Forms Of Social Inequality Research Articles

The Power of Citation: Feminist Counter-Appropriation of State Discourses in Post-Reform China

This article presents a comprehensive examination of the new discursive strategy devised and deployed by Chinese pan-feminist communities in response to the pervasive state intrusion, which we call feminist counter-appropriation. These tactics entail adoption and strategic adaptation of the state-sanctioned discourses by feminist netizens to tell their own stories while shielding them from severe punitive measures. Our analysis discerns two types of counter-appropriation practices: deliberate counter-appropriation that involves parodic and satirical redeployment of the party-state’s stigmatizing framing of feminism, and promotional counter-appropriation that uncritically embraces the sanitized version of feminism following the statist and nationalist logic yet creates room for discussion of gender-related and other forms of social inequalities. While acknowledging inherent limitations and susceptibility to manipulation by conservative forces, we argue that these counter-appropriation practices demonstrate the resilience of civil societies in navigating censorship and oppression to subvert the oppressive intentions of party bureaucrats, expose inherent flaws of the official languages, and challenge the entrenched gender inequalities in post-reform China.

“Das Floß der Medusa”: About Problem of Henze’s Political Engagement

The article is devoted to one of the most famous works of H. W. Henze “Das Floß der Medusa” (“The Raft of Medusa”), often seen as an example of Henze’s political engagement. The author of the article concludes that the oratorio was recognized as a political composition in large part due to the accompanying circumstances of its creation and premiere, but not based on the original idea and its realisation. The author demonstrate “Das Floß der Medusa” like a example of the protest music as a direction that exposes not only fascism, but also any form of social inequality, violence against the person. The study of the features of choral style of “Das Floß der Medusa” reveals parallels in the textural structure between Henze’s oratorio and Nono’s works of the 1950s (“La victoire de Guernica”, “Il canto sospeso”, “Intolleranza 1960”). The use of political text resources, the operation of individual syllables and phonemes of a literary text, work with multilingual verbal rows, the active use of diagonal texture — all this brings together the choral works of two contemporaries. At the same time, Henze’s composition also reflected the searches in the field of vocal timbre, characteristic of other composers of Darmstadt Summer Course — the use of various modifications of speech singing (Sprechgesang), the latest techniques of vocal articulation (vocal tremolo, prolongation of the anterolingual vibrant). All this together allows us to talk about Henz’s oratorio as one of the most peculiar choral compositions of the late 1960s.

Government Policies and Programs for Rapid Ageing in China: Review of Recent Developments in System Integration and Digital Services

Background: China is facing the challenge of an increasingly ageing population. The proportion of people aged 60 and above increased from 10% to 21.1% between 1999 and 2023 and is projected to reach 28% by 2040. In response to this demographic shift, the Chinese central government has implemented a series of policies that have evolved over time. The rapid advancement of information technology and science has accelerated these changes. However, there is still a research gap in understanding the digital service policies for elderly care. Methodology: Based on research literature and policy texts, this study specifically focuses on policy development between January 2019 and January 2024. Seventy traceable national policy texts were categorized and analyzed, gathered from the State Council's policy document database and the official websites of national ministries. Result: The 70 policies were interpreted and categorized into three major aspects. Firstly, the policies on the improvement of traditional elderly care aimed to meet diverse needs by focusing on health and medical care, the management and standards of serving institutions, service improvements and standardization, and the development of the service workforce. Secondly, the policies on system integration between elderly care and other industries included the integration of finance and elderly care, the construction of the insurance system, long-term care institutions and insurance, hospice care, and the silver economy. Thirdly, the policies on digital services comprised the smart healthcare industry, information accessibility, elderly-friendly digital technology and empowerment, and the creation of elderly-friendly communities and societies. Conclusion: The development concepts and contents of China's elderly care policy have evolved. The acceleration of transformation and promotion of the silver economy has become a new comprehensive and universal measure. Despite recent policy developments indicating a growing trend towards integration, there remains considerable room for improvement in actual implementation. This should focus on the uneven development of the "three pillars" of the pension system, insufficient innovation in financial products, and inadequate industry financing channels. It is important to be alert to the persistent problems and obstacles, which widen the gap in elderly welfare, create new forms of social inequality and exclusion, and hinder the development of a friendly information society. Methodology: Based on research literature and policy texts, this study specifically focuses on policy development between January 2019 and January 2024. Seventy traceable national policy texts were categorized and analyzed, gathered from the State Council's policy document database and the official websites of national ministries. Result: The 70 policies were interpreted and categorized into three major aspects. Firstly, the policies on the improvement of traditional elderly care aimed to meet diverse needs by focusing on health and medical care, the management and standards of serving institutions, service improvements and standardization, and the development of the service workforce. Secondly, the policies on system integration between elderly care and other industries included the integration of finance and elderly care, the construction of the insurance system, long-term care institutions and insurance, hospice care, and the silver economy. Thirdly, the policies on digital services comprised the smart healthcare industry, information accessibility, elderly-friendly digital technology and empowerment, and the creation of elderly-friendly communities and societies.

