Showing papers in "Revista Internacional De Sociologia in 2019"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present some novel findings that indicate that overcoming barriers to entry to schools, mainly subsidized and private schools, has had a particularly strong relationship with the availability that families have of economic capital, along with their identification with Catholicism and their religious practices.
Abstract: School choice has been identified as a key moment in the process of social reproduction of the upper middle class. In Chile, over the last decades, the educational model has depended for the most part in the last decades on what is understood as parent’s school choice of school. This model of public policy has coexisted with the selection that educational institutions perform in the admission process. In this article, we present some novel findings that indicate that overcoming barriers to entry to schools, mainly subsidized and private schools, has had a particularly strong relationship with the availability that families have of economic capital, along with their identification with Catholicism and their religious practices. In addition, social, cultural and educational capitals, together with social class, also show important differences.
16 citations
TL;DR: The trajectory of radicalization in the Catalan ‘proces’ has been studied in this article, where a dense network of local and grassroots assemblies displaced the previously dominant, major civil society organizations that led mass protests, especially during the 2012-2015 ‘diadas’.
Abstract: This article seeks to understand the trajectory of radicalization in the Catalan ‘proces’. Regardless of their formal legal standing, referendum campaigns are distinct political opportunities which also generate further opportunities. Contrary to what some theories of protest would predict, when political opportunities are closed down at national level, and repression toughens, violent escalation leading to fragmentation and ultimately demobilization does not necessarily ensue, at least in the short term. As the Catalan ‘proces’ illustrates between the mid-2000s and late-2018, the combination of mechanisms such as appropriation of opportunities, downward scale shift and movement convergence can mitigate escalation processes. A dense network of local and grassroots assemblies displaced the previously dominant, major civil society organizations that led mass protests, especially during the 2012-2015 ‘diadas’. These grassroots actors prioritized the organization of dissent through more direct, more disruptive, but mostly peaceful forms of action. This in turn facilitated movement convergence, based upon solidarization, as it opened up local spaces where the activists from across the spectrum could mobilize together, pre-empting a clear violent escalation and the emergence of violent splinter groups till late 2018.
15 citations
TL;DR: The idea of meritocracy is related to the distribution of goods and rewards based on individual talent and effort, being a principle that legitimizes the unequal distribution of resources in modern societies as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The idea of meritocracy is related to the distribution of goods and rewards based on individual talent and effort, being a principle that legitimizes the unequal distribution of resources in modern societies. Despite the constant references to meritocracy in inequality and stratification research, there are still few conceptual and empirical attempts to understand to what extent individuals perceive and prefer meritocracy, as well as their consequences. The present research proposes a conceptual and empirical framework for studying meritocratic perceptions and preferences, which is then related with economic inequality variables. Using data from the Chilean survey “Social justice and citizenship participation” (N= 1,245), the analyses suggest that meritocratic perceptions and preferences are different constructs and that those perceiving an adequate functioning of meritocracy also perceive less economic inequality.
12 citations
TL;DR: The study of childhood has not been a main score in sociological theory, although its role in the production and re-production of society is the base of all our social life in communities as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The study of childhood has not been a main score in sociological theory, although its rol in the production and re-production of society is the base of all our social life in communities. This text tries to summarize some of the contributions to this topic in sociology, in order to remark the need for better sociological approaches to Childhood as a complex sociological object. It is also important to notice, as well as to understand, that the so called «childhood» is a social construction, becoming a privileged source of sociological analysis.
11 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a study of the Non-Government Organisations for the Development (NGOD) Spanish, members of Coordinator of NGOD- Spain (CNGOD-AND) These organisations represent a set Consolidated within sector wider of the non-profit Organisations They have gone from the social invisibility to the growing presence in the media and in the imaginary of the society.
