Prestige

Este artículo pretende valorar tres conceptos claves para la economía antigua: valor, prestigio e intercambio. La utilización de los métodos que sirven para dar a conocer el valor socioeconómico de los ítems encontrados en yacimientos arqueológicos depende del enfoque teórico que uno escoge para investigar el pasado. En el presente trabajo se analizan los principales problemas relacionados con estos
métodos (el índice de diversidad, el número total de los objetos, la inversión del trabajo) y, por otra parte, se investiga los mecanismos que influyen a la creación del valor.

Many real-life graphs such as social networks and peer-to-peer networks capture the relationships among the nodes by using trust scores to label the edges. Important usage of such networks includes trust prediction, finding the most reliable or trusted node in a local subgraph, etc. For many of these applications, it is crucial to assess the prestige and bias of a node. The bias of a node denotes its propensity to trust/mistrust its neighbours and is closely related to truthfulness. If a node trusts all its neighbours, its recommendation of another node as trustworthy is less reliable. It is based on the idea that the recommendation of a highly biased node should weigh less. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to compute the bias and prestige of nodes in networks where the edge weight denotes the trust score. Unlike most other graph-based algorithms, our method works even when the edge weights are not necessarily positive. The algorithm is iterative and runs in O(km) time where k is the number of iterations and m is the total number of edges in the network. The algorithm exhibits several other desirable properties. It converges to a unique value very quickly. Also, the error in bias and prestige values at any particular iteration is bounded. Further, experiments show that our model conforms well to social theories such as the balance theory (enemy of a friend is an enemy, etc.).

The point of departure is a short definition of prestige: “The prestige of a person, an object or a cultural practice is higher, the more exclusive its bearers and the more widespread its
estimation in the relevant group are”. This allows modern scholars to identify the cooccurrence of various aspects of prestige at state festivals as culturally significant markers.
This not only pertains to the participants, above all the king of the Third Dynasty of Ur (21st c. BCE), the governors of his provinces and foreign messengers, but also concerns
time, space, the ostentatious presentation of treasures, artistic performances etc. Interestingly, personal gift-giving is not included in the exchange of goods at state festivals, where goods from all over the country are collected and partly redistributed.

The task of studying the impact of social class on physical and mental health involves, among other things, the use of a conceptual toolbox that defines what social class is, establishes how to measure it, and sets criteria that help distinguish it from closely related concepts. One field that has recently witnessed a wealth of theoretical and conceptual research on social class is psychology, but geographers' and sociologists' attitude of diffidence toward this " positivistic " discipline has prevented them from taking advantage of this body of scholarship. This paper aims to highlight some of the most important developments in the psychological study of social class and social mobility that speak to the long-standing concerns of health geographers and sociologists with how social position, perceptions, social comparisons, and class-based identities impact health and well-being.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.11.037

As  means  of  locomotion,  mount  animals,  sedan
chairs or chariots are known from ancient Egypt
for overland travel (Köpp, 2008b, 401-412; Köpp-
Junk, 2013: 6-9; 2014: 199-276). The oldest mode
of travel, however, was simply to walk because it
was  the  easiest  and  cheapest  way  to  move,  even
though it was the slowest. The very reverse applies
to  the  chariot.  Compared  to  all  other  means  of
travel, except for horseback riding, the chariot was
the fastest, but also the most expensive one. Be-
sides the chariot, the owner has to purchase horses
as  well  as  have  a  personal  staff  for  maintenance
and care of both. Therefore, at the beginning of the
18th Dynasty, only the king and
a few high officials could afford them (Hofmann,
1989: 33). However, about 2,000 chariots are esti-
mated for the Egyptian army of the 19th Dynasty
(Langenbach, 2009: 347). This figure provides indication of the increasing use of the chariot. How many additional chariots were privately owned is uncertain, but several tomb scenes
as well as textual evidence from the New Kingdom
show them as an obvious component of daily life
as a mode of locomotion.
This contribution discusses the general use of
chariots in civil contexts. Additionally, its radius
of  action  with  regards  to  overland  travel  is  analyzed, as well as how chariots were transported by
water. This is followed by on overview of the traveling speed of the vehicle.

