Weak multiculturalism and fears of cultural encroachment: Meanings of multiculturalism among young elites in Britain

Ethnicities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-70
Author(s):  
Natasha Warikoo

While politicians and scholars have debated the meaning, value, and purposes of multiculturalism for decades, less attention has been paid to the views of a broader group of Britons. In this paper I analyze the meaning of multiculturalism for elite university students in Britain. Many British leaders spend their early adulthood in elite universities. Do they hold the same conceptions of multiculturalism that scholars, the media, and politicians espouse? And, do they express strong support for multiculturalism (as they understand it) as discussions about political division in Britain assume? This paper answers these important questions by analyzing 67 in-depth interviews with undergraduates at Oxford University. I find that students define multiculturalism as a diverse array of ethnic groups living in the same society. Most simultaneously report little impact on their lives. Still, a significant minority express concerns about a perceived lack of integration and impingement on traditional British culture. These findings demonstrate precarious support for multiculturalism even among those who express more tolerant, inclusive understandings of British society related to immigration and Brexit in opinion polls.

1994 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.A. Elliott

With more than 20 windfarms now in operation in the UK, public responses to the reality rather than to the idea are emerging. The evidence is mixed: most opinion polls show overall strong support, but there are, equally, signs of strong local opposition in some areas and a general polarisation of views. This paper attempts to explore the way in which local and national attitudes and views have developed, looking in particular at the role of the Government, academic, and the media. It argues for a more constructive debate aimed at developing a consensus on the UK's ‘carrying capacity’ for windfarms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 787-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hira Kanwal ◽  
Humaira Jami

The purpose of the study was to explore modes, strategies, and consequences of cyberbullying perpetration and victimization among university students. In-depth interviews of 14 volunteer university students (8 male and 6 female) were conducted who volunteered to participate in the study in which 10 participants were “cybervictims” whereas 4 were “cyberbully-victim”. Interview guide was used for conducting unstructured interviews. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed different experiences in cyberspace with respect to gender and role (cybervictim and cyberbully-victim) in experiencing cyberbullying and cyber-victimization. Three themes emerged that is psychological consequences (emotional, behavioral, and cognitive), social consequences (family and peers), and change in lifestyle (online, offline, and academic). Facebook was found to be the most prevalent mode of cyberbullying. The cyberbully-victim participants derived more happiness while bullying and had revengeful attitude; whereas, cybervictims experienced more depression, increased family surveillance, social isolation, and became aware of negative consequences of social networking sites, became more vigilant and conscious in cyberspace. Moreover, the consequences reported by cyberbully-victim were distrust on security settings, low academic achievement, and their peers learnt from their cyberspace experience. Perception of cyber-victimization was different across gender and its psychological impact was more pronounced for girls than boys. The results and implications were discussed in Pakistani context.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630512110213
Author(s):  
Brooke Erin Duffy ◽  
Annika Pinch ◽  
Shruti Sannon ◽  
Megan Sawey

While metrics have long played an important, albeit fraught, role in the media and cultural industries, quantified indices of online visibility—likes, favorites, subscribers, and shares—have been indelibly cast as routes to professional success and status in the digital creative economy. Against this backdrop, this study sought to examine how creative laborers’ pursuit of social media visibility impacts their processes and products. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with 30 aspiring and professional content creators on a range of social media platforms—Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, and Twitter—we contend that their experiences are not only shaped by the promise of visibility, but also by its precarity. As such, we present a framework for assessing the volatile nature of visibility in platformized creative labor, which includes unpredictability across three levels: (1) markets, (2) industries, and (3) platform features and algorithms. After mapping out this ecological model of the nested precarities of visibility, we conclude by addressing both continuities with—and departures from—the earlier modes of instability that characterized cultural production, with a focus on the guiding logic of platform capitalism.


Sociology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003803852110083
Author(s):  
Mark McCormack ◽  
Liam Wignall

Drag performance has entered mainstream British culture and is gaining unprecedented appreciation and recognition, yet no sociological accounts of this transformation exist. Using an inductive analysis of in-depth interviews with 25 drag performers, alongside netnography of media and other public data, this article develops a sociological understanding of the mainstreaming of drag. There are two clear reasons for the success of drag. First, there is a pull towards drag: it is now seen as a viable career opportunity where performers receive fame rather than social stigma in a more inclusive social zeitgeist, even though the reality is more complex. Second, there is a push away from other creative and performing arts because heteronormative perspectives persist through typecasting and a continued professional stigma associated with drag. In calling for a sociology of drag, future avenues for research on contemporary drag are discussed, alongside the need for the sociology of cultural and creative industries to incorporate sexuality as both a subject and analytic lens.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 279
Author(s):  
Fang Zhao ◽  
Ning Zhu ◽  
Juha Hämäläinen

This study investigated the resilience of the Chinese child protection system in responding to the special needs of children in difficulty under the specific circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study applied qualitative document analysis of child protection administrative documents, in-depth interviews with 13 child protection professionals, and an in-depth case study of 14 children living in difficulty, complemented by relevant information available in the media. The results indicate that there are good policies in China’s child protection services but the organizational and functional fragmentation complicates implementation, suggesting a need for the development of bottom-up practices. The essential conclusion supported by these results is that the child protection system should be regarded and developed as a systematic project combining the legal, policymaking, and professional systems of child welfare services as well as governmental and non-governmental forces. As the COVID-19 pandemic has raised awareness of the need to develop the field of child protection holistically as an integrated system in terms of social sustainability in China, an international literature-based comparison indicates that the pandemic has also raised similar political awareness in other countries.


