Showing papers in "International Review of Sociology in 2017"

Beyond black and white: the role of media in portraying and policing migration and asylum in Italy

Abstract: This paper investigates the media’s role in shaping perceptions and policies concerning the so-called migrant crisis as well as how this affects solidarity with newcomers, specifically focusing on Italy The first part of the paper examines the coexistence of the humanitarian narratives of saving lives and the spectacle of militarised borders It unveils how the daily transmission of sensationalist and stereotyped images of migrants contributes to their transforming into subjects and objects of fear, both experiencing the fear of being rejected and eliminated and inspiring fear in the resident populations The second part addresses the need for innovative approaches in the construction of a positive public image of migrants and refugees Through an analysis of several communication campaigns, realised by state and non-state actors for the promotion of social coexistence between citizens and newcomers, this paper calls for a fundamental shift in the way we communicate about migration A concluding

Collectivism and reporting of organizational wrongdoing in public organizations: the case of county administration in Kenya

Abstract: This paper explores dimensions of collectivism to explain patterns of reporting organizational wrongdoing in public organizations. The findings herein illustrate that responses to wrongdoing in public organizations in developing countries like Kenya are more rationalized or interpreted within communitarian or supported by parochial social ideologies, which tend to override instrumental accountability norms and structures. Accordingly, responses towards organizational wrongdoing are more informed by the logic of appropriateness, as potential and actual complainants prefer informal channels for addressing organizational wrongdoing over formal reporting mechanisms. These findings present important insights for designing accountability mechanisms or anti-corruption strategies in public organizations. With a focus on unfamiliar settings to the literature on ethical culture, the paper rides on its in-depth analysis while contributing to the current research on organizational behavior and decision-making.

The reification of celebrity: global newspaper coverage of the death of David Bowie*

Abstract: This paper examines global English-language newspaper coverage of the death of David Bowie Drawing upon the concept of reification, it is argued that the notion of celebrity is discursively (re)produced and configured through a ‘public face’ that is defined, maintained and shaped via media reports and public responses that aim to know and reflect upon celebrity The findings highlight how Bowie’s reification was supported by discourses that represented him as an observable, reified form Here, Bowie’s ‘reality’, that is, his authentic/veridical self, was obscured behind a facade of mediation, interpretation and representation that debated and decided his ‘authenticity’ as a cultural icon Such debates, however, were engagements with a reified image, enveloped in continual (re)interpretation As a result, Bowie’s reification was grounded in a polysemous process that allowed numerous versions of ‘himself’ to be aesthetically reimagined, reinvented and repeated

Policing gender mobilities: interrogating the ‘feminisation of migration’ to Europe

Abstract: This article proposes a gendered critique of the European Neighbourhood Policy, a framework that, amongst other things, aims to facilitate the mobility of migrants to the EU from the bordering countries. We highlight the ambivalences of European gender and migration regimes, and we take issue with the celebration of the ‘feminisation of migration’. The former fails to offer opportunities to women to safely embark on autonomous migratory projects, the latter contributes to reproduce traditional gender biases in the countries of origin as well as of destination. We conclude by suggesting that the EU critique to emigration countries for failing to tackle women’s discrimination is less than persuasive when assessed vis-a-vis with the curtailment on women’s independent mobility across European borders.

A plea to end Platonist theology posing as the Science of Religion: religion as a cultural system reasserted

Abstract: Despite several complaints that what passes for Religious Studies represents liberal theology in disguise, the reworked Platonist religion of the twentieth century, which drives that theology, remains to be adequately exposed. This needs to be done if the Science of Religion is to recognize its own origins, and so at last move on to the non-theological cultural studies science that has been in preparation. The first half of this article elicits the Platonist faith enjoyed by Max Muller and illustrates the consistent application of religious anthropology to the present day through key figures such as Mircea Eliade, Peter Berger and Robert Bellah. The conclusion of this review confirms that the Science of Religion has been a confession of faith in disguise: it is Platonist theology posing as the Science of Religion. The second half of the article proposes a clear distinction between the two methodologically incommensurate perspectives of Platonist Science of Religion, and (Humanist) Culture Science ...

