Golden Dawn, Media Representation and the Neoliberal Restructuring of Social Welfare: On the Greek Crisis and the Mobilization of Disidentifications

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-276
Author(s):  
Ioannis Prinos
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Sovereign Debt ◽  
Cultural Representations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Interventions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Advantageous Position ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
Neoliberal Restructuring

Due to the economic crisis in 2008, processes of restructuring and dissolution of the social welfare state have been accelerated in the European Union, especially in the context of severe austerity measures imposed in countries with sovereign debt problems such as Greece. These neoliberal policies have increasingly sought their ‘legitimizing basis’ in discourses concerning a corrupt, ineffective and oversized public realm, while simultaneously promoting the notion of ‘welfare dependency’, insinuating an absence of moral values and proper ‘work ethic’ for the poor and disadvantaged, who are the most affected by the social state's withdrawal. Additionally, such narratives seem to have benefitted from the creation of ‘moral panic’ and the associated cultural representations of underprivileged social groups through mainstream mass media. The current article focuses on the nuances of this phenomenon in Greece, arguing that the catalyst has been the popularity of the extremist, nationalistic and anti-immigrant party of ‘Golden Dawn’. It contends that the representation of Golden Dawn's rhetoric and activism by the media, triggered processes of disidentification with poverty and the underprivileged in the mind of the average Greek; processes rooted in highly emotive sentiments of patriotism, religion and national identity, while linking such groups with the supposed deviant behaviour and ‘inferior’ traits of immigrants. Furthermore, it argues that this discourse enabled the government to ‘assault’ the ideological stance and arguments of the advocates of robust public social interventions from an advantageous position, enhancing the acceptance of its neoliberal agenda regarding public social policy in the Greek populace.

Contested Tastes

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela DeSoucey
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Animal Rights ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
Foie Gras

Who cares about foie gras? As it turns out, many do. In the last decade, this French delicacy—the fattened liver of ducks or geese that have been force-fed through a tube—has been at the center of contentious battles between animal rights activists, artisanal farmers, industry groups, politicians, chefs, and foodies. This book takes the reader to farms, restaurants, protests, and political hearings in both the United States and France to reveal why people care so passionately about foie gras. Bringing together fieldwork, interviews, and materials from archives and the media on both sides of the Atlantic, the book offers a compelling look at the moral arguments and provocative actions of pro- and anti-foie gras forces. It combines personal stories with fair-minded analysis of the social contexts within which foie gras is loved and loathed. From the barns of rural southwest France and the headquarters of the European Union in Brussels, to exclusive New York City kitchens and the government offices of Chicago, the book demonstrates that the debates over foie gras involve heated and controversial politics. The book draws attention to the cultural dynamics of markets, the multivocal nature of “gastropolitics,” and the complexities of what it means to identify as a “moral” eater in today's food world. Investigating the causes and consequences of the foie gras wars, the book illuminates the social significance of food and taste in the twenty-first century.

scholarly journals Capacity Choice and Government Regulation in a Vertical Industry

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 513-524
Author(s):  
Junlong Chen ◽  
Yajie Wang ◽  
Jiali Liu
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Government Regulation ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Excess Capacity ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Government Failure ◽  
Regulatory Policies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Capacity Choice ◽  
The Government

This paper sets up an industry competition model consisting of two upstream enterprises and two downstream enterprises. Then we rely on the model to explore how non-regulation and different regulatory policies (maximizing the total profits of the upstream enterprises, the social welfare of the upstream industry or the overall social welfare) affect the following factors: the excess capacity, enterprise profits, consumer surpluses, social welfare in the upstream and downstream enterprises and the overall social welfare. The following conclusions are drawn from our research. First, whether and how the government regulates the capacity choice greatly affect the equilibrium outcomes, as well as the welfare distribution among the upstream enterprises, downstream enterprises, and consumers. The specific effects are dependent on market demand and enterprise cost. Second, the government should formulate its regulatory policies on capacity choice based on the overall social welfare of the entire supply chain. If the government aims to maximize the profits of the upstream enterprises, the social welfare of the downstream industry will be negatively affected. Third, excess capacity does not necessarily suppress social welfare. Under certain conditions, the worst scenario of excess capacity may occur under the pursuit of the maximal overall social welfare. Excess capacity may arise from various causes, rather than market competition or government regulation alone. Excess capacity cannot be attributed solely to government failure. These conclusions have some significance for optimizing capacity regulation policies.

scholarly journals The Internet´s role in the Bersih movement in Malaysia – A Case Study

