Macro-social Context Research Articles

КАДРОВЫЕ РЕЗЕРВЫ В СИСТЕМЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО УПРАВЛЕНИЯ: ОПЫТ И НОВЫЕ СМЫСЛЫ

A scientific article is devoted to the formation of personnel reserves in the system of public power, understanding the conceptual foundations, parameters, and criteria that determine the effectiveness of their formation and use. Based on the analysis of managerial practices at both the federal and regional levels, key problem areas, factors and conditions that affect the processes of the institutionalization of personnel reserves are identified. The article presents the results of sociological research, an analysis of the practice of forming personnel reserves in the context of sociocultural dynamics, and transformation processes in the public administration system, and defines the features of reservist motivation, the level of readiness for self-development, personal and professional mobility, and career expectations. The authors disclose the issues of conceptual, methodological and technological support for personnel reserve management through the prism of the maturity of personnel technologies, and justify that the management of personnel reserves in the public sphere goes beyond the exclusively organizational context and integrates into a macro-social context. Based on the analysis, the authors propose a vision of new conceptual approaches and principles for developing personnel reserves in the public sphere in the framework of implementing national priorities and strategic goals of the country's sustainable development.

Edgework, institutions and enhanced interrogation.

The Enhanced Interrogation programme was a medicalised interrogation programme that was designed by the United States in the wake of 9/11. It is now widely recognized that the Enhanced Interrogation programme engaged in some activities that were, at the least, tantamount to torture. The programme was designed by Psychologists and overseen by other professionals, including medical professionals. This article argues that the Enhanced Interrogation programme displayed many of the features of what Sociologists refer to as Edgework. It demonstrated voluntary risk-taking by health and other professionals; this risk-taking pressed up against catastrophic outcomes across multiple dimensions; risks were taken for the purposes of escaping a death-saturated macrosocial context; and the health professionals in the programme were highly skilled. The article argues that a new form of Edgework can be detected by studying the programme, which the article refers to as 'Institutional Edgework'.

Older People With Dementia Running a Pop-Up Restaurant: How to Use Reality Shows to Reduce the Stigma of Dementia

The present study focused on a Chinese reality show, Forget Me Not Café, which brought together five older people (aged 65 and older) living with dementia to run a pop-up restaurant and intended to reduce the stigma of dementia. The study aims to explore how the reality-show participants describe dementia in older people and how their views relate to the macrosocial context of dementia and older people. This study performed a thematic discourse analysis on the written and spoken content about dementia in older people (or later life) presented in the reality show. Four discursive themes were identified including: (1) age is a risk factor for dementia; (2) early signs and symptoms of dementia in older people deserve attention; (3) putting pressure on family caregivers of people with dementia; (4) expectations to maintain social engagement and slow down the development of dementia. This study also found that the views of the reality-show participants highlight the capability of older people with dementia to communicate effectively and live with the condition, their personal goals of sustaining a happy, meaningful and sociable life, as well as their actions to positively influence personal circumstances. The results of this study indicate that this reality show might help reduce the stigma of dementia and empower older people living with dementia, while it also tends to stress the responsibility for care on family carers and shift the responsibility of managing the dementia-related challenges to older people living with dementia.

Recasting the Treadmills of Production and Destruction

We revisit and recast two prominent theories of environmental degradation: the treadmill of production and the treadmill of destruction. This recasting is guided by critical realism, focused on theorizing generative mechanisms that produce and shape empirical events. Our theorization is informed by Marxist and Weberian insights into environmental sociology contributions. In this critical realist recasting, the treadmill of production and the treadmill of destruction are conceived of as generative mechanisms. A treadmill refers to a process in which powerful organizations appropriate nature to amass power and capital. These organizations degrade the environment, and they suppress and distort information about the environmental damage they cause. The macrosocial context, the organizations at the center of them, and the elites that command these organizations make these treadmills distinct. A treadmill spans the biophysical and the social/cultural realms. Whereas the biophysical is necessary for the social/cultural realm to exist, it exists independent of human knowledge of this realm. As such, historical contingency and social change are at the center of analysis when studying the waxing, waning, transformation, and demise of treadmills. Adopting a critical realist stance, future theorization and research can and should engage a wide range of theories advanced in environmental sociology. The goal is not to establish the single best unitary theory, but to identify and gain insight into the generative mechanisms that shape and constrain human interactions with the environment.

