Members Of Different Social Classes Research Articles

Positive contact with working-class people reduces personal contribution to inequality

The current research investigates the effect of a type of intergroup contact that has rarely been studied to date, class-based contact, on one’s personal contribution to inequality. We conducted two studies with middle and upper class individuals. We first longitudinally examined whether positive contact with working-class people reduces contribution to inequality (i.e., participants stating that they themselves contribute to maintaining the social hierarchy) whilst controlling for ideological factors. Lower levels of contribution to inequality were present in people with more and better contact, but the change over time was small in the absence of experimental manipulation. An experiment then showed that recall of positive (vs. negative) contact with working-class people reduced participants’ contribution to inequality and increased their willingness to participate in collective action for equality. These results suggest that facilitating spaces where members of different social classes can have positive interactions can contribute to reducing inequality.

Is Medieval French diglossic? New evidence on remnant V2 and register

An ongoing debate concerns the degree of diglossia of contemporary French, by which vernacular and normative registers display significant grammatical differences. Was diglossia characterizing Medieval French? This question is explored through the study of unambiguous V2 configurations. The word order has been shown to display rates of use and informational behavior correlating to register. The correlation is investigated in novel data relating to narration vs. dialogue and to correspondence by members of different social classes. Quantitative analysis shows that variation in V2 behavior remains determined by formality. The proposed methods thus help measure diglossia of previous states of languages.

Medical diagnosis of dyslexia in a Swedish elite school: A case of "consecrating medicalization".

Based on qualitative data of an upper-secondary school in Sweden's primary elite community, Djursholm, I propose how medical diagnosis of students as dyslexics contributes to consecrating them by offering a short cut to successful performance, while at the same time reproducing differences between social classes. The study suggests how students that do not score top can be labeled dyslexic and the social and moral consequences of that. I introduce the concept of "consecrating medicalization" in order to discriminate between the effects of medical diagnosis of members of different social classes. In this way, this paper contributes to further examining some key problems in medical sociology and the sociology of elites, by offering a framework of synthesis and integration.

The Distributional Effects of Peer and Aspirational Pressure

We develop a theoretical framework where the cross-sectional distributions of hours, earnings, wealth and consumption are determined jointly with a set of expenditure targets defining peer and aspirational pressure for members of different social classes. We show existence of a stationary socio-economic equilibrium, under idiosyncratic stochastic productivity and socio-economic class participation. We calibrate a model belonging to this framework using British data and find that it captures the main patterns of inequality, between and within the social groupings. We find that the effects of peer pressure on within group inequality differ between groups. We also find that wealth and consumption inequality increase within groups who aspire to match social targets from a higher class, despite a reduction in within-group inequality in hours and earnings.

State, resistance, and class reproduction: the case of military service avoidance in Israel

ABSTRACT Using the case of military service avoidance in Israel, this article compares patterns of individual resistance between members of different social classes. This comparison demonstrates that the resistance represented by non-compliance with mandatory military service embodies very different meanings and consequences for the different classes, which are influenced by their relationship with the state. For the privileged class, avoidance of military service is framed in terms of distancing oneself from the state, and thus manages to bypass militarism (i.e. to be perceived by its members as legitimate – a source of pride, even – as well as being relatively immune to social sanctions). Conversely, for the peripheral class, the same practice is framed as a protest against the military’s tracking policy, and is paradoxically linked to one’s desire to be recognized as part of the national collective. Hence, military service avoiders from the social periphery express feelings of insult and anger towards the state, or, alternatively, voice shame and regret for the action they have taken, and experience greater difficulty in coping with their act of resistance. These distinct patterns demonstrate the class hierarchy embedded in resistance to the power of the state and its participation in the process of social reproduction.

