Emotional Climate in a European Problem Area: East Berlin and West Berlin Three Years After Reunification

In autumn of 1992, three years after the unification of Germany, during a period of violent attacks against foreigners, 120 students from East Berlin and West Berlin and 20 foreign students living in West Berlin answered the Emotional Climate Questionnaire developed by de Rivera and Fernandez-Dols. Foreign respondents expressed a positive attitude toward their government/state and believed in prosocial behavior to a greater extent than respondents from East Berlin and West Berlin. Whereas East Berlin students disagreed only somewhat with statements in favor of selfishness and egoism, West Berlin students strongly disagreed with them. We attribute the differences that were found in the answers of the foreign students to their national values. In addition, we regard the differences between the emotional climates of East Berlin and West Berlin as reflecting a climate of instability among East Berliners. We interpreted selfishness as a kind of polarized behavior indicating a climate of instability. A factor analysis revealed 5 factors of an emotional climate: Nation's Future, Just World, Reactive Egoism, Scepticism, and Basic Egoism. The concept of emotional climate is discussed on the basis of the current data.     

Social Class,Cultural Repertoires,and Popular Culture: The Case of Film

This research examines two different conceptions of the relationship between social class and familiarity with popular culture in the United States. Specifically, it focuses on differences between members of the upper-middle class and members of the lower-middle class in terms of their film viewing practices. The data for this analysis was obtained from a survey of 364 individuals randomly selected from two neighborhoods in a medium-sized city, one predominantly upper-middle class and the other predominantly lower-middle class. Members of the upper-middle class view more art films, as well as more classic films and blockbuster films, than members of the lower-middle class. These differences are largely attributable to the fact that members of the upper-middle class view more films both in theaters and on videocassettes than members of the lower-middle class. Moreover, these differences are reduced, but not entirely eliminated, by the fact that members of the lower-middle class view more films on television than members of the upper-middle class. Finally, these differences in the film-viewing practices of the members of these two social classes, as identified by their neighborhood of residence, obtain even controlling for a series of demographic and socioeconomic background variables.     

The Post-Washington Consensus and Economic Representations of Women in Development at the World Bank

In the past few years, the neoliberal Washington consensus has given way to a "post-Washington consensus' aimed at integrating social and economic dimensions of development, paying attention to broader goals such as sustainability, and challenging the old state versus market dichotomy. Among its other effects, this shift in development thinking has contributed to a greater emphasis on gender concerns in development institutions such as the World Bank. This article examines the recent innovations in economic theory that have informed these efforts. Through an analysis of the ways that these theories construct meanings about gender equity and development, the article concludes that the post-Washington consensus maintains the economistic and colonial discourses of neoliberalism, and thus provides little space for the meaningful social transformations called for by feminists working in development.     

Class, Culture, and Participation in the Collegiate Extra-Curriculum

With larger percentages of high school students entering higher education, it becomes increasingly important to look at how processes occurring on college campuses contribute to social stratification. Using in‐depth interviews with 61 students, I ask: How does social class structure students’ participation in the collegiate extra‐curriculum? I argue that the collegiate extra‐curriculum is an important site for stratification because it is there that students gain access to social and cultural resources valued by the privileged classes. I find that upper‐middle‐class students arrive on campus with cultural resources that motivate their participation and social resources that facilitate their involvement. Among working‐class students, limited financial factors constrain their involvement, while social and cultural resources further curtail their interest in such activities. These findings contribute to theories of social and cultural reproduction by showing that those who have more valued social and cultural resources at the outset are in a better position to gain additional such resources throughout their college careers. Moreover, these analyses show that symbolic and cultural hierarchies are sustained by the interdependent relationship between social and cultural capital.     

Representations of vulnerability,innocence and evil in the murder of a disabled person

Abstract

This article uses the murder of a young man with learning disabilities as a case study to comment on the representations used in the reporting of crime against disabled people. It uses social representations theory as a theoretical lens to assist us to see that portrayals of both victim and perpetrators by the media and others serves to distance them from each other, and from mainstream society. It highlights how this process of ‘othering’ serves to disadvantage disabled people and places a disproportionate emphasis on individual characteristics.     

