On ethnicity and development imperative: a case study of North-East India

‘North East India’ composed of different ethnicity is plagued with ethnic assertions and regionalism with that of centuries of alienation. Development is one big issue that need to be address in the region. The North East India after decades of independence is still lagging behind in term of socio, economic, education, political, cultural and social development. A deeper study reveals that movement for separate homeland, regionalism, tribalism, ethnic clash, crime, mass poverty, etc in the region are caused by backwardness of the region. The distinct geo-ethnic and socio-historical characters of North-East India constitute the hotbed of ethnic strife and extreme radicalism. The solution lies partly in resolving the conflict between primordial ethnic loyalties or ‘ethno-nationalism’ and the ‘nationalism of the nation state’, and partly a conscious and voluntary effort to resist corruption and unholy alliance between the militants and the politicians in the region. In any case, ethnic reconciliation would result in the reduction of ethnic violence of all kinds and would eventually restore law and order in the region. When the civil governance in the region will be spared from combating militancy or appeasing the militants, the whole energy of the government would be for strengthening the institutions of local self-government, which act as potential agents of development in the conflict-ridden states of the North-East India.     

信任缺失:新生代农民工身份建构与政治认同

新生代农民工城市融入的本质是新生代农民工与城市市民、城市社会组织及政治的互动与认同,这种互动与认同以信任为基础。其中人际信任、组织信任与政治信任分别构成新生代农民工身份建构的基础、融入城市的社会资本与政治认同的基础。由于当前社会人际信任缺失、组织信任匮乏与政治信任偏低,导致新生代农民工陷入身份建构与政治认同困境。因此只有通过修复新生代农民工的人际信任、增进其组织信任、重构政治信任方能构建起积极的身份认同。     

新生代农民工城市融入中的社会认同考量

社会认同在新生代农民工的城市融入中至关重要.相比较第一代农民工,新生代农民工在务农经历、教育程度、职业期望、物质和精神要求、市民化意愿等方面有鲜明的群体特征.但目前社会认同困境阻碍着他们的市民化进程,主要表现为制度制约、自身地位制约、社会关系网络制约等.摆脱这一困境,需要政府创造良好环境,城市居民宽容接纳,新生代农民工积极提高自身素质及劳动技能等.只有达到了身份认同、城市认同和自我认同相统一,他们在城市才能感受到“主人翁”归属感,从而加速我国城市化进程.     

Presence Through Absence: Phylloxera and the Viticultural Imagination in McLaren Vale,South Australia

Grape phylloxera is an insect pest that has destroyed vineyards and brought ruin to winegrowing regions worldwide. In South Australia, however, strong biosecurity regulations have ensured it has remained absent. In this absence phylloxera takes on powerful symbolic value, and regional viticultural identities may be imagined in relation to the presence of phylloxera elsewhere. This paper draws from ethnographic research with grape growers and wine producers in McLaren Vale, a region whose vineyards are understood through this ‘phylloxera-free’ paradigm. The article specifically explores controversies around modification of South Australian biosecurity regulations in a way that favoured large winegrowing corporations’ need to more easily move material between regions, to the perceived detriment of vineyard security. The phylloxera risk has economic, social and symbolic dimensions in McLaren Vale, where the insect has become symbolically aligned with the most impersonal, pervasive and destructive aspects of globalised wine capitalism.     

Adolescent girls’ race/ethnic status, identities, and drive for thinness

Using data from 7272 adolescent US girls, we explore how girls’ race/ethnic group status affects their bodyweight, perceptions of overweight, and weight control practices. We hypothesize that a girl’s race/ethnic status influences her basic identity which in turn prompts her to adopt or reject a “drive for thinness.” After controlling for family and peer support, school engagement, family SES, maturation, and family structure, we find that girls’ race/ethnic status influences their susceptibility to the thinness ideals of mainstream culture. African American girls weigh more than Asian, Hispanic, or White girls, but at any given weight they perceive themselves as overweight and attempt to control their weight less. Asian American and White girls invest most in thinness dynamics. Some evidence also suggests girls from lower SES families are less driven to be thin. Our results affirm the utility of viewing material bodies as “situations” that are experienced and interpreted in accord with identity group relations and dynamics.     

The crisis of 'identity' in high modernity

The concept of 'identity' is central to much contemporary sociology, reflecting a crisis that manifests itself in two ways. Firstly, there is a view that identity is both vital and problematic in this period of high modernity. Secondly, while this awareness is reflected in sociology, its accounts of identity are inconsistent, under-theorized and incapable of bearing the analytical load required. As a result, there is an inherent contradiction between a valuing of identity as so fundamental as to be crucial to personal well-being, and a theorization of 'identity' that sees it as something constructed, fluid, multiple, impermanent and fragmentary. The contemporary crisis of identity thus expresses itself as both a crisis of society, and a crisis of theory. This paper explores the diverse ways in which 'identity' is deployed before turning to case-studies of its use by Anthony Giddens and Manuel Castells. This strategy demonstrates the widespread and diverse concern with identity before exploring how problematic it has become, even in the work of two of the world's leading sociologists.     

Voice and Identity in a Bicultural/Bilingual Environment

Researchers have noted that with the onset of adolescence, girls' voices become muted and school achievement drops. Girls learn that the expression of strong feelings leads to distance from others, and that full use of their bodies and minds cause others discomfort. Self-esteem suffers and girls become at risk for destructive behaviors. Most studies have been done with middle class Caucasian girls. Those few studies done with young girls of color speak of girls on the margin who seem to resist losing their voices and their self-esteem. This article describes a study involving 5th–8th grade girls participating in an Advisory group program at a grammar school in a predominantly Mexican community of a large city. Group sessions were taped and analyzed for common themes including voice and self-esteem. Focus was directed to the influence of the bicultural/bilingual environment in analysis of group content. Implications for practice are included.     

SOCIAL MOVEMENT NETWORKS VIRTUAL AND REAL

This paper discusses the impact of 'computer mediated communication' (or CMC) on political activism and social movements. CMC may be expected to affect collective action by improving the effectiveness of communication and facilitating collective identity and solidarity. However, the heterogeneity of social movements undermines generic arguments and their relationship to CMC. Accordingly, the potential consequences of CMC on three different types of political organizations are discussed: organizations mobilizing mainly participatory resources, organizations focusing on professional resources, and transnational networks. The potential to build 'virtual [social movement] communities' seems highest among sympathizers of movement organizations who act professionally on behalf of causes with vast resonance among the public opinion and low radical potential. All in all, the most distinctive contribution of CMC to social movements still seems to be instrumental rather than symbolic. Existing bonds and solidarities are likely to generate more effective mobilization attempts than was the case before the diffusion of CMC; it is more disputable though as to whether CMC may create brand new social ties where there were none.     

Some indications for professional development in social work: a study of theoretical interest and attitudes towards research among Icelandic social workers

This study among Icelandic social workers generally showed positive attitudes towards research activity in the field. Most respondents, whereof half were practice teachers, saw the practicum as an important tool for the integration of theoretical application and research activity to practice. Almost all saw research activity as a feasible way to empower social work as a profession. Simultaneously, a relatively small percentage report their own research activity. Besides this discrepancy some interesting differences were found according to number of years after graduation, field employment and experience as practice teachers. It is argued that the theme in focus is a critical indication of professional development and highly relevant for the educational discourse as for future professional development.     

CI与CS评价比较及其整合构想

本文对CI与CS战略管理就两者的系统结构、系统传导、系统动力、系统反馈与系统绩效等进行了比较分析与评价,在此基础上就整合两者的管理模式,弹性管理等提出了初步构设．