Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030173
Authors: Caterina Galdiero Cecilia Maltempo Rosario Marrapodi Marcello Martinez
The context in which work is distributed, organized, and performed has certainly changed in recent decades. In recent years, shock events such as COVID-19 have contributed to the revision of human resource management (HRM) dynamics, which was previously for “standard work”. Overall, hybrid work is not a novelty but has significantly expanded, particularly in the post-COVID-19 period, creating new opportunities in human resource management, especially for female employees, who often manifest the need to reconcile family and work. The new post-pandemic situation has paved the way for gender sustainability processes in organizations by pushing towards a more general organizational sustainability. In fact, in recent decades, sustainability in companies has ceased to be merely environmental and has expanded its boundaries to a “sustainable” business model, whereby human resource management must also meet organizational sustainability criteria. The literature shows that women add value to organizations. Therefore, companies that take on the implementation of management policies with the aim of gender inclusion are committed to social and organizational sustainability, which leads to strategic ideas of competitive advantages. Starting from these considerations, the main purpose of this paper is to compare several strands of research on organizational sustainability and diversity management using an integrative literature review method that offers the opportunity to discover areas where further research is needed. This allows fields of study to be mapped. This paper, derived from a review, provides insights for line managers and upper management regarding pursuing sustainability goals within organizations’ boundaries. Limitations and potential future research directions are also discussed, contributing to the ongoing development of research on these subjects.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030172
Authors: Danijela Živković Ljubica Milanović Anđela Đošić Ana-Maria Vulpe Tijana Purenović-Ivanović Milan Zelenović Dragoș Ioan Tohănean Saša Pantelić Constantin Sufaru Cristina Ioana Alexe
Background: Understanding the relationship between teachers’ physical activity (PA) and quality of life (QoL), which is impacted by work-related stress, could help develop guidelines for improvement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of physical activity on high school teachers’ quality of life and the differences in QoL and PA between male and female teachers. Methods: The sample consisted of 499 respondents (193 men and 306 women), all working in the educational system. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (short form) was used for PA assessment, and the WHOQoL questionnaire to measure QoL. Results: Physical health and Psychological health domains were areas where male teachers scored better (p < 0.01, both), while female teachers had higher scores in Social relationships domain (p < 0.05). Regression analysis showed that PA affects Physical health: Sig. = 0.056; Psychological health: Sig. = 0.000; Social relationships: Sig. = 0.001; Environment: Sig. = 0.021 in men, and Physical health (Sig. = 0.009) and Psychological health (Sig. = 0.039) in women. Conclusions: The findings of this study allow us to conclude that, whereas female teachers’ PA primarily impacts their physical and psychological domain, male teachers’ PA has an impact on their overall QoL.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030171
Authors: Theodore Koutroukis
The European Works Council (EWC) Directive provides the establishment of a social partnership forum within Multinational Companies (MNCs). The directive gives employees the right to information and consultation with the supra-national group management. The aim of this concept paper is to contribute to the debate on the Europeanization of Industrial Relations (IR) in the European Union. Specifically, it assesses the influence that EWCs, a novel institution within certain Euro-companies, have on the convergence of industrial relations among the member states. This critical topic can be evaluated from the standpoint of the current theory and its practical implications in order to draw the perspectives for a European system of IR both within MNCs and the rest of the companies. Our conclusions indicate that EWCs contribute to Europeanization in several aspects of employee relations, although this contribution has been limited to those issues that are wished for by the MNCs.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030170
Authors: Irene Belperio Fiona Rillotta Tim Adam Ruth Walker Claire Hutchinson
Housing and future planning have been key areas of interest in intellectual and development disabilities research for a number of decades. However, the voices of adults with intellectual disabilities are underrepresented in this area of research. Furthermore, the use of inclusive research methods remains limited in the literature. This study sought to pilot the use of inclusive research approaches to investigate the viability of these methods and to begin to build an evidence base of inclusive research in this area of work. Inclusive data analysis and co-authorship approaches were used on a small qualitative dataset from a larger study investigating future planning and transitions out of the family home by adults with intellectual disabilities and their families in Australia. Three semi-structured interviews with adults with intellectual disabilities and family members regarding their housing preferences and planning were analysed using an inclusive data analysis approach following the principles of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. These were then further analysed using a plain language version of the housing pathways framework. The results of the pilot study will be used to inform the inclusive research methods used for the remainder of the project dataset. Overall, the use of inclusive methods to pilot a conceptual model to better understand qualitative data was found to be feasible. Small adjustments to the process and accessibility to better support engagement with the research process are recommended. Lastly, greater investigation into co-authorship approaches and options is suggested as a fruitful avenue of inquiry for future research.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030169
Authors: Satarupa Dasgupta Emily Melvin
The current article reviews the extant literature on technology’s role in service provision and advocacy for young adults who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). The article looks at preferences and patterns of access and utilization of digitally mediated communication among young adults to explore optimal IPV services and mitigation strategies for providing crisis counseling to this demographic and offering support over time. An understanding of technology’s role in support provision can help to design best practices and offer recommendations that can best serve the needs of Generation Z victims of violence.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030168
Authors: Natalie Ingraham Kelly Duong Lena R. Hann
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, inflammatory, and often debilitating skin condition that includes painful “flares” in the groin, genital, and underarms. (1) Background: Patients with HS have the highest reported mental health comorbidities among dermatological conditions. Qualitative social science research about HS is limited, so this study aimed to understand the lived experiences of people with HS through body mapping. Body mapping is a participatory research process where participants illustrate a drawing of their body with images, symbols, and words that represent their embodied experience. (2) Methods: This study recruited 30 participants from a previous survey about HS experiences. Participants selected from pre-made body silhouettes based on their body shape, illustrated a body map about their HS experience, then shared their body map during in-depth interviews. Interviews and body maps were analyzed with the same codebook created with inductive and deductive codes. (3) Results: The body map drawings yielded rich visual data and the mapping process helped participants express their HS experiences in unique ways that cannot always be captured with textual data alone. (4) Conclusions: This study adds to the limited social science literature about HS and introduces body mapping as a relevant qualitative method for exploring chronic dermatological conditions.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030167
Authors: Matt James
This article contributes to the interdisciplinary fields of memory and historical justice studies by analyzing one, particularly troublesome kind of competitive comparison that sometimes happens in memory politics in the so-called age of apology. The article calls this kind of competitive comparison, “saming”. Saming involves the attempt, via far-fetched or otherwise wrongheaded comparison, to exploit the recognition of some well-known case of historical injustice. Further, saming involves pursuing this comparison in ways that both trivialize the original injustice and undermine the framework from which the recognition of that injustice derives. The article develops its arguments and analysis by studying Budapest’s House of Terror museum and two Canadian redress campaigns, which sought historical recognition for the wartime internments of persons of Italian and Ukrainian ancestry, respectively. Saming is a recurrent problem, ubiquitous and probably inevitable in memory politics because the recognition of historical injustice brings with it unavoidable and indeed often valuable incentives to comparison. Thus, the overall aim of this article is to analyze the threat of saming in order to better defend the cause of comparison in introspective collective remembrance.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030166
Authors: Daniel L. Carlson Skye McPherson Richard J. Petts
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work became the new reality for many fathers. Though time availability theory suggests that this newfound flexibility should lead to more domestic labor on the part of fathers, many were skeptical that fathers would step up to shoulder the load at home. Indeed, the findings are decidedly mixed on the association of fathers’ remote work with their performance of housework and childcare. Nonetheless, research has yet to consider how contextual factors, such as fathers’ gender ideologies and mothers’ employment, may condition these associations. Using data from Wave 1 of the Study on U.S. Parents’ Divisions of Labor During COVID-19 (SPDLC), we examine how gender ideology moderates the association between fathers’ remote work and their performance and share of childcare during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in both sole-earner and dual-earner families. The results show, for sole-earning fathers and dual-earner fathers with egalitarian gender attitudes, that the frequency of remote work was positively associated with fathers performing more, and a greater share of, childcare during the pandemic. Yet, only dual-earner fathers with egalitarian gender attitudes performed an equal share of childcare in their families. These findings suggest that the pandemic provided structural opportunities for fathers, particularly egalitarian-minded fathers, to be the equally engaged parents they desired.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030165
Authors: Ibrahim Badarna Anat Gesser-Edelsburg
Within the Arab community of Israel, the influence of masculine perceptions, violence, the carrying of weapons, and their subsequent use are growing concerns that significantly impact public safety. The omnipresence of social media further complicates this narrative, potentially reshaping traditional notions and behaviors associated with masculinity. This study endeavors to delve deep into the relationships between masculinity, violence, and weapon carrying and use and the role that social media plays in shaping these dynamics among Arab adolescent boys and young men in Israel. By employing a qualitative constructivist lens, the research integrated content analysis, digital ethnography, and rhetorical semiotic analysis. The participants included 40 Israeli Arab Muslim and Christian adolescent boys and young men. A recurrent theme was the belief in “Maktub”, signifying preordained events, pointing to a profound cultural relationship with fatalistic views on violence. Participants’ backgrounds in relation to violence influenced their stance on weapon carrying. There was a prevalent mistrust towards law enforcement. Social media’s role was pronounced, with genre preferences acting as indicators of violent inclinations. Culturally sensitive interventions are imperative, and it is essential to construct an early childhood educational program that includes positive male role models while collaborating with epistemic authorities.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030164
Authors: Sandra Nelly Leyva-Hernández Antonia Terán-Bustamante
(1) Background: Environmental deterioration has increased in recent years and is a worldwide concern. This study aims to analyze the influence of the resources and capacities of countries on their environmental performance. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study using secondary data was carried out quantitatively. A linear regression analysis was carried out to determine significant factors in countries’ environmental performances. (3) Results: Education innovation and investment were associated with environmental performance; however, investment in a country did not affect the country’s performance. (4) Conclusions: The scope of the proposed model was limited to the variables and countries of the secondary data analyzed, so future research can replicate this study using primary data. According to the results, the education of citizens can lead them to be more aware of their environment and pressure governments to generate positive changes for it.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030163
Authors: Anna Busk Rasmussen Christina Haandbæk Schmidt
Within the field of early childhood education, the Nordic model is characterised as being child-centred and holistic, based on children’s participation, democracy, autonomy, and freedom. Despite a strong tradition of incorporating children’s perspectives, research has identified it as a democratic problem that children continue to occupy a non-privileged position in which their voices are often unheard or disregarded in many contexts. Similarly, there is a tendency to apply adult-led methods, such as interviews, which can hinder the openness to children’s diverse ways of communicating, which is not just through verbal expressions. In this article, we position ourselves within what we perceive as the second wave of research on child perspectives in which the research interest converges on exploring how children’s perspectives are connected with the contexts in which children participate. Drawing on agential realism and an empirical example from a daycare centre, we demonstrate how children’s perspectives emerge from and become entangled with pedagogues, ethics, spaces, materials and discourse. Thus, the question is not about gaining access to children’s perspectives, but rather to be concerned with the interactions wherein children’s perspectives can emerge. This involves a critical view of the structures and basic assumptions that manifest themselves in the daily life of daycare centres and which underlie, and can result in, a subordination of children and children’s perspectives.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030162
Authors: Anna Carreri Manuela Naldini Alessia Tuselli
Research studies on academic work and the COVID-19 crisis have clearly shown that the pandemic crisis contributed to exacerbating pre-existing gender gaps. Although the research has been extensive in this regard, it has focused more on the widening of the “motherhood penalty”, while other groups of academics are blurred. Even more underinvestigated and not yet fully explained are the intersections between further axes of diversity, often because the research conducted during the pandemic was based on a small volume of in-depth data. By drawing on interview data from a wider national research project, this article aims to contribute to this debate by adopting an intersectional approach. In investigating daily working life and work–life balance during the pandemic of a highly heterogeneous sample of 127 Italian academics, this article sheds light on how gender combines with other axes of asymmetry, particularly class (precarious versus stable and prestigious career positions) and age (individuals’ life-course stage), to produce specific conditions of interrelated (dis)advantage for some academics. The analysis reveals three household and family life course types that embody the interlocking of gender, class, and age within a specific social location with unequal, and possibly long-term, consequences for the quality of working life, well-being, and careers of academics, living alone or with parents, couples without children or with grown-up children, and couples with young children and other family members in need of care.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030161
Authors: Ágnes Győri
Numerous research works prove that social relationships and the support they provide have particular importance in maintaining both mental and physical health: they help to deal with stressful life situations, overcome diseases, and maintain health. It is also known that certain periods of life and life events can be critical in terms of social support, as they involve the narrowing of possible sources of support, so the lack of a network of contacts and social support increases not only the risk of becoming lonely but also the occurrence or worsening of diseases. This study investigates the relationship between social network factors and support provided through networks and health problems, taking into account the perceived personal and general impact of COVID-19. The data came from a cross-sectional study, a representative sample of 5000 Hungarian participants was conducted during the dwindling period of the pandemic. We used a latent profile analysis to separate the different groups of respondents based on the support received from different sources of relationships, aiming at capturing the diversity of supported support combinations based on the type of relationships in the network, the form of support, and frequency. Multilevel regression was used to examine the impact of social connectivity factors, emerging patterns, and COVID-19-related perceived consequences on health conditions. Our results confirm that the “poorly supported network” plays a key role in the occurrence of chronic diseases and depression. It seems interesting, however, that the probability of poor physical and mental health was higher in the group of those receiving financial and in-kind support mainly from family compared to the group of those receiving support from multiple sources of relationships. The models also suggest that network integration plays a major role in maintaining mental and physical health during an epidemic crisis.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030160
Authors: Dina Moawad
Environmental shock migration is a pressing phenomenon that became prominent with the continuous emergence of natural disasters and climatic shocks worldwide. In order to cope with these various disasters or shocks, people choose to migrate either internally, internationally, permanently, or temporarily; the paper named this phenomenon “environmental shock migration”. For a holistic understanding, this paper analyzes the impact of environmental changes on migration and discusses the relevant consequences, specifically in the EU region. The paper demonstrates that natural disasters and climatic shocks as environmental changes lead to several forms of shock migration and differ depending upon the context of migration, the duration, the number of migrants, and the region. A comprehensive literature review will be provided to tackle the work of previous scholars and identify the gaps required to be studied in the future.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030159
Authors: Juan Torres Munguía
This paper aims to identify income-poverty risk factors in urban Mexican households. Special emphasis is paid to examine differences between female- and male-headed families. To this, a dataset with 45 theoretical factors at the individual/household, community, and regional levels, integrating information from nine sources, is created. To these data, additive quantile models are estimated via the boosting algorithm. From a gender standpoint, the following main contributions come from this paper. First, educational lag is particularly relevant for female-headed households. Second, there is a gendered life cycle in the income trajectory for poor households with a head having a medium level of education. Third, some households, traditionally disregarded, are found to be even poorer: those lacking social connectedness, without credit cards, with an extended composition, in which the female head spends a large part of her time on housework, and families headed by young women with a medium level of education. Finally, communities and regions where families have a lower income-to-poverty ratio are characterized as having an unequal income distribution, lower human development, lower levels of women’s economic participation, poor quality of services, and lower gender-based violence levels in the public sphere but higher gender-based violence levels in the family context.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030158
Authors: Sónia Maria Martins Caridade Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis
Violence is a complex, multifaceted, and multi-determined phenomenon (Dahlberg and Krug 2006) that victimizes the lives of many children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly on a daily basis [...]