Post‐3/11 Japan and the Radical Recontextualization of Value: Music,Social Media,and End‐Around Strategies for Cultural Action

The disasters of 3/11 provoked a global outpouring of emotion towards the suffering in Japan. In many ways, this singular event seemed to refigure the meanings of community and technology by drawing attention to the fragility of human control in times of disaster. Although the long‐term consequences remain uncertain, this radical recontextualization of value points to a way of thinking about broader processes of change, a contrast to cultural analysis that proceeds by directly critiquing structures of power on their own terms. If we look to processes whereby a new context can be the impetus that undermines seemingly entrenched interests, we might find inspiration for alternative forms of critique and action. Music provides a model for cultural movements that do not attack power directly, but rather operate through this kind of slippery, insidious, “end‐around” strategy of change that gains its force from recontextualizing social logics. These features of music foreshadow some of the contemporary developments in social media, and may point to untapped potentials for subverting, and possibly transforming, enduring structures of power and inequality.     

Policy, Preferences, and Patriarchy: The Division of Domestic Labor in East Germany, West Germany, and the United States

Individual agency observed in the gendered division of laboris shaped by structural factors, but only recently has evidenceemerged that the effect of women’s resources varies systematicallyin its sociopolitical context. Here we use the 1994 InternationalSocial Survey Program to assess whether the relative effectof a proxy for women’s and men’s preferences—hallmarkof individual choice—varies as well across three countrieswith divergent historical policy approaches regarding the privatesphere. East German socialist policies required and supportedwomen’s employment; West German policy promulgated a malebreadwinner model, and U.S. policy primarily remains silenton the private sphere. The division of domestic tasks and relativestrength of individual preferences on shifting it vary by region.In the former East Germany the division of domestic labor ismore egalitarian and the effect of preferences is small butequal for the genders. In West Germany the division is moretraditional and preference effects are greater, but gender differencesin these are insignificant. The U.S. division of domestic taskfalls between the two German regions, and the gender differencein preference effects is the greatest, with U.S. men’spreferences predicting significantly more variance than do U.S.women’s. Consequently, allowing the market to dominatedoes not yield equal strength of preferences in the individual-levelmodels used to predict the division of domestic tasks. Thissupports the dual-system feminist claims that capitalism canexacerbate nonmarket patriarchal hierarchies.     

The role of social entrepreneurship in leveraging exaptation in locked-in industrial districts: the case of Idrogenet in the industrial district of Lumezzane

The objective of this paper is to investigate the role of social entrepreneurship as driver of exaptation. Exaptation is defined as the redeployment of an existing body of knowledge into a new and previously unrelated domain of application and as major source of disruptive innovation and firms' dynamic capabilities. Exaptation takes place in two phases. In the first phase, the accumulation of knowledge takes place without any anticipation of its future use. In the second phase, the knowledge accumulated is explicitly and consciously leveraged and exploited to build up and take advantage of the opportunity in an emerging market niche. We contribute to extant literature by showing how social entrepreneurship may help firms to discover new potential and innovative field of application for their existing know-how and exploiting it into such a field. Our results are based on a case study of exaptation led by social entrepreneurship in the industrial district of Lumezzane.     

Bengaliness,Hindu nationalism and Bangladeshi migrants in West Bengal,India

Hindu nationalists made migration from Bangladesh an election campaign in West Bengal during the 1990s. Although there were various allegations against Bangladeshi migration, it never became a mainstream political issue in the state, like in neighbouring Assam. West Bengal shares the longest border with Bangladesh, compared to any other Indian state, and hosts a large number of Bangladeshi migrants, according to the Census reports in India. West Bengal and Bangladesh share a common ethnicity, both are predominantly Bengali. Can this shared Bengaliness explain why Bangladeshi migration did not become a divisive political issue in the state? If this sameness is a bonding factor, what about the Ghoti-Bangal differences? Drawn from in-depth interviews with the representatives of West Bengal’s key civil society organisations and political parties, I argue that a particular historical and cultural process, unique to West Bengal and Bangladesh, has shaped the current attitude towards Bangladeshi migrants in the state.     