Flexibility and work-family balance: a win-win solution for companies? The case of Italy

Abstract: Flexibility of working time is currently coming to the fore, with varying degrees of intensity, in European countries. After a brief analysis of flexibility (origin, characteristics, spread) in Europe, this paper will focus in particular on the Italian case by presenting a phenomenon attracting growing attention: ‘Smart Working.’ This is an innovative approach to work organisation that integrates and exceeds concepts such as teleworking and mobile working, thus questioning traditional constraints (such as physical space or work times and tools) and seeking new balances based on greater freedom for workers, as well as their empowerment. By taking advantage of two recent empirical investigations carried out in Italy (2011–2012) we could illustrates the relevance of S.W. in terms of both aspiration and practice, and its high incidence on core issues such as care, fertility rate, and the daily challenge of balancing family and work. In light of this, we tried to discover whether and under what conditi...

Logic of order: state hierarchy, law, sovereignty, and war

Abstract: While natural sciences such as physics hold causality for granted as one of the most fundamental principles to make adequate theories of the real world, social sciences, first of all, sociology have not this advantage. Of course, humans are subjected to causality insofar as they are physical entities too, but moreover they are endowed with free will that essentially complicates their behavior and social activity. Unlike causality, logistics should take the same place in social sciences. Conscious beings behave rationally and act logistically as well as they possess some physical experience (including causality) and socially structured knowledge. Thus, free will is restricted not only by causality and other physical laws but also logistics. This paper argues for a logistical approach to the society and models the state as a power hierarchy (mathematical ideal). The state can exist, function, and be stable over time only as a hierarchy. Then sovereignty emerges as a logistical phenomenon whose ‘dyna...

Family is NOT an institution: distinguishing institutions from organisations in social science and social theory

Abstract: This paper addresses the use, and potential misuse, of the ‘institution’ as a key concept in sociology. The concept of the ‘institution’ is interrogated using ‘family’ as an example and new institutional economics (NIE) as a crucible. The sociological understanding of family as an ‘institution’ is challenged by the distinction between ‘institutions’ and ‘organisations’ in NIE. The blurring of generic non-sociological terms with critical sociological concepts causes confusion between institutions and organisations. This is highly problematic for understanding social change in increasingly complex systems. I conclude that the contextual embedding of sociological concepts remains important to the appropriate use of the term ‘institution’ in the social sciences.

Young Muslim women of Bengali and Moroccan origin in Italy: multiple belongings, transnational trajectories and the emergence of European Islam

Abstract: This paper investigates the multiple dimensions in the identity constructions of the daughters of the Muslim migrations to Italy. It focuses on the transformations in the way girls and young women relate to religion, in the transition from the generation of mothers, who emigrated from countries with a Muslim majority, to the generation of daughters, who grow up in a European context where Islam is a minority religion. It discusses ‘transmissions’, ‘translations’ and ‘betrayals’ in the migration experience, from a standpoint which highlights the specificities of gender and of generation. The article is based on an intersectional analysis of biographical accounts by Muslim girls and young women of Bengali and Moroccan origin who were born and/or grew up in Italy. Intersecting religious identity with other identity lines such as national belonging (to the parents’ country of origin and to the country where they were born or grew up), gender, class, color and age, multiple reactions and positions emer...

On suicide bombings : questioning rationalist models and logics of gender

Abstract: The theories of rational choice have been widely used in analysing suicide bombings. Such a use is here critically examined along three lines. First, the limits of this theoretical framework when applied to sacrificial violence are assessed and especially the internal contradictions which appear with the notion of ‘symbolic posthumous rewards’. Second, differences emerge in the use of rational choice theory when the focus is upon female suicide bombers. Indeed, deprivation theories come then to the fore, the idea of personal crisis and the impact of patriarchal social relationships. This switch in the analysis, which does not seem based on differences in the data, confirms gender studies which underline the specific difficulty to envisage female political violence. Finally, to go beyond both reductionisms, a compared analysis of suicide attacks in Chechnya, Iraq and Israel/Palestine is proposed. It aims at restituting the context of action and the narratives at work, making a clear distinction bet...

