Suchergebnisse

AbstractCultural sociology undertheorizes the emotional dimension of culture. In this study, I use the case of invasive cosmetic surgery to develop conceptual tools for filling this gap. Cosmetic surgery (i) brings a prominent and complex change in meanings of the self and the social image that goes far beyond mere appearance; and (ii) it involves intensive emotions of suffering, anxiety, and excitement. These two features reveal key similarities that cosmetic surgery shares with Victor Turner's model of the ritual of passage. I apply it to the case at hand and show that these emotions, which are usually either neglected or seen as mere 'side effects' of surgery, strongly affect meaning‐making related to cosmetic operations, meanings of the self, and broader aesthetic conventions. To zoom into these hidden processes, I introduce a sketch of a Durkheimian theory of cathexis that enables us to recognize cultural, cognitive, and emotional mechanisms of cosmetic surgery's 'extraphysical effects.' I illustrate my approach using open data from Internet forums of cosmetic surgery consumers and other evidence from existing literature.

Kompromisse sind ein wesentlicher Bestandteil funktionierender Demokratien. Die vorliegende Arbeit setzt es sich als Ziel zu eruieren, ob die SPÖ-ÖVP-Koalition, die ÖVP-FPÖ-Koalition oder die Koalition aus ÖVP und Grünen, den besten Kompromiss in ihrer Zusammenarbeit bewerkstelligt hatte. Um den Begriff des gelungenen politischen Kompromisses entwickeln zu können, wird auf Avishai Margalits Definitionen von Vollblutkompromissen und faulen Kompromissen referenziert. Die theoretischen Überlegungen, die sich aus Margalits Theorien ableiten, besagen, dass faule Kompromisse Unrechtsregime unterstützen und Vollblutkompromisse Opfer erfordern. Diese Hypothese wird durch die realpolitische Analyse von Wahl- und Regierungsprogrammen der behandelten Koalitionen untersucht. Unter Einbeziehung von Umfrageergebnissen sowie Medienartikel wird in der Folge dargelegt, ob die SPÖ-ÖVP Koalition (2013-2017), ÖVP-FPÖ-Koalition (2017-2019) oder die Koalition aus ÖVP und Grünen (seit 2020) den besten Kompromiss geschlossen hat. Anhand der Bewertungen zeigt sich, dass inhaltliche Ähnlichkeiten zwischen Parteien nicht zwangsläufig gelungene Kompromisse in der Zusammenarbeit verursachen. Vielmehr wird klar, dass das Überwinden von Trennendem durch Opfer und Verhandlungen dafür sorgt, dass ein Kompromiss als besonders gelungen betrachtet werden kann. Aus den Ergebnissen der Arbeit lässt sich demnach ableiten, dass Opfer, Tauschhandel und zähe Verhandlungen dafür sorgen können, dass auch ideologisch-unterschiedliche politische Kräfte einen gelungenen Kompromiss schließen und damit Demokratie fördern können. ; Compromises are an essential component of functioning democracies. This paper aims to find out whether the SPÖ-ÖVP coalition, the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition or the coalition of the ÖVP and the Greens achieved the best compromise in their cooperation. In order to be able to develop the concept of a successful political compromise, reference is made to Avishai Margalit's definitions of full-blooded compromises and unsuccessful compromises. The theoretical considerations derived from Margalit's theories are that unsuccessful compromises support injustice regimes and full-blooded compromises require sacrifices. This hypothesis is examined through political realism of electoral and government programmes of the coalitions under discussion. Taking into account survey results as well as media articles, it is subsequently presented whether the SPÖ-ÖVP coalition (2013-2017), ÖVP-FPÖ coalition (2017-2019) or the coalition of ÖVP and the Greens (since 2020) have reached the best compromise. The ratings show that similarities in content between parties do not necessarily cause successful compromises in cooperation. Rather, it becomes clear that overcoming divisive issues through sacrifice and negotiation ensures that a compromise can be considered particularly successful. Accordingly, it can be deduced from the results of the work that sacrifices, bartering and tough negotiations can ensure that even ideologically divergent political forces can reach a successful compromise and thus promote democracy. ; Arbeit an der Bibliothek noch nicht eingelangt - Daten nicht geprüft ; Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung des Verfassers/der Verfasserin ; Masterarbeit Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz 2022

