Profound Societal Changes Research Articles

Contribution à la modélisation du sens de l’École : une nécessaire approche pluridisciplinaire

The questions of the meaning of School and teaching–learning have been raised in France during fundamental transformations of the education system [school massification and democratization, introduction of information and communication technologies for education (ICTE)], linked to profound societal changes (socioeconomic changes, emergence of a youth culture). They concern both students and all education actors whose benchmarks have been shaken. Problems have emerged thanks to the evolution of research on action theories. They were interested in the intentionality of the actors as well as in the purpose of situated and instrumented actions. We wonder about the role of novelty, innovation as a test of meaning for a subject related to the school question. We rely on a literature review to address this question by specifying what we mean by School, based on the concept of school form. We propose to articulate it with the concept of meaning, within the framework of a psychosocial approach by thinking of the meaning of the School as a system of meanings (subjective, socio-anthropological, axiological, rational). The main function of meaning is to ensure the mobilization of the subject, its maintenance, and the conditions for its coherence. The challenge of our research is to participate in the construction of a model allowing to accompany the subject towards the awareness of the elements at stake and the forces at work. It requires coordination with other disciplines to complete and refine it.

An exploration of the antecedent to increase society’s use of predictive models: Trust in science or predictive models

Research has resulted in profound societal changes, impacting lives and health worldwide. As a result, the public esteems researchers and funds further research. This critical societal process is obstructed if society chooses not to implement research results. Much of this research is the result of predictive models. This study will characterize the antecedents and impact of framing on trust in predictive modeling. Prior research focused on trust in science. There is evidence that there is no commonly understood definition of science. Trust in predictive modeling is a more appropriate area of study. This study contextualized the antecedents from trust in science research to trust in predictive modeling. A new construct was developed,and three trust-in-science constructs contextualized to fit the trust in predictive models were useful. This research surveyed 207 students. The framing questions used were divided into two categories, one that many people are familiar with (GPS automobile routing) and one that they were less familiar with (COVID-19 infection prediction models), where COVID modeling is embroiled in controversy. The political influence construct did not impact questions framed by a familiar noncontroversial example, but the COVID-framed questions were impacted. Through the use of predictive models, this research provides a novel approach to the field of study. It discovers four antecedents to trust in predictive models (conspiracy ideation, intellectual curiosity, self-efficacy, and political influence) and provides a new construct for framing questions (political influence).

Placing people at the heart of climate action

Profound societal change along with continued technical improvements will be required to meet our climate goals, as well as to improve people’s quality of life and ensure thriving economies and ecosystems. Achieving the urgent and necessary transformations laid out in the recently published IPCC report will require placing people at the heart of climate action. Tackling climate change cannot be achieved solely through technological breakthroughs or new climate models. We must build on the strong social science knowledge base and develop a more visible, responsive and interdisciplinary-oriented social science that engages with people and is valued in its diversity by decision-makers from government, industry, civil society and law. Further, we need to design interventions that are both effective at reducing emissions and achieve wider societal goals such as wellbeing, equity, and fairness. Given that all climate solutions will involve people in one way or another, the social sciences have a vital role to play.

Gender Reconfigurations and Family Ideology in Abdul Rauf Felpete’s Latin American Haqqaniyya