The Interactive Relationship Between Class Identity and the College Experience: The Case of Lower Income Students

To probe the role that college context plays in influencing the class-based aspects of identity for lower income students, we interviewed 30 lower income students, 15 from an elite college and 15 from a state college. Significant disparities of wealth between students at the elite college heightened awareness of class, and led to feelings of intimidation, discomfort, inadequacy, deficiency, exclusion, and powerlessness among lower income students, feelings that were less prevalent among state college students. Students at both colleges acquired new forms of cultural capital and coped with class-based discontinuities between who they were before college and who they were becoming, but these issues became heightened for the elite college students.     

Media use,social cohesion,and cultural citizenship: an analysis of a Chinese metropolis

The emergence of new social strata and plural identities are two of the most profound changes in China's social transition toward integration into the global economic system. Differentiating three dimensions of cultural citizenship identity (i.e., cosmopolitan, national, and local), this study seeks to depict the paths of influence in the formation of such identities that involve reality construction by the media and evolving patterns of social stratification. Analysing data from a 2009 Shanghai survey, we found a strong relationship between individuals' consumption of local media contents and their local identity. Further, their perceptions of media's centripetal and centrifugal forces have significant effects on their identities, and the Internet has different effects from the traditional media, although such influences vary across different social strata.     

西三角商贸中心构建研究

在阐述西三角经济区与西三角商贸中心内涵的基础上,分析了西三角商贸中心构建的影响因素和西三角商贸中心的空间布局、功能和结构要素。研究发现,构建西三角商贸中心有利于推进西三角商贸产业和区域经济协同发展。最后,提出推进西三角交通协同发展和提升商贸产业竞争力等对策建议。     

西方社区养老服务及其对我国的启示

西方社区养老服务对我国应对人口老龄化问题具有重要的借鉴意义。本文首先分析了西方社区养老服务、西方社区照顾与我国社区养老服务的异同,并综述了西方学者在支持家庭照顾者、居家照顾服务、邻里照顾、照顾管理和协作模式等方面的研究成果,以期对我国社区养老服务提供理论借鉴。     

Between Land Grabbing and Farmers' Benefits: Land Transfers in West Kalimantan,Indonesia

Rapid growth of oil palm cultivation in West Kalimantan, Indonesia has increased both the pace and size of land transfers from farmers to big companies and city-based investors. This process has been widely conceptualised as ‘top-down land grabbing’ but this perspective largely neglects the agency of the farmers. This paper seeks to shed light on the agency of farmers with respect to how they respond to land transfer schemes. Through a study of land transfers under nucleus estate schemes (NES), schemes that were introduced by the Indonesian government in which smallholding farms are integrated parts of a modern, large size plantation company, we will show that agrarian dynamics are shaped by notions of what is ‘fair’ and ‘just’.     

Asian Families at the Crossroads: A Meeting of East,West, Tradition,Modernity, and Gender

East Asian societies have undergone major changes in the past few decades, including substantial declines in marriage and fertility. This article introduces the special section of Asian Families in Context by sketching commonalities and variations in patterns of marriage and family behavior in this region. A discussion of relevant theoretical frameworks from the Western literature follows. The final section briefly introduces the 6 empirical studies that comprise this section and discusses their relevance for developing and refining theory relevant to understanding family change in East Asia.     

