Cultural Capital Research Articles

Exploring or Floundering in the Sex Industry? Understanding Sex Work as Job Explorations for Emerging Adult Sex Workers.

Based on in-depth interviews with 40 men involved in the Chinese sex industry, this study compared how engagement in sex work impacts, whether positively or negatively, the career development and transition to adulthood of middle-class and lower-class emerging adults. Most middle-class sex workers had concrete career goals outside of the sex industry and were on track to achieve those goals using their educational credentials and social and cultural capital. In contrast, most lower-class male sex workers relied on the lucrative nature of sex work to accumulate capital for their long-term goals, such as starting small businesses. Lower-class sex workers without career goals often spent their income on addictive habits, such as video games, and their engagement in sex work was not conducive to their long-term career development. Extending the literature on emerging adulthood to the context of sex work, I argue that for emerging adults who engage in sex work consciously with career goals, sex work could be viewed as a form of job exploration, while for those who engage in sex work without clear career goals, their engagement could be better described as floundering.

Interplay among Language and Home Variables in Lebanese Students’ Science TIMSS Performance: A Linguistic and Economic Capital Perspective

AbstractIn Lebanon, science is taught in an international language (French or English) based on a language-in-education policy rooted in Lebanon’s colonial history. Given the intersection among social/socioeconomic class, educational equity, and science performance, learning science in a language other than one’s own raises concerns around economically-marginalized students’ opportunities for quality science education and their development of science understandings and discourse. Bourdieu’s lens of cultural and linguistic capital was utilized to better understand the interplay among socioeconomic status and science performance. Specifically, we examined how different home context variables (including language) influence Lebanese learners’ science performance in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessment. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), we looked at how students performed in science based on how often they spoke the language of the test at home and other home variables such as parents’ education level. The findings indicate that language and various economic and home variables were significantly associated with science performance. Language had a differing effect for English and French tracks, whereby parents’ education level and other home variables emerged more significantly for French track students. Our study underscores the importance of preparing and supporting science teachers for equitable, asset-oriented, and linguistically responsive teaching that enhances diverse learners’ equitable participation and opportunities in the science classroom.

Understanding Turkish host motivations for micro-entrepreneurship regarding meal sharing economy: mediating role of positive emotions

ABSTRACT The current study attempts to investigate the relationships between the host motivations for micro-entrepreneurship, positive emotions, and behavioral intentions of Turkish people toward the meal-sharing economy. Drawing on a quantitative research method, 204 self-administered questionnaires were conducted in Istanbul. Structural equation modeling was used to analyzed the data. The results showed that whereas social interaction and independence directly and positively influence developing positive emotions, gratification of host and source of cultural capital has no significant impact on positive emotions. The findings also confirmed positive relationship between, positive emotions, gratification of host, social interaction and source of cultural capital and support intention. Independency has no significant effect on support intention to support meal sharing. Moreover, this study provides useful theoretical and practical implications.

School District Housing Buyers and Educational Investment Returns: A Case Study of X District in Shanghai

As a dual carrier of educational resources and economic assets, school district housing has become an important tool for family educational investment and social class reproduction. This paper takes Shanghai's X District as an example to explore, from a sociological perspective, the purchasing behaviors of different groups regarding school district housing and their educational investment returns. It reveals the key role of school district housing in the accumulation of cultural and social capital. The study finds that high-income families, the middle class, and the working class in X District exhibit different demand tendencies when purchasing school district housing, reflecting goals of obtaining high-quality educational resources, expanding social capital, and achieving upward social mobility, respectively. The phenomenon of school district housing exacerbates the imbalance in the distribution of educational resources and limits social mobility.