The Prestige disaster occurred off the Galician coast (North-West Spain), after the sinking of Prestige oil tanker in November 2002. The breaking up and sinking of the ship in heavy seas resulted in the discharge of thousands of tonnes of toxic and heavy oil. The oil was washed up not only on the Galician coast, but also along the north coast of Spain, and the west of France. A year later, the consequences of this accident on the quality of life of Galician people are only beginning to become apparent. The present study evaluates the inhabitants ’ and volunteers’ perceptions and evaluations of the social impact of the disaster and its effect on the population. This paper also provides a diagnosis of the changing relationship between a damaged environment and a human community, both immediately and a year after the catastrophe. A total of 1491 and 1504 interviews were undertaken in Galicia in two phases of the research amongst people over 18 years old. This paper reports on the chang...

Online social networks are ever-present due to the global use of social network sites in todays connected world. The variety of online social network sites makes it difficult to determine the impact of an actor in a general way. A generic solution to the problem of quantifying potential and actual impact of actors is presented. Various measures of potential impact are discussed in detail, based on concepts of actor centrality and actor prestige established in social network analysis. As opposed to offline social networks, data of social interactions is recorded, enabling accessible large-scale analysis. Among this data is feedback, which is generated by actors in response to actions of others. Actual impact is determined based on a generic feedback model, which enables the analysis of feedback across multiple social network sites. This generic feedback model is implemented by the data and content dissemination tool dacodi, which was developed during the course of this thesis and is used to calculate the actual impact of actors. To validate the introduced methods of impact analysis, a quantitative study of 217, 115 Twitter users is presented which shows a strong correlation between potential and actual impact, implying that the position of an actor in the social network is crucial to create impact.

English abstract: Since the discovery in 1860 of La Pastora, one of the most beautiful and outstanding megalithic constructions of Iberia, the Copper Age and Bronze Age site of Valencina de la Concepción – Castilleja de Guzmán has provided an unceasing series of archaeological finds of the utmost significance. Today, a hundred and fifty years after the earliest discoveries, this volume offers an up-to-date and comprehensive review of the research carried out at this site, which underlines, first and foremost, its importance as a scientific and cultural resource. Among the contributions to this volume the reader will find some of the keys to the human occupation of the lower Guadalquivir basin 5000 years ago, the process of social aggregation that gave way to the formation of the city of Seville itself. In addition, this book reflects some of the current discussions that dominate today’s scientific agenda on Iberian Copper Age (c. 3200-2200 cal BC), a period of fascinating social and cultural dynamism that laid the basis for the consolidation of social ranking, long-distance contact and exchange, as well as metallurgy and productive specialization.

Spanish abstract: Desde que en 1860 se produjera el descubrimiento de La Pastora, una de las construcciones megalíticas más bellas y singulares de España, el yacimiento de la Edad del Cobre y de la Edad del Bronce de Valencina de la Concepción – Castilleja de Guzmán no ha cesado de deparar hallazgos arqueológicos de la mayor significación. Hoy, 150 años después de los primeros descubrimientos, este volumen ofrece una puesta al día de las investigaciones que están revelando la extraordinaria importancia de este yacimiento como recurso científico y patrimonial. Entre las colaboraciones de esta obra el lector encontrará algunas de las claves de la ocupación de la desembocadura del río Guadalquivir hace 5000 años: el proceso de agregación humana que representa el origen de la misma ciudad de Sevilla. Igualmente, en las páginas de este libro encuentra reflejo el debate que en la actualidad preside el estudio de la Edad del Cobre (c. 3200-2200 antes de nuestra era), un periodo de apasionante dinamismo social y cultural en el que se consolidaron las bases de la jerarquización social, las relaciones comerciales a larga distancia, la metalurgia y la especialización productiva.

University preference is an important subject in that it is effective in the future lives of the students and for the universities to know the factors that are affecting the preferences of the students. Based on this importance, the factors that the students considered while making decision were investigated within the study. For this purpose, survey was applied to the students studying in the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of Kafkas University in 2013-2014 education term. 309 of the surveys obtained from the departments of administration, economics, and public administration were evaluated. According to the result of the factor analysis carried out, six dimensions consisting of prestige, opportunity, campus, knowledge, location, and economy were obtained. Besides, it was established that these factors differ in demographic properties.

