Suchergebnisse

Based on ethnographic research on Chinese migrants in Nigeria, Botswana, and Namibia from 2011 to 2015, this article has three lines of argumentation and contribution. First, it proposes a framing of migrant geographies from a humanistic comparative perspective in order to complement the political economy approaches in geographies of migration. Second, lying in the intersection of urban studies and migration studies, it illustrates the different positionalities of cities in three aspects of migrant geographies – migrant space, network, and belonging – echoing the multiscalar analysis of city-making in migration processes. Third, specifically in the context of Chinese migrant geographies, three African cities, Lagos, Gaborone, and Windhoek, are placed in three migrants' geographic worlds, not always according to their positions in multiscalar power structures, but partly through migrant experiences in which top-down power horizontally works.

Economic shocks test the resilience of families around the world. Lockdowns, extended periods of unemployment, and inflation challenge the capabilities of private households to maintain their living standards whilst keeping their budgets in balance. Asset poverty is a concept invoked frequently to measure the capacity of private households to mitigate income loss by relying exclusively on their savings. In contrast to conventional asset poverty measures, we quantify the combined cushioning effect of private and public safety nets. Highlighting the importance of public safety nets and familial networks, this article devises a modified concept of asset poverty: Rather than purely simulating a household's asset decumulation without replacement income, the modified indicator accounts for replacement income in a static setting. The empirical assessment of modified asset poverty in Europe and America combines harmonised microdata on household finances with simulations of institutional rules set by social insurance systems. Our results reveal how differences in social relations and institutional rules shape cross‐country variation in the vulnerability of private households. We find that, in contrast to the US, where the asset poverty of families is particularly low, households in most European countries are less vulnerable because generous social security systems coexist with low private assets. However, in some European countries, benefit generosity decreases the longer income losses last, exposing time dynamics in vulnerability. Complementing social insurance mechanisms, in countries such as Greece, households are more likely to receive financial support from family or friends. Cross‐national heterogeneity in vulnerability suggests that a shock may have different implications across countries.

Menschen brauchen das Gefühl, sozial integriert zu sein. Das bedeutet unter anderem: Personen jeden Alters haben das Bedürfnis, in soziale Netzwerke eingebunden zu sein und sich mit sinnvollen Tätigkeiten wie etwa bei der Ausübung eines Ehrenamtes in die Gemeinschaft einbringen zu können. Im höheren Erwachsenenalter kommt noch häufig das Generativitätsmotiv dazu. Ältere Menschen verspüren besonders häufig den Wunsch, etwas an die nächste Generation weiterzugeben. Ist den Älteren die Befriedigung dieser sozialen Bedürfnisse verwehrt, kann dies unter Umständen zu Einsamkeit führen. Im vorliegenden Fact Sheet zeigen wir mit Befunden aus dem Deutschen Alterssurvey 2020/21, wie Unterschiede im Einkommen die soziale Integration im Alter mitbestimmen und sich auf die benannten Lebensbereiche auswirken.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the significance of empowering local authorities to respond to health emergencies. This policy brief, drawing on a comparative analysis of four Indian states, shows that a successful pandemic response depends on factors such as local governance, community engagement, and decisive leadership.
As India's federal system has demonstrated, an undue centralisation of authority combined with a decentralisation of responsibility without adequate resources can undermine the efficacy of a crisis response.
Political polarisation can be a formidable obstacle, obstructing coordination and exacerbating the inefficiency of crisis response.
Kerala's and Odisha's crisis management during the COVID-19 pandemic has been commendable, with dedicated leadership, coordinated efforts between the respective state and local administrations, and active public engagement contributing to their success.
Despite having a weaker healthcare system, Odisha's response to the crisis was comparable to Kerala's, while Uttar Pradesh's was hindered by uncommitted leadership and polarisation along political and communal lines.
Karnataka, with a stronger healthcare infrastructure than Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, performed only marginally better than Uttar Pradesh, primarily due to a lack of committed leadership, cooperation, and trust across government agencies.
Decision-makers in federal systems worldwide, and in the European Union in particular, can benefit from studying India's COVID-19 response. To achieve a successful response, policymakers should prioritise horizontal and vertical coordination and encourage subnational innovation. India's state-level experiences suggest the importance of leveraging networks between different levels of government and civil society. Key factors for success include strong infrastructure, committed leadership, collaboration across government departments, empowerment of grassroots initiatives, and active community engagement.

