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Showing papers in "British Journal of Sociology in 2002"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The study of how new technologies emerge shifts from a focus on invention to an interest in ongoing practices of assembly, demonstration, and performance, in relation to the case of the 'prototype', an exploratory technology designed to effect alignment between the multiple interests and working practices of technology research and development, and sites of technologies-in-use.
Abstract: This paper follows recent science studies in theorizing information technologies as socio-material configurations, aligned into more and less durable forms. The study of how new technologies emerge shifts, on this view, from a focus on invention to an interest in ongoing practices of assembly, demonstration, and performance. This view is developed in relation to the case of the 'prototype', an exploratory technology designed to effect alignment between the multiple interests and working practices of technology research and development, and sites of technologies-in-use. In so far as it is successful, the prototype works as an exemplary artefact that is at once intelligibly familiar to the actors involved, and recognizably new.

220 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper sets out to explicate major approaches to trust in economics, sociology and political science, using the non-profit or voluntary organization as a focal point, and examines the various approaches in terms of their strengths and weaknesses.
Abstract: The relationship between interpersonal trust and membership in voluntary associations is a persistent research finding in sociology. What is more, the notion of trust has become a central issue in current social science theorizing covering such diverse approaches as transaction costs economics or cognitive sociology. In different ways and for different purposes, these approaches address the role of voluntary organizations, although, as this paper argues, much of this thinking remains sketchy and underdeveloped. Against an empirical portrait of this relationship, the purpose of this paper is to assess such theorizing. We first set out to explicate major approaches to trust in economics, sociology and political science, using the non-profit or voluntary organization as a focal point. We then examine the various approaches in terms of their strengths and weaknesses, and, finally, identify key areas for theoretical development. In particular, we point to the social movement literature, the social psychology of trust, and recent thinking about civil society.

191 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: 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, demonstrating 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.
Abstract: 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.

175 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper assesses some of the implications of one of the major social changes to have taken place in the West during the second half of the twentieth century--that is, the increased employment of women, together with normative changes in gender relations and in women's expectations.
Abstract: This paper assesses some of the implications of one of the major social changes to have taken place in the West during the second half of the twentieth century--that is, the increased employment of women, together with normative changes in gender relations and in women's expectations. These changes have been linked to an increase in individualism, which itself is associated with the transcendence of 'first modernity'. Thus it is suggested that new approaches to social analysis are required (Beck). Here it is argued that, rather than develop completely new approaches in order to grasp the changes that are under way, the 'economic' and the 'social' (that is, employment and the family) should be seen as intertwined, rather than approached as separate phenomena. Past debates in feminism, changes in the family, and flexible employment are critically examined. The growing tensions between employment and family life are discussed. It is argued that these changes are associated with the intensification of capitalist development, rather than reflecting a fundamental transformation of society. Existing approaches to the analysis of social change, including Polanyi's analysis of the development of 'counter-movements' against the 'self-regulating' market, will, therefore, still be relevant to our enquiries. In the concluding section, a programme of research that would examine these changes is outlined.

170 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper revisits Parsons's conception of the 'sick role' and examines the relevance of his writings on the cultural understanding of sickness to the consumption of health in the contemporary era, and focuses on the development of pro-active approaches towards the healthy body, and the growth of 'information rich' consumers of health care.
Abstract: This paper revisits Parsons's conception of the 'sick role' and examines the relevance of his writings on the cultural understanding of sickness to the consumption of health in the contemporary era. In terms of current developments, I focus on the development of pro-active approaches towards the healthy body, and the growth of 'information rich' consumers of health care. These have become prominent themes in sociology, and while Parsons's writings are usually viewed as anachronistic I argue they remain highly pertinent to understanding the emergence of informed, body conscious lay people. If Parsons's analysis of health is more relevant to current circumstances than many critics assume, however, it is not unproblematic. The residual categories associated with the sick role obscure the continued utility of his work on the general cultural values informing health care. It is Parsons's analysis of these values, I suggest, that needs rescuing from restricted understandings of the sick role and highlighting as an important resource for contemporary theorists.