Conditional Solidarity: Social Class, Experiences of the Economic Crisis, and Welfare Attitudes in Europe

The aftermath of the Global Financial and Economic Crisis of 2007/2008 turned out as a veritable “stress test” for European welfare states. Aiming to stabilize citizens’ living conditions and mitigate socio-economic hardship, European governments have engaged in active crisis management. Yet, the protective capacities of European welfare states vary, as does individuals’ exposure to crisis-induced social risks. Hence, the crisis has impacted countries and the members of different social classes unequally. Against this backdrop, this paper asks how Europeans’ perceptions of the personal impact of the crisis are associated with their welfare attitudes, focusing on variations between social classes and across nations. Using cross-sectional Eurobarometer survey data from 2010 for 27 European countries, I find that perceived crisis impact is associated with greater support for welfare state responsibility and redistribution. However, this association is not homogeneous but moderated by an individual’s class position as well as national economic conditions and social spending levels. More specifically, on the individual level, perceived crisis impact is associated with more favourable welfare attitudes not only among its traditional supporters—such as the working class or the unemployed—but also among its traditional opponents, notably the self-employed. Furthermore, where social spending is higher, welfare state support is less strongly related to perceived crisis impact, suggesting that more encompassing welfare states mitigate the subjective impacts of the crisis. However, redistribution appears to be slightly more contested between those affected and those not affected by the crisis under better economic conditions. Given the challenges facing welfare states across Europe, it remains to be seen how stable a basis of popular support can be formed on these grounds.

Some aspects of the everyday life of officials in the Russian Empire in the beginning of XX century (based on the «Vestnik chinovnika»)

This article explains the necessity of studying the historical experience of the management organization of the Russian Empire. The article contains an analysis of the situation of contemporary historiography, which feature lies in the fact that it is necessary to study not only the degree of effectiveness of the mechanisms of power, but also the factors influencing it. Among these factors occupies an important place daily serving officials, their way of life, material security, way of life. The history of everyday life a new branch of historical knowledge, the subject of study which is the sphere of human commonness of multiple historical, cultural, political and event-and religious-confessional contexts. The focus of the study of the history of everyday life repeating, normal and usual, design style and way of life of the members of different social classes, including emotional reactions to events and behavior motives. One of the main sources of this study advocates periodical Vestnik chinovnika, which allows to understand the lifestyles of officials from the "inside." Analysis of this edition allows to draw conclusions about the limited salaries, lack of financial security, which is reflected in the number of employees malfeasance. The results can serve as a basis for further study of the factors influencing the efficiency of public administration and for the study of everyday regional officials.

The meaning of the park

The occupation of public urban space is a prominent feature in most descriptions of the global wave of protests after 2011. This paper examines the occupation of one significant space, New York’s Zuccotti Park, to investigate how first, ‘occupying’ became the central form of practice of what later was called Occupy Wall Street. By reconstructing the habitus of the movement’s core constituency and its resonance with the practice of the occupation, this investigation also explains why it was so difficult for the movement to evolve into other forms. It sketches out how the practice of occupying influenced the cooperation between members of different social classes participating in the protest and compares the development of this occupation to the very different trajectory of the Occupy movement in Germany. It is argued that the US occupation only temporarily overcame obstacles to mobilizing the discontent of those young adults that found themselves biographically blocked from joining the new petty bourgeoisie and to building alliances with other social groups in the USA of the post-recession era. Since the eviction from the park reinforced these obstacles, it triggered a de-mobilizing dynamic.

Hint'te kast sisteminin ilk izleri ve Hint edebiyatındaki yeri

There is not a precise date as to the emergence of the caste system in the Indian subcontinent, yet the system has made a deep impression on society in terms of social and religious aspects. This system is the backbone of Indian society. It is a pyramid that came into being as a result of racial and religious discrimination. The caste system, which is a typical example of closed stratication, reects different ways of life in society. Further, the status of caste members is stable. Mobility in the caste system is banned and so is the marriage between members of different social classes. Using the qualitative research method, this essay examines the ways in which the characteristics of different social ranks determined by the system in Rgveda, the oldest holy book of Hindus, and in dramatic works as well as epics had an impact on society.The work also explores how the religious beliefs of a society inuence the social order and whether this inuence is still ongoing. This essay argues that although the caste system has disintegrated in the course of history, it is believed that it still is an effective way of eliciting social stratication.

