Performing the global through the local—globalisation and individualisation in the spatial practices of young East Germans

This paper aims to show how young people in former East Germany respond to the globalising processes that are part of the transformation of their society from a state-socialist to a capitalist one. It focuses particularly on the differential ways in which young people perform their identities as global/local subjects through the uses that they make of urban space. While emphasising the agency of young people, the paper seeks to examine the dialectic between globalising forces that are largely beyond their control and the negotiation of these forces in everyday practices of identity-formation. Conceptually, the paper draws particularly on the work of Beck (2000) Beck, U. 2000. “What is Globalization?”. Cambridge and Oxford: Polity Press.  [Google Scholar], Beck and Gernsheim (2002) Beck, U. and Beck-Gernsheim, E. 2002. Individualization. Institutionalized Individualism and its Social and Political Consequences, London: Sage.  [Google Scholar] and Giddens (1994) Giddens, A. 1994. Modernity and Self-Identity. Self and Society in the Late Modern Age, Cambridge: Polity Press.  [Google Scholar] in order to conceptualise the connections between globalisation and individualisation, as well as on feminist and recent geographical work on performativity (Butler, 1990 Butler, J. 1990. Gender Trouble. Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, London and New York: Routledge.  [Google Scholar], 1993 Butler, J. 1993. Bodies that Matter. On the Discursive Limits of ‘Sex’, London and New York: Routledge.  [Google Scholar]; Rose, 1996 Rose, G. 1996. “As if the mirrors had bled: masculine dwelling, masculine theory and feminist masquerades”. In BodySpace: Destabilising Geographies of Gender and Sexuality, Edited by: Duncan, N. 56–74. London and New York: Routledge.  [Google Scholar]; Gregson and Rose, 2000 Gregson, N. and Rose, G. 2000. ‘Taking Butler elsewhere: performativities, spatialities and subjectivities’. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 18(4): 433–452. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]; Thrift, 1996 Thrift, N. 1996. Spatial Formations, London: Sage.  [Google Scholar]; Dewsbury, 2000 Dewsbury, J.-D. 2000. ‘Performativity and the event: enacting a philosophy of difference’. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 18(4): 473–496. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]; Dewsbury and Naylor, 2002 Dewsbury, J.-D. and Naylor, S. 2002. Practicing geographical knowledge: fields, bodies and dissemination. Area, 34(3): 253–260.  [Google Scholar]) in order to gain an embodied understanding of the ways in which individuals construct themselves as global/local subjects.     

FRIENDSHIP NETWORKS*

ABSTRACT This paper develops a model of social networks different from those presented in the recent literature. In contrast to existing models, the level of investment in link formation is a continuous decision variable, and links form stochastically rather than deterministically, with the probability depending on the noncooperative investment choices of both parties. Since the network structure is then stochastic rather than deterministic, the actual pattern of links cannot be specified, as in previous models, with the analysis focusing instead on which links are most likely to form. This alternate approach leads to a much simpler mathematical structure than in previous work. The analysis, which is couched in the context of friendship networks, shows that individual investment in friendship formation is too low. In addition, the analysis shows that, in an asymmetric setting where one individual has personal magnetism or a broad group of acquaintances, friendship links involving this attractive agent are most likely to form.     

Selbstständigkeit als Berufsalternative?!

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Proximity,trust and morality in networks

Network interaction is embedded in social settings, which allows for the development of trust. Trust is supposed to be an efficient functional equivalent of contracts, guarantees, insurances, safeguards, etc. Trust between actors reduces transaction costs. However, trust cannot be introduced and enforced within interaction relationships. It is argued that trust is more likely to occur and to be prevalent when actors have the spatial capability for personal, direct interaction. Thus, proximity and trust are supposed to be positively related to each other. Proximity is strongly interrelated with embeddedness. In the discussion about morality in organisations, there is an assumption we referred to as the 'moral spill-over effect': it is impossible, it is said, to restrict moral competencies and moral behaviour to one particular situation, environment, or topic. However, we argue that, even though trust is a term that is described in moral theory, trust and morality are not necessarily positively correlated. This means that even if embeddedness and proximity in a network lead to an increase of trust between network partners, it does not necessarily produce moral spill-over effects. Thus, proximity and morality do not necessarily have to be positively correlated with each other. The influence of proximity on morality can be positive or negative, depending on the social surrounding in which network collaboration is embedded.     

Pricing, Capacity Choice, and Financing in Transportation Networks

Abstract.  This paper explores interrelations between pricing, capacity choice, and financing in transportation networks. We build on the Mohring‐Harwitz result on self‐financing of optimally designed and priced roads and investigate it in a network environment under various types of second‐best regulation. A small network model with endogenous car ownership demonstrates that optimal congestion pricing and capacity choice over an entire network may cause user prices to increase more in initially mildly congested areas compared to heavily congested areas. Furthermore, a flat kilometer charge under optimal capacity choice may result in first‐best efficiency gains.     

Hochschulausbildung und Consultingpraxis

Die Consultingbranche bietet für Geographinnen und Geographen ein breites und interessantes Betätigungsfeld. Dieses Berufsfeld kann bereits durch universitäre Veranstaltungen für Studierende erschlossen werden. Um Einblicke in das Tätigkeitsfeld, die Anforderungen und Qualifikationsprofile eines Beraters zu geben, bieten sich Projektseminare an, die in Kooperation mit der Hochschule und Berufspraktikern durchgeführt werden.     

Hierarchical Integration: The Dollar Economy and the Rupee Economy

While contemporary globalization makes the world more interconnected, it also reworks and builds on existing cleavages and uneven development. This is an under‐researched dimension of the emerging twenty‐first century international division of labour. The core question is whether new developments (associated with exports, offshoring and outsourcing) spin off to the majority in the countryside and the urban poor. This article examines the relationship between the dollar economy and the rupee economy in India. It documents the ways in which inequality is built into and sustains India's development. The authors discuss other instances of multi‐speed economies and analytics that seek to come to grips with these relations, from combined and uneven development to global value chains. They present three ways of capturing contemporary inequality: asymmetric inclusion, enlargement‐and‐containment and hierarchical integration, each of which captures different dimensions of inequality.