Between-Class Earnings Inequality in 30 European Countries

This article studies earnings inequality between social classes across 30 European countries. Class inequality in earnings is found across the board although there are some exceptions. However, the degree of class inequality varies strongly across countries being larger in Western and Southern European countries and smaller in Eastern and Northern European countries. Furthermore, we find that differences in class composition in terms of observed characteristics associated with earnings account for a substantial proportion of these between-class differences. Differences between classes in the returns to education and other characteristics play less of a role. In all these respects there is a sizeable cross-national variation. This points to important differences between countries in how earnings are structured by social class.

Advantages of upper-class backgrounds: Forms of capital, school cultures and educational performance

In this article, we chart connections between class and educational performance in comparatively egalitarian Norway. While viewing various forms of capital as integral parts of class background, we assess how educational performance is differentiated across the class structure. We use survey and register data to assess differences in grades in three school subjects – mathematics and spoken and written Norwegian – at the individual and school level. We focus on the year of graduation of students at lower-secondary schools in Bergen, Norway’s second largest city by population. Lending credence to Bourdieu’s model of the social space, we find differences according to both capital volume and capital composition. Students from class backgrounds rich in overall capital perform comparatively better than those from humbler class backgrounds. There are also differences within the upper class: those from homes rich in cultural capital perform comparatively better than those from homes rich in economic capital. Although between-school differences are low within the ‘unified’ Norwegian school system, the analysis indicates that grades are associated with the class composition of schools: a high proportion of upper-class students positively correlates with higher grades. In addition, there is some evidence of a collective form of class bias: in one of the school subjects, spoken Norwegian, there is a connection between individual grades and teachers’ perceptions of the culture pervasive at the school in question; this connection is contingent upon a school’s class composition. The analysis thus draws attention to the way in which class bias in grading varies between school subjects.

What's Left? - an Exploration of Social Movements, the Left and Activism in New Zealand Today

<p>Surveys of the situation and prospects of the contemporary Left over the past three decades have frequently underscored themes of fragmentation, decline, even terminal demise. This thesis explores the question of the contemporary Left through interviews conducted with participants in New Zealand social movements. The general theoretical literature around the Left and social movements has consistently highlighted a number of social changes and challenges facing the Left today: the split between old and new Lefts following the rise of the new social movements; economic transformation (for instance, post-Fordism), and changes in class composition; the rise of neo-liberalism, and the dislocating effects of globalization; intellectual challenges, such as the demise of Marxism and the rise of post-modern philosophy; challenges to the state, and the arrival of a "post-political" condition. Analysis of the New Zealand literature around the Left and social movements shows congruent arguments and themes, as well as suggesting Antipodean specificities. To examine these contentions, a series of interviews were conducted with participants in "Left" social movements. These interviews suggest both congruence with some of the arguments in the literature and complexities that do not confirm these generalizations. In particular, the suggestion that a third phase of the Left is emerging, characterized by the joining of culturalist and materialist emphases, appears somewhat confirmed. In addition, a number of the challenges signalled in the literature were singled out by interviewees as pressing - for instance, neo-liberalism and the mediatisation of politics. With respect to the modes of action of social movements connected to the Left, there was here too some confirmation of themes from the literature - for instance, the importance of networking. On the other hand, the widespread theme of the wholesale decline of collective actions was put into question by those interviewed. While no definitive conclusions can be drawn from such a study, the interviews suggest the Left may be entering a period of renewal.</p>

What's Left? - an Exploration of Social Movements, the Left and Activism in New Zealand Today

<p>Surveys of the situation and prospects of the contemporary Left over the past three decades have frequently underscored themes of fragmentation, decline, even terminal demise. This thesis explores the question of the contemporary Left through interviews conducted with participants in New Zealand social movements. The general theoretical literature around the Left and social movements has consistently highlighted a number of social changes and challenges facing the Left today: the split between old and new Lefts following the rise of the new social movements; economic transformation (for instance, post-Fordism), and changes in class composition; the rise of neo-liberalism, and the dislocating effects of globalization; intellectual challenges, such as the demise of Marxism and the rise of post-modern philosophy; challenges to the state, and the arrival of a "post-political" condition. Analysis of the New Zealand literature around the Left and social movements shows congruent arguments and themes, as well as suggesting Antipodean specificities. To examine these contentions, a series of interviews were conducted with participants in "Left" social movements. These interviews suggest both congruence with some of the arguments in the literature and complexities that do not confirm these generalizations. In particular, the suggestion that a third phase of the Left is emerging, characterized by the joining of culturalist and materialist emphases, appears somewhat confirmed. In addition, a number of the challenges signalled in the literature were singled out by interviewees as pressing - for instance, neo-liberalism and the mediatisation of politics. With respect to the modes of action of social movements connected to the Left, there was here too some confirmation of themes from the literature - for instance, the importance of networking. On the other hand, the widespread theme of the wholesale decline of collective actions was put into question by those interviewed. While no definitive conclusions can be drawn from such a study, the interviews suggest the Left may be entering a period of renewal.</p>

