Search results for "Sociology and Political Science"
showing 10 items of 2215 documents
Attitudes Toward Professional Foreign Players in Finnish Amateur Basketball
1984
The use of foreign professional players may influence the host country's sport culture. To determine the attitudes toward foreign professionals in various Finnish amateur basketball leagues, all clubs (n = 55) playing basketball in the three highest Finnish leagues were interviewed by mailed questionnaire. The results indicated that recruitment of foreign pros was held to effect negatively the team spirit and the play tactics, the economics of the club, the development of other sport branches in the club and the success of the national team. Positive effects were expected on the number of spectators, public relations of the club and the success of its team. For lower leagues foreign profes…
A discursive analysis of oppositional interpretations of the agro-food system: A case study of Latvia
2015
Abstract This article critically reflects on the literature that addresses the complexity of food systems, which is often caught in application of simplistic binary oppositions of local vs. global, short vs. long, sustainable vs. intensive, etc. It then goes on to show, through a case study analysis of food-system discourses in Latvia how the binary oppositions surrounding with food systems, are actually mobilised in a specific national context. Agro-food systems are often explained through binary opposing knowledge systems that, depending on the theoretical affiliation of the author, might be called frames, narratives or discourses. These powerful instruments are used to explain, and often…
La confrontación partidista española a propósito de América Latina
2021
América Latina ha sido desde siempre objeto de controversia en España, aunque últimamente con mayor intensidad se ha convertido en materia de utilización partidista, especialmente por parte de un bloque conservador que se esfuerza en convertir hechos y procesos latinoamericanos en elementos de confrontación política interna española. También las izquierdas hispanas tienen presente a América latina en su acción política, y padecen una elevada desinformación, mientras mantienen clichés de otra época. El artículo atiende a tres casos en la confrontación derecha/izquierda de los últimos tiempos: Venezuela, ariete conservador contra el Gobierno de Pedro Sánchez; México, como excitante del nacion…
Measuring the ‘Bridging’ versus ‘Bonding’ Nature of Social Networks: A Proposal for Integrating Existing Measures
2010
Recent research illustrates that two distinct interpretations and operationalizations of ‘bridging’ and ‘bonding’ social networks co-exist in the literature (based on links between diverse networks or between socio-economic groups within a given network, respectively), and that these do not coincide in empirical applications. The present contribution first confirms this conclusion using data from the United Kingdom. Then, we suggest a simple way to integrate both existing approaches into a more general measure of bridging and bonding. Applying this more general index to UK and Flemish data, a) provides stronger empirical support for the idea that memberships in bridging groups are more str…
Evaluación de las tarifas de las pensiones de accidentes de trabajo y enfermedades profesionales (2011-2015)
2017
Este trabajo analiza si las tarifas que se aplican para la determinación del denominado capital coste de pensiones derivadas de los accidentes de trabajo y enfermedades profesionales son las adecuadas. A partir de los datos de la Muestra Continua de Vidas Laborales y de la evolución de la longevidad de la población general en España, se estiman tablas de mortalidad para las contingencias de viudedad e invalidez que, combinadas con los parámetros económicos y financieros apropiados, permiten construir las bases técnicas actuarialmente justas para cada uno de los años objeto de análisis. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que las tarifas aplicadas en el periodo 2011- 2014 han sido muy superior…
Discrimination in the sharing economy: evidence from a Hungarian field experiment
2018
Findings from our pilot research project which focused on providing car sharing services to young people with different ethnic/racial background showed discrimination against certain ethnic groups. The research was based on a controlled field experimental design to examine the chances of rides being offered to racially different testers. The experimental variables were both race and gender. Creating altogether 8 profiles enabled us to test the interaction between these two experimental stimulus. The small-scale research (total N=160) was implemented in Hungary, in summer 2017 by interns of TARKI, Hungarian Social Research Centre. The forthcoming article shows evidence of ethnic/racial dispr…
Visegrad Euroscepticism: Discursive Nodal Points in Eurosceptic Discourses Surrounding External Actions of the European Union
2018
Increasing support for Eurosceptic parties and movements can be observed in the European Union’s (EU) member states since 2009, when the economic crisis heavily affected the continent. This process has happened also within Central and Eastern European countries, especially in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary (collectively referred to as the Visegrad Group countries, or V4 for short). The goal of this paper is an analysis of far-right Eurosceptic politicians and their attitudes towards EU external actions. Using the Thomas Diez concept of discursive nodal points (DNPs) and examining European Parliament (EP) debates, literature about V4 Euroscepticism and media reports, this p…
Retuning the Nordic Welfare Municipality: Central Regulation of Social Care under Change in Finland
2011
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the changes that have taken place in the central regulation of social care in Finland since the 1970s. The changes in vertical central‐local relations are discussed in the context of economic and welfare state development.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a case study, applying the concept of “the Nordic welfare municipality” to the case of Finland. With this concept, the author refers to the inherently contradictory character of the Nordic model of welfare governance: to a system that emphasises local self‐government but that, at the same time, perceives regional harmonisation as imperative.Findings – After strong central control d…
The transformation of the Russian defence industry
1995
TRADITIONALLY, THE DEFENCE INDUSTRY constituted the most powerful industrial lobby in the USSR, with an administrative structure at all the organisational levels where its interests could be affected. With a hierarchical and pyramidal structure, the different entities of the sector remained isolated from strictly civilian bodies. The strategic part it played within the organisation of the Soviet Union enabled the defence industry to manage a growing and important volume of resources; on the one hand, it had a special supply system which guaranteed regular high-quality provision of the most advanced technology in the country, as well as highly qualified human resources. On the other hand, th…
The resilience of Finnish farms: Exploring the interplay between agency and structure
2020
Resilience implies, in its essence, the capacity of a system to tolerate disturbances while retaining its essential functions. In the context of agriculture, resilience thinking calls for considering the ability of farms to thrive in turbulent times along with the ability of the ecological system – in which the agricultural production is embedded – to retain its function and integrity. Resilience is a relevant conceptual tool to analyse the contradictory management demands that farms are facing within the current neoliberal market regime: being economically viable and environmentally sustainable. In this study, the resilience of farms was operationalised through farmers' perceptions concern…