This article discusses the ideas about gender contained in the Enseñanzas Sufíes Para Los Tiempos Actuales, a text by Abdul Rauf Felpete, the leader of the Naqshbandiyya Haqqaniyya in Latin America, probably the largest Sufi group in the continent. I analyse these ideas against the backdrop context in which they were produced: on the one hand, a conservative Sufi Islamic frame inspired by Nazim al-Haqqani’s ideas, and on the other, an Argentinian society that was incurring profound gender-related societal changes at the time when the shaykh delivered the sermons contained in the book. This historical moment was characterised by a growing feminist and LGTBQ+ activism and the arrival of a progressive government in Argentina, which over time, positioned this Latin American country in the vanguard of gender and sexual equality rights in the Spanish speaking world. In this context, Rauf Felpete proposes a gender model inspired in a Haqqani form of Islamic conservatism as a remedy to address what he perceives as the threat of civilizational decadence brought about by these changes. I discuss Rauf Felpete’s family ideology, a set of moral norms based on gender determinism and pronatalism, articulated through two key concepts, first, domesticity, understood as a way to regulate female behaviour and, second, motherhood, viewed as a Godly ordained natural instinct. In order to put into practice these gender norms, the devout Haqqani is called to move to the countryside; rural communes are presented as the only possible way of living a pious and authentically Islamic life, a mode of living that implies profound reconfigurations of gender (and of lifestyle, more generally) for his Latin American followers.

Psychiatric disorders in China: strengths and challenges of contemporary research and clinical services

AbstractChina accounts for 17% of the global disease burden attributable to mental, neurological and substance use disorders. As a country undergoing profound societal change, China faces growing challenges to reduce the disease burden caused by psychiatric disorders. In this review, we aim to present an overview of progress in neuroscience research and clinical services for psychiatric disorders in China during the past three decades, analysing contributing factors and potential challenges to the field development. We first review studies in the epidemiological, genetic and neuroimaging fields as examples to illustrate a growing contribution of studies from China to the neuroscience research. Next, we introduce large-scale, open-access imaging genetic cohorts and recently initiated brain banks in China as platforms to study healthy brain functions and brain disorders. Then, we show progress in clinical services, including an integration of hospital and community-based healthcare systems and early intervention schemes. We finally discuss opportunities and existing challenges: achievements in research and clinical services are indispensable to the growing funding investment and continued engagement in international collaborations. The unique aspect of traditional Chinese medicine may provide insights to develop a novel treatment for psychiatric disorders. Yet obstacles still remain to promote research quality and to provide ubiquitous clinical services to vulnerable populations. Taken together, we expect to see a sustained advancement in psychiatric research and healthcare system in China. These achievements will contribute to the global efforts to realize good physical, mental and social well-being for all individuals.

Big Books in Times of Big Data

Big Books in Times of Big Data

Stability or change of public opinion and values during the coronavirus crisis? Exploring Dutch longitudinal panel data

ABSTRACT Some participants of the public debate have argued that the world before and after the coronavirus crisis will look fundamentally different. An underlying assumption is that this crisis will alter public opinion in such a way that it leads to profound societal and political change. Scholarship suggests that while some policy preferences are quite volatile and prone to change under the influence of crises, core values formed during childhood are likely to remain stable. In this article, we test stability or change of a well-selected set of opinions and values before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We rely on a unique longitudinal panel study whereby the Dutch fieldwork of the European Values Study 2017 web survey serves as a baseline; respondents were re-approached in May 2020. The findings indicate that values remain largely stable. However, there is an increase in political support, confirming the so-called rally effect. We conclude our manuscript with a response to the futurists expecting changes in public opinion because of the coronavirus crisis.

Observing America: what Mass-Observation reveals about British views of the USA

Since its foundation in 1937, the social research organisation Mass-Observation has systematically documented the opinions of a British public experiencing profound societal change. This includes the most extensive data available on grassroots attitudes towards the USA, from the outbreak of the Second World War to the final phase of the Cold War. Most of the scholarship on Anglo-American relations focuses on the political and diplomatic elites of Britain and the USA. The extent to which their interaction reflected and reinforced public opinion is seldom considered. This article uses the Mass-Observation archive to situate elite interaction within the broader context of public opinion. In so doing, it assesses the extent to which British political leaders have in their dealings with the USA represented the views of the electorate they serve.

