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Showing papers in "International Review of Sociology in 2013"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a family context is characterized by a complex web of relationships, which goes beyond the household boundaries, and individuals develop meaningful relationships with non-residenti cation.
Abstract: Contemporary family contexts are characterized by a complex web of relationships, which goes beyond the household boundaries. Indeed, individuals develop meaningful relationships with non-residenti...

48 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article explored the concept of a family-work project through a qualitative longitudinal study of British lone mothers and their children, starting as the mothers took up work and following the families for four to five years.
Abstract: When a mother starts work, her daily life changes in various ways: time, money, relationships, quality of life, and well-being are all subject to modification and potentially greater uncertainty. This is also true for her children, who must adapt to changed circumstances and perhaps play a different role within the family as a consequence. Sustaining work and care over time means that the situation of being a working family must become part of the everyday and regular practice of the family, and this actively involves all family members. This article explores this concept of a ‘family-work project’ through a qualitative longitudinal study of British lone mothers and their children, starting as the mothers took up work and following the families for four to five years. The research captured the experiences of the families as they negotiated the demands of sustaining employment while living on a low, but complex, income.

44 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors outline the ways in which the cohort born immediately following the Second World War illustrates changes in consumption patterns within their lives, and suggest that this cohort is more likely to be overweight.
Abstract: This paper outlines the ways in which the cohort born immediately following the Second World War illustrates changes in consumption patterns within their lives. The paper suggests that this cohort ...

34 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors found that men are engaging in a greater variety of discursive practices than have been discussed so far, but their findings do not point to a clear-cut typology with regards to hegemonic and alternative masculinitie.
Abstract: As childcare workers, men are in a contested position. On the one hand, they are in danger of being depicted as the pedophile; on the other hand, they are expected to bring something new and innovative to the thus-far female-dominated field. These men are experiencing ‘identity dissonance’ and have to find ways to manage and facilitate legitimate subject positions as both childcare workers and as men. Applying a perspective of discursive positioning, this article discusses men's positioning practices in nine qualitative interviews conducted with male childcare workers in German-speaking Switzerland. We identified a total of six discursive practices that men engage in to manage identity dissonance and construct a legitimate subject position. We found that men are engaging in a greater variety of practices than have been discussed so far. Unlike findings from other studies of men in female-dominated occupations, ours do not point to a clear-cut typology with regards to hegemonic and alternative masculinitie...

32 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a qualitative research on men as kindergarten teachers was conducted, where the authors analyzed how men in this profession construct masculinity while working with children and during interaction with (mostly female) colleagues, parents, and in the interview situation.
Abstract: In Germany about 3%–5% of kindergarten teachers1 (for children aged 3–6) are men (BMFSFJ 2010). In this qualitative research on men as kindergarten teachers I analyzed how men in this profession construct masculinity while working with children and during interaction with (mostly female) colleagues, parents, and in the interview situation. Therefore, 10 men teachers were observed for one day in their working environment and interviewed in qualitative interviews. One main theoretical implication was the concept of ‘doing gender’ (e.g. West and Zimmerman 1987, Gildemeister 2004), which was adopted to understand the ‘doing masculinity’ of these men. Another theoretical basis is the concept of hegemonic masculinities by Raewyn Connell (1987, 2006), which was used, critically discussed, and as a result re-conceptualized. The discussion of the theoretical implications and the analysis of the empirical material showed that Connell's theory misses a type of masculinity that opposes hegemonic masculinity, just as ...

29 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
Anneli Kaasa1
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated how various aspects related to religion are related to different dimensions of social capital, based on the latest data from the European Values Study, and concluded that religion is highly related to social capital.
Abstract: This exploratory study investigates how various aspects related to religion are related to different dimensions of social capital, based on the latest data from the European Values Study. The study intends to include as many religion-related variables as possible and to cover all main dimensions of social capital. In addition to regression analysis, cluster analysis is used for further exploration of religious composition and its consequences for social capital. The broadest conclusions are that religion is highly related to social capital, but the cognitive dimensions of social capital seem to have a closer relationship with social capital than the structural dimensions. Also, many relationships may be overlooked if not enough different religion-related aspects and social capital dimensions are analysed.