Jewelry of Eastern Lanna Identity: Strategies and Approaches for Contemporary Jewelry Design from Cultural Identity

Today’s jewelry designs look more contemporary, emphasizing self-expression by reflecting the perspectives and ideas of designers and artists in the context of society, culture, ethnicity, aesthetics, technology and ways of life through designs that are unique and in line with today’s lifestyles to create new artistic approaches. This research presents strategies and guidelines for designing contemporary jewelry from cultural capital by using the eastern Lanna area as a case study. The researchers conducted a unique analysis by studying the image and identity of the provinces in the eastern Lanna region, which led to the development of strategies and guidelines for jewelry design that reflect the eastern Lanna identity, as well as assessment of the perceptions of and satisfaction with jewelry prototypes designed by these strategies and such guidelines. The results showed that, in this research, the BLEND strategy was used in contemporary jewelry design, which was developed from the interpretation of the identity, image and characteristics of the provinces in the eastern Lanna group, into a design development in the form of a mixed design, or hybridization. These guidelines for creative design have generated design terms and conditions to present the value of work that expresses identity through four elements, namely 1) color, 2) materials, 3) patterns/shapes, and 4) story contents, which are synthesized through the perception of representative images to design and produce jewelry prototypes. The results of the evaluation of the jewelry prototypes as a whole revealed that the jewelry can express the eastern Lanna identity in an effective way, resulting in the creation of new knowledge in design, which is the development of concepts and processes to interpret new meanings in design in order to create value and worth as part of the utilization of cultural capital in the development of the country.

Parenting, Cultural Capital, and COVID-19: The Role of Parental Support for Latiné First-generation College Students

Caregivers and families play a pivotal role in students’ college decision-making and ability to develop cultural capital (Carey, 2016). Although the deleterious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic required shifts and adjustments to parenting strategies, it is less clear how COVID-19 impacted parental support for emerging adults, particularly Latiné first-generation college students (FGCS). The current study used a qualitative, longitudinal method to examine how parental support informs cultural capital (Yosso, 2005) and whether it changed due to the pandemic for six (6) Latiné FGCS attending a medium-sized private university in the Midwest region of the United States. Interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed that Latiné FGCS caregivers fostered college-going familial capital, which facilitated the development of forms of cultural capital (aspirational and navigational capital) both before and after the transition to remote learning. Post pandemic, caregivers provided additional logistical and practical support related to students navigating physical space. Findings provide novel insight on the role caregivers provided Latiné FGCS at the onset of the pandemic. Strategies for how universities can engage caregivers and families in order to support Latiné FGCS is discussed.

Novi Sad cultural stations as healthy buildings for wellbeing concept

Abstract Creating spaces for all citizens through the cultural stations project within the Novi Sad - European Capital of Culture 2022 has set an example of applying the concept of well-being which involves integrating various elements that support physical, mental, and social health. Cultural stations project in the city of Novi Sad is a concept supporting cultural programming, healthy food options, mental health support, accessibility and inclusivity, as well as community engagement. Social interaction in urban areas is vital for mental and emotional well-being, fostering a sense of belonging and community, diverse cultural programming that appeals to different groups, cultural activities such as art exhibitions, performances, workshops, and community events provide opportunities for creativity, learning, and social engagement, enhancing overall well-being. Access to cultural stations, spending time there has been linked to reduced stress, improved mood, and increased feelings of well-being within 7 neighborhoods of Novi Sad. This includes providing barrier-free access, accommodations for individuals with disabilities, and programming that is inclusive and welcoming to everyone. Participation of the local community in the design, programming, and management of cultural stations is also important. By integrating these principles into the design, programming, and management of cultural stations, Novi Sad creates vibrant, inclusive, and healthy spaces that contribute to the overall well-being of its residents and visitors. Cultural stations are located in different parts of the city in order to provide accessibility to all citizens. Their arrangement is in accordance with the recommendations of green construction and restoration, and the interior and surroundings foster respect for nature and nature-based solutions. Also, they are developing different content in line with culture, but also science, health and smart solutions as a tool for well-being.

Ideological rug-pulling: race, reds, and red herrings in Jordan Peele’s Us

ABSTRACT Viewers of Jordan Peele’s 2019 Us are likely to approach the film expecting it to be about race. Undercutting current cultural orthodoxy about which marker of identity has priority, the story reveals itself instead to be about class, as doppelgängers emerge from underground to free themselves from the affluent originals allegorically oppressing them in a capitalist culture. In what Vera Tobin calls a “narrative rug-pull,” the revelation of the main character’s real identity invites viewers to reinterpret what they have seen and to rethink what their loyalties were and should be. Us thereby performs a rug-pull of a specifically ideological variety, as, prior to the reveal, viewers only make the specific interpretive assumptions they do because of deeper ideological ones. Where Tobin writes against the notion that cognitive biases are necessarily bad, since they can be deployed for aesthetic pleasure, I argue further that they can be weaponized in narrative to artfully combat ideological bias. There is untapped potential for rug-pulling to be used in ideology critique, though I end with some pessimistic caveats about the possibility of doing so in a capitalist culture.