Linking Work-Family Conflict (WFC) and Talent Management: Insights from a Developing Country

Considering the profound societal change taking place in several developing countries, the objective of this paper is to reflect on work-family conflict (WFC) both as a concept and a social phenomenon. Given that WFC is a concept rooted in academic debate focusing on developments in Western, largely individualistic, societies, this paper reconsiders WFC’s value added as applied in a context of a collectivist society in a developing country. The objective of this paper is thus threefold, i.e., (i) to assess WFC’s applicability in a context of a collectivist society in a developing country, where the position and role of women gradually changes; (ii) to develop a culturally adjusted/sensitive scale to measure the scope of WFC in Pakistan, whereby the latter is treated here as a case study; and (iii) to reflect on the possibility of devising a set of good practices that would allow a smooth inclusion of women in the formal workforce, while at the same time mitigating the scope and scale of WFC. The value added of this paper stems from these three objectives.

Institutional logics of ungating communities in China

Setting against the global trend of gated communities, this paper uncovers the phenomenon of ungating communities in China and discusses its rationale from the institutional logics perspective. With focuses on work unit compounds and commodity housing estates, the paper provides an understanding of gated communities as the interplay of state, market, and community logics. It attributes the rationale of ungating to 1) institutional entrepreneurship in the urban profession for intensive land use; 2) structural overlap between the professional logics of sustainable urbanization, the state logics of governance legitimacy, the market logics of continuous economic growth, and the community logics of distributive justice; 3) event sequencing through a series of policies to shift the societal focus-of-attention from scale and speed of urbanization to sustainability and justice. Challenges of ungating communities exist in the scale of spatial subdivision, the legitimacy of club goods, and the managerial and democratic turn of urban governance. In contrast to the neoliberal assertion of the weakening professions and the spreading market logics, this paper reveals the power of professional logics in promoting ungating communities and its potential of triggering more profound societal changes.

CKD in China: Evolving Spectrum and Public Health Implications

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, whereas glomerulonephritis has been predominant in developing countries such as China. The prevalence of obesity and diabetes has increased dramatically in developing countries, substantially affecting the patterns of chronic kidney disease (CKD) observed in these regions. Using data from the Hospital Quality Monitoring System to evaluate changes in the spectrum of non-dialysis-dependent CKD in China, we have observed an increase in the percentage of patients with CKD due to diabetes, which has exceeded that of CKD due to glomerulonephritis since 2011, as well as an increase in hypertensive nephropathy and, in some regions, obstructive kidney disease (mostly associated with kidney stones). The growth of noncommunicable diseases under profound societal and environmental changes has shifted the spectrum of CKD in China toward patterns similar to those of developed countries, which will have enormous impacts on the Chinese health care system. There is much to be done regarding public health interventions, including the establishment of a national CKD surveillance system, improvement in the management of diabetes and hypertension, and enhancement of the affordability and accessibility of kidney replacement therapy. Reducing the burden of CKD will require joint efforts from government, the medical community (including practitioners other than nephrologists), and the public.

Of Cyberliberation and Forbidden Fornication: Hidden Transcripts of Autonomous Mobility in Finland

While autonomous mobility technology is developing, comparatively less is known about how a sociotechnical system of autonomous mobility may impact our urban living conditions. Using Finland as a case study, this research aims to identify the possible implications of changing power relations created by autonomous mobility technology. This study uses a theoretical and conceptual approach grounded in the planning research tradition of Aristotelian practical judgement (phronesis). Drawing from political theory of technology, it investigates the social relations that may be afforded by autonomous mobility technology. Adapting a concept drawn from geography of power, it examines how power is expressed in terms of transcripts of dominant technological agency and hidden social context. 31 interviews of extended users in the transition (intermediaries) revealed three dominant transcripts of technological agency associated with the philosophy of cyberlibertarianism (liberation of the driver, safety of the driver and customer accessibility), and four hidden transcripts of social context (restrictions on sharing street space, loss of social safety, vulnerability of passengers, and loss of privacy). The phronetic research tradition that was used in the study revealed several things. The impact of autonomous mobility technology goes beyond the purely systemic, affecting the very fabric of our connection with place and society. Failure to consider autonomous mobility technology as a sociotechnical system that will restructure society unperceptively (technological somnambulism) may bring profound societal changes.

