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Social Differentiation (social + differentiation)
Selected AbstractsVertical Social Differentiation in Athens: Alternative or Complement to Community Segregation?INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2001Thomas Maloutas Vertical social differentiation is presented in the recent literature as an important element of reduced segregation in South European cities, and the supporting evidence originates mainly from Athens. The authors of this article question the claim about the common form and function of vertical social differentiation across South Europe, as well as its opposition to community segregation, and try to reveal the specificity of the processes leading to its formation in Athens. Since the mid-1970s, the dominant process of urban growth in Athens has been middle-class suburbanization. This process has reinforced community segregation and, at the same time, has triggered a filtering-down process in wide areas around the CBD, formerly occupied by upper and mainly intermediate professional categories. Interclass vertical segregation has subsequently appeared in these areas, where intermediate professional categories and lower middle-class households are now predominant. The fact that these areas do not represent a real choice for any of their resident groups shows that this vertical cohabitation has been the unintended consequence of changing segregation patterns, and hardly the outcome or the corollary of a growing process of sociospatial homogenization. Dans les textes récents, la différenciation sociale verticale est présentée comme un facteur important dans la réduction de la ségrégation urbaine en Europe du Sud, les éléments probants provenant essentiellement d'Athènes. Cet article conteste l'idée que la différenciation sociale verticale ait une forme ou une fonction commune en Europe méridionale, et qu'elle entrave la ségrégation horizontale; de plus, il tente d'exposer la spécificité des processus qui conduisent à sa formation à Athènes. Depuis le milieu des années 1970, l'expansion urbaine de la capitale grecque se caractérise par l'implantation en banlieue des classes supérieurs et moyennes. Ce processus a renforcé la ségrégation dans les quartiers et, parallèlement, a déclenché un processus de filtrage vers le bas dans de vastes zones entourant l'hypercentre, précédemment occupées par des catégories de professionnels libéraux supérieures et surtout moyennes. Une ségrégation verticale interclasse est ensuite apparue dans ces quartiers, des catégories de libéraux moyennes et des ménages de la petite bourgeoisie y prédominant désormais. Or, quel que soit le groupe de résidents, ces zones ne représentent pas un choix réel; cette cohabitation verticale est donc bien la conséquence imprévue de la modification des schémas de ségrégation, plutôt que le résultat ou le corollaire d'une homogénéisation socio-spatiale accentuée. [source] Market Coordination and Social Differentiation: A Comparison of Cotton-Producing Households in Tanzania and ZimbabweJOURNAL OF AGRARIAN CHANGE, Issue 1 2006MARIANNE NYLANDSTED LARSENArticle first published online: 21 DEC 200 This paper compares findings from farm surveys conducted in Zimbabwe and Tanzania in 2001. It sets out to answer why some cotton-producing households generate comparatively higher levels of total cotton output, and conversely why some households generate lower output. In the Tanzanian sample, variations in respondents' cotton sales revolve entirely around respondents' access to cropping land and possession of draught power, while observed differences in the Zimbabwean case are based on a combination of ownership-related assets and respondents' access to manufactured inputs. At the same time, the extent of differences in volumes of cotton sales between the top and bottom quintiles is significantly higher in the Tanzanian survey than in the Zimbabwean one. This pattern becomes even more evident when comparing the performance of the bottom quintiles in the two samples. Against this background, the paper suggests that successful forms of market coordination may not only contribute to better ,system performance' but also to fewer differences between cotton-producing households in terms of cotton output and to higher incomes from cotton production. [source] Social differentiation revisited: A study of rural changes and peasant strategies in VietnamASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 1 2010Tran Thi Thu Trang Abstract This article analyses the processes of transformation and differentiation since the 1950s in a Vietnamese rural village, hereafter called Chieng Hoa.1 It examines how radical changes in political discourse and economic policies at the national level have affected the welfare and social relations of villagers and how the latter have in turn coped, resisted, as well as shaped such structural changes. Using concrete life stories of local people, the article identifies the winners and losers in this transformation process, the trajectories households or individuals have taken to arrive at their current positions, and the strategies that they are