Reshaping Sports Journalism Through Innovation: An Analysis of L’Équipe Explore’s Strategies, Practices and Output

ABSTRACT Sports journalism practice faces important challenges deriving from the multiplication of platforms, the acceleration of workflows, the emergence of new entrants and the audiences’ shifting consumption habits. In a bid to overcome those challenges and advance innovation across the board, the French newspaper L’Équipe established a specific unit for that purpose: Explore. By focusing on this case study, this research has examined the formats, output and practices deployed by Explore and evaluated its impact within L’Équipe’s offer. The study is informed by content analysis performed on the projects (N = 201) published by Explore over a 32-month timeframe (May 2021–December 2023), ethnographic work and eight semi-structured interviews with its employees. Findings reveal that Explore stands out as a leading “media lab” in sports journalism. Through a broad range of formats and a multifaceted agenda, Explore occupies a unique position in terms of delivering cultural capital. Explore embraces alternative production modes that invest in freedom and research while rejecting hyper-accelerated cycles and clickbait-oriented approaches. Such proposition has resonated with audiences and positioned Explore as a cornerstone of L’Équipe’s commercial strategy. Solutions articulated by Explore contribute to the broader discussion of how sports journalism practice can be reshaped in the digital age.

Promising the earth: Forms of capital promised and pursued in Australian-Chinese research collaborations

Science is a space of both collaboration and competition, illustrated by international research collaboration (IRC) and its advantages for individual countries, institutions and scientists. IRC also brings together countries positioned unequally in global epistemic hierarchies. Little is known about how scientists navigate these tensions within IRC. We explore this through a study of Australian–Chinese IRC, drawing on interviews with Australian scientists and Bourdieu's theoretical framework. We identify specific capitals that are sought and promised in Australian–Chinese IRC, namely, scientific, economic and ‘environmental’ capital, with successful collaboration depending also on social and cultural capital. Differences in how Australia and China are positioned in global academic and scientific fields, and differences between national scientific fields, mean that collaboration facilitates access to forms of capital unobtainable in scientists’ home settings. Because the benefits of IRC are fundamentally relational and promissory, these will change alongside the global hierarchies that are, themselves, being reshaped by IRC.

Advancing Global Climate and Biodiversity Goals Through Regenerative Tourism

Tourism has a particular responsibility to contribute to climate and biodiversity goals because of its intense use of long-range transport and its strong dependence on natural capital as an asset. Tourism is a major contributor to the global economy, but also to greenhouse gas emissions. The severe impacts of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the tourism sector triggered a search for enhanced resilience, replacing the past paradigm of “boosterism”, and the dominant paradigm of “sustainable tourism”. Sustainable tourism is no longer sufficient, and a shift towards a new paradigm of regenerative tourism is needed to address the environmental and societal challenges faced by the tourism industry. Here, the evidence pointing at the rise of regenerative tourism as a new paradigm is reviewed, the differential goals of regenerative, relative to sustainable tourism, are defined and actions along five domains of action are identified that can help tourism destinations embrace the transition toward the regenerative tourism paradigm. Regenerative tourism seeks to enhance the natural, cultural and social capital of destinations while creating net positive benefits for people and the planet. It emphasizes collaboration with local communities and an ambitious and holistic approach to sustainability, going beyond reducing negative impacts to creating positive ones. Regenerative tourism aligns the industry, the Paris Agreement, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, while advancing the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. The transition to regenerative tourism requires investments in technology and innovation, transparent collaboration, and a holistic focus on well-being for both people and the planet.