Behavioural, Nutritional and Genetic Risk Factors of Colorectal Cancers in Morocco: Protocol for a Multicentre Case-Control Study

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in men and the second in women worldwide and its risk factors are complex. Genetic and environmental factors are strongly involved including lifestyle and eating habits. In Morocco, the number of new CRC cases is increasing. In parallel, cancer risk factors and behaviors of the Moroccan population are changing due to profound societal and technical changes. Aim: To that end we designed a multicenter case control study that aimed to evaluate the relationship between dietary habits, physical activity, genetics factors and the risk of CRC in Moroccan population. Methods: This case control study was conducted between January 2009 and February 2017 in 5 major University Hospital Centers in Morocco (Fez, Rabat, Oujda, Casablanca and Marrakech). Cases were matched with controls by age (±5 years), sex and center. Participants completed a face-to-face questionnaire on sociodemographic data, lifestyle, family history of CRC and no steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In addition, participants completed a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed to assess food intake in the Morocco population. Pathology tumor samples were collected for 200 cases. For genetic data analysis, DNAs were extracted by manually scraping tissue from unstained slides. To assess the strength of the association between characteristics and the risk of CRC, odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals were estimated by conditional regression models. All statistical analyses were done using SPSS v20. Results: In total, 3032 pairs (1516 cases and 1516 controls) were recruited. Excluded participants (case/control) were unspecified primitive cancer (7 pairs), participants with missing dietary data (26 pairs) and participants with the lowest and highest 1% of the distribution of the ratio between energy intake and energy requirement (30 pairs). All together, 2906 cases and controls were recruited during the study period. Both cases and controls did not differ significantly with respect to sex 50.7% were women and 49.3% were men ( P = 0.51), the center that recruited the most was Rabat, followed by Casablanca, Oujda, Fez, and finally Marrakech ( P = 1.00). For marital status, being married was most frequent for both cases and controls (76.3% vs 77.0%) ( P = 0.36), alcohol consumption was higher in cases than controls (2.4% vs 1.7%) ( P = 0.12). However, participants in the control group were significantly more moderately active (58.4% vs 52.1%) and more likely to be never smoker (83.8% vs 77.6%). Conclusion: This study is the first large one that has described the risk factors of CRC in Morocco and in North Africa. It gives for the first time results about these risk factors which are drawn directly from this target population. Preventive recommendations could, therefore, be reviewed and adapted to these populations accordingly.

Clan in Transition: Societal Changes of Villages in China from the Perspective of Water Pollution

Societal relations in rural areas have entered into a new stage of adjustment over the past decade. However, the adjustment, which might bring about profound societal changes in countryside as well as in China as a whole, have not been paid much attention and very few studies have been conducted from the perspective of ecological resource crises. We use the case of a village as an example to show how water pollution, as one of the contributory factors, possibly affect the transition of clans and societal changes in Chinese villages. Through observation and interviews, we find that there is an apparent rise of “New Clanism” within clans, which gradually abandons the tradition of supremacy of clan interests and places family or individual interests at top priority. We also find that clan boundaries get increasingly obscure since the integrity of clans is undermined by the rise of new interest groups across clans, but the boundaries remain relatively clear due to the consistency (albeit incomplete) of clan interests. Some new clan élites and representatives of new interest groups get involved in village governance, which indicates that their goals have shifted from natural resources to social or political capital. The significance of our findings is that they provide not only a unique perspective for the interaction between society and resources, but also some new ideas for the future study of rural China at the environment-social interface.

Danes’ class consciousness 1954 and 2015: Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

In recent years, the perception that citizens in Western countries like Denmark no longer see class differences in society – indeed that the concept of class has become irrelevant – has spread among researchers and the general public alike. On the basis of theories of class consciousness and the Danish National Election Study 2015, the article shows that this view is false. On the contrary, three out of four respondents in a Danish survