Community, Suffering and Entitlement: Food and Morality in the French Front-Line Towns, 1914–1918

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Dowdall
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Moral Economy ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Front Line ◽  
National Community ◽  
War Experiences ◽  
Uniform Manner ◽  
Subjective Meanings

Abstract— Between 1914 and 1918, deteriorating living standards and inequalities in food supply generated powerful subjective meanings in France. A moral vocabulary arose that castigated hoarders and profiteers and exalted front-line soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the trenches. This moral language helped to regulate social tensions by defining acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. As this article demonstrates, however, this moral economy did not function in a uniform manner across the country but developed highly localized inflections. This is evident from the case of civilians living in towns under fire and under military occupation at the Western Front, who suffered greater hardships than civilians in the interior. At the front, local wartime experiences shaped attitudes towards other social groups, the state and the national community. Social class was not the only category that defined the moral economy of wartime; so too did a sense of community generated by local war experiences.

Feeding the Front-Line Towns

2020 ◽  
pp. 152-179
Author(s):  
Alex Dowdall
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
Moral Economy ◽  
The State ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
German Army ◽  
Military Violence ◽  
Private Citizens ◽  
National Effort

Chapter 5 examines the importance of food for survival at the front. The urban battlefields at the Western Front experienced particularly acute problems of food supply. This chapter explores why this was so, and the solutions implemented. But it also moves beyond bureaucratic measures, to consider the meanings attributed to shortages on both sides of the lines. In wartime, food was a key issue that tested both the state’s ability to manage limited resources equitably, and peoples’ willingness to endure sacrifices and shortages for the national effort. In France as a whole, popular debates around food supply centred on what could be considered acceptable levels of sacrifice. But near the front on the Allied side, civilians developed a localized moral economy structured around their experiences of military violence. They demanded that the state acknowledge their additional suffering under fire by granting them additional entitlements in terms of rationing, and acting swiftly to root out hoarding and speculation. Civilians on the occupied side could not make such demands, especially in a context where food supplies were tightly controlled by the Commission for Relief in Belgium and the German Army. Here, food supply was necessary for material survival; but those involved in supply risked moral reproach for the contacts they were required to nurture with the German authorities. Here, the context of occupation shaped attitudes towards food supply, and public officials and private citizens were judged harshly for perceived indiscretions in their dealings with the occupiers.

scholarly journals A Relational View of Psychological Empowerment and Sense of Community in Academic Contexts: A Preliminary Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Ramos-Vidal
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Psychological Empowerment ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Subjective Perception ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Exchange Networks ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Network Analyses

Scholars need to pay attention to understand the factors that shape the interactions between individuals and social groups. Constructs like Psychological Sense of Community (PSoC) and Psychological Empowerment (PE) are powerful constructs used to evaluate the antecedents and the consequences of individual attachment to social settings. In parallel, recent advances in network analysis show that the position occupied within whole networks and ego-centric networks are relational factors that affect the subjective perception of membership to social groups. Studies that are conducted in organizational and community settings show strong associations between PSoC and PE. However, these connections have rarely been evaluated within natural settings such as the classroom context. On the other hand, although the theoretic basis of PSoC and PE claims that both processes are formed in a relational way, there are few studies that empirically evaluate the effects of social connectedness on the emergence of PSoC—referred to the classroom—and PE referred to academic-task development. The aim of this research is to determine the effects that the position occupied in formal and informal exchange networks induce on PSoC and PE dimensions. Sixty-four students enrolled in a master degree program (women = 68.8%, Mean age = 26.09, SD = 3.88) participated in this cross-sectional study. Multivariate analyses and network analyses were performed to test the hypotheses under study. The main research finding is that PSoC and PE are synergistic constructs that mutually shape to each other. In relational terms, by sending several nominations in informal networks, it is possible to generate notable impacts on some PSoC dimensions, while receipt of a wide number of nominations in formal contact networks is associated with high levels of PE. In addition, individuals who present high levels of PE are located in the core of formal exchange networks. These results are discussed in order to design actions to increase PSoC and PE in postgraduate academic settings.

scholarly journals Profit over People? Evaluating Morality on the Front Line during the COVID-19 Crisis: A Front-Line Service Manager’s Confession and Regrets

