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This article examines the effects and implications of the new media for cultural communication. Drawing on an already large literature in the field of sociology and 'medium theory', it is argued that the computer media revolution affects all stages of cultural communication, (acquisition, manipulation, storage, distribution) and all types of media (text, images, moving images, sound). The specific characteristics of new media and their cultural effects are analysed via a historically informed comparison between traditional media (printing press, photography, etc.) and new computerised media. It tums out that a lot of the commonly held characteristics of new media can already be found in traditional media. One can however distinguish some general tendencies of a culture undergoing computerisation, such as increasing possibilities for modulation and transformation of data, the variability of new media objects and a tendency towards de-centralisation. From a sociological point of view however, the most important tendency is the 'individualisation' of mass communication, The new media create a segmented, differentiated audience that, although massive in terms of numbers, is no longer a mass audience in terms of simultaneity and uniformity of the messages it receives. Because computers can intervene actively on the contents they diffuse and present them at any point in time in the format corresponding to the interests and needs of the individual user.

This article describes the evolution of morality from the perspective of Niklas Luhmanns Systems theory ("Geselhchaflsstruktur und Semantik"). The author examines the connection between the specific historical-semantic form of morality and the dominant form of differentiation. Firstly, morality in segmentary differentiated societies is characterized by a principle of reciprocity. Secondly, the hierarchical morality of stratified societies is examined. Special attention is being paid to the coupling of the religious code and the moral code. Finally, the connection between functional differentiation and modern moral semantics is being looked at.

"In the last few years, social policy has been rediscovered as an important tool when addressing poverty and social inequality in development contexts. After decades of structural adjustment policies and cutting back of national social programs, international organizations, such as the World Bank, the ILO and UNDP, increasingly recognize social protection as one of the main contributors to social cohesion and development. In this chapter the authors analyze the interplay between formal and informal social protection institutions. They look at the wide range of social protection mechanisms available in sub-Saharan African countries, namely formal social security arrangements, the provision of basic social goods and informal community-based and family-based mechanisms. In analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, the authors assess how these mechanisms complement each other to contribute to the overall social protection of the population." (author's abstract)

In Die Gesellschaft der Gesellschaft (1997), Niklas Luhmann systematizes his theory of society. This article discusses the main lines of the book. Attention is given, first, to Luhmann's notion of society. According to Luhmann, society is the momentary whole of all Communications. Each observation of society takes place within society. Thus, sociology can't consider itself to be an independent observer who studies society from the outside. Next, we focus on Luhmann's theory of evolution. We indicate how the evolution of society as a closed communicative system runs simultaneously with the evolution of communicative media. After marking the difference between Luhmann's theory of evolution and history, we connect the concept of evolution with Luhmann's differentiation theory. Finally, it is shown how evolution in forms of differentiation are being translated into societal self descriptions.

Making human rights intelligible : an introduction to a sociology of human rights /Mikael Rask Madsen and Gert Verschraegen --State building, constitutional rights and the social construction of norms : outline for a sociology of constitutions /Chris Thornhill --Differentiation and inclusion : a neglected sociological approach to fundamental rights /Gert Verschraegen --Beyond prescription : toward a reflexive sociology of human rights /Mikael Rask Madsen --Human rights between brute fact and articulated aspiration /Paul Stenner --International human rights versus democracy promotion : on two different meanings of human rights in US foreign policy /Nicolas Guilhot --Towards a socio-legal analysis of the European Convention on Human Rights /Steven Greer --In defence of societies /Judith Blau and Alberto Moncada --From citizenship to human rights to human rights education /Francisco O. Ramirez and Rennie Moon --(Human) rights and solidarity : restructuring the national welfare space /Frederik Thuesen --Adapting locally to international health and human rights standards : an alternative theoretical framework for progressive realisation /Lesley A. Jacobs --"Legal form" and the purchase of human rights discourse in domestic policy-making : the achievement of same-sex marriage in Canada /Luke McNamara --Activating the law : exploring the legal responses of NGOs to gross rights violations /Loveday Hodson --The complexities of human rights implementation within the Costa Rican police system /Quirine Eijkman.

In this article, we argue that Niklas Luhmann has a lot to offer present-day planning theory. Until now, planning theory has been engaged with Luhmann's work only minimally. Convinced of its potential, we want to show how Luhmann's systems theory offers fresh insight into both limits and possibilities of planning in contemporary society. We argue that Luhmann's understanding of society as functionally differentiated into self-referentially closed subsystems (politics, economy, law, science, etc.) creates space for a complex and subtle analysis of planning practice. In particular, we look at the role of planning within an autopoietic account of society, and its ability to steer other social subsystems. Planning is seen as the form of steering aiming to coordinate processes of spatial organization, therefore an activity dealing with steering problems. We illustrate key concepts of the systems theory in brief analyses of planning situations and interpret these situations using the systems theoretical framework. The analyses center around the questions of planning's steering capacity and the role of the planner, thus creating linkages with mainstream discussions in planning theory.

In this article we discuss how 'the expressive revolution' (Parsons) influences the boundary between the private and the public sphere. First, we give a historical-sociological overview of the belief in authenticity, This belief dates back to romanticism, but was generally spread only during the post-war period. Attention is given to the 'psychological culture' that discusses individuality in terms of self-expression and self-esteem. This is described as part of the ongoing rationalisation of everyday interaction and inner life, thereby making use of research on the significance of courses that are somehow dealing with the quality of life. Next, the belief in authenticity is connected with the process of privatisation of identity. Finally, by taking the case of feminism, we indicate how expressivism leads to an erosion of the traditional concept of the public sphere.

This article presents an analysis of the process of commensuration in the field of pension policy. It looks at the consequences of reducing disparate and variable characteristics of pension systems to a limited set of standardized policy indicators. Although techniques of scoring complex systems through common indicators are applied today in fields as diverse as scientific research, human resources management and international development, this article is the first to examine the process of commensuration in the field of pensions. The empirical analysis looks at three cases where international institutions use standardized pension indicators to score and rank the performance of national pension systems. The first case examines the use of replacement rates in the international benchmarking of pension systems. We then focus on how rankings diverge considerably depending upon which function of the pension system is under assessment. Finally, we discuss how the public–private mix of a pension system affects the ranking of pension adequacy due to the way in which second and third pillar pensions are measured. The cases illustrate some of the problems associated with scoring and ranking the outcomes of unique and complex pension systems by means of internationally standardized indicators.

La présente contribution vise à synthétiser les principaux acquis de la recherche multidisciplinaire « Outils européens et politique sociale belge » (« ETOS.be ») menée dans le cadre du programme « Société et avenir » de la Politique scientifique fédérale, et présentés dans un livre paru en juin 2011. Cette recherche portait sur l'européanisation des politiques sociales au cours de la période 1989-2009. Cet article est focalisé sur le droit européen classique (directives et règlements), les méthodes ouvertes de coordination (MOC) et les instruments financiers (notamment le Fonds social européen, FSE). L'analyse est menée au travers de deux grandes thématiques relevant de l'action actuelle de l'UE en matière sociale : l'emploi et les conditions de travail d'une part, et l'inclusion sociale d'autre part.

This article analyses the effects of the European Social Fund (ESF) on domestic activation policies in the three Belgian regions: Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. We argue that over the last decade the ESF has had a catalytic impact, first on the innovation of activation instruments, second on the governance of employment policies and third on policy framing. We explain how three different mechanisms (leverage, conditionality and learning) generate these effects and how they can account for a differential influence in different regions. We conclude by summarizing our research findings and framework, suggesting its usefulness for analyzing other domestic settings and European policy instruments.