Die Studie nimmt die Arbeitsbedingungen von Kommunikationswissenschaftler:innen in den Blick und untersucht, inwieweit Ungleichheiten hinsichtlich Geschlecht und Elternschaft während der COVID-19-Pandemie zugenommen haben. Dabei wird im Besonderen die Verbindung zwischen der beruflichen Tätigkeit von sich als weiblich identifizierenden Kommunikationswissenschaftlerinnen, der Verteilung häuslicher Betreuungsaufgaben und dem Belastungsempfinden in beruflichen und privaten Bezügen fokussiert. Im Zentrum steht die Frage, welche Belastungen Kommunikationswissenschaftler:innen während der ersten anderthalb Jahre der Pandemie wahrgenommen haben und wie diese sich aus beruflichen Zusammenhängen und den Lebensverhältnissen erklären lassen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Eltern, insbesondere von jüngeren Kindern, eine erhöhte berufliche Stressbelastung verspürten. Überraschenderweise sind die geschlechtsgebundenen Unterschiede nicht so ausgeprägt wie erwartet: Kommunikationswissenschaftlerinnen, die sich als Frauen identifizieren, fühlen sich nicht stärker belastet als ihre sich als Männer identifizierenden Kollegen.

Many demographic challenges and new trends have been observed across formerly state socialist countries after embarking on their political and economic transition. Including countries that range from Eastern Europe to Central Asia, this study explores whether some family-related events were more sensitive to the transformation that occurred in the 1990s than others, and whether the disruption was immediate or delayed across this wide range of contexts. Based on year-specific hazard ratios over four decades, results point to changes in fertility patterns being clearly linked to the transition. Second birth rates reacted almost immediately to societal disruption, whereas a more delayed change occurred for first births. Although abrupt changes in marriage and divorce rates also occurred, these changes often began before the transition and therefore may be part of longer-term developments. That second births were the most sensitive family event to the immediate change in conditions may be due to economic costs, but also unique characteristics related both to its lack of conferring a new social role on the individual, such as in the case of marriage and parenthood, and the narrower window of time in which this event usually occurs. The delayed changes in first births may instead reflect changes in norms and culture that influenced younger individuals when they reached childbearing ages.

This chapter explores abusive language's role when employed by a group with a lower social status whose rights are threatened by political authorities. We focus on the language of protest that emerged during the 2020 All-Poland Women's Strike, following a court ruling that almost totally banned legal abortions in Poland. Since some slogans used by these protesters could be interpreted as expressions of abusive language, we decided to analyze their meaning in a wider socio-political context. We show that women's use of vulgarisms and offensive language can serve as a tool of social and political change and that it may lead to empowerment. Moreover, given the cultural underpinnings of Polish society's gender-based social norms, we show that the use of abusive language may symbolize the process of redefining the traditional gender contract in Poland.

Across the destination countries of migration, i.e. migrant-receiving countries, in Europe there has been an increasing emphasis on return and reintegration programmes. These programmes particularly target rejected asylum-seekers forced to return, irregular migrants unable to legalise their stay in the migration country and migrants wishing to return of their own volition. Reintegration commonly refers to the processes that unfold after the return of migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons to their country of origin or place of residence as they set about trying to re-establish their lives. However, the reintegration trajectories of assisted and non-assisted returning migrants in different contexts have scarcely been researched. Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) under a Special Initiative on "Tackling the root causes of displacement and (re-)integrating refugees", BICC has undertaken over the past four years (2019-2022) a qualitative research project entitled "Trajectories of reintegration" designed to tackle this desideratum. This Synthesis Report brings together selected findings of the project's empirical studies in the Western Balkans (Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo), West Africa (Ghana, Senegal, the Gambia) and the Middle East (Iraq). The BICC project team conducted an in-depth, long-term investigation into reintegration trajectories focusing on the perceptions, experiences and strategies of returning migrants. We collected data through in-depth qualitative interviews, life-stories, informal conversations and observations. The interview sample includes returnees who were displaced persons (refugees, rejected asylum-seekers), long-term labour migrants, 'irregular' migrants, student migrants, and circular or seasonal migrants. We conducted semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, including government officials, municipal actors and representatives of local NGOs and development agencies. The project team also cooperated closely with local researchers and research assistants, integrating their feedback into the ongoing research findings. To this end we ran training courses and organised several stakeholder workshops in the countries of research.

inwiefern fordern Asylsuchende (Menschen-)Rechte ein? Können in einem allumfassend rechtlich regulierten und von Unsicherheit geprägten Alltag überhaupt Ansprüche gestellt werden? Lässt die Asylpraxis Raum für Subjektpositionen abseits von Opferschaft? Die Autorin nähert sich dem (Asyl-)Recht aus alltagssoziologischer Perspektive und fokussiert Asylsuchende als handelnde Subjekte und Rechteinhaber*innen. Dabei zeichnet sie Bedeutungen von Recht und Rechten in der österreichischen Asylwirklichkeit nach und schafft ein Verständnis für die Folgen rechtlicher, politischer und gesellschaftlicher Praktiken, die die Gewährleistung von Rechten an Dankbarkeit, Leistung und Anpassung koppeln.