155 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Three major theoretical approaches to understanding occupational gender segregation are examined: human capital/rational choice, patriarchy, and preference theories are found to be inadequate; they tend to confuse overall segregation with its vertical component, and each entails a number of other faults.
Abstract: Occupational gender segregation--the tendency for women and men to work in different occupations--is an important feature of all societies, and particularly the wealthy industrialized ones. To understand this segregation, and to explain its significance, we need to distinguish between vertical segregation entailing inequality and horizontal segregation representing difference without inequality, with overall segregation being the resultant of these components. Three major theoretical approaches to understanding occupational gender segregation are examined: human capital/rational choice, patriarchy, and preference theories. All are found to be inadequate; they tend to confuse overall segregation with its vertical component, and each entails a number of other faults. It is generally assumed or implied that greater empowerment of women would reduce gender segregation. This is the reverse of what actually happens; in countries where the degree of women's empowerment is greater, the level of gender segregation is also greater. An alternative theoretical approach based on processes of social reproduction is shown to be more useful.

152 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There is currently an absence of critical debate concerning methodological issues in this field of sociological research, and the need for critical evaluation of qualitative research methodology in sociological studies of the relationship between youth culture and popular music is argued.
Abstract: In this article I argue the need for critical evaluation of qualitative research methodology in sociological studies of the relationship between youth culture and popular music. As the article illustrates, there is currently an absence of critical debate concerning methodological issues in this field of sociological research. In the first part of the article I begin to account for this absence by illustrating how early research on youth and music rejected the need for empirical research, relying instead on theories and concepts drawn from cultural Marxism. The second part of the article illustrates how the legacy of this early body of work in youth and music research manifests itself in current research which, although empirically grounded, is characterized by an almost total lack of engagement with methodological issues such as negotiating access to the field, management of field relations and ethical codes. Similarly problematic is the uncritical acceptance on the part of some researchers of their insider knowledge of particular youth musics and scenes as a means of gathering empirical data. In the final part of the article I focus on the issue of insider knowledge and the need for critical evaluation of its use as a methodological tool in field-based youth and music research.

122 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It was found that the social and civic engagement of young people who would enter higher education was higher in their late teens than that of their peers who did not enter, however, higher education had a small additional effect on civic engagement, for both young and mature students.
Abstract: This paper focuses on the relationship between social engagement, particularly civic engagement, and education. It is well known that more highly educated people are more likely to engage in voluntary work in formalized settings. It has been difficult to disentangle the effect of higher education from that of family origin and occupational socialization. This paper examines the effects of tertiary education on the social and civic engagement of young people, using the British Household Panel Study. The social and civic activity of young people is observed in their late teens, before entering the labour market or tertiary education, and compared with that of the same young people in their early 20s, after completing tertiary education courses or gaining labour market experience. It was found that the social and civic engagement of young people who would enter higher education was higher in their late teens than that of their peers who did not enter. However, higher education had a small additional effect on civic engagement, for both young and mature students. The children of professionals were the social grouping most likely to be involved in civic activities. The relationship of higher education, professional occupations and family socialization is discussed.

118 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is concluded that the traditional topics of 'work routines' and 'routinization' need to be respecified in order to take into account how any 'routine' is a contingently produced result (and in this centre, a craft-like performance).
Abstract: This naturalistic study of the ordinary work practice of sales representatives employed by the call centre of a large office-equipment company focuses on the actions of those sales reps during their calls with customers. We show how this work performance is organized through an improvisational choreography of action involving not only the turn-by-turn interchange with customers on the telephone but also the concurrent utilization of a variety of tools and artefacts. While 'improvise' and 'choreograph' may appear to be conceptually incongruent, our analysis demonstrates that even though these teleservice workers recurrently fabricate their actions out of materials and means that are conveniently on hand, the convenience is often carefully arranged to afford such extemporaneous composition. Finally, we conclude from this analysis that the traditional topics of 'work routines' and 'routinization' need to be respecified in order to take into account how any 'routine' is a contingently produced result (and in this centre, a craft-like performance).

