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Article
Publication date: 1 August 1994

Dmitry Shlapentokh

The historian can provide quite a different explanation, other than the currently held views, for the emergence of the Red Terror in 1918.

Abstract

The historian can provide quite a different explanation, other than the currently held views, for the emergence of the Red Terror in 1918.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 14 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Book part
Publication date: 17 February 2022

Marko Salvaggio

Drawing from two years of multi-sited fieldwork about international backpacking in Central America, I make important connections between the backpacking escape motive, the…

Abstract

Drawing from two years of multi-sited fieldwork about international backpacking in Central America, I make important connections between the backpacking escape motive, the backpacker hostel, and tourism. I explain how backpackers experience the hostel as their “home base” and “home away from home” to escape into local cultures and natural environments that exist outside of it and an international community of travelers that convenes inside of it. I refer to theories on modern tourism, the backpacking escape motive, and the concept of community. I also theorize how the global spread of modern amenities and tourism shapes backpackers' escape experiences.

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Subcultures
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-663-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 October 2019

Thomas Corcoran, Jennifer Abrams and Jonathan Wynn

As a method in sociology, urban ethnography is rather straightforward: it conducts participant observation in cities. In essence, urban ethnographers study place, and yet how…

Abstract

As a method in sociology, urban ethnography is rather straightforward: it conducts participant observation in cities. In essence, urban ethnographers study place, and yet how place is portrayed is too often absent from ethnographic descriptions. Indeed, place is always present in the lives of people, but it becomes difficult to understand how place works in an ethnographic context. To reflect upon this puzzle, the following text offers a language for how we may make better sense of place as urban ethnographers and the role of place as a central actor in urban life. By revisiting classic and current ethnographies, we consider how place is constructed as an object of analysis, reflective of social phenomenon occurring within a city. Further, in identifying six tensions (in/out, order/disorder, public/private, past/present, gemeinschaft/gesellschaft, and discrete/diffuse), we demonstrate how descriptions of place are either present or absent in these ethnographies. To understand these tensions as they depict place, we maintain, it is to better understand how place is represented within ethnographies claiming to be urban. In conclusion, we present future directions for urban place-based ethnography that may offer more robust interpretations of place and the people who inhabit it.

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Urban Ethnography
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-033-2

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 12 December 2003

Michael Mayerfeld Bell and Fred Hendricks

Why would rural sociologists in particular have an interest in democracy? To begin with, rural sociologists have had a long standing concern with issues of community. During the…

Abstract

Why would rural sociologists in particular have an interest in democracy? To begin with, rural sociologists have had a long standing concern with issues of community. During the 1970s and 1980s, the concept of community within rural sociology came under criticism as a simple-minded repetition of hoary stereotypes about fellow-feeling and neighborliness in small towns and villages, in contrast to the anomie of the city. But the disciplinary interest in how and when people get along and mobilize for the collective good (if we may reduce the concern for community to that base) remained. The study of rural democracy seemed a more sophisticated way of studying these issues without resorting to the old gemeinschaft-gesellschaft distinction. Several of the contributions to this book thus retain a focus on small associations of people, as the classic gemeinschaft literature did, but now with the analytic tools of the rural sociology of democracy.

Details

Walking Towards Justice: Democratization in Rural Life
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76230-954-2

Book part
Publication date: 30 September 2010

Jean-Sébastien Guy

Still recently, one could read that social constructivism as a paradigm in sociology has yet generated no substantive theory of globalization (Risse, 2007). The argument was that…