Human rights through the paradigm changes of the social communication theories

Abstract: Human rights (HR), from the perspective of interest and thematic selection, are recognized in the topics of the communication. In general, there is considered to be a positive relationship between the media and its function of mediation with citizenship in reference to the declared general principles since inception in 1948. With this approach, the paper deals with providing an updated reflection of that connection and its main difficulties, such as the crisis of credibility in the information in the context of the European Union and within the framework of the paradigm changes that has derived in the knowledge society of the so-called third environment. The precepts of those recognized as generations of HR survive in the informational stories, of which, due to their current relevance in recent decades, those related to migratory movements, inequality, and poverty stands out. Moreover, the paper explores and discusses how a new generation derived from the implementation and intervention of technol...

Immigrant women and housing issues: a symbolic magnifying glass for social and cultural changes in Italian civil movements*

Abstract: In recent decades, social movements have expanded their range of action, adopting a more global perspective. Although many studies have been made of varied national and transnational movements, it still remains a little-studied field that involves the participation of immigrants, especially women, in social movements in Italy. These movements involve various problem areas. The thematic focus of our research is the housing, at the national level, and our chosen case study regards the situation as it presents itself in Rome. At a time when there seems to be less public interest in economic, social and cultural rights in favor of a broader interest in individual rights, studying the role of immigrant women in the participation of foreign communities in social movements for housing rights can encourage and support a renewed attention to this area, also because of the changing social composition of the resident population, and the emergence of old and new forms of poverty, of which the incoming immigra...

Repossession through sharing of and access to seeds: different cases and practices

Abstract: Seeds are both the means and product of agricultural production. The corporate appropriation of seeds affects farmers’ autonomy and has been contested and resisted by farmers worldwide through practices of repossession. This article investigates different practices of the repossession of seeds emphasising the micro-structure and recent developments in agricultural practices that lead to a commonisation of seeds. Various practices of seed repossession present in India are analysed and compared with open-source initiatives to present examples of the diversity of singular initiatives aimed at the commonisation of seeds in the Global South. The article shows that each initiative applies a multitude of concrete practices to counter what we will refer to as metabolic rift, but without a single generic strategy, each seeking in its own way to repossess seeds and (re)locate them in a social space of commons.

Gender equality and family changes in the work–family culture in Southern Europe1

Abstract: The wider context of the trade-off between work and family is not just a matter of changing preferences. The focus of the literature in this area has been strongly concerned with the identification...

Work, family and public policy dynamics in France

Abstract: To understand the relationships between changes to the family and changes to the sphere of work and employment, and how they have developed over time, requires considering a third factor, i.e. public policies, and in particular family policies. In this article, we attempt to clarify theoretically these interactions by taking into account the changes that have taken place in France since World War II. To appraise the French configuration in a special issue on Southern Europe, we begin by explaining why we consider France is following a ‘Southern path’. In a second section, we argue that family transformations are mainly the result of changes that affect work and employment. A similar process combining individualisation, flexibility and precariousness is affecting both spheres of existence. In a last section, we prose a matrix of ideas, ideologies and outcomes to understand the main family policy reforms since World War II.

Democratic) regime change and the representation of women in parliament

Abstract: A regime change not only rests on new rules and political opportunities, but also it may bring alternatives in the distribution of power and representation of groups. The installation of a new regime, in particular, a regime change from autocracy to democracy, could also be beneficial for the representation of women in parliament. Including women in the country’s positions of power could be a sign of openness in the political arena, could provide legitimacy to the new regime and might stand for a new set of values. In this paper we measure the degree to which women’s representation changes after a regime transition, in particular, from autocratic to democratic rule, but also reciprocally. Using a global dataset on women’s representation from 1946 to 2014 including more than 140 regime changes, we establish through descriptive and inferential statistics that most regime changes, regardless of the nature of the transition involved, do not improve the representation of women.

Attitudes towards childcare and social practices: discrepancy between attitudes and employment trajectories of mothers in Spain (1994–2012)

Abstract: This paper examines the evolution of attitudes and behaviors of Spanish women regarding maternal employment and childcare. We used data from the ISSP Module ‘Family and Changing Gender Role...