25 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, two major surveys, carried out in Portugal, on the inclusion of families and individuals in social networks of support and affinity are compared from a comparative perspective which, while stressing their different but connected conceptual orientations, compares each one's methodological strategies and operationalization procedures.
Abstract: This article presents two major surveys, carried out in Portugal, on the inclusion of families and individuals in social networks of support and affinity. The first, dating from 1999, sought comprehensively to reconstruct families' social networks by mapping effective support relations. The second survey, fielded in 2009–10, followed a family configuration perspective which sought to reconstruct individuals' networks of close relationships, and the issue of informal support only arose as providing further insight into the characteristics of personal networks. Both surveys will be analysed from a comparative perspective which, while stressing their different but connected conceptual orientations, compares each one's methodological strategies and operationalization procedures. Finally, the main results of each survey are outlined, leading to a brief discussion of the ways in which the two surveys complement each other.

22 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article explored how national male care workers in child and elder care in Slovenia employ a strategy of professionalisation and a vision of care entrepreneurship in order to distance themselves from the feminised and racialised norms and practices of car...
Abstract: The theorisation of informal care markets from the perspective of global care chains focuses on the feminisation and racialisation of the field. Some recent research does, however, also discuss male migrant care workers, while national male care workers in informal care markets remain overlooked. The entrance of men into such an extremely feminised and racialised field as care work in private homes represents a challenge to masculinity. If the vulnerable and subordinate position of migrant men in European labour markets provides an explanation for their gender-untraditional choice of work, this, however, does not explain what drives national men into the informal care market, nor how they negotiate their masculinity. Drawing on individual interviews, the article explores how national male care workers in child and elder care in Slovenia employ a strategy of professionalisation and a vision of care entrepreneurship in order to distance themselves from the feminised and racialised norms and practices of car...

22 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: For quite some time, experts and policy-makers in Western societies have been looking at young people with concern, extending their analysis from the potential for conflict and divergence, to socio-cultural dynamics and inter-generational relations.
Abstract: For quite some time, experts and policy-makers in Western societies have been looking at young people with concern, extending their analysis from the potential for conflict and divergence, to socio-cultural dynamics and inter-generational relations. There is certainly intense debate as to how close or distant young people are to forms and content of citizenship as experienced in the creation of modern democracy. Such a debate, developed at both the institutional and the scientific level, focuses particularly on concepts of participation and active citizenship and identifies in the civic engagement and participatory citizenship of young people the key factors for the maintenance of democracy and social cohesion. By bringing to light the meanings, implications, and ambivalences of the concepts at the centre of the debate, also with a view to European policies, the article aims at highlighting rhetoric, voids, and emerging contradictions and pointing out questions and possible research paths.

17 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The focus of this International Review of Sociology (IRS) special issue is to observe and discuss how masculinity is performed by men who work in "non-traditional" occupations as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The focus of this International Review of Sociology (IRS) special issue is to observe and discuss how masculinity is performed by men who work in ‘non-traditional’ occupations. By discussing how ma...