Abstract

Still recently, one could read that social constructivism as a paradigm in sociology has yet generated no substantive theory of globalization (Risse, 2007). The argument was that even though social constructivism could certainly contribute to our understanding of globalization, notably by stressing the role of language and cultural norms in the organization of collective activities on a world scale, it could not satisfactorily account in its own terms for the entire phenomena under examination, due to the fact that globalization is not solely or even primarily about language and cultural norms. The exposition of such a position in the academic literature is worth mentioning, indeed even significant, if only for the reason that it occurred in a collection of essays edited by David Held and Anthony McGrew, who have done so much over the past decade to establish globalization studies as a solid research field, all at once theoretically sophisticated and empirically informed, with the publication of a long series of books on Global transformations (Held, McGrew, Golblatt, & Perraton, 1999; Held, 2004a, 2004b; Held & McGrew, 2002, 2003, 2007a, 2007b; Held & Kaya, 2007; Held & Koenig-Archibugi, 2003; see also McGrew & Lewis, 1992; Held, 1995). In spite of such credentials, the present article aims directly at challenging and overcoming this position by developing what would be the basis or the framework for a full-fledged social constructivist theory of globalization. Admittedly, this requires us to redefine globalization in a fundamental manner. Such a transformation is possible when one turns toward a new kind of social constructivism: Niklas Luhmann's radical constructivism as grounded in his systems theory (Luhmann, 2002; see also Luhmann, 1982a, 1989, 1990, 1995, 2000a, 2000b). I contend that globalization is neither a process of social change nor a historical set of forces of transformation having to do with the way human beings shape space through their collective activities; rather, globalization is one of contemporary society's self-descriptions.

Details

Theorizing the Dynamics of Social Processes
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-223-5

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2003

Yvonne von Friedrichs Grängsjö

Owing to the complexity of the tourist product most firms in a tourist destination are interdependent on one another. As well as being competitors they also have to work together…

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Abstract

Owing to the complexity of the tourist product most firms in a tourist destination are interdependent on one another. As well as being competitors they also have to work together on creating the overall quality of the total tourist product. It is difficult to separate co‐operation from competition. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a co‐opetitive theory of business derived from the results given by a networking study of marketing a tourist destination dominated by micro businesses and independent entrepreneurs. The results of the study show that there are two different sets of values in the destination and these determine and distinguish the way firms are involved in networking.

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International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 33 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-0035

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 September 2008

Barbara Barter

This paper draws on research which began in 2006 with students in a graduate course on rural education. Its purpose was to find out what graduate students saw as current issues of…

3452

Abstract

Purpose

This paper draws on research which began in 2006 with students in a graduate course on rural education. Its purpose was to find out what graduate students saw as current issues of rural education, how that compared to the literature, and what they thought supporting agencies such as government and universities needed to be doing to advance rural education. This paper focuses on presenting the findings and initiating a dialogue that leads to further conceptual understanding of ruralness.

Design/methodology/approach

The inquiry design and implementation is grounded in theories of constructivism and personal practical knowledge.

Findings

Some of the more common issues for participants in the study such as, curriculum delivery; bussing; teacher training; insecurity in teacher allocations; and threats of consolidation, are synonymous with the literature. The data also points to the need for research in rural schools and rural communities which is set within a rural‐based theoretical framework.

Research limitations/implications

The study is conducted within the context of one Canadian province using participants from one specific setting. Therefore, the findings represent a localized instance of both curriculum research and literature review.

Practical implications

The study may serve to illuminate issues which can be expanded and become more global in its practicality.

Originality/value

The paper provides an example of curriculum research that is founded on the work and learning experiences of students and their instructor. This knowledge can play a significant role in determining future curriculum design; curriculum implementation; teacher training, recruitment, and retention while enhancing community development in rural areas.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 20 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1951

jur. Gerhard Seichter

Unmittelbar nach dem Zusammenbruch im Jahre 1945 setzte in Deutschland eine ungeahnte Ausweitung des Reiseverkehrs ein, dem die an den Schlägen des Krieges leidenden…