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030157
Authors: Bill Shewbridge Brooke Hessler Burcu Şimşek
Digital storytelling (DS) is a term that has come to mean different things in different contexts [...]
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030156
Authors: María Navarro-Granados Verónica C. Cobano-Delgado Palma
The Muslim population is one of the religious groups facing the greatest obstacles to full socio-educational inclusion in the West. These are particularly noticeable among young people in areas such as access to employment. The purpose of this study was to find out their own perceptions of their socio-educational inclusion, discrimination, and religiosity. An eminently quantitative methodology was used, with an ad hoc questionnaire administered to a representative sample of a total of 1157 Muslims aged between 18 and 24. The results show that a higher level of religiosity is not related to a lower sense of belonging to Spanish society and should no longer be considered an obstacle to the socio-educational inclusion of young Muslims in Spanish society. On the other hand, their responses show that there is a relationship with greater perceived discrimination, especially in access to employment. In particular, women wearing hijab are substantially vulnerable. Young people, and especially Muslim women, make up a vulnerable population that requires specific school-to-work transition policies to improve their inclusion in the Spanish labour market. This research contributes to an important reflection based on the opinions of young Muslims themselves about supporting better socio-educational inclusion in Spain.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030155
Authors: Ewa Andersson Lisa Espinosa Michael B. Wells
Background: Men can struggle with adapting to their new roles as they transition into fatherhood. While social support has been shown to be effective at aiding this transition, little research has focused on the implementation of, and satisfaction with, telephone-based peer support for new fathers. Aims: This qualitative study aimed to investigate the implementation of, and satisfaction with, a telephone-based peer support program for new fathers. Methods: A qualitative study with 13 interviews of first-time fathers and peers was analysed using content analysis, in accordance with Elo and Kyngäs. Individual interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide that lasted between 30–45 min. Results: Two themes emerged from the fathers’ interviews (n = 6): (1) conditions that affect the telephone support experience; and (2) the importance of support. The fathers appreciated the confirmation stories shared by their peers, as these stories served as valuable examples that they could adapt and incorporate into their own parenting approaches. Two themes emerged from the peer interviews (n = 7): (1) peers’ own role and experience; and (2) the Importance of listening to fathers. Peers felt appreciated and acted like role models for new fathers, helping them to adjust to parenting life. Study limitations: The results may not transfer to multi-time fathers. Conclusions: The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the potential benefits and challenges of implementing a telephone-based peer support program for first-time fathers, which could further inform similar interventions.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030154
Authors: Tone Ristad Aud Elisabeth Witsø Sissel Horghagen Lisbeth Kvam Jørn Østvik
Including students with disabilities in higher education is a global political objective and is considered a human right. However, many students do not feel included and hesitate to ask for the help they need to succeed in their education. This study aims to investigate the processes of requesting accommodation for students with disabilities in higher education from the perspectives of both students and support providers. Six co-creation workshops were held, with a total of 46 participants from various backgrounds relevant to exploring pathways for students with disabilities in higher education and into the workforce. The audio recordings of the workshops were analyzed using a constructivist grounded theory approach to identify and explore processes. Three interconnected processes were identified: determining whether to disclose, asking for accommodations, and studying disability. The analysis showed that these processes could be time-consuming and riddled with barriers, and they did not always result in granted accommodations. Some students ended up using their study time to research their disability and potential accommodations instead of studying their subject matter. To eliminate barriers and promote disclosure, universities should ensure a universally designed education and that staff have the necessary knowledge to assist students in obtaining accommodations.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030153
Authors: Angelo Romeo
The objective of this article is to analyze how the digital space has become a ground for encounters, comparisons, and sometimes even clashes among individuals who increasingly inhabit the Internet, not just as a gateway to consume products, but as a context in which to weave relationships that, in the era of the Metaverse, are no longer to be understood as opposed to face-to-face encounters but rather as a continuation that transcends space–time boundaries. The Internet has become a place where relationships can be formed in various ways, influencing daily life and individual as well as collective existence. This influence now extends across various realms, from recreational encounters to cultural exchanges, and from politics to social interactions. The focus of this article is to analyze relational transformations and consequently how each individual relates to the Internet, both within and outside digital circuits. A state-of-the-art review of digital studies primarily interested in issues related to identity, increasingly showcased on social media, aims to understand how relationships and interactions can be interpreted today. These interactions occur within the screens of devices, disrupting certain stages of each individual’s biographical experience. Knowledge often begins in digital contexts and does not necessarily translate into the “tangible” everyday life, to the extent that the term “Digital Society” no longer surprises but is part of routine language. The synergy between digital and physical spaces calls on the social sciences to carefully analyze the types of relationships we build and how we nurture them amid applications and platforms. Thus, this article explores what friendships and romantic relationships have become in this digital era. It delves into the role of individuals faced with this rapid influx of technology into contemporary society. What is the role of the person in navigating this technological excess? The article aims to shed light on these questions, emphasizing notions such as relationships, identity, complexity, and the individual.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030152
Authors: Alexandra Mislin Ece Tuncel Lucie Prewitt
This research examines the potential social benefits of displaying curiosity during a negotiation. Past research has found women who ask directly in distributive agentic settings can suffer negative social consequences and obtain worse objective outcomes compared to men. In three experiments (N = 600) using different negotiation contexts, we found men and women who approach negotiations with curiosity reap the same economic benefits of asking directly but without incurring a social cost. We also found that perceived warmth partially accounts for the positive effects of curiosity (vs. asking directly) on negotiators’ social outcomes. Finally, our results reveal women feel more comfortable conveying curiosity compared to using a direct approach in their negotiations. We discuss the implications of these findings in enhancing negotiation effectiveness for both women and men.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030151
Authors: Ariana Correia Sofia Neves
The media’s representation of intimate partner femicides has been contributing to addressing gender-based violence as a structural phenomenon. Aiming to understand which crime elements are valued and how they might contribute to victim blaming, the present study explores the portrayal of intimate partner femicides in Portugal through the analysis of newspaper headlines. The core of the analysis comprises 853 newspaper headlines published between 2000 and 2017, which were subjected to a categorical content analysis. The results suggest two major trends that are aligned with the scope of the two newspapers analyzed. While some headlines offer informative perspectives on crime and its characteristics, the majority tend to sensationalize the narratives, potentially legitimizing violence against women. The results of this study enrich the social and academic debate on the media’s potential influence in preventing and combating gender-based violence. Moreover, by shedding light on the media’s representation of intimate partner femicides, the study reinforces the importance of a broader discussion on the role of journalism in fostering social change.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030150
Authors: Claudia Bartolo Tabone Fae Garland Mitchell Travis
In 2015, Malta introduced ground-breaking legal reform designed to protect the bodily integrity of intersex infants in Malta. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals, lawyers, policy-makers and advocates, this article considers the extent to which this reform has improved the cultural visibility and recognition of intersex people in Malta. Engaging with literature on epistemic injustice, this article provides new evidence for a cultural silence around intersex bodies that operates not only at a level of public knowledge but also at the individual and institutional levels. Our findings relate to three categories of visibility: political, cultural and medical. While the political visibility of intersex was an important factor in the introduction and shape of law reform in Malta, our respondents felt that the legislation had had very little effect on public understandings and familiarity with intersex issues. Moreover, respondents felt that many intersex people would be unlikely to know that they were intersex due to the limited conceptual and critical resources available to them: issues such as stigma and shame further encourage the epistemic silencing of intersex issues. The lack of cultural and medical visibility has significantly limited both the intended and hoped-for effect of the legislation. The article considers the broader implications of these results beyond Malta for those seeking to use the law to improve the lived experiences of intersex people.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030149
Authors: Harry P. Sophocleous Andreas N. Masouras Sofia D. Anastasiadou
The present study concentrates predominantly on the statement that the voter is influenced by and consumes the political communication marketing formed through political structures, content which is partially created based on the political matters of a country. Consequently, this study is founded upon the point that voting actions reflect what kind of content voters consume; therefore, the elector is the potential customer of the “electoral marketplace”. Accordingly, the primary goal of this study is to explain the effect that the political marketing of various parties might have on voters’ behaviour. Correspondingly, we introduce the framework of the planned research; identify the vital research principles; and clarify the intentions of the study and the required theoretical background, together with the data gathering and analysis methods used at this stage for the implementation of the envisaged project. In this context, primary research has been conducted quantitatively, the conclusions of which confirm the presence of the relationship outlined above. In conclusion, this research demonstrates that there is a certain correlation between broader political marketing and electoral perceptions. According to the survey results, we conclude that there is a positive linear correlation between the values of all four elements of the marketing mix, which is statistically significant. We found that there are three different levels of correlation between the pairs of the political marketing mix. Accordingly, it appears that there is a stronger correlation between Price and Product and between Place and Promotion, respectively, while there is a slightly weaker correlation between Place and Product and Promotion and Product. At the same time, there is an even weaker but still positive and statistically significant correlation between Promotion and Price and Price and Place, respectively. In addition, “Promotion” falls behind the rest of the elements of political marketing, a fact that partially confirms the given picture with regard to political marketing and considers “Promotion”, and thus the actual political/pre-election campaign, to be less influential compared to other components of the political marketing mix (Product, Place, and Price), which, according to the specific results, appear to influence, indirectly but more strongly, the voting choices of Cypriots.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030148
Authors: Irena Ferčíková Konečná
The ‘end demand’ approach to prostitution has been popping up in Europe through the anti-trafficking debate and receives increasing attention on the international agenda. It is well recognized that improving workers’ rights, increasing unionization and collective bargaining coverage are effective strategies for tackling trafficking. However, with regard to sexual exploitation, focus is not on these strategies but instead on the abolition of the entire sex industry with the help of criminal justice systems. In first decade after the Palermo Protocol (2000), international organizations (IGOs) promoted a human rights-based approach to tackling trafficking, aiming to balance the criminal justice focus of the protocol. This work guided states on how to maintain and protect human rights while combating human trafficking. However, the explosive issue of sex work/prostitution was minimized, with IGOs avoiding the topic due to the fragile consensus about the definition of human trafficking and state obligations. Meanwhile, sex workers’ collectives and unions globally and throughout Europe developed their own strategies on how to address widespread criminalization, discrimination, violence and exploitation, with no or very limited funding and resources—and without recognition of their work, experience and expertise. This article presents how the European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance (ESWA) and other sex workers’ rights civil society organizations have sought to challenge the harmful impacts of the ‘end demand’ discourse and the criminalization of sex work in the name of anti-trafficking in Europe.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030147
Authors: Anastasia Fadeeva Estela Capelas Barbosa Alex Walker Sally McManus
Violence is recognised as a cause of health harm, but it is not consistently or adequately captured in healthcare data systems. While administrative health records could be valuable sources of information for measuring violence, they remain underutilised in violence-related research. The present research aims to examine the suitability of violence indicators in emergency care, primary care, and linked healthcare datasets. Descriptive analyses were conducted with the 2015/16 Hospital Episode Statistics Accident and Emergency (HES A&E) and the 2021/22 Emergency Care Data Set (ECDS). The potential of the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and the South Wales Violence Surveillance dataset (a police and emergency department (ED) dataset linked by Public Health Wales) were shown using available evidence. Among the discussed datasets, the South Wales Violence Surveillance dataset has the most detail about violent acts and their contexts, while the CPRD includes a more extensive range of socioeconomic factors about patients and extensive linkage with other datasets. Currently, detailed safeguarding information is routinely removed from the ECDS extracts provided to researchers, limiting its utility for violence research. In the HES A&E, only physical violence was consistently recorded. Addressing these issues has the potential to improve the use of health administrative data in research on violence.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030145
