Ever in need of a new way to travel? 'Couchsurfing', in the form of online social networking, allows users to travel with and stay at the homes of fellow users. It's just one example of how the internet aids face to face intimacy - sometimes amongst strangers. Paula Bialski talks to Laurie Taylor about her book 'Becoming Intimately Mobile' . Based on five years of ethnographic research amongst coach surfers and online hitchhiking website users, it documents new forms of human hospitality and connection. Also, trauma advocates in Croatia. Vanessa Pupavac and Ben Shephard reflect on the growth of compensation schemes for victims of civil war.Producer:Jayne Egerton.
Folgen von Thinking Allowed
579 Folgen
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Folge vom 07.11.2012Couchsurfing - Trauma Advocacy
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Folge vom 31.10.2012The UK strip and lap-dancing industry; blue jeansGrowth of the strip clubs - Why has erotic dance and stripping become a staple of the night time economy in the UK? Kate Hardy tells Laurie Taylor why her research suggests that the proliferation of these clubs has little to do with the demands of male customers. Instead, it's a by product of the economics of an industry which maintains its profits, even during a recession, by passing the financial risks on to its workers. Also, the anthropologist, Daniel Miller asks what the ubiquity of blue jeans tells us about our individual and social lives. He's joined by the sociologist, Sophie Woodward.Producer: Jayne Egerton.
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Folge vom 24.10.2012Trouble at work, travellers vs touristsTrouble at work: Laurie Taylor considers the findings of the largest UK study on ill treatment in the workplace ever undertaken. He's joined by the researchers, Ralph Fevre and Amanda Robinson, who claim that organisations which are well versed in modern management practices may create a culture in which bullying, harassment and stress thrive. Also, travellers versus tourists - Lara Week's research questions whether or not those seeking 'authentic culture' provide more to foreign countries than those who stick to the 'tourist trail' Producer: Jayne Egerton.
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Folge vom 17.10.2012Sociologists and the financial crisis - Against securityAre the stringent checks at airports really for our benefit? 'Against Security', a new book by the acclaimed American sociologist, Harvey Molotch, explores the complex systems which are designed to make us feel safe in public places. He tells Laurie Taylor why he thinks that security measures in airports and subways, post 9.11, have damaged the pleasure and dignity of our daily lives. They're joined by the design critic, Stephen Bayley. Also, Sociology's failure to address the financial crisis. The social scientist, Alberto Toscano's paper 'Reformism and Melancholia' argues that the twin spectres of Fordism and Keynesianism have prevented sociologists from imagining a future beyond austerity.Producer: Jayne Egerton.