51

Abstract

Unmittelbar nach dem Zusammenbruch im Jahre 1945 setzte in Deutschland eine ungeahnte Ausweitung des Reiseverkehrs ein, dem die an den Schlägen des Krieges leidenden Verkehrsunternehmen in keiner Weise gewachsen waren. Soweit dieser Verkehr nicht der unmittelbaren beruflichen und geschäftlichen Betätigung diente, führte er die Reisenden in die bekannten Feriengebiete Deutschlands, weil diese gleichzeitig die landwirtschaftlich genutzten Gegenden sind und damals die Masse der Flüchtlinge aus dem Osten Deutschlands und die Evakuierten aus den zerbombten Grossstädten und Industriezentren aufgenommen hatten. Diese Form des Reisens nach den Feriengebieten war aber kein echter Fremdenverkehr; denn sie war getragen nicht so sehr von dem Streben nach Erholung, als vielmehr von dem Willen, die in diesen landwirtschaftlichen Gebieten reichlicher vorhandenen Verpflegungsmöglichkeiten auszunützen, vor allem aber von der Notwendigkeit, die versprengten Familienangehörigen wieder zu sammeln. Bei allen diesen Reisen spielte die Kostenfrage, die im normalen Fremdenverkehr immer der ausschlaggebende Faktor zu sein pflegt, keine Rolle. Wer genügend Geld hatte und in den Zielgebieten genügend Sachwerte zum Tausch anbieten konnte, der reiste. Denn das Reisen war billig. Die Preise der Verkehrsmittel waren die einzigen, die — auch ohne Rationierung — weit unter dem allgemeinen Preisniveau lagen.

Details

The Tourist Review, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0251-3102

Book part
Publication date: 23 November 2011

Marie-Laure Djelic and Sigrid Quack

While going through a revival in sociology and business studies, the concept of communities, as used in those disciplines, appears to confront, in an unresolved tension, the…

Abstract

While going through a revival in sociology and business studies, the concept of communities, as used in those disciplines, appears to confront, in an unresolved tension, the development of differentiated and transnationally interconnected modern societies. We argue that there is a need not only to “rediscover” but in fact also to “renew” the notion of community. Building on insights from classical sociology, we propose a definition of transnational communities as social groups emerging from mutual interaction across national boundaries, oriented around a common project or “imagined” identity. Transnational communities are not static structures but fluid and dynamic processes. They are constructed through symbolic or “imagined” proximity rather than through physical propinquity. More often than not, they are “communities of limited liability” rather than the expression of permanent ascriptive markers. Finally, transnational communities go well beyond the provision of local protection and solidarities as they engage in different kinds of transnational activism. This chapter compares bottom-up and top-down patterns of transnational community development, exploring in both cases the role of those communities in the dynamics of transnational governance. We propose that transnational communities impact cross-border governance in at least six different ways. They contribute to the framing of a governance problem space. They allow the mobilization of collective action while also serving as public arenas. They foster preference transformation. They directly participate in rule-setting while also playing a key role when it comes to monitoring and control. In conclusion, we identify key directions for further research.

Details

Communities and Organizations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-284-5

Book part
Publication date: 19 May 2009

Sarah Busse Spencer

Purpose – This chapter examines how the kollektiv, a form of workplace organization established in the Soviet Union, continues to shape cultural expectations of work in…

Abstract

Purpose – This chapter examines how the kollektiv, a form of workplace organization established in the Soviet Union, continues to shape cultural expectations of work in post-Soviet Russia.

Methodology/Approach – This chapter describes a workplace ethnography conducted in a college department in Novosibirsk, Russia in 1999–2000 and 2002, with follow-up trips in 2005–2006. Participant observation is combined with interviews of teachers and students in the department.

Findings – The kollektiv established in the Soviet Union has persisted in modified form in post-Soviet Russia. Instead of a means of Party control, the kollektiv became popularly associated with the group cohesion that arises from frequent social interaction. This sense of cohesion, accompanied by attendant habits of sharing holidays with work colleagues, has persisted to varying degrees among adults in Russia today. Furthermore, the structure of the kollektiv has been maintained for students in schools and colleges, so that new generations of Russian youth are raised to expect to work in cohesive small groups. Their behaviors and expectations contribute to the persistence of the kollektiv in Russian society in the present and near future.

Originality/Value of the paper – This chapter makes two unique contributions: (1) it adds a focus on white-collar work to the predominantly blue-collar and service occupations studied in Russia to date and (2) it presents workplace ethnography of academics, a group rarely studied ethnographically.

Details

Economic Sociology of Work
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-368-2

1 – 10 of 416