Sources Of Discontent Research Articles

Revisiting The Longing for Total Revolution

ABSTRACT This paper reconsiders the arguments of my book, The Longing for Total Revolution, in response to the thoughtful analyses collected in this symposium. It restates the book’s main genealogical and critical arguments about the philosophical sources of uniquely modern forms of social discontent, while distinguishing those arguments from recent attempts to uncover the deeper, theological sources of discontent. It focuses, in particular, on the role played in modern social discontent by the group of thinkers I describe as the “Kantian left”: a long line of social critics who sought to “realize” Kant’s understanding of human autonomy in society, thereby gaining what Marx called “control and conscious mastery” over our social world, not just over our wills.

The Economic Successes and Sources of Discontent in East Central Europe

By some measures, the European Union’s Eastern enlargement, and the attendant securitization of East Central Europe through membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, have brought significant economic and welfare benefits to the former Soviet satellites or republics that have joined these organizations. All of their economies are considerably larger than in 1989. Foreign investment has helped fuel significant growth in the region, and financial linkages between East and West had a stabilizing influence during and after the US financial crisis of 2008-09. But economic success in absolute terms has not prevented a sense of disappointment from settling over the region, nor has it forestalled an illiberal backlash in a number of countries, which has had economic, political, and in some cases ethno-populist dimensions. This article examines some of the main economic trajectories around growth, consumption, investment, and finance. It explains why, despite numerous positive measures, both economic and political liberalism are under intensifying scrutiny. Growing inequality within countries, as well as continuing inequality – including power disparities between East and West Europe – have fueled discontent with the terms on which many East Central European states have integrated into the EU.

Интернет-технологии мобилизации политического протеста (на примере Евромайдана)

The paper presents the results of cybermetric analysis of Ukrainian protesters` digital footprints in social media (January – February, 2014). Strategies of forming attitudes of protest behavior of Ukrainian citizens in global network are analyzed. Empirical research model included event-analysis, typology reports of events considered using online Internet service monitoring social media and messaging discourse analysis, forming protest attitudes in the Ukrainian users. Structural and meaningful analyses were subjected to digital traces of three periods of development of protest, identified during event analysis. Development of intensity markers allowed to carry out a structural analysis of Internet content, and determining the content of the markers provided semantic content circulating in the global communications network.
 Discourse analysis of social media posts established dominance of certain technologies of negative mobilization of protesters: identification of political entities with public threat or sources of discontent; use anthropomorphic metaphors; broadcasting information of provocative character.
 In the article the perspectives of further research, involving improvement of methods of analysis of formation protest activity on digital tracks are shown.

The voice of the majority : The role of the group of 77 in the UN General Assembly

The staying power of the United Nations is remarkable. For nearly 70 years, UN membership has grown rapidly after newly independent countries joined its ranks. It is encouraging too that no country has felt a strong enough urge to leave the organization in spite of its democratic deficiencies. The composition and working methods of the Security Council, in particular, are sources of discontent for many, as is the failure of the UN to implement certain General Assembly resolutions. Nevertheless, international decision-making has never been as inclusive as it has been in the last few decades, especially in the Assembly, thanks in no small part to the commanding role played by the Group of 77 (G-77), the largest bloc at the UN.