The growing use of digital platforms among older adults has brought increased challenges to the design and development process, thus requiring considering age-related needs and changes. Nonetheless, a growing body of research suggests that different types of applications of digital platforms, i.e., digital games, can foster new opportunities to encourage active and healthy ageing (AHA) by promoting knowledge acquisition, developing competences, fostering well-being, and deepening social connections. Therefore, this study aims to assess older adults' perspectives and participation in digital game-related strategies and how these can foster AHA. A mixed-methods approach was applied, resorting to field notes and a questionnaire, involving 18 participants aged between 63 and 81, at the Ageing Lab (Laboratório do Envelhecimento). Through 10 exploratory digital gaming-related sessions over approximately two months, participants were introduced to game-related strategies and online communities. Overall, this study sustained previous research about the influence of digital games and online communities in the promotion of AHA, by encouraging participation in society, acquisition of new digital competences in the dimensions of information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, and safety; and maintaining one's health and well-being. Moreover, findings suggest that continued contact with information and communication technologies stimulates digital proficiency, thus further fostering inclusion in an increasingly digital society.

Wir diskutieren die Darstellung von Sextouristinnen anhand der in diesem Kontext zentralen Filme Vers le sud (FR/CA/BE 2005) und Paradies: Liebe (AT/DE/FR 2012). Trotz formaler Unterschiede werden in beiden Filmen zahlreiche Differenzen zwischen Touristinnen und lokalen Männern (u. a. hinsichtlich race, age, economic background) eingesetzt, um zu suggerieren, dass die dargestellten Beziehungen ausschließlich monetär und zum Scheitern verurteilt wären. Statt auf die sexuelle und geschlechtliche Transgression der Touristinnen zu fokussieren, rekurrieren die Filme so auf vergeschlechtlichte Narrative des Scheiterns. Damit werden im Bestreben, globale Beziehungen als ambivalentes Machtgefüge kritisch auszustellen, konventionelle Geschlechterbilder einmal mehr affirmiert.

Algorithmen werden als zentrale Akteure der digitalen Transformation gehandelt. Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) wird als Lösung für dringende aktuelle und zukünftige Probleme in der Medizin gerahmt. Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, wie – oft unbewusst – faktisch diskriminierende Werte sozialer Ordnung in Algorithmen eingeschrieben werden und der weithin beklagte Gender Bias sowie rassistische Diskriminierung fortgeschrieben oder sogar verstärkt wird. Es wird erörtert, wie eine mit KI verbundene Automatisierung von Diskriminierung Ansprüche an ein gleichberechtigtes Zusammenleben vielfältiger und widersprüchlicher menschlicher Existenz erneut breit diskutierbar macht. Im Beitrag werden diese Fragen anhand des Einsatzes von KI bei der Hautkrebs- und der Brustkrebsdiagnose erörtert. Diese werden mit theoretischen und methodischen Zugängen aus der Genderforschung, die sozialen Konstruktivismus, Poststrukturalismus und New Materialism mit Ansätzen der Intersektionalitätsforschung und der Queer Theory verbinden, konfrontiert.

This article aims to analyse current geodemographic changes in Poland, based on the data of the 2021 National Population and Housing Census. Methods, traditional for socioeconomic geography, such as zoning, were employed. Poland's population decreased during the inter-­census period (2011-2021), with the urban population declining faster than its rural counterpart. The large voivodeships aligned along the Vistula 'axis' - Mazowiecka, Lesser Poland and Pomerania - outperform other Polish regions in geodemographic terms. The situation is relatively favourable in Greater Poland, where the country's main motorways converge. Districts and voivodeships where the geodemographic situation is more vulnerable can be divided into two groups: depressed and backward. The first one includes the traditionally industrial voivodeships of Southern and Central Poland; the second mainly consists of eastern voivodeships. The population decline in Eastern Poland is gathering pace: the 2021 census shows, a more or less favourable geodemographic situation is observed only in the main eastern cities and their environs. This state of affairs is largely due to the Polish government deliberately halting cooperation with Russia and Belarus, including cross-­border collaborations. Yet, this decision seems to create more problems for Poland than its eastern neighbours. If the current trends persist, the eastern voivodeships, the stronghold of the right-wing conservatives in power, may not only rapidly lose population but also face a reduction in the level of socioeconomic development.