Bourdieu in Contention and Deliberation: Response to Lamont and Lizardo

This essay responds to Lamont’s (2011) article “How Has Bourdieu Been Good to Think With? The Case of the United States,” and Lizardo’s (2011) essay “The Three Phases of Bourdieu’s U.S. Reception,” both of which appear in this issue.     

职业本位与以人为本对比研究

职业教育是以人为本还是以职业为本,是关于职业教育价值观的讨论。这种价值观,决定了职业教育的目的及其本真追求。正是基于此,探讨两种观念下的不同教育才有意义有价值,才能给现代职业教育发展提供借鉴。     

对中国流动人口“梯次流动”的理论思考

针对中国大规模流动人口的流动特点及其流动过程进行理论思考,提出梯次流动概念和流动人口的梯次流动形式、前提条件和原理。将梯次流动定义为在流动迁移的过程中,流动人口凭借自身以及外部的力量不断改善其个人和家庭的福利状况,从而呈现出的一种渐进性的向上流动现象。梯次流动成为一种人口流动中不断优化决策的过程,梯次流动的实现需要一定的社会经济环境,中国近三十年来的改革开放和社会经济发展创造了必要的条件,促成了梯次流动动机的形成和实现的可能。梯次流动的分析视角有助于从微观视角分析个人流动到家庭流动迁移完成的过渡过程,更好地认识中国流动人口现象的特殊性并完善相应的政策与制度。     

请求策略理论研究简

“请求”属于一种常见的言语行为,而“请求策略”是语用学相对集中的研究领域,但是理论上的阐释往往不足。因此,本研究选择请求策略的相关理论为研究对象,在介绍请求定义及组成的基础上,论述了交际能力与语用能力、语言语用能力与社交语用能力、言语行为理论、面子理论、礼貌理论等内容,并且进一步探讨了相关理论在请求策略研究上的应用。     

One week in October: Luis Suárez,John Terry and the turn to racial neoliberalism in English men’s professional football

This article explores two significant incidents of racism – involving Luis Suárez and John Terry – from the 2011–2012 English Premier League football season. In particular, it analyses and contextualises the reactions and responses articulated by key stakeholders within the football industry. Discursive themes were employed by these individuals as a means of trying to mitigate and/or exonerate the actions of Suárez and Terry, to question the veracity of the allegations made against them, and to downplay the extent and effects of racism in English football more generally. The article situates these standpoints within the wider cultural politics of race in the game and extricates the connections between discourse and structure in manifestations of racism. It demonstrates that these dominant responses are indicative of colour-blind ideology, white racial framing and the rules of racial standing. It also argues that these sporting trends are part of a wider societal shift towards racial neoliberalism.     

One step further from detected contradictions in a child welfare unit—a constructive approach to communicate the needs of social work when implementing ICT in social services

Unintended consequences were detected when a new client data system was taken into use in a child welfare unit in the City of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. This paper describes how social work was practiced during this period of change and analyses the phenomena involved. The concept of agency is central in the theoretical frame of this research. The data consist of written documents, participatory observation and the researcher's cooperation with the unit. Based on the data and by using the tools of semiotic sociology, the period of change was described in the form of four intersecting and parallel stories, each with a specific theme. These stories formed the basis for more theorising in which models of action theories were used. The results of this study showed that in the situation of inadequate human resource allocation for social work the data system took on a role of an agent. There was evidence of unintended consequences on the basic task in child welfare as the data system affected the work processes.     

The Occupy Movement and the Politics of Vulnerability

The Occupy movement has generated a significant amount of scholarly literature, most of which has focused on the movement's tactics or goals, or sought to explain its emergence. Nevertheless, we lack an explanation for the movement's broad appeal and mass support. In this article we present original research on Occupy in New York City, Detroit, and Berlin, which demonstrates that the movement's heterogeneous participants coalesced around the concept of vulnerability. Vulnerability is an inability to adapt to shocks and stresses, and it inhibits social reproduction and prohibits social mobility. Rather than specifically discussing the wealth of elites per se, Occupy participants consistently expressed the feeling that the current political economic system safeguards elites and increases the vulnerability of everyone else. We argue that the Occupy movement has reworked the relationship among a range of political struggles that were hitherto disconnected (i.e. ‘old’ and ‘new’ social movements) and rendered them complementary through the politics of vulnerability.     

Immigration policies that include or exclude: a South African public opinion study of immigration policy preferences

South Africa is a regional hub for migration on the African continent and is home to a growing documented international migrant community. Foreigners in the country, however, often face violations of their established rights and are the victims of abuse. This paper examines public support for policies that would exclude international migrants from the country. Data from the 2013 South African Social Attitudes Survey, a nationally representative opinion poll (N = 2739) of all adults in the country, are used. This poll found that many South Africans favoured restrictive immigration policies and opposed granting foreigners the same rights as citizens. Multivariate analysis is employed to discern determinants of this opposition. Respondents’ perceptions of the population sizes of foreigners in their communities did not affect support for inclusion. It can be inferred, therefore, that the growth of the immigrant population has not provoked exclusionary attitudes in the country. Rather, results revealed, it is national pride (cultural versus political) and fears about the consequences of immigration that drive such attitudes. Programmes and policies designed to improve public perceptions of how foreigner impact society and the promotion of a nationalism characterised by inclusive multicultural civic patriotism may improve public support for the inclusion of international immigrants.     

Communication and representation of risk in health crises: the influence of framing and group identity / Comunicación en crisis sanitarias y representación del riesgo. La influencia del framing y la identidad grupal

Based on the Social Representations Theory (SRT) applied to the social construction of risk and the role played by group identities, this study examines the construction of risk created by the mass media in health epidemics. An experimental design with split-ballot questionnaire and 319 participants was used in which message framing (human interest vs. attribution of responsibility) and proximity (high vs. low) were manipulated for a high invulnerability identity (youth) vs. a low invulnerability identity (elderly) population. Results showed that the human interest framing increased the perception of risk, especially when the proximity of the epidemic was high; this effect was explained by people’s emotional response. Furthermore, youth projected the risk towards ‘the other’ in order to protect their invulnerability identity. Finally, we stress the importance of the SRT on a theoretical and applied level for risk communication in health crises.