Authors: Edson Capoano Alice Dutra Balbé Pedro Rodrigues Costa
This paper discusses the relationship between morality and engagement focused on the narratives about climate change. The goal of our research is to understand whether moral grounds identified in individuals and in narratives can influence youth’s engagement in environmental debate and news consumption on climate change. Recognizing that people’s perceptions of climate change are related to several factors, such as ideas, cultures, and values, we sought to understand whether there is a “green morality” or a prevalence of more responsive moral attributes in individuals when they are exposed to thinking about the environment. We use the Moral Foundations Theory to analyze comments on the environmental news on Twitter and a questionnaire adapted to the environment on moral grounds. The data were collected from Brazil and Portugal between 2021 and 2022. The overall results showed a high incidence of responses with Care/Harm and Fairness/Cheating, and an average incidence of responses related to Loyalty/Betrayal and Authority/Subversion. The results indicate that youngsters show a more prominent moral to care and environmental harm, as well as justice and responsibility, which may influence their interest in the consumption of environmental news and future engagement. In addition, there are factors, such as political issues, that can influence moral values and engagement.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030146
Authors: Klára Vlachová
In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public generally expressed high pandemic-specific support for their governments. Analysis based on ESS Round 10 COVID-19 module data from 20 countries shows, however, that there was a gap between pandemic-specific and specific support for governments in European states. A positive gap in favor of pandemic-specific support for governments was found among 52.7% of the respondents, while a negative trend was observed among 24.0% of the respondents. Younger people, those self-employed or working for family businesses, students, those with better subjective health, and people who tested positive for or thought they had suffered from COVID-19 expressed less satisfaction with the government’s handling of COVID-19 in their country compared to general satisfaction with national government performance. Political opinions affected the support gap too; people who were satisfied with the way democracy works, were less trusting of their government’s ability to control the spread of the pathogen, preferred their own decisions over compliance with government restrictions, and perceived that their government failed to manage the health–economy trade-off restrained their pandemic-specific support for the government as well.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030144
Authors: Xi Ji Yifang Liu Jingyu Yin
Under the influence of international trade, labor flow not only exists in the waves of international labor migration but is also embodied in international products and services. This paper focused on members of the China–Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC). We computed and analyzed the sectoral embodied labor transfer between China and Africa from 2000 to 2015 based on the Multiregional Input-Output Method. Our results are as follows: (1) Both China and Africa play roles as labor suppliers in the global supply chain. By ameliorating the trade structure, both China and Africa can better utilize their labor surplus. (2) China and Africa share complementarity in sectoral labor allocation. In short, the embodied labor transfer via international trade between China and Africa has, to some extent, relieved the labor shortage on both sides. (3) Africa has transformed into a net exporter of industrial labor since 2011. By analyzing the embodied labor flow from the global perspective, this paper beats a new path in depicting the effect of international trade on labor allocation, enriches the evaluation of embodied labor transfer between China and Africa, and also provides a beneficial supplement to Multiregional Input-Output analysis in the field of factor flows.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030143
Authors: Olusola Joshua Olujobi
The Social Science Editorial Office retracts the article, “Analysis of the Legal Framework Governing Gas Flaring in Nigeria’s Upstream Petroleum Sector and the Need for Overhauling” (Olujobi 2020), cited above [...]
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030142
Authors: Pannee Cheewinsiriwat Uma Langkulsen Vanida Lertwattanamongkol Wanlee Poompongthai Augustine Lambonmung Chalermpol Chamchan Suparee Boonmanunt Kanchana Nakhapakorn Cherith Moses
Climate change is increasingly impacting both environments and human communities. Coastal regions in Thailand are experiencing more severe impacts, which vary based on the unique physical and socio-economic characteristics of each area. To assess the vulnerability of coastal regions in Thailand, this study focused on two provinces, Nakhon Si Thammarat (NST) and Krabi, each representing distinct coastal environments. NST, situated on the Gulf of Thailand’s east coast, has an agriculture-based economy, while Krabi, on the Andaman Sea’s west coast, relies heavily on tourism. The study utilized a multi-criteria decision analysis approach (MCDA) and GIS to analyze the Coastal Vulnerability Index at the sub-district level. The results revealed that, although NST was more vulnerable than Krabi to socio-economic factors such as the poverty rate and the number of fishery households, Krabi was much more vulnerable in the physical environment, including wave height, tidal level, coastal erosion, and slope. However, overall, Krabi exhibited high to the highest levels of coastal vulnerability, while NST displayed moderate to high levels. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and government agencies, aiding in the development of strategies to mitigate vulnerability and enhance the quality of life for local residents in both provinces.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030141
Authors: Armando Loureiro Marta de Oliveira Rodrigues
Social inclusion of children and young people and the curbing of school failure, dropout, and early school leaving is are central concerns of the European educational policy and are seen as means to prevent unemployment, poverty, and social exclusion. In Portugal, as in other European countries, to address this issue, several programs have been designed and developed. This article aims to investigate how teachers, technicians, and parents involved in a socio-educational practice of student grouping envisage processes that contribute to overcoming school failure, dropout, and early school leaving. This qualitative case study took place in a Portuguese municipality within a school-based nationwide intervention programme. From the voices of the educational agents consulted, some vectors of institutional, dispositional, and situational dimensions were identified that contribute to overcoming ‘barriers to access and participation in education’, which promote some changes among students at an individual level. The research findings highlight processes, factors, and logics of action that allow teachers to work closely with their students and tailor the pace and curriculum contents to their needs, thereby enhancing students’ academic performance.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030140
Authors: Rannveig Beito Svendby
This paper contributes to the dialogue around how to increase inclusion in higher education, taking the lecturer perspective as the point of departure. Theoretically, disability is understood as an interaction, which means that lecturers partake in the constitution of dis/ability in learning situations. Two qualitative interviews were conducted with an interdisciplinary lecturer employed in an institution of higher education in Norway. These data are used for this single case study to illustrate and reflect on the challenges of diversity in learning situations. Findings suggest that the lecturer struggles to encounter an increasingly diverse student population inclusively. Overall, her experiences unpack the outcome of a structural lack of prioritization to ensure accessibility for disabled students at an institutional level at the university where she is employed. This article emphasizes that the responsibility to ensure an inclusive teaching practice in higher education must be recognized and treated as an institutional obligation. To signal its priority, all institutions of higher education should make inclusive training obligatory for lecturers, as well as assigning hours to work on enhancing the development of inclusive skills in this group.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030139
Authors: Sorin Cace Nina Stănescu Corina Cace
In this article, we aim to describe how the Operational Programme for the Support of Disadvantaged People (POAD), part of the European Fund for the Most Disadvantaged People (FEAD), has contributed to reducing the number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion in Romania. We highlight the role of the auxiliary measures that accompanied the food support programme, as well as the added-value element of the implementation of the programme in Romania, emphasising the introduction of electronic social vouchers for hot meals for the eligible target group and electronic social vouchers to provide educational support for disadvantaged children. The research methodology used considered combinations of quantitative and qualitative methods, combining multiple data sources to reflect the perspectives of all stakeholders and relating quantitative data to representative samples using a participatory approach. Macro-level data on risk-of-poverty and social exclusion indicators, as well as information from sectoral analyses (social transfers), show an improvement in the situation of people in the POAD target group and a decrease in the number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion. However, progress is limited, and it is difficult to determine the degree to which this is due to the POAD. Romania still ranks lowest in the European Union in terms of indicators measuring the risk of poverty and social exclusion. The provision and monitoring of accompanying programmes are an area where the potential of POAD could be further exploited. The need to strengthen the accompanying measures is extraordinarily strong and emerges from the analysis of information provided by final beneficiaries and public authorities responsible for the implementation of the programme. The distribution of social vouchers enables final beneficiaries to choose the goods they need. Purchases with social vouchers are less affected by the risks of financial corrections, final beneficiaries can monitor the consumption of the support received in real time, the number of supporting documents is reduced, and reimbursement is issued only for the amounts used by final beneficiaries.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030138
Authors: Venera Bekteshi Jennifer L. Bellamy
This study investigates how assimilation and integration, two commonly studied acculturation forms, help immigrant Latinas cope with acculturative stress and related psychological distress. It employs the Ecological Framework for Understanding Immigration (EFUI), merging Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and the Socioecological Model as a comprehensive approach. Through multigroup analysis, various factors significantly affect the psychological distress of immigrant Latinas, including financial constraints, contentment with migration decisions, age, and adherence to familial values. Acculturative stress relates to English proficiency, racial discrimination experiences, U.S. residency duration, and contentment with the migration choice. The moderating effects of assimilation and integration vary, influencing psychological distress and acculturative stress differently in each group. In conclusion, this study uncovers complex coping mechanisms used by immigrant Latina individuals facing acculturative stress and highlights the protective role of assimilation, the importance of familismo, the impact of financial constraints, and the significance of racial discrimination. This finding underscores the need for mental health interventions to respect and incorporate Latinx individuals’ cultural values and beliefs, promoting positive mental health outcomes.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030137
Authors: Ingrid Kofler Maximilian Walder
The crafts sector, traditionally characterized by its adherence to heritage and small-scale familial enterprises, confronts an array of unprecedented challenges stemming from rapid technological advancement, globalization, climate change, and shifting demographics. This article presents a pioneering investigation into the profound and transformative effects of digitalization on the crafts sector, offering novel insights into the future trajectory of this industry. Through an explorative approach, we critically examine and interrogate the social imaginary underpinning the crafts sector, shedding light on the intricate interplay between tradition and innovation. Leveraging an inter- and transdisciplinary framework, our research brings together academics, experts, and practitioners from diverse regions in Italy and Austria to explore the nexus of digitalization and craft futures. We introduce three future scenarios for the crafts sector, each delineating varying degrees of digitalization and their potential implications. Employing a mixed-method approach encompassing expert interviews, a Delphi survey, focus groups, and scenario development, our study offers a comprehensive exploration of the multifaceted landscape of craft futures. Furthermore, through the visualization of these scenarios, we provide a tangible platform for envisioning and engaging with the myriad possibilities that lie ahead. By synthesizing innovative methodologies from future studies and social imaginaries with a specific focus on the crafts sector, our research offers a robust analytical framework for navigating the complex dynamics of digitalization and envisioning transformative futures. This paper not only illuminates the disruptive forces unleashed by digitalization but also provides strategic insights to inform future decision-making processes within the crafts sector and beyond.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030136
Authors: Katarzyna Ćwirynkało Monika Parchomiuk Agnieszka Wołowicz