Globalisation and its discontents: an Indonesian perspective

It is indeed a great honour for me to give the 2011 Heinz Arndt Memorial Lecture.The first time I met the great Professor Heinz Arndt was as a nine‐year‐old back in 1966 when our family first came to Canberra and Heinz was my father's (Panglaykim) new boss. I recall that he picked us up at the airport and within the first week we had visited his house in Deakin, where he gave me and my two brothers games such as Chinese checkers and books that his own kids had outgrown. So my first thought was: what a kind and thoughtful man.Little did I know that I would end up being what he often termed his ‘academic grandchild’. I never took a class from Heinz or was fortunate enough to be supervised by him. However, I had many interactions with him when I was a student at the Australian National University (ANU) and, upon graduation, as an aspiring young academic. He had an important influence on the course of my life. First, he encouraged me to do my PhD in the USA. After I completed my masters at the ANU under Peter Drysdale, I toyed with the idea of continuing with a PhD at the Research School of Pacific Studies. However, Heinz convinced me to go to the USA because he thought it would widen my horizons. He was right.Second, there was the importance of being disciplined and thorough in undertaking country or regional research. One of the most important initiation exercises for an academic working on Indonesia was to do a ‘Survey of Recent Developments’ for the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies. I recall being given a yellowed document that had been formulated by Heinz with precise guidelines on topics, structure, and people to see and interview. We found similar guidelines on regional surveys when we did economic surveys of all the provinces a few years later. I found that doing the research and interviews for the survey was the easy part. The hard part was the two weeks spent in Canberra writing up the survey and being subjected to peer review. The draft was presented to the ‘editorial team’ and others, including, of course, the venerable Professor Arndt. I am glad to say that I passed in terms of substance; but of course there were lots of edits to do following Heniz's traditional typed‐up comments, both general and specific!Third, despite being a formidable figure and someone with a reputation for strong opinions, Heinz was the same kind and thoughtful man I remembered as a nine‐year‐old. He always had the time of day for the young academics, especially those from Indonesia. I had many cups of tea with him as a student and later as an aspiring academic. I still recall his room in University House filled with his books and the filing cabinet near the bathroom, where he would inevitably pull out the right references and reading materials that one needed. I learned a lot about the importance of mentoring and encouraging the young—many of whom have succeeded and are in the room today.This lecture is to honour Professor Heinz Arndt. I believe Professor Arndt was a true internationalist and therefore he would tackle with gusto the rumblings of discontent on globalisation. He would be thorough in trying to understand the manifestations of globalisation and its sources of discontent. He would also be of the firm belief that the benefits of globalisation outweigh its costs and come up with strategic ideas on how to best manage globalisation to counter ‘globaphobia’. I hope I do justice to this topic in the Heinz Arndt tradition.

Islam as Ideology of Tradition and Change: The “New Jihad” in Swat, Northern Pakistan

Scholarly interest in religio-political movements in the Muslim world has increased dramatically in recent times. Given the considerable variety of movements that are inspired by Islam, it is imperative that overly general and descriptive analyses be avoided in favor of thoroughly contextualized studies of individual movements. In this article I adopt an interdisciplinary approach bridging the fields of history, anthropology, and politics to study the emergence of what I call the “new jihad in Swat” in northern Pakistan spearheaded by the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariati-Muhammadi (TNSM) and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Acknowledging the importance of the wider geopolitical environment, I argue that the rise of the TNSM and TTP is a function of the historical salience of Islamic (jihad) idiom in Pashtun society, localized sources of discontent, and historical-structural changes that have facilitated the emergence of a distinct agenda of “Shariatization.” My findings are based on extensive interaction with Swatis, both in their homes and workplaces, over an extensive period. I have also interviewed many who have been residing in refugee camps after May 2009. I conclude that the wider geostrategic environment, class, and other social cleavages in Swat and the ideational power of Islam ensure that spaces for the “new jihad” will continue to proliferate in Swat and its environs.

Reclaiming the self: how Korean housewives make meaning of their experience of re‐entering higher education

Well‐educated Korean women are returning to higher education in unprecedented numbers with the motivation of recovering their personal identity. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand the ways in which this experience is meaningful to these re‐entry women. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 13 Korean full‐time housewives aged 25 to 45 who already had a bachelor’s degree but enrolled at university. The constant comparative method was employed for data analysis. The major findings of this study were that the re‐entry experiences were meaningful for the participants in that they re‐established themselves as independent individuals, dispelled a sense of isolation, obtained a sense of accomplishment, gained recognition and structured their everyday lives. These experiences are perceived as meaningful because attending university addressed the sources of discontent in their lives.

