Social Sciences

This volume deals with the American production "Spartacus" and the British-American-Italian co-production Rome. In the examination of the present, a turn to Greek or Roman antiquity can be observed again and again. To find there the roots of Western society for politics, economics or philosophy, or to derive comparative arguments for expansionist efforts or decline, is not just part of the rhetorical commonplace. So it is not surprising that the TV series format also takes up this period. Whereas in Rome the attempt is made to work through the historical guidelines in great detail, in Spartacus, apart from the rough sketch of the plot, one can speak of a far-reaching neglect of the historical situation. From a (media) ethical perspective, specific approaches to responsibility, the transmission of values, loyalty, education, self-discipline, and religion can be identified in the series, which can be interpreted as self-statements of the present or the producers.

This book offers a completely new approach to the complex social phenomenon of the Mafia: In addition to the origins, organization and actions  of the Mafia, the author Anita Bestler examines above all the close connection between organized crime and politics. In the process, readers [also] gain an interesting insight into the complicated political development of Italy from the founding of the state to the present, as well as an answer as to why Italians have a different political mindset.

The present publication constitutively expands the field of discourse on the topic of basic income and explores the possibilities of its introduction as well as the opportunities and risks. Although all visionary proposals for an unconditional basic income (BGE) have so far not been implemented politically, at least in democratically constituted welfare states, the question of implementation or the conditions for success and the identification of possible blockades have only been dealt with marginally. Recent publications on a BGE also show this political-institutional "blindness" and do not address enough the reasons for the failure so far. Without a transfer strategy, however, the idea will fail in Germany due to such implementation naivety. In this book, therefore, the state of the debate on basic income is developed further to the extent that it is integrated into welfare-state development processes and current challenges for the "safeguarding of social security". In addition, a social-scientific classification of hitherto visionary guarantee elements of a basic income model is undertaken, linking up with the "silent" change to a socially investing state.

Luxembourg has an atypical, efficient migration. The recent Portuguese underclass themselves in the same way as their predecessors of the Salazar regime, despite higher educational attainment, while the citizens of the new member states move to the top of the pyramid. The strong north-south divide between Luxembourg and Portugal is illustrated by a number of indicators. Freedom of movement is reduced and renationalised by ECJ rulings on the initiative of northern member states against southern European crisis 'refugees'. The categories of EU citizens versus third-country nationals develop into economically strong EU and non-EU migrants versus weak EU and non-EU migrants.

This volume offers contributions on the fundamentals of current consumption theory and consumption research, which have developed almost entirely from originally unorthodox approaches against traditional micro- and macroeconomic theory. The inspiration came mainly from social economic behavioural research and ecological economics. But the reception is very patchy and the history is largely forgotten. With reference to the work of earlier authors, new arguments are offered to the current discussion about delimitations and paradoxes in consumption and the still narrowly understood consumer role. It is as much about rework in sharpening the understanding of consumption and consumers in their lifeworlds as it is about indications of fruitfulness for the analysis of open questions. It is about arguments for a paradigmatic reorientation of consumer research and policy. The contributions address in particular ambivalences, options and future modes in consumption in the search for individual satisfaction and ecological sustainability.

This book is a translation of an original German edition. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation.

The authors examine identity strategies of middle-class couples who come under pressure of over-indebtedness. Based on biographical interviews collected in a qualitative panel study in three waves, they explore the question of how identity is worked on in the couple and how identity changes when social decline threatens. The theory-generating analysis brings out patterns of coping with over-indebtedness and self-placement described along the notions of 'continuity', 'modification' and 'moratorium'. Similarly, they explore how lifeworlds are constructed in and with over-indebtedness as a couple.

This book is a translation of an original German edition. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation.

The volume addresses current challenges for gender equality policy and the necessary further development of gender equality policy concepts in order to effectively engage with exclusion mechanisms. The contributions discuss this at the interface between research and policy and on the basis of specific examples.