Suchergebnisse

In Germany, Turkish entrepreneurs & self-assured representatives of the migrant population enter the local stages of negotiation about social inequality. The upwardly mobile people of Turkish origin are challenging conceptions of natural privilege widely shared by their autochthonous Neighbours who consider the upper ranks of society as being reserved to them. The analysis of two urban quarters shows significant patterns of classification that arise out of this social constellation: By means of negative classifications, the autochthonous population devaluates successful descendants of Turkish immigrants who appear to be capable of reversing the social stigmatization. A new symbolic order of social inequality is emerging from the ensuing conflicts of classification. The article examines the impact of these interethnic struggles on social integration. 31 References. Adapted from the source document.

Even if much is made of the concept of a strong civil society: empirical data on the social and economic significance on the third sector structured in terms of civil society is severely lacking. The authors present initial findings of the project "civil society in numbers" which aims at closing a gap in the data-based measuring and description of the sector. As a first step, data from the company register managed by the federal office for statistics is evaluated. This allows for interesting observations on the relation between organisation size, employee numbers and activities and about the economic performance of the sector. But the authors also make clear that the basic classification data of companies only shed a limited light on civil society. Future projections need to provide information on the importance of civil society for social integration and democracy policy. Adapted from the source document

The dependence of social hierarchy on the relative access to material & cultural resources is a central aspect of inequality theory. Analysis of social structure is used to study inequitable opportunities & examine the sociostructural distribution of money, titles, rank, & power. Weber in particular promoted the association of social inequity with cultural lifestyle. Next to material distribution, inequitable relational associations are a basic form of distribution of social capital. Research indicates that societal relationships over time have become fewer, & more unstable & homogeneous. This stimulates affiliations born of need, & increases the social distance to more established & recognized groups. The more uniform the networks of weaker groups, the greater the distance to the stronger milieu, & the less their social chances. Social relationships are a second order resource that creates access to other resources, but results only in increased powerlessness when the other resources are as limited. Affiliations are consequences of social interactions & are established through internal & external forces, having both positive & negative effects. In Germany, such classifications, particularly on the basis of ethnic minority & socioeconomic differences, are useful for analysis of affiliations in society. 20 References. L. Kehl

This article tries to classify the "new open method of co-ordination" ("new OMC") in terms of the perspective of European integration theories. It illustrates the extent to which Scharpf's (2000 & 2002) "notes towards a theory of multilevel governing in Europe" & his "modes of Europeanization" on which his classification of the OMC is based, stand up to an empirical analysis. The establishment of the "new OMC" in the area of social inclusion will be used as the empirical example, which can explain why Scharpf changed his judgment in relation to the classification of the OMC from 2000 to 2002. Thus, it will be stressed that Scharpf's "modes of Europeanization" cannot cover the new modes of governance in the social realm of the EU. An alternative set of classifications will be offered & research perspectives elaborated. 31 References. Adapted from the source document.

Prior to the debacle of 2008, Spain's economy was an object of particular admiration for Western commentators. In the context of the global crisis, however, Spain has been hovering on the brink of classification as a case for Eurozone bail-out, following Greece, Ireland and Portugal. We borrow from Robert Brenner's concept of "asset-price Keynesianism" in order to analyse the recent crash of the Spanish economy as well as its social and political consequences. The bursting of the Spanish bubble has torn the veil from a highly polarized social order, with a large proportion of the population deep in debt, many out of work and dependent on public services doubly hit by spending cuts and privatization. Adapted from the source document.

For several years, the social sciences experience an almost Copernican revolution: range and scope of social science data are increasing rapidly, research on computer-based methods for classification and analysis of existing large data volumes experiencing an interdisciplinary boom. The very much lamented lack of information about individual behavior or institutions has become - at least in part - abundantly wrong (King 2011). For this, a bit simplistic, but impressive example: The data collected as part of the German Election Study and the ALLBUS since 1949 can be easily put together on a gigabyte of storage. About the social media platform Twitter, which increasingly becoming the focus of scientific interest, will, over the rule of thumb, about four gigabytes of data generate - per hour. This illustrates not necessarily the rapid increase in political science relevant data - about the content some arbitrarily collated Tweet Collection for political science research let themselves worthy of debate - but probably the enormous potential of new data sources, as well as the extraordinary technical challenges are faced with the researchers, might study the social behavior on the World Wide Web. Adapted from the source document.

Fortsetzung des Aufsatzes aus H. 2/1958, S. 178-208.

Several hypotheses try to explain the causes of secessionism based on the social background of the secessionists and their core beliefs. The causes of ethnic, national or regional frustration lead to different ways of conflict escalation. Secessionist movements of the 21st century are embossed by extensive violence, be represented by more parties than of 'liberation movements' and find more in wealthy than in poor regions of Europe instead. Adapted from the source document.

Applies systems theory to social movements (SMs) & analyzes right-wing extremism in Germany as a SM. Approaches which deny that right-wing extremist activities constitute a SM rely on an overly rational, narrow, & normative definition of SMs. The systems theory approach conceptualizes SMs in terms of the reproduction & combination of mobilizing events. Methods & findings from organizational behavior, youth sociology, election research, the study of subcultures, & research on violence help to investigate the taxonomy & dynamics of right-wing extremism. It is concluded that right-wing activities can be interpreted as a SM that is symbolically integrated around the question of immigration. Adapted from the source document.

Describes the social identity (SI) approach, developed during the 1970s to improve social psychology's ability to explain large-scale processes & group formation & behavior. The approach is based on the idea that societies consist of hierarchical arrangements of distinct social categories based on power, status, & prestige, & the assumption that cognitive categorization processes play important social roles. Some SI proponents use a theory of stimulus classification that accounts for both inter- & intraclass effects & both in- & outgroup attribution. This theory explains processes of ideologicalization & group cohesion in social movements by the pressure to stabilize SI. The self-categorization theory, which also stems from the SI approach, holds that individuals perceive & structure themselves & others through abstract social categories & internalize aspects of those categories into their self-concepts. It is concluded that these theories can contribute to the study of social movement collective identity, but are less valuable for interpreting the ideological components that exist within collective identities (eg, racial, ethnic, & religious motives). 58 References. Adapted from the source document.

The application of exhibitions as instruments & catalysts for participative solutions of social problems is the theme of this article. It introduces the citizens' exhibition as a new participative process for citizens, showing citizens' views together with interview clips & pictures of the citizens & the district. Furthermore, it presents advantages & disadvantages of the process & its range of application, supported by several test runs in other states. The author outlines: (1) debate classification, (2) process description, (3) mode of operation of the process, & (4) empirical tests. He concludes that the citizens' exhibition with its artistic execution of real life situations invites the viewer to participate. 14 References. E. Sanchez