Social relations and dynamics shaping the implementation of the voluntary guidelines on small-scale fisheries (SSF guidelines) in South Africa

Integral to achieving the SSF Guidelines goal of targeting the most vulnerable and marginalized persons and eliminating discrimination is the need to have adequate understanding of the power relations and intersectionalities that shape access to and control over marine and other resources according to gender, age, race, ethnicity, labour and migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in each national contexts. This monograph identifies and explores the key social relations and dynamics in the SSF fisheries sector in South Africa impacting the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. The monograph will be useful for researchers, scientists, fishworker organizations, environmentalists and anyone interested in the protection of marine biodiversity and the promotion of sustainable fisheries management.

Social Content of the International Sphere: Symbols and Meaning in Franco-German Relations, CES Germany & Europe Working Papers, No. 02.2, 2002

“The Franco-German friendship is rich in memories and gestures that are at once important and symbolic, and that characterize the exceptional nature of the relationship between our two countries,” reflects former French economics minister and European Commission President Jacques Delors. Such symbolic acts and joint memories are not primarily about cooperation in specific instances. Rather, more generally, they denote what it means to act together. They lend significance to a relationship; they signify what is “at stake,” or what it is “all about.” They are about a deeper and more general social purpose underlying specific instances of cooperation. They are about the value and intrinsic importance that social relations incorporate. Symbols contribute to the institutionalization of social meaning and social purpose in dealing with one another. In this paper I clarify the concept of “predominantly symbolic acts and practices among states,” systematically explore such acts for the bilateral Franco-German relationship between the late 1950s and the mid-1990s, and scrutinize the specific meaning and effects that these practices have helped to generate and perpetuate.

A political analysis of the PRSP initiative: Social struggles and the organization of persistent relations of inequality

The current global development project appears to be premised on the assumption that underlying political debates over development have been settled. An upshot of this is that development is reduced to the theoretical, ideological and legal framework of a neo-liberal political order. However, implicit, and sometimes explicit, political dynamics of development can be rendered from a perspective that foregrounds social struggles. I offer a political analysis of the PRSP initiative by examining its evolution and implications considered within social and political contexts, and by specific reference to the 'poverty reduction' interventions that emerged in the 1980s. I argue that the PRSP initiative is best understood as the formation of a comprehensive extension of neo-liberal strategic responses that emerged in the 1980s. In this context, I discuss the example of microcredit schemes in relation to the PRSP process and demonstrate the analytical significance of micro-political social relations for political analyses of development. The approach I adopt reveals social struggles as relationally constitutive of formations of a hegemonic development discourse otherwise ostensibly rendered in de-contextualized terms. From the perspective of critical development analysis such struggles are the concrete expressions of the contradictions immanent to the dialectic of development through inequality and immiseration in the (re)production of social power.

Social network and aesthetic reflexivity in the creative industries

This article reviews some key critical writing about the commodification or exploitation of networked social relations in the creative industries. Through a comparative case study of networks in fashion and new media industries in the city of Manchester, UK, the article draws attention to the social, cultural and aesthetic aspects of the networks among creative practitioners. It argues that within the increasing commercialisation in the creative industries there are networked spaces within which non-instrumental values are created. The building of social networks reflects on the issue of how creatives perceive their work in these industries both economically and socially/culturally.

“We are not here to claim better services than any other” : Social exclusion among men from refugee backgrounds in urban and regional Australia

This paper reports on a mixed-methods study of social exclusion experiences among 233 resettled refugees living in urban and regional Queensland, Australia. The findings reported here are drawn from the SettleMEN project, a longitudinal investigation of health and settlement experiences among recently arrived adult men from refugee backgrounds conducted between 2008 and 2010. Using questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews, we examine four key dimensions of social exclusion: production, consumption, social relations, and services. We show that, overall, participants experienced high levels of social exclusion across all four dimensions. Participants living in regional areas were significantly more likely to be excluded from production, social relations, and services. We argue that there is a pressing need to tackle barriers to economic participation and discrimination in order to promote the social inclusion of men from refugee backgrounds.

Social contraptions and embodied interaction

In this paper we introduce the idea of "social contraptions", which are interactive physical devices employed as designerly explorations of social relations as mediated by physical space and artefacts. We present two independent but related design explorations that were situated in fine art and industrial research contexts. We argue that these contraptions open up for exploration some interaction issues related to the theme of ’Embodied Facilitation'. This is particularly in relation to awareness and coordination between interactants as mediated by the spatial and material configuration of the contraptions. These methods, as well as the insights gained from them can contribute to the development of the emerging field of embodied interaction.