Traditionally, persons with intellectual disabilities in Poland have been researched on and treated as not competent enough to research with. Despite its scientific merit and practical usefulness, inclusive research involving persons with intellectual disabilities as co-researchers has only recently become a subject of interest in this country. The added value of inclusive projects should be analysed from two standpoints, i.e., those of co-researchers with disabilities and co-researchers without disabilities. In this article, we discuss the latter perspective, focusing on Polish researchers without disabilities who have experience in conducting inclusive research with persons with intellectual disabilities. The key aspect of the analyses was to highlight the potential of persons with intellectual disabilities as co-researchers. As a result, we have determined several important aspects of inclusive research in the relational perspective involving co-researchers with intellectual disabilities and co-researchers without intellectual disabilities and the community perspective. The analyses identified four superordinate themes: building relationships in the research team; opportunities and constraints associated with the implementation of inclusive projects; institutional barriers; and the importance of the role of a co-researcher without intellectual disabilities. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030135
Authors: Carla Pederzini Liliana Meza
Central Americans living in Mexico remain a small group (100 thousand) relative to the size of the Mexican population. However, they experienced accelerated growth between 2000 and 2020, with Guatemalans as the largest group and Hondurans as the most dynamic one. The previous literature has found a positive and significant, albeit decreasing, income advantage of Central American workers in Mexico. Meanwhile, the percentage of migrant women reported as spouses has gone down and the female labor force has increased. The paper uses information from the 2000, 2010, and 2020 Mexican censuses as well as the 2015 Intercensal Survey to compare access to the labor market for men and women from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras residing in Mexico. We compare marital status, female labor force participation, main economic sectors, human capital, and income levels of the men and women of each of the three nationalities considered, seeking to identify from a gender perspective the differentiated labor performance of each nationality.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030134
Authors: Courtney Krueger Lieke van Heumen Claire van den Helder
The literature on inclusive research has established its relationship with self-advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities. Self-advocacy has been described as both a requirement and a result of inclusive research. Additionally, the process of becoming an inclusive researcher can be seen as self-advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities. As inclusive research continues to become more prominent, and more people with intellectual disabilities become inclusive researchers, we need to continue to consider this fundamental relationship and how self-advocacy and inclusive research can inform and support each other. In this paper, we first discuss the history of self-advocacy and inclusive research and what inclusive researchers have shared about the relationship between self-advocacy and inclusive research. We then present the experiences of an inclusive researcher with intellectual disability with self-advocacy and how the process of becoming an inclusive researcher impacted those experiences. We conclude the paper with reflections on how future inclusive research should consider the role of self-advocacy.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030133
Authors: Sarah Alminde
Building on critical childhood studies and childism, this paper analyses children’s participation in family law cases in Denmark. Spurred particularly by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, together with a general shift in the view on children, several jurisdictions, including Denmark, have implemented legislative reform in the last decades to accommodate children’s participation rights. Even though such legal participation rights have increased, research in the family law field indicates that children’s perspectives are often undermined or excluded. An analysis of qualitative data (workshops, observations, and interviews) establishes how the positioning of children and children’s perspectives (as well as how “listening to children” is enacted) can be crucial to understanding the mechanisms that either subsidize or undermine children’s perspectives in family law cases. The paper argues further that “listening emergent” to children can offer a path to deconstructing the norms and structures that undermine and exclude children’s views—and thus offer a childist contribution to childhood research.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030132
Authors: Rosana Heringer
This article presents the results of broad research developed by a group of Brazilian scholars to make an assessment of affirmative action policies in admissions to higher education in Brazil, namely the quota legislation in place since 2012, which reserves places for lower-income, Afro-Brazilians and indigenous students in federal universities. The research has been developed through a combination of methods including analysis of secondary data, case studies in six federal universities, and interviews with university leadership and faculty members. The article presents the main results of the study, including the effect of quota legislation in diversifying the profile of higher education students in the last decade. It shows that a significant proportion of Afro-Brazilian students have been able to access good-quality higher education because of this legislation. The article concludes by presenting some challenges faced by quota students in federal universities, especially related to student support policies and a sense of belonging. It also presents recommendations to improve these policies.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030131
Authors: Carlos Barros Peter Hanenberg
Although the study of migration has shifted its focus from an individual perspective (on those who emigrate) to also include their integration networks in the country of destination, it is also necessary to consider the dynamics with their families in the country of origin. With an integral focus on the analysis of Portuguese transnational families, this paper aims to reflect on how the connection between those who emigrate and those who stay can promote greater resilience, presenting best practices for interventions among these dynamics and generations. Using a post-positivist paradigm and semi-structured interviews, we developed a qualitative approach with three exploratory studies: (1) Portuguese young adults living abroad (N = 22); (2) parental figures living in Portugal with adult children living abroad (N = 20); and (3) experts in the fields of academic and psychosocial work with similar people (N = 8). The data were analyzed using N-Vivo software (ed.11 and 14). The general results lead us to reflect on the dynamics of relationships, where digital and face-to-face spaces participate simultaneously, even though there are different challenges and ways of using digital means. We also found a change in expectations regarding the norms and values perceived by this generation of emigrants, which leads us to consider the importance of intercultural values since transnational families greatly increase transculturality, which can promote resilience among these groups. The data also alert us to the need to train intervention professionals in multidisciplinary areas, always taking the cultural context into account.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030130
Authors: Ana Junça-Silva Rita Rueff-Lopes
Background: The present research relied on the affective events theory to develop a framework explaining how daily micro-events trigger affective reactions that, in turn, influence quality-of-life indicators (i.e., psychological well-being and COVID-19 stress). We further delineated theoretical arguments for curiosity as a boundary condition that moderated this relation and proposed the dark triad (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) as a threatening factor. Methods: We conducted two studies to test the model. Study one analyzed the moderated mediation model regarding COVID-19 stress (n = 241), and study two (n = 653) analyzed the model regarding psychological well-being as the outcome. Results: Study one demonstrated that daily hassles increased COVID-19 stress via a negative effect, but this was not contingent on the levels of curiosity and the dark triad traits. However, the mediating path of positive affect between daily uplifts and COVID-19 stress was conditional upon the levels of curiosity and the dark triad traits (Machiavellianism and psychopathy), such that when individuals scored high on curiosity and dark traits, the indirect effect became stronger. The results showed that narcissism did not moderate the moderated mediation relationship. Study two showed that daily uplifts boosted psychological well-being through positive affect, and this relation was dependent on curiosity and on the three dark traits, such that it became weaker as curiosity decreased and the dark triad traits increased. We also found that daily hassles, by triggering negative affect, decreased psychological well-being, in particular for those who scored lower on curiosity and higher on psychopathy and narcissism (but not for Machiavellianism). Conclusions: Overall, COVID-19 stress seems to be more responsive to daily hassles than to daily uplifts. Nevertheless, when daily uplifts are factored in, they foster a sense of well-being that helps reduce COVID-19-related stress, especially in individuals who are naturally curious and exhibit high levels of Machiavellian and psychopathic traits. Conversely, psychological well-being appears to be more influenced by situational factors, as it is affected by both types of daily micro-events. We discuss the implications of both studies in light of the affective events theory.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030129
Authors: Michal Černý
This research endeavours to systematically investigate the multifaceted domain of AI literacy, given the pervasive impact of artificial intelligence on diverse facets of contemporary human existence. The inquiry is motivated by a fundamental question posed to educators: how best to cultivate AI literacies and competencies and how these proficiencies are structured and influenced. Employing a rigorous two-part methodology, the initial phase scrutinises 28 studies from the SCOPUS database, unveiling five distinct discourses germane to AI literacy. Subsequently, the second phase involves the administration of questionnaires to 73 students, whose responses undergo thematic analysis to discern patterns within the four domains delineated by Ng et al. The ensuing discourse underscores a pivotal revelation: despite formal adherence to established discourses, the conceptualisation of AI literacy necessitates a departure from conventional perspectives. Ethical principles, elucidated by students, emerge not merely as individual components but as integral facets of a broader societal literacy profile, thereby advocating a paradigm shift towards social reflection. This novel insight prompts a critical re-evaluation of AI literacy’s prevailing assumptions and conceptual frameworks, urging a transition towards models grounded in ecological or network dynamic interactionist principles.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030128
Authors: Ayuka Yokoyama Yuka Iwata Nanami Oe Etsuko Tadaka
The global tobacco epidemic, claiming over 8 million lives annually, constitutes a formidable public health threat. Fatalities arise from both direct tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke. Smoking prevalence, notably in Japan, varies across age groups with distinct patterns indicating higher rates among those aged 40 years and above. Persistent concerns surround the significance of smoking behavior in individuals aged 20 to 30 years, given the potential for early adulthood behavior to contribute to long-term health impacts. The emergence of heated tobacco products adds complexity with a substantial percentage of individuals aged 20 to 30 years using these alternatives. This study analyzed data from 15,333 individuals aged 20 to 39 years, collected through Japan’s “Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions 2017”. Compliant with the Japan Statistics Act, a secondary analysis employed multivariate logistic analysis to examine concerns and stress sources by sex and smoking behavior, adjusting for various variables. As a result, no statistically significant associations were found between smoking in men and concerns or stress. However, in women who smoked, significant associations were observed between smoking and specific stressors, such as work-related concerns, financial stress, and stress from a lack of personal free time. This study emphasizes the necessity of considering gender differences and social backgrounds in designing targeted smoking-prevention programs, aiming to enhance overall health longevity and comprehensively reduce lifelong smoking rates in this demographic.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030127
Authors: Laurence Guillaumie Lydi-Anne Vezina-Im Laurence Bourque Olivier Boiral David Talbot Elsie Harb
The objective of this study is to identify the best practices of Facebook use for municipalities looking to communicate and interact with their citizens, with a particular impact for rural municipalities. A narrative review was conducted to identify the scientific and gray literature on research databases and Google, respectively. A thematic analysis of the data was conducted to summarize the main strengths, challenges, and recommendations to improve municipalities’ Facebook use. Our results showed many benefits of Facebook use for municipalities and elected officials, such as communicating efficiently with citizens. The main challenge identified was developing an effective communication strategy. Finally, several recommendations were found, such as making Facebook posts that appeal to citizens and promote discussion. These results will be useful in helping municipalities develop an effective Facebook communication strategy to improve online engagement and citizen participation for local governments.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030126
Authors: Marci Ybarra Alexandra B. Stanczyk Dylan J. F. Bellisle
This study examines the relationships between state-provided paid-leave availability and enrollment in public health and nutrition programs (SNAP, Medicaid, WIC) among single low-income women following a birth in the U.S. We hypothesize that women in paid leave states will be less likely to participate in publicly available health and nutrition programs. Data are from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), a nationally representative panel survey data set (N = 1168). Descriptive tests of significance and probit regression models are used to examine the relationship between paid-leave availability and participation in SNAP, Medicaid, and WIC following a birth. A descriptive analysis suggests significantly lower enrollment in SNAP but not Medicaid or WIC for single low-income women in paid-leave states compared to those in non-paid-leave states. The finding of significantly lower post-birth SNAP participation in paid-leave states holds in probit models that include potentially relevant mother, household, and state controls.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030125
Authors: Sarah Jane Brubaker