Is being gender nonconforming distressing? It depends where you live: gender equality across 15 nations predicts how much gender nonconformity is related to self-esteem.

Individuals exhibiting gender nonconforming behaviors experience low self-esteem and a number of other mental health conditions, including elevated suicide risk. Most of the relevant evidence is confined to US studies, however. Adopting a cross-national approach, we examined the pervasiveness of the psychological burden associated with gender nonconformity. Because self-esteem is sensitive to the fulfillment of societal expectations for gender conformity, we reasoned that the relationship between gender conformity and self-esteem ought to decrease as societies become less restrictive in their gender norms. To test this proposition, we conducted two studies including 18 national samples from 15 countries varying in gender equality. Participants responded to an online survey that included measures of gender conformity and self-esteem (N = 4486). Using multilevel analyses and meta-analytic statistics over the samples of both studies, we found that as gender equality increased, the association between gender conformity and self-esteem decreased. The results suggest that rather than being inherently noxious, gender non-conformity becomes detrimental to self-esteem when it clashes with restrictive gender role norms that are enacted by the macrosocial context. We suggest that previous findings on psychological problems related to gender nonconformity be considered within a broader macrosocial context that may constrain people's freedom to move against gender role norms.

EDUCAÇÃO FÍSICA, PROFISSIONALIZAÇÃO E MERCADO DE TRABALHO: UMA ANÁLISE SOBRE O PROJETO PROFISSIONAL

Procuramos compreender como a Educação Física tem se organizado no mercado de trabalho com a expansão das possibilidades de atuação nos últimos anos. Nos apropriamos do ponto de vista da Sociologia das Profissões como lente teórica e caracterizamos o estudo como descritivo, com base em dados extraídos no banco de microdados da RAIS – Relação Anual de Informações Sociais de 2014. Como resultados, observamos um contingente de profissionais jovens, a maior presença das mulheres nos diversos setores de atuação e a baixa permanência no emprego formal por longo período de tempo. Observamos grande variabilidade na remuneração em diferentes estados, assim como entre gêneros. Concluímos ser necessário o investimento em novas análises sobre o contexto macrossocial da profissão, considerando que a carreira na Educação Física está condicionada às contingências sociais, políticas, culturais e econômicas na sociedade.

Situating subjectivities in the macrosocial policy context: critical/queer multifocal policy research

ABSTRACT This essay serves as a reflexive account of a multifocal approach to policy analysis that employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative study examined the relationship between principals’ perceived levels of instructional influence and teachers’ perceptions of their working conditions using a nationally generalizable sample. The qualitative study employed critical ethnographic methods to study the subjectivity of teachers and leaders and their relationship to one another as they work within a neoliberal policy regime. Theories of subjectivity employed in the qualitative study reveal that policies are contextually and individually dependent, which was particularly useful for making sense of both studies. In this paper, I reflect on my multifocal policy project and draw on queer and critical theory to argue for the re-appropriation of traditional methods of policy analysis in an effort to challenge marginalization of critical voices in scholarship, and to enhance the critical, multifocal approach to policy analysis.

Sociabilidade dos adolescentes em conflito com a lei de Uberlândia (MG) em 2017

Resumo O presente estudo apresenta resultados parciais de pesquisa de mestrado, que tem por objetivo analisar a sociabilidade dos adolescentes em conflito com a lei no município de Uberlândia (MG) no ano de 2017, mais especificamente os adolescentes do sexo masculino que cumprem medida socioeducativa de internação no Centro Socioeducativo de Uberlândia (CSEUB). Buscou-se então compreender quais os sentidos atribuídos pelos sujeitos às suas experiências sociais. Optou-se pelo materialismo histórico e dialético como base teórico-metodológica. Nesse sentido, parte-se de um recorte na sociabilidade dos sujeitos, no que diz respeito ao trabalho. Empreenderam-se a pesquisa bibliográfica para um amplo levantamento dos autores e de suas respectivas produções científicas, e a pesquisa de campo com um estudo de caso no CSEUB. A análise buscou inserir os participantes da pesquisa em um contexto macrossocietário, no que diz respeito à reestruturação produtiva e às novas configurações do mundo do trabalho, possibilitando compreender que os adolescentes aqui pesquisados e seu grupo social têm suas sociabilidades configuradas pelo sociometabolismo do capital, de modo a contribuir na reprodução e manutenção dessa estrutura.

