7,593 research outputs found
Serving to secure "Global Korea": Gender, mobility, and flight attendant labor migrants
This dissertation is an ethnography of mobility and modernity in contemporary South Korea (the Republic of Korea) following neoliberal restructuring precipitated by the Asian Financial Crisis (1997). It focuses on how comparative âservice,â âsecurity,â and âsafetyâ fashioned âGlobal Koreaâ: an ongoing state-sponsored project aimed at promoting the economic, political, and cultural maturation of South Korea from a once notoriously inhospitable, âbackwardâ country (hujinâguk) to a now welcoming, âadvanced countryâ (sĆnjinâguk). Through physical embodiments of the culturally-specific idiom of âsuperiorâ service (sĆbisĆ), I argue that aspiring, current, and former Korean flight attendants have driven the production and maintenance of this national project.
More broadly, as a driver of this national project, this occupation has emerged out of the countryâs own aspirational flights from an earlier history of authoritarian rule, labor violence, and xenophobia. Against the backdrop of the Korean stateâs aggressive neoliberal restructuring, globalization efforts, and current âHell Chosunâ (HelchosĆn) economy, a group of largely academically and/or class disadvantaged young women have been able secure individualized modes of pleasure, self-fulfillment, and class advancement via what I deem âservice mobilities.â Service mobilities refers to the participation of mostly women in a traditionally devalued but growing sector of the global labor market, the âpink collarâ economy centered around âfeminineâ care labor. Korean female flight attendants share labor skills resembling those of other foreign labor migrants (chiefly from the âGlobal Southâ), who perform care work deemed less desirable. Yet, Korean female flight attendants elude the stigmatizing, classed, and racialized category of âlabor migrant.â Moreover, within the context of South Koreaâs unique history of rapid modernization, the flight attendant occupation also commands considerable social prestige.
Based on ethnographic and archival research on aspiring, current, and former Korean flight attendants, this dissertation asks how these unique care laborers negotiate a metaphorical and literal series of sustained border crossings and inspections between Korean flight attendantsâ contingent status as lowly care-laboring migrants, on the one hand, and ostensibly glamorous, globetrotting elites, on the other. This study contends the following: first, the flight attendant occupation in South Korea represents new politics of pleasure and pain in contemporary East Asia. Second, Korean female flight attendantsâ enactments of soft, sanitized, and glamorous (hwaryĆhada) service help to purify South Koreaâs less savory past. In so doing, Korean flight attendants reconstitute the historical role of female laborers as burden bearers and caretakers of the Korean state.U of I OnlyAuthor submitted a 2-year U of I restriction extension request
Critical terrorism studies and the far-right: Beyond problems and solutions?
Recent years have witnessed increasing academic, media, and political attention to the threat of far-right terrorism. In this article, I argue that scholarship on this threat has suffered from two limitations, each with antecedents in terrorism research more broadly. First, is an essentialist approach to this phenomenon as an extra-discursive object of knowledge to be defined, explained, catalogued, risk assessed, and (ultimately) resolved. Second, is a temptation to emphasise, even accentuate, the scale of this threat. These limitations are evident, I argue, within scholarship motivated by a problem-solving aspiration for policy relevance. They are evident too, though, within critical interventions in which a focus on far-right terrorism is seen as an important corrective to established biases and blind spots within (counter-)terrorism research and practice. In response, I argue for an approach rooted in the problematisation and desecuritisation of the far-right threat. This, I suggest, facilitates important new reflection on the far-rightâs production within and beyond terrorism research, as well as on the purposes and politics of critique therein
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After Creation: Intergovernmental Organizations and Member State Governments as Co-Participants in an Authority Relationship
This is a re-amalgamation of what started as one manuscript and became two when the length proved to be more than any publisher wanted to consider. The splitting consisted of removing what are now Parts 3, 4, and 5 so that the manuscript focused on the outcome-related shared beliefs holding an authority relationship together. Those parts were last worked on in 2018. The rest were last worked on in late 2021 but also remain incomplete.
The relational approach adopted in this study treats intergovernmental organizations and the governments of member states as co-participants in an authority relationship with the governments of their member states. Authority relationships link two types of actor, defined by their authority-holder or addressee role in the relationship, through a set of shared beliefs about why the relationship exists and how the participants should fulfill their respective roles. The IGO as authority holder has a role that includes a right to instruct other actors about what they should or should not do; the governments of member states as addressees are expected to comply with the instructions. Three sets of shared beliefs provide the conceptual âglueâ holding the relationship together. The first defines the goal of the collective effort, providing both the rationale for having the authority relationship and providing a lode star for assessments of the collective effortâs success or lack of success. The second set defines the shared understanding about allocation of roles and the process of interaction by establishing shared expectations about a) the selection process by which particular actors acquire authority holder roles, b) the definitions identifying one or more categories of addressees expected to follow instructions, and c) the procedures through which the authority holder issues instructions. The third set focus on the outcomes of cooperation through the relationship by defining a) the substantive areas in which the authority holder may issue instructions, b) the bases for assessing the relevance actions mandated in instructions for reaching the goal, and c) the relative efficacy of action paths chosen for reaching the goal as compared to other possible action paths.