The role of the partner in social support networks in Spain

Abstract: Social support influences the subject’s well-being through various mechanisms. Literature shows that the partner is one of the main sources of social support. Nevertheless, sometimes people do not ask their partners first for help. Our aim is to determine what factors (values related to the family, personal characteristics and availability of resources) influence this decision. We use Spanish representative samples from International Social Survey Programme (2001) and Spain’s Center for Sociological Research (2010). Data show that family solidarity is widespread in Spanish society. The determinants for not turning first to the partner are the availability and frequent contact with immediate kin, whereas family values and personal characteristics are less relevant.

Future perspectives on work and family dynamics in Southern Europe: the importance of culture and regional contexts

Abstract: The Southern countries model (Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece) take a specific family-oriented approach to work–family reconciliation. They are family-oriented in that they entrust the family with more responsibilities that in other countries. Work–family reconciliation is considered as a political action that gives quite limited and unstable support to encourage women’s labour-market participation; this results in the poor development of external services and in few benefits for women, who have to undertake multiple roles inside and outside the family. In these countries, negotiation is left to the private spheres of the couple or local communities, so that each family can decide on the best way to use the existing policies and consider the possibilities available to them. In this sense it is not possible only to apply ‘outside models’ (such as the Nordic, French, German, etc.) to find an effective approach for these countries. The special issue, starting from the current situation explores po...

Απόλιδας: an analysis of the international legal framework in the field of statelessness and the U.N.H.C.R.’s communication campaign

Abstract: In her The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt described the condition of apolidia (statelessness) – through words that still resonate today – as that of persons who have lost their rights because they have fled their homeland. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (U.N.H.C.R.), there are about 10 million stateless persons worldwide, 600,000 of whom live in the European Union (E.U.). It seems impossible to imagine the concept of statelessness, which although it has a very specific definition in international law, remains a vague notion for the intellect and common sense. This paper will firstly focus on the historical evolution of the concept of nationality under international law. Secondly, it will deal with the international legal framework, and in particular the 1954 and 1961 Conventions on the improvement of the conditions of stateless persons and the prevention of statelessness. It will then turn to the U.N.H.C.R.’s mandate in relation to stateless...

The gendered economics of bodybuilding

Abstract: This article sheds light on the gendered economics of bodybuilding, a topic that, to my knowledge, has not previously been studied. First displaying its history, it examines how the economy of such a sport was born, focusing on the principles and values of capitalism and then creating the "bodybuilding’s industry". In particular, the article stresses the gendered dimension of such an industry relying on ‘hegemonic masculinity’, especially through the relevant media, which are at the core of this gendered framework. I use a qualitative methodology to understand the subject, analyzing the French magazines related to bodybuilding, which embodies the whole functioning of such an industry.

Rethinking integration and identity: Chinese migrants in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract: Using historical narratives and a qualitative research approach, this paper analyses the social, cultural and cognitive causes of differentiation and stratification among Chinese migrants in the Republic of Ireland. It discusses individuals’ diversified capabilities, attitudes and actual levels of integration, as well as their disparate patterns of self-identification. In the research area of Chinese migrants in Ireland, in-group diversity and its implications is still a novel research topic. With this introductory work, the authors seek to draw more attention to this particular group, especially to the need for studies of encounters between subgroups and longitudinal investigations. The paper points out that subgroups of Chinese migrants in Ireland are divided according to social classification and self-categorisation, which have distinct significances for subgroup members’ integration and identity.

Blood ties and strong ties: a two-way linkage? Some non-trivial implications of the care workers market in a Mediterranean region

Abstract: Taking their cue from a seeming dissonance between the theory of commodification and exploitation of migrant care workers and the case study of the outsourced self proposed by Hochschild, the author speculates whether or not the family–caregiver relationship may be equal and inclusive. The argument is unraveled by posing another question en route: what specific ‘catalysts’ can trigger ‘high-intensity affective relationships’? Elster defines 'essentially byproduct' the result of a process lacking any direct and conscious link between outcome and intention, and requiring the relaxation of the control of reason in order to be fulfilled. The author mixes significant theoretical results coming both from the relational Palo Alto School and from history of families studies, concluding that an equal and inclusive relationship may be like an Elster’s ‘essentially byproduct’ of a market relationship , when a high-intensity affective relation acts as a ‘catalyst’. The frame suggested in this article seems co...

