Survey investigations of the hidden economy: Some methodological results

In 1982 the Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics started large-scale survey research on the supply of hidden labour. As it was not known what type of survey would yield the best results, eight survey variants were tried out. They differed in the medium of communication between the researcher and respondent (face-to-face, mail and telephone) and in interview design (direct approach, gradual approach and ‘free-form’ conversation). Several criteria were used to assess the survey variants on their suitability for obtaining statistical information on the magnitude and structure of the hidden labour market. With respect to non-response and item non-response, face-to-face methods yielded the best results. In combating incorrect responses, a gradual introduction of the topic ‘hidden income’ is to be preferred.     

Sociocultural change,activity, and individual development: Some methodological aspects

This piece which introduces an article in this issue proposes a methodology for studying individual learning and development related to sociocultural change.¹ The author argues that the mediating function of activity affords a new methodology that allows the study of sociogenetic‐ontogenetic relations without having to resort to reductionism or Cartesian dualism. The tri‐part methodology involves 1) Simulation by selecting key activities that can be constrained and arranged in sequence to model changesin society, and by that same sequence of activities, induce learning and development; 2) Heterochronicity which looks comparatively at the histories and time frames of various activities in a research site as well as the comparative histories and timeframes of particular activities and the lives of different generations of the research population in the interest of identifying periods of rapid societal change, and 3) Leading activity which is co‐determined by the point in an individual's developmental history at which she participates in the activity as well as the genetic sequence of activity categoires characteristic of that society.     

Nationalism and peace: Theoretical notes for research and political agendas

The mainstream school of Anglophone theory on nationalism is the starting point for considering how it might be possible to prevent nationalist conflicts turning violent, or ameliorating them after they have. The leading members of this school do not take up this task. Four reasons for this are identified—anti‐essentialism, normative cosmopolitanism, functionalism and a narrow historical focus. The first of these is sacrosanct but the others can be modified without basic damage to the theory. Outline ideas to this end offer a different normative attitude that recognizes the benefits of nationalism, a concentration on questions of identity to compensate for functionalism and a broader historical basis for the theoretical explanation of nationalism, which need not be seen exclusively as the product of modernity. These research agendas also point the way to some political conclusions about the durability of nationalism, peaceful policies for it and a long‐term approach to avoiding its worst excesses.     

Beyond goffman: Some notes on life and theatre as art

This paper discusses two events: a scene from a performance of ‘Waiting for Godot’ and an incident from a team development meeting for a group of senior managers. The focus is upon the nature of the experiences of the respective audiences not upon the instrumental value of the performances. Drawing upon the work of Heidegger and Shklovsky in particular, the author comments, compares and contrasts the two events. Particular emphasis is given to the notion of art as an “unconcealment” and upon the notions of imaginative and present truth.     

Displacing Disney: Some notes on the flow of culture

This article presents a comparative reading of the theme parks Disneyland, DisneyWorld, Tokyo Disneyland, and (in brief) EuroDisney. The aim is to explore how an explicitly American product flows across distinct cultural boundaries. The park itself is treated as a source of cultural experience for those who pay to wander about its grounds and partake of its attractions. The meaning of this cultural experience depends however on the social context in which it occurs and — despite corporate claims to the contrary — is anything but universal.     

Political information use on WeChat and political discussion in China: toward a networked political discussion model

This study was conducted to test the relationships between WeChat (a popular Chinese mobile SNS) and a number of variables including the structural features of users’ networks, the use of political information on WeChat, political discussions, and political attitudes. The results of this study showed that the use of political information by WeChat users on this platform affected their political discussions and political attitudes. Furthermore, both positive and negative WeChat political discussions mediated the effects of the use of political information on political attitudes. Additionally, the connectedness of networks significantly lowered the likelihood of individual users to comment negatively on politics. These findings indicate that WeChat users with diverse social networks are more likely to engage in positive political discussions than in negative political discussions. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.     

