Abstract During the early stages of the Covid‐19 pandemic, the Swedish government did not implement the hard lockdowns and coercive measures found in many countries and instead relied on voluntary ...social distancing measures and work‐from‐home initiatives. Unlike its international counterparts in most countries, the rightwing populist party in Sweden early on took a critical approach toward the government's handling of the Covid‐19 pandemic, calling for stricter government measures to curb virus transmission. Based on theories about strategic party positioning, and theories about political elite cues and framing effects, we use Swedish survey data from the early stages of the pandemic to show that the views of rightwing populist party supporters aligned with the rhetoric of the Swedish rightwing populist party in demanding more (rather than less) government intervention to curb the spread of SARS‐COV‐2. Our results suggest that they did so by drawing on core rightwing populist themes of anti‐elitism and nationalism. Hence, our results speak to the role of elite cues and framing in public opinion formation during times of crisis, particularly among rightwing populists, who generally opposed stricter government measures to fight the Covid‐19 pandemic.
Published as part of the Theory, Culture, & Society series (Mike Featherstone, series editor), this text addresses the nature of postmodern economies & societies, using concepts from a sociology of ...flows & reflexivity. The book emphasizes the importance of reflexive human subjectivity in contemporary society & denounces overly structuralist conceptions of the social process leading to pessimistic scenarios for the future. It is argued that the "economies of signs & space" arising after organized capitalism offer promise in recasting meaning in work & leisure, reconstituting community, & reconstructing subjectivity. Discussion includes: the networks of flows & the phenomenon of reflexivity; the economy of flows of information, communication, & capital; the reflexive accumulation in Japanese, German, & Anglo-American production systems; vertical disintegration in film, TV, & publishing; a sociospatial analysis of the underclass; postorganized capitalist migration & postindustrialism; a critique of existing approaches to the sociology of time; travel as a category of risk in the modern world; & globalization in the context of money, the environment, & nationality. Also addressed are Ulrich Beck's & Anthony Giddens's works on risk, expert systems, & individuation & Marcel Mauss's & Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of classification & habitus. Designed for scholars interested in social & cultural theory, organizational or urban studies, & the political economy, this book is presented in IV PARTS & 12 Chpts, with a Preface. (1) Introduction: After Organized Capitalism. PART I - ECONOMIES OF OBJECTS AND SUBJECTS - offers (2) Mobile Objects; & (3) Reflexive Subjects. PART II - ECONOMIES OF SIGNS AND THE OTHER - presents (4) Reflexive Accumulation: Information Structures and Production Systems; (5) Accumulating Signs: The Culture Industries; (6) Ungovernable Spaces: The Underclass and Impacted Ghettoes; & (7) Mobile Subjects: Migration in Comparative Perspective. PART III - ECONOMIES OF SPACE AND TIME - contains (8) Post-Industrial Spaces; & (9) Time and Memory. PART IV - GLOBALIZATION AND MODERNITY - concludes with (10) Mobility; Modernity and Place. (11) Globalization and Localization; & (12) Conclusion. 4 Tables, 695 References. S. Davies
Abstract
Gender disparities in top-level academic positions are persistent. However, whether bias in recruitment plays a role in producing these disparities remains unclear. This study examines the ...role of bias in academic recruitment by conducting a large-scale survey experiment among faculty in Economics, Law, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology from universities in Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The faculty respondents rated CVs of hypothetical candidates—who were randomly assigned either a male or a female name—for a permanent position as an Associate Professor in their discipline. The results show that, despite the underrepresentation of women in all fields, the female candidates were viewed as both more competent and more hireable compared to their male counterparts. Having children or a stronger CV do not change the overall result. Consequently, biased evaluations of equally qualified candidates to Associate Professor positions do not seem to be the key explanation of the persistent gender gap in academia in the Nordic region.
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