The Influence of Social Status and Gender on Using Voice Affectation: A Sociophonetic Study

Consumer research using distinctiveness theory implies that targeted advertisements are most effective in contexts in which the targeted group is a numeric minority. The authors investigate the influence of group social status in addition to numeric status in a study of South African consumers. Results demonstrate that when social dimensions are incorporated, targeted advertisements can be effective even in contexts in which the targeted group is a numeric majority. Results also illustrate how consumer distinctiveness may exist at multiple levels of analysis. The authors discuss the implications of the results for understanding the influence of social context on consumer distinctiveness and responses to targeted marketing efforts.

One hundred and twenty-eight pigs were reared in barren or enriched environments from birth to slaughter at 21 weeks of age. Pigs remained as litter-mate groups until 8 weeks of age when they were mixed into groups of eight animals. These groups were balanced for gender and weight and contained two pigs from each of four different litters. Each pig was assigned high or low social status on the basis of relative success in aggressive interactions at mixing. Injury levels were assessed on a weekly basis from 8 to 21 weeks of age. Pigs were exposed to two group food competition tests after a period of food restriction at 10 weeks of age, and to an individual novel pen test at 11 weeks of age. Behavioural and plasma cortisol responses to both types of test were recorded. Low social status was associated with increased injuries to the head, neck and ears, and therefore reduced welfare. Pigs with low social status showed reduced resource-holding ability in the food competition test, and greater avoidance of a novel object during the novel pen test It is suggested that avoidance of the novel object reflected ‘learned’ fearfulness in these individuals. Environmental enrichment did not negate the effect of low social status on injury levels, but did appear to reduce the negative influence of low social status on stress during food restriction, and led to a reduction in fearfulness in response to the novel pen test. These results suggest that environmental enrichment may improve the welfare of growing pigs with low social status.

House mice (Mus musculus domesticus) in triads of one female and two males showed differences in parental behaviour and the influence of male social status. Every test consisted in putting a strange test-pup into the cage of the triad. Many parental activities and particularly retrieving were recorded. The results demonstrated the social dominance of the female on the males, while, the males maintained their hierarchy status, whether the female was present or not. The “killer” dominant male was less interested in parental care than the “normal” dominant male. The origin of such behaviour in relation to the possible social situation of the “killer” male in a natural environment is discussed.

Objectives. Using data from the 2001–2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, this study examined prevalence of drinking and related problems among five racial/ethnic groups aged 18–30. Design. Logistic regression analyses examined influences of gender and social status on alcohol-related problems among blacks, controlling for demographics. Results. Black drinkers were significantly less likely to be high-risk or risky/heavy episodic drinkers than all groups except Asians; and experienced lower prevalence of alcohol-related problems than whites and American Indians. Controlling for drinking, prevalence of alcohol-related problems among blacks was similar to other groups, except native Americans. Analyses of blacks revealed males, unemployed, and heaviest drinkers had highest prevalence of problems. Strong associations between drinking and problems remained consistent across black sub-groups defined by social status and gender. Conclusion. While blacks are not as engaged in risky/heavy drinking, they are not shielded from problems conditional on drinking patterns. Focus on alcohol-related problems among black males and unemployed is indicated.

We investigated the influence of social interactions on individual foraging behavior and community structure of frugivorous birds in southern Costa Rica. Detailed observations of large, heterospecific feeding assemblages at fruiting trees revealed the existence of an interspecific dominance hierarchy, largely consistent with body and bill size. Social status influenced access to food in several ways. First, subordinate species were interrupted more and tended to have shorter foraging bouts than dominant species (n > 1.000 abouts). Second, analysis of over 7,000 videotaped head movements showed that subordinate species spent a smaller fraction of their foraging bouts actually feeding (as opposed to looking about) than did dominants. Third, when many birds were in a tree simultaneously, the foraging bouts of subordinate species were shortened; this effect was less pronounced or absent for species higher in the dominance hierarchy. Fourth, subordinate species foraged less frequently in mixed-species assemblages than did dominant species. Finally, subordinate species fed disproportionately more in the late afternoon at fruiting trees. The influence of social status appeared to manifest itself at the community level. The species composition of foraging assemblages was compared at isolated fruiting trees situated in an agricultural landscape near to (< 0.5 km) and far from (> 6 km) a large tract of primary forest. Whereas the full complement of avian frugivores foraged at the near trees, visitors to the far trees were predominantly of high social status. We discuss reasons why high social status and associated traits might confer an advantage in exploiting human-dominated habitat.