Using an authority relationship framework for analyzing cooperation through IGOs highlights the inherently bi-directional nature of IGO-member government activity by viewing their interaction as involving a three-step process in which the IGO as authority holder decides when to issue what instruction, the member state governments as followers react to the instruction with anything from prompt and full compliance through various forms of pushback to outright rejection, and the IGO as authority holder responds to how the followers react with efforts to increase individual compliance with instructions and reinforce continuing acceptance of the authority relationship. Foregrounding the dynamics produced by the interaction of these two streams of perception and action reveals more clearly how far intergovernmental organizations acquire capacity to operate as independent actors, the dynamic ways they maintain that capacity, and how much they influence member governmentsâ beliefs and actions at different times. The approach fosters better understanding of why, when, and for how long governments choose cooperation through an IGO even in periods of rising unilateralism
The Role of English and Welsh INGOs: A Field Theory-Based Exploration of the Sector
This thesis takes a field theory-based approach to exploring the role of English and Welsh international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), using the lens of income source form.
First, the thesis presents new income source data drawn from 933 Annual Accounts published by 316 INGOs over three years (2015-2018). The research then draws on qualitative data from 90 Leaders' letters include within the Annual Reports published by 39 INGOS, as well as supplementary quantitative and qualitative data, to explore the ways in which INGOs represent their role.
Analysis of this income source data demonstrates that government funding is less important to most INGOs than has previously been assumed, while income from individuals is more important than has been recognised in the extant development studies literature. Funding from other organisations within the voluntary sector is the third most important source of income for these INGOs, while income from fees and trading is substantially less important than the other income source forms.
Using this income source data in concert with other quantitative data on INGO characteristics as well as qualitative data drawn from the Leaders' letters, I then show that the English and Welsh INGO sector is a heterogenous space, divided into multiple fields. The set of fields identified by this thesis is arranged primarily around income source form, which is also associated with size, religious affiliation, and activities of focus and ways of working. As Bourdieusian field theory suggests, within these fields individual INGOs are engaged in an ongoing struggle for position: competing to demonstrate their maximal possession of the symbolic capitals they perceive to be valued by (potential) donors to that field.
Further analysis of these Leaders' letters, alongside additional Annual Reports and Accounts data, also reveals a dissonance in the way in which INGOs describe their relationship with local partners in these different communication types. While these Leaders' letters and narrative reports tell stories of collaborative associations with locally-based partners, this obscures the nature of these relationships as competitive and hierarchical.
The thesis draws on the above findings to reflect on the role of INGOs as suggested in the extant literature. This discussion highlights how the various potential INGO fields identified are associated with differing theoretical roles for INGOs. Finally, the thesis considers how INGO role representations continue to contribute to unequal power relations between INGOs and their partners
AIUCD 2022 - Proceedings
Lâundicesima edizione del Convegno Nazionale dellâAIUCD-Associazione di Informatica Umanistica ha per titolo Culture digitali. Intersezioni: filosofia, arti, media. Nel titolo Ăš presente, in maniera esplicita, la richiesta di una riflessione, metodologica e teorica, sullâinterrelazione tra tecnologie digitali, scienze dellâinformazione, discipline filosofiche, mondo delle arti e cultural studies
Chinese Benteng Womenâs Participation in Local Development Affairs in Indonesia: Appropriate means for struggle and a pathway to claim citizenâ right?
It had been more than two decades passing by aftermath the devastating Asiaâs Financial Crisis in 1997, subsequently followed by Suhartoâs step down from his presidential throne which he occupied for more than three decades. The financial turmoil turned to a political disaster furthermore has led to massive looting that severely impacted Indonesians of Chinese descendant, including unresolved mystery of the most atrocious sexual violation against women and covert killings of students and democracy activists in this country. Since then, precisely aftermath May 1998, which publicly known as âReformasiâ1, Indonesia underwent political reform that eventually corresponded positively to its macroeconomic growth. Twenty years later, in 2018, Indonesia captured worldwide attention because it has successfully hosted two internationally renowned events, namely the Asian Games 2018 â the most prestigious sport events in Asia â conducted in Jakarta and Palembang; and the IMF/World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Bali. Particularly in the IMF/World Bank Annual Meeting, this event has significantly elevated Indonesiaâs credibility and international prestige in the global economic powerplay as one of the nations with promising growth and openness. However, the narrative about poverty and inequality, including increasing racial tension, religious conservatism, and sexual violation against women are superseded by friendly climate for foreign investment and eventually excessive glorification of the nationâs economic growth. By portraying the image of promising new economic power, as rhetorically promised by President Joko Widodo during his presidential terms, Indonesia has swept the growing inequality in this highly stratified society that historically compounded with religious and racial tension under the carpet of digital economy.Arte y Humanidade
A Cross-cultural Comparative Study of Dark Triad and Five-Factor Personality Models in Relation to Prejudice and Aggression