Parental Education and Genetics of BMI from Infancy to Old Age: A Pooled Analysis of 29 Twin Cohorts.

Objective:To analyze how parental education modifies the genetic and environmental variances of body mass index (BMI) from infancy to old age in three geographic-cultural regions.Methods:A pooled sample of 29 cohorts including 143 499 twin individuals with information on parental education and BMI from 1 to 79 years (299 201 BMI measures) was analyzed by genetic twin modeling.Results:Until 4 years of age, parental education was not consistently associated with BMI. Thereafter, higher parental education was associated with lower BMI in males and females. Total and additive genetic variances of BMI were smaller in the offspring of highly educated parents than in those whose parents had low education. Especially in North American and Australian children, environmental factors shared by co-twins also contributed to the higher BMI variation in the low educational category. In Europe and East Asia, the associations of parental education with mean BMI and BMI variance were weaker than in North America and Australia.Conclusions:Lower parental education is associated with higher mean and larger genetic variance of BMI after early childhood, especially in the obesogenic macro-environment. The interplay between genetic predisposition, childhood social environment and macro-social context is important for socio-economic differences in BMI.

Parent- and Family-Focused Support in Portugal: Context and Analysis of Services/Programmes from an Equity Perspective

In Europe, different approaches are used to support families of young children and to promote the quality of their home learning environment. Nevertheless, program evaluations often do not consider the macro-social context in which the programs are implemented. The purpose of this study was to understand and discuss the contextual factors, facilitators and underlying challenges of family support services in Portugal. This paper begins by providing an up-to-date overview of relevant social context statistics, about poverty, use of services and early education and care programs. These statistics serve to document country policies regarding parents and families. Secondly, 11 research-supported and promising parent- and family-focused support programs currently implemented in Portugal were analyzed. Key features and principles that have been empirically determined to address social and educational inequalities are discussed in the context of Portugal.

Educational Care: Male Teachers in Early Childhood Education

This essay is focused on the relation between educational care and masculinities. From a theoretical perspective it falls within Men’s Studies and describes an empirical research study, mainly realized using a biographical approach, on male teachers working in Early Childhood education (ECE). The aim of this study is to explore the stories of the lives of some men who do jobs closely related to childcare, three of which are summarized in the boxes below in an unconventional form to experiment with a new way to disseminate the findings of the sociological research. The interviews are focused on the biographical turning points and tbe reasons the men chose jobs with tasks traditionally considered to be “female” duties, as well as how these teachers feel about their work, their caring and relational approaches, and if and to what extent their jobs are changing/have changed their perceptions of themselves, and, finally, on the nature of the reactions to their choice both in the micro and the macro social context. The partial findings of our ongoing research are compared with the outcome of other international studies with a focus on some common issues emerging across different national contexts: the lack of role models or mentors in ECE; the challenge to ‘hegemonic’ masculinities of engaging in childcare in order to involve body, emotions and vulnerabilities; the shadow of paedophilia related to homosexuality and, finally, the role these men embody as ‘breakers’.

Implementation, mechanisms and effects of maternity protection legislation: a realist narrative review of the literature.

Most industrialized countries have introduced maternity protection legislation (MPL) to protect the health of pregnant workers and their unborn children from workplace exposure. This review aimed to assess this legislation's level of implementation, barriers and facilitators to it, and its expected or unexpected effects. A realist narrative review was conducted. Keyword searches of the PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, MIDIRS, Sociological abstracts and Google Scholar electronic databases were performed in March 2018. The 42 publications included show that the implementation of MPL is deficient in most countries. Allowing pregnant women to withdraw from work on preventive leave or sick leave is favored over workplace adaptations or worker reassignments. The publications highlight mechanisms which encourage or obstruct the enforcement of legislation at the levels of the individual, the physical and social environment, and the macrosocial context. The delay between the conception and implementation of maternity protection measures appears to be a major barrier to the efficacy of MPL. The literature also suggests that unexpected adverse effects, such as degradation in working relationships or discrimination can obstruct the implementation of protective measures. This study showed the need for a better implementation of MPL during pregnancy. Further research and recommendations for improvements in MPL should consider the diverse mechanisms and effects of its implementation. Barriers and adverse effects of this implementation do not only ensure a lack of information or awareness about MPL, but are also linked to contradictions between requirements to protect employment and protect pregnancy.