Online Gaming in Context : the Social and Cultural Significance of Online Games

There is little question of the social, cultural and economic importance of video games in the world today, with gaming now rivalling the movie and music sectors as a major leisure industry and pastime. The significance of video games within our everyday lives has certainly been increased and shaped by new technologies and gaming patterns, including the rise of home-based games consoles, advances in mobile telephone technology, the rise in more 'sociable' forms of gaming, and of course the advent of the Internet. This book explores the opportunities, challenges and patterns of gameplay and sociality afforded by the Internet and online gaming. Bringing together a series of original essays from both leading and emerging academics in the field of game studies, many of which employ new empirical work and innovative theoretical approaches to gaming, this book considers key issues crucial to our understanding of online gaming and associated social relations, including: patterns of play, legal and copyright issues, player production, identity construction, gamer communities, communication, patterns of social exclusion and inclusion around religion, gender and disability, and future directions in online gaming.

An internet of social things

The Internet of Things is a vision for a world of interconnected smart devices. We present an alternative vision based on a review of literature that emphasizes the importance and role of objects in social relations. We situate this work in relation to a conceptual understanding of objects and sociality, and note some methodological implications of a more object-centred sociality that may suggest design opportunities alongside the emerging Internet of Things.

A social licence to operate: Corporate social responsibility, local communities and the constitution of global production networks

This article contributes to the theorization of the role of informal regulation (undertaken by leading firms) in the ongoing organization of global production networks. It does so through a qualitative case study of BHP Billiton's Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation (RNO) in the rural Shire of Ravensthorpe in Western Australia. This less tangible, and to date under-researched, dimension of global production networks is foregrounded through a focus on the corporate social responsibility strategy implemented by RNO in the service of achieving and/or demonstrating a broader ‘social licence to operate’. This ‘licence’ functions – beyond the corporation – as a legitimated and legitimating multi-scalar mechanism through which to gain and maintain access to mineral resources and thus to establish viable and ongoing global production networks. Further, this informal regulation is shown to shape social relations and qualities of place conducive to competitive global mineral extraction and to facilitate the positioning of local communities and places in mineral global production networks.

Sharism and social awareness of the Chinese One Child Generation: Urban youth and digital networks

This thesis is a study of Chinese One Child Generation's digital and social sharing. It examines urban youth grassroots communities, including an urban farmers' community and volunteers in educational camps. These case studies explain the emergence of 'sharism' in reaction to the growing risks in China, such as food safety and environmental degradation emanating from China's rapid economic development, and growing urbanism, globalisation, and consumerism. The new forms of 'sharism' are linked to guanxi (social relations) and connected youth communities, which are made possible by increasing accessibility to digital and networked technologies.

Understanding the roles of social and tangible technologies in maintaining social interaction, habits and independence into old age

The research offers a deeper understanding of how objects currently facilitate social interaction and physical activity for older adults living independently. It uses this awareness to develop, from a human perspective, considerations for the design of internet connected objects that provide novel ways of maintaining contact with loved ones. The research found that people invest emotional attachment to objects and objects foster emotional responses in people. Objects can facilitate feeling connected to another however the relationship is a result of time and repeated interaction. Recreating this connection/relationship digitally is not as simple as attaching a hyperlink.

Taken for granted: Material relations between disability and codes/guidelines

This paper provides a critical examination of the taken for granted nature of the codes/guidelines used towards the creation of designed spaces, their social relations with designers, and their agency in designing for people with disabilities. We conducted case studies at three national museums in Canada where we began by questioning societal representations of disability within and through material culture through the potential of actor-network theory where non-human actors have considerable agency. Specifically, our exploration looks into how representations of disability for designing, are interpreted through mediums such as codes, standards and guidelines. We accomplish this through: deep analyses of the museums’ built environments (outdoors and indoors); interviewed curators, architects and designers involved in the creation of the spaces/displays; completed dialoguing while in motion interviews with people who have disabilities within the spaces; and analyzed available documents relating to the creation of the museums. Through analyses of our rich data set involving the mapping of codes/guidelines in their ‘representation’ of disability and their contributions in ‘fixing’ disability, this paper takes an alternative approach to designing for/with disability by aiming to question societal representations of disability within and through material culture.