The influence of the cultural capital transformation of Wushu Intangible Cultural Heritage on status acquisition: the case of Sichuan Province

ABSTRACT The promulgation and implementation of a protection system for Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) has provided a new legal path for transforming cultural capital and solidifying the modern values of Chinese folk martial arts. However, different folk martial arts have formed differentiated evaluations and social statuses by transmitting and reproducing cultural capital across generations. Through the field investigation of Sichuan Wushu Intangible Cultural Heritage (WICH) projects, this study discusses the relationship between the status and influence of WICH and the operation of cultural capital. The findings demonstrate that the WICH inheritance group continues to pass down and transform embodied cultural capital through the inheritance relationship network while constructing and expanding the project’s objective cultural capital. In doing so, they maintain and strengthen the project’s established reputation and social status. Therefore, cultural capital and the path of capital reproduction of folk martial arts formed in the traditional inheritance field affect the acquisition of WICH status. A comprehensive clarification of the positive role of cultural capital in the acquisition of WICH status can provide a reference for the modern transformation and continuation of the value system of WICH projects at different levels.

Ruth Price: creating a nation’s pop scene

ABSTRACT In Wales, during the 1960s, the seeds of a devolved nation were being sown. The Welsh Language Society was established in 1962, and Gwynfor Evans, first Member of Parliament for Plaid Cymru, was elected in 1966. Against this backdrop Ruth Price left her post as headmistress in 1961 to forge a career at the B.B.C. This article traces a career that led to her successful pop music series Disc a Dawn (Disc and Talent) (1966–73) in which she demonstrated an understanding of the vital role pop music had in addressing a youth audience. In doing so, she ensured the cultural capital of the Welsh language amongst young people and demonstrated the importance of light entertainment for public service broadcasting.

‘Unbecoming’ a Professional: The Role of Memory during Field Transitions in Japan and the USA

AbstractExisting scholarship documents how, in becoming a professional, such as a partner in a professional services firm (PSF), one's habitus comes into alignment with field expectations. Less understood, however, is what happens to habitus and, relatedly, to professionals' accumulated cultural, social, and economic capitals, as individuals ‘unbecome’ a professional and transition away from the field. We examine this overlooked phenomenon via individual and focus group interviews with partners retired from PSFs in Japan and the USA. We find that, in unbecoming a professional, aspects of ex‐partners' habitus may be misaligned with the field they operate in, prompting a hysteresis effect. The lack of fit of habitus with one's current circumstances is induced by ex‐partners' nostalgia regarding accumulated capitals, that is, wistful memories capable of structuring present and future actions. By demonstrating how nostalgia informs ex‐partners' experience of the hysteresis effect, this paper contributes to understandings of the importance of memory when detaching from one's profession. Furthermore, given that our investigation is carried out across two distinct cultural settings, we also theorize how country‐specific historical work arrangements may condition memory in professionals' unbecoming from PSFs.

Andrey Kryachkov. The man who created the city

Andrey Dmitrievich Kryachkov is an outstanding architect, the founder of the Siberian architectural school, whose creative path is closely connected with the foundation of the future administrative and cultural capital of Siberia. The author of most of the iconic historical architectural objects of modern Novosibirsk, Kryachkov largely predetermined the aesthetic code of the young Siberian city at that time, combining traditions and innovations in regional architecture of the first half of the 20th century. The architecture of Kryachkov in the modern appearance of Novosibirsk continues to play a significant city-forming aesthetic role.

Investments of High School EFL Teachers: Negotiating Professional Identities, Forms of Capital, and Societal Ideologies

ABSTRACT This 1.5-year longitudinal case study explores the investments of four high school EFL teachers, which have been scarcely researched, in China. A qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews, observations, and relevant artefacts, was adopted. The findings reveal that the investments of English teachers were inextricably intertwined with teachers’ professional identities, forms of capital, and societal ideologies. First, in contrast to previous findings, student-assigned identities on English teachers stimulated teachers’ investments in pedagogical practice and educational reforms. Second, teachers’ cultural capital was valued differently by society, institutions, students, and teachers themselves, and it played a critical role in teachers’ investments. Third, an unprecedented finding is that teachers’ enhanced social capital could hinder and undermine teachers’ investments and their desired identities. Fourth, being constrained by prevailing ideologies, English teachers were capable of making investments in reshaping existing structures. The implications of EFL teachers’ investments for their classroom practice and professional development are discussed.