Eyes on the Screen: Digital Interclass Coalitions against Crime in a Gentrifying Rural Town

According to the theories of social disorganization and collective efficacy, population heterogeneity contributes to the erosion of social ties and the increase in crime. I test that assumption through an in-person and digital ethnography in La Calera, a rural area in Colombia undergoing population change through gentrification and facing increasing burglaries, cattle theft, and other crimes. I argue that the use of social media in this socially mixed community for a common goal—safety—enables coalitions among residents that reach across social divisions. By participating in community meetings but especially through social media, residents monitor the area to look after homes and each other, highlighting feelings of “unity” and “cohesion” that strengthen social ties among them and the police despite the heterogeneity in class composition. This case examines when social organization can occur despite class polarization, even in a country with a long civil war history and high class inequality.

DeepMicrobeFinder Sorts Metagenomes into Prokaryotes, Eukaryotes and Viruses, with Marine Applications

Sequence classification is valuable for reducing the complexity of metagenomes and providing a fundamental understanding of the composition of metagenomic samples. Binary metagenomic classifiers offer an insufficient solution because metagenomes of most natural environments are typically derived from multiple sequence sources including prokaryotes, eukaryotes and the viruses of both. Here we introduce a deep-learning based (not reference-based) sequence classifier, DeepMicrobeFinder, that classifies metagenomic contigs into five sequence classes, e.g., viruses infecting prokaryotic or eukaryotic hosts, eukaryotic or prokaryotic chromosomes, and prokaryotic plasmids. At different sequence lengths, DeepMicrobeFinder achieved area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) scores >0.9 for most sequence classes, the exception being distinguishing prokaryotic chromosomes from plasmids. By benchmarking on 20 test datasets with variable sequence class composition, we showed that DeepMicrobeFinder obtained average accuracy scores of ~0.94, ~0.87, and ~0.92 for eukaryotic, plasmid and viral contig classification respectively, which were significantly higher than the other state-of-the-art individual predictors. Using a 1-300 µm daily time-series metagenomic dataset sampled from coastal Southern California as a case study, we showed that metagenomic read proportions recruited by eukaryotic contigs could be doubled with DeepMicrobeFinder’s classification compared to the counterparts of other reference-based classifiers. In addition, a positive correlation could be observed between eukaryotic read proportions and potential prokaryotic community growth rates, suggesting an enrichment of fast-growing copiotrophs with increased eukaryotic particles. With its inclusive modeling and unprecedented performance, we expect DeepMicrobeFinder will promote metagenomic studies of under-appreciated sequence types.

DeepMicrobeFinder sorts metagenomes into prokaryotes, eukaryotes and viruses, with marine applications

Sequence classification is valuable for reducing the complexity of metagenomes and providing a fundamental understanding of the composition of metagenomic samples. Binary metagenomic classifiers offer an insufficient solution because metagenomes of most natural environments are typically derived from multiple sequence sources including prokaryotes, eukaryotes and the viruses of both. Here we introduce a deep-learning based (not reference-based) sequence classifier, DeepMicrobeFinder, that classifies metagenomic contigs into five sequence classes, e.g., viruses infecting prokaryotic or eukaryotic hosts, eukaryotic or prokaryotic chromosomes, and prokaryotic plasmids. At different sequence lengths, DeepMicrobeFinder achieved area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) scores >0.9 for most sequence classes, the exception being distinguishing prokaryotic chromosomes from plasmids. By benchmarking on 20 test datasets with variable sequence class composition, we showed that DeepMicrobeFinder obtained average accuracy scores of ~0.94, ~0.87, and ~0.92 for eukaryotic, plasmid and viral contig classification respectively, which were significantly higher than the other state-of-the-art individual predictors. Using a 1-300 μm daily time-series metagenomic dataset sampled from coastal Southern California as a case study, we showed that metagenomic read proportions recruited by eukaryotic contigs could be doubled with DeepMicrobeFinder's classification compared to the counterparts of other reference-based classifiers. In addition, a positive correlation could be observed between eukaryotic read proportions and potential prokaryotic community growth rates, suggesting an enrichment of fast-growing copiotrophs with increased eukaryotic particles. With its inclusive modeling and unprecedented performance, we expect DeepMicrobeFinder will be a useful addition to the toolbox of microbial ecologists, and will promote metagenomic studies of under-appreciated sequence types.