9780719076725; 9780719076725; Copyright Page; Contents; Tables; Acknowledgements; 1 Introduction; Cultural warfare; Generalised trust and school; This study; The plan of the book; 2 The origins of generalised trust; The blessings of generalised trust; What are the origins of generalised trust?; Institutional explanations; School factors; Competing explanations; Conclusion; 3 Methods; Selection of level, schools and classes; Composition of the questionnaire; Measuring trust; The samples; The panel; Participation in the survey; 4 The Mafia; The Mafia as a parallel institution to the state
The Mafia and politicsThe Mafia and territorial control; Weakness of the state -cause or consequence of the Mafia?; The Mafia and mental control; Conclusion; 5 Cultural warfare; Orlando's new policy for Palermo; Orlando's decline; Increased interest in civic education; Conclusion; 6 Students' trust in political institutions; Vertical trust; Are Palermitan students more distrustfulthan students elsewhere?; Conclusion; 7 Students' perceptions of generalised trust; Generalised trust; Helpfulness; Trust in known people; Trust in unknown people; Conclusion; 8 Explaining generalised trust
Institutions and schoolFormative years; Theory and major hypotheses; Data and method; Levels of trust in 2002 and 2005; Testing the hypotheses; Conclusion; 9 The Letter Project -- students' own stories; Description of the Letter Project; Students' motivation; Distribution of assignments; School life; Students' own stories about trust andfaith in other people; Students' stories about their neighbourhood; Relating letters to statistics; Conclusion; 10 Conclusion; Describing trust; Explaining generalised trust; The Letter Project; Further findings; Some reflections; The need for further research
Cultural warfareAppendix: the distribution ofthe questionnaires; Reliability; Drop-outs and newcomers; References; Index
Summary
Cultural warfare and trust: fighting the Mafia in Palermo concentrates on a central issue in research on democratic processes: the development of generalised trust. The existence of generalised trust and confidence in a society is decisive for economic development and an effective democracy. Is it possible to fight persistent values of distrust and non-cooperation? Is it possible to support the development of generalised trust through public action and education?The book addresses these questions by examining political efforts to combat Palermo?s Mafia-controlled heritage and to turn a traditi
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 230-236) and index
