Back from the Ashes

OCTOBER 18,1998. Paris. A 1,800-strong audience packedthemselves into the 1,492-seat capacityof the Le Notre Hall of the Louvre. TheDawn of the Chinese Nation—Ancientand Modern Fashion Show was in fullswing. 123 suits demonstrated the 4,000-year-old culture of Chinese costume andaccessories. The fantasy show by 30Chinese models and three French modelsenthralled the onlookers. The French Prime Minister, Vedrine,came to the show and told the reporter:"Chinese garments are really beautiful. I     

Voice from the Tents

AT the NGO Forum site, the most attractive and busy place in Huairou, Beijing, was composed of two large groups of colorful tents in a variety of shapes. Here, there were not     

Ladies'Dress from the Past

WHEN looking at the figures of women of nearly a century ago, it is easy for people of today to think of the clothes of the past as hopelessly quaint and antiquated. But when you look closely at those old pictures, you can see that everyone in them looks so proud of their fashionable garb. Study the pictures carefully and think hard; you will finally     

A Boy's Cry from the Crevice

An 18-month-old boy who was playing on a hill fell into a crevice of a hill about 20 centimeters wide and about 40 meters deep. He was finally rescued by a 12-year-old boy. This is a true story.     

Pipa Music Spreads from the Mountain to the Rest of the World

LIKE a giant, the Tiantai Mountain Range in Zhejiang Province holds Tiantai County in its arms. The natural beauty of this area is plentiful with talent and music. For years Tiantai County has nurtured groups of pipa players and is known as the "home of the pipa." Pipa is the traditional musical instrument of China, which prevailed in the Sui and Tang dynasties(A.D.581-907).     

Selected Photos from the Second LUCKY Cup

The Second LUCKY Cupphotography competition forsubjects on the countryside, co-sponsored by the magazineChina's Countryside and ChinaLUCKY Film Group Co., attracteda large number of professional andamateur photographers. Most ofthe entrants were from rural areas.     

Celadon Jar with Figurines from the Yue Kiln

Celadon ware from the Yue kiln in Zhejiang Province is the typical style of southern porce lain. Starting production in the late East Han Dynasty (25-220 A. D.), the porcelain industry fully developed during the Western Jin. Celadon became outstanding with its improved art form and production techniques. It had both practical     

Where did the new economic sociology come from?

Like all new research fields, the “new economic sociology” was produced by the redeployment of relatively diverse researchers under a single academic label. Academic entrepreneurs in the second half of the 1980s took up the traditional term of the European “founding fathers” claiming they were renewing the discipline while distinguishing themselves from (1) the old homegrown denomination “economy and society,” (2) anti-disciplinary currents such as neo-Marxism, and (3) interdisciplinary movements like “socioeconomics.” The relative unity of the new economic sociology was due more to this set of demarcations than to a specific intellectual approach. The new economic sociology obtained its scientific legitimacy by bringing together two promising new currents: network analysis and neo-institutionalism, along with a more marginal cultural mode of analysis. While there had been very little exchange among these currents, mutual references became more ecumenical once a common label had emerged and distinct intellectual programs were launched. Institutional legitimacy was quickly obtained thanks to the support of the Russell Sage Foundation, enabling a process of expansion that in Europe developed far more slowly. The case of the “new economic sociology” demonstrates that the creation of new subdisciplines cannot be understood merely through the analysis of direct interactions among persons linked to each other by inter-acquaintanceship. In accordance with a field theoretical approach, academic entrepreneurs function under structural conditions which must also be taken into account. Among these structural conditions were changes in the academic field itself (due to demographical effects, the imperialism of economics, and the surge in Business Schools) as well as in the political sphere (the rise of neo-liberalism).

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The Deportation of Germans from the Netherlands 1946–1952

Between 1946 and 1948 Dutch authorities planned to deport all 25,000 Germans from the Netherlands. This article is based on an analysis of parliamentary debates and newspaper reports. It offers a new explanation for why these deportations were stopped. A concerted effort from the press, clergy and charitable organisations provided arguments to change policies, however the Minister of Justice did not defend changes in policy by copying any of these arguments. He phrased his policy in terms of success: policies had been fine-tuned, not fundamentally changed. Within a relatively short period (between 1945 and 1948) the discourse changed from revenge to pity. Papers pointed out that if the Dutch continued to deport all Germans they were no better than the Gestapo.     

How Nonprofits Can Recover from Crisis Events? The Trust Recovery from the Perspective of Causal Attributions

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - While trust is a valuable relational asset for nonprofits, it is fragile and once broken can cause a great deal of damage...     