adopting for the future. It demonstrates that differentiation in Chieng Hoa implies changes in social relations, including but not limited to relations of production, and that even within this single locality, differentiation can take various forms and processes over time, whether specific to or cutting across changes in macro-policies. The article also reveals that in the often perceived equal collectivisation, inequalities still existed and became causes of differentiation in the subsequent decollectivisation period. However, while conditions for a permanent differentiation were present, such process has failed to materialise in the current integration period. Differentiation has become more unpredictable as past winners can lose out due to unstable market conditions. [source] Cigarettes and social differentiation in France: is tobacco use increasingly concentrated among the poor?ADDICTION, Issue 10 2009Patrick Peretti-Watel ABSTRACT Aims This paper aimed to assess whether the increase of social differentiation of smoking is observed in France. Design and setting Five cross-sectional telephone surveys conducted in France between 2000 and 2007. Participants The surveys were conducted among national representative samples of French subjects aged 18,75 years (n = 12 256, n = 2906, n = 27 499, n = 2887, n = 6007 in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007, respectively). We focused on three groups: executives, manual workers and the unemployed. Measurements Time trends of smoking prevalence were assessed, and socio-economic factors (especially occupation and job status) associated with smoking were identified and compared in 2000 and 2005. We also computed respondents' equivalized household consumption (EHI) and their cigarette budget to assess the financial burden of smoking. Findings Between 2000 and 2007, smoking prevalence decreased by 22% among executive managers and professionals and by 11% among manual workers, and did not decrease among the unemployed. Indicators of an underprivileged social situation were associated more markedly with smoking in 2005 than in 2000. In addition, the falling-off of smoking initiation occurred later and was less marked among manual workers than it was among executive managers and professionals. Finally, in 2005 15% of French smokers devoted at least 20% of their EHI to the purchase of cigarettes, versus only 5% in 2000, and smoking weighted increasingly heavily on the poorest smokers' budgets. Conclusions While these results point out an increased social differentiation in tobacco use, they underline the need to design and implement other forms of action to encourage people to quit, in particular targeting individuals belonging to underprivileged groups. [source] Vertical Social Differentiation in Athens: Alternative or Complement to Community Segregation?INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2001Thomas Maloutas Vertical social differentiation is presented in the recent literature as an important element of reduced segregation in South European cities, and the supporting evidence originates mainly from Athens. The authors of this article question the claim about the common form and function of vertical social differentiation across South Europe, as well as its opposition to community segregation, and try to reveal the specificity of the processes leading to its formation in Athens. Since the mid-1970s, the dominant process of urban growth in Athens has been middle-class suburbanization. This process has reinforced community segregation and, at the same time, has triggered a filtering-down process in wide areas around the CBD, formerly occupied by upper and mainly intermediate professional categories. Interclass vertical segregation has subsequently appeared in these areas, where intermediate professional categories and lower middle-class households are now predominant. The fact that these areas do not represent a real choice for any of their resident groups shows that this vertical cohabitation has been the unintended consequence of changing segregation patterns, and hardly the outcome or the corollary of a growing process of sociospatial homogenization. Dans les textes récents, la différenciation sociale verticale est présentée comme un facteur important dans la réduction de la ségrégation urbaine en Europe du Sud, les éléments probants provenant essentiellement d'Athènes. Cet article conteste l'idée que la différenciation sociale verticale ait une forme ou une fonction commune en Europe méridionale, et qu'elle entrave la ségrégation horizontale; de plus, il tente d'exposer la spécificité des processus qui conduisent à sa formation à Athènes. Depuis le milieu des années 1970, l'expansion urbaine de la capitale grecque se caractérise par l'implantation en banlieue des classes supérieurs et moyennes. Ce processus a renforcé la ségrégation dans les quartiers et, parallèlement, a déclenché un processus de filtrage vers le bas dans de vastes zones entourant l'hypercentre, précédemment occupées par des catégories de professionnels libéraux supérieures et surtout moyennes. Une ségrégation verticale interclasse est ensuite apparue dans ces