Abstract: We present a study of the Non-governmental Organisations for the Development (NGOD) Spanish, members of Coordinator of NGOD- Spain (CNGOD-AND) These organisations represent a set Consolidated within sector wider of the Non-profit Organisations They have gone from the social invisibility to the growing presence in the media and in the imaginary of the society They have been Consolidated as social actors and as political actors In fact, from a sociological point of view they are considered as a fundamental part of the new social movements Also, they are economic agents, since they manage tens of million of pesetas around the beginning of the eighties and 40 billion in the year 1996 We analyse also the structural transformation that they have experimented in the last five years: contracted personnel increase, number of volunteer, number of Services offer and International presence
11 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a general vision of the development of socially innovative practices and looking into its transforming potential in three key areas: 1) creation of social autonomy spaces; 2) citizen empowerment (especially within communities/collectives and in high social risk/vulnerability areas) and 3) development of new institutional architectures that would promote and reinforce social and citizen rights.
Abstract: Based on an analysis of the Catalunya case, this article contributes to the ongoing debate on social innovation, offering a general vision of the development of socially innovative practices and looking into its transforming potential in three key areas: 1) creation of social autonomy spaces; 2) citizen empowerment (especially within communities/collectives and in high social risk/vulnerability areas) and 3) development of new institutional architectures that would promote and reinforce social as well as citizen rights. The article forms part of an extensive investigation that has combined social innovation mapping, an online survey and various semi-structured interviews with key informants. The article outlines the potential and limitations of social innovation as a factor of social transformation, and thus points out the need for creation of favourable institutional conditions for its spread and consolidation.
11 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the existing relations between lone parent families and welfare state in Spain and demonstrate that the almost inexistence of specific family policies focused on this kind of families (referred to services and social atention) makes difficult the integration of the lone mothers in the labour market due to the difficulties they find to make compatible the familiar work and the professional one.
Abstract: The progressive increase of new forms of family as the modern lone parent families makes the question about the legitimacy of the traditional model of Welfare State whose turning point was the stability of the nuclear asimetric family. According to this, the aim of this work is to present the existing relations between lone parent families and Welfare State in Spain. Works made on the lone parent families have demonstrated the almost inexistence of specific family policies focused on this kind of families (referred to services and social atention). This fact makes difficult the integration of the lone mothers in the labour market due to the difficulties they find to make compatible the familiar work and the professional one. This makes even bigger the economic precarious situation and the impoverishment of this kind of families.
10 citations
TL;DR: The social sciences are not well equipped in this respect as discussed by the authors, as the developments of the social are constrained and determined by the conditions of nature, which has created a serious problem for the theoretical defence of scientific fragmentation.
Abstract: One of the aims of science is to free human beings from limits to information. The social Sciences are not well equipped in this respect. Culture and consciousness have not liberated US from evolution: a fact that has been ignored by most students of social science. The latter have developped over the last decades turning their back to spectacular developments in other, related, fields. This article tries to explain the implications of such mistake, as the developments of the social are constrained and determined by the conditions of nature.There is an extraordinary proliferation of research projects and publications devoted to the relations between cognitive science and sociology, cognitive science and normative social science, cognitive science and the science of culture as well as evolutionary biology with all these. Such developments have created a serious problem for the theoretical defence of scientific fragmentation.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the syllabi of first-year courses of all the Political Science degrees offered in Spain through several quantitative indicators and carry out a qualitative content analysis of the main introductory textbooks.
Abstract: Despite the prolific normative framework on gender mainstreaming in academic institutions, its implementation has not been effective. This article pays attention to the Political Science curriculum. First, we examine the syllabi of first-year courses of all the Political Science degrees offered in Spain through several quantitative indicators and carry out a qualitative content analysis of the main introductory textbooks. Second, we evaluate the impact of such pervasive gender-blind curriculum on students, by means of the case study of a single university, through focus groups. The existing gap between the normative framework on gender mainstreaming in universities and the practice of its implementation, specifically as regards the curriculum, allows us to reflect on how this deficit can limit the development of students’ critical thinking and make their future professional practice reproduce gender inequalities.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an approach to the latent structure of the mediatic coverage in Spain of the intervention of NATO in Yugoslavia in the days in which the bombing of the country took place after the new outbreak of the conflict in the province of Kosovo is presented.