111 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Using participant observational data generated in south-west Britain, this paper describes how the door supervisors' routine work tasks provide the conditions of possibility for hierarchical conflict and (near) violence between themselves and (potential) customers inside and at the entrances to licensed premises.
Abstract: Security work in urban licensed premises is a risky occupation in Britain's fast expanding liminal night-time economy. Sociologically, little is known about this masculinist work, including those embodied strategies used by doorstaff or 'bouncers' to regulate 'unruly' bodies in and around commercial space. Using participant observational data generated in south-west Britain, this paper describes how the door supervisors' routine work tasks (largely comprising requests and demands) provide the conditions of possibility for hierarchical conflict and (near) violence between themselves and (potential) customers inside and at the entrances to licensed premises. Besides providing a thick description of this work and the phenomenology of physical violence, the paper supports recent theoretical arguments for an explicitly embodied sociology. Centrally, the paper maintains that bodies matter and that an empirical, interpretative sociology cannot ignore the corporeal dimensions of social life if it is to arrive at an adequate understanding of everynight tensions and conflict.

82 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper offers a preliminary analysis of the recent wave of anti-corporate protest that has swept across numerous countries throughout the world, and it is argued that it should be understood as a 'field', in Pierre Bourdieu's sense of the term.
Abstract: This paper offers a preliminary analysis of the recent wave of anti-corporate protest that has swept across numerous countries throughout the world. In the first part of the paper the social structure of this phenomenon is examined. Specifically, it is argued that it should be understood as a ‘field’, in Pierre Bourdieu's sense of the term. In the second part of the paper the factors which account for the emergence of this field are explored, using a ‘value-added’ model which focuses upon the interplay of strains, situational definitions, focal events, opportunities and the circulation of protest relevant resources. The paper is conceived as a preliminary analysis which outlines a framework and draws out important themes. It is not offered as a complete account but rather as a basis from which more specific and focused studies might stem.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: When contrasted with both work group demography and traditional job and organizational characteristics, a well run organization is found to be the single most important underpinning for a meaningful and satisfying work life.
Abstract: This article tests two competing models of meaning and satisfaction at work. First, meaning and satisfaction at work can be influenced by the demographic composition of work groups, especially their racial and gender compositions. Second, meaning and satisfaction can be influenced by management behaviour, especially by leadership in maintaining a productive environment and by respect for workers' rights. We evaluate these determinants, along with more traditional determinants that focus on socio-technical characteristics, using a unique data set derived from content analysing the reports provided by book-length organizational ethnographies (N = 108). Work group composition is found to have only a minor and selective influence on meaning at work. In contrast, management leadership and respect for workers' rights are found to have much stronger and more widespread effects. The well established role of socio-technical factors such as job autonomy as foundations for meaning and satisfaction in work is also replicated in the analysis. When contrasted with both work group demography and traditional job and organizational characteristics, a well run organization is found to be the single most important underpinning for a meaningful and satisfying work life. In the concluding section we develop the implication of these findings for organizational analysis.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The data on Singapore-based and Singapore-related websites is used to show the diversity of positions expressed by civil society organizations, fringe groups and even mainstream segments of society and how developments in cyber-space have implications for 'reality'.
Abstract: Much attention has been focused on Singapore's attempt to use information technology to build a knowledge-based economy. This paper examines the implications of the unintended consequences of the Internet in the restructuring of state and society relations in Singapore. We use the data on Singapore-based and Singapore-related websites to show (a) the diversity of positions expressed by civil society organizations, fringe groups and even mainstream segments of society; (b) the negotiation process between the state and civil society over various rights and how developments in cyber-space have implications for 'reality'; (c) how censorship and content regulation itself is a more complex multi-dimensional process such that while local politics is regulated, the multi-ethnic character of the resident population has led to greater religious tolerance such that religious groups banned in some countries have found a safe haven in Singapore and have used the city-state as a strategic Internet node.