As scholars, practitioners and activists continue to strive to better understand, prevent and respond to campus sexual assault, we need stronger conceptual frameworks that provide insight into both causes and potential solutions. In this article, I propose a critical sociology of campus sexual assault, informed by Jürgen Habermas’s and Dorothy Smith’s work, and illustrated through data from interviews with campus sexual assault victim advocates. Specifically, I examine how understanding policies and practices operating primarily through the system versus the lifeworld can help us to identify those that serve institutions versus those that serve survivors. I argue further that policies and practices that prioritize consensus, self-articulation, and care—those that promote a particular understanding of the “lifeworld”—can help us to resist systemic oppression that contributes to the problem of campus sexual assault, potentially strengthening our response to this problem. I argue that our best hope for more effective efforts to reduce and ultimately eliminate campus sexual assault requires collaboration among academics, activists and advocates who center the experiences of survivors, in the spirit of critical theory’s insistence on the active participation of citizens in their own emancipation from oppressive systems.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13030124
Authors: Lisa de Vries
Building on research on discrimination, occupational segregation, and labor market inequalities that are rooted in sexual orientation, this study examines how previous negative experiences of discrimination and positive experiences of “safe havens”—workplaces that protect employees from discrimination—are associated with job attribute preferences of sexual minority people. Based on data from a German online convenience sample (N = 1197 sexual minority respondents), this study focuses on five job attribute preferences: high income, good promotion prospects, opportunities for further training, interesting work, and LGB-friendly work climate. The results suggest the high importance of an LGB-friendly work climate for sexual minority people. Furthermore, the results show that discriminatory experiences are positively associated with the importance of an LGB-friendly work climate for sexual minority people in an early career stage. However, safe havens are positively associated with the importance of an LGB-friendly work climate for sexual minority people. Finally, results suggest little evidence for an association between discrimination, safe havens, and general job attribute preferences. Differences between career stages highlight the importance of this variable in further research on the career trajectories of sexual minority people.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020123
Authors: Yasmin A. Mertehikian Emilio A. Parrado
This study examines the COVID-19 pandemic’s immediate and long-term impact on Argentina’s labor market with a focus on gender disparities and the mediating role of the public vs. private sectors. Using household survey data, we assess men and women’s employment trends before, during, and after the pandemic. Our findings reveal gender-specific recovery patterns that interact with the employment sector. The most prominent short-term effect of the pandemic was a dramatic increase in inactivity for both men and women. However, men recovered their level of labor force participation sooner than women, and one of the mechanisms behind this disparity was sector employment. While men predominantly benefitted from quicker reintegration in both the formal and informal private sectors, women leaned toward the public sector for stability during and after the pandemic. The heightened feminization of public sector employment is a further indication that the sector is critical for sustaining women’s employment and promoting gender equity in the labor market.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020122
Authors: Juxiong Feng Pengpeng Cai Xin Guan Xuhong Li Langjie He Kwok-kin Fung Zheyuan Mai
In the context of the impact of the post-COVID-19 pandemic on families, this study explores the impact of individual social capital and psychological resilience on the mental health of family caregivers of kindergarten children in mainland China. This study included a sample of 331 family caregivers from Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, and the researchers applied the Personal Social Capital Scale (PSCS-16), Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) to assess social capital, psychological resilience, and mental health. Findings indicate a positive relationship between bridging social capital and mental health, while psychological resilience is negatively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Psychological resilience is identified as a mediator between social capital and mental health outcomes in this study. These insights highlight the importance of enhancing social capital and psychological resilience to improve family caregivers’ mental health and the need for targeted interventions.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020121
Authors: Michelle J. Bellino Maxie Gluckman
Recent U.S. policy changes have contributed to longer waiting periods for migrant families in Mexican border cities. This study centers on four Honduran families enrolled in the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) policy, also referred to as ‘Remain in Mexico,’ while undergoing prolonged waiting periods in the Mexican border town of Monterrey, Nuevo Léon. Centering on young people’s voices, we ask what they learn during this prolonged period of transit. Through ethnographic and digital participatory storytelling interviews, we illustrate how children learned about the politics of border crossing through fraught interactions with im/migration officials, prolonged periods of immobility, and evolving understandings of legality. Building on theories of ‘border thinking’ and ‘politicized funds of knowledge,’ we highlight ways that young people employed their evolving understandings of national borders and the legal contours of their transborder asylum process, while protecting themselves and their families from danger and discrimination. We argue that transit is not simply time that young people are forced to endure; rather, the experience of forced transit is constitutive of young people’s learning about state power and their evolving understanding of borders, rights, and belonging.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020120
Authors: Alexis Sossa Rojas
In this paper, I recall reflections from and discussions with both older people who exercise actively and with personal trainers who specialise in working with older people to address two essential elements that should be clarified: First, what are we talking about when we discuss sport, physical exercise and physical activity, especially when we relate them to older people? Second, the benefits of exercise are known, but what are the margins and precautions that this group of people should consider, and even the damage that physical exercise can cause to them? Based on qualitative data that are taken from different ethnographic works, four areas are considered: What does it mean to train as a senior?; are injuries inevitable?; the dangers of having an athlete’s identity; and the hazards of body-image ideals. This work gives voice to older athletes and their coaches, and contributes to studies on physical activity, older people and wellbeing.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020119
Authors: Jamie Anne Boschan Caterina G. Roman
Gun and street group violence remains a serious problem in cities across the United States and the focused deterrence strategy has been a widely applied law enforcement intervention to reduce it. Although two meta-analytical studies concluded that the intervention had a significant effect on violence, questions remain about how violence changes across space and time during and after the intervention. This study applies novel geospatial analyses to assess spatiotemporal changes in gun violence before, during, and after the implementation of Philadelphia Focused Deterrence. Emerging hot spot analysis employing Space-Time cubes of ten annual time bins (2009–2018) at the Thiessen polygon level was used to detect and categorize patterns. The analyses revealed a non-significant decreasing trend across the ten-year period. Furthermore, there were ninety-three statistically significant hot spots categorized into four hot spot patterns: fourteen new hot spots; twenty-three consecutive; one persistent; and fifty-three sporadic. There was no evidence showing statistically significant hot spots for the “diminishing” pattern. Knowledge of these patterns that emerge across micro-locations can be used by law enforcement practitioners to complement data-driven problem solving and fine tune these strategies and other place-based programming. Policymakers can use findings to prioritize resources when developing complementary prevention and intervention efforts by tailoring those efforts to the different emergent patterns.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020118
Authors: Maja Røn-Larsen Anja Hvidtfeldt Stanek
This article analyzes the possibilities and obstacles in pedagogical practices in ECEC (Early Childhood Education and Care) in relation to developing relevant opportunities for participation for all children, by supporting their own engagements in order to expand their action possibilities. Over the last decades, the political agendas in the Nordic as well as other OECD countries have been led by an increasing focus on learning goals and standardized professional procedures, at the expense of a more situated and flexible pedagogy following children’s own engagements. When concerns arise about children’s well-being, development, and/or learning, this tendency seems to intensify, as descriptions of concerns are often based on assessments of children’s individual (dis-)abilities, while investigations of children’s own engagements and reasons for actions are seldom conducted. From a theoretical standpoint in critical psychology and social practice theory, we discuss collaborative processes among children and adults in relation to institutional conditions as inherently political, in the sense that the distribution of different access to social resources and opportunities for participation for different children is negotiated through such daily exchanges and therefore also involves questions about democracy. We explore the everyday life practices of children and professionals, analyzing how, through everyday practice, they constantly work on maintaining, reproducing, and transgressing the standardized demands. To understand such processes, we suggest a conceptual focus on the politics of everyday life and situated pedagogy.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020117
Authors: Marit Ursin Ida Marie Lyså
This paper uses a case study to critically reflect on contemporary discourses in Norway connected to ethnic minority childhoods and children’s rights to education and work. Based on a narrative interview with an ethnic minority girl, Sadja (aged 16), who is in state custody and lives with a foster family, we use a decolonial lens to explore the tensions in expectations and rights in her life and education. The tensions encountered are situated along three axes. The first axis illustrates tensions related to education, work, and responsibilities, as Sadja’s family responsibilities are perceived by teachers and child welfare workers as preventing her from having “a proper childhood”. The second axis explores tensions connected to independence, educational choice, and “belonging to the state”, where Sadja experiences that being in state custody results in being unable to “follow her dream”. The third axis reflects the tensions between parental expectations of “dreaming big” versus her surrounding environment’s anticipation of her simply getting a job. In sum, Sadja’s experiences suggest that contemporary Western discourses—such as individualism, self-autonomy, and children as human capital—paradoxically curtail the educational rights and trajectories of ethnic minority children in foster care in Norway in unforeseen and unfortunate ways.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020116
Authors: Rachelle D. Hole Leyton Schnellert
Informed by critical disability studies and disability justice, this article describes the reflections of two university researchers co-researching with self-advocates (individuals with intellectual disability), theatre artists, researchers, and a community living society to create social justice disability theatre as critical participatory research (CPAR), demonstrating how disability theatre can contribute to and advance inclusive research practice. Disability justice-informed theatre as CPAR has direct relevance to people with intellectual disabilities; offers a platform where self-advocates’ diverse ways to communicate and be in the world are honoured and taken up as resources to the research and community; and can generate mentorship opportunities for self-advocates to learn, practice, and develop research skills. Significances include showing how the theatre creation process (devising, developing, and refining scenes) is research in itself and how tensions are recognized as sites of possibility. Future research should explore how increasing pathways to communication, co-creation of KT strategies, and protocols for power sharing and problem solving within disability theatre as CPAR impact the roles, outcomes, and experiences of disabled and non-disabled researchers and audience members.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020115
Authors: Ratidzai Shoko Sizakele Danke
In African culture, widowhood is frequently accompanied by rites that must be carried out by the widow. Widows are compelled to carry out these rites and may not feel comfortable executing them since they involve violence. The minority who dares to refuse to participate can face serious consequences because they are persecuted by their families and society. Research shows that widows suffer from fear and coercion, stigmatisation, dehumanising experiences, movement and social restrictions, and exposure to harmful traditional practices. This article examines violent aspects of widowhood rites within the South African context. A qualitative study that examined oppressive structures and how they impacted social injustice and the marginalisation of widows was employed. The data were collected from a purposeful sample of widows in Gauteng province, South Africa. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from 28 widows, which were then subjected to thematic analysis. Our findings showed that widows were subjected to painful widowhood rites, which were frequently performed against their preferences. The rites affected them both physically and emotionally. The article recommends that policies be put in place to safeguard the rights of widows and protect them from exploitative cultural beliefs.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020114
Authors: Maria Armaou
The acceptability of digital health interventions is a multifaceted concept that is central to user engagement. It is influenced by cultural and social norms and it is, also, a key consideration for intervention development and evaluation. For this reason, it is important to have a clear overview of how research in digital interventions’ acceptability has evolved, what type of measures or assessments have been most frequently utilised, and what may be the implications for the knowledge area and future research directions. The purpose of this bibliometric and network visualization analysis was to explore the main research patterns in the study of the acceptability of digital mental health interventions and highlight the key characteristics of knowledge production on this topic. The Web of Science was searched for relevant primary studies, with 990 documents selected for inclusion in this bibliometric analysis. Publications’ metrics, text and author keyword analysis, and bibliographical coupling of the documents provided insights into how technological developments, specific research interests, research priorities, and contexts have shaped research in the field. The main differentiation in acceptability approaches emanated from the studies’ research designs, the stage of intervention development and evaluation, and the extent to which there was a focus on user attitudes, experience, and engagement. These differentiations further indicate the importance of having clarity as to what concepts or elements of acceptability a study addresses as well as approaches that have the potential to address the complexities of acceptability.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020113