Abstract: This work is an approach to the latent structure of the mediatic coverage in Spain of the intervention of NATO in Yugoslavia in the days in which the bombing of the country took place after the new outbreak of the conflict in the province of Kosovo. The period we study starts from few days before the beginning of the bombings to the 31''' of July 1999. The study is based on the conjunction of two methods of textual analyses employed on a textual corpus formed by the news about the conflict appeared in the cover of the newspaper El Pais. On the one hand, the semiotic analysis is used to observe the narrative sequence of the events and, on the other hand, the content analysis examines the designation names and attributions made on the actors implied in the conflict, as well as their presence throughout the sequence. The analysis of the data shows a tendency of the media to display the events within a narrative structure in which the actors can be determined. In the plot of story also appears actions and transformations (as if they were triais of competence), performances, as well as the contractual and sanctioning dispositions of the narrative itinerary of the story heroe.
6 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an ethnographic approach consisting in two-year long fieldwork was used to investigate the effects and mechanisms of capital on the reconfiguration of neighbourhoods in Barcelona.
Abstract: The current concept of city contributes substantially to the productive sphere in capitalist societies and the conformation of social classes. Using as an example an opposition movement to touristification in Barcelona, this article pursues to illustrate the effects and mechanisms of capital on the reconfiguration of neighbourhoods. The neighbourhood of Poblenou has witnessed how the platform #EnsPlantem: Veins in Perill d’Extincio deals with an increase in housing prices, changes in the traditional character of the area and the privatization of urban spaces, as a manifestation of capital reorganization. This research has been conducted through an ethnographic approach consisting in two-year long fieldwork.
TL;DR: This article examined the potential long-term consequences of the economic crisis on young people's political interest, political trust and political participation, and found that a post-crisis youth is more engaged and participative than adults and young people before the crisis.
Abstract: The economic crisis transformed the way in which European citizens relate to politics in general but particularly affected young people. The crisis resulted in decreased levels of trust in political institutions and increased levels of political protest. But little attention has been paid to the post-crisis period. Ten years on, what are young people’s attitudes and behaviour? This article examines the potential long term consequences of the economic crisis on young people’s political interest, political trust and political participation. In examining political behaviour we use a classification of types of participants that allows us to compare young people to adults, and young people before, during and after the economic crisis. Empirically, we use a descriptive approach using survey data from the European Social Survey, covering a considerable period of time (2002-2016) and 16 European countries. The comparison is threefold: young people over time, young people to adults, and young people across countries. The results support the idea of the emergence of a post-crisis youth that is more engaged and participative than adults and young people before the crisis. However the results do not show radical differences among countries that were affected by the economic crisis in varying degrees.
TL;DR: The authors argue that posmodern feminism lacks of validity, and that a normative reformulation of feminism is necessary and should be guided by enlightened and egalitarian principies, and they focus on the theoretical discussion between modernity and posmodernity.
Abstract: This paper focuses on the theoretical discussion between modernity and posmodernity, form a gender's perspective: a discussion that has developped in social theory in the last years. My main argument v^ill be that posmodern feminism lacks of validity, and that a normative reformulation of feminism is necessary and should be guided by enlightened and egalitarian principies.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate state and institutional moves to suppress social movement activism like the ‘Maple Spring’ student strikes in Quebec, Canada, and the Indignados movement in Spain.
Abstract: The years following the 2008 global recession saw many liberal-democratic states respond to the economic crisis by introducing austerity policies. In turn, this provoked widespread dissent and social movement activism involving large numbers of young people. In response, governments of many different political persuasions moved to suppress these actions by criminalizing political dissent. The article inquiries into state and institutional moves to suppress social movement activism like the ‘Maple Spring’ student strikes in Quebec, Canada, and the Indignados movement in Spain. While Canada can be described as a ‘mature liberal-democracy’ and Spain might be better described as an ‘emergent liberal-democracy’, both criminalized young people exercising their democratic and constitutionally guaranteed rights to free expression and assembly by engaging in various forms of political protests. While some of this can be explained by reference to contradictions inherent in liberal democracies, we consider if it also reflects certain long-standing prejudices directed at young people. Young people have traditionally attracted disproportionate attention from police and legal systems when they are involved in ‘conventional’ criminal conduct. What role if any did the ‘youthful’ face of protest play in government moves to criminalize dissent in 2011-12 An account of the ‘civilizing offensive’ highlights the influence of ageist assumptions that ‘young people’ require close management. This provides some insight into state responses to young people’s engagement in politics when it goes beyond the conventional mode of ‘youth participation’ prescribed by states committed to managing electoral party politics
TL;DR: In this paper, the strategic use of social public expenditure in Dominican Republic by comparing social assistance and social security budgets for the period between 2006 and 2012 is analyzed, revealing the potential partisan use of Social Assistance in time of elections and the bifurcation of the social protection regimes.