“The University for the Poor”: Portrayals of Class in Translated Children's Literature

Background Scholars of children's literature have been investigating portrayals of females and racial groups for several decades, yet few have examined depictions of social class. Research on social class depictions in children's literature is needed in order to identify books that affirm children's class identities and offer portrayals of socioeconomic diversity. Focus of the Study This study investigates portrayals of social class in 35 titles receiving the Batchelder Award or Honor between 2001 and 2013. The Batchelder Award recognizes outstanding translated books with international origins. International books for children were selected in this study because American titles are thought to be middle class in orientation; the researchers hypothesized that the international books might provide a more complex analysis of social class. Research Design The inductive approach to qualitative content analysis was utilized. At least two researchers read and coded each book in the sample. The researchers examined passages referencing social class as well as other cultural constructs such as race/ethnicity, gender, religion, and nationality. Findings The researchers identified several markers that served as indicators of social class status: living conditions, food, safety and protection, healthcare, leisure, education, occupation, residence, speech and mannerisms, clothing/dress, death rituals, and material possessions. Social class was often associated with other identities such as a character's religion or ethnicity. Characters from typically marginalized class groups, such as the poor and the working class, were portrayed sensitively and with dignity. Conclusions The markers of class identified in this study may serve as a framework for other researchers interested in examining class in children's literature or media. The findings may help teachers and teacher educators identify and select books that realistically and respectfully portray members of different social classes.

Why Inequality Breeds Coups But Not Civil Wars

Does inequality increase the risk of violent leader removal? This paper argues that inequality affects coups and civil wars -- which are the two main forms of irregular leadership turnovers -- through two pathways. First, inequality fuels distributive conflicts; hence creating incentives for members of different social classes to seize power through either a coup or an insurgency. Second, greater inequality creates greater threat to rulers, which prevents them from coup-proofing and forces them to increase the capacity of the military to intervene domestically to quell unrest. This, in turn, increases the capacity of the military to fight insurgents but also to mount coups. Combining these two effects suggests that inequality breeds coups but has little effect on civil wars. Using a data set on 147 countries between 1960 and 2006, I find evidence that while inequality increases the likelihood of a coup, it has no discernible effect on that of a civil war outbreak. I also provide evidence consistent with three of the assumptions upon which my causal mechanisms rely: (1) inequality creates greater threat to the rulers by fueling political instability; (2) inequality reduces coup-proofing; and (3) coup-proofing deters coups but increases the likelihood of civil war.

The Revival of Traditional Water Buffalo Cheese Consumption: Class, Heritage and Modernity in Contemporary China

This article provides an ethnography and analysis of the revival of the tradition of indigenous water buffalo cheese and milk product consumption in Shunde, Guangdong. Contrary to the widely held belief that dairy products are not part of the traditional Chinese diet, water buffalo cheese and milk products have been part of the food systems of Guangdong for centuries. But in the past 30 years, these indigenous milk products have been reinvented as a kind of culinary heritage, supplemented by new forms and practices. The popularity of water buffalo milk products in Shunde today has come about as a result of marketing by various agents, including cheese makers, milk merchants, chefs and the government in post-Mao China. Furthermore, the culture of milk consumption in Shunde today has been shaped by both the forces of post-reform economic development, international cultural institutions, the changing perceptions of members of different social classes, and modernity. The reinvented tradition of milk products provides people of different social classes with new ways of consuming milk products and of conducting social interactions.

Reconstructing Class Sport Practices in Post-Communist Poland

Abstract The article analyzes the changes in attitude of Poles towards sport and recreational activities as well as their participation in these disciplines between the period before system transformations and the present day. Based on examples from literature and own studies, we have observed that Poles have shown a growing interest in sport and recreational activities. Moreover, social diversity of participants in this field has been noted. Sport disciplines and diverse recreational activities perceived as "bourgeois" during the socialist period are becoming more popular among members of the middle and upper classes as potential attractive and clear markers of social status. Interest in sport, skills, knowledge, and sports equipment and outfit in such disciplines as sailing, horse riding, golf, and hunting are thus becoming distinctive social markers. These factors are adopted in the reconstruction of sports practiced by members of different social classes. The continuity of sport practice was abruptly interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War and the following half-century of socialism

Difference and Alliance in Transnational Social Fields: The Pendular Identity of the Filipino Middle Class

This article offers a cultural analysis of Filipino middle-class identity emerging in transnational social fields. Although the practice of identity construction of the middle class leads to polarization and fragmentation of society, the ambivalent character of their identity results in social networks and alliances with members of different social classes in the Philippines. This article provides an approach to understand seemingly discrete and contrasting dual aspects—of differentiation and alliance, exclusion and inclusion, and plurality and unity—found in transnational social fields through an alternative framework of civil society and public sphere in the Philippines and other parts of the globalizing world.

Sherri Broder,Tramps, Unfit Mothers, and Neglected Children: Negotiating the Family in Nineteenth-Century Philadelphia. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002. 259 pp. $42.50 cloth.