Authors: Beatriz Fruet de Moraes Fabrício Castagna Lunardi Pedro Miguel Alves Ribeiro Correia
This study investigates the influence of geographical barriers and the challenges and advantages presented by information and communication technologies on digital governance within the judicial branch in the Brazilian Amazon region. The primary objective is to provide diagnoses and recommendations that can inform the construction of research for the development of policies aimed at enhancing access to judicial services by riverside populations. The methodology initially employed was a comprehensive literature review on digital governance within the judiciary and access to justice for vulnerable groups in a geographical context. Subsequently, a qualitative study was conducted, employing participant observation in the riverside communities of Itapéua and Boca do Una, situated along the Jaurucu River within the Porto de Moz District in the state of Pará. The insights garnered from respondent perceptions and participant observations were synthesized to formulate five key dimensions for digital governance and access to justice within Amazonian communities: (1) one’s experience with justice, (2) access to information, (3) geographical barriers, (4) user-friendliness of technology, and (5) resources and infrastructure supporting technology use. The study concludes that there are compelling indications that tailored digital governance and technology utilization by the judiciary, adapted to regional nuances, can significantly contribute to streamlining access to judicial services.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020112
Authors: William Orlando Prieto Bustos Johanna Manrique-Hernandez
Following the peace accord on 26 September 2016 between the Colombian government and the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), significant structural issues persisted in Colombia, such as state fragility, land distribution challenges, and rural impoverishment, all of which jeopardized sustainable peace. Previous disarmament events indicated potential shifts in violence and recidivism rates among ex-combatants. This paper aims to determine the likelihood that, in the post-conflict era with FARC, these ex-combatants would rearm themselves into new criminal factions. Employing a methodology by Paul Collier, the study utilized logit, probit, and panel data models with both fixed and random effects to evaluate the recidivism risk at the municipal level. A 1% increase in per capita municipal income decreased conflict probability due to the increased opportunity cost of disrupting economic endeavors. Conversely, 1% increases in potential conflict benefits from tax revenue and natural resource proceeds raised the probability of conflict by 40% and 17%, respectively. Key results indicate that economic advancement, as measured by per capita income, reduced the duration of paramilitary presence, whereas revenue from taxes and natural resources extended it at the municipal level in Colombia.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020111
Authors: Gábor László Nikolett Deutsch László Berényi
The COVID-19 lockdown has had serious consequences, including rethinking higher education. The study aims to enhance the knowledge base of online education and academic integrity through a case study of the Ludovika University of Public Service (LUPS), Budapest, Hungary. The research aimed to assess the teachers’ experience with distance learning and examinations, including the change in workload, digital competencies, Moodle, Turnitin, and other software used during and after the lockdown. This paper summarizes the university-level policy changes induced during the lockdown, covering the introduction of emergency distance teaching and online examinations in academic integrity at the university. Two years after the first lockdown, the researchers made a survey (n = 145) about the continuation of the introduced solutions. The results show that a remarkable reordering started while the technical and technological backgrounds were available for the changes. The teachers could feel a significant increase in workload with distance education and have low trust in maintaining the standards of academic integrity. However, the research shows moderate and low levels of digital competencies in the majority of teachers, which clearly defines the most crucial task leading to success. Maintaining the monitoring system with objective indicators of the development and the opinions of the interested parties is essential for successful strategies in the field.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020110
Authors: Kim van den Bogaard Noud Frielink Alice Schippers Petri Embregts
This study examined the experiences of working in collaborative relationships while conducting inclusive research involving persons with intellectual disabilities. More specifically, the study explored work relationships, social relationships, and factors that influence collaboration within inclusive research teams. Interviews were conducted with nine researchers with intellectual disabilities, eight academic researchers, and nine principal investigators who were all involved in six inclusive research projects together. The analysis of the interviews produced four themes: (1) the diverse nature of the involvement of researchers with intellectual disabilities; (2) the significance of involving researchers with intellectual disabilities within academic research; (3) shaping equity in research projects; and (4) stereotyping hindering collaborations with researchers with intellectual disabilities. These findings have implications for research and practice, both in terms of promoting inclusive research and facilitating the meaningful participation of persons with intellectual disabilities within various aspects of society, including education, employment, healthcare, and social activities.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020109
Authors: Georgios Tr Topalidis Nick N. Kartalis John R. Velentzas Charalampia Gr Sidiropoulou
The scope of this article is to make a synthesis of the theory of geopolitics with new trends and characteristics of the new global environment. Traditional geopolitical theories are established on the basis of sovereign states. The starting point of many theories is for sovereign states to compete for world hegemony, or to gain an advantage in competition with their opponents. Geopolitical research also mostly starts from the interests of the country. However, as global environmental changes, transnational crimes, terrorism, information security, and other non-traditional security threats have become common threats to human society, their impact also crosses borders and has global characteristics, which also means solving geopolitical issues. Thinking needs to change from a national perspective to a global perspective. On the other hand, as the international community pays more and more attention to human rights, the challenge of human rights to sovereignty has become an unavoidable reality in current international politics. With the progress of the times, the protection and respect of civil rights has become the basic consensus of the international community. Nowadays, the issue of virtual rights such as carbon emission rights have also been included in the geopolitics theory, creating a strong shift of paradigm towards a renewed theory.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020108
Authors: Pedro Chamusca
This paper explores the effectiveness of cross-border cooperation programmes between Spain and Portugal, focusing on their impact and outcomes in Portuguese regions. Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of the programmes, the study examines the socio-economic dynamics in border regions, including job creation, population trends, and investment patterns. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data analysis. We argue that the cross-border territorial cooperation between Spain and Portugal has played a significant role in fostering regional development and addressing common challenges. While the concerted efforts have shown positive results in terms of economic growth and employment, they have not been sufficient to reverse the regressive demographic trends. Thus, it is essential to strengthen cooperation mechanisms, invest in human capital, and foster innovation so that the two countries can work together to create sustainable and inclusive development across their shared border regions.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020107
Authors: Lieke van Heumen Tamar Heller
A key feature of inclusive research is the accessibility of research procedures to meaningfully engage people with intellectual disabilities in research processes. Creating accessible research procedures requires innovations in methods traditionally used in research. This paper describes how the Lifeline Interview Method by Assink and Schroots was adapted and implemented in a study using life story research to better understand the experiences of older adults with intellectual disabilities. Twelve adults with intellectual disabilities over the age of 50 participated between two and seven times in interviews about their life histories. The interviewer assisted in the construction of timelines of key events in the participants’ individual life stories, and the participants decorated their lifelines throughout the course of the interviews. The lifeline process was an effective tool to engage the participants in the research process, support participation, and provide access for people with intellectual disabilities to retrieve their life experiences. Challenges in the lifeline process included barriers to gathering sufficient information to construct timelines and gatekeepers withholding access to information.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020106
Authors: Sara Santilli Isabella Valbusa Barbara Rinaldi Maria Cristina Ginevra
Today’s work market is both unsteady and unpredictable, and this requires taking urgent and practical actions aiming at creating work opportunities and “better” jobs, promoting a social and solidarity economy, and encouraging the development of moral strength in the workplace. From the Life Design approach perspective, our study examines two variables necessary to cope with the current labor market, courage, and career adaptability, and their role in life satisfaction. Through courage, a full mediational model between life satisfaction and career adaptability was tested in the 525 (291 men and 234 women) employees involved in the present study. Results support the mediational model. Mainly, life satisfaction was predicted indirectly by career adaptability through courage. Such outcome has important implications for practice and highlights the need to support workers in planning their life design by developing career adaptability and workers’ voluntary feeling to act, according to different levels of fear, when facing a threat to the achievement of a significant result or objective, which in turn will positively influence their feelings of life satisfaction.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020105
Authors: Ángeles Arjona Montserrat Monserrat Juan Carlos Checa
Eating disorders in adolescents are an increasingly important issue nowadays. Although they have been shown to be a pathology with multifactorial causes, the objective of our study is to determine the degree of influence that body dissatisfaction and the use of social media (time and type) might have on the risk of manifesting eating disorders. To perform this, the Sick Control One Fat Food scale was used as part of a randomized survey carried out among 12 schools in Almería (Spain). The sample consisted of 605 students in Compulsory Secondary Education between the ages of 12 and 17 years (M = 14.27; SD = 1.44), 48.42% female and 51.52% male. Cross-tabulation tables were constructed to observe the relationship of sex and age with the risk of manifesting EDs, and, subsequently, a two-factor ANOVA was performed using the risk of suffering from an eating disorder as a dependent variable. The results show that 29.3% of the respondents express an elevated risk of suffering from an eating disorder. There are no significant differences regarding sex, but there are differences regarding age. It was also observed that dissatisfaction with body image is a significant risk factor, but not the time that young people spend on social media. Furthermore, the type of content displayed on social media has a significant influence, both independently and together with body dissatisfaction. The main conclusion highlighted in this study relates to the importance of self-perceived body image (satisfaction and dissatisfaction) and its relationship with the type of content seen on social media. For this reason, it is essential to work on self-esteem at an early age as well as learn to value others and oneself beyond just the physical.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020104
Authors: Janine Natalya Clark
The concept of post-traumatic growth (PTG) continues to generate significant interest, as reflected in the increasing number of studies. This article makes two novel contributions to existing scholarship on PTG. First, it seeks to demonstrate that the common framing of PTG as positive psychological change is too narrow. To do so, it looks to research on resilience and highlights the shift from person-centred understandings of resilience to more relational approaches that situate the concept in the interactions and dynamics between individuals and their social ecologies (environments). The article’s core argument is that there are social-ecological synergies between resilience and PTG, which, in turn, are highly relevant to how we think about and study growth. Second, the article empirically develops this argument by drawing on a larger study involving victims-/survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia and Uganda. It is important to note in this regard that there are no major studies of PTG focused on CRSV, just as scholarship on CRSV has given little attention to PTG (or indeed resilience).
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020103
Authors: Eugene Judson Meseret F. Hailu Nalini Chhetri
This qualitative study investigates the behaviors and strategies of effective leadership teams within ethnic community-based organizations (ECBOs) operating in the United States that consist of leaders who are themselves former refugees. Through analysis of four focus group interviews, each with three to five leaders from local Bhutanese, Burundian, Congolese, and Syrian communities, we identified ways in which these leaders exhibit transformational leadership behaviors proposed by established frameworks. Results reveal that effective ECBO leaders exhibit strong transformational leadership qualities, such as empowering community members, modeling behavior, and projecting a community vision. The study emphasizes the unique context of ECBOs and their leaders, showcasing their thoughtfulness, competency, and profound awareness of community members’ backgrounds. The implications include recognizing and valuing the skills of ECBO leaders and considering formal support mechanisms. This study contributes insights into the leadership exhibited within local community organizations serving refugee populations—enhancing our understanding of quality leadership among grassroots refugee organizations.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020102
Authors: Roberto Sánchez-Cabrero Lidia Mañoso-Pacheco
Contemporary Western societies coexist with diverse factors that continually redefine and transform them in response to the myriad social demands they face [...]
