Media control: a case for privatization in transitional economies

The television market can be one of the most dynamic industries if country-specific regulations allow for private competitors to enter the market. The entry of competition changes the market from monopolistic to oligopolistic, which has positive performance implications for the industry. Our research analyzes the development of the Croatian TV market from the monopolistic stage to the current oligopolistic stage. Econometric models in this article aim to estimate the current trend of market concentration and its future potential. The authors’ research focusing on the industry from a market concentration perspective provides guidance for the practitioner in regard to profitable investment opportunities. They also illustrate for other transitional economies that to move toward a “free” society, media must be free from government control which will evolve rapidly once privatized. © 2016 Taylor & Francis

Qualitative Migration Research: Viable Goals, Open-Ended Questions, and Multidimensional Answers

Following a brief review of the epistemological premises informing qualitative methodologies, I identify the key features of qualitative research undertaken in the verstehende or interpretative social-science tradition, which render it particularly well suited to capturing the inherent dynamics of the lived experience of human beings in general and, in our case, of immigrants: its multi-dimensionality; its ability to accommodate ambiguity and outright contradictions; its emphasis on the temporality and fluidity of social phenomena; and its insistence on the contextual and situational nature of human perceptions and agency. Next, I argue that the research goals appropriate for qualitative investigations as proposed by Charles Ragin (Constructing social research. Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks, 1994) – exploring diversity, giving voice, testing/refining theories or guiding concepts, and generating new research questions – can be realized by asking questions and gathering answers related to these issues in the context of (im)migrants’ experience. These claims are illustrated with questions asked and answers obtained through three standard methods of qualitative research: interviewing, observation, and document analysis. The examples draw from the current and emerging problem agendas in migration studies. I also discuss the strengths and limitations of research questions probing the complexity and un(der)determinacy of (im)migrants’ lives and the answers they generate

Social Memory and the Resilience of Communities Affected by Land Degradation

Based on evidence collected in 22 village communities from nine study sites situated in Spain, Italy, Greece, Morocco and China, this study analyses the complex interlinkages between social memory, community resilience and land degradation. Social memory is seen as an important explanation regarding the ability of a local community to manage and cope with land degradation. Emphasis is placed on the importance of three components of social memory – rites, traditions and social learning processes – for shaping community resilience in coping with land degradation processes. The study argues that, although there are subtle differences between the 22 village communities, the loss of social memory and learning pathways associated with managing land degradation is emerging as a critical factor constraining stakeholders from effectively responding to land degradation issue

A generic conceptual model for conducting realist qualitative research: examples from migration studies

In this paper I propose a generic conceptual model for conducting qualitative research within the meta-theoretical premises of critical realism. I also make an effort to demonstrate the advantages of such a framework using examples from migration studies. Qualitative methods are predominately linked with meta-theoretical commitments related mainly to interpretivism, social constructionism, post-structuralism and post-modernism. Influenced by 'cultural/linguistic turn’, qualitative research has followed a path towards discursive reductionism and relativism. I contend that this path circumscribes the inherent strengths of qualitative methods and limits their explanatory power. Recently however, there have been calls for other 'turns’ which are more or less compatible with a critical realist alternative to strong social constructionism, post-structuralism and post-modernism – namely ontological, practice, complexity and materiality 'turns’. Drawing on these developments, I propose a generic model for doing qualitative research the realist way. This model is based on ways of researching real causal powers (structural, ideational and agential) and their – synchronic and diachronic – interplay, in a qualitative manner. The model views qualitative methods as powerful means for the identification of complex, causal generative mechanisms which produce certain effects and (re)connect qualitative inquiry and research with reality and, especially, with the depth investigation of its intransitive dimension. It does that by utilizing the realist concepts of 'emergence’, 'emergent properties’ and 'substantial relations’, which are predominantly concerned with qualitative changes and real connections characterized by causal powers of their own. The advantages of adopting such a model are shown by discussing its potentials for conducting qualitative migration research. More specifically, I use four examples from Greece which concern migration-related processes and phenomena. These examples concern informal immigrant employment in Athens, social mobility of immigrants in Greece, social capital and social incorporation of Albanian immigrants in Athens and the evolution of citizenship regime in the country. Through these examples I intend to demonstrate why merging realist meta-theoretical commitments with the inherent strengths of qualitative methods can result in more thorough and comprehensive understandings and explanations of migratory phenomena. The last part of the paper concerns a brief discussion of the urgent need to re-orient migration theory and research practice away from empiricist and relativist inclinations, and the central role that realist qualitative research can and should play in meeting this need

Reader in Qualitative Methods in Migration Research

This edited collection published in Migration Letters were selected to reflect on methodological challenges faced by researchers and students when conducting qualitative studies on migration. Beginning with papers focusing on broader discussions of methodological issues and some options available to researchers, the latter half of the book explores the narrative methodology in depth with references to several cases. The chapters included in this book was originally published in regular issues and two special issues of Migration Letters journal from 2009 onwards. We have regrouped and ordered these studies to enhance the flow and transition in the book. The first six chapters look into more general issues and debates in migration research methodologies, while chapters seven to ten offer cases studies on alternative qualitative methodologies and then the final six chapters focus on narratives and challenges of the narrative methodology applied in migration studies

Social factors influencing perceptions and willingness to pay for a market-based policy aiming on solid waste management

Several instruments have been proposed for household solid waste management. In order for these instruments to be successful, it is essential to investigate social factors affecting the public's behaviour during their implementation. The present article aims to explore the influence of social parameters, connected with the concept of social capital, on the perceptions of the public in relation to a market-based instrument. In particular, the results of a case study, conducted on a Greek island community, are presented, regarding the perceptions and willingness to pay of individuals for an economic instrument, aimed at the minimization of waste volume and an increase in recycling. Furthermore, these issues are further explained taking into consideration the influence of four social capital parameters: social trust, institutional trust, social networks and compliance with social norms. In the conclusions of the study, it is underlined that, although citizens are negative towards the proposed policy, enforcement of social factors may significantly affect individuals’ perceptions and environmental behaviour during the final implementation of the policy tool