Language attitudes toward Standard Arabic (SA) and French in Moroccan sociolinguistic literature (Bentahila 1983; Ennaji 2005; Marley 2004) have been presented as occupying a relationship of functional complementarity, where SA epitomizes local culture and traditional values, while French is imbued with status, iconic of modernity, and presented as instrumental for social mobility. The results of a French and SA matched guise test (MGT) conducted in Morocco show covert attitudes of middle-class members indicating status contested in both French and SA, and that, for the middle class, the solidarity traits cannot be allocated to either French or SA. The results show that French, introduced in Morocco as an exogenous code, is considered exogenous and has not been appropriated to covert prestige. Although speakers attempted to use French in different social domains, it cannot be considered, for middle-class respondents, as a solidarity code. This study reveals a complex attitudinal landscape of a rapidly changing linguistic market characterized by ongoing tensions between ex-colonial, regional, and local tensions, where the availability of each code is continually contested and challenged.

Discerning prestige branding is not as easy as it may seem, there is certainly a lot of causality to be involved. Because quite simply “extravagance is a state of mind, not a budget” and it is closely twisted with indoctrination of ideals, mythologies, and philosophies into the minds of the target audience. In this writing, the writer will try to explain his understanding of the prestige theory, and how to achieve the logic-defying art of prestige marketing: about the value of things and the price of nothing.

Keywords: Brands; Prestige; Marketing; Mythology; State of Mind.

The production of faience in ancient Egypt seems to represent a historical market paradox, as it does not fit into a theoretical bipolar prestige/common) partition of goods. Made of common and inexpensive components, faience artefacts are both widespread across lower strata of society and in use in the uppermost segments of society, often beside very expensive materials, such as metal and ivory. The article aims at analysing
four key elements which can determine a clearer social profile for faience production in the Middle Kingdom: a) the geographical setting of production, encompassing both the provenance of raw materials and the places of production; b) the identity of the makers, including the skills and the degree of specialisation required; c) (a revision of ) the taxonomy of artefacts produced; d) the identity of the end-users. Accordingly, faience
cannot be considered per se a prestige good, especially since the primary components can be found everywhere and the technology employed is not extremely complex. The only segment in the operational chain that could be controlled is the manufacture: the control over the technical skills of the artisans. The labour, i.e. the skilled artisan, can convert common objects into prestige goods. The only way to clearly distinguish the social role of the faience is to primarily assess for each type of faience artefacts its
production technique and the end-user target.

Archaeologists across all fields of research make generous use of the concepts ‘prestige’ and ‘prestige goods.’ In the process, prestige and social status are usually conflated. It follows that discussions of prestige goods solely focus on their active use in the struggle for social dominance. This article will argue, however, that prestige is not equal to social status. Instead, prestige is one of several contributing factors to status. More precisely, prestige is akin to the German noun Ansehen, which expresses the notion of looking up to someone due to certain qualities. This has serious ramifications for the traditional understanding of prestige goods. Fixating on their active role as socially structuring agents misses the point. In order to really grasp genuine prestige goods in the archaeological record, it is necessary to look beyond the motives of individual signalers or signaling groups and instead focus on the responder(s) to whom such behavior was addressed.  Instances of emulation in mortuary contexts reflect the perspective of the recipient(s). Imitations of objects and associated behavior are tangible manifestations of Ansehen / prestige. They convey that the original items were more than luxury products or status symbols. To be sure, such artifacts were most likely of high relative value, but they operated on a deeper social level as they highlight interpersonal relationships rather than general social mechanisms. An in-depth analysis of various silk fabrics and imitations of warp-faced compound tabby weaves (jin 錦) from second to early fifth century CE burials in the Tarim Basin in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, PR China along with a brief survey of Byzantine solidi and their imitations from early sixth to mid-eighth century CE tombs in northern China will serve as the basis on which I develop a method to identify genuine prestige goods.

This study is an insider’s examination into an orchestral world, using the theoretical framework of a prestige economy as a way to understand perceptions of orchestral musicians within their orchestral context. I bridge the theoretical notion of a prestige economy to the empirical research, and examine some of the very complex ways that orchestral musicians strategize in order to gain work. Thus, the theoretical context for this study comprises the orchestra, orchestral musicians, and the theoretical framework of the prestige economy.
The focus of the empirical research is a symphony orchestra involving one hundred and twelve musicians. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews in London during the period 2012–2015. The thematic analysis of the data evolved through an inductive series of interchanges between data and existing theory to ‘develop theoretical propositions or explanations out of the data’ (Mason, 1996: 137). In addition, the inductive process through the pilot study actuated triangulation in the main study, bringing into focus not only the views of orchestral musicians but also the orchestral fixers who employ them. Consequently, the building of prestige in this context can be viewed as a socially ordered practice, and therefore I review sociological literature concerned with the process of social construction, encompassing notions of capital and theories of social interaction.
At the conclusion of this study the research identifies some arguably contentious aspects, including the notion that the more prestige that is granted, the more it grants. An explanation is that since reciprocity is self-perpetuating, prestige also self-perpetuates through reciprocal interactions through networks. It seems that when prestige is discussed the notion of inequality is generally omitted. Thus, an intended outcome is to draw attention to the vulnerabilities and tensions of a professional orchestral life, by offering a helpful theoretical focus in which to explore ways that musicians perceive their roles and positions in their orchestral community. I argue that the orchestra is a propitious research setting to effectuate the theoretical model of a prestige economy, and suggest that the notion of a prestige economy framework both answers and exposes questions of more than one theoretical gap in the literature. This study not only contributes to the literature regarding the sociology of musicians in the context of their orchestral world, but also to other sociological studies of work and occupations.