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020101
Authors: Johanna Sumiala Michael Hviid Jacobsen
Throughout human history, individuals, communities and societies have always had to confront and tackle the problem of death. Consequently, death remains a topic of social scientific relevance, highlighting the need for its study and for theorising around it. This article analyses the development of the social scientific study of death and dying, taking inspiration from Philippe Ariès’s historical stages to discuss the recent developments in the field, namely the study of digital death. The article begins with a discussion of the visibility of death in modern society in the context of spectacular death. The analysis emphasises its four dimensions: mediatisation, commercialisation, re-ritualisation and the revolution in end-of-life care. The article moves on to discuss the emergence of digital death as the current stage and reflects on its similarities to spectacular death and its transformation of public imaginaries around death in contemporary society. The article concludes with a reflection on future developments in the field, specifically the emergence and study of artificial intelligence (AI) in digitalised death culture.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020100
Authors: Ashley J. Blount Kara Schneider Abby L. Bjornsen Ramig Daniel B. Kissinger
This article offers an examination of the lives of wives and partners of collegiate basketball coaches, employing the Bronfenbrenner Ecological model as a framework for analysis. While the world of sports coaching is routinely celebrated and scrutinized, the experiences and challenges faced by the wives and/or partners of these coaches remain relatively unexplored. This paper reviews the diverse systems influencing the lives of coaches’ partners and the need for holistic support mechanisms. By employing the Coaches’ Wives and Partners Adapted Bronfenbrenner Model as a conceptual framework, researchers, counselors and other helpers, and support networks can gain a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics at play and can offer more effective assistance to coaches’ partners as they navigate the unique challenges and opportunities associated with their role in the basketball world. Implications for the NCAA, universities/athletic departments, coaches, and coaches’ wives and partners are addressed.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020099
Authors: Ezequiel Ramon-Pinat Ludovico Longhi
In the first phase, the eruption of the Internet was embraced by academics who saw it as a way of involving young people in politics who had suffered from disaffection and rejection. They emphasized its emancipatory, horizontal, and participatory qualities. Decades later, a wave of disenchantment, apathy, and rejection of platforms has swept through the academy. The previous generation of technological determinists, who welcomed it with open arms, left the arena to their counterparts: the ones that claimed that we had no chance of participation and perpetuated industrial age exploitation. In this article, we will present the two opposite visions, but first, we will briefly review the Internet’s beginnings, its motivations, and its technical characteristics in order to better understand the two antagonistic positions.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020098
Authors: Firouz Gaini
This article discusses young people’s human rights situation in the Faroe Islands today by addressing youth participation issues from a cultural adultism perspective. It argues that the local cultural values and intergenerational relations in the family influence the multilayered and shifting nature of ‘Faroese adultism’. My purpose is to explore the ways through which young people are challenging adultism in their everyday life practices: what do they intend to change and what do they wish to sustain in their cultural struggle? This article is mainly based on empirical data from focus group discussions with young participants. The findings reveal that young people from the Faroe Islands—located in the Nordic Atlantic—do not consider adultism to have a negative impact on their wellbeing. This article, relying on theoretical scholarship and ideas from youth studies and island studies, contributes to a more nuanced understanding of human rights in the context of a small (family-oriented) island community in cultural and social transformation.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020097
Authors: Vanesa Varga Mateja Plenković Marina Merkaš
The main aim of this study is to describe the communication between children and parents about children’s desired purchases of items in Croatia. Online focus groups were conducted with children ages 11 to 15, and their parents, using a pre-prepared list of questions. The constant comparative method was applied, and the data were coded thematically, meaning data were organized into groups or codes on the basis of repeating keywords in the transcripts. The analysis shows children mostly ask their parents for clothing items and food. The findings indicate children and parents resolve the purchase decisions based on a few communication themes. Children employ persuasion, bargaining, and negotiation communication to acquire their desired items. As a response, parents employ bargaining and negotiation communication, budgeting and financial communication, usefulness and need communication, and postponed purchase communication. This research contributes to a better understanding of child and parent communication related to child purchase wishes and parent–child communication.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020096
Authors: Catalina Guerrero-Sanchez Jordi Bonet-Marti Barbara Biglia
This study examines the results of evaluating a Catalan training program for practitioners working with survivors of gender-related violence. Considering the lack of scientific evidence previously shown by studies on this topic, this article aimed to triangulate the participants’ self-perception with their assessment of knowledge and competencies in tackling digital gender-related violence before and after the training. To do so, a pre-test and post-test case-based design was employed to identify and measure the participants’ improvement in self-perceived knowledge and their effective gain in knowledge and skills to address this kind of violence. Considering the contributions of a feminist evaluation approach, we also included in our evaluation the analysis of classroom interactions and the participants’ responses. The results overall demonstrate that the incorporation of assessment criteria from the feminist evaluation methodology increased the reliability of evaluation criteria. In addition, it also enabled us to identify the need to continue developing training programs that empower participants and prevent women and LGBTQI+ people from disengaging from digital spaces.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020095
Authors: Rachael W. Wanjagua Lieke van Heumen Sarah Parker Harris
The development and practice of inclusive research with people with intellectual disabilities is complex, revealing challenges and lessons that inform innovative and novel methodological approaches. In Africa, inclusive research still lags for various reasons. First, due to societal misconceptions that portray people with intellectual disabilities as unable to self-advocate or as lacking agency and self-determination; second, due to a lack of trained researchers and ethics committees on inclusive research practices. This paper critically reflects on and discusses the strategies and methods used to conduct an inclusive research study in Kenya. The focus was on the methodological approach of including people with intellectual disabilities as researchers in Kenya. Two people with intellectual disabilities were trained as research assistants. This paper describes the experiences with Institutional Review Boards, the processes and experiences while training this research assistants using a UK-developed curriculum, and fieldwork experiences while piloting interview guides, conducting interviews, and conducting focus groups with this research assistants. This study findings indicate the need to culturally adapt co-researcher training, the importance of working with support personnel who empower researchers with intellectual disabilities, and the need for greater advocacy to change negative attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities that hinder their participation in research.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020094
Authors: Jongmyung Lee Chung Joo Chung Daesik Kim
Traditional news outlets, such as newspapers and television, are no longer major sources of news. These media channels have been replaced by social platforms, which have increased in value as information distributors. This change in communication is an underlying reason for the election fraud controversies that occurred in the United States and South Korea, which hold high standards of democracy, during similar periods. This study investigates a model for sharing political disputes over social networks, especially Twitter, and illustrates the influence of political polarization. This study examines Twitter content around the presidential elections in the United States and South Korea in 2020 and 2022, respectively. It applies semantic network analysis and structural topic modeling to describe and compare the dynamics of online discourse on the issue of election fraud. The results show that online spaces such as Twitter serve as public spheres for discussion among active political participants. Social networks are key settings for forming and spreading election fraud controversies in the United States and South Korea, with differences in content. In addition, the study applies large-volume text data and new analytical methods such as the structural topic model to examine the in-depth relationships among political issues in cyberspace.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020093
Authors: Xiu Wu Jinting Zhang
An important aspect of educational equity is the balance between students and teachers in the general education system. To address the need for a sustainable, balanced, and reliable supply of high-quality STEM teachers for public school districts, this research aims to illustrate the spatial dynamics of student-teacher balance in the impact of teacher salary, school poverty, transportation, and environmental factors from 2015 to 2020, Data were collected to create a multivariate evaluation via Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP), Compromise Programming (CP), weight linear combination and Spatial Mismatch Index Model (SMI) to reveal the non-synergistic coupling relationship between multivariate and student-teacher rate in school districts, counties, and state multiple levels. The results suggest that compared to 10% of the spatial mismatch index at the state level, the proportion of mismatched areas at the school district and county levels was the same at 1%. NV, IN, VT, MA, and FL were mismatched at the state level but had good matches at the county and school district levels. Other unpredictable factors related to teacher shortages, such as workload, school rankings, and teacher vacancies, should be considered for further study in future research plans. This research provides valuable insights for policy interventions to improve the treatment of teachers in public school districts and promote educational equity.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020092
Authors: Lorenzo Cattani Roberto Rizza
This study explores the intricate interplay between gender, occupation, and mental health using data from the 2020 EU-LFS ad hoc module on 38,066 female professionals in Western Europe. We examine their exposure to work-related risks impacting mental health, focusing on variables such as work overload, violence, and challenging client interactions. Our primary objective is to discern how various occupations contribute to distinct experiences of work-induced strains. Key findings challenge the compensating differential theory, according to which the lower wages in female-dominated occupations are compensated by more friendly working conditions, revealing that interactive service-sector jobs pose higher risks to mental well-being. Health professionals, legal-cultural professionals, and teachers are particularly susceptible, with shift and weekend work exacerbating risk exposure to violence and violent behaviors. This study underscores the significance of a “within-gender” perspective, uncovering nuanced occupation-based inequalities for women. It introduces a novel approach to occupational segregation, highlighting the uneven distribution of work-induced strains among different occupations. It also urges to reassess customer-worker relationships and proposes gender-specific measures to alleviate heightened risks to mental well-being for interactive service occupations. In conclusion, this study analyzes the intersection of gender, occupation, and work-induced strains, emphasizing the role of micro-classes in shaping women’s mental health.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020091
Authors: Óscar F. Gil-García Nilüfer Akalin Francesca Bové Sarah Vener
Enhanced immigration enforcement measures are now a dominant practice throughout the world. The concept of transnationalism, used by scholars to illuminate the complex dynamics these measures have across nation-state borders, has been critiqued for its replication of methodological nationalism—the assumption that the nation-state is a natural social and political form of the modern world. How then can migration scholars deepen the understanding of the mobilities of migrant children and youth without replicating methodological nationalism? We propose a relational socio-cultural analytic that synthesizes settler colonial theory and the theory of racialized legal status to comprehend the complex experiences of Indigenous migrant Maya youth and families throughout the Americas. Our use of a relational critical comparative analysis challenges structural functionalist approaches that limit the study migration dynamics within nation-state contexts, which can unwittingly sustain national membership in a state(s) as an aspirational emblem of belonging. We explore how Indigenous Maya experience and challenge the meaning of statelessness and the spillover effects of immigration enforcement measures along the US–Mexico and Mexico–Guatemala borders. We argue that a relational socio-cultural analytic lens serves as a powerful tool for understanding how nation-states co-produce stateless Indigenous populations and how these populations persist throughout the Americas and the world.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020090
Authors: Marisol Facuse Muñoz Raíza Ribeiro Cavalcanti
The present article analyzes the recent debates regarding the redefinition of the museum, exploring resonances in reflective practices and processes in public museums in Chile. While these have caused controversy and discord, they appear to converge in the need to rethink the relationship between museums and society, seeking to make them more inclusive, democratic and diverse. The present discussion is based on the preliminary results of “LAB_Museums: Contemporary Museums and Museologies”, an ongoing interdisciplinary research intervention model promoting processes of co-production of knowledge regarding museums and museography. This paper is the publication of the results of the project. To this end, a collaborative ecosystem of knowledge has been developed between the university, museums and public sector, based on the implementation of laboratories, initially, in five public museums of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile: the National Museum of Fine Arts, the National Historical Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Popular Art Museum and the National Center of Contemporary Art. The theoretical/methodological framework used was that of Institutional Analysis (IA), based on which interviews and discussion groups with museum professionals promote dialogues on the present reality and contemporary challenges of museums.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020089
Authors: Turnwait Otu Michael
The riverine region of Bayelsa State, Nigeria, faces a critical issue as the impacts of climate change, including rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and disruptions to traditional livelihoods, disproportionately affect women. This qualitative study aimed to fill a gap in understanding by exploring the nuanced ways in which these environmental challenges influence the migration decisions of women who have fled floods, remain displaced, and have opted not to return to prevent potential negative experiences linked to future flooding in the region. The research delves into the interplay between climate change, gender dynamics, and community resilience. Employing an exploratory research design with purposive and snowball sampling techniques, the study selected 51 female participants. Through 24 in-depth interviews and three focus group discussions, the research captured the nuanced experiences of women grappling with the challenges posed by climate change. Thematic analysis was applied to analyze the collected data. The study unveiled that climate change significantly shapes the migration decisions of women in the riverine area of Bayelsa State. This influence manifests through disrupted livelihoods, flooding, water scarcity, diseases and health challenges, housing insecurity, increased environmental vulnerabilities, and uncertain future prospects. These findings underscore the pressing need for gender-responsive policies and community-based strategies to address the complex interplay between climate change impacts and women’s migration experiences.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020088
Authors: Luciana das Dores de Jesus Da Silva Susanne Kubisch Mauricio Aguayo Francisco Castro Octavio Rojas Octavio Lagos Ricardo Figueroa
Effective DRM aims to identify and minimize both hazards and vulnerabilities of a territory. This case study carried out in Chile analyzes national programs and disaster risk management structures at different administrative levels (national, regional, and municipal) and identifies gaps that contribute to the vulnerability of the current system. The proposed measures and options for improvement presented in this study are based on a literature review of scientific discussions about international governance, disaster risk management, and case studies conducted in Chile. The results indicate that the national disaster risk management plan has been adjusted in recent years, especially after the 2010 Chilean earthquake. The national administration, which is primarily responsible for managing potential risks, as well as the regional and local governments, has been replaced by the National Disaster Prevention and Response System (SINAPRED) in 2021, according to the 21364 law. This law was created to make cities more resilient, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This change is intended to decentralize disaster risk management, considering local conditions and preventing oversight of disaster risk management, which is not mandatory at the local level. It has also noted some gaps, such as the lack of standardization of emergency and early warning systems and funding at local levels. It is hoped that the system will move forward in this transition period and that the gaps will not affect effective risk management, as they have caused loss of life in past disasters.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020087
Authors: Maria Camilla Fraudatario
Integration is always at the core of migration studies and is examined from various theoretical perspectives. While integration models are valuable for understanding how national political systems influence the integration of foreigners into society, the real challenge of integration manifests at the local level. From a neighbourhood-based approach, this article addresses the integration trajectories of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs in Rione Sanità, Naples, which is a socio-economically deprived neighbourhood hosting a substantial segment of foreign populations and has been the target of significant urban regeneration initiatives over the past decade. Sri Lankans established travel agencies, fiscal assistance centres, restaurants, takeaways, and retailers in a transformative context. This article highlights how entrepreneurial initiatives are shaped by the mutual connection linking immigrants with the place where they found economic and relational opportunities. The results serve as a crucial starting point for better understanding the long-term outcomes of the socio-economic integration at the neighbourhood level.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020086
Authors: İbrahim Aksakal Müjdat Avcı
The aim of this study is to determine whether the fatalistic tendencies of young adult university students predict their political preferences. For this purpose, the fatalism tendency scale consisting of four sub-dimensions was applied, and the predictive power of the obtained data on political preferences was examined. The study sample consisted of 630 young adult university students (male 294, female 336) between the ages of 18 and 26. Independent variables are fatalism sub-dimensions (predetermination, personal control, luck, and superstition), and dependent variables are political leaders and political party preferences. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to determine the effect of independent variables on dependent variables. The analysis results revealed that the sub-dimensions of fatalism, predetermination, luck, and superstition significantly predicted voters’ preferences for political leaders. No significant relationship could be detected between the change in participants’ personal control tendency and their preference for political leaders. In the second stage of the analysis, it was examined whether the tendency towards fatalism affected the choice of political party. It was observed that the sub-dimensions of predetermination, luck, and superstition were significant predictors of political party preferences. There was no significant relationship between change in personal control tendency and political party preference. The research results revealed that if the tendency towards fatalism changes, there are also significant changes in political preferences.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020085
Authors: Nicola Palena Francesca De Napoli
Research shows that lying is a common behaviour, and that verbal cues can be effective for lie detection. However, deception detection is not straightforward as there are several factors at play, such as interpersonal differences and the content of the lie. Consequently, the effectiveness of available cues for deception detection can vary significantly. In a pre-registered study involving 80 participants (a priori sample size analyses were conducted), we instructed participants to either tell the truth or lie about an autobiographical event and an opinion. The participants also completed questionnaires on personality traits and cognitive tasks, resulting in two participant clusters. Surprisingly, when analysing verbal behaviour, truthfulness, cluster memberships, and their interactions were not found to be significant. Only lie content affected verbal cues. Additional, non-pre-registered analyses revealed that liars displayed more micro-expressions than truth tellers, but only when describing their memories and when focusing on the latency time between the investigator’s question and the interviewee’s answer. The results were interpreted in terms of the experimental design, which encouraged only short answers from the interviewees, leaving limited room for verbal content to be effective.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020084
Authors: Nigel Ashmore Parton
The year 2023 saw Social Sciences enter its second decade after launching in 2012 [...]