Escape from the Iron Cage? Organizational Change and Isomorphic Pressures in the Public Sector

Institutional theory suggests that organizations pursue legitimacyby conforming to isomorphic pressures in their environment.We extend previous research on institutional theory by distinguishingbetween two definitions of conformity (compliance and convergence)and by taking a comprehensive view of the organizational characteristicsthat might be subject to isomorphic pressures. This frameworkis applied to change between 2001 and 2004 in the internal characteristicsof 101 public organizations in England. We find substantialevidence of compliance but more limited support for convergence.Furthermore, the impact of isomorphic pressures was strongeron organizational strategies and culture than on structuresand processes. Thus, the relevance of institutional theory tochange in the public sector depends on the definition of conformitythat is used and the organizational characteristics that areexamined.     

Can the American Dream Survive the New Multiethnic America? Evidence from Los Angeles1

Drawing from a survey conducted in Los Angeles, we examine perceptions of achievement and optimism about reaching the American dream among racial, ethnic, and nativity groups. We find blacks and Asian Americans less likely than whites to believe they have reached the American dream. Latinos stand out for their upbeat assessments, with naturalized citizens possessing a stronger sense of achievement and noncitizens generally optimistic that they will eventually fulfill the American dream. We discuss patterns of variation between the racial and ethnic groups as well as variation within each group. Notwithstanding interesting differences along lines of race, ethnicity, and nativity, we find no evidence that the nation’s changing ethnic stew has diluted faith in the American dream.     

Sketches of identities from the Mexico–US border (or the other way around)

Abstract

For someone interested in studying the cultures and literatures of Mexico's northern border or those of the US Southwest, it is important to take into account that when trying to investigate the subjects or objects of study – human, textual, or visual – one cannot put aside the ever-present tension between national and regional discourses, nor overlook symbolic representations of those discourses. Consequently, this article proposes to sketch and reflect about some identities of Mexico's northern border that have been articulated from different perspectives and inscribed in literary texts and national and international cinemas. It will also reflect on cultural production from and about Ciudad Juárez at the turn of the 21st century and how that cultural production dialogues with different symbolic representations.     

Polish-Jewish Relations 1903–1914: The View from the Chancellery

This article discusses Wajda’s discourse on class. First it identifies the most important problems the concept raises when applied to Wajda’s characters and narratives. Next, it discusses the director’s representation and evaluation of three types of characters: the intelligentsia, the working class, and individuals who fall in between these two groups. In addition, the article analyzes how the representation of class is influenced by Wajda’s attitude toward gender and ethnicity. It concludes that his attitude to the class system in Poland is conservative and identifies some of the factors that influenced him. This article is an exploration of these issues, rather than an analysis of his films. Priority is given to films set during and after the second World War.     

My Village Is Dying? Integrating Methods from the Inside Out

The purpose of this paper is to confront the notion of “decline” at the village level by illustrating a more immersive approach to sociological and demographic research within rural and remote communities. The research uses case studies of three villages in Australia, Canada, and Sweden, all of which have been labeled as “declining villages,” typified by population loss, an aging population, high rates of youth outmigration, and loss of businesses and services. This paper argues that focusing solely on quantitative indicators of demographic change provides a narrow view of rural village trajectories and ignores subtle processes of local adaptation that are hidden from quantitative data sets. Our research integrates quantitative data from the “outside” with qualitative data from the “inside,” including visual ethnography, to develop a more balanced perspective on how villages have been changing and what change could mean locally. These objectives are accomplished by revisiting a Dirt Research methodology applicable to a broad range of research into rural and remote villages.     

‘Women from the catacombs of the city’: gender notions in Dutch culturist discourse

The current discourse on minorities in the Netherlands has two striking features: (1) it has been narrowed down to Muslim immigrants with Moroccan or Turkish backgrounds; (2) it focuses largely on gender-related issues. In this article, we suggest that there has been a historical switch in the focus of discourse on immigrants from structural factors such as employment and crime rates to cultural factors related mainly to the Islamic background of the immigrants concerned. We argue that currently the focus on gender-issues and integration in practice has the dual effects of excluding the minorities in question and of discursively counteracting the emancipation of Muslim women. Both points become apparent when reviewing the practical effects of the institutionalization of the gendered discourse on integration in policy efforts currently being undertaken. These effects are a negation of the autonomy of Muslim women and a form of ‘new racism’ that bears all the characteristics of Orientalism.