Social services,social work,and information management: Some european perspectives

Social services are entering the information society. Over the past decades, information technology applications have slowly permeated service agencies. Although originally the domain of administrative and management staff, now core operational staff are also confronted with making increased use of technology. The way information management in human services is shaped is not only dependent upon technology, but increasingly seems to result from an interaction between social policy developments and information technology opportunities. Similarly, social policy developments are shaped by the existing information management infrastructure. One of the purposes of this paper is to explore–taking social services and social work as the exemplar, and mainly drawing upon experiences from the UK and the Netherlands–the relationship between new technology and the policy environment. We also reflect on whether or not this relationship is more complex than indicated by globalization and related post-Fordist theories.     

Comparative influence of political, cost/benefit, and statistical information on administrative decision making.

The influence of three types of evaluation information was studied in simulated decisionmaking situations within a community mental health center setting. Twelve administrators reviewed one of two decision problems (direct services or indirect services funding) and were then presented political, cost/benefit and statistical information. After each presentation, the administrators rated the importance of each type of information for decision making. Only the cost/benefit data were rated as significantly influencing their decisions. The influence of each type was not dependent upon the decision problem, nor to length of time in administrative positions. The results were interpreted in terms of “who says what, how, and to whom. ” If evaluators desire a greater impact on the decision making behavior of community health administrators, they should consider employing a pay off-based evaluation strategy and providing cost/benefit information.     

Disability and dirty workers: stories of physical,social and moral taint

Returning to classics on dirty work and stigma, I offer another perspective on the difficulties that disabled people experience in employment. I claim that disabled workers with multiple sclerosis (MS) feel like ‘dirty workers’ not because of the work that they do, but because of their MS. Secondary analysis of phenomenological interview data revealed workers with MS feeling physical, social and moral taints normally associated with being a ‘dirty worker’ – but because of their MS-related impairments and disabilities. Two respondent stories are shared to illustrate this association.     

An update on China in the political economy of information and communications

In prior research I have attempted to bring out the salience of two converging political‐economic trends. One originates in the communications and information sector, which throughout prior decades has evolved into the lead zone of business investment and profit‐making. The second stems from China, whose reinsertion into global capitalism has generated a powerful economic surge: in 2007, International Monetary Fund projects, for the first time, China will contribute more to global economic growth than any other nation. How, I asked, are these two vectors of change related? What connections exist between capitalism's most dynamic industry and its most expansionary growth zone? The present article constitutes a progress report on these issues, which continue to be fundamental.     

Americans are more exposed to difference than we think: Capturing hidden exposure to political and racial difference

Use of name generators (NG) in assessing exposure to political difference has led to the conclusion that disagreement is uncommon. Data from two representative surveys tested a NG modification to probe for exposure to difference. Over half for whom NG results suggest no exposure to difference were able to name an alter who supported an alternative candidate. Over a quarter whose NG results indicate no exposure to a racial difference were able to name someone of the opposite race with whom they’d talked politics. These findings demonstrate that mixed or diverse networks are more common than prior NG research suggests.     

First stirrings: cultural notes on orgasm, ejaculation, and wet dreams

Both the findings and the limitations of numeric milestone research in sexology have a bearing on the pedagogical status of pleasure, as well as the cultural underpinnings of the notion of a psychosexual milestone. An overview is offered of international data pertaining to the chronology of three "milestones" in sexual autobiography: first orgasm (orgasmarche), first ejaculation (oigarche), and first wet dream (nocturnal emission). Methodological problems associated with the measurement of these variables are discussed. These problems are then situated in a culturalist perspective. It is concluded that orgasms are cultural artifacts in terms of their chronological occurrence as well as perceived salience, necessity, and "age appropriateness".     

Bringing nations in: Some methodological and conceptual issues in connecting feminisms with nationhood and nationalisms

The recent explosion of case studies about women's involvements in national projects reveals considerable diversity ranging from hostility and alienation, to affiliation or participation. Feminist analysis is just starting to explore the causes and effects of such diversity, however, since a single, common relationship usually was theorized between ‘gender’ and ‘nation’. This article addresses some methodological and conceptual issues concerning the systematic comparison of these diverse relationships. It is argued that comparison is required to explain ‘linkages between ideologies, religions and conflicts’ from a gendered perspective and to incorporate the wide variety of women's experiences regarding national projects.