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020083
Authors: Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska Paula Kiel
The digital age has rekindled popular and academic interest in immortality. While the idea of immortality has long been recognized as fundamental to human societies, unlike death, within the field of sociology, immortality has not yet established itself as a distinct and autonomous field of study. This paper contributes to the recently emerging scholarship promoting a sociology of immortality. Drawing inspiration from C. Wright Mills’s sociological imagination (1959) and building upon significant research in the field of immortality, we offer to use the concept of the immortological imagination as an analytical and conceptual tool for further developing a sociology of immortality. We refer to the immortological imagination as a complementary concept to Penfold-Mounce’s thanatological imagination, seeing both concepts as stemming from two different lineages and academic traditions. After defining the immortological imagination and how it differs from and complements the thanatological imagination, the paper moves to discuss examples in popular culture establishing the potential impacts and influences of the immortological imagination, particularly within the digital context.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020082
Authors: Sales Augusto Dos Santos
This article focuses on the lack of full compliance with teaching ethno–racial relations education in Brazilian university undergraduate programs, particularly law programs. Teaching this topic was specified by the Conselho Nacional de Educação (CNE, National Education Council) in Resolution CNE/CP no. 01/2004. Although teaching ethno–racial relations education has not been a panacea for judicial sentencing based on racial criteria, we propose the working hypothesis that teaching it is a tool that can help catalyze a reduction in racist sentences by courts, for example, a defendant not fitting the stereotypical criminal pattern by being white or being assumed to belong to some criminal group for being black (preto) or brown (pardo). Through surveys at sixty-nine federal universities and documentary research into law program curricula, it was discovered that Resolution CNE/CP no. 01/2004 is not being fully or appropriately implemented at these institutions, a fact that may be enabling the continuance of race-based penal sentencing, which is illegal and extremely harmful to the black/brown Brazilian population. To prevent or minimize this problem, full compliance with Resolution CNE/CP no. 01/2004 is suggested.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020081
Authors: Emi Patmisari Helen McLaren Michelle Jones
This study explored the experiences of children and young people in the Mockingbird Family, South Australia, during implementation and roll-out. The study involved semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of 54 participants, including 21 children and young people, 12 foster carers, and 14 agency workers. Thematic analysis, with the application of Axel Honneth’s recognition theory, showed the Mockingbird Family model to validate the emotional, cognitive, and social support needs of children and young people. Through interconnected experience, the nurturing of care and the promotion of rights-based, holistic approaches were crucial for achieving social recognition, dignity, and developmental growth. The study indicates the potential benefits of the Mockingbird Family model for addressing the needs of children and young people in care. The research suggests that a community-based support model such as the Mockingbird Family should be considered in child welfare practices. However, further research is necessary to fully understand the model’s long-term effects and justify its integration into wider child welfare policies.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020080
Authors: Belén Casas-Mas Martin Fernández Marcellán José Manuel Robles Daniel Vélez
Citizens, organizations and institutions are increasingly making use of digital social networks such as Twitter as a means by which to express their position as regards political topics. However, an increasing amount of academic literature coincides, in that it highlights the emotive and expressive nature of these positions. In other words, for the most part, the political opinions that are publicized are more like backing based on support or rejection (without arguments or motives). In parallel, said expressions have a key emotional element (expressions of a positive or negative affective disposition). This article consists of an analysis that aims, on the one hand, to measure the affective disposition of US citizens as expressed on Twitter during the two most recent electoral campaigns (2016 and 2020). Similarly, we have generated a model that facilitates the measurement of the extent to which the content of the aforementioned messages demonstrates arguments or motives, or lack of. By way of the use of a database for the same Twitter accounts in both elections, we provide very consistent results that highlight the lack of argumentation of the public debate and the notably polarized profile of the affective dispositions shown by participants. We use the thesis of emotivism to give a more significant analytical weighting to this research.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020079
Authors: Nomathemba Nomakhosi Sibisi Nonhle Tracey Sibisi Zandile Faith Mpofu
The violence occurring in schools is a concerning phenomenon with pervasive implications for learners, teachers, and communities. Its impact culminates in fear, stress, and a reduced sense of safety among learners and teachers. Its consequences extend beyond physical harm, thus affecting an individual’s mental well-being. This study provides a precis of the comprehensive nature of school violence and preventative strategies meant to curb this phenomenon. This study employed a case study design located within the interpretative paradigm. A qualitative approach was used to delve into the perceptions of learners and educators on the nature of school violence and measures that could be adopted to prevent it. Thirty (n = 30) participants involving ten learners (n = 10), ten parents (n = 10), and ten educators (n = 10) were purposively sampled. Ten learners participated in focus-group discussions, with five learners representing each school located in Mbabane, Eswatini (Imbabane Central and Mater Dolorosa High Schools). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 teachers and 10 parents (5 parents and 5 teachers from each school). A lack of effective methods of disciplining learners was identified as a cause of bullying and aggressive behaviours among learners. The findings reflect that violence is deeply rooted in harmful social norms, with corporal punishment being widely advocated by the participants. The findings indicate a crucial need for adopting an integrated and collaborative approach to the development and implementation of effective preventative measures.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020078
Authors: Alba Taboada-Villamarín Cristóbal Torres-Albero
The health crisis triggered by COVID-19 has exerted a profound influence on both conventional communication methods and the manifestations of interaction within the virtual sphere. Gradually, studies on digital communication have taken on an increasingly prominent role in various social science disciplines that address determinants such as the crisis of misinformation or digital interaction in contemporary societies. This study aims to analyze the key research topics that sociology has addressed in relation to the pandemic, along with the level of innovation in the utilization of digital sources and analytical methodology. The analysis is grounded in the hypothesis that the effects of the pandemic have led the discipline of sociology to reassess and more fully integrate studies on digital communication. On this premise, a systematic review of studies sourced from the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases was executed. Innovative computational methodologies were employed for the categorization of articles and the elucidation of principal research topics. Furthermore, this research scrutinized the principal digital platforms utilized in these investigations and assessed the extent of methodological innovation applied to data analysis. The outcomes unveiled a pronounced ascendancy in the prominence of communication studies during the pandemic. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the utilization of digital data sources in research remains surprisingly limited. This observation highlights a potential avenue for further exploration within the domain of sociological research, promising a more profound and contemporaneous comprehension of social phenomena amid times of crisis.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020077
Authors: Valeria Giostra Monia Vagni
Children with intellectual disabilities can be victims of crimes but are generally deemed less reliable in the forensic context than children without disabilities. Their deficits may cause inaccurate recall, greater memory errors, and greater suggestive vulnerability. The aim of the present study is to verify the effects of intellectual abilities on recall tasks, levels of suggestibility, vulnerability to negative social pressure, and Resistant Behavioural Responses (RBR). The study involved 120 children aged 7–16 years who were administered the GSS2 (1997) and Raven Matrices. Forty children had a diagnosis of mild intellectual disability (MID), 40 had borderline intellectual functioning (BIF), and 40 were typically developing peers. Children with MID and BIF showed more errors in distortions, inventions, and confabulations at the recall task and higher levels of suggestibility.Low IQs reduced the ability of source monitoring and led to less resistant responses to misleading questions. IQ affected resistant responses both at the first and second suggestive interview, reducing both source monitoring capabilities and the ability to manage social pressure. Age may impact the ability to provide resistant responses but only in the first suggestive interview (Yield 1), which depends more on the maturity of cognitive processes involved in interrogative suggestibility.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020076
Authors: Yuko Tanaka Yuka Iwata Nanami Oe Etsuko Tadaka
(1) Background: Loneliness is inherently linked to social connections, with interpersonal communication playing a pivotal role. Despite this connection, limited research exists on the relationship between loneliness and communication among young adults. This study investigates the correlation between face-to-face, telephone, and online communication frequencies and loneliness among individuals in their 20s. (2) Methods: Using a dataset from a nationwide survey conducted by the Japanese Cabinet Office, this study focuses on 1812 respondents aged 20–30, selected from a random sample of 20,000 individuals aged 16 and older across Japan. (3) Results: A Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis reveals a significant association between communication frequency and loneliness, even after adjusting for demographic characteristics. Notably, decreased communication frequency across all modalities correlated with increased loneliness. Online communication exhibited the highest impact, followed by face-to-face communication, with phone call communication ranking last. (4) Conclusions: This study emphasizes the importance of seamlessly integrating social networking service (SNS)-based communication with various forms of social interaction. A well-balanced integration of these approaches is crucial for mitigating loneliness among young individuals and promoting positive mental health outcomes.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020075
Authors: Pedro Miguel Alves Ribeiro Correia Ricardo Lopes Dinis Pedro Ireneu de Oliveira Mendes Alexandre D. C. S. Serra
In the last decade, artificial intelligence has generated several challenges in societies, with a special focus on public administration. Through the development of this literature review, we intend to underline the challenges that this has caused in the realm of public affairs, especially in terms of the smart cities framework, considering the legal perspective that is intrinsically associated with it. In this way, we based our research on a wide range of articles, from which we considered those with the greatest relevance and the highest number of citations in order to substantiate this theme in a more precise way. Finally, we present a set of conclusions, as well as opportunities for future investigations.
]]>Social Sciences doi: 10.3390/socsci13020074
Authors: Matthew James Phillips
The representation and success of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) have sparked discussions, given their underrepresentation in these traditionally male-dominated fields. While women comprise 40% of STEMM undergraduates, senior-level positions see this figure drop below 20%. Research suggests that gender disparities in STEMM participation result from motivational differences, rather than competence. Exploring the reasons for these disparities are important as they can have significant consequences for the acknowledgement of women in STEMM, the maintenance of their STEMM discipline, and future careers. As such, this study explored how the experiences of 13 female undergraduates in Australian STEMM programs impacted their motivation and persistence in their degree. Through face-to-face semi-structured interviews, analysed via reflexive thematic analysis, five themes were constructed, encapsulating diverse experiences shaping female undergraduates in STEMM, influencing self-efficacy, determination, and well-being. Early exposure and environment were pivotal, acting as motivators or deterrents. Additionally, peer support was suggested as being crucial, fostering belongingness in the male-dominated space. Participants also grappled with recognition challenges, influenced by gender imbalances and a lack of role models. Intimidation was evident, leading to thoughts of dropping out, but passion drove persistence amid these challenges. The research increases awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by female undergraduates in STEMM, offering valuable insights for developing strategies to enhance their university experiences and promote success in future STEMM careers.
]]>