Getting back on track: the expanded use of PPPs in Ireland since the global financial crisis

The global financial crisis that took hold in late 2008 resulted in a major slowdown of activity in the global market for public-private partnerships (PPPs). Ireland was one of the countries most affected with over 20 major infrastructure PPP projects postponed or abandoned. Since 2012 however, the Irish government has adopted a number of initiatives to make PPP more attractive to bidders and private sources of finance. This paper describes these initiatives and shows that they have been associated with a renewal of PPP activity. It suggests that some of the adopted measures may involve trade-offs between encouraging PPP investment and achieving standard PPP objectives such as economic efficiency and better innovation. However, the attraction of public sources of finance from sources such as the European Investment Bank should result in a relatively lower cost of finance and enhance value for money if providers adopt rigorous risk management strategies.     

Discourses of cultural heritage in times of crisis: The case of the Parthenon Marbles

The paper focuses on the commodification and politicisation of cultural heritage using as a case study the ongoing debate on the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the U.K. to Greece, recently reignited by the press release for the movie The Monuments Men in 2014. Greece has been in the throes of a severe financial crisis for over six years with the ever imminent threat of Grexit constantly disputed. In parallel with this ongoing turmoil, discourses of Greek antiquity have been persistently prominent in the media. In this context, we problematise the complex nexus of relationships between the financial crisis, national identity and cultural heritage. We combine the Discourse‐Historical Approach and Interactional Sociolinguistics drawing data from an online forum, and investigate how the users negotiate pro‐/anti‐return positions and make the financial crisis relevant in the argumentation process. The analysis shows that history, identity, value, and debt are recontextualised in relation to the Parthenon sculptures. The analysis identifies an underlying process of value trade off and brings the current political and economic environment to the fore. We close the paper by foregrounding the implications of our study and provide directions for further research.     

共名状态下“母亲”的伦理困境——社会学视角

《母亲》是赛珍珠荣获诺贝尔文学奖的七部作品之一,也是赛珍珠作品中最为独特的一部.“母亲”的共名身份,是在特定生存环境所编织而就的伦理关系网中确立的;其身份危机与角色冲突导致了一系列伦理困境:“母亲”的生命冲动与生活其间的社会空间、物质空间、精神空间冲突产生的伦理困境,诚实与谎言、忠诚与背叛、珍视生命与对生命扼杀两难导致的罪与罚的伦理困境,女性身份认同与性别歧视观念的矛盾导致的伦理困境等.赛珍珠用“共名”身份塑造的母亲形象,使“母亲”成为中国劳动母亲们的典型形象,因而超越了个体意义而具有了普适性特征.     

微空间主流意识形态边缘化危机及消解策略

微空间的主体多样性、信息碎片化、文化多元性为各种思想观念、价值理念的传播提供了平台,对微空间主流意识形态的主导性形成挑战、权威性产生冲击、理论性带来消解,导致主流意识形态出现边缘化危机.要克服微空间中淡化意识形态思潮渗透、主流意识形态“失语”、传播信息整合能力弱化的影响,必须增强微空间主流意识形态的主导向心力和辐射凝聚力意识,通过更新话语体系提升微空间主流意识形态的话语效力,强化人文关怀改进微空间主流意识形态的话语方式,重视培养微空间主流意识形态队伍的媒介素养与隐性传播方式的运用,建立和完善微空间信息评估反馈监管机制,加强主流意识形态对微空间信息的整合力度,以消解微空间主流意识形态边缘化危机.     

Reflections on a meta-analysis: Crystallizing thinking about SCCT

This article provides my reflections and comments on the meta-analysis of situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) presented in this issue. The meta-analysis helps to crystallize strengths and weaknesses of SCCT and the research generated by the theory. No theory is perfect and every theory has limitations/boundaries. The meta-analysis helps to identify the boundaries for SCCT helping to understand when the theory works and when there are better options for informing crisis communication. By reflecting on the extant research, we can plot the direction for future research utilizing SCCT.     

Migration aspirations of European youth in times of crisis

In recent years, the European Union (EU) passed through a significant economic crisis. All across Europe, European young people are among the groups which are hit hardest, with youth unemployment rates rising to over 50% in member states such as Greece and Spain. In the classical migration literature, it is suggested that such unfavourable economic climate would make people more likely to move abroad. Whereas in press releases we are regularly confronted with stories about South European young adults with tertiary education working in bars in Northern European cities, limited empirical evidence exists as such on the relationship between the recent Euro-crisis and migration aspirations. This paper addresses this gap in the academic literature. Using data from Flash Eurobarometer 395, I investigate which micro- and macro-level characteristics influence migration aspirations of young people across the member states of the EU. The results reveal the importance of individual characteristics and feelings of discontent with the current climate in explaining migration aspirations. Furthermore, I detect a negative relationship of relative welfare levels with migration aspirations, and a positive relationship of the youth unemployment ratio. Together, the results suggest that potential young intra-EU movers are positively selected from the population.     

Diasporic youth identities of uncertainty and hope: second-generation Albanian experiences of transnational mobility in an era of economic crisis in Greece

This paper explores various dimensions of ‘gender’ and ‘mobility’ among immigrant youth from a transnational perspective in an era of economic crisis. The extent and parameters of continuity, contestation and change in migrant youth identities are analysed and we suggest that neither gender nor identity are stable categories but are embedded in sociocultural particularities both in the country of residence (Greece) but also in the country of origin (Albania). Through in-depth interviews with 52 participants, all second-generation Albanian immigrants in Greece born to two Albanian parents, the paper addresses youth identification in relation to gendered representations of belonging. The narrative accounts that we have selected and analysed reflect the emotional challenges, constraints and creativity of Albanian youth.     

Resources reduction and welfare changes: tensions between social workers and organisations. The Italian case in child protection services

Within the field of studies on professionalism, this paper explores the changes in roles of social workers and the new tensions emerging in the relationship with their organisational contexts, due to the reduction of resources and the introduction of neoliberal and managerial policies in the welfare system. The paper is based on qualitative research carried out through 32 in-depth interviews with frontline social workers engaged in child and family services in Italy. The paper investigates how spending cuts have affected the relationship with the organisation arguing that the ways the cuts are implemented, as well as the room for professional recognition set by the organisation, are relevant. A four-character social worker typology is outlined, drawn from the intersection of two meaningful dimensions: sense of belonging and critical thinking. It is argued that a ‘critically engaged’ type points to a new form of professionalism that may emerge from the current crisis of the relationship between the organisation and social workers.     

The effect of product-harm crisis situations on firms’ spokesperson strategies: Evidence from China's emerging market economy

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence product-harm crisis situations have on, a firm's spokesperson strategies in China's emerging market economy. Through the content analysis of, 127 product-harm crises, crisis type is found to be a predictor of spokesperson strategies. Compared, with Chinese brands, foreign brands are less likely to employ top-executive spokesperson strategies, during product-harm crises. Crisis severity was found to have no impact on the adoption of, spokesperson strategies.     

社会学的传统、危机与未来

自社会学诞生以来,它一直在为人类的社会生活寻找内在的结构、秩序以及某种方向性的意义。它的存在历史或发展历程,向我们展现了一种传统的不绝魅力与生机。社会学是现代性的科学。现代性的逻辑要求着我们,不得不去面对“社会学何为”或者“现代社会向何处去”这些必须回答的问题。从社会学的传统出发,试图对这一问题进行尝试性的回答。从中不难看出,现代社会对社会学提出了新的发展要求,社会学研究之路依然任重而道远。