La población inmigrante en España experimentó un crecimiento rápido y progresivo desde la última década del siglo XX hasta los comienzos de XXI. En este contexto, los flujos migratorios procedentes de Ecuador han sido unos de los más significativos desde el punto de vista cuantitativo. La integración social de estos inmigrantes pasa necesariamente por el plano lingüístico, cobrando, en el caso de la población hispanohablante, una especial relevancia factores psicosociales que afectan a la esfera del individuo.

Atendiendo a los últimos enfoques cognoscitivos en el estudio de las variedades del español, en las páginas de esta obra se analiza de qué manera influye la lengua en la integración de los inmigrantes ecuatorianos residentes en la ciudad de Madrid y se plantean hipótesis sobre el modo en que se está produciendo su integración sociolingüística, detectando los factores que condicionarán este proceso. Para ello, dada la incidencia directa de las actitudes lingüísticas en la integración sociolingüística y en los procesos de acomodación comunicativa, el libro ofrece un estudio de actitudes hacia las variedades ecuatoriana y madrileña, aplicando una metodología sociolingüística, de fuerte base psicosocial, que combina técnicas tanto cualitativas como cuantitativas, así como de medición directa e indirecta.

Football is a cultural phenomenon that has
become with time a significant instrument in
the political life of Cameroon. Football is
now seen as a catalyst of social facts,
practices related to identities, an innovative
trade, a means to pass on ideologies and
new philosophies in Cameroon. Football is
also presented as a passion which
contributes to Cameroon’s influence in the
world and in the long run contributes to the
prestige of the nation. The aim of this study
is to carry out a functionalist and historicalhermeneutic
reading of the impact of
football on the Cameroonian society in its
pursuit of the construction of national unity
and its search for a multidimensional
influence on the international scene.

The set of spacers from the Iberian Peninsula has allows us to update our knowledge, setting up the hypothesis of a
chronological and typological development, at least, from the Neolithic. Our critical evaluation denies the interpretation that
explains them with textile functionality, in our opinion they played a decorative and practical role in the architecture of the
necklaces with multiple rows. We will prove the tradition and originality of these elements in the Iberian Peninsula without
any external influence

This study examined the process, correlates, and outcomes of compromise in career-related decisions, as a test of Gottfredson's (2002) theory of circumscription and compromise. Sex-type, prestige, and work activities are important dimensions along which individuals consider occupational alternatives. However, because these dimensions naturally covary across occupations, it is difficult to make unequivocal statements about the relative importance of these dimensions. 194 college seniors (127 females, 44 males, 26 non-responses) took part in an experimentally manipulated occupational choice task. They also provided additional information about their grades, self-efficacy perceptions, personality and vocational interests, as well as their parents' education levels and occupations. Results from this study indicated that (for this predominantly female sample) preferred occupations tended to be more prestigious, and more feminine in sex-type than less preferred occupations. In addition, when individuals were forced to choose among unacceptable occupations, females tended to choose more feminine (less masculine) occupations over other occupations. Males also tended to choose the more feminine occupation, although markedly less so than females. When forced to choose among preferred alternatives, both males and females tended to choose options more consistent with their interests over those options less consistent with their interests. Individual differences on ability, socio-economic status, and self-efficacy were also found to positively predict which occupations participants found acceptable. However, personality differences did not (in general) predict differences in participants' occupational choices. Lastly, in a follow-up, post-graduation interview (n = 44), individuals who experienced discrepancies between their intended and actual post-graduation positions reported less satisfaction with these positions than individuals who did not experience discrepancies. Limitations and implications of this work are discussed.