Abstract: This work analyzes the strategic use of social public expenditure in Dominican Republic by comparing social assistance and social security budgets for the period between 2006 and 2012. The data reveal the potential partisan use of social assistance in time of elections and the bifurcation of the social protection regimes.
TL;DR: The concept of flexicurity has a long history due to the substantive weight it has been given in all European employment policies under the auspices of the European Social Model.
Abstract: Although it is not very old, the concept of flexicurity has a long history due to the substantive weight it has been given in all European employment policies under the auspices of the European Social Model. This is a con-cept that is developed in a context of lax political regula-tion (soft governance) and where there is no tradition of specific social and employment policies, as it is an in-ternational institutional space where different traditions of the Member States could converge. Taking these as-pects into account, this article aims to delve deeper into the ideological-political meaning and character of the concept of flexicurity. To this end, firstly, we investigate its production context and the theories and regulatory paradigms on which it is based, secondly, an analysis of the discourse of some of the European Commission’s texts focusing on this concept is carried out, highlight-ing the unequal semantic load of flexibility and security within it and the semantic transformation that “security” undergoes. This evidence reveals a new reality in the world of work, in which workers and employers seem to have exchanged roles: workers have a moral duty to empower themselves with adaptive skills (their employ-ment situation will depend on whether or not they have done so) while employers become vulnerable to new economic flows.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of family background on the amount of time students devote to the use of new information and communications technology (ICT) and on its type of use was examined.
Abstract: This work examines the effect of family background on the amount of time students devote to the use of new information and communications technology (ICT) and on its type of use. Through an analysis of the frequency and type of use of ICT with data obtained directly from students, our study offers new evidence on the impact of parental education on the time and type of use of ICT for a sample of Spanish students. We show that the educational level of parents reduces the amount of time students devote to the use of Internet and, in turn, increases their propensity to use it for educational purposes. Another empirical finding of our research is that the degree of educational homogamy in the couple exerts an additional effect on the dependent variable.
TL;DR: The authors analyzed the most differences between present flows and former migrant movements and the main factors for their outset are then revised; stress is placed on the spreading influence of social and cultural factors.
Abstract: This article analyses the most differences between present flows and former migrant movements. The main factors for their outset are then revised; stress is placed on the spreading influence of social and cultural factors. The process of globalisation support and boots these process.
TL;DR: In this paper, the explanatory capacity of some socioeconomic variables which have been used to interpret the historical decline in fertility in traditional demographic transition theory: mortality, education, economic development, urbanisation and employment were tested.
Abstract: Some doubts have been cast on the results of research carried out within the Princeton European Fertility Project, as the changes in fertility over time may not have been measured appropriately. We set out to test the explanatory capacity of some socioeconomic variables which have been used to interpret the historical decline in fertility in traditional demographic transition theory: mortality, education, economic development, urbanisation and employment. We collected information for 49 Spanish provinces over a very long period of time (1860-2001) and we carried out panel cointegrating regressions (FMOLS and DOLS). We show that the decline of mortality, the increase in educational level and the economic factors played a leading role in the historical decline in fertility (first demographic transition). The demographic transition theory was dramatically shattered as a result of the research carried out in the course of the Princeton European Fertility Project, but analyses using new econometric techniques show that socioeconomic variables did indeed have a major role in the historical decline in fertility. When modern statistical methods are used, the role of socioeconomic factors in the historical decline of fertility is restored. In the debate surrounding the causes of fertility transition, the results obtained from our analysis of Spanish data oblige us to position ourselves among those experts who maintain that changes in socioeconomic conditions have encouraged couples to have smaller families (adjustment theories).
TL;DR: The authors analyzed the role of schooling on intergenerational class mobility in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico, and found that schooling is a powerful mediator in the three countries, but not a significant role as attenuator of the association between class origins and destinations.