Compreender as Desigualdades Sociais e os Territórios pelas Histórias de Vida: reflexões partir das experiências do Núcleo IS-UP do Museu da Pessoa

The Nucleus of the ‘Museu da Pessoa’ (People’s Museum) was created to build a digital archive of qualitative data, while also promoting exhibi-tions and debates in research contexts. Through oral testimonies, life stories are collected and dis-seminated from a diversity of social actors across the national territory, facing various inequalities or vulnerabilities. With the aim of deepening the pro-cesses of structuring social inequalities and their individual inscriptions, this project democratises access to memory and gives visibility to socially vulnerable groups.Based on the experiences from the three main initiatives developed within the scope of the IS-UP Nucleus of the ‘Museu da Pessoa’, a reflection is made on the contributions of these initiatives. Framed by a theoretical-methodological framework related to the use of life stories in sociological research and situated in three different socio-territorial contexts in the northern region of Portugal, these initiatives focus on different social issues. They allow reflec-tions and analyses on various forms of social ine-quality. It is argued that this model enables simul-taneous knowledge acquisition, participation, and communication, combining fundamental research with the transfer and co-production of knowledge.

Food inequality in Kharkiv during the war: an overview of causes, manifestations and ways to overcome

The article presents one of the aspects of the working theme of the Kharkiv team of the Fusilli project, namely, a general overview of the concept and phenomenon of food inequality as one of the forms of manifestation of general social inequality, as a process that outlines unequal and uneven access for different groups in different periods of time to benefits and resources necessary for the full reproduction of vital forces and provision of opportunities for personal development. Food inequality is problematized as a concept necessary to describe and explain the state of the city of Kharkiv under the conditions of a full-scale invasion at three stages: (1) the availability of food products as such in the Kharkiv region; (2) access to goods, that is, the very possibility of purchasing goods in one or another quantity and quality; (3) use of the goods, which are related to the possibility of consumption of the necessary goods. The concept and phenomenon of food inequality is correlated with other forms of social inequality, and an instrumental definition of the main causes and manifestations of food inequality is proposed. A general assessment of the state of food inequality in Ukraine is given and preliminary results of the author's sociological research are given. The article also reviews international, national and local initiatives aimed at solving the problem of food inequality, in particular the policies of central and local authorities, grant programs from foreign companies, the activities of local and international public, volunteer and charitable organizations. The authors come to the conclusion that the possibilities of solving the problem of food security exclusively by economic means and tools are limited, since it is a complex problem that requires a systematic solution involving not only economic, but also political, ecological, cultural, informational, etc. levers.