This research examines the influence of social status, gender and family structure on parental values. Data are taken from the General Social Survey of six years in which parental value questions in standard form appeared. Logistic regression models are estimated for seven values representing three types of parental values: conformity, gender roles and self-direction. Results indicate that while social status has a positive effect on the preference of self-direction values and a negative effect on the valuation of conformity and traditional gender roles, gender and family structure are also consistently related to characteristics parents consider important for children. Compared to men, women are more likely to endorse self-direction and less likely to value conformity and traditional gender roles in children. Women in single-parent families are also more likely than women in two-parent families to value conformity and gender roles. Discussions of the findings and directions for future research are provided.

In this paper, we analyze the influence of social status on opinion dynamics and consensus building in collaboration networks. To that end, we simulate the diffusion of opinions in empirical collaboration networks by taking into account both the network structure and the individual differences of people reflected through their social status. For our simulations, we adapt a well-known Naming Game model and extend it with the Probabilistic Meeting Rule to account for the social status of individuals participating in a meeting. This mechanism is sufficiently flexible and allows us to model various situations in collaboration networks, such as the emergence or disappearance of social classes. In this work, we concentrate on studying three well-known forms of class society: egalitarian, ranked and stratified. In particular, we are interested in the way these society forms facilitate opinion diffusion. Our experimental findings reveal that (i) opinion dynamics in collaboration networks is indeed affected by the individuals' social status and (ii) this effect is intricate and non-obvious. In particular, although the social status favors consensus building, relying on it too strongly can slow down the opinion diffusion, indicating that there is a specific setting for each collaboration network in which social status optimally benefits the consensus building process.

In this paper, we analyze the influence of social status on opinion dynamics and consensus building in collaboration networks. To that end, we simulate the diffusion of opinions in empirical networks and take into account both the network structure and the individual differences of people reflected through their social status. For our simulations, we adapt a well-known Naming Game model and extend it with the Probabilistic Meeting Rule to account for the social status of individuals participating in a meeting. This mechanism is sufficiently flexible and allows us to model various society forms in collaboration networks, as well as the emergence or disappearance of social classes. In particular, we are interested in the way how these society forms facilitate opinion diffusion. Our experimental findings reveal that (i) opinion dynamics in collaboration networks is indeed affected by the individuals’ social status and (ii) this effect is intricate and non-obvious. Our results suggest that in most of the networks the social status favors consensus building. However, relying on it too strongly can also slow down the opinion diffusion, indicating that there is a specific setting for an optimal benefit of social status on the consensus building. On the other hand, in networks where status does not correlate with degree or in networks with a positive degree assortativity consensus is always reached quickly regardless of the status.

The quest for adornment is a global passion and Indians are no exception to it. Indian Cosmetic market is a multi Billion Market (Lifestyle, 2012) and reportedly growing at 15-20% annually. Though it was observed that demand for skin whitening products by both the genders is the main drive of the bullish trend in the cosmetic market, the same can’t undermine the substantial contribution of the other beauty products. This growing vanity of Indians widens the scope for global cosmetic marketers and not much scholarly light has been thrown upon this area. Hence, this present study concentrates on the influence of Gender and Social status on Physical and Achievement variables and how a latent variable Vanity explains Physical and Achievement, finally the effect of Vanity on Cosmetic Product Advertisement Effectiveness. A sample of 350 was collected from Tamil Nadu Pondicherry, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar by adopting non-probability convenience sampling method. A Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the complex relationship between variables and test the Hypotheses. Results indicate irrespective of Gender and Social status people are concerned about their appearance and success in life and vanity has a significant role to play towards the likelihood of remembering cosmetic advertisements. The findings of this research may have implications for marketers, Advertising professionals and researchers. Keywords: Vanity, Cosmetic Advertisements, Gender, Social Status, SEM.

The article examines the socio-political activity of the Kazakh regional elite of the second half of the XIX - early XX century and its transformation. As a result of the administrative and political reforms of the 1860s-1890s, a new administrative division was introduced on the territory of the Kazakhs of the Orenburg department, according to which officials such as the volost administrator and village elders were introduced based on local self-government. The article 48 analyzes the functional responsibilities of the volost administrator and village elders introduced in the «Regulations». Based on the provisions of the 60-90s of the nineteenth century, the authors also consider the introduction of the services of the people's court, the volost mullah, studying the impact of these changes on social relations in Kazakh society, the activities and status of biys and religious figures participating in it. Also, the article separately analyzes the transformation of the institution of the bai at this stage. The composition of the Kazakh regional elite of the second half of the 19th century, in addition to volost and aul elders, included biys who served as people's judges, volost mullahs, bais, aksakals and other influential people. These were individuals with authority and influence in society. Over time, volost governors and aul elders became an integral part of the social structure of Kazakh society. During the period we are considering, the activities of representatives of this regional elite in society have undergone significant changes. Our article is devoted to the study of these transformational processes. At the end of the work, the following preliminary conclusions were drawn regarding the transformation of the Kazakh regional elite: 1. The Kazakh regional elite formed the basis of Kazakh society in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. Influential volosts, biys, religious figures, bais, aksakals continued to interact and solve the pressing problems of the people; 2. Volost governors, approved on the basis of the new reform, were eventually integrated into Kazakh society and became the main officials in public and political life; 3. Representatives of the regional Kazakh elite during this period underwent a transformation in social status and political influence. The Russian government strive to limit the authority and activities of the Kazakh biys, bais, clergy, and other influential people by introducing elected positions and various restrictions. With the establishment of Soviet power, repressive measures began against representatives of the Kazakh people and the elite, damage was done to their authority and status in society.