With the relatively recent renovation of the American welfare system, the current dispute over faith-based organizations administering federal aid, and the wanton usage of the term family values in political discourse, few can deny that debate over the family, welfare, and the state remains heated. To add greater depth and nuance to this debate, Sherri Broder has delved into the complex relationships between the subjects and objects of social reform in late-nineteenth century Philadelphia. She explores how wealthy reformers, evangelical rescue workers, the labor movement, and laboring people “all drew on the discourse of the family”—which revolved around contested definitions of what constituted a tramp, unfit mother, or neglected child—“to define themselves variously as gendered members of different social classes, as respected family and community members, as political actors, and as people with claims on the state, the police, and public and private social services”(6). Utilizing local and national labor periodicals, the published works of charity organizations and individual reformers, and the institutional records of the Pennsylvania Society to Protect Children from Cruelty (SPCC) and the pseudonymous “Haven for Unwed Mothers and Infants,” Broder moves topically throughout five chapters dissecting different components of Philadelphia's discourse on the family.

"Professed Enemies of Politeness": Sincerity and the Problem of Gender in Godwin's "Enquiry concerning Political Justice" and Wollstonecraft's "Vindication of the Rights of Woman"

WOLLSTONECRAFT'S VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN (1792) identifies dissimulation as specifically female problem. Attacking modesty as embodiment of insincerity, Wollstonecraft aligns femininity with deceptiveness and suggests that as consequence, women have an obligation to be less but more truthful than their male counterparts: this is ultimate in female for which she calls.(1) Her call emerges from historical moment characterized just by its perception of crisis in manners and situation of women, however, but by what was widely understood to be crisis of sincerity in nation at large. The breakdown of honest and open communication between men and women is linked by Wollstonecraft to other failures--of political representation, of individual rights--and Wollstonecraft's call for women to become more sincere is also part of larger political plan. Godwin is even more explicit than Wollstonecraft about political evils of insincerity. While Wollstonecraft attacks politeness primarily insofar as it is tool for oppression of women, Godwin argues that insincerity is most stubborn obstacle to social reform and political revolution in broadest sense. Godwin's philosophical argument against insincerity in An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793) may be neither so persuasive nor so practical as Wollstonecraft's gendered and openly polemical attack on politeness. Yet Political Justice has virtue of taking sincerity to its logical extreme, setting up premise that only complete lack of reserve between individuals will guarantee absolute freedom in political sphere. By exploring rhetorical and cultural contexts in which Godwin's argument for truth-telling is situated, I hope to show how and why problem of insincerity had come to be perceived by writers of 1790s as central to questions of power and exclusion. Godwin's arguments for sincerity in Political Justice can be read profitably in counterpoint with body of writing, more sympathetic to politeness, authored by Hume, Edgeworths and others. Godwin responds quite explicitly to several of these arguments; others are written in wake of Godwin's own defense of absolute sincerity, and with goal of undermining such defense and preserving thereby social and political stability that politeness secures. The impossibility of thinking about politeness without also considering problems posed by relations between classes is revealed by fact that servants (both literal and metaphorical) figure in two most prominent examples of insincerity available to writers on either side of politeness debate: letter signed your most obedient and humble servant; and fashionable mode of excluding visitors by asking servant to say that one is not at home. The topic of servants offers writers across political spectrum way of managing anxiety or disposing of rhetorical excess at boundaries where masters and servants interact. In his rejection of the notorious hypocrisy of `I am at home,' Godwin deliberately foregrounds politeness as problem of gender but of class relations.(2) This choice proves problematic, however, as topic of gender continues to perplex social relations in manner that Godwin cannot address within framework of Enquiry, though I will suggest that it is thematized in Caleb Williams (1794). Both servitude and politeness are for Godwin antithetical to justice, yet his commitment to sincerity is ultimately undermined by his awareness that insincerities associated with gender will prove even harder to eradicate than miscommunication between members of different social classes. 1 For Political Justice, deception is simply one kind of injustice. It is rather dominant trope for representing injustice of all kinds, so that institution of government is described most damningly as organized deception and institution of marriage as a system of fraud (3. …

CLASS CLEAVAGES IN PARTY PREFERENCES IN THE NEW DEMOCRACIES IN EASTERN EUROPE: A comparison with Western democracies