13 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a micro-sociological analysis focuses on the cases of Egyptian, Albanian, Bangladeshi, Palestinian, and Philippine immigrants in Athens and how the frame of their work and their employment affects their participation in their immigrant work associations.
Abstract: The article centres on the repercussions low-prestige work has on the collective organization and representation of immigrant workers. This micro-sociological analysis focuses on the cases of Egyptian, Albanian, Bangladeshi, Palestinian, and Philippine immigrants in Athens and how the frame of their work and their employment affects their participation in their immigrant work associations. Evidence from in-depth interviews proves that the majority of immigrants do not claim established workers' rights and do not seek membership in any unions. On the contrary, they rely on a network of friends and relatives for support and develop individual behaviours and alternative solutions to achieve survival and protection.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the lack of interest that mass media agenda-setting shows to this issue and propose that the advantages of both development and globalization are not equally distributed from a geographic point of view, and the gap between the rich and the poor is getting deeper.
Abstract: In contemporary society, which is also defined as global risk society, the water crisis plays a controversial but decisive role in comparison with other kinds of risk (health care, environmental, financial, warlike). However, the sociological debate does not confer to the world water crisis the right significance: the essay precisely highlights this lack and focuses on the hypothesis that it could be also connected to the lack of interest that mass media agenda-setting shows to this issue. The result is that, in most cases, industrialized countries show an irresponsible approach towards a resource which is so precious for the simple fact that it is exhaustible. Furthermore, the advantages of both development and globalization are not equally distributed from a geographic point of view, and the gap between the ‘rich’ and the ‘poor’ is getting deeper and deeper also within this phenomenon. According to the author's perspective, it would be reasonable to talk about a water divide and assume a sustainable dev...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In Austria, parental leave benefit legislation has shifted from an employment-related benefit to a nearly universal and then to a mixed system of five different benefit rates of income-related and flat-rate models with four different maximum lengths, and with a longer spell if two partners share childcare leave in Austria as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Since 2000, parental leave benefit legislation has shifted from an employment-related benefit to a nearly universal and then to a mixed system of five different benefit rates of income-related and flat-rate models with four different maximum lengths, and with a longer spell if two partners share childcare leave in Austria. The diversification leads to the questions: what determines parents' choice of a certain model, and what are the implications of such a diverse system for social and gender equality? The parents' choice depends on income, employment status, region, and relationship status and thus is restrained. The models further social and gendered stratification, as they still serve a conservative male breadwinner family as well as a modernised dual breadwinner one and, to a lesser degree, an adult worker. In contrast, low-income (single) parents receive more individualised treatment and have to engage in employment sooner than other groups.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argued that new theoretical positions, mnemonically indicated by the prefixes post, reflexive, late, and liquid, tend to challenge the adequacy of classical notions about youth as a transitional phase of life, and life-course as a series of stages, linear, cumulative, and non-reversible.
Abstract: This paper makes a critical appraisal of the contemporary sociological conceptualisations around the study of social transformations and youth transitions. It is argued that new theoretical positions, mnemonically indicated by the prefixes post, reflexive, late, and liquid, tend to challenge the adequacy of classical notions about ‘youth’ as a transitional phase of life, and life-course as a series of stages, linear, cumulative, and non-reversible. Conversely, the post/late variety theories draw upon flexibility, diversity and communication, decentralisation, internationalisation, and de-traditionalisation, reflexivity and individualisation. By repercussion, the ‘take-off’ from childhood to adulthood is increasingly understood as non-linear and heterogeneous. Indeed, youth is conceptualised as one identity amongst many, which may be adopted or dropped at will – something highly contested and fluid, rather than static and given. This paper is divided into seven sections. It begins by considering the litera...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse the underlying dynamics of this phenomenon in the Italian context, according to the characteristics and points of view of different generations of social workers, and find that the perception of social work as a matter of gender is stronger among younger social workers and that the younger generations appear to be less oriented towards equal gender roles.
