Visions in monochrome: Families, marriage and the individualisation thesis

This paper takes issue with the way in which the individualisation thesis – in which it is assumed that close relationships have become tenuous and fragile - has become so dominant in ‘new’ sociological theorising about family life. Although others have criticised this thesis, in this paper the main criticism derives from empirical research findings carried out with members of transnational families living in Britain whose values and practices do not fit easily with ideas of individualisation. It is argued that we need a much more complex and less linear notion of how families change across generations and in time

Photography as an act of collaboration

The camera is usually considered to be a passive tool under the control of the operator. This definition implicitly constrains how we use the medium, as well as how we look at – and what we see in – its interpretations of scenes, objects, events and ‘moments’. This text will suggest another way of thinking about – and using – the photographic medium. Based on the evidence of photographic practice (mine and others’), I will suggest that, as a result of the ways in which the medium interprets, juxtaposes and renders the elements in front of the lens, the camera is capable of depicting scenes, events and moments that did not exist and could not have existed until brought into being by the act of photographing them. Accordingly, I will propose that the affective power of many photographs is inseparable from their ‘photographicness’ – and that the photographic medium should therefore be considered as an active collaborator in the creation of uniquely photographic images

Work Life Balance up in the Air – Does Gender Make a Difference between Female and Male International Business Travelers?

Managing work-life balance (WLB) has become an issue for both employees and HR departments since WLB tensions may reduce performance, overall job satisfaction and finally, increase the fluctuation rate. Having a balance between job and non-work is a particular challenge for international business travelers, but research on this topic is still in its very infancy. The aim of this article and its underlying qualitative study was to discover factors that influence WLB of those employees, and to explore potential differences among male and female. The results clearly show a big difference in the perception of factors influencing WLB depending on the family situation. This highlights the need of HR departments to offer individually tailored support for the different groups of international business travelers.Das Managen der Work-Life Balance (WLB) ist für immer mehr Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer als auch Personalabteilungen ein Thema geworden, da ein Ungleichgewicht zwischen Arbeit und 'Nicht-Arbeit' nicht nur Leistung sowie die allgemeine Jobzufriedenheit reduzieren, sondern letztendlich auch zu höheren Fluktuationsraten führen kann. Diese Balance zu halten, ist besonders für internationale Geschäftsreisende eine Herausforderung. Dennoch befindet sich die Forschung zu diesem Thema noch stark in den Kinderschuhen. Ziel dieses Artikels und der zugrundeliegenden qualitativen Studie ist es, die WLB dieser Gruppe von Arbeitnehmern sowie potenzielle Unterschiede zwischen weiblichen und männlichen Vielfliegern zu erörtern. Die Resultate zeigen, dass die Einflussfaktoren auf die WLB in Abhängigkeit von der Familiensituation unterschiedlich wahrgenommen werden. Diese Ergebnisse betonen den Bedarf nach Unterstützungsmaßnahmen seitens der Personalabteilungen, welche für die einzelnen Gruppen von internationalen Geschäftsreisenden maßgeschneidert sind

Gender-Specific Occupational Segregation, Glass Ceiling Effects, and Earnings in Managerial Positions: Results of a Fixed Effects Model

The study analyses the gender pay gap in private-sector management positions based on the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) for the years 2001-2008. It focuses on occupational gender segregation, and on the effects of this inequality on earnings levels and gender wage differentials in management positions. Our paper is, to our knowledge, the first in Germany to use time-constant unobserved heterogeneity and gender-specific promotion probabilities to estimate wages and wage differentials for persons in managerial positions. The results of the fixed-effects model show that working in a more female job, as opposed to a more male job, affects only women's wages negatively. This result remains stable after controlling for human capital endowments and other effects. Mechanisms of the devaluation of jobs not primarily held by men also negatively affect pay in management positions (evaluative discrimination) and are even more severe for women (allocative discrimination). However, the effect is non-linear; the wage penalties for women occur only in integrated (more equally male/female) jobs as opposed to typically male jobs, and not in typically female jobs. The devaluation of occupations that are not primarily held by men becomes even more evident when promotion probabilities are taken into account. An Oaxaca/Blinder decomposition of the wage differential between men and women in management positions shows that the full model explains 65 percent of the gender pay gap. In other words: Thirty-five percent remain unexplained; this portion reflects, for example, time-varying social and cultural conditions, such as discriminatory policies and practices in the labor market

More than just a bracelet: the use of material symbolism to communicate love

There is growing recognition of the place of love in residential care for children (Smith, 2009). This paper is a critical analysis of a range of existing research on residential child care as well as studies of material culture and of care relationships more broadly. It argues that, despite increasing regulation and surveillance, adults and children find ways to show and feel love in the context of residential care. Whilst love may be regarded as something to be avoided or indeed prohibited in an adult/child care setting these deep bonds find expression in the everyday life of the children's home. By looking at love in this embodied way, the 'realness' of material things to assert connection and recognition of love (Layne, 2000) is examined. As Gorenstein (1996, p.8) suggests 'objects...[are] the perfect vehicles for conveying themes that are not commonly accepted in a community'. The paper emphasises the recognition of these symbolic and metaphorical forms of communication in practice

Helmut Gernsheim - Messa a fuoco di architettura e scultura

Questo libro nasce dal desiderio di stimolare una qualità superiore nella fotografia d’architettura e scultura rispetto a quella a cui siamo abituati». In Messa a fuoco di architettura e scultura Gernsheim manifesta il suo ruolo esplicito di fotografo e induce il lettore a una fruizione dinamica dell’esperienza architettonica e artistica. Il presente manuale, oltre a una ricca parte dedicata alla fotografia di opere scultoree inedite, contiene alcuni capitoli che ricalcano schemi e categorie tradizionali della storia della fotografia d’architettura. Nel suo approccio pragmatico esso risulta utile e convincente, e l’utilizzo di una macchina fotografica, con tutto ciò che implica in termini di operatività ed espressione, porta Gernsheim a una progressiva opera di semplificazione dell’immagine che diviene il concetto chiave intorno a cui ruotano le più accorte riflessioni sulla fotografia europea del secolo scorso