scholarly journals Class Formation and Consumption among Middle-Class Professionals in Shenzhen

2011 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Elfick
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Class Identity ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Consumption Practices ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Large Sections ◽  
Urban Professionals

This paper explores the role of consumption in defining Chinese middle-class identity by examining the consumption practices of urban professionals. It is widely agreed that China has a thriving middle class. The exact definition of this middle class, however, is disputed by scholars and the Chinese popular press. Debates about class are also manifest in the daily lives of urban professionals. One of the most interesting areas in which identity is contested is that of consumption. The research is based on 60 in-depth interviews among professionals conducted in Shenzhen in the period 2004–2010. New wealth means that the myriad of goods on offer is accessible to large sections of the urban population. Professionals have become keen and selective shoppers. Many describe their consumption practices as informed by their own highly individualistic taste. This paper argues that professional consumption practices sometimes express individual taste but, more importantly, serve to articulate a collective social identity.

scholarly journals ‘Below English Line’: An ethnographic exploration of class and the English language in post-liberalization India

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 576-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
SAZANA JAYADEVA
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Cultural Capital ◽  
English Language ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
Class Identity ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
And Performance ◽  
English Training

AbstractAnthropological studies of India's post-liberalization middle classes have tended to focus mainly on the role of consumption behaviour in the constitution of this class group. Building on these studies, and taking class as an object of ethnographic enquiry, I argue that, over the last 20 years, class dynamics in the country have been significantly altered by the unprecedentedly important and complex role that the English language has come to play in the production and reproduction of class. Based on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork—conducted at commercial spoken-English training centres, schools, and corporate organizations in Bangalore—I analyse the processes by which this change in class dynamics has occurred, and how it is experienced on the ground. I demonstrate how, apart from being a valuable type of class cultural capital in its own right, proficiency in English has come to play a key role in the acquisition and performance of other important forms of capital associated with middle-class identity. As a result, being able to demonstrate proficiency in English has come to be experienced as a critical element in claiming and maintaining a space in the middle class, regardless of the other types of class cultural capital a person possesses.

Geographers and sexual difference: feminist contributions

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda McDowell
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Sexual Difference ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Geographical Knowledge ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Family ◽  
Definition Of

Divisions based on the assumption that men and women are different from one another permeate all areas of social life as well as varying across space and between places. In the home and in the family, in the classroom or in the labour market, in politics, and in power relations, men and women are assumed to be different, to have distinct rights and obligations that affect their daily lives and their standard of living. Thirty years ago, there were no courses about gender in British geography departments. This chapter discusses the challenges to geographical knowledge, and to the definition of knowledge more generally, that have arisen from critical debates about the meaning of difference and diversity in feminist scholarship. It examines a number of significant conceptual ideas, namely: the public and the private; sex, gender and body; difference, identity and intersectionality; knowledge; and justice. Finally, it comments on the role of feminism in the academy as a set of political practices as well as epistemological claims.

Kin Support of the Black Middle Class: Negotiating Need, Norms, and Class Background

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmine D Hill
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Black Families ◽  
Black Middle Class ◽  
Socioeconomic Background ◽  
Class Identity ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Class Background ◽  
Kin Support ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract In comparison to middle-class Whites, middle-class African Americans disproportionately provide financial support to their low-income family members. Evidence suggests that this practice is both essential for its low-income recipients and economically detrimental for Black middle-class givers. Scholars often oversimplify Black middle-class identity by describing kin support as motivated solely by racial identity. Gathering insight from 41 in-depth interviews, this article interrogates the conditions under which, despite their financial own vulnerability, middle-class Black families offer kin support. This study explores variations in Black middle-class racial ideology and observes how other dimensions of identity, such as class background, influence attitudes and decision-making towards family. This article demonstrates how socioeconomic background shapes the ways the Black middle class negotiates expectations of kin support and details three kin support approaches as either strategies for social mobility, tools reserved for short-term lending, or opportunities to repay unsettled childhood debts. This work contributes to our understanding of how the Black community deploys kin support, illuminates how the Black middle class makes sense of racial norms around giving, and centers class background in our intersectional understanding of identity.

Feedback to first language learners: the role of repetitions and clarification questions

1986 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Demetras ◽  
Kathryn Nolan Post ◽  
Catherine E. Snow
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Negative Feedback ◽  
First Language ◽  
Implicit Feedback ◽  
Parental Input ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Children's Speech

ABSTRACTThe conclusion that information regarding the grammatically of children's speech is unavailable in parental input has recently been challenged (Moerk 1983 a, b, Hirsh-Pasek, Treiman & Schneiderman 1984). The present study expanded on this research by broadening the definition of ‘negative feedback’ and by describing individual styles of mother–child dialogues. The purpose was to investigate whether mothers of four 2-year-old children responded differentially to their children's well-formed or ill-formed utterances with explicit and implicit feedback. The middle-class, English-speaking, mother–child dyads were recorded in a naturalistic context at home during play and eating activities. Explicit and implicit feedback were different in terms of the proportion of responses available to the child and their relation to well-formed and ill-formed utterances. The style of response was similar for most analyses across the four mothers.