Double emigration: geographical and cultural? The participation of Italian women in the German labour market

Abstract: Already at the beginning of the fifties on the initiative of Italy, negotiations began between the Italian and German governments for the recruitment of migrant-workers, which ended in 1955 with a bilateral agreement between the two countries. Through this recruitment policy and because of the labour-market (Industry and Building) the Italian migration was composed prevalently of men. Female immigration happened in the setting of family reunification and less as an independent movement project. After years of stagnation of italian emigration in the eighties it may also be noted that, since the early nineties, there has been a revival of immigration to Germany. This and modernisation processes in Italy changed the gender composition of the Italian immigration flow to Germany: the distance between male and female immigration is decreasing. A peculiarity of the Italians in Germany is the low occupational participation of women in comparison with other women from EU countries. However, we could observ...

Media, migrants and human rights

Abstract: The alarmism caused by the use of catastrophic headlines and words on major means of communication as soon as the arrival of migrants along the coasts of southern European countries intensifies is

‘Think twice’: using economics and sociology to understand monetary issues–The case of Switzerland

Abstract: This paper seeks to demonstrate to what extent an academic approach that borrows from economics and sociology is heuristic in terms of fully understanding monetary issues. Contrary to authors that consider money to be neutral, this article emphasizes that money is a "total social fact". Hence, it focuses on three meanings of money through the theoretical framework of Schumpeter and various French institutionalists. It also focuses on the Swiss case, which is particularly relevant because money plays a significant role in order for such a country to foster prosperity and create social links. Finally, there is clearly a high usefulness of a pluralistic approach on the monetary issue for heterodox economists.

Migratory and intercultural processes from a perspective of gender: the changing roles of women in their countries of origin and destination

Abstract: This editorial project aims to explore now-consolidated areas of multidisciplinary research like migration, the meeting of diverse cultures and religions and that of the networks of communities and...

Tensions and paradoxes of humanitarianism. Dialogue with Lilie Chouliaraki

Abstract: Lilie Chouliaraki is Professor of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science She has a background in Languages and Linguistics and her research has a strong interdisciplinary orientation, drawing on social and cultural theory, moral philosophy and sociology, visual communication and discourse theory Her main interest lies in understanding how the media shape our ethical and political relationship to distant others; how they inform the ways we witness the vulnerability of these others and the ways we are invited to feel, think and act towards them In 2006, she published The spectatorship of suffering, which is a seminal piece of work within the field of Media Studies, opening up the domain of mediated suffering studies In 2013, Lilie published The ironic spectator: solidarity in the age of post-humanitarianism, which was awarded the Outstanding Book of the Year Prize by ICA 2015, and has been widely reviewed and acclaimed In this recent work, Chouliaraki e

Migrant remittance flow: challenges and motivations in Isiekenesi Southern Nigeria

Abstract: The study examined challenges of sending remittances and factors that motivate migrants to send remittances to Isiekenesi. Survey research design was adopted for the study. Using multi-stage sampling method for the quantitative data of the study, 402 questionnaires were distributed to the study participants and 395 were retrieved; 17 interviews and three focus group discussions (qualitative data) were conducted. Insecurity, the high cost of the transfer of remittances, lack of social amenities and so on were noted as challenges that undermine the flow of remittances to Isiekenesi. Factors that motivate migrants to send remittances to Isiekenesi are the desire to improve the family living standard, improved security in the home country, the need for recognition and the economic situation of the home country among others. Finally, the study has clearly shown that remittances in Isiekenesi are typically altruistic as migrants see it as a means of providing economic support to individual recipients at...

The redefinition of gender roles in immigrant women: the importance of local spaces in global processes

Abstract: In today’s complex, intercultural, transnational, glocalized world, linking conceptual analyses and theoretical representations to the empirical study of female migration also requires, among other aspects, acknowledging the importance of the arrival context in the redefinition of gender roles, since it operates as an area of opportunity or containment mainly due to a number of specific features, which interacts with women’s economic, cultural and social capital, to produce different results in the situation of migrant women. The context of arrival and the subjects, conceived of as actors inserted in social structures where they have scope for action, is the focus of our analysis. This article addresses this issue through the study of two cases of migrant women in different contexts. One of the women is a Mexican migrant who settled in Sonoma County California in the US, and the other a Bulgarian who arrived in Ribera del Duero in the Autonomous Community of Castile and Leon in Spain. The research...