Especially significant in this diversity is that, while national projects in ‘the West’ are rarely a site for women's liberation and most ‘western’ feminists are alienated from nationalism, globally women are more often mobilized by national projects than any other form of politics (Bystydzienski 1992). Moreover, some women's movements affiliate with national projects with positive outcomes. To understand how women's diverse involvements in national projects affect domestic and international conflicts, we need to identify factors producing this diversity in gender/nation relationships. The article reports on a ‘test’ of six hypotheses concerning three modal cases drawn from a larger project eventually concerning thirty countries.     

The rise of information activism: how to bridge dualisms and reconceptualise political participation

While conventional wisdom sees politics as involving collective action in the political arena, some contemporary approaches focus on connective action beyond the political arena. Crucially, both treat the distinction between arena and process definitions of politics, and relatedly between collective and connective, as dualisms. This paper looks to reconceptualise political participation by arguing that these two dualisms should be treated as dualities. In doing so, it posits a new form of political participation, ‘information activism’ and explores it in practice by drawing on survey data from the 2013 political protests in Turkey.     

Symposium on political communication and social movements: audience,persuasion, and influence

ABSTRACT

This article argues that an important contribution that political communication can offer social movement studies is a more variegated understanding of social movement audiences and their role in social movement strategy and processes. Specifically, the article introduces a coarse typology of social movement audiences and discusses the importance of understanding differences in the goals of these audiences and what kinds of influence, from messaging or other forms of pressure, may be important to affect different audiences in movements’ favors. The article also examines the ways in which audiences are active, shaping what messages they are exposed to, consume, believe, and act upon. The call of the article is to bring a concern for audiences into social movement studies in the hopes of wedding these more media and communication-focused concerns with the kinds of structural and material influences social movement studies is so accomplished in investigating.     

Information, information systems, information society: interpretations and implications

The term “information” has become a universal and omnipresent keyword in almost all areas of our modern world—be it in science or society in general. This is not only obvious from the naming of whole scientific branches like Information Theory, Information Science or Informatics but even more from common speaking—characterising our present time and society as information age viz. information society. However, what “information” might mean, is by no means clear and there is a wide range of interpretations covering, among others, its technical, communicational, educational, mental, and scientific aspects. But is the use of the same term justified when adopted in Biology, Physics, Archaeology, Law, Communication Technology, and Informatics (to list just a few of the involved scientific branches) or do its different uses at least have some common characteristics—some sort of common denominator? Is information natural, e.g. manifesting itself as a material phenomenon residing in organisms, stars, atoms, or genes, or is it just a cultural product of human communication, thinking, and interpretation? In this article, we try to clarify some of the most important interpretations, discuss and contrast them with the Informatics point of view. Interpretations range from taking information as material, transferable signals (following Shannon’s Information Theory or the genetic approaches), treating it as a sign (following a semiotic approach), as a commercial product (now common in Web-based Information Business) to considering it a pure mental phenomenon bound to humans or human-like individuals or even to groups and societies. Based on these interpretations, we shall throw a critical glance on current trends in human science and society—focusing on the now popular concept of “information society”—and then derive some theses and guidelines for further research escorting the growth and dispersal of information technology. As it will turn out, an information society which defines itself through the number of computers, internet connections and network links is based on a very narrow, techno-centric concept of information. However, a reflection on the educational and cultural aspects of information might lead to a better-qualified society consisting of responsible and critical citizens.     

Conducting research using web-based questionnaires: Practical,methodological, and ethical considerations

The use of the internet for social science research is becoming increasingly common. This paper outlines practical, methodological and ethical issues for researchers to consider when using web-based questionnaires. This is illustrated by consideration of the authors' own experience of conducting a study into the phenomenon of self-harm.