Journal ArticleDOI
Michael Lynch1
TL;DR: The present article takes its point of departure from ethnomethodology, and begins with a discussion of local problems with performing molecular biology protocols on specific occasions, and moves to particular cases in criminal law in which defense attorneys cross-examine forensic technicians and lab administrators.
Abstract: Protocols are one of the main organizational resources in molecular biology. They are written instructions that specify ingredients, equipment, and sequences of steps for making technical preparations. Some protocols are published in widely used manuals, while others are hand-written variants used by particular laboratories and individual technicians. It is widely understood, both in molecular biology and in social studies of science, that protocols do not describe exactly what practitioners do in the laboratory workplace. In social studies of science, the difference between protocols and the actual practices of doing them often is used to set up ironic contrasts between 'messy' laboratory practices and the appearance of technical order. Alternatively, in ethnomethodological studies of work, the difference is examined as a constitutive feature, both of the lived-work of doing technical projects, and of the administrative work of regulating and evaluating such projects. The present article takes its point of departure from ethnomethodology, and begins with a discussion of local problems with performing molecular biology protocols on specific occasions. The discussion then moves to particular cases in criminal law in which defense attorneys cross-examine forensic technicians and lab administrators. In these interrogations, the distinction between protocols and actual practices animates the dialogue and becomes consequential for judgments in the case at hand. The article concludes with a discussion of administrative science: the work of treating protocols and paper trails as proxies for actual 'scientific' practices.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is proposed that there is only one theory of generalized symbolic media which can be understood as a progressive research programme, in Lakatos' terms, and the hand-in-hand evolution between the theory of media and Habermas' and Luhmann's re-conceptualizations on societal differentiation in contemporary societies will be revealed.
Abstract: The problem of the differentiation of societies is at the core of the sociological imagination about the rise of modernity. In postwar sociology, T. Parsons developed the theory of generalized symbolic media in the mid-1960s to tackle, theoretically and historically, the issue of differentiation. According to him, the interchange media are defined as resources oriented to exchange processes between the subsystems of the social system. Starting with money, Parsons argues that the remaining media (power, influence, and value-commitments) have a set of characteristics defined as common properties for all media. After this first formulation, contemporary theorists such as Niklas Luhmann and Jurgen Habermas have developed and modified the Parsonian theory: Luhmann rejects the idea of interchange and proposes the use of communication; Habermas distinguishes between steering and communication media. In all three cases, the focus of the theory is on the characterization of the strongest dynamics of social co-ordination present in differentiated societies. A major result of these developments is the inclusion of new dimensions on which to conceive the properties of media, not only those of money but also language. Beyond differences, then, it is proposed that there is only one theory of generalized symbolic media which can be understood as a progressive research programme, in Lakatos’ terms. Finally, the hand-in-hand evolution between the theory of media and Habermas’ and Luhmann's re-conceptualizations on societal differentiation in contemporary societies will also be revealed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article challenges the thesis that elites commonly create or cause popular nationalism by showing numerous historical cases in which elites have promoted nationalisms that ordinary people have not adopted, or in whichordinary people have adopted a nationalism before it was taken up by elites.
Abstract: Much current theory concerning nationalism holds that elites commonly create or cause popular nationalism. In part, that thesis may be due to an overwhelming emphasis in research on nationalism on positive cases: cases where nationalism has appeared, ignoring cases where it has not. In this article, I challenge the thesis by showing numerous historical cases in which elites have promoted nationalisms that ordinary people have not adopted, or in which ordinary people have adopted a nationalism before it was taken up by elites. Even if elites do not create popular nationalism, however, they can and do shape its expression in a variety of ways, such as organizing it, providing relevant information, or providing opportunity or incentive for it. I show this through historical examples.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Re-running some of my earlier models using measures that they favour and a method designed to privilege their position demonstrate that, while class origins have some effect on class destinations, ability and effort exert a much greater effect.
Abstract: A paper by Breen and Goldthorpe recently claimed to have exposed ‘fatal flaws’ in my work on meritocracy in Britain. This paper responds to their criticisms. The results of their re-analysis of the NCDS data set are shown to be consistent with my earlier findings and arguments. Furthermore, re-running some of my earlier models using measures that they favour and a method designed to privilege their position, the results once again demonstrate that, while class origins have some effect on class destinations (in particular, for those born into the middle class), ability and effort exert a much greater effect. Based on these results, the paper identifies three core propositions about meritocracy in Britain on which all parties to this debate should now be able to agree.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is argued that while organizations cannot be said to 'think' or 'feel', they are rational and emotional, because impersonal trust, confidence and their contrary emotions are unavoidable in decision-making due to fundamental uncertainty.
Abstract: Analyses of global financial markets are dominated by atomized models of decision-making and behavioral psychology (exuberance or panic). In contrast, this paper argues that overwhelmingly, finance organizations rather than individuals make decisions, and routinely use emotions in formulating expectations. Keynes introduced emotion (business confidence and animal spirits) but in economics, emotion remains individualistic and irrational. Luhmann's system theory lies at the other extreme, where emotion like trust and confidence are central variables, functional in the reaction of complexity in sub-systems like the economy. The gap between irrational emotions aggregated to herd behavior in economics, and system trust applied to finance and money as a medium of communication in sociology, remains largely unfilled. This paper argues that while organizations cannot be said to think or feel, they are rational and emotional, because impersonal trust, confidence and their contrary emotions are unavoidable in decision-making due to fundamental uncertainty. These future-oriented emotions are prevalent within and between organizations in the financial sector, primarily in generating expectations. The dynamic of corporate activities of tense and ruthless struggle is a more plausible level of analysis than either financial manias in aggregate or system trust.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The paper examines the ways in which ideas of accountability - involving considerations such as 'value for money' - inform the practical processes of deciding about the purchase of a new database technology.
Abstract: The increasing prevalence of audit in university settings has raised concerns about the potentially adverse effects of invasive measures of performance upon the conduct of research and generation of knowledge. What sustains the current commitment to audit? It is argued that in order to address this question we need to understand how and to what extent notions of accountability are played out in practice. This is illustrated through the analysis of materials from an ethnographic study of 'good management practice' in the deployment of technologies in university settings. The paper examines the ways in which ideas of accountability - involving considerations such as 'value for money' - inform the practical processes of deciding about the purchase of a new database technology.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper examines how personnel in the operation rooms in London Underground use CCTV and related equipment to identify problems and events and to develop a co-ordinated response, and reflects on the development of information processing systems designed to automatically detect conduct and events.
Abstract: Despite the widespread deployment of CCTV through most major cities and towns in great Britain, and the importance of surveillance to contemporary debates within the social sciences, there remains relatively little detailed research concerned with the practical use of these technologies in the workplace. In this paper, we examine how personnel in the operation rooms in London Underground use CCTV and related equipment to identify problems and events and to develop a co-ordinated response. In particular, we consider how personnel configure scenes to make sense of and interpret the conduct of the travelling public in organizationally relevant ways, and how they shape the ways in which both passengers and staff see and respond to each others' actions. In addressing how personnel constitute the sense and significance of CCTV images, we reflect on the development of information processing systems which are designed to automatically detect conduct and events.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Why the late 1980s youth subculture Acid House provoked a moral panic of the scale and intensity that it did is examined through the themes of noise, the mob, and the disruption of bureaucratic authority.
Abstract: This paper examines why the late 1980s youth subculture Acid House provoked a moral panic of the scale and intensity that it did. The subculture is conceived as presenting a disruptive presence to Thatcherism as an hegemonic project. The terms under which this occurred are examined through the themes of noise, the mob, and the disruption of bureaucratic authority. The presence of Acid House within the English countryside, and in particular the Home Counties, is situated as enhancing the problematic status of the subculture. The scale of measures taken against Acid House is related to Thatcherism's 'authoritarian populism'. Acid House is located in terms of a history of similar forms of popular cultural activity. The coverage of Acid House in The Sun and The Daily Mail, and the parliamentary debate around the second reading of the Entertainments (Increased Penalties) Act, are drawn upon throughout.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Using an index based on seven elements of positivist that were characteristic of the 'theory construction' movement of the late 1960s, the authors find evidence of the effects of time and nation on the use of positivism.
Abstract: Positivism has been declared dead in sociological theory circles, yet questions remain as to its viability among researchers. The authors present diagnostic evidence about positivism in sociological practice through a content analysis of journal articles published in the late 1960s and the late 1980s in the sociological journals of the USA and Britain. Using an index based on seven elements of positivism that were characteristic of the 'theory construction' movement of the late 1960s, the authors find evidence of the effects of time and nation on the use of positivism. Disaggregation of the index reveals that most of the observed change is associated with the elements of 'instrumental' positivism, particularly statistics. The results raise questions about the relationship between theory and research and about sociologists' philosophies of science.