Gedanken zum Hochschulwesen in Polen. Veränderungen – Streitpunkte – Wertungen. Teil 2

This report is a part of the outcome of the international project entitled “Studium in Osteuropa: Ausgewählte Aspekte (Analysen, Befunde)” realised in the years 2013-2015 under supervision of Prof. Wilfried Schubarth and Dr Andreas Seidl from the Potsdam University, Department Erziehungswissenschaft and Prof. Karsten Speck from the University of Oldenburg, Germany. The project was realised jointly by representatives of academic centres from Germany, Czech Republic, Poland and Russia. Its general aim was a comparative analysis of the effects of implementation of Bologna Process directives in the higher education organisation in individual countries. The changes introduced into the higher education systems in the countries involved in the project were described and evaluated, in particular the problems of education of teachers at the university level was discussed. The following text is an outcome of the contribution of Polish group engaged in the project realisation. The report will be presented in two parts. The first part is focused on the macro-social context of transformations in the higher education system in Poland. Realisation of selected aspects of Bologna Process directives is described and supplemented with empirical comments. The second part is concerned with selected aspects of university level education of teachers, followed by a polemic against the assumptions and realisation of the target transformations of higher education system.

REDE DE APOIO SOCIAL FAMILIAR E A PROMOÇÃO DO DESENVOLVIMENTO INFANTIL

Este estudo teve por objetivo descrever a percepção da família sobre os vínculos, a rede e o apoio socialpara cuidado e promoção do desenvolvimento da criança menor de cinco anos de idade. Para tanto,entrevistou-se sete famílias em vulnerabilidade social vinculadas ao sistema de saúde do Distrito Federal.Trata-se de estudo qualitativo, descritivo, sob o referencial da teoria de Rede Social Sistêmica. A análisedas narrativas deu-se pelo método qualitativo de análise de conteúdo temática. Os resultados foramcategorizados sob dois temas: “rede social familiar” e “vínculos e apoio social: percepção da família”. Arede social utilizada é mínima, centrada na densidade das relações entre mãe, criança e avó, sob osustento financeiro do pai. Há proximidade da moradia ao serviço de saúde, porém dissonânciasculturais nas relações com seus profissionais. Os profissionais de saúde precisam integrar em suaspráticas o contexto microssocial e macrossocial das famílias enquanto determinantes das condições desaúde e de desenvolvimento infantil.Descritores: Família; Desenvolvimento infantil; Apoio social; Vulnerabilidade social.

Sociološka studija o slici obližnjih zemalja - stereotipi ruskih studenata i njihov kontekstualni okvir

The article identifies three basic 'dimensions' of the youth social mood. The first dimension is formed by a set of various cognitive, affective and behavioral orientations (and the patriotic mood is an integral part of this complex). The second dimension is formed by a set of estimates of the macro-social context of life in one's country. The third dimension is constituted by geopolitical awareness, i.e. the images of the neighboring countries. All three dimensions are difficult to measure due to the multiplicity of their conceptualization frames and excessive connotations of the basic terminology. The author provides an overview of the results of a series of surveys conducted in 2009-2013 on the samples of Moscow students by the Sociological Laboratory of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia to show what data we can obtain with the help of qualitative approach in 'measuring' these dimensions of the youth worldview and social mood, especially in identifying the common images of the neighboring countries (on the example of China, Kazakhstan and Serbia). The author focuses on technical and substantial details of the surveys, and concludes with recognizing the necessity of revealing social representations and stereotypes of public opinion in cross-cultural and comparative perspectives.

Contextualizing Depressive Contagion

The purpose of this study is to examine microsocial and macrosocial contextual moderators of adolescent depressive contagion. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the authors find evidence supporting the depressive contagion thesis. This effect is observed above and beyond key social relationship and sociodemographic controls. To examine the role of social context in moderating the effect of depressive contagion, the authors utilize a longitudinal mixed effects model using Wave 1 and Wave 2 of the Add Health survey. The results reveal that depressive contagion is more salient for adolescents who are embedded in dense peer networks and attend schools with high network density and mutuality. Furthermore, popular students, measured as the number of received friendship nominations, are more vulnerable to depressive contagion. Overall, the findings in this study demonstrate a differential vulnerability to depressive contagion dependent on microsocial and macrosocial context.