Difficulties in comparing the position of women in different countries & cultures are discussed, with particular attention to problems arising from attempts to translate local customs, practices, & concepts into English or to label & assimilate them into Western anthropological understanding. Keeping in mind these difficulties, an attempt is made to compare the conception, valuation, & structuring of male-female roles & statuses in sub-Saharan Africa & northern India, analyzing marriage, family, household, bridewealth, & dowry practices.

RESUMEN

En las siguientes páginas se presentan otros resultados complementarios sobre las actitudes lingüísticas de los dominicanos en Madrid. Nos interesa saber, entre otras cosas, cuáles factores pueden estar fundamentando las actitudes de los hablantes y comparar estos resultados con los obtenidos por Alvar (1983) sobre las actitudes positivas de los dominicanos en Santo Domingo hacia la variedad estándar madrileña. Los resultados permitirán observar, por otro lado, la importancia que tiene la ‘movilidad’ en los estudios de contacto dialectal internacional. Los datos derivan de las entrevistas realizadas a treinta informantes. En este estudio se analiza las percepciones de los informantes sobre dos variables lingüísticas en concreto –una gramatical y una fonética– y se aplicó, además, la técnica de pares ocultos.

ABSTRACT

“More data on language attitudes of Dominicans in Madrid”

In this paper, we present others results about language attitudes of Dominicans living in Madrid. We want to know, among other things, what factors may be basing the attitudes of speakers and compare these results with those obtained by Alvar (1983) about positives attitudes of Dominicans living in Santo Domingo towards Madrid standard variety. On the other hand, the present results will allow observing the importance of ‘mobility’ in studies of international dialect contact. These data came from interviews with thirtyinformants. We analyze informants’ perceptions about two linguistics variables –a grammatical and phonetic variable, and also applied them the match guise technique.

Turkey as a developing country, while increasing the number and quality of labor besides the troubles in finding a job may cause individuals to work in an  inappropriate job for their educational background and skills. Surplus qualified employees’ for the jobs they perform may face different aspects of business life. This concept which is called perceived overqualification may lead organizations to undesired consequences. 
The reason of this study is to research the concept of perceived overqualification once more and also the relationship between perceived overqualification and both turnover intention and organizational commitment. Another purpose is to introduce the moderator effect of perceived external prestige on these relationships.
The research model was tested with 203 participants that consisted of 102 male and 101 female. The results showed that perceived overqualification were in a negative correlation with organizational commitment and in a positive correlation with turnover intention variable. Detailed relationships in factor basis can be seen in previous parts of the study. It was not seen any moderating effect of perceived external prestige on this relationships.
Keywords: Perceived overqualification, turnover intention, organizational commitment, perceived external prestige

