Uppsatsen undersöker med hjälp av Bourdies nyckelbegrepp vilken slags kunskap konsumenter förmedlar om de livsmedelsprodukter de införskaffar. Undersökningen synas sedan ur ett miljöperspektiv.

Some sociologists think that contemporary society calls for new ways of analyzing it, and Ulrich Beck is arguably one of them. Suggesting that some classic sociological variables such as class are losing their relevancy, Beck advances a theory based on the concept of “reflexive” modernity – modern society cutting the ground from under itself and ending up as something new – advanced modernity. This paper is investigating the theoretical background to this claim, and also reviews some of the critique leveled at Beck. Unsurprisingly Beck's suggestion that class is dissolving has been criticized, but a lot of critique has also been aimed at the way in which Beck is suggested to understand risk perception, and the recording of this. Using a study investigating the attitudes toward organic food in the UK as an empirical example, Beck's theory is put to the test in order to see how it interprets the results. Part of the study can be explained with reference to the Risk Society thesis, but some of the critique is not challenged.

The goal of this study is to see how risk assessment is executed on the social media platform Facebook. The aim is to see how risk assessment in contrast of Ulrich Becks (2012) theory about risk society and reflexive modernization can help understand how users on Facebook minimize the possible risk of their actions on Facebook. The study is of a qualitative variety and is based on interviews with ten different Facebook users and processed by being thematised by criminalty, risks of health, politic risks, economical risks and risks about integrity. It is also summarized by different strategies to minimize risks that the participants discussed in the interviews. The most important results in this study was connected to risks about source criticism and actions that could have an impact on work-related questions. It was possible to see in the study that if a user had knowledge about potential risks they were mostly more likely to protect themselves against it. Also it concludes that in some cases experience that users learns from does not have to be related to their own experiences.

Socially produced risks – ranging from financial crises to climate change – are of fundamental importance to contemporary economic, political, and social life. Given the central importance of these risks, the development of frameworks that analyze the relation between risk, power, and inequality is a key task for sociology. Ulrich Beck’s theory of risk society is a leading and powerful framework for analyzing the growing social production and distribution of risk, but it has fundamental problems in its understanding of the relation between risk and class. Beck has argued that class relations will be dissolved due to the increasingly equal and catastrophic nature of risks, while, in response, his critics have shown that increasing risk does not undermine class. This thesis explores the important, but as yet unasked, question: if class does continue to be a central factor, will it become even more important due to the changes associated with risk society? In pursuing this question, this study shows how the theory of risk society has conceptual resources and explanatory implications that both Beck and his critics have misapprehended. Firstly, it is argued that the processes associated with risk society tend to exacerbate class inequalities rather than simply dissolving or reproducing them. Secondly, it its argued that the theory of risk society is not antithetical to class analysis, but can actually make an important contribution to theorizing the dynamics of existing class relations. By analyzing how the distribution of environmental bads and the social production and distribution of financial risk tend to intensify class inequalities, this thesis substantiates this re-theorization of risk society and class. It thereby makes a fundamental intervention into contemporary understandings of the relation between risk, inequality, and power in the twenty-first century. / Thesis (Ph.D, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-26 11:44:32.979

