Conceptualizing Cultural Politics in Subcultural and Social Movement Studies

In this article it is argued that combining theories of social movements and subcultures provides a way of 'conceptualizing cultural politics'. The focus is on debates that have taken place over the conceptualization of subcultures and social movements as well as the status and viability of cultural politics. Contemporary subcultural theorists are critical of the rigid concepts used by the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) but, it is argued, they provide few feasible alternatives. They also have little to say about the supposed contemporary significance of cultural politics. New social movement (NSM) theorists, on the other hand, have generated conceptual frameworks that recognize the complexity of collective phenomena and have developed an approach which enables us to engage with the controversy over cultural politics. However, they concentrate too narrowly on struggles waged at the level of lifestyle, culture and civil society. The article shows how, like the CCCS, critics of NSM theory rightly question the potency of symbolic challenges and stress the persistent role of material issues and the continued part that conventional political actors, such as the state, play in contemporary social conflicts. Finally, the case of New Age Travellers is used to illuminate these debates in subcultural and social movement studies and to show how elements of each approach can be employed fruitfully in empirical research.     

The Glocal and Global Studies

Abstract

This article offers an overview of engagements with the glocal and traces the consequences of this research agenda for Global Studies. First, it compares the emergence of the global and the glocal in the literature. It tracks the uneven impact of the business use of the glocal and argues that this genealogy has obscured alternative accounts. Second, it offers a thematic overview of the uses of glocalization in the literature. It highlights publication clusters in specific areas of interdisciplinary interest. It further addresses key criticisms against glocalization. Finally, it explores the vicissitudes of research on glocalization on the scope and definition of Global Studies. Trends in Global Studies appear to move in an opposite direction from the one suggested by glocalization. This could lead to the emergence of a separate field of Glocal Studies, causing further fragmentation in the field.     

History,Culture and Organization Studies

Research by Barley, Meyer and Gash (1988) showed that the publication of Peters and Waterman's In Search of Excellence (1982) coincided with culture becoming a popular and acceptable topic for organization theorists. This helped establish the dominance of a conception of culture that proffered an instrumental view of the relation between managerial practice and management knowledge, Barley, Meyer and Gash (1988) suggested. They saw this as a relatively recent occurrence. While we do not deny the possibility of the instrumental relation as depicted in Barley, Meyer and Gash (1988), we do not concur with their judgement that the study of culture is a relatively novel interruption of previously more academic concerns. On the contrary, we suggest that, while the relationship between practice and knowledge is borne out by a genealogical analysis of culture, the time period for such analysis should be drawn both more widely and more deeply to be an adequate test of Barley, Meyer and Gash's (1988) hypotheses. We argue that the relationship postulated in the hypothesis supported by their research - that academic research on culture has increasingly been prejudiced by instrumental concerns that developed in the lead up to, and in the wake of, the 'excellence' studies - defies social science traditions. We show this by enlarging the canvass of culture. The purposeful use of organizational culture as a management tool returns culture to those origins revealed by genealogical analysis that uncovers its etymology and sociology.     

Challenging Stereotypes Surrounding Disability and Promoting Anti‐oppressive Practice: Some Reflections on Teaching Social Work Students in Northern Ireland

Relatively high levels of dependency on disability benefits in Northern Ireland has led to widespread assumptions within this society that fraud and abuse are rife within the social security system. Consequently, many of those in receipt of disability benefits are stereotyped as dishonest, malingerers and scroungers. This stereotyping is damaging to all disabled people and undermines the security that the welfare system is supposed to provide. Social workers are obliged to work within an anti‐oppressive framework, addressing issues of oppression and discrimination. It is therefore imperative that strategies and techniques, which raise their awareness of these issues, are developed. This article describes a teaching strategy that was introduced in the first year of a social work degree programme, to enable students to recognise and reflect upon cultural stereotypes, and comments on its effectiveness.     

Looking Inside Glitch Mitigation Capability: The Effect of Intraorganizational Communication Channels

Manufacturers can reduce the occurrence of glitches in their operations by building capabilities to prevent them, yet mitigation capabilities are also needed to contain the effects of the glitches that will still inevitably occur every now and then. We examine the glitch mitigation capability of a production process from an information‐processing perspective and propose that (i) the impact of operational glitches on delivery performance is contingent on the formalization of intrafirm communication channels and (ii) this effect is stronger when formal communication channels are complemented with informal channels. We test our model in a sample of 163 make‐to‐order production processes and find support for the first hypothesis and partial support for the second hypothesis. The statistical analyses also reveal nonhypothesized empirical regularities, which we explore through an additional qualitative study based on 34 site visits and 30 interviews with production planners. The results have practical implications for the design of intraorganizational communication channels, and they also contribute to the research on organizational resilience and communications by showing that when coping with disruptions, the formal communication channels have advantages that are seldom discussed in the literature or recognized by practitioners.     

论修昔底德史学思想对和平学的贡献

在和平与发展已经成为时代主题,但局部冲突仍然存在的当代,兴起于20世纪60年代后期的和平学日益受到国际学术界的广泛重视。学界一般以挪威奥斯陆的国际和平研究所的建立作为和平学的发端标志,但是和平思想的发轫却可以追溯到西方文明的摇篮古希腊。历史学家修昔底德在其著作《伯罗奔尼撒战争史》中大量阐述了自己的和平思想。修昔底德的史学思想对于和平学的发展具有重要的借鉴意义,对于当代构建和谐世界也提供了启示。     

敦煌文献述略

敦煌石窟在我国古代佛教石窟造像中历史悠久,其塑像、壁画展示出佛教经典的流布和造像艺术,随着社会变革在历史长河中的发展演变,反映出每个时期的内容和形象以及艺术风格均有所不同;大量写经卷子的内涵为我们提供了丰富珍贵的、以敦煌地区佛教为主的宗教文化史和地方志的资料,反映出敦煌当时的政治、经济、文化面貌,成为我们研究历史最直接、最详细的材料。     

伊朗政治合法性与宗教合法性之构建

伊朗政治合法性和宗教合法性的构建一直受到重视,因为这有利于社会的长治久安。其政治合法性和宗教合法性的构建需要深厚坚实的基础,但处理好两者关系需要漫长的实践过程。本文以伊朗历史上具有代表性的政治制度和宗教为例,说明伊朗政治合法性和宗教合法性构建的意义、基础、途径、两者间关系及其过程。面对全球范围内的物质和精神的冲击,伊朗面临的问题是在当今国内外新形势下,如何重新构建和巩固政权的政治合法性和宗教合法性。     

性别平等与和平

生理性别．即是男是女由出生决定;社会性别,即如何成为男人和女人是后天习得的。两性的不平等不是一种自然属性。而是一种人类社会的发明。这种性别的不平等及其建立之上的针对女性的性剐暴力是一种结构性暴力。消除性别歧视,实现男女平等,是人类社会获得真正和平的必要条件。     

试论比较文学与翻译研究的关系

本文通过分别探寻比较文学与翻译研究的定义,认为比较文学与翻译研究的关系既不是许多比较文学家以为的＂翻译研究是比较文学之下的一个分支＂,也不是巴斯奈特宣称的＂比较文学是翻译研究之下的一个分支＂。事实上两者之间具有＂交而不同＂的关系,它们的不同在于两者有各自关注的对象：文学和翻译;它们的相交点在于二者共同关注文学翻译并且都开始＂文化转向＂。