Abstract: Social work is a gendered activity in terms both of its workforce and of the students who enter this profession. In this paper we analyse the underlying dynamics of this phenomenon in the Italian context, according to the characteristics and points of view of different generations of social workers. Data from a 2008 survey of 1000 interviews and 50 in-depth informant interviews are considered. Two multinomial linear models have been included in order to analyse the perceptions of younger and older social workers with regard to social work as ‘female work’ or ‘male work’. The results show that the perception of social work as a matter of gender is stronger among younger social workers, and that the younger generations appear to be less oriented towards equal gender roles. Longer work experience contributes to explaining different gender models. The chronological age of social workers, however, seems to be a less important variable in explaining the differences between generations.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The cultural outcomes of social movements have rarely been explored by scientists, except by very few scholars, even though cultural modifications were actually considered one of the most important goals by the activists as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The cultural outcomes of social movements have rarely been explored by scientists, except by very few scholars, even though cultural modifications were actually considered one of the most important goals by the activists. These kinds of outcomes are usually not direct, nor do they have short-term effects; they produce long-range effects that could involve other social spaces and could also produce unanticipated consequences. The principal aim of this work, after a concise theoretical overview on the relationship between social change and social movements, is to investigate through a narrative and qualitative approach the outcomes, successes, and failures of the feminist movement in Sicily. Particular attention will be paid to the relationships between stated goals and achieved outcomes, the unintended and unexpected outcomes of the purposive goals and actions of the activists, and the current social representation of women that in part stems from the feminist struggle. The results of the interviews will b...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the structure of individuals' family networks as circles of non-cohabitant relatives which are kept active by relations, expectations, and mutual services.
Abstract: Family networks are a key resource for care in Spain, but this does not mean that they are explained by tradition or ideology. In fact, they are playing an important role in family change towards the dual-earner model supporting the involvement of mothers in paid work. The article analyses the structure of individuals' family networks as circles of non-cohabitant relatives which are kept active by relations, expectations, and mutual services. The information is based on the Family Networks Survey of Andalusia done in 2005 in this Spanish region to a wide sample of 10,000 interviewees.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, two surveys, Proches et parents in 1990 and Biographies et entourage in 2001, use new concepts to address these new family realities: the local family circle which, for an individual, includes family members living in the same municipality, with whom he/she has a close and strong relationship in terms of mutual support and regular contact, and the concept of entourage (contact circle), which includes close relatives, all co-resident persons, whether relatives or not, but also significant others who have marked the individual's life.
Abstract: With the increase in separations, family recomposition, and new modes of cohabitation, the contours of the family have become less clearly defined. It has become important to separate the family group from its statistical framework – the household – while taking account, in both time and space, of the interpersonal relationships built up over the life-course. In response to these objectives, the French National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED) conducted two surveys, Proches et Parents in 1990 and Biographies et Entourage in 2001, which use new concepts to address these new family realities: the local family circle which, for an individual, includes family members living in the same municipality, with whom he/she has a close and strong relationship in terms of mutual support and regular contact, and the concept of entourage (contact circle), which includes close relatives, all co-resident persons, whether relatives or not, but also significant others who have marked the individual's life. Far from b...

