Suchergebnisse

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 summer of 2015, a wave of solidarity washed across the European continent as 1.3 million refugees arrived. While many recent studies have explored how 'ordinary' men and women, NGOs and governments momentarily reacted to the arrival of refugees, this issue examines whether the arrival of refugees and the subsequent rise of civil support initiatives has also resulted in more structural cultural and political changes. The contributions assembled in this issue all delve into the enduring implications of Europe's 'long summer of migration'. They address four sites of change: the dynamics between civil and state actors involved in refugee protection; the gradual politicisation of individual volunteers and organisations; the reproduction of pre-existing cultural imaginaries; and the potential of cities to foster new forms of solidarity.

In the summer of 2015, a wave of solidarity washed across the European continent as 1.3 million refugees arrived. While many recent studies have explored how "ordinary" men and women, NGOs and governments momentarily reacted to the arrival of refugees, this issue examines whether the arrival of refugees and the subsequent rise of civil support initiatives has also resulted in more structural cultural and political changes. The contributions assembled in this issue all delve into the enduring implications of Europe's "long summer of migration". They address four sites of change: the dynamics between civil and state actors involved in refugee protection; the gradual politicisation of individual volunteers and organisations; the reproduction of pre-existing cultural imaginaries; and the potential of cities to foster new forms of solidarity.

"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.