Complex data and simple instructions: Social regulation during the Covid-19 pandemic

Responses to the Covid-19 pandemic include the generation of new norms and shifting expectations about everyday, ordinary behaviour, management of the self, and social interaction. Central to the amalgam of new norms is the way information and instructions are communicated, often in the form of simple images and icons in posters and signs that are widespread in public settings. This article combines two sociological concerns – social control and visual research – to investigate the ways social interaction is being recalibrated during the pandemic. It focuses on some of the imagery relied on in public information about the coronavirus and investigates the form and content of various signs, instructions, and notices for their normative underpinnings, their advice and directives which attempt to modify and regulate diverse activities.

Education's economic return in multicultural Australia: Demographic analysis

This article focuses on the impact of education as the most important human capital endowment in the context of migration, religion, gender and ethnic identity from a demographic perspective. It presents research-based evidence to address such key research questions as whether and how significantly women's education provides equal benefit in the labour market for individuals, based on their migration status, religion, and ethnic identity. The field of this study is the multi-ethnic and multicultural context of Australia with a wide range of ethnic and religious groups of migrants from throughout the world. Preliminary results show that labour market achievement is positively and significantly associated with the educational attainment of individuals, irrespective of their migration status, religious affiliation and ethnicity. However, more comprehensive analysis from comparative perspectives reveals that the positive economic return of education is higher for natives (compared with migrants), for ethnic migrants from developed regions of origin (compared with those from less developed regions of origin) and for non-Muslims (compared with Muslims). The article provides two plausible explanations for these patterns. The first refers to the lack of recognition of overseas qualifications and to the devaluation of foreign education that particularly applies to ethnic migrants from less developed regions. The second relates to disadvantage through structural discrimination against migrants, particularly when their cultural and religious identity, such as Islamic names and dress codes, are distinctively displayed. In sum, this analysis presents further research-based evidence to go beyond the human capital theory in order to explain more appropriately the economic return of women's education in the context of religion and migration from a demographic perspective.

Transcultural capital and emergent identities among migrant youth

The everyday practices and socio-cultural identities of migrant youth have become a focal point of contemporary sociological research in Western countries of immigration. This article engages with the concept of transcultural capital to frame the possibilities and opportunities embodied in young migrants’ multi-layered identities and cross-cultural competencies in the context of an increasingly interconnected and diverse world. By re-conceptualising diversity and difference as agentic, transformational capitals to be valued, fostered and mobilised, this transcultural approach brings to the fore the multitude of skills, networks and knowledge that migrant youth access and develop through multiple cultural repertoires. Drawing on the narratives of migrant youth in Melbourne (Australia), this article argues that access to different – and not necessarily oppositional – cultural systems opens up a space for understanding the ability of migrant youth to instigate, negotiate and maintain valuable socio-cultural connections in ways that recognise, disrupt and transform social hierarchies.

The role of elite education in social reproduction in France, Belgium and Chile: Towards an analytical model

Using a societal analysis perspective that articulates structural, institutional and cognitive dimensions, this article outlines a model examining the contribution made by the schooling system to the social construction of elites. The model is put to the test by a comparative study of elitist educational pathways and their contrasting organisational modes in France, Belgium and Chile. The article shows that both the education of elites, and the role played by school in providing access to privileged social positions, continue to be marked by the distinctive historical construction of each society and education system, despite cross-cutting trends that are linked to globalisation.

Education and the production of inequalities across the Global South and North

Education is an essential aspect of any society in the world. As such, it has been a topic studied by many sociologists since the origins of the discipline. Today it is one of the most common subjects in sociology, in part because it has been recognised as a crucial environment for the (re)production of inequalities. This article explores the role of education in the (re)production of social inequalities and its potential to challenge such inequalities. In addition, the article presents some of the distinctions between research in the Global South and North, both in geographical and metaphorical terms. Since this article is the introduction to the special issue Education and the Production of Inequalities: Dialogues from the Global South and North, a synopsis of the published articles is presented at the end.

‘Like pouring fuel on a fire’: Perspectives on family and domestic violence among Ethiopian women in Melbourne

In this article, we analyse how domestic violence (DV) is understood and experienced among immigrant Ethiopian women in Melbourne, as well as the different conditions that contribute to their experiences of abuse and their responses to it. To do this, we draw on 20 interviews with participants, 7 of whom experienced intimate partner violence. Demonstrating that immigrant Ethiopian women find themselves in a social context with a set of values and understandings of family and DV that differs from their own, we argue that their responses to DV shows their selective acceptance of these values and state interventions. In exploring these themes, we contribute to the discussion about minority women's voices, values and priorities in relation to violence in the migration context. Our findings also highlight the limitations of mainstream approaches to DV, illustrating the extent to which interventions are constructed through reference to western perceptions of individuality and white feminism.

Institutional prestige, academic supervision and research productivity of international PhD students: Evidence from Chinese returnees

Since the emergence of global university rankings in the 2000s, East Asian universities have been recruiting academics with doctoral degrees from Western countries to strengthen their competitiveness in the global university league tables. Governments offer scholarships to support students in their overseas doctoral studies and encourage graduates to return. Although much attention is given to researchers with overseas degrees, little is known about their experiences and pre-employment academic productivity. Drawing on a nationwide survey and bibliometric data, this study examines whether and how the institutional prestige of a host university and academic supervision contribute to the academic productivity of government-funded Chinese PhD returnees during their doctoral studies. Results show that supervisors’ research support and collaboration positively affect pre-employment academic productivity. However, a university's prestige does not exert such an influence. Moreover, co-authorship with a supervisor is a crucial mechanism in the influence of supervisors’ research support on PhD students’ productivity.

Moral cosmopolitanism, civic action and ethical consumption: Social differences in young Australians’ global citizenship

The relationship between global citizenship identity and actions remains an unsettled issue. In this article we use the PISA 2018 survey to explore whether global citizenship identity is associated with a greater likelihood of engaging in ‘globally minded’ practices among young Australians. Descriptive analysis reveals that self-reported global citizenship identity is associated with higher levels of moral cosmopolitanism, more so than with greater intercultural values or with more positive attitudes to immigrants. However, this self-declared identity does not necessarily translate into cosmopolitan action. Statistical modelling shows that, in the Australian context, global citizenship knowledge, values and identity account for a limited proportion of differences in self-reported cosmopolitan action. We argue that a sociological theory of practice helps explain these results. We conclude by highlighting future research opportunities to better understand the social determinants of global citizenship practices, including by exploring out-of-school socialisation and a broader range of cosmopolitan practices.