Suchergebnisse

The literature on residential and homebuying choices is still dominated by economic models of decision-making. Despite growing critique of these models, attempts to provide socially grounded accounts of homebuying have yet to investigate the social foundations of evaluative and choice-making practices at the intra-personal level. This study addressed the gaps in the literature theoretically and empirically by studying the processes and practices by which middle-class homebuyers search for and choose a place to live. It applied a modified Bourdieusian framework, underscoring the roles of the habitus and reflexivity in choice-making, to the study of middle-class homebuyers in two Israeli cities. The findings demonstrate that middle-class homebuyers' "sense of place"—that is, the reactions of their habitus to the socio-physical environment—is at the heart of their residential choice-making. Interviewees centralized their experiences and sensations in their choice-making, actively using their sense of place to guide their mapping of urban space, evaluation of residential options, and their final decision. These evaluative and choice-making practices operated as a "social-sorting" mechanism, directing homebuyers to locations more aligned with their class habitus. The findings and analysis provide a sociological alternative to economic and behavioral models of residential choice-making, with lessons for those with wider scholarly interests in consumers' choices in everyday life and their relationship with social patterns.

This article studies the preferences of middle-class residents for old or new neighborhoods in two Israeli cities, and describes the ways local social space mediates the translation of the habitus into generative preferences. Most sociological studies either ignore questions of place or explicitly reject the role of place in shaping class tastes. While a number of recent studies have demonstrated the role of place in shaping class tastes, the mechanisms underlying the role of place have yet to be investigated and conceptualized. This study addresses this lacuna. Based on a mixed-methods comparative design, the article first presents the relationship between spatial and class processes underlying the particular social space of each of the two cities – that is, the local association between old/new neighborhoods and different populations, symbolic boundaries, and expectations regarding the future of different neighborhoods. It then shows how local social space is reflected in local narratives and patterns of distinction, which are interwoven with residents' accounts of their choices and preferences. The study argues that middle-class tastes are formed locally by a process of "emplacement," in which social actors find their socially designated place in specific urban settings and develop the tastes and dispositions associated with these areas.

This study explores the ramifications of local economic differences on entering adulthood in the context of globalization. The effect of globalization on patterns of entering adulthood is usually perceived as filtered by particularities at the national level and as differentiated mainly by class. However, economic differentiation within the same country at the regional and municipal level is mostly overlooked. To address this gap, the authors compare the achievement of first homeownership among middle-class households in two Israeli cities differing in the concentration of economic sectors and in housing prices. Utilizing in-depth interviews ( n = 60 [cases]; n = 106 [interviewees]), the study shows how unstable forms of employment and exponentially rising housing prices in one city, and stable employment accompanied by still affordable housing costs in the other, support non-traditional and traditional patterns of entering adulthood respectively. The authors then analyse the Israeli census to confirm different patterns of entering adulthood among educated residents of the two cities. Thus, the study demonstrates how local economies shape different patterns of entering adulthood within the same country and among members of a similar class, suggesting that the relationship between globalization, class and the life course is also mediated by place.

News diversity in the media has for a long time been a foundational and uncontested basis for ensuring that the communicative needs of individuals and society at large are met. Today, people increasingly rely on online content and recommender systems to consume information challenging the traditional concept of news diversity. In addition, the very concept of diversity, which differs between disciplines, will need to be re-evaluated requiring a interdisciplinary investigation, which requires a new level of mutual cooperation between computer scientists, social scientists, and legal scholars. Based on the outcome of a multidisciplinary workshop, we have the following recommendations, directed at researchers, funders, legislators, regulators, and the media industry: Do more research on news recommenders and diversity. Create a safe harbor for academic research with industry data. Optimize the role of public values in news recommenders. Create a meaningful governance framework. Fund a joint lab to spearhead the needed interdisciplinary research, boost practical innovation, develop. reference solutions, and transfer insights into practice.

News diversity in the media has for a long time been a foundational and uncontested basis for ensuring that the communicative needs of individuals and society at large are met. Today, people increasingly rely on online content and recommender systems to consume information challenging the traditional concept of news diversity. In addition, the very concept of diversity, which differs between disciplines, will need to be re-evaluated requiring an interdisciplinary investigation, which requires a new level of mutual cooperation between computer scientists, social scientists, and legal scholars. Based on the outcome of a interdisciplinary workshop, we have the following recommendations, directed at researchers, funders, legislators, regulators, and the media industry: - Conduct interdisciplinary research on news recommenders and diversity. - Create a safe harbor for academic research with industry data. - Strengthen the role of public values in news recommenders. - Create a meaningful governance framework for news recommenders. - Fund a joint lab to spearhead the needed interdisciplinary research, boost practical innovation, develop reference solutions, and transfer insights into practice.