The Role of Music in the Venetian Home in the Cinquecento

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
DEBORAH HOWARD
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Domestic Space ◽  
Class Identity ◽  
Professional Musicians ◽  
Music Making ◽  
Size Function ◽  
Theatrical Performance ◽  
Definition Of

This chapter considers the role of music and dance in the definition of identity by families and individuals in Renaissance Venice, with particular reference to the use of domestic space for music-making. The integration of music into its social and architectural context is discussed in terms of the class identity of different groups. The contexts range from domestic entertainment to family festivities such as marriages. The chapter goes on to explore the kinds of music-making in different spaces in the Venetian dwelling, in terms of the size and loudness of the instrument; the type of music performed; and the size, function and decoration of the room. During the sixteenth century, increasingly specialised rooms were created for music-making, often linked to theatrical performance and/or dance. In parallel, the employment of professional musicians by elite families began to supersede amateur participation on important festive occasions.

scholarly journals Guardianship for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: Accountant, Advocate or ‘Family’ Member?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lottie Giertz
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Family Member ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Adults With Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Guardian

The overarching aim of this study is to explore guardianship in terms of its impact on the daily lives of adults with intellectual disabilities in Sweden. Based on qualitative interviews, the article focuses on the expected and actual role of limited guardians for people with intellectual disabilities in the context of Swedish laws. Our findings show that the legal definition of limited guardianship is unclear, and that this lack of clarity among other dilemmas creates conflict among clients, guardians, relatives, professionals and care workers. The guardian may be expected to act as an accountant, a legal advocate, or even a surrogate family member. The result is consistent with previous research in other countries on the consequences of guardianship. The current legislation on limited guardianship is in need of amendment in order to avoid legal uncertainty and ambiguity among clients and their support network.

scholarly journals Identifications of Albanian-origin teenagers in Thessaloniki and the role of ethnicity: A multi-scalar perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zana Vathi
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Peer Groups ◽  
Urban Identity ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Cultural Power ◽  
Identification Processes ◽  
Common Destiny ◽  
Depth Interviews

The literature on ‘second-generation migrants’ has widely viewed ethnicity as the key marker of identity formation. This article explores the identification processes of Albanian-origin teenagers in Thessaloniki, investigating whether, when and why ethnicity plays a role in these processes. The paper draws upon data from 28 in-depth interviews and one focus group with teenagers, alongside participant observation involving families, schools and immigrant organisations. The findings show that youth of migrant origin construct their identities within intersecting simultaneous transnational, national and local dynamics and alongside a public–private divide. More specifically, youth culture, a city/urban identity, and emotional ties that bind peer groups and family and kin within and across the national borders provide important sources of identification. These strategies are partly indicative of a weak ethnic agency – the ability of people to change the conditions around them by relying on the belief in a shared common past and common destiny with co-ethnics, and the assertiveness that comes with this belief. Nonetheless, in the local, multi-scalar forms of political and cultural power intersect within people’s daily lives, while this multiplicity of sources of identification calls for a closer look at the linkages between the local, the national and the global.

scholarly journals Building Religious Harmony Among Young Children: Experience from Indonesian Elementary School

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-220
Author(s):  
Djunawir Syafar ◽  
Mujahid Damopolii
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
State School ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Right ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Collection Methods

This article is a study of the harmonization of Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism in SD Negeri (State Elementary School) 46 Hulontalangi, Gorontalo City. The school plays important roles because it is the first state school in Gorontalo City that develops and implements the concepts of religious harmony and pluralism in a school environment. This research is a qualitative study which uses three data collection methods, namely: (1) observation, (2) in-depth interviews, (3) documentation. The findings show that the implementation of religious harmony is manifested in religious, social, and cultural cooperation. The cooperation has become a habit that affects the outlook and actions of all school members in their daily lives. The habit is inseparable from the role of teachers, parents, students, and all school residents who become teachers and learners from their environment. It results in harmony cooperation, namely cooperation that is not only in the form of ideas and words but also affects the social environment. Thus, what has been implemented at this institution can be an alternative solution for schools or other institutions on how religious pluralism can be facilitated and placed in the right position and needs.

scholarly journals Indian Scientists’ Definitions of Religion and Spirituality

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 355
Author(s):  
Simranjit Khalsa ◽  
Brenton D. Kalinowski ◽  
Elaine Howard Ecklund
Keyword(s):  
Western World ◽  
National Context ◽  
Religion And Spirituality ◽  
Religion And Science ◽  
Basic Understanding ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Depth Interviews

Scientists are often assumed to be irreligious and little research has examined the role of religion and spirituality in their lives. Recent research shows that many scientists do articulate a commitment to the sacred and see religion and spirituality as influencing their work. However, we lack a basic understanding of how scientists define religion and spirituality, particularly outside of the Western world. We examine Indian Scientists’ definitions of religion and spirituality and their tie to scientists’ views on the relationship between religion and science. Drawing on 80 in-depth interviews with Indian scientists, we find that although science often operates as a global institution, national context influences definitions of religion and spirituality. Further, the views a scientist has about the relationship between religion and science are linked to their definition of religion. To understand and navigate the relationship between religion and science, we must study definitions of religion and spirituality, as well as the way they are shaped by national context.

‘Not falling for that’: law's detraction and legal consciousness in the lives of Brazilian anti-torture activists

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-56
Author(s):  
Fabio de Sa e Silva
Keyword(s):  
Justice System ◽  
Legal Consciousness ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Consciousness Studies ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
The Law ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Depth Interviews

AbstractLegalised accountability – the definition of torture as an illicit behaviour and the mobilisation of law-enforcement agencies, prosecutorial offices and courts to gather evidence, prosecute and convict torture perpetrators – has become central to anti-torture policies around the world, including Brazil. Based on legal-consciousness scholarship and in-depth interviews, this paper investigates the place and meaning of law in the everyday lives of Brazilian anti-torture activists. Counter-intuitive as it may sound, interviewees articulated an account in which law's authority is largely rejected, while non-legal tools against torture look much more preferable – even if they residually and cynically engage with the law. While exploring the discursive roots of such account, this paper highlights the role of law and justice institutions, particularly those in the criminal justice system, in the of building social support for – or rejection of – the law. These findings add to our knowledge of law's hegemony, while providing valuable insights for future legal-consciousness studies.

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