Diverging reproductive outcomes by maternal education during the Covid‐19 pandemic across Brazilian and Colombian regions

AbstractThis work contributes to the current understanding of the heterogeneous impact of the Covid‐19 pandemic on fertility. Using more than 36.4 million birth and death records for Brazil and Colombia (2015–2021), we document state‐level correlations between the intensity of the pandemic, measured by the current and 9‐month lagged excess mortality, and the observed number of births relative to a Covid‐19‐free hypothetical scenario. We disaggregate these correlations according to maternal age and years of schooling to test the hypothesis that the influence of the Covid‐19 pandemic on births interacted with pre‐existing forms of social inequality. Results from multivariate linear models suggest that the association between the intensity of the pandemic and the relative number of births was negative for women with at least 8 years of schooling, while it was positive or null for women with fewer years of education. This result means that in subnational areas severely hit by the Covid‐19 pandemic, women with few years of schooling did not delay fertility as most women potentially did. These results suggest that disadvantaged groups in Latin America and potentially in other contexts may suffer more acutely the consequences of the Covid‐19 pandemic, which has been largely neglected by studies that assume homogeneous impacts of Covid‐19 on population dynamics.

Incorporating macro-social contexts into emotion research: Longitudinal associations between structural stigma and emotion processes among gay and bisexual men.

Research into correlates and predictors of emotion regulation has focused almost exclusively on individual differences and the immediate situation. Here, we consider whether features of macro-social contexts may also shape emotion regulation. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a longitudinal study of 502 gay and bisexual men living in 269 U.S. counties that varied in the level of stigma surrounding sexual minorities. We find that gay and bisexual men living in higher- (vs. lower-) stigma counties consistently reported more suppression, which consequently explained longitudinal increases (vs. decreases) in their lack of emotional clarity over 24 months. Results were robust to demographic characteristics, stigma at the interpersonal level (i.e., sexual orientation-related discrimination), and another form of social inequality (i.e., county-level income inequality). These findings suggest that broadening the lens of emotion regulation research to include characteristics of the macro-social environment may yield new insights into determinants of emotion regulation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The impact of information inequality on the social security of Russian society

The article is focused on the influence of information inequality on ensuring of social security. The authors reveals the concept of information inequality, its sociological analysis as a form of social inequality. The article studies social risks, dangers and threats of the influence of information inequality on the social security of Russian society. The article shows differences between “information” and “digital” inequality. Leading directions in the use of Internet resources are presented. On the basis of the analysis identified options for overcoming information inequality in the country.

Formal and hidden curriculum at the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Mexico

The educational system plays a key role in the reproduction of gender inequality, as it transmits sexist norms and stereotypes on a daily basis. Gender-sensitive education seeks to transform educational contents and practices in order to create school environments where the principles of respect, equity and social justice prevail. The objective of this paper is to examine the agroecology curriculum taught at the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Mexico. Data was obtained through a survey, content analysis of course syllabi, and in-depth interviews. Results identified an androcentric bias in teaching contents, and gender discrimination in classroom interaction. It is concluded that gender mainstreaming in higher education is essential to counteract sexism and other forms of social inequality.

Making Ends Meet by Mining on Blockchain

While public narratives indicate that blockchain is widely used in developed societies among privileged elites, either from socio-economic, ethnic, or techno-cultural perspectives, this study examines how some disadvantaged marginal others, specifically the subaltern shehuiren in China, survive in the increasingly precarious post-socialist Chinese society by engaging with blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Literally translated as “society people”, shehuiren are the socio-economically and techno-culturally disadvantaged others who face marginality due to various post-socialist institutional inequalities. This study aims at unpacking how, on the one hand, the blockchain scene has been reconfigured by the disadvantaged in the local context, and on the other hand, how subalternity is actualized in post-socialist China, where blockchain-related technologies deeply intertwine with various forms of social inequalities. By tracing a group of shehuiren crypto miners through ethnography, I demonstrate that this subaltern scene of blockchain not just reshapes the shehuiren individuals’ notion of time, space, and value and the social relationship among themselves, but also profoundly impacts the power dynamics between the subalterns, the more privileged others, and the state authorities. Specifically, I underline that, despite being treated as losers, outsiders, and potential wrongdoers due to the existing social structures, shehuiren miners are neither victims nor rebels opposing either the authoritarian state or the global neoliberal order. Instead, they are actors who harvest limited profits through their unacknowledged creativity, adeptly making use of various resources within their reach and weaving their differential aspirations by attaching themselves to the larger technology-mediated networks in an unequal post-socialist society where a united subaltern hardly exists.