Social class,social networks and variety of weak and strong practices

Most research on the structural foundations of cultural consumption views tastes and practices as a better or worse emanation of social class or status. In contrast, this paper shows that cultural consumption is also embedded in a larger system of social networks. Not only does it examine whether having more diversified personal network translates into being involved in a wider range of cultural activities (omnivorousness), it also tests whether holding networks of different strength corresponds with different levels of cultural engagement (strong vs. weak). Based on the survey data collected in Poland in 2017, the analyses yield three main findings. First, cultural consumption continues to reflect social class divisions and is a potential mechanism for social exclusion. Second, network diversity is associated with cultural variety independently of class position. Third, the number of weak ties people hold is more strongly associated with the number of “weak” practices (that is practices of less frequency) and the number of strong ties is positively associated with the number of strong practices (voraciousness). These findings are discussed in terms of balance theory, interactional foci and weak versus strong culture. The implications of the article are that omnivorism both signifies class boundaries and indicates participation in different network structures.     

The Delay of Grandparenthood: A Cohort Comparison in East and West Germany

This research explored the delay of grandparenthood in East and West Germany, investigating how the timing and life‐course context of this transition have changed across cohorts. The authors estimated the timing of passages into the grandparent role as well as demographic overlap with worker, parent, and filial roles. Data from the German Aging Survey (N = 3,628) revealed a rise of 3 months per birth cohort (1929–1958) in the median age at grandparenthood. As a result, the grandparent role decoupled almost entirely from active parenthood. Overlap with worker and filial roles was frequent and remained stable across cohorts. The findings direct attention to a neglected demographic trend that is striking in scope and precipitates change not only in the grandparent role but also in kinship structure.     

A decade after the Reform: political activism of the Chinese of West Kalimantan,Indonesia

Political reform after the departure of President Soeharto’s New Order (1966–1998) provided opportunities for previously oppressed social groups to express their concerns and to demand fair recognition. The results of this newly found freedom have been quite immediately visible in Jakarta, where social and political institutions spearheaded by Chinese originally sprouted. In the regions, political participation of ethnic Chinese has also grown; significantly in those regions with a large Chinese population. In West Kalimantan, the number of Chinese being elected to local parliaments in some regions has doubled. They have also contested numerous direct local executive elections since 2003 and have been successful in winning four posts: a mayor, a district head, a deputy district head, and a deputy governor. By looking at the case of West Kalimantan, this article will examine the factors behind the growth in Chinese political activism, the factors contributing to the success of Chinese candidates in elections, how the Chinese have influenced local and provincial politics, and the challenges they are facing.     

Agriculture,communities, and new social movements: East European ruralities in the process of restructuring

This paper examines the usefulness of the new social movements (NSMs) paradigm in the changing context of East European post-communist societies and their agricultural systems and rural communities. Starting with statements formulated in Western sociology in the context of Western democratic societies about NSMs as a protest against modernity, the paper analyses the role of such movements in the still modernizing Eastern European reality. The first part of the paper briefly examines some basic elements of the NSMs paradigm in European and American social science. The goal of this section is not only to identify the basic characteristics of NSMs, but also to identify the typical frames used by them. The second part of the paper focuses on the presence of NSMs in the communist era. Drawing on the idea of NSMs as indicators of a ‘post-materialist shift’ as well as of ‘anti-establishment’ and ‘pro-participatory democracy’, the paper examines the frames of democratic opposition in Eastern Europe before 1989. The final part of the paper considers several selected examples from Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to explore the role of NSMs in the process of shaping new ruralities during the post-communist transformation.     

A TALE OF TWO VISIONS: Representing the Orientialized West,Representing the Orient

Starting in the eighteenth century, the West’s interest in the exotic was matched with a rival gaze from the East. The fluid seams where the so-called dualities met have generated powerful spaces of tension: Occident, Orient; master, colonized; and public, private. The elite Muslim Ottoman women’s agency in dress via adoption of corsets, tight-fitting dresses and the adoption of overstuffed seating furniture modeled after the Turkish divan in the West resulted in an unprecedented conflict between furniture, the body and the dress. The inclusion of the body and its dress in the discourse helps to construct an interior design theory that deals with the immediate, experiential role of the body unlike the abstract body in space, which served architectural theory for centuries. Furthermore, the body fosters social manifestation of spaces. This is the fascinating story of a cultural exchange between women: an exchange of divans and corsets.