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 60-70
Author(s):  
Melanie Radue
Keyword(s):  
Green Revolution ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Political Liberalization ◽  
Communication Processes ◽  
Technological Structure ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
Use Of The Internet

Everywhere in the media, people talk about the so-called “Twitter and Facebook revolution” in regard to the Green Revolution in Iran or other new social movements which demand democratization in their countries and use the Internet for communication and mobilization. Libertarian advocates of the Internet state that the Internet has democratizing effects because of its reputed egalitarian, open and free technological structure for communication processes. Especially in countries in which the media is under strict control by the government, these characteristics are emphasized as stimulation for political liberalization and democratization processes. This essay critically examines the alleged democratizing effect of the use of the Internet on the Malaysian society exemplified on the social movement Bersih. The Bersih movement demands free and fair elections in Malaysia, often described as an ethnocratic and “electoral authoritarian regime”. 141 The objective of this study is to demonstrate the dependency of such possible effects on context.

scholarly journals Implikasi dan Arah Kebijakan Pemberian Anggaran APBN/APBD Untuk Operasional Pengelola Zakat dalam Meningkatkan Fungsi Pemerintah

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-28
Author(s):  
Cucu Solihah
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
State Development ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Regional Budget ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government

The commitment in building Indonesia as a prosperous country gives consequence to the role of government in prospering the community. It is conducted by empowering the programs having potency of financial sources for developing this state. Beside the tax as the financial source of state development, the government enforces the policy of zakat management.  The policy is the act number 23 in 2011 concerning zakat management in which the fund derives from the national / regional budget. In this case, the national or regional zakat council manages the zakat management. It is expected, it can help the process of state development and be a media in improving the social welfare as one of the government’s roles

scholarly journals Payment for Rice Growers to Reduce Using N Fertilizer in the GHG Mitigation Program Driven by the Government: Evidence from Shanghai

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1927
Author(s):  
Hai-Ying Gu ◽  
Qing-Mi Hu ◽  
Tian-Qiong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Participation Rate ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Shadow Prices ◽  
Ghg Mitigation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Directional Output Distance Function ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Relationship

The overuse of N fertilizer by rice growers triggers excessive greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, leading to the environmental and climatic problem. However, growers will probably suffer loss in profits if they reduce the use of N fertilizer under the existing technology condition. The payment in market-based or government-driven way may overcome the potential barrier. For the appropriate carbon trading market is absent, the government-driven program will play a role in the payment. Three key issues in the designed program are the price of the payment, the participation rate of rice growers, and the variation of items associated with the social welfare. Due to the difficulty in estimating the economic value, prices of the payment can be set according to shadow prices. This paper applies the parametric directional output distance function to derive shadow prices of CO2 for 308 rice growers in Shanghai from 2008–2015. Average shadow prices range from RMB 1130 to 3769 yuan/ton (or US 163 to 618 $/ton). Taking the year of 2015 as sample, this paper predicts the participation rate (97.08%) of rice growers with the aim of 10% N fertilizer reduction and the specific price of the payment (7.47 yuan/kg). Moreover, this paper discusses on the variation of factors linked with the social welfare, and derive two important relationships from it. In detail, the relationship between the yield of the rice and the reduction of the N fertilizer should be balanced; the relationship between the improvement on the profit of rice growers (or the participation rate) in the program and the payment by the government should also be balanced.

scholarly journals Managing corporate identities of non-profit organisations in the social welfare sector

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lida Holtzhausen
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Identity Management ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Corporate Identity ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government

Present-day South Africa is characterised by many societal and developmental issues, such as HIV awareness and prevention, child-headed households, environmental protection, poverty alleviation, violence and victim aid. However, it is widely acknowledged that government alone cannot address these issues effectively. The role of non-profit organisations (NPOs) in addressing social and development issues is increasingly emphasised. NPOs work at grass-roots level and they can therefore, on the whole, identify societal vulnerabilities and risks earlier than the government sector. However, due to the economic recession, NPOs operate in a competitive environment where an increasing number of NPOs rely on a small number of donors and other resources. NPOs should therefore differentiate themselves from the competition in order to obtain public legitimacy and funding. Corporate identity management is important for NPOs to fulfil their role in social welfare and thus contribute to disaster risk reduction. The exploratory nature of this study dictates a qualitative research approach. Semi-structured interviews with management of five NPOs in the social welfare sector were conducted in order to provide an answer to the study’s research question: ‘To what extent do NPOs in the social welfare sector practise corporate identity management, in order to prevent and address social welfare risks?’ The research found that NPOs do not realise the full potential of managing their corporate identities. NPOs therefore do not take advantage of a strong and distinct corporate identity which would allow them to ensure their ability to assess, address, reduce and/or alleviate vulnerabilities and disaster risks.