Submitted by MURILO CANELLA null (murilo_canella@hotmail.com) on 2016-04-13T14:37:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - versão final.pdf: 1477119 bytes, checksum: ac78ee87fdf0985710205c6cc050894e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Felipe Augusto Arakaki (arakaki@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-04-14T20:38:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 canella_m_me_arafcl.pdf: 1477119 bytes, checksum: ac78ee87fdf0985710205c6cc050894e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-14T20:38:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 canella_m_me_arafcl.pdf: 1477119 bytes, checksum: ac78ee87fdf0985710205c6cc050894e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-29 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Este trabalho intenta demonstrar a influência contemporânea do pensamento de Georg Simmel na perspectiva teórica de Ulrich Beck. Como eixo de estruturação da temática nos moldes do presente estudo, bem como um eixo estruturante presente na obra de Simmel e de Beck, optou-se pelo conceito de individualismo e os processos de individualização dele decorrentes. Essa delimitação – visto que a teoria de ambos autores é vasta e abrange um domínio diverso de objetos – é tanto uma forma de estruturar, dentro da argumentação do estudo, um ponto comum na teoria de ambos autores, como também uma forma de contextualizar dois momentos distintos da modernidade, caracterizados por conflitos que, ao migrarem para outra arena histórica, no caso, da primeira para a segunda modernidade, determinam de forma conflituosa a gramática social. Como metodologia, adotam-se as proposições teóricas da sociologia do conhecimento, bem como da sociologia compreensiva, além do método relacional de Simmel, também presente em Beck, na busca da compreensão de dois momentos distintos da modernidade que guardam um nexo íntimo. Compreender o individualismo e os processos de individualização significa, na perspectiva de Simmel e de Beck, compreender uma forma social que, pela dupla condição de ente autodeterminado concomitantemente à sua inserção em cadeias de dependência social, torna-se um foco do conflito, pois a forma social do indivíduo encerra-se na dependência e na intersecção de círculos sociais cada vez mais vastos, nos quais o indivíduo, pela coerção de uma cultura objetiva que se expande em uma lógica autorreferencial, torna-se historicamente debilitado. / This work intends to show the contemporary influence of Georg Simmel’s thought in the theoretical perspective of Ulrich Beck. As thematic structuring axis on the study casts and a structuring axis in Simmel’s and Beck’s works, we opted for the concept of individualism and it’s deriving individualization processes. This definition – as the theory of both authors is vast and covers a diverse domain of objects – it’s both a way to structure, within the study argument, a common point in the theory of both authors, as well as a form to contextualize two distinct moments of modernity, characterized by conflicts which migrates to another historic arena – in this specific case, the first to the second modernity, which determines the form of confrontational social grammar. The methodology adopted concerns to the theoretical propositions of sociology of knowledge, as well the comprehensive sociology and the relational method of Simmel and Beck, which the aim point is the pursuit understanding two distinct modernity moments who keeps a close nexus. Understanding the individualism and the individualization process means, in Simmel’s and Beck’s perspectives, understand a social form – the double self-determined entity condition concurrently with their inclusion in social dependency chains – which becomes a focus of conflict by the social form of the individual ends up in addiction and at the intersection of social circles ever wider. In this perspective, the individual, immersed in the coercion of objective culture that expands into a self-referential logic, becomes a historically weak social form. / Este trabajo intenta demostrar la influencia contemporánea del pensamiento de Georg Simmel en la perspectiva teórica de Ulrich Beck. En cuanto eje de la estructuración del tema en los moldes del presente estudio, así como un eje estructural presente en la obra de Simmel y de Beck, se ha optado por el concepto de individualismo e los procesos de individualización de ello decurrente. Esa delimitación – haja visto que la teoria de ambos es vasta y abarca un sinnúmero de objetos – es tanto una forma de estructurar, en la argumentación del estudio, un comum punto en la teoria de ambos autores, como también una forma de contextuar dos distintos momentos de la modernidad, caracterizados, por su vez, por los conflictos que, al emigrar a otro escenaio histórico, en el caso, de la primera a la segunda modernidad, determinam de forma conflictuosa a la gramática social. La metodología sigue las proposiciones teóricas de la sociologia del conocimiento, así como las de la sociología comprensiva, más allá del metodo relacional de Simmel, también presente en Beck, en la búsqueda de la comprensión de dos distintos momentos de la modernidad, a la vez con um cercano nexo. Comprender lo individualismo y los procesos de individualización significa, en la perspectiva de Simmel y de Beck, comprender una forma social que, por su doble condición de ente autocentrado concomitantemente a su inserción en las cadenas de dependencia sociales, tornase un foco del conflicto, pues la forma social del individuo encerrase en la dependencia y en la intersección de los círculos sociales a la vez más vastos, en los cuales el individuo, por la coerción de una cultura objetiva que se expande en una lógica de autorreferencialidad, resulta históricamente débil. / CNPq: 130555/2014-2.

During a long period of time, mankind as we know it, has progressed in remarkable ways. We leap from one era to another, whilst becoming smarter and more capable. Although one could argue for the superiority of man, we have now reached a time where our skilfulness is beginning to backfire. As the desire for production and consumption is growing, the environmental impacts increase. Climate change has in many ways become the product of modernity. However, these relatively new circumstances are met with more and more awareness. One example is how Swedish grocery stores, in this case COOP, have expanded their range of vegetarian foods. They claim to take responsibility for the planet and for a greener future. In the last two years, they have released two rather noteworthy commercials, with the aim of reducing meat-eating. By applying a narrative and semiotic analysis, and by using Becks theories on reflexive modernization as framework, this essay has studied these commercials in order to understand how they communicate their plant based alternatives in relation to a changing society. The results showed that both commercials portray a growing concern for the planet and the prevailing change of its climate. To prevent these conditions from accelerating, they suggest less meat on the plate. Likewise, semiotic tools, like falling trees or flooding cities, are used to enhance the significance of the narrative. In conclusion, both commercials show to be in line with Becks observations of the modernized world – an acknowledgement of its detrimental character. Additively, they function as a means of addressing the issues of modernity and meat-eating in particular.