Job Satisfaction Among Psychologists Working in State Prisons

There is growing demand for psychologists to work in correctional settings, and high vacancy rates indicate that efforts are needed to attract and retain employees. Job satisfaction has been associated with a variety of work-related outcomes such as productivity and turnover. In this study, 73 master’s- and doctoral-level psychologists working in one state prison system responded to a job satisfaction survey based on one developed by Boothby and Clements (2002). Respondents rated their overall job satisfaction along with satisfaction of 18 individual job facets. Three general facets, (a) economics, (b) perceived organizational support, and (c) interpersonal relationships, all significantly predicted overall job satisfaction scores. Ratings of facet importance did not moderate the relationship between facet satisfaction and overall satisfaction with employment as a prison psychologist. Suggestions for the future use of the scale in other correctional systems are outlined, including supplementing ratings with open-ended questions to better target setting-specific sources of discontent.

Sources of Discontent

This article presents the first systematic analysis of residential satisfaction ratings from the largest consumer comment Web site for U.S. apartment residents, www.ApartmentRatings.com. Using the 464,281 tenant satisfaction ratings posted from January 1, 2000, to January 1, 2007, we examine the relative importance of seven core factors in determining tenant satisfaction: parking, noise level, landscaping, safety, building construction, office staff, and maintenance service. Cross tabulation, ordered logit, probit, and path analysis models all point to tenant relations with management office staff as the most influential factor in tenant satisfaction. The fact that the manager—tenant relationship exists for tenants but not for homeowners may help to explain why the gap in residential satisfaction between owners and renters persists even when controlling for other physical environmental characteristics.

Politics, democracy and the media: Case studies in Fiji, Tonga and the Solomon Islands

This article looks at three South Pacific Island nations—Fiji, Tonga and the Solomon Islands—in terms of some landmark changes occurring in their political arenas. Fiji, beset by racial and political problems culminating in three coups, is experimenting with a multiracial, multiparty cabinet that could be emulated by other multiethnic countries. Tonga, a Polynesian monarchy, has recently seen an unprecedented number of protest marches against the ruling elite, the death of its King, and is in experiencing palpable democratic changes. In the Solomons, the strong desire for a fairer political system was manifested in the 2006 riots in Honiara. It caught the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) napping and brought into question the sufficiency and focus of Australia’s intervention policy in the country. The media has been a key player in these events. Regularly accused of adding fuel to fire in its coverage of crises, the media faces constant government pressure in all three countries. This article argues that rather than the media, the sources of discontent and instability are self-serving leaders clinging to outdated political systems. The authors believe political reform, not media control, is needed.

Income and happiness: earning and spending as sources of discontent

Richard Easterlin's 1973 query, “Does Money Buy Happiness?” began what has become a major source of research among social scientist. Easterlin's initial answer was “no,” at least in absolute terms. Subsequent research has been inconclusive regarding the extent to which money matters, ranging from a great deal to little if any. The latter conclusions fly in the face of much of human behavior, as we know it. I argue that money matters a great deal. Problems arise, however, in the fact that it must be earned and spent. Two areas often neglected in the literature. Changes in both the nature of work and of consumption have themselves been the source of increasing dissatisfaction, particularly in the United States over the past generation. The work of Scitvosky, Linder, and Schor, among others provides the background for the analysis.

Community Networks and Cultural Intermediaries: The Politics of Community Net Development in Greater Manchester

Using original research materials of in-depth interviews with community network development workers, multimedia and graphic designers, public authority managers, and a number of case studies (a Bangladeshi Electronic Village Hall, Manchester Multimedia and Networking Centre, the Manchester Community Information Network, and Virtual Manchester) this article traces out the views of interviewees on the trajectory of community and civic net provision in the city. Sources of discontent were found in: commodification of local civic nets, a prevalent middle-brow approach to web page design, the influence of ‘cultural intermediaries’ in and on publicly funded telematics and multimedia software development agencies, the impact of an entrepreneurial ethos in local authority policy formation, and pedagogic and patronizing attitudes towards local communities on the part of local area net development agencies. The article argues that, alongside structural corporate ICT power and the technological and scientific ICT R&D professions, these problems have a telling impact on the nature of civic and community net development. As well as criticism of the prevailing nature of city nets, the article more positively prompts a call to local authorities to adopt a form of ‘critical regionalism’ in order to put the control of civic nets back with the communities they are supposed primarily to be aimed at. This means empowering community ICT nodes, involving them directly in the development process, and moderating the impact of corporate ICT and cultural intermediaries within publicly funded ICT agencies. Given the renewed role for local governance in conditions of globalization such policies would aid the development of thriving and viable local community networks.