quartiers, des catégories de libéraux moyennes et des ménages de la petite bourgeoisie y prédominant désormais. Or, quel que soit le groupe de résidents, ces zones ne représentent pas un choix réel; cette cohabitation verticale est donc bien la conséquence imprévue de la modification des schémas de ségrégation, plutôt que le résultat ou le corollaire d'une homogénéisation socio-spatiale accentuée. [source] Stories of Rural Accumulation in Africa: Trajectories and Transitions among Rural Capitalists in SenegalJOURNAL OF AGRARIAN CHANGE, Issue 4 2007CARLOS OYA This paper analyzes primary qualitative evidence from life histories of rural capitalists in contemporary Senegal. Various common themes in the declining literature on rural capitalism in Africa are discussed with reference to the specific individual trajectories of rural farm capitalists in Senegal. The themes include the emergence of rural capitalism in the context of protracted, uneven and gradual rural social differentiation and the various processes that have accompanied it; the condition of ,entrepreneurship' in such changing historical contexts; the symbiotic relationship between different spaces (loci) of accumulation, especially trade, transport and farming and the historical context in which they take place; the crucial but sometimes contradictory role of the state in spurring or constraining rural capitalist accumulation; and the variety of ,idioms of accumulation', which reflect transitions and synthesis between non-capitalist and capitalist forms of labour surplus appropriation at the level of individual capitalists, despite some uniformity in the general logic of capital and the spread of capitalist relations of production and exchange. The paper also discusses the methodological power and limitations of oral narratives as a method to gather evidence on long-term processes of agrarian change and accumulation in rural Africa. Finally, the life histories shed some light on the origins of rural capitalists and show that there is a combination of instances of ,capitalism from above' and ,from below' but that no dominant pattern can be clearly discerned at least in the space of one or two generations. [source] Chile's Neoliberal Agrarian Transformation and the PeasantryJOURNAL OF AGRARIAN CHANGE, Issue 4 2002Cristóbal Kay In the mid,1970s, following the early shift to neoliberalism, the Chilean rural sector was restructured dramatically, becoming one of the most successful cases of non,traditional agricultural export (NTAE) growth. However, many analysts fail to discuss the problematic nature of Chile's integration into the global market. Underpinning this rapid growth of NTAEs is the exploitation of cheap peasant labour, especially seasonal female wage workers. This article examines the elements of continuity and change in agrarian policy since the transition to democracy in 1990. In particular, it presents the policy debate on the future of the peasantry: capitalization or proletarianization? The dilemma that policy makers face over maintaining high rates of NTAE growth while at the same time attempting to reduce poverty and income inequalities are also highlighted. The Chilean case can be considered as paradigmatic insofar as it exhibits key characteristics of the classical capitalist transformation of agriculture: the emergence of a new class of dynamic agricultural entrepreneurs, renewed proletarianization and land concentration, and intensification of social differentiation. [source] Multi-national corporations and agricultural development: a study of contract farming in the Indian PunjabJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2002Sukhpal Singh This paper examines the rationale, practice and implications of contract farming under the MNCs in vegetable crops in the Indian Punjab from the new institutional economics perspective. It is found that the MNCs deal with relatively large producers, their contracts are biased against the farmer, and the contract crops perpetuate many of the existing problems of the farming sector like high chemical input intensity, unstable future incomes, and social differentiation, though contracting has led to higher farm incomes and labour employment, especially for women. There is an inherent contradiction in the objectives of the contracting parties and that of the local economy and suitable institutions and organisations are not present in the state. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Forests, marketization, livelihoods and the poor in the Lao PDRLAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2006J. D. Rigg Abstract The Lao PDR is making the transition from subsistence to cash, and command to market. Rural communities are being drawn ever more tightly into the embrace of the market economy and of the central state. The construction of roads, schools and health centres, the provision of credit and new crops and technologies, and the arrival of traders and the panoply of the consumer economy are all, in their different ways, remoulding rural economy and society. This paper looks at one aspect of this multi-stranded process of agrarian transformation: the role and place of forests and, in particular, non-timber forest products, in rural people's lives and livelihoods. The paper highlights the contradictory and uneven livelihood-eroding/enhancing effects of these transformations. In many upland areas of Laos livelihoods are being squeezed from ,below' by environmental degradation and from ,above' by the operation of government policies and, more generally, by evolving market relations. While market pessimists see market integration as a largely destructive process, the paper highlights the opportunities that market integration can provide through diversification and livelihood reorientation. The challenge is that these opportunities are unequally available and are likely to promote social differentiation. Some households find themselves in a position to embrace new opportunities while others are forced to continue to rely on a declining and degrading forest resource. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] MORTUARY DISPLAY AND CULTURAL CONTACT: A CEMETERY AT KASTRI ON THASOSOXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 4 2006SARA OWEN Summary. This article explores how the patterns of development within the local populations prior to Greek colonization, or even Greek contact, can elucidate the process of Greek colonization. Focusing upon the Thracian Early Iron Age cemetery of Kastri on Thasos, it suggests that past interpretations of such cemeteries as undifferentiated is due to the imposition of modern ideas of value. This article instead uses the criterion of diversity to suggest that the cemetery in fact has clear patterns of social differentiation in the first and last periods of use. Furthermore imports are restricted to graves of highest diversity in the last period of use (the early seventh century BC). This pattern is repeated over Early Iron Age Thrace, and is indicative of a social change within Thrace prior to Greek colonization which saw nascent Thracian elites seeking out imports from many areas in order to bolster their status. [source] Between a rock and a hard place: contested livelihoods in Qwaqwa National Park, South AfricaTHE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL, Issue 2 2002Rachel Slater This paper examines rural livelihoods and the prospects for participatory conservation through a case study of Qwaqwa National Park (QNP) in South Africa. The park was established in 1992 in the context of South Africa's transition to democracy, growing ecotourism in the country and global movements towards conservation involving and benefiting local people. The paper argues that the protracted conflict between park residents and management led to new patterns of livelihood activities and household formation, and resulted in material and social differentiation amongst park households. The goals of park management, with a commitment to nature conservation and ecotourism, were at odds with the livelihood practices of park residents. Conflicts arose over stocking levels, overgrazing, wood-cutting and deforestation and over the use of other natural resources, including water and medicinal plants. The park was the site of a Rand Water project that employed many residents. Residents found themselves between a rock and a hard place as they resisted attempts by the management to reduce stocking levels and yet relied on management to gain access to sources of paid employment. [source] IDEAS FROM AUSTRALIAN CITIES: RELOCATING URBAN AND SUBURBAN HISTORYAUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 1 2009Andrew May Melbourne; suburbia; urban history This article draws on preliminary research into the social history of Melbourne, on the ways that suburban life in the post-World War II era provides both explanation and counterweight to persistently negative stereotypes of suburbia. Over recent decades, suburban histories have been eschewed in favour of historical reconsiderations of the inner city or the bush. The history of the Australian suburb, particularly since 1945, is yet to be written. Oral history and municipal archives will be crucial to the writing of such histories. The article suggests several research pathways, including intergenerational life stories, a wider scale of geographical analysis, and a subtler reading of cultural conformity and social differentiation. [source] Spaces of Participation in Pre-School: Arenas for Establishing Power Orders?CHILDREN & SOCIETY, Issue 5 2007Annica Löfdahl This article reports an ethnographic study of pre-school children's social knowledge domains. Results show how the children's shared knowledge concerning social status and social differentiation in the group was strengthened and confirmed during a traditional teacher-led ring game, where they were supposed to choose a friend. We suggest that from the perspective of the children, the game situation may be understood as, at the same time, a space of participation and an arena for establishing the power order. From the perspective of the teacher, pedagogical intentions may be challenged as they encounter and are mediated and interpreted by children's peer-cultures. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||