Journal ArticleDOI
Olle Frödin1
TL;DR: The authors discusses the question of when generalizations risk compromising the utility and accuracy of a theory and seeks to show how a balance can be struck between generalized and context-specific analyses in disciplines like international sociology, political economy, and comparative politics.
Abstract: This paper discusses the question of when generalizations risk compromising the utility and accuracy of a theory and seeks to show how a balance can be struck between generalized and context-specific analyses in disciplines like international sociology, political economy, and comparative politics. For this purpose, the paper reviews three theoretical approaches to agri-food system change, placed at different levels on the ladder of generality. It then considers these approaches in relation to India's changing agri-food system. Finally, the paper discusses the general and the particularistic features of the Indian case and examines their implications for theories relating to global governance and international political economy.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse social inclusion from two distinct points of view: the economic idea of exchange, and the ethical concept of "hospitality" in social relations, and highlight the limits and contradictions that beset this paradigm, when it imposes itself onto the entire range of social relationships.
Abstract: The aim of this essay is to analyse social inclusion from two distinct points of view. On the one hand, in order to underline the complex nature of the paradigm of social inclusion, we will sketch a critical approach to the notion of exchange, a notion which has had an enormous influence on the field of social relations at large. On the other hand, we wish to explore also the ethical concept, and jurical practice, of ‘hospitality’. This is particularly important today because of the growing magnitude of globalisation and migration, phenomena which define the ways in which ‘outsiders’ relate to each other in many contemporary societies. The paper analyses the issue of social inclusion under two distinct headings. The first, which involves a critique of the economic idea of exchange, attempts to highlight the limits and contradictions that beset this paradigm, which has become such an intrinsic aspect of our lives today, when it imposes itself onto the entire range of social relationships. Under the second ...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors illustrate the extent and scope of this task and the types of actions that migrants have started up in different countries of the world in general, and the cases of Morocco and Mexico in particular, to examine the achievements and limitations of both states' policies and migrants' associations in regard to their involvement in local development initiatives.
Abstract: In many developing countries, migrants play an important role by supporting their local communities in their places of origin. An extensive literature has made visible their contribution to local development, thus revealing their involvement in the provision of social services or the construction of infrastructures. In this paper we illustrate the extent and scope of this task and the types of actions that migrants have started up in different countries of the world in general, and the cases of Morocco and Mexico in particular, to examine the achievements and limitations of both states' policies and migrants' associations in regard to their involvement in local development initiatives.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider a question des instruments and procedures d'observation auxquels peuvent avoir recours les chercheurs pour saisir le monde social.
Abstract: Cet article s'interesse a la question des instruments et procedures d'observation auxquels peuvent avoir recours les chercheurs pour « saisir » le monde social. Il s'agira de reflechir au probleme de la distance que permettent, ou non, d'etablir divers modes de recueil des donnees entre le chercheur et son objet d'etude. Dans ce contexte, il semble important de distinguer les methodes qui permettent a l'observateur de se mettre a distance de ce qu'il regarde (reculer pour mieux voir), et celles qui le conduisent, au contraire, a s'en rapprocher (se tenir au plus pres). Nous montrerons que si ces deux regards sur le monde social peuvent etre consideres comme irreductibles, rien n'oblige pour autant a les considerer comme incompatibles. La relation entre les diverses methodes peut se caracteriser par une complementarite et un eclairage mutuel.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an analysis of the relationship between young people and alcohol and drug use, examining both their attitudes and behaviors, based on statistics collected through a structured-questionnaire survey of 1071 students from the secondary schools of Rome and the Province.
Abstract: The article presents an analysis of the relationship between young people and alcohol and drug use, examining both their attitudes and behaviors. The analysis is based on statistics collected through a structured-questionnaire survey of 1071 students from the secondary schools of Rome and the Province. The first part of the article examines patterns and levels of alcohol and drug use and typical places of use. The central part is dedicated to the perceptions and opinions on alcohol and drugs, with particular regard to the dimensions of risk and sociality, and to the different roles of school and family in raising risk awareness. Sociality appears as a crucial element in young people's tendency to associate alcohol and drugs with an effect of relaxation and disinhibition that makes social relations easier. The article finally examines the relationship between young people and social norms, identifying transgressive models and habits. On the whole, the study highlights a connection between alcohol and drug ...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the main factors that shape the perceptions of ethnic and racial discrimination among immigrants living in the Oeiras municipality in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, based on a quantitative analysis of a survey of 422 immigrants, of whom approximately half reported having been discriminated against since their arrival in Portugal.
Abstract: In Portugal, studies on discrimination against immigrants have focused almost exclusively either on the indigenous population, or on the foreign population The former have tended to deploy quantitative and extended methodologies, while the latter studies have opted predominantly for qualitative or intensive methodologies, focusing on particular groups There are few studies in which the immigrant population is extensively surveyed, covering its diverse origins, life trajectories, and social position in the host societyIn this analysis we examine the main factors that shape the perceptions of ethnic and racial discrimination among immigrant groups living in the Oeiras municipality in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area This analysis is based on a quantitative analysis of a survey of 422 immigrants, of whom approximately half reported having been discriminated against since their arrival in Portugal The study is focused on three main explanations related to predictive variables: sociographic, acculturation/cul