<p>Examensarbetet berör den bild som Dagens Nyheter publicerade den 21 juni 2006 gällande Komvux och om skolan som en elitenhet. Åsikten är att unga med fullvärdiga betyg vandrar från gymnasium till Komvux, i uppsåt att höja betygen. På så sätt hoppas de att bli antagna till de mer attraktiva utbildningarna såsom jurist kandidatutbildning och läkarutbildning. För att verifiera eller dementera våra frågeställningar, har vi analyserat texter både kvantitativt och kvalitativt samt som vi gjort empirisk undersökning i form av intervjuer, vilket skall återge den sanna bilden av Komvux (Gamlebyskolan) i Varberg. Materialet som vi har använt oss av är bland annat rapporter från både skolverket och utbildningsdepartementet. För att erhålla en teoretisk förklaring på våra frågeställningar, har vi använt oss av sociologiskt skrivna verk, författade av Ulrich Beck och Pierre Bourdieu. Utifrån resultatet kan vi dementera den bild som DN presenterade, då merparten av eleverna på Gamlebyskolan läste nya ämnen. Komvux är för den breda massan som planerar att läsa på universitet och högskolor, men dock inom de mindre prestigefyllda utbildningarna.</p>

<p>This dissertation theorizes the complex contemporary phenomenon of literature produced in French by writers of allophone origins, which is to say, writers born in non-Francophone countries. Vassilis Alexakis, Gao Xingjian, Andreï Makine, Nancy Huston, Dai Sijie, Brina Svit, Amin Maalouf, Shan Sa, Agota Kristof, Milan Kundera, Ya Ding, François Cheng, Eduardo Manet, Hector Bianciotti, Jorge Semprun or Jonathan Littell, are frequently classified as "Francophone singularities," even though their number has now surpassed a few hundred. By closely looking at cultural and geo-political realities underpinning these writers' literature, La République réinventée reconceptualizes notions of "exile," "migrant," "diaspora," and even certain areas of "postcolonial" literary praxis as a transcultural model of literary production that is emblematic for our globalized society. Intended to reframe the debate around the transcultural literature, this study uses a sociological paradigm of methodological or reflexive cosmopolitanism (Ulrich Beck) in order to define transcultural ideologies and networks, reinforced by unlimited axes of reworked local, transnational, and global focalization.</p> / Dissertation

Examensarbetet berör den bild som Dagens Nyheter publicerade den 21 juni 2006 gällande Komvux och om skolan som en elitenhet. Åsikten är att unga med fullvärdiga betyg vandrar från gymnasium till Komvux, i uppsåt att höja betygen. På så sätt hoppas de att bli antagna till de mer attraktiva utbildningarna såsom jurist kandidatutbildning och läkarutbildning. För att verifiera eller dementera våra frågeställningar, har vi analyserat texter både kvantitativt och kvalitativt samt som vi gjort empirisk undersökning i form av intervjuer, vilket skall återge den sanna bilden av Komvux (Gamlebyskolan) i Varberg. Materialet som vi har använt oss av är bland annat rapporter från både skolverket och utbildningsdepartementet. För att erhålla en teoretisk förklaring på våra frågeställningar, har vi använt oss av sociologiskt skrivna verk, författade av Ulrich Beck och Pierre Bourdieu. Utifrån resultatet kan vi dementera den bild som DN presenterade, då merparten av eleverna på Gamlebyskolan läste nya ämnen. Komvux är för den breda massan som planerar att läsa på universitet och högskolor, men dock inom de mindre prestigefyllda utbildningarna.

This thesis is about global catastrophic risks and the conscious effect of such risks at the level of everyday life. Utilising R. D. Laing's concept of "ontological security", this thesis questions the extent to which risks that loom in the global environment cause a sense of ontological insecurity amongst individuals at the local-level. In addressing this question, this thesis responds to the theories of Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens who maintain that the contemporary age is marked both by the emergence of global risks that exist as the unintended consequences of modernisation and a greater sense of risk owing to how information about such risks is disseminated by the media. While no objection is made to the argument that the global environment has become more objectively threatening, this thesis questions whether individuals in fact perceive such threat in their daily lives. This argument rests on the view that global risks, in the main, lack a tangible dimension needed to elicit a sense of urgency. Seeking to ground the risk literature from the level of theoretical abstraction to that of lived experience, this thesis presents a case study of how risk is perceived in the tourist-dependent township of Akaroa. Despite the fact that New Zealand is generally seen as "safe" and "secure" and removed from the vicissitudes of global events, its economic reliance on international tourism ensures a susceptibility to external forces that disrupt global tourism flows. Given the recent publicity as to how such risks as climate change and peak oil may undermine international tourism in New Zealand, it is clear that areas that are particularly reliant on the international visitor market, like Akaroa, are significantly exposed to global events. This not only makes Akaroa an ideal case study in which to establish the extent to which global risks undermine ontological security in daily life, it also helps measure how seriously individuals in tourist-dependent areas consider the possibility of a substantial tourist decline.