Corruption is a global challenge which may impact negatively on economic growth and sustainable development of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). All of these five countries have been held back by corruption, in varying ways, but their rising importance to the global economic system ensures the spotlight now shines brighter than ever on them. Yet some of the BRICS countries have handled the issue better than others. According to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (2017), in the BRICS bloc of major emerging economies, South Africa is ranked the best (71st), followed by China (77th) and India (81st), with Brazil is 96th and Russia 135th out of 180 countries. These five nations support the strengthening of international cooperation against corruption, including through the BRICS Anti-Corruption Working Group, as well as on matters related to asset recovery and persons sought for corruption. This article provides a detailed analysis of anti-corruption legislation of four of the BRICS countries (Brazil, South Africa, China and India), as well as a brief overview of the efforts of these countries in the fight against corruption.

Corruption is a global challenge which may impact negatively on economic growth and sustainable development of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). All of these five countries have been held back by corruption, in varying ways, but their rising importance to the global economic system ensures the spotlight now shines brighter than ever on them. Yet some of the BRICS countries have handled the issue better than others. According to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (2017), in the BRICS bloc of major emerging economies, South Africa is ranked the best (71st), followed by China (77th) and India (81st), with Brazil is 96th and Russia 135th out of 180 countries. These five nations support the strengthening of international cooperation against corruption, including through the BRICS Anti-Corruption Working Group, as well as on matters related to asset recovery and persons sought for corruption. This article provides a detailed analysis of anti-corruption legislation of four of the BRICS countries (Brazil, South Africa, China and India), as well as a brief overview of the efforts of these countries in the fight against corruption.

This article maps the development of the sociology of culture in the Soviet Union and Russia from pre-Soviet to post-Soviet times. The analysis highlights the effects of two groups of factors – one cultural, the other structural – the combination of which brought about various patterns at each stage of the discipline's development. Because of the political environment within which they worked, Soviet researchers of culture had to employ strategies of resistance to survive. The three most common were: finding niches in related, ideologically neutral disciplines; doing purely empirical work; or, in contrast, critiquing 'bourgeois social theories'. They also opted to work in the modes of reading rather than writing, oral discussions rather than publishing, and communication with like-minded colleagues rather than debates with opponents. Contemporary Russian sociology of culture displays this inheritance in being structured by the opposition between isolation and international integration, as well as the tension between an elitist vision of culture and the economically centered worldview which has been dominant since the 1990s.

Today it makes little sense to ask why social scholars would be interested in China's economy insofar as the answer is obvious. The growth rate of the Chinese economy and the duration of its growth period are stunning. It is likely that in the near future China will outrun the US in terms of GDP and will become the largest economy in the world. Moreover, China has made huge progress in GDP per capita. But this is not the only reason to be interested in China. Notably, the communist party is still in power there, and by the standards of Western democracies, China remains an authoritarian state. Taken together, these characteristics form a paradox: How could communists produce such huge economic growth? The recent history of socialist countries seems to show that this is impossible. Although the Soviet Union sometimes demonstrated rapid growth, it could not sustain the pace in the long run. In the Chinese case, we face a more fundamental phenomenon than just the mobilization of a country to achieve vital objectives (usually with high costs). "Capitalism from Below: Markets and Institutional Change in China" by Victor Nee and Sonja Opper suggests the answer to this question.

The ambiguity of the sacred combines two opposite modes, the pure and the impure, as its fundamental feature. Present in the work of Durkheim and most scholars of the sacred, as well as in actual social practice, the impure sacred is not the profane, the sphere that opposes the sacred. However, in most interpretations of Durkheim, and even in aspects of his own argument, the ambiguity of the sacred is neglected and, in several important cases, treated as if it were profane: this has negative consequences for cultural sociology and the study of culture in contemporary society. In certain cases, the impure sacred and the profane can be hard to tell apart. Yet, if the boundaries between the sacred (pure and impure) and the profane are not clearly distinguished, the overall approach to culture in terms of distinctions and boundaries loses its logical and theoretical coherence. This article elucidates the ambiguity of the sacred and reintegrates that ambiguity into cultural sociology. The model proposed here treats the impure as a transient result of violation of the sacred/profane border with no independent status of its own.