Environmental Security: The Search for Strategic Legitimacy

Environmental security-the intersection of environmental conditions and security affairs-is a subject that increasingly demands the attention of those concerned with relations between the armed forces and society. It is at the heart of new, more comprehensive post-Cold War conceptions of security that could fundamentally redefine the essence of military establishments. It is also central to societal well-being and the attendant public trust and confidence in the institutions of government that ultimately determine the efficacy of the state. There is growing acceptance today of the link between the environment and security. However, two issues continue to divide scholars and practitioners alike and thereby undermine the legitimacy of the subject: the definition of the phrase and the causal relationship between the environment and security. Definitionally, the very nature of the subject forces a new degree of attention to the linkage between individual (human) security and national, regional, and global security. On the other hand, the suggestion that conflict may be caused-or at least prefigured-by environmental conditions lies at the heart of most disagreements on the subject and thus on its integral importance to the field of security affairs. What seems clear is that environmental conditions must be viewed in conjunction with associated economic and political factors. It may turn out that there is a masking phenomenon at work by which ostensibly political and economic precipitants of violence and unrest actually mask underlying environmental sources of discontent. By the same token, increasing attention must be given to autocatalytic events (such as natural disasters) that feed and feed off environmental degradation. Recognizing the existence and prevalence of these sorts of conditions and relationships is a challenge that will test the intellectual mettle of analysts and policymakers in the world that lies before us.

Localism, Evangelicalism, and Loyalism: The Sources of Discontent in the Revolutionary Chesapeake

Localism, Evangelicalism, and Loyalism: The Sources of Discontent in the Revolutionary Chesapeake

Transvaginal and transabdominal ultrasound for monitoring of follicular development in an in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer program: Patient response

Patients' response to daily ultrasound scanning by either a transvaginal or a transabdominal method for the purpose of monitoring the ovarian response to gonadotropin therapy in an in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer program has been evaluated. A questionnaire was used to determine various aspects of these two procedures, sources of discontent, and the patients' preference. The vast majority of patients reported less discomfort and generally preferred the transvaginal over the transabdominal scanning method. The transvaginal method is easy to perform, affords excellent visualization of the pelvic organs, and in addition, is clearly preferred by patients over the transabdominal technique. We recommend its use in patients monitored for IVF-ET and for a variety of other clinical conditions requiring detailed evaluation of the pelvic organs.

Attitudes of Supervisors toward Short Police Officers

Although there has been much interest in the performance of short patrolmen and those of normal height (White & Bloch, 1975), there appear to be few differences. The present study was designed to explore the opinions of supervisors about short patrolmen. A 20-item questionnaire was completed anonymously by 29 supervisors whose mean age was 40.3 yr. (SD = 5.7), mean years of supervising 8.1 (SD = 4.9) on their opinions about short police officers. They were from four small departments (with 20 to 25 police officers each). Their mean height was 71.7 in.; 17 were average (68 to 72 in.); 11 were tall (more than 72 In ); and one was short (less than 68 in). Of these supervisors, 62% felt that short patrolmen receive more complaints from citizens, 62% believed that they cause more frequent disciplinary problems, 59% believed that they issue more vehicle summonses and arrests, 55% believed that they cause poor morale, 52% believed that they initiate most of the internal department complaints, and 38% believed that they are involved in more accidents than the average or tall patrolman. Tall patrolmen were believed to be least often disciplinary problems by 55% of the supervisors, and to take the most sick time (by 45% ). Patrolmen of average height were believed to receive letters of commendation more (by 93%), to give more warnings for motor vehicle violations (by 86%), to get along better with their co-workers (by 86%), to receive more job-related injuries (by 79%), and more often to be chosen as the patrolman most preferred to help a member of the supervisor's family (by 76%). Opinions about short patrolmen were not, on the whole, related to the supervisor's age, years of police work, rank, or weight. However, taller supervisors more often viewed short patrolmen as sources of poor morale, as sources of internal complaints, and as involved in more accidents. Supervisors with more years of supervising less often saw short patrolmen as making more arrests or tall patrolmen as taking more sick time. The opinions about short police officers varied also between the four departments studied. In summary, these supervisors tended to see short patrolmen as more aggressive law enforcers and as more likely to be sources of discontent in the police department. Further research is needed to discover whether these perceptions are correct.