Using habitus and ethnic identity theory to investigate the decision-making of Canadian Modern Orthodox young people

ABSTRACT Students’ access to higher education is significantly shaped by the cultural and social capital they hold and aspire to gain. This study examines Canadian Modern Orthodox high school graduates pursuing higher education, exploring the factors that influence their choices. By framing Canadian Modern Orthodox Judaism as an ethnic minority identity, the research reveals how this identity shapes the decision-making process of young adults. The study integrates Bourdieu’s concept of habitus and Phinney’s theory of ethnic identity to understand how students in a close-knit community plan their futures, balancing considerations of reputation, marriage, and career. Based on eight years of teaching at a Modern Orthodox high school in Southern Ontario, the study uses institutional ethnography to identify two key pathways: Pathway 1 involves students taking a gap year in Israel, postponing their minority status on North American campuses, while Pathway 2 sees students entering directly into secular universities, where they become ethnic minorities for the first time. The paper also explores how students manage their post-secondary experiences and the impact on their cultural and social capital. Those who choose a gap year in Israel often accumulate greater cultural and social capital within their community compared to those who enter university directly.

Economic, Social, Cultural Capital of the Region of Puno, Peru

Economic, Social, Cultural Capital of the Region of Puno, Peru

Linking personal initiative and family help as well as social support: a case study of learning challenges and solutions for older adults in rural China during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic has caused serious damage to the continuous learning of older adults around the world. While the existing literature focused more on older adults' learning in developed countries, few studies explored older adults' learning in developing countries with low social and cultural capital. This study took family-school cooperation in China as the platform and explored learning challenges and solutions through unstructured interviews with 12 older adults. The study found that due to policies of working and studying from home, older adults face obstacles in accessing physical learning institutions and digital learning knowledge, skills, and psychology. I further found that the older adults were not forced to accept the challenge passively, but created a lifelong learning model with Chinese characteristics by building self-learning based on personal initiative, developing sustainable intergenerational learning rooted in Chinese family culture, and participating in online learning in schools and enterprises under the government guidance. This study provided new knowledge for understanding the learning challenges and solutions of older adults in rural China. It is emphasized that policy value and practice enlightenment were highlighted and discussed in conversations with active aging, intergenerational learning, and harmonious societies.

“And What about Pushkin?”, or Unfulfilled Attempt of Boris Porshnev to Become a Scholar of Pushkin

The article elucidates a lesser-known facet of the eminent Soviet historian Boris Fedorovich Porshnev, whose acclaim stemmed from the publication of a study on popular movements in France before the Fronde in 1948. Choosing the path to science, B. F. Porshnev, as it turns out, tried to interpret Pushkin’s legacy on the eve of the centennial anniversary of the poet's death (1937). Upon scrutinizing Boris Porshnev’s handwritten records in the context of his life, it was ascertained that the historian had laid the groundwork, amassed copious material, and had clearly intended to pen and publish an extensive treatise on the oeuvre of A.S. Pushkin. . He had outlined a prospective publication in eleven overarching principles, which he intended to expound upon. Boris Porshnev was looking for a connection between the artistic side and the socio-political views of the poet. B. F. Porshnev was interested in the “historical foundations” of Pushkin’s work and its main themes. It seems that in formulating his 11 theses and answering the question “what about Pushkin?”, he followed the already officially declared stereotypical image, the rapidly emerging canon. The authorities envisaged leveraging the cultural capital of yore, and the historian appeared to cautiously navigate this nascent trajectory. The fundamental tenets of B. F. Porshnev’s depiction of Pushkin are as follows. Pushkin is not just a contemporary figure, but also aligned with socialism. He enjoys popularity and possesses international appeal. Examination of his works is imperative. Previous interpretations of the poet were incorrect. Two themes predominate in Pushkin’s work: the people as the creator of history and revolution. Pushkin is an implacable enemy of autocracy. The romantic idealization of revolution (rebellion), designed to subvert autocracy, is supplanted by disenchantment and the conviction that a triumphant revolution is viable in the West, where it was executed by the bourgeoisie, but impossible (“reckless”) in Russia. Pushkin ascribed the failure of the Russian revolution to the resilience of autocracy and the incapacity of the fading nobility to foment a revolution. This explication of the reasons for the revolution’s failure is deemed inaccurate. The actual cause, unbeknownst to the poet, is the absence of a proletariat in Russia.