Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Giorgio Perlasca (1910-1992) is today the most famous Italian man among the ones who were awarded the honor of Righteous among the Nations for saving Jewish citizens during the second World War. However, his story was neglected for nearly fourty years and resurfaced only at the end of the 1980's. The paper investigates the reasons for this neglect, and analyzes the political use of Perlasca's figure in the recent Italian debate on shared memory. After taking into consideration the political and cultural reasons which generated forgetting about his story, the paper analyses the turning point in the reception of Perlasca, and the demise of his otherwise problematic fascist identity in favour of a new, humanitarian frame. The third section deals with the competitive use of his established reputation, and its role in reshaping discourse on public memory in recent Italian history.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: I offer a conception of neighborhood reputation as a neighborhood’s external identity as perceived by the larger public, and develop a methodology for measuring this concept, via quantitative content analysis of the local media. Focusing on a neighborhood’s reputation for criminality and violence- essentially the extent to which it has a “bad” reputation – I test this conception on a case study of neighborhood identities and housing market behavior in Washington, DC. Using the hedonic price model common to real estate economics, I estimate the price that homebuyers are willing to pay to avoid a neighborhood with a “bad” reputation, net of observed crime rates, detailed housing characteristics, neighborhood demographics and structural qualities, and proximity/amenity variables. Models lag the reputation measure up to seven years before the point of sale to distinguish the durable nature of reputation from the short-term information effects expected from a media-based variable. Although measurement error remains a concern, the analysis lends strong support to the proposed conception and method. The reputation measure proves to be a non-trivial and robust predictor of housing prices, and grows in magnitude the further it is lagged before sale. These results suggest that reputation is powerfully connected to home purchases, and thus to migration and investment, and can have long-term implications for urban social processes. I conclude by highlighting other areas of research that may be advanced by considering the role of neighborhood reputation.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper used Fombrum’s reputation quotients (RQs) to investigate how 10 different types of corporations in Hong Kong perceived the principles of establishing a good corporate reputation and the dimensions in evaluating corporate reputation in the Hong Kong context. The findings show that distinctiveness, transparency, and consistency are the principles guiding corporations in reaching quality reputation. In addition to the original dimensions of Fombrum’s reputation quotients (emotional appeal, products and services, financial performance, vision and leadership, workplace environment, and social responsibility), interviewees revealed media recognition and business ethics should be incorporated to the Hong Kong context.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This study investigated how corporate reputation is discussed in the Russian media. A content analysis of major Russian print media publications on corporate reputation between 1999 and 2006 revealed conflicting media understandings of the role of corporate reputation in the marketplace and an overall oversimplification, which may be attributed to “unCONVENTIONal” for Westerners perception in regards to how corporate reputation can pave a way for a Russian company to succeed on the market.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Several assumptions regarding reputation apparently circulate in the field of the sociology of literature. First, authors’ reputation can be measured based on pure quantitative differences in the attention received from literary judges such as critics and editors of literary overviews. Second, free from problems the quantitative differences in attention can be transformed hierarchical relations of reputation. Finally a structural congruency is assumed between cultural and social hierarchies. Reputation is the outcome of critics’ consensus, which is highly relational in nature. Because consensus doesn’t necessarily relate the complete community of critics, but also appears between distinct groups of critics, a quantitative -relational analysis is recommended. The results of this study carefully suggest that quantitative analyses alone is not sufficient to measure and rank reputation. No correlations were found between structural prestige and social variables.