Since 1989 the political systems in Eastern European societies have changed radically, from totalitarian regimes towards democratic regimes with free general elections and multi-party systems similar to early democracies. This paper examines whether in these new democracies the same class cleavages have become important as in longstanding Western democracies. The relation between social class, attitudes towards economic justice and voting behavior is investigated in five new democracies and compared with those in nine longstanding democracies. The data used are from various cross-nationally comparable and nationally representative surveys held in the 1990s (total N = 20,270). Results show that social class has clear effects on economic justice attitudes and voting behavior in Western democracies. In the post-communist societies, members of different social classes consistently differ in their attitudes towards income inequality and social security, but hardly differ in their voting behavior. Owing to the politically unstable situation in the emerging democracies in Eastern Europe, people in different classes are probably unable to translate their policy preferences into party preferences.

Where the buck stops: class differences in support for education

There has been little critical scrutiny of the extent to which the members of different social classes support current public educational institutions. This paper explores the attitudes toward education of class groups in relation to the declared agendas of class leaders, using public opinion surveys conducted regularly in Canada's economic heartland of Ontario between 1978 and 1996. An analysis of class leaders’ public discourse indicates that corporate leaders stress the waste and inefficiencies of the current school system, the need for market‐driven initiatives to overcome these problems, and a general belief that such reforms coupled with cost reductions and lower government deficits can lead to economic growth and job creation. Some labour union and other leaders associate declining school quality with spending cuts, defend equal access to education, and promote measures such as a reduced normal workweek to address the education‐jobs gap rather than continuing deficit reduction and more reliance on private and individual initiative. Corporate executives are shown to hold much more strongly consensual, fiscally restrictive views on education than other class groups. Other classes hold less consensual but equally coherent and fiscally responsible attitudes on education spending. Professional and managerial class groups, whom some analysts predict to be most disaffected, have only decreased their degree of support for increased education spending and taxes. Support for education funding among working‐class groups has increased since the early 1980s. There is also now at least plurality support for a shorter workweek in all class groups except corporate executives. Corporate business attempts to resettle the social contract with a downsized state education system are so far failing in the realm of public opinion. It is a question of whether we can grasp the real nature of our society, or whether we persist in social and educational patterns based on a limited ruling class, a middle professional class, a large operative class, cemented by forces that cannot be challenged and will not be changed. The privileges and barriers, of an inherited kind, will in any case go down. It is only a question of whether we replace them by the free play of the market, or by a public education designed to express and create the values of an educated democracy and a common culture (Williams 1961: 155)

Cities, Change and Conflict: A Political Economy of Urban Life

Cities, Change, and Conflict was one of the first texts to embrace the perspective of political economy as its main explanatory framework, and then complement it with the rich contributions found in the human ecology perspective. Although its primary focus is on North American cities, the book contains several chapters on cities in other parts of the world, including Europe and developing nations, providing both historical and contemporary accounts on the impact of globalization on urban development. This edition features new coverage of important recent developments affecting urban life, including the implications of racial conflict in Ferguson, Missouri , and elsewhere, recent presidential urban strategies, the new waves of European refugees, the long-term impacts of the Great Recession as seen through the lens of Detroit’s bankruptcy, new and emerging inequalities, and an extended look into Sampson’s Great American City. Beyond examining the dynamics that shape the form and functionality of cities, the text surveys the experience of urban life among different social groups, including immigrants, African Americans,women, and members of different social classes. It illuminates the workings of the urban economy, local and federal governments, and the criminal justice system, and also addresses policy debates and decisions that affect almost every aspect of urbanization and urban life.

Might Britain be a Meritocracy?

Most research on social mobility in Britain has found high absolute rates of upward and downward mobility but has emphasised the apparently low relative rates as measured by disparity and odds ratios. The assumption has been made that disparity ratios as high as 4:1 and odds ratios as high as 36:1 cannot be reconciled with the existence of equality of opportunity and that the meritocratic hypothesis has, therefore, been disproved. However, this research has never collected data on differences of ability and effort which may exist between members of different social classes, so the meritocracy hypothesis has never been properly tested. When a model of `perfect mobility' is fitted to John Goldthorpe's data on class origins and destinations, an extraordinarily close fit is obtained. It is clear that the meritocracy thesis is entirely consistent with the data reported in recent mobility studies and that it has not been disproved after all.