EINIGE GESELLSCHAFT- UND WIRTSCHAFTSGESCHICHTLICHE LEHREN
DER METALLURGIE DER SPÄTEN BRONZEZEIT TRANSDANUBIENS
( Zusammenfassung )
Die zweite Hälfte der späten Bronzezeit ist eindeutig die Epoche der Entfaltung der ersten europäischen
Einheit. Wir finden Europa-weit ähnliche Vorgänge, materielle Kultur, Übereinstimmungen in Glauben und
Symbolen, Gegenstände mit den gleichen Funktionen, sowie eine kulturelle Ebnung.
Die gründliche Untersuchung des Befundmaterials ergibt interessante, gegensätzliche Vorgänge. Parallel zum
Zerfall von Mykene der Aufstieg des „barbarischen Europa” kann wahrgenommen werden. Die lokale
Bronzebearbeitung erreichte sowohl quantitativmäßig, als auch qualitätsmäßig ihren Höhepunkt. Die Deutung des
hervorgekommenen Befundmaterials sowie die der auftauchenden Fakten gibt eine Möglichkeit, gewisse
Konsequenzen in Gesellschaft-und wirtschaftsgeschichtlicher Hinsicht zu ziehen.
Die wichtigsten von diesen sind, nur aufzählend:
- Prestige-Gegenstände, das Dasein goldener und bronzener Geräte als Rangabzeichen (Zepter, Diademe und
andere Schmuckstücke, Waffen, Geschirr). Ähnliche Gegenstände sind nicht nur im Karpatenbecken,
sondern überall in Europa zu finden.
- Im Allgemeinen viele Hortfunde, in diesen und in den Niederlassungen gewisse, sich vereinheitlichende
Formen von Gußkuchen (Barren) und Rohstoffen, Maßangaben.
- Die bronzenen und goldenen Hortfunde, die aus Häusern der Erdschanzungen zentraler Bedeutung, d.h.
eigentlich aus Polis-Anfängen stammen (Velem-Szentvid, Celldömölk-Sághegy, Várvölgy-Felsőzsid-
Nagyláz-hegy) können eine wichtige Interpretation in wirtschaft- und gesellschaftshistorischer Sicht ergeben.
Diese können Lager (mit dem zutreffendem ungarischen Ausdruck von Gábor DEVECSERI in seiner HomerÜbersetzung:
„feküvő kincs”) der κειμηλια κειται/keimelia keitai = liegende Horte sein, d.h. also von Gütern,
die zu mehrfachen Verwendung (Feste, gastfreundliche, „diplomatische Beziehungen” oder Ehegeschenke,
Auslösung von Gefangenen usw.) zur Verfügung standen und aus denen einige genommen werden konnten.
- Diademe, Scheiben, aus Platten geschnittene, „königliche”-zeremonielle Hortfunde, hergestellt aus
gewickeltem Draht - aus Gold, die Fundorte dieser bilden eine geschlossene Einheit im nördlichen
Transdanubien, sie decken die ganze Zeitspanne der Urnenfelder-Kultur ab, sogar die präskytische Periode
inbegriffen. Sie zeigen eine von Westen nach Osten ziehende territoriale Verschiebung, des Weiteren eine
chronologische Reihenfolge (Velem-Szentvid, Celldömölk-Sághegy, Várvölgy-Nagyláz-hegy,
Székesfehérvár, Óbuda, Angyalföld). Ihre genauere Deutung bedarf einer weiteren Verfeinerung (einige
Machtzentren? Deren Wanderung? Aufgrund Beerbung und/oder Beziehungssysteme anderer Art?).
Aufgrund der Deutungsmöglichkeiten des reichen Befundmaterials, der Zusammensetzung der Hortfunde
und ihrer Fundumstände ist es festzustellen, dass diese Gesellschaftsformen die Schenkungen überstiegen, die sich
innerhalb der Verwandtschaft und zeremoniell abgespielt hatten. Die Zirkulation der Güter zwischen den größeren
territorialen Gemeinschaften könnte durch gastfreundschaftliche Beziehungen miteinander verbunden werden, die
auch den regelmäßigen Austausch und Handel beeinflussten. Ein Teil der Hort- und Schatzfunden war auch hier, im
Karpatenbecken ein unentbehrlicher Teil der aristokratischen Lebensweise oder konnte es sein, die sich langsam aber
spektakulär aufblühte. Sie entfaltete sich infolge der an Formen-und Gegenständen reichen, nicht nur quantitativ-,
sondern auch qualitätsmäßig hervorragenden Metallurgie, die fast industrielle Dimensionen annahm.

Diese Bachelorarbeit beschäftigt sich mit Rudolf I. von Habsburg und die Beziehungen zu den anderen Herrscher in Europa. Hierbei wird eine Netzwerkanalyse durchgeführt und sein Prestigewert innerhalb der Gruppe mithilfe mathematischer Formeln errechnet.

In Life Advice from Below, Eric C. Hendriks offers the first systematic, comparative study of the globalization of American-style self-help culture and the cultural conflicts this creates in different national contexts. The self-help guru is an archetypical American figure associated with individualism, materialism and the American Dream. Nonetheless, the self-help industry is spreading globally, thriving in China and other seemingly unlikely places. Controversy follows in its wake, as the self-help industry, operating outside of formal education and state institutions, outflanks philosophical, religious and political elites who have their own visions of the Good Life. Through a comparison of Germany and China, Hendriks analyzes how the competition between self-help gurus and institutional authorities unfolds under radically different politico-cultural regimes.

“This witty book charms its way through a very serious sociology of the seriously quirky field of self-help books. Read it for its fascinating pop-culture insights and you’ll come away with a deep understanding of contemporary sociological theory. Highly recommended.” - Salvatore Babones, University of Sydney

“Hendriks’ finding that Germany rather than China is more resistant to self-help gurus offers a powerful corrective to the assumption in much of the globalization literature that the greatest cultural divide is between the Anglo-Western European sphere and the rest of the globe.” - Rodney Benson, New York University

Reviewers can contact reviews@brill.com for free full copies