Journal Article
TL;DR: The ongoing retreat from class analysis can be attributed to the declining appeal of aggregated representations of class coupled with the virtual absence of any disaggregate alternatives as discussed by the authors, when local solidarities are ignored, the weakness of conventional aggregate models is easily misinterpreted as evidence of generic destructuration, and standard postmodernist formulations are accordingly difficult to resist.
Abstract: The ongoing retreat from class analysis can be attributed to the declining appeal of aggregated representations of class coupled with the virtual absence of any disaggregate alternatives. When local solidarities are ignored, the weakness of conventional aggregate models is easily misinterpreted as evidence of generic destructuration, and standard postmodernist formulations are accordingly difficult to resist. Although local structuration is often regarded as sociologically trivial, the available evidence suggests that such class analytic processes as closure, exploitation, and collective action emerge more clearly at the level of disaggregate occupations than conventional aggregate classes.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Critiquant la these meritocratique de Peter Saunders sur des bases methodologiques, les AA rappellent que la capacite and the motivation jouent un role dans le processus de classe ou dans the reussite professionnelle, and les qualifications scolaires une part plus importante encore.
Abstract: Critiquant la these meritocratique de Peter Saunders sur des bases methodologiques, les AA. rappellent que la capacite et la motivation jouent un role dans le processus de classe ou dans la reussite professionnelle, et les qualifications scolaires une part plus importante encore. Mais, ils soulignent que ces effets du merite operent parallelement a d'autres effets de classe, qui font que les recompenses liees au merite dependent de l'origine sociale