A translação de sentidos entre língua e classe social

Ao se falar de língua, fala-se da classe social que se imagina associada a essa mesma língua. Fundamentada na Análise do Discurso Franco-Brasileira (iniciada na França pelo grupo de Michel Pêcheux e retrabalhada no Brasil a partir de formulações de Eni Orlandi) e analisando corpòra diversos, que se encontram em gramáticas, dicionários, manuais de redação jornalística e o jornal carioca Meia Hora de Notícias, esta dissertação busca entender como os sentidos sobre língua e classe social vão sendo constituídos ao mesmo tempo. A Análise do Discurso com que este estudo vai trabalhar se apresenta como um campo inserido no entremeio das ciências humanas e sociais. Entre as principais questões levantadas por este campo, estão as crenças ilusórias em que as palavras emanam sentidos próprios, apropriados, e em que o sujeito é o dono de seu dizer e de suas intenções. Entende-se, na Análise do Discurso, que os sentidos são irrecorrivelmente formados ideologicamente, e que o sujeito se constitui analogamente, por processos inconscientes que não deixam de fora também a historicidade das relações sociais. Dessa forma, para se compreender como se dão as relações entre as formações de sentido entre língua e classe social, importará a depreensão do funcionamento discursivo do tratamento que os instrumentos de gramatização dão à variedade linguística. No Meia Hora, também se procura analisar de que modo um jornal vai significando, inscrito numa prática jornalística determinada, língua e classe social concomitantemente, através do uso de uma língua imaginária

Entre duas rodas e uma tela:a sociabilidade na rede social Tornadeiros

A partir do entendimento das novas possibilidades sociais permitidas pela Internet, este trabalho tem por objetivo investigar a sociabilidade em redes sociais virtuais a partir do desenvolvimento do capital social entre os membros integrantes destas redes. Buscamos compreender as motivações que possibilitam que as relações sociais sejam construídas e mantidas no e a partir do espaço virtual determinando os fatores que tornam tais relações materializadas no espaço offline. Para tal, realizamos um estudo de caso de uma rede social constituída por motociclistas, o site Tornadeiros. Logramos apreender, o contexto de interação entre os membros desta rede e de que modo o fortalecimento do capital social é propulsor do deslocamento das relações no ambiente virtual para o espaço urbano, determinando a sedimentação de vínculos afetivos entre os indivíduos, inicialmente previstos como banais e efêmeros, dado a lacuna espaço-temporal existente entre estes atores. Para explorar estas dimensões iniciamos o trabalho etnográfico no ciberespaço e posteriormente no espaço urbano. A etnografia no ciberespaço consistiu na aplicação de um questionário online para determinar o perfil dos membros da rede social e na compilação de todo conteúdo de postagens disponível na memória coletiva do site. Os dados compilados foram tratados posteriormente para determinar a topologia da rede de interações entre os membros. Deste material, selecionamos 17 discursos para estudo, articulando a análise dos discursos com as observações produzidas pelo grafo da rede de interações do site. Finalmente, no segundo momento etnográfico, nós confrontamos os resultados com as entrevistas presenciais, tornando possível perceber o estabelecimento e manutenção das relações sociais a partir do capital social desenvolvido nesta rede.

Os homens do século XXI no cuidado dos filhos: um papel social em aberto

No século XXI podemos caracterizar as relações por sua complexidade, o que se expressa em diferentes aspectos, como nas relações familiares, sociais, valores, crenças. Sendo assim, fatores como gênero, transgeracionalidade e a coexistência de antigos padrões e novas demandas relacionais, compõem a construção dos papéis contemporâneos. E dentre um dos mais importantes papéis desempenhados pelo homem, podemos citar o de pai, com isto. Dessa forma, com base nas necessidades e na carência de literatura sobre o papel atribuído a este novo pai, o presente trabalho pretendeu investigar os aspectos semelhantes e diferentes nas crenças de homens e mulheres de gerações distintas. Participaram desta pesquisa 100 pessoas residentes na cidade de Magé (estado do Rio de Janeiro), divididas em quatro grupos (25 por contexto: gênero e idade, grupos de 25 a 35 anos e 55 a 65 anos). O estudo incluiu questionário sociodemográfico, questionário sobre Função Paterna, aplicação da Escala sobre Crenças e Práticas Paterna (ECPP) e Escala sobre Crenças e Práticas Paterna Pretéritas (ECPP-P). Os resultados mostraram concordâncias e divergências, tanto entre os gêneros quanto entre as gerações, mas acreditamos que discussões como estas propiciam novos entendimentos acerca das práticas parentais paterna.