2013 Awards for Excellence

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy

ISSN: 0144-333X

Article publication date: 4 March 2014

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Keywords

Citation

(2014), "2013 Awards for Excellence", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 34 No. 1/2. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-03-2014-001

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited


2013 Awards for Excellence

Article Type: 2013 Awards for Excellence From: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Volume 34, Issue 1-2

The following article was selected for this year’s Outstanding Paper Award for International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy

"Migrant strategies, informal economies and ontological security: Ukrainians in Naples, Italy"

Nicholas DeMaria Harney
Cassamarca Foundation, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia

Purpose – Naples, Italy in the last decade has become a destination for Ukrainian migrants escaping the economic uncertainty of their homeland. A sign of the city’s importance in the diaspora is that the Ukrainian Government in 2008 opened a local consulate. Estimates are that nearly a million Ukrainians have used Italy as a point of labour transit, even if only a fifth of those are formally registered. The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategies with which Ukrainian migrants in Naples, Italy attempt to create ontological security in the context of informal economies and the uncertainties of the migratory process.
Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on 18 months of ethnographic close observation and participation in migrant networks in Naples between 2004 and 2008.
Findings – The research reveals the strategies used by Ukrainian migrants to arrange and maintain transnational connections, seek work, and develop a sense of belonging through place-making and institutional development in the face of the significant barriers to inclusion and socio-economic stability in Neapolitan society.
Practical implications – The evidence suggests that policymakers concerned with social cohesion and integration might wish to consider informal economic activities not simply as a “problem” to resolve but a key feature of contemporary capitalism that may create the conditions to address their concerns. Therefore, a more nuanced understanding of how migrants create their lives through these activities would be useful.
Originality/value – This ethnographic material suggests that greater attention should be paid to the creative capacities of migrants to create a sense of security through informal activities. Migrants make extensive use of social networks and knowledge distribution to form the basis of decisions about economic behaviour, emplacement and ontological security.

Keywords: Economic conditions, Ethnography, Gender, Informal economies, Italy, Labour mobility, Migrants, Ontological security, Ukraine

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/IJSSP-03-2014-001

This article originally appeared in Volume 32 Number 1, 2012. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy

The following articles were selected for this year’s Highly Commended Award

“Reconciling work and family life for French mothers in the Sarkozy era: working more to earn more?”

Jan Windebank

This article originally appeared in Volume 32 Number 9, 2012, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy

“The diversity of activation markets in Europe”

Rik van Berkel, Fritz Sager and Franziska Ehrler

This article originally appeared in Volume 32 Number 5, 2012, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy

“Loyalty as rent: corruption and politicization of Russian universities”

Ararat L. Osipian

This article originally appeared in Volume 32 Number 3, 2012, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy

Outstanding reviewers

Dr Peter Rodgers

Dr Richard White

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