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is argued that a range of communicative formats serve to produce the activities associated with police murder investigations in a way that serves to legitimate the police function to both members of the public and police officers alike.
Abstract: This paper draws upon a range of empirical data to consider the ways in which police murder investigations are symbolically constructed, both within and outside of the police organization. It is argued that a range of communicative formats serve to produce the activities associated with police murder investigations in a way that serves to legitimate the police function to both members of the public and police officers alike. A particular emphasis is placed upon understanding the connections between informal and formal communications, and the instrumental and expressive objectives that variously underpin them.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Data is used to show that there has been no major shift in the distribution of graduates in the British labour market, that career starts are increasingly at a lower status point, and that there is a negative effect of graduate density on wages.
Abstract: The expansion of higher education is often viewed as reflecting increased demand for skills, whether related to technological change or the growing complexity of the economy. It is also linked to widening pay differentials between the poorly and highly educated. There are reasons, however, to question these associations. Even if demand for graduates is growing the supply of graduates might as a result of the status derived from having a degree still exceed this. The demand for graduates itself need not be wholly tied in with upgrading of the labour force. Graduates could be part of a more flexible workforce who increasingly undertake non-graduate work, thus downgrading their labour-market position. LFS (Labour Force Survey) and BHPS (British Household Panel Study) data are used to show that there has been no major shift in the distribution of graduates in the British labour market, that career starts are increasingly at a lower status point, and that there is a negative effect of graduate density on wages. There are also redistributional effects. There has been a large increase in the social demand for higher education by women, and they have gained from this expansion while men have lost out. In addition, graduate density is positive for non-graduates, who gain from the reduced rewards accruing to graduates. The results call into question the simple idea of a trend towards a demand for increasing levels of skills and qualifications. More attention should be paid to the distribution of skills and to complex interactions within this.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: L'A discute ici des ecrits de Clarissa Hawyard a propos du concept d'autorite au sein de l'institution scolaire a propos ofisant les notions of pouvoir, liberte and de responsabilite and leur signification sociale au seIn de nos societes contemporaines.
Abstract: Dans cet article, l'A fait part de ses reflexions concernant les notions de pouvoir , de liberte et de responsabilite et leur signification sociale au sein de nos societes contemporaines. L'A discute ici des ecrits de Clarissa Hawyard a propos du concept d'autorite au sein de l'institution scolaire


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The paper seeks to show how, just as in popular discourse around 'class', stereotypes are used to simplify and summarize a complex set of related characteristics, so similarly ideal types, as used in class analysis, are an over-simplification.
Abstract: Several recent articles seeking to validate the Goldthorpe class schema have implicitly raised some interesting questions about the relation between analytical techniques and theory. The favoured technique of latent class analysis actually brings this variety of class analysis close to the much older tradition of ideal-type analysis. In doing so, it helps to illustrate a much wider problem that arises in any conceptualization in terms of classes. The paper seeks to show how, just as in popular discourse around 'class', stereotypes are used to simplify and summarize a complex set of related characteristics, so similarly ideal types, as used in class analysis, are an over-simplification. As elsewhere in social science, the danger of using them is that they serve to protect a theoretical concept from empirical refutation. An alternative 'research programme' to that of class analysis is presented, based on measures of stratification arrangements that are more closely linked to the reproducing structure of inequalities.