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The issue of family-employment reconciliation has rapidly evolved from being ignored to a certain deja vu perception in public debate, as a result of its media success during the last decade.
Abstract: The issue of family–employment reconciliation has rapidly evolved from being ignored to a certain deja vu perception in public debate, as a result of its media success during the last decade. This is even more the case in Spain, where it was only in the late 1990s, when a law was passed to regulate and extend parental and other leave for workers with close relatives in need of care, that reconciliation policies began to be generally discussed and considered. In a context of quick population aging as a consequence of low fertility, concern on labor force supply in the middle term is high on the agenda. Women are increasingly considered to be necessary both as workers and mothers (of future workers), thus raising awareness of the importance of social policies to make their double presence in both worlds possible. There is now general agreement from the right to the left on the urgency to develop family–employment policies. But what is not generally addressed is the impact of such policies on gender equality...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors analyzed the common sentiment created around the so-called Arab spring, upon the basis of a narrative developed and disseminated by the mass media as well as in the specialist literature with regard to these complex, varied, and consequential events.
Abstract: The paper analyses the common sentiment created around the so-called Arab spring, upon the basis of a narrative developed and disseminated by the mass media as well as in the specialist literature with regard to these complex, varied, and consequential events. It concerns a vision which gathers and promotes an awakening of social dignity through actions of popular revolt and protest, a demand for political change which has cost the peace and lives of too many people, of entire societies.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a comparison between 54 interviews with male and female migrant domestic workers, drawing on an intersectional approach based on gender and nationality, was conducted to understand how moving across borders, living in a host society, and working in a non-traditional job can reshape male immigrants' gender division perceptions.
Abstract: Domestic labour is considered a typical female job, and due to the arrival of large migration flows to Italy it has experienced a massive ethnicized connotation, peculiar of this sector. This paper focuses on how a double and subaltern condition of belonging to a ‘minority group’ affects gender perceptions of male migrant domestic workers and how they construct their masculinity.This research is based on a comparison between 54 interviews with male and female migrant domestic workers, drawing on an intersectional approach based on gender and nationality. It shows how moving across borders, living in a host society, and working in a non-traditional job can reshape male immigrants' gender division perceptions, often in contradictory and unexpected ways. It also emerges how the ‘racial glass escalator’ allows reaffirmation of characteristics tied to the privileges of masculinity and furnishes an important and useful framework in which to analyse the experience of men in ‘female’ occupations.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results show that the rise of individualism associated with the baby boomers has not weakened inter-generational ties, although tensions exist between the demands of family solidarity and individual projects.
Abstract: The post-war generation of baby boomers has witnessed major transformations in family life as well as being at the vanguard of them. A study undertaken in Paris and London in 2006 among 90 individuals born between 1945 and 1954 reveals, however, strong relationships with ageing parents and adult children. Family groups based on local or dispersed entourages, with regular contact and the exchange of support, are clearly identified. Other configurations include families where affective ties persist but contact between the baby boomers and their entourage is less frequent. Few baby boomers have replaced family members with friends or remain socially isolated. These results show that the rise of individualism associated with the baby boomers has not weakened inter-generational ties, although tensions exist between the demands of family solidarity and individual projects.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In Quebec, the 2004 survey Biographies et solidarites familiales (Biographies and family solidarity in Quebec) was the first quantitative survey to deal with the question of the diverse forms of family solidarity as they have changed over time and in line with modifications in family, work, and public policies as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In Quebec, the 2004 survey Biographies et solidarites familiales (‘biographies and family solidarity in Quebec’) was the first quantitative survey to deal with the question of the diverse forms of family solidarity as they have changed over time and in line with modifications in family, work, and public policies. Our purpose here is to present the survey itself along with a certain number of its results. The latter bear, on the one hand, on what we have termed Quebec ‘family solidarity spaces’, referring by that to the structural data previous to forms of solidarity as we know them now and, on the other hand, on the changes in the provision of early childhood care over three generations.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The phenomenon that occurred with the restoration of Ecce Homo in Borja (Zaragoza) has not gone unnoticed by the mass media in countries around the world since a small notice of this restoration appeared in the blog of the Borjans Studies Center in early August 2012 as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The phenomenon that occurred with the restoration of Ecce Homo in Borja (Zaragoza) has not gone unnoticed by the mass media in countries around the world since a small notice of this restoration appeared in the blog of the Borjans’ Studies Center in early August 2012. Thus, the paper aims to deepen the triple determination that we believe has caused an isolated incident to become a worldwide media boom. We refer to the phenomenon on the communicative global level, its collaborative or dialogued nature, and the interaction that has been generated by the creators and observers. From here we reflect on the social phenomenon that this new pictorial creation has generated both from the mass media and from various samples of creativity and different conceptions of art.