Abstract: We analyze the role of schooling on intergenerational class mobility in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. In order to understand the role of schooling it is important to identify its effects as mediator, equalizer and attenuator. We specify, both conceptually and methodologically, these effects and generate empirical indicators for them, using data from national mobility surveys. Our findings indicate that schooling is a powerful mediator in the three countries. However, there are variations between countries in the role of schooling as equalizer and there is no evidence of a significant role as attenuator of the association between class origins and destinations. This suggests that any simplistic interpretation of the effects of schooling on class mobility in Latin America is confronted by a more complex reality, in which schooling is surely an important intervening variable, but has a limited contribution in neutralizing the effects of class origins on class destinations.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present Catalonian mosques, the dynamic and the motivations for their creation, the difficulties and the social problems they found, as well as the future threats that mosques and Catalonia have to face.
Abstract: The migrations of the last thirty years, and especially of the last twenty, have carried an increment of the cultural and religious heterogeneousness in Spain, and particularly in Catalonia. In the analysis of the cultural diversity, it's necessary to bear in mind the religious matter. For this reason, observing the crescent number of Muslims, the research and this article portray the Islam presence in Catalonia to make use of imam's personal interviews. This article presents Catalonian mosques, the dynamic and the motivations for their creation, the difficulties and the social problems they found, as well as the future threats that mosques and Catalonia have to face.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse the discourse of conservative commentators and journalists who produced critical items against 15-M mobilisations between 16 May and 30 September 2011 in three newspapers: Abc, Libertad Digital and La Razon.
Abstract: In this article we analyse the discourse of conservative commentators and journalists who produced critical items against 15-M mobilisations between 16 May and 30 September 2011 in three newspapers: Abc, Libertad Digital and La Razon. The effort on the part of conservative journalists to deride and frame 15-M mobilisations as a threat should be considered repression; more precisely, these mechanisms should be seen as part of a broader strategy of repression of youth dissent, a strategy where conservative media outlets, through the securitisation of protesting, collaborate with conservative political parties, the police and some segments within the criminal legal system. The examination of the repressive behaviour of the Spanish media reveals a surprising parallelism between the present and a past that was thought to have been long overcome. In their fierce criticism of 15-M activism, Spanish conservative commentators have brought crowd psychology back to life – the popular theory that, until well into the twentieth century, summarized certain nineteenth-century intellectual and cultural elites’ fear of middle and working-class activism.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the identity cleavages that define union strategies and the tensions that these open up, through a comparison of mineworker federations in Chile and Peru, explain how a "class" orientation allows the inclusion of precarious workers, although opening conflicts regarding the organization's priorities.
Abstract: In a politically adverse context, it is often assumed that traditional unions have no interest in organizing precarious workers. However, these are not organizations that act mechanically. Drawing on a comparative perspective, this article proposes that it is crucial to analyze the identity cleavages that define union strategies, but also the tensions that these open up. Through a comparison of mineworker federations in Chile and Peru, the article explains how a “class” orientation allows the inclusion of precarious workers, although opening conflicts regarding the organization’s priorities.
TL;DR: Spanish public opinion about specific welfare state's policies is quite similar to that of other European countries as mentioned in this paper, however, Spaniards claim for a more widespread role of the state in order to reduce social inequalities, because they believe that they live in a society where the richness is very unfairly shared.
Abstract: Although citizens continue asking for an important state's delivery of collective goods and services, during the last two decades there was an increase in the critique toward the management of public services in Western societies. Spanish public opinion about specific welfare state's policies is quite similar to that of other European countries. However, Spaniards claim for a more widespread role of the state in order to reduce social inequalities, because they believe that they live in a society where the richness is very unfairly shared. In addition, they are very unconfident about the state because they think the state handles things badly and unfairly.
TL;DR: This article analyzed family practices of parental involvement in children's schooling, through in-depth interviews and ethnographic observation, and concluded that parental involvement should be understood heeding the availability of resources, instead of the explanations based on familiar wishes.
