革考核办法等方面，探讨了国际合作班英语教学质量的提升路径，并对所存在的问题进行了反思。