2020 ◽  
pp. 216747952094273
Author(s):  
Doralice Lange de Souza ◽  
Ian Brittain

There are claims that the Paralympic Games (PG) might contribute to a better world for people with disabilities (PWD). However, there are also claims that the PG might in fact be counterproductive to the PWD’s rights movement because they might promote the medical model of disability and/or ableism. In this context, we developed a qualitative exploratory study to investigate the legacies of the Rio 2016 PG from the perspective of disability rights activists and people involved in Paralympic sport managerial positions. In this article, we discuss one of the main perceived legacies that the PG fostered PWD’s visibility and a change in society’s perception of PWD. We conducted 24 open in-depth interviews and found that, for our participants, the PG worked as a showcase for PWD who were rarely seen in the media and in public spaces before the Games. This visibility helped to challenge negative stereotypes and stigmas associated with PWD, as well as possibly opening new doors for them. Our interviewees believe that we shouldn’t expect that the PG alone can change people’s perceptions and PWD’s status overnight. They are part of a larger and complex set of actions that are slowly contributing to this process.


Inner Asia ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-114
Author(s):  
Anna Yur'evna Buyanova

AbstractThis article explores the repercussions of the demographic changes currently taking place in Buryatia. In particular, it concerns the mass migration of young rural Buryats to Ulan-Ude, in search of a higher education and, eventually, better career prospects. In-depth interviews with a sample of Buryat university students are used to reveal the challenges rural incomers face in adapting to urban life, and the differing strategies they use to overcome them. As these interviews show, the success of a rural Buryat's university career depends on their capacity to change their behaviour and aspirations to fit urban cultural norms.


Author(s):  
Marcela Campos-Rueda ◽  
Susana Herrera-Damas

This paper examines databases of female experts as tools to promote gender parity in the sources consulted and cited by journalists. To do this, we conducted a search of databases available online (n = 88) and carried out in-depth interviews with people in charge of these databases (n = 4) as well as a survey among female scientific researchers included in the database of the Association of Women Researchers and Technologists of Spain (AMIT) (n = 919). The main results reflect the great potential of these tools but indicate that, to be effective, they require fluid communication with the media and a design that allows their incorporation into the regular routines of journalists. In Spain, their impact is still low and, as in the rest of the world, there is great fragmentation of resources accompanied by very weak interaction among the different initiatives. Resumen Se presenta un análisis de las bases de datos de mujeres expertas como herramientas para fomentar la paridad de género en las fuentes que consultan y citan los periodistas. Para informar nuestro trabajo, hemos llevado a cabo una búsqueda de las bases de datos disponibles online (n=88). En un segundo momento, la completamos con la realización de entrevistas en profundidad con las directivas al frente de estas bases (n=4) y con la realización de una encuesta a expertas científicas que participan de la base de datos de la Asociación de Mujeres Investigadoras y Tecnólogas de España (AMIT) (n=919). Los principales resultados reflejan el alto potencial de estas herramientas e indican que, para que resulten eficaces a la hora de sumar diversidad en la selección de fuentes expertas, requieren una comunicación fluida con los medios y un diseño que permita incorporarlas a las rutinas habituales de los periodistas. En España su impacto aún es bajo y, al igual que ocurre a nivel global, se aprecia una alta fragmentación de los recursos junto a un nivel casi nulo de interacción entre las distintas iniciativas.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 720-738
Author(s):  
Balázs Boross ◽  
Stijn Reijnders

Interventional television formats centering around the ritual transformation of “ordinary people” are not only followed by sizable audiences worldwide but also attract large numbers of aspiring candidates. Although the benefits and consequences of participating in such shows have long been debated within academia and beyond, research into actual experiences of participating in such television productions remains scarce. Based on in-depth interviews with participants of the disability dating show The Undateables, this article focuses on how contributors deal with their position in the production and how their experiences reflect the emancipatory claims of the program. By presenting the production process through the story and from the perspective of three participants, different modes of participation will be discussed, revealing how instances of submission, appropriation, and contestation of the production logic are linked to ideals of representation, notions about empowerment and voice, and to strategies of negotiating normalcy and difference.


1995 ◽  
Vol 166 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Hawton ◽  
Sue Simkin ◽  
Joan Fagg ◽  
Michael Hawkins

BackgroundThe aim was to determine the extent, characteristics and timing of suicide in Oxford University students.MethodStudents who died from suicide or undetermined cause between October 1976 and September 1990 were identified through University records and individual colleges. Information about each student was sought from coroners, college staff, general practitioners and hospital case notes.ResultsThere were 21 suicides (16 men and 5 women) and one open verdict (female). The observed number of suicides (0) was greater than the number expected (E = 11.09) on the basis of mortality statistics for England and Wales (O/E = 1.89; 95% CI 1.17 to 2.90). When deaths due to undetermined cause were included, however, the difference between O and E (17.03) was much reduced (O/E = 1.29; 95% CI 0.81 to 1.95). There was no evidence of an association with the Finals examination but two-thirds of the students had been worried about academic achievement or their courses. Nearly half appeared to have had a psychiatric disorder (mostly depression).ConclusionsThe much publicised apparent excess of Oxford University student suicides may be partly artefactual. Measures for preventing student suicides include careful induction upon arrival at university, means of alleviating academic stress and worries, and readily available and closely associated student counselling and psychiatric services.


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