Mudling Through Intersectionality Theory for Leadership Futures: Pathways Toward Policies for Reinventing Gender Spaces for Educational Leadership in Two Male Schools in Ghana

This paper examines the advances made on gender issues in Ghana, particularly regarding how far misogyny is being watered down in educational leadership. The article thence reflects on how society might resolve the question of the effects of misogyny on educational leadership futures and the associated possibilities, and decisively address this enervating question in the decades ahead. The paper discusses how individuals and groups are resisting and challenging their experiences of gender inequalities, as well as attempting to intervene and correct the causes and consequences of gendered power imbalances. The paper does not intend to assess all the facets of gendered life and inequality. Instead, it discusses arguments that have been put forward regarding re-engineering gender spaces for educational leadership futures. Data obtained from two all-boys’ schools suggest that gendered inequality is visible in both public and private spheres. However, the validity of the arguments that gender inequalities are still entrenched and persisting over time, place, and culture is contrasted with alternative claims from the data that gendered power relations, and for that matter inequalities, are gradually being eroded. Furthermore, the current academic focus on the concept of intersectionality regarding how variables like gender, tribe, religion, and culture intersect to define people’s gendered experiences, is used as the analytical framework. The study of women’s educational leadership experiences in this paper is used as a framework to further examine these issues and address some of the debates. The paper concludes with an argument that the study of inequality in relation to gendered identities, relations, and experiences must continue with an exploration of the study of men and masculinities if the theoretical analysis of gender is to be enriched to re-invent genders spaces for educational leadership futures. We also argue the view that to set the agenda for a more equal educational leadership future, society must see the need to link gender closely to other forms of social inequalities.

Experiences of overseas doctoral researchers in Australian business schools: implications for stakeholders

PurposeAlthough the international education sector is one of the significant contributors to the Australian economy, international students continue to experience various forms of social inequalities. This paper aims to focus on overseas doctoral researchers (ODRs) – candidates and graduates – and capture their experiences.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the adaptive capacity framework, an exploratory qualitative study was carried out based on interviews with doctoral candidates (n = 6), doctoral graduates (n = 5) and supervisors (n = 4) in various Business Schools in Australian universities. Given this study’s exploratory and interpretive nature, the research question was deliberately broad: what insights can be generated for key stakeholders by capturing the experiences of ODRs in Australia through the lens of adaptive capacity?FindingsFindings indicate that financial pressure, social exclusion and cultural bias were the three main challenges ODRs had to overcome; female ODRs perceived that supervisors and faculties often overlooked the mental health aspects; and better pedagogy of research supervision, institutional support and national policies are needed to develop adaptive ODRs.Research limitations/implicationsIf ODRs are to become an integral part of the knowledge economy, key stakeholders need to focus on support mechanisms for these researchers. That way, Australian universities can not only improve their image of treating international students only as a part of the revenue flow but also enhance the educational experiences of ODRs and set them up for future success.Originality/valueThe contribution of this paper is twofold. First, it demonstrates the utility of the adaptive capacity lens to capture the experiences of ODRs. Second, it discusses research implications for the three key stakeholders: supervisors, higher education institutions and the government.

Intersectionality Theory and Leadership Futures: Policy Pathways Toward Reinventing Gender Spaces for Educational Leadership in Two Male Schools in Ghana

This paper examines the advances made on gender issues in Ghana, particularly regarding how far misogyny is being watered down in educational leadership. The article thence reflects on how society might resolve the question of the effects of misogyny on educational leadership futures and the associated possibilities, and decisively address this enervating question in the decades ahead. The paper discusses how individuals and groups are resisting and challenging their experiences of gender inequalities, as well as attempting to intervene and correct the causes and consequences of gendered power imbalances. The paper does not intend to assess all the facets of gendered life and inequality. Instead, it discusses arguments that have been put forward regarding re-engineering gender spaces for educational leadership futures. Data obtained from two all-boys’ schools suggest that gendered inequality is visible in both public and private spheres. However, the validity of the arguments that gender inequalities are still entrenched and persisting over time, place, and culture is contrasted with alternative claims from the data that gendered power relations, and for that matter inequalities, are gradually being eroded. Furthermore, the current academic focus on the concept of intersectionality regarding how variables like gender, tribe, religion, and culture intersect to define people’s gendered experiences, is used as the analytical framework. The study of women’s educational leadership experiences in this paper is used as a framework to further examine these issues and address some of the debates. The paper concludes with an argument that the study of inequality in relation to gendered identities, relations, and experiences must continue with an exploration of the study of men and masculinities if the theoretical analysis of gender is to be enriched to re-invent genders spaces for educational leadership futures. We also argue the view that to set the agenda for a more equal educational leadership future, society must see the need to link gender closely to other forms of social inequalities.