Recent Developments in Sri Lanka Politics

S RI LANKA had a great deal at stake in the July i977 elections, perhaps including the survival of its democratic traditions, for if Sirimavo Bandaranaike's left-of-centre Sri Lanka Freedom Party had won, it would have marked the almost certain demise for the right wing of Ceylonese politics and might well have ushered in an age of socialist dictatorship. There were too many totalitarian signs in Mrs. Bandaranaike's seven-year grip on the parliament and the enormous state bureaucracy to suggest otherwise. But for a variety of reasons her defeat was predictable, and in retrospect one can see a pattern of policies and events indicating that her government was sliding towards failure almost from the beginning. Though it is relatively easy to enumerate reasons for the decline of the United Front and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party' over the past few years, it is harder to see how the various issues combined to produce the defeat at the polls. But it can be said at once that unproductive economic programs and an arrogant style of administration were major sources of discontent. From these a host of other difficulties spread out to suffocate the good intentions of Mrs. Bandaranaike's government. In the field of economics, very little that the United Front introduced as reform measures produced long-term benefits. Almost all of the programs seemed to suffer from such gross mismanagement as to destroy their potential value. A prime example was the Land Reform Act of I972, widely applauded as a long-overdue measure. Over 400,000 acres of once privately-owned estate property were distributed to landless peasants. But much of the value of the program was offset by the high-handed manner in which the land was allocated, and by the inability of many peasants to make proper use of it

THE LAND LEGISLATION AND IRISH SOCIAL LIFE

F EW of the features that distinguish the social life of Ireland in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries did not depend on the elasticity of rent. The social-significance of the land legislation lies in its restraining rent-and with impressive speed and thoroughness: henceforth, agencies other than the landlord's exigence must refashion social life. If, traditionally, the peasant's life was bare and hopeless, the cause lay largely in landlord-tenant relationships which kept farming inefficient and left to the people who worked the soil little more than their subsistence. When the crops, or the animals, that paid the rent tended constantly to encroach on the land that fed the people, it is not surprising that so many of the people ate potatoes and little else-for on no other crop could they live with greater economy of land. The peasant's character, no less than his material condition bore witness to the landlord's exactions. Whether he was portrayed by friend or critic, by novelist or traveller, the Irish peasant, in all probability, was an idle and improvident creature, content with his meagre lot, finding it, indeed, the source of much gaiety and pleasure. When other luxuries eluded him, he revelled the more in laziness: industry, shorn of its fruits, rarely undermined its appeal. In a perverse economy, its victims powerless to check its exactions, it was fecklessness, almost alone, that gave the illusion of independence: when hardship was certain, it was of some relief to pretend one willed it. Paradoxically, the peasant's contentment, too, was bound up with the landlord's exigence: a potato dietary and early marriage, incidental accompaniments of exploitation, were the prerequisites of most of the people's happiness, and the cause of much. Potent sources of discontent were unknown in a community whose members were alike in their poverty and their impotence to end it: unaccustomed to the jingle of money, they had not learned to lament its deficiency: unaware of the comforts of a higher social station, or convinced that such they were, they discovered less in their own lot to resent. Behind most of their more positive pleasures lay their equality in misfortune: they were the more generous