Do welfare regimes influence the association between disability and self-perceived health? A multilevel analysis of 57 countries

Disability is usually associated with poorer self-rated health. However, as many people with disabilities do not consider themselves unhealthy, the association may not be as straightforward as it appears. This study examines whether the relationship between disability and self-rated health is dependent on a country's welfare regime. Welfare regimes can play a significant role in securing the needs of disabled people and lessening their social exclusion. However, welfare regimes also label disabled people accordingly, before they become entitled to specific provisions and services. Being given a low status label and being dependent on welfare provisions might trigger a negative self-evaluation of health. Using data from 57 countries of the World Health Survey of 2002–2004, the multilevel regression analyses show that people with a disability tend to rate their health worse than people without any disability. Moreover, the strength of this negative association varies significantly across countries and is affected by a country's welfare regime. The association is the strongest in the various Welfare State regimes (mostly European countries) and the weakest in Informal-Security regimes (Latin-American and Asian countries) and in Insecurity regimes (African countries). Disabled people living in Welfare States regimes tend to rate their health worse than people in other regimes. These findings confirm that welfare regimes play a role in shaping the health perception of disabled people and that processes of labeling may result in unintended and negative consequences of welfare programs. Research on the nexus between disability and self-rated health that neglects this macro-social context of welfare regimes may lead to undifferentiated and even incorrect conclusions.

EPA-1440 - Macro-micro contexts in social psychiatry

Introduction Our social environment can have important consequences for the development of emotional processes, mental health problems and/or wellbeing among individuals and communities. Recent research suggests that stigma and discrimination has been increasing, as measured by social distance of the general public. The context of public stigma in relation to people with mental health problems could have significant consequences in terms of exclusion and thus, impact the health and well-being of people with mental illness. Aims and Objectives To describe new research in the field of social psychiatry which investigates the impact of the macro-social context on individuals, especially in terms of stigma and social exclusion. Results This session will present recent research which looks at aggregate population data including structural policies or legislation in addition to public attitudes or beliefs and how this relates to individual outcomes of mental health and well-being including self-stigma, unemployment and suicide. Conclusions Initial research highlights the importance of macro-micro contexts for the social exclusion of people with mental health problems. Further research is needed to further delineate the mechanism of how individual internalize their social environment and how we might better intervene at the population level to improve the mental health and well-being of communities.

Gender differences in the genetic and environmental determinants of adolescent depression

The well-documented gender differences in the risk for depression may be explained by genetic factors, by different responses to social context, or by a combination of both. We sought to assess whether there were gender differences in the longitudinal associations between serotonin transporter promoter (5-HTTLPR) genotype and depressive symptoms in adolescents, and whether macrosocial context plays a role in explaining any observed differences. Using data from a nationally representative survey of adolescents, we applied multilevel mixed models to assess, separately for adolescent males and females (a) the relation between 5-HTTLPR genotype and depressive symptoms and (b) the interaction of county-level deprivation and 5-HTTLPR genotype in models predicting depressive symptoms. All models adjusted for age and other covariates. Among females (n=560), main effects models showed an association between the sl genotype and lowered risk of depressive symptoms (b=-.18, P=.03). Among males (n=524), interaction models showed an association between sl genotype and lowered risk of depressive symptoms in deprived counties only (b=-.32, P=.04). In adolescent females, the 5-HTTLPR sl genotype confers protection against depressive symptoms independent of county-level social context, whereas in adolescent males, protection by the same genotype is conferred only within the context of county-level deprivation. Future work should aim to understand how genetic and macrosocial factors jointly shape risk for mental illness, and how these factors shape gender differences in mental illness.

To Know the Unknown: The Decline in Homicide Clearance Rates, 1980—2000

Against the backdrop of the precipitous decline in urban homicide clearance over the past several decades, this study examines factors that may be linked to within-city, over-time variation in homicide clearance rates from 1980 to 2000. Conceptual arguments focusing on case-level characteristics of homicides as well as the broader macrosocial context are delineated and empirically tested. Results from a fixed-effects regression analysis reveal that changes in clearance rates are linked to changes in the situational characteristics of murder incidents such as the percentage of cases involving strangers, firearms, other felonies, and arguments. In addition, within-city changes in immigration are found to be associated with lower clearance rates, whereas drug market arrests are associated with higher clearance rates. Contrary to politically popular assertions, clearance rates do not appear to be a function of changes in police personnel or workload.