Predictive privacy: Collective data protection in the context of artificial intelligence and big data

Big data and artificial intelligence pose a new challenge for data protection as these techniques allow predictions to be made about third parties based on the anonymous data of many people. Examples of predicted information include purchasing power, gender, age, health, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc. The basis for such applications of “predictive analytics” is the comparison between behavioral data (e.g. usage, tracking, or activity data) of the individual in question and the potentially anonymously processed data of many others using machine learning models or simpler statistical methods. The article starts by noting that predictive analytics has a significant potential to be abused, which manifests itself in the form of social inequality, discrimination, and exclusion. These potentials are not regulated by current data protection law in the EU; indeed, the use of anonymized mass data takes place in a largely unregulated space. Under the term “predictive privacy,” a data protection approach is presented that counters the risks of abuse of predictive analytics. A person's predictive privacy is violated when personal information about them is predicted without their knowledge and against their will based on the data of many other people. Predictive privacy is then formulated as a protected good and improvements to data protection with regard to the regulation of predictive analytics are proposed. Finally, the article points out that the goal of data protection in the context of predictive analytics is the regulation of “prediction power,” which is a new manifestation of informational power asymmetry between platform companies and society.

What we can learn from remote learning in elementary schools

Health regulations stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an unprecedented shift towards remote and online learning at the elementary level during the 2020 and 2021 school years. Given the exceptionality of this phenomenon, there is little previous research that explores virtual learning at the elementary level. With this in mind, we surveyed parents of elementary students about their experiences. Significant financial-based barriers notwithstanding, our research introduces novel and unexpected findings about the value of remote learning – most notably to address other forms of social inequality. Ultimately, we advocate for a more inclusive and equitable approach to post-pandemic elementary education.

Переход «школа-вуз»: человеческий капитал vs социальное неравенство

In the article, the author analyzes the social impact of the institutional transformation of the transition from secondary to higher education (the introduction of the Unified State Exam), taking place against the backdrop of an increasing stratification of educational organizations and programs of secondary and higher education. This leads to the reproduction of former and the manifestation of new forms of social inequality and territorial and settlement restrictions in access to higher education, which differs in terms of the quality and future economic benefits in the labor market. The data of statistics and sociological surveys show that two types of educational trajectories have developed. Graduation from high school, the use of the USE and enrollment in full-time education, especially in selective universities, is typical mainly for people from upper and middle strata. Completion of the 9th grade, intermediate studies in secondary vocational education and admission (bypassing the USE) to correspondence courses are much more common for representatives of families with reduced economic and sociocultural resources. Differences in the material and sociocultural status of the families of students and young people, which significantly determine the chances of access to a stratified higher school, are multiplying by interregional and settlement heterogeneity. As a result, the motivation and opportunities for obtaining higher education (valued by the labor market) among young people from low-resource families, small settlements, and remote territories are declining, and their push into the vocational education sector has been intensifying in recent years. All this leads to the deformation of the social function of higher education as an institution, the purpose of which is to form (based on natural abilities and cognition) the intellectual potential of society, capable of responding to various social challenges, including those urgent ones that have arisen before our country.