To assess the relationship between social status and quality of diabetes care in a tertiary care centre in Germany. Social status was assessed in 940 consecutive patients in a university outpatient department by a questionnaire. The assessment comprised three components: education, highest professional position and household net income (total score 3-21). Quality of diabetes care was measured by HbA(1c) , blood pressure and BMI. The influence of social status on quality measures was analysed at entry and last visit by fitting linear mixed models. At the entry visit, patients with lower social status had a higher HbA(1c) compared with patients with higher status (0.06% per each point of social score difference). After a mean follow- up of 6.0 years (Type 2 diabetes) and 9.4 years (Type 1 diabetes) no significant differences in HbA(1c) could be found. However, difference in BMI (-0.41 kg/m² per each point of social score) persisted at last observation. Blood pressure was only negligibly affected by the care programme. Low social status is associated with worse quality of diabetes care at entry in a tertiary care centre. The differences in HbA(1c) disappeared after treatment and structured education, whereas the difference in BMI persisted. There was no significant influence of social status or treatment on blood pressure.

The primary focus of this study was to investigate the influence of gender, formal education and social economic status on awareness of rooftop rainwater harvesting. A random sample of 310 smallholder farmers was used. A questionnaire was developed for data collection. Hypotheses were tested at α = .05 set a priori. Educational level indicated a statistically significant influence but gender and SES did not. It was concluded that formal education has statistically significant influence on awareness and adoption of rainwater harvesting. It was recommended that extension service providers consider using multimedia and diverse extension methodologies that are suitable and acceptable across demographics.

The influence of social status on child development has been the subject of research for several decades, with children who are not accepted by their peers being shown to be at risk of a range of difficulties both at the time and in later life. Strong links have also been established between behaviour and social status. A small‐scale action research project considered the social structure of a Year 2 class and used data gathered through sociometric interviews and observations to identify some factors which may have influenced the social status of individuals within that group. From this data, three children considered at risk of peer rejection or isolation were identified and an intervention programme was implemented. At the end of the year sociometric interviews and observations were repeated and it was found that one child's social behaviours and status among his peers had increased significantly over the course of the project.

This study explores the influence of gender and social status on advice-giving strategies in Algerian Arabic. The study involved 50 native Algerian Arabic speakers (25 males and 25 females) who completed a Discourse Completion Task. This task, designed to measure the gender and social status variables, presented three types of advice-giving situations: high-to-low, low-to-high, and equal social power. Hinkel’s (1997) taxonomy was used to categorize advice-giving strategies as direct, hedged, or indirect. The study's key finding was that male and female Algerians tend to give direct advice, particularly imperatives, regardless of the advisee’s social status. This suggests that Algerians perceive advice-giving as a cooperative and supportive act that does not require mitigation or implication. Importantly, these findings have practical implications. They can help individuals and organizations avoid cross-cultural misunderstandings with Algerians. In cultures where advice-giving may be perceived as threatening one’s freedom of action, logical thinking ability, and world knowledge, Algerians may be misunderstood as impolite and overly assertive despite their well-intentioned advice.

Alongside the highly rapid development of virtual reality technology, embodied agents will become soon a common element of human–computer interactions. Our study analyzed the interactional influence of social status, personal attitudes (homophobia and social status importance), and culture on the efficiency of the virtual Midas touch effect. From a human perspective, we focused on the cultural background related to the social norms of touch, homophobia, and social status importance. In Poland, a noncontact culture, men avoid same-gender touch and also score very high on male homophobia. Catalonia, on the other hand, has a contact culture, where same-gender male touch is rather common and natural. Catalonia is also one of the most inclusive and open societies in the world. From an embodied agent’s perspective, we asked whether the agent’s social status influences compliance with virtual touch. We used a modified paradigm of the ultimatum game to observe whether Polish and Catalan men are more compliant when touched by high- or low-status agents. Our results suggest that the virtual interpersonal touch and social status importance influence compliance with a moderating effect of culture. We found also a significant effect of the offer’s value and a moderating effect of culture and homophobia on compliance.