Body Politics with Feeling: The Power of the Clothesline Project

The Clothesline Project uses t-shirt art to address the issue of violence against women. Others have argued that the Clothesline Project empowers women in general and female victims of violence in particular. In this article we attempt to deepen this argument, first, by tying it to the existing "faces of power" literature. Using this literature, we argue that the Clothesline Project empowers by creating a public space for political action, offering an alternative communicative medium, educating in a context of dismissal and silence, and contributing to social and cultural transformation. Second, we develop the notion of affective power and argue that it amplifies the practical power of the Clothesline Project.     

Councillor Perceptions of the Boundary Review Process: Recommendations for Future Practice

Local ward boundary reviews are designed to equalise electorates within each local authority, thereby satisfying the requirement of ‘one vote, one value’. In 2010 this responsibility was passed to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England which has sought to engage with key stakeholders about the process generally. The main actors affected by this process are incumbent councillors who frequently find their own ward boundaries have altered significantly. Such changes may prompt some councillors to stand down before the new boundaries are implemented but others continue and represent new wards. Using data gathered from a survey of councillors whose boundaries were reviewed the paper examines their attitudes towards the principle of boundary revision and the period that should elapse between one review and the next. Councillors are clearly divided over the respective merits of electoral equalisation and communities of local interest when constructing new boundaries. Those serving in the most rural authorities value more the relationship between ward and community boundaries while councillors in the most urbanised areas are more willing to support the strength of argument favouring electoral equality. The paper concludes with a recommendation that there should be more research undertaken immediately after each future review is completed in order to assess the extent and reasons why some councillors choose to stand down and others continue to stand for election to the new wards. This research should also measure more precisely the subsequent impact on councillors in terms of their workload when new electoral boundaries are introduced.     

The impact of real estate agents on house prices near environmental disamenities

The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of real estate agents on the price of houses that are located close to an environmental disamenity. Our main hypothesis is that real estate agents obtain higher prices than those theoretically expected when the houses are located closer to an environmental disamenity. We attribute this result to agents' ability to effectively match potential buyers to house sellers as well as their influence on bargaining power. Estimates from a sample selection corrected hedonic model suggest that the percentage increase in the house price obtained by a real estate agent is greater than the commission rate.     

组织及领导者能力建设的系统方法

中国高校要在现有的环境下进行有效的管理,高教管理者和大学就必须运用系统方法进行大学能力和管理者能力建设。为此,大学必须在充分了解高校内部各个组成部分及其相互关系以及如何协调完成组织目标的基础上,对组织结构进行系统化地再设计;教育管理者必须了解并掌握系统变化的管理策略。     

Speaking to the Silences: Do We Need a Sociology for the Post-9-11 World?

Using a sociology of knowledge framing, this essay highlights how and why the sociological imagination presented by leading European and American scholars showcased in this special issue offers a relatively hopeful assessment of recent transformations. It then questions the extent to which the same optimism prevails for scholars – and citizens – of the poorer, less advanced countries of the world. It not only suggests that many of the fundamental sociological transformations associated with the contemporary era – ranging from globalization of economy, the rise of internet technology, the decline of the nation state, and the rise of more cosmopolitan identities – are unevenly distributed around the world. It also argues that their political, social, and economic impact will vary, depending on history and developmental context. The essay further suggests that precisely because of the statist and protectionist legacies of late development, many of the same transformations that bring positive gains in the advanced capitalist world, signal troubles ahead for the developing world and its future. The essay draws to a close with a more focused examination of the dark side of recent transformations, evident in such problems as unchecked violence and regional or ethnic fragmentation across major swathes of the global south. Such developments, the essay concludes, should sustain the call for a more “pluralist” sociological imagination for the new millennium, one that can take into account differences within and between various countries around the globe, while also advancing our normative understanding of what it would take to make “global society” possible.