From secondary to higher school: institutional transformations and social consequence

The author analyzes the social impact of the institutional transformation of the transition from secondary to higher education (the Unified State Exam), taking place against the backdrop of an increasing stratification of educational organizations and programs of secondary and higher education. This leads to the reproduction of former and the manifestation of new forms of social inequality and territorial and settlement restrictions in access to higher education, which differs in terms of the quality and future economic benefits in the labor market. The data of statistics and sociological surveys show that two types of educational trajectories have developed. Graduation from high school, the use of the USE and enrollment in full-time education, especially in selective universities, is typical mainly for people from upper and middle strata. Completion of the 9th grade, intermediate studies in secondary vocational education and admission (bypassing the USE) to correspondence courses are much more common for representatives of families with reduced economic and sociocultural resources. Differences in the material and sociocultural status of the families of students and young people, which significantly determine the chances of access to a stratified higher school, are multiplying by interregional and settlement heterogeneity. As a result, the motivation and opportunities for obtaining higher education (valued by the labor market) among young people from low-resource families, small settlements, and remote territories are declining, and their push into the vocational education sector has been intensifying in recent years. All this leads to the deformation of the social function of higher education as an institution, the purpose of which is to form (based on natural abilities and cognition) the intellectual potential of society, capable of responding to various social challenges, including those urgent ones that have arisen before our country.

СОВРЕМЕННЫЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ В ОБЛАСТИ СОЦИОЛОГИИ ИСКУССТВЕННОГО ИНТЕЛЛЕКТА: БАЗОВЫЕ ПОДХОДЫ. ЧАСТЬ 3

The article is devoted to the analysis of the most relevant and popular problems of social research of artificial intelligence, the results of which were published in the first quarter of 2022. The actualization of the problems of racism, various forms of social inequality associated with the use of various artificial intelligence algorithms continues. The attitude towards the neural network writer GPR-3 is subjected to massive criticism, despite the fact that the Australian philosopher David Chalmers considers it possible to assert the existence of independent intellectual activity in this computer program. Research continues on the role of artificial intelligence in improving governance, including at the state level. It is suggested that the bureaucratic social class not only will not disappear as artificial intelligence tools are introduced into government, but, perhaps, will strengthen its position. The pressing research in the field of the sociology of artificial intelligence is related to its role in modern medicine. There are ethical and bioethical issues associated with trust in artificial intelligence systems.

Nilai Komunikasi Antarbudaya Di Kecamatan Mandah Kabupaten Indragirihilir Provinsi Riau

Indonesia, which is famous for its multicultural society, requires a good intercultural communication system to avoid conflicts between people. The research method that the author uses is qualitative with a descriptive approach. Through the research phase, namely observation, interviews and documentation as well as using data analysis techniques. so that it can find out how the value of intercultural communication, supporting factors and inhibiting factors in implementing the value of intercultural communication in Khairiah Mandah Village, Mandah District, Indragiri Hilir Regency, Riau Province. The results of the research that the authors found showed that the value of intercultural communication in the Khairiah Mandah village went well after several policies from the local government such as conducting counseling and socialization, this was marked by the occurrence of a harmonious life between different religions and ethnicities. However, for coastal areas the form of intercultural communication values ​​does not run completely. There are still some forms of social inequality that are found, such as there are still boundaries in some areas. but it does not turn into a dispute because the Chinese understand the beliefs held by Islam.

Implikasi Alih Fungsi Lahan menjadi Destinasi Wisata di Sekitar Cafe Sawah Desa Pujon Kidul

The conversion of agricultural land into a tourist destination occurred in Pujon Kidul Village, Malang Regency. These changes have occurred since the emergence of Sawah Cafe tourism, so that it has implications for the occurrence of risks in the form of land conversion from the agricultural sector to become tourist destinations (such as ATV rides, motorbikes, cafes, homestays, restaurants, parking lots and shops). In addition, it also has an impact on the pattern of community life (especially around Cafe Sawah). This study uses qualitative methods, the type of descriptive research. Data collection techniques used are observation, interviews, and document studies. The results showed that the community carried out commodification, in the form of land conversion from agriculture to tourism because the income factor was more promising and the economy increased, so it had implications for the social, economic and environmental aspects of the local community. But on the other hand it poses a risk in the form of social inequality and competition, environmental damage will occur due to increased air and water pollution, decreased quality of the surrounding environment due to garbage around tourism development areas and traffic jams.