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.     

Teaching the Holocaust in the USA: A German perspective

This paper is based on a doctoral dissertation that examined various aspects of Holocaust education in two societies: the United States and Germany. This cross-national, ethnographic study attempted to shed light on the way in which the history of the Holocaust is taught in Germany. The observations made in this study are based on a longitudinal study of a 3 rd grade classroom in a New Jersey school. Rather than concentrating on the results of the dissertation, this paper discusses issues related to cross-national studies such as: analyzing US Holocaust Education as a German researcher (an outsider), communication between a German researcher and a US Teacher, and the relevance of the American Experience for German elementary school pedagogy. Der Beitrag basiert auf einer Dissertation, die die Frage diskutiert, ob und wie der Holocaust ein Thema für Grundschulkinder sein kann. Es handelt sich um eine interkulturelle ethnographische Studie mit dem Schwerpunkt USA und Deutschland. Intendiert wird nicht ein Vergleich, sondern durch die Untersuchung einer anderen kulturelle Perspektive soll die Diskussion in Deutschland differenziert werden. Im Mittelpunkt steht eine mehrja‐hrige Fallstudie des Unterrichts einer Lehrerin im 3. Schuljahr in New Jersey. Der Beitrag referiert weniger die inhaltlichen Ergebnisse, sondern konzentriert sich vielmehr auf die Problematik einer interkulturellen Studie: Auf die Analyse der amerikanischen Holocaust Education aus deutscher Perspektive, auf die Kommunikation zwischen einer deutschen Forscherin und einer amerikanischen Lehrerin und auf die Relevanz der amerikanischen Erfahrungen für die deutsche Grundschulpa‐dagogik.     

Der Beitrag der Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung zur Modernisierung der Universität

The paper reflects on the contribution of women’s and gender studies to modernizing the university. By giving an overview of the socio-political and institutional conditions of the contemporary reform processes in higher education and the university system in Europe, the author shows that universities nowadays are influenced by tensions between economization and democratization: In this tension they are forced to change their organization and their scientific “products”, namely research and teaching. Based on these explications, the author analyses the potentials of women’s and gender studies to modernize science and the humanities, teaching, learning and the organization of the university.     

How to reduce workload--augmented reality to ease the work of air traffic controllers

In the future the air traffic will rise--the workload of the controllers will do the same. In the BMWi research project, one of the tasks is, how to ensure safe air traffic, and a reasonable workload for the air traffic controllers. In this project it was the goal to find ways how to reduce the workload (and stress) for the controllers to allow safe air traffic, esp. at huge hub-airports by implementing augmented reality visualization and interaction.     

Cultural Responses to Changing Gender Patterns of Migration in Georgia

In this paper, we explore how individual women cope with the tensions between economic forces encouraging temporary labour migration and cultural norms tying “proper” women to their homes and families. Combining in‐depth interviews with returned migrant women in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi with secondary migration data for the region, we illustrate the recent increases in Georgian women’s participation in international labour migration. Deteriorating economic conditions in Georgia leave women with few local opportunities to financially support their families, while institutional changes have altered the accessibility and attractiveness of international destinations, leading to increasing motivations and opportunities for women’s migration. Focusing on the contradictions between growing female migration and persistent adherence to cultural norms stigmatizing migration in Georgia, we explore the cognitive strategies migrant women employ in an attempt to balance internalized perceptions of acceptable gendered behaviour with their migration choices. Two key pathways of adaptation emerge: framing migration as a necessity rather than a choice and stressing the unique and individually exceptional nature of their own migration experience. We posit that these strategies may serve to limit the norm‐challenging nature of women’s migration in Georgia. Although migration is often described as an empowering experience for women, if women migrants work to present their migration in a way that fits within the bounds of traditional gender norms, these norms may be strengthened rather than challenged.     

State Immigration Policies: The Role of State Compacts and Interest Groups on Immigration Legislation

US states are active in enacting immigration policies, which vary widely and have substantial impact on the lives of immigrants. Our understanding of what produces these divergent state laws remains limited. Qualitative research demonstrates the importance of a 2010 immigration compact, supported by a powerful religious organization, in shaping immigration policies in Utah, and the Utah Compact was held up as a model for other states. But is the experience of Utah applicable across other states? We test the effects of compacts and interest groups on immigration policy adoption across all 50 states between 2005 and 2013. Our findings suggest that compacts are actually associated with more restrictive immigration policy. Although states with compacts are more likely to pass inclusive immigration laws, these are counterbalanced by higher numbers of exclusive laws. Both religious and non‐religious interests groups are associated with policy, but they do not explain the effects of compacts.     

Population,immigration, and air quality in the USA: a spatial panel study

Population and Environment - The role of population size in environmental degradation is a source of both political and academic debate, with the role of immigrant population being particularly...     

Homonationalism

This article tracks Jasbir Puar's term “homonationalism” as its meaning has transformed in her scholarly work as well that of Maya Mikdashi. I argue that homonationalism has evolved from its original formulation as, in part, a critique of politics, into, in its current guise, a diagnostic of international political relations. Although this transition offers insight into the international scene, I argue that homonationalism also loses its distinctiveness as a political formation in its own right as well as its critical capacity in the process. In particular, I argue that homonationalism becomes incapable of critically evaluating activist strategies, practices and discourses of political resistance.