The building of economic governance in the European Union

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Verdun
Keyword(s):  
Sovereign Debt ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Monetary Integration ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The Eu

This article seeks to shed light on the development over the past decades of the concept of economic governance. It asks what is understood by economic governance and what role the social dimension has played. The article offers an analysis of the problems and possible issues confronting the EU as it seeks ways to address the sovereign debt crisis by embarking on deeper economic integration. The article concludes that from the early days there have been questions about the exact interaction between economic and monetary integration and thus between ‘economic’ and ‘monetary’ union. Despite Delors’ original inclination, few were willing to establish any linkage between EMU and social matters. The crises have again brought out the need to consider the two in tandem. Moreover, with the increased role in economic governance accorded to EU-level institutions, there is a need to rethink the EU democratic model.

Equilibrium Strategies and Optimal Control for a Double-Ended Queue

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (03) ◽  
pp. 1650022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Shi ◽  
Zhaotong Lian
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Death Process ◽  
Birth And Death Process ◽  
Individual Utility ◽  
Decentralized System ◽  
Taxi Drivers ◽  
Equilibrium Strategies ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
Centralized System

In this paper, we study a passenger–taxi matching queue system. The system is modeled as a birth-and-death process. Since the system is so complex, we mainly focus on numerical analysis. A centralized system and a decentralized one are considered. In the centralized system, the government sets thresholds for both passengers and taxis to maximize the social welfare. We analyze the performance measures of this model, discuss the range of two thresholds that ensures positive social welfare, and numerically give the upper bound of threshold. In the decentralized system, passengers and taxis determine whether to join the system or balk based on their individual utility functions. Further, we consider the government’s tax and subsidy to the taxi drivers. Numerical results show that the social welfare function in the centralized system is concave with respect to the thresholds and the government central planning benefits the society. In the decentralized system, no matter what the passenger and taxi arrival rates are, the social welfare is concave with respect to the taxi fare. Moreover, we analyze the effect of the arrival rates and the benefits of the tax and subsidy.

The Sprewell/Carlesimo Episode: Unacceptable Violence or Unacceptable Victim?

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Walton
Keyword(s):  
Media Representations ◽  
Cultural Representations ◽  
Social Responses ◽  
The Social ◽  
Gender Hierarchies ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
Violent Acts ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Normalization Of Violence

NBA player Latrell Sprewell’s attack on his coach, P.J. Carlesimo, in 1997, received extraordinary attention in the media. The coverage of the incident and subsequent trial revealed the media’s attitude toward violence within cultural representations of sport. This paper focuses on the way that violence associated with sport can be understood in relationship to the normalization of violence against women in American culture. Specifically, I focus on how the violent acts of athletes and coaches elicit different social responses depending on the social status of the victim. I argue that media representations, framed within narratives that construct their importance around gendered ideas of private and public spheres, work to support current race, class, and gender hierarchies. I also offer alternative ways of understanding the incident given the peculiar work setting of professional sport.

scholarly journals THE APPLICATION OF THE BALANCE PRINCIPAL IN THE NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN MARINE AND COASTAL AREAS

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 285
Author(s):  
Jantje Tjiptabudy
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Natural Resources Management ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Balance Principle ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Authority

This research aims to discuss the implementation of balance principle of marine and coastal resources management.  The type of this research is a normative research by way of applying the provisions and conceptual approach. The result of the research shows that the government authority is more dominant than protect the interest of adat law society. In the implementation of balance principle with regards to the coastal and natural resources management has not yet fully provided the positive impact for the social welfare. Besides, both parties have different concept of balance principle, so that it is incompatible with the substance and interpretation in its implementation. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengkaji penerapan asas keseimbangan dalam pengelolaan sumberdaya alam laut dan pesisir. Jenis Penelitian ini adalah normatif dengan menggunakan pendekatan perundang-undangan dan pendekatan konsep. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kewenangan pemerintah lebih dominan dalam pengelolaan sumber daya alam, namun kurang memberikan perlindungan terhadap kepentingan masyarakat hukum adat. Penerapan prinsip keseimbangan dalam pengelolaan sumberdaya alam di wilayah laut dan pesisir belum sepenuhnya memberikan pengaruh positif bagi kesejahteraan masyarakat. Selain itu, kedua belah pihak mempunyai konsep yang berbeda tentang prinsip keseimbangan sehingga dalam penerapannya belum sesuai dengan makna atau hakekatnya.

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