When examining socially malevolent outcomes in the form of prejudice and aggression, previous research on the Dark Triad and five-factor personality models has failed to consider potential cross-cultural differences. A deeper understanding of cross-cultural variations is necessary because these factors represent important social problems and risks. Prior investigation has so far only established preliminary relationships between the Dark Triad and the Big Five model and these outlined associations influence prejudice and aggression. Accordingly, this thesis consisted of two phases. The first examined interrelationships between Dark Triad traits (psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism) and Big Five personality dimensions (extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness) in UK and Russian samples. The second used the results from the initial phase to inform the baseline of a predictive model, which was extended. Both phases used cross-sectional designs, correlation-based methods of analysis (e.g., confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling with mediation, path analysis and invariance analysis), and large samples, comprising a range of backgrounds and ages. The analysis identified the strongest and weakest relationships between personality traits and prejudice and aggression. This research made an original contribution to existing literature by identifying novel relationships
Studies of strategic performance management for classical organizations theory & practice
Nowadays, the activities of "Performance Management" have spread very broadly in actually every part of business and management. There are numerous practitioners and researchers from very different disciplines, who are involved in exploring the different contents of performance management. In this thesis, some relevant historic developments in performance management are first reviewed. This includes various theories and frameworks of performance management. Then several management science techniques are developed for assessing performance management, including new methods in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Soft System Methodology (SSM). A theoretical framework for performance management and its practical procedures (five phases) are developed for "classic" organizations using soft system thinking, and the relationship with the existing theories are explored. Eventually these results are applied in three case studies to verify our theoretical development. One of the main contributions of this work is to point out, and to systematically explore the basic idea that the effective forms and structures of performance management for an organization are likely to depend greatly on the organizational configuration, in order to coordinate well with other management activities in the organization, which has seemingly been neglected in the existing literature of performance management research in the sense that there exists little known research that associated particular forms of performance management with the explicit assumptions of organizational configuration. By applying SSM, this thesis logically derives some main functional blocks of performance management in 'classic' organizations and clarifies the relationships between performance management and other management activities. Furthermore, it develops some new tools and procedures, which can hierarchically decompose organizational strategies and produce a practical model of specific implementation steps for "classic" organizations. Our approach integrates popular types of performance management models. Last but not least, this thesis presents findings from three major cases, which are quite different organizations in terms of management styles, ownership, and operating environment, to illustrate the fliexbility of the developed theoretical framework
'Inventions and adventures': the work of the Stevenson engineering firm in Scotland, c. 1830 - c. 1890
This thesis examines the work of the nineteenth-century Stevenson civil engineering firm to argue
that civil engineering should be approached geographically both because it takes place in and is
shaped by particular spaces, but also because the result of such work reshapes space and the
relationship between places. Geographers have extensively analysed the ways in which humans
have worked to alter environments, but relatively little attention has been paid to engineering as a
socially and geographically transformative process, to the technical questions and to the engineering
professionals whose work brought about such change. This thesis analyses engineers as social and
technical agents of environmental change, rather than viewing their role as the simple
implementation of directives developed elsewhere and by others. It combines insights from the
history and historical geography of science, environmental history and the history of technology to
make a case for the relevance of an historical geography of engineering.
The thesis explores these issues through the work of the Stevenson family. The Stevensons
were an Edinburgh-based and internationally-renowned firm of engineers who specialised in the
construction of coastal infrastructure. The start and end dates of the thesis indicate, broadly, the
careers of David and Thomas Stevenson, who jointly managed the family firm under the name D. &
T. Stevenson between 1850 and 1886. The empirical basis for this thesis draws upon the detailed
analysis of the firmâs archival records: technical publications, project reports, diaries,
correspondence, maps, plans and diagrams.
The work of the Stevensonsâtheir engineering epistemologies, practices, and professional
identitiesâ are examined through four diverse projects undertaken by the firm in the nineteenth
century. These projects are: the training of new engineers; surveying and designing improvement
works for the rivers Tay and Clyde; the implementation of a coastal sound-based fog signal network;
and the failed attempt to expand Wick harbour through the construction of a breakwater. These
projects highlight the range of activities undertaken by nineteenth-century engineers and illustrate
the âmakingâ of engineers and the work they did by highlighting training and learning, surveying,
maintenance, testing, evaluation, repair and the explanation of failure. With reference to these
projects and by drawing upon relevant contextual material, the thesis examines the
conceptualisation of geographical space and natural forces in engineering, the relationship between
science and engineering, the nature of expertise and notions of engineering judgement, and the role
of family, legacy and reputation in securing professional credibility and status.
This approach challenges older historiographical traditions which portrayed engineers as
individual geniuses. The thesis instead understands engineering to be a combination of specialist
knowledge and tacit skill and situates engineers within their social and institutional networks of
power and authority. In pointing out that some engineering works failed, the thesis challenges the
tendency in histories of engineering works to focus on success. It makes the case for an historical
geography of engineering as a way of understanding engineering as an activity, a status and as
processes which changed human-environment relations
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