Abstract: We analyze family practices of parental involvement in children’s schooling, through in-depth interviews and ethnographic observation. Instead of taking definitions from expert literature, we approach the concept of parent involvement from their own perspective. Results show that parental practices are conditioned by parents’ cultural capital, available time and their children’s prior academic achievement. Families strategically conceptualise the meanings of involvement, so that they fit in the universe of possible practices. We conclude that parental involvement should be understood heeding the availability of resources, instead of the explanations based on familiar wishes.
TL;DR: In this article, the importance of the family network and the presence of family roots in spatial mobility and sedentarism was analyzed using data from a 2008 local survey conducted in the metropolitan area of Granada, Spain.
Abstract: Even though family is acknowledged to be a key institution is Spain, with a deep influence in multiple facts of social life, few studies have analyzed its role on the individuals’ residential trajectories. Using data from a 2008 local survey conducted in the metropolitan area of Granada, this paper researches the importance of two factors- concentration of the family network, and presence of family roots- in spatial mobility and sedentarism. Our results underline how family networks are crucial to understand why people stay in our context. It is a strong reason to stay in the house and the neighborhood for everyone, but at the same time is modified by the social position of the individuals and the families, having a stronger effect on low income families and disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an up-date revision of the literature on opinion dynamics models and present the main models and their extensions, and organize the exposition around ten axes that configure the content of each contribution.
Abstract: The study of public opinion is turning in the last years, the study from the traditional descriptive approach with informative and advising purposes to a new explanatory and generativist approach. This new perspective has focused on the construction and analysis of models where local, microscopic, interactions generate macroscopic regularities in public opinion. The fertility of this new approach is causing a publication rhythm that can be overwhelming. In this paper, we present an up to date revision of the literature on opinion dynamics models. We present the main models and their extensions, and organize the exposition around ten axes that configure the content of each contribution. The paper also offers some reflections on the main challenges for those social scientists that are interested in the dynamics of public opinion.
TL;DR: In this article, conditions, opportunities, and results of social inequality are explored, and explanations are developed to understand how certain conditions of origin and individuals intervene in the access to three central assets that shape the wellbeing of households: level of labour income, homeownership and level of material consumption.
Abstract: This article explores to what extent the class position, both of origin and destination, explains unequal living conditions, measured by access to certain levels of material well-being. In this way, three edges of social inequality are explored: conditions, opportunities and results.
Explanatory models will be developed to understand how certain conditions of origin and individuals intervene in the access to three central assets that shape the wellbeing of households: level of labour income, home-ownership and level of material consumption.
The assumed methodology is of a quantitative nature, using multiple linear regression and binomial logistic regression techniques. The source of data comes from the Survey on social mobility and opinions on current society of the year 2012-2013 conducted in the Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires.
TL;DR: In this paper, the feasibility and implications of establishing a Basic Income in Spain, from the point of view of its relationship with existing cash benefits, are considered, with special attention to the question of whether Basic Income should replace contributory schemes of social protection.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to consider the feasibility and implications of establishing a Basic Income in Spain, from the point of view of its relationship with existing cash benefits. The argumentation is structured as follows: first, Basic Income is defined and some remarks about its relationship with different Welfare State models are made. Secondly, two hypothetical valuations of the amount and potencial financing of a Basic Income in Spain are presented. Finally, the problem of the transition from present social benefits to Basic Income will be addressed (with special attention to the question of whether Basic Income should replace contributory schemes of social protection); this will lead us to consider the opposition between two principies of distributive justice: egalitarian and meritocratic.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the use of law and order discourses, agents and institutions in the management of the protest, and use symbolic violence as interpreters of penalization to open new lines of inquiry.
Abstract: This article discusses the use of law and order discourses, agents and institutions in the management of the protest. Social movement studies literature on the police management of the protest and the effects this has on mobilization is reviewed to this end. Notions from the sociology of punishment are incorporated in order to argue for the pertinence of exploring these issues in terms of processes of penalization. A complex vision of punishment is used to question the widespread understanding that there is now less violence involved in protest management: I turn to symbolic violence, and spectators as interpreters of penalization to open new lines of inquiry. To illustrate the types of situation for which these conceptual shifts might productively be applied I refer to examples of mediated political discourse, police action and presence, and the modification and application of legal texts during the last wave of protest in Spain.