2020 ◽  
pp. 095001702097156
Author(s):  
Anastasios Hadjisolomou ◽  
Sam Simone
Keyword(s):  
Moral Economy ◽  
Meaningful Work ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Food Retailing ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Line Managers ◽  
Organizational Policies

This article gives voice to a front-line manager in food retailing, discussing her experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak which, overnight, became an ‘essential service’, leaving employees exposed to the virus. The article utilizes the ‘moral economy’ framework to understand how organizational policies, which were developed by senior management and implemented by front-line managers, denied human flourishing and well-being during a period of socio-economic crisis. The article captures the complexity of morality in organizations across managerial levels. Questioning the morality of managerial decisions during the pandemic and emphasizing how these are driven by the intense competition in the market, it reveals that front-line managers are caught between conflicting moral values and expectations. This study contributes to the ‘moral economy’ framework suggesting that the structural constraints of front-line managerial authority have challenged their moral values and narrowed the space for safe and meaningful work and well-being for front-line managers and employees.

scholarly journals African Nightclubs of Lisbon and Madrid as Spaces of Cultural Resistance

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 264-275
Author(s):  
Livia Jiménez Sedano
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Symbolic Violence ◽  
Symbolic Power ◽  
Cultural Resistance ◽  
Late Modernity ◽  
Dance Floor ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Structural Inequalities

Abstract The main objective of this article involves describing how African nightclubs of Lisbon have become spaces for cultural resistance against certain representations of African-ness, taking Madrid as a contrasting case. Since the 1970s, the so-called African nightclubs of Lisbon have constituted spaces for gathering and nurturing a sense of community for immigrants from Portuguese-speaking Africa. Commonly regarded suspiciously by most Portuguese citizens, commodification of the couple dance labelled kizomba during the 1990s helped changed their status. However, most African research participants do not recognise their beloved dance in the commodified version of kizomba. In this context, I analyse the commodification process as a form of symbolic violence that disguises postcolonial structural inequalities and unsolved conflicts through a discourse of neutral “approaching of cultures” on the dance floor. Moreover, from the point of view of a meritocratic symbolism, this discourse portrays the performances displayed at African discos as “basic” and unworthy. After exploring several ways of resistance to commodified kizomba displayed by African discos clientele, I conclude reflecting on the increasing symbolic power of global industries for naming social groups, structuring practices and exercising symbolic violence in late modernity.

Levels, Patterns and Distribution of Consumption Expenditure of Farmers and Agricultural Labourers in Rural Punjab

Social Change ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 406-433
Author(s):  
Gian Singh ◽  
Anupama ◽  
Gurinder Kaur ◽  
Rupinder Kaur ◽  
Sukhvir Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Consumption Expenditure ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
Marginalised Groups ◽  
Policy Suggestions ◽  
Resource Ownership ◽  
Agricultural Labourers

The objective of the present paper is to analyse levels, patterns and distribution of consumption expenditure by farmers and agricultural labourers in rural Punjab. An attempt has also been made to analyse the same trends across social groups and observe how caste interacts with resource ownership and leads to unequal outcomes. The study reveals a positive relationship between farm size and consumption levels, and also shows that caste-based discrimination becomes overt at higher levels of living. The farming communities may show a level of equality in deprivation but not in achievements. We see that most poor farmers and agricultural labourers spend on basic needs, thus leaving lesser amounts to be spent on durables and services. Things worsen for socially marginalised groups. The majority of households belonging to these categories have an average propensity to consume greater amounts which forces them to borrow money to make both ends meet. Finally, this study offers some policy suggestions to save such communities from a vicious debt trap and help them improve their living standards.

Introduction: Persisting Pasts in the Margins of Europe

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inge Melchior
Keyword(s):  
Social Groups ◽  
Short History ◽  
National Community ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

The introduction introduces the question of how people that live in a society with an extremely complicated, violent past and only a short history of independence engage with the past, both within their families and as members of a national community. According to the literature, they will long for stability, a strong collective story and closure. The chapter then describes the ‘War of Monuments’; the context of insecurity in which the ethnographic fieldwork took place. Subsequently, it positions the book within the literature on the anthropology of post-communist remembering. Finally the Introduction describes which methods have been used to gather the data and it introduces the social groups the book focuses on.

Identifying the Barriers and Drivers to Agriculture Entrepreneurship in India

2022 ◽  
pp. 261-272
Author(s):  
Sablu Khan ◽  
Hesham Magd
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Livestock Sector ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Start Ups ◽  
Global Food ◽  
Global Food Supply

This study mainly focuses on the identification of barriers and drivers to agriculture entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship not only includes the creation of new ventures or start-ups but includes innovation and growth. Agri-entrepreneurship can address the current issues of lower farm mechanisation and low productivity of the livestock sector. It can be helpful for farmers in general and agri-entrepreneur in particular. Understanding barriers and drivers to agri-entrepreneurship have become a necessity in current times. Agriculture entrepreneurship has the ability to raise the living standards and helps in the creation of wealth not only for the entrepreneurs but also for other farmers. Agriculture entrepreneurship is beneficial in the global food supply in least-developed and developing countries. The purpose of this chapter is to familiarise the readers with the meaning, prospects, barriers, and key drivers of agri-entrepreneurship to engage in agri-entrepreneurship.

scholarly journals Social Structure of Russian Society in Terms of Housing Security: Criterion and Quantitative Identification, the Guidelines for State Policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 8-23
Author(s):  
V. Bobkov ◽  
I. Kolmakov ◽  
Ye. Odintsova
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
State Policy ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
Housing Security ◽  
Social Standards ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Different Levels

The Object of the Study. Level of housing security of the population of Russia.The Subject of the Study. Social groups of the population differing in the level of housing security.The Purpose of the Study. The article is devoted to the identification of the social structure of the population in Russia by the level of housing security.The Main Provisions of the Article. The relevance of the study is due to the need to identify social groups with different levels of housing security in a society with a high degree of inequality in the distribution of the living standards. The hypothesis of the study is that the combination of normative (theoretical) and statistical (compromise) approaches allows, being within the criteria of social standards of differentiation of housing security, to take into account the limitations of the current model of housing distribution and to adjust the boundaries of social groups with different levels of its security. The authors have found intervals of housing security levels that do not contradict the normative approach and the current conditions of the Russian economy development, in which the population should be identified as social groups with different living standards. The tools offered in the publication allow to be integrated into the system of international measurements of housing security. The methods and estimates of the specific weight of different social groups of the population, their share in the total housing stock of the country are proposed. The main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used as a theoretical, methodological and practical basis for the identification of social groups in terms of living standards and determining their number. The proposed social standards of housing security and income standards can be the guidelines of the state policy for the implementation of the national project "Housing and urban environment", provided for in the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated may 7, 2018 №204 «On national goals and strategic objectives of the development of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2024».

scholarly journals Experiences in the reconciliation process: Period 1996-2004

Temida ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 37-38
Author(s):  
Nada Golubovic
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
War Experiences ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Reconciliation Process

The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina has left behind uninhabited, destroyed burnt down and devastated villages. The cities? demographic picture has been changed, as well as the ethnic and social structure. That is why we have been conducting our activities in the community reconciliation process in rural and urban areas, applying different methods of work. Our activities were aimed at all national and social groups. Our association?s target group is women. With our activities, we are trying to raise public awareness about the women?s issues and to find solutions to those problems. We have worked on key problems that arose as a consequence of war experiences, which were brought forward by the women. We are trying to achieve an insight into the problems that are common to the women from different social and ethnic groups and, by attempting to solve them; we work on conflict resolution and transformation.

scholarly journals Organizing Health Inequalities? Employee-Driven Innovation and the Transformation of Care

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Halford ◽  
Alison Fuller ◽  
Kate Lyle ◽  
Rebecca Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Healthcare Organizations ◽  
Structural Inequality ◽  
Organizational Sociology ◽  
Organization Of Care ◽  
Uk National Health Service ◽  
The Uk

This article responds to calls for new approaches to understanding and intervening in health inequalities and, in particular, for attention to the processes and relations that mediate structural inequality and everyday outcomes. Our contribution focuses on the part that healthcare organizations play in this. We draw on organizational sociology, which theorizes that while organizational structures, cultures, and practices may appear neutral – and rely for their legitimacy on this – they may, in fact, operate in the interests of some social groups and less in the interests of others. This proposition is worked through new empirical research on employee-driven innovation in the UK National Health Service. In both our case studies, front-line staff working with some of the most vulnerable citizens had identified the organization of care as both part of the problem and – potentially – part of the solution. In tracing their efforts to change the organization of care, we learn more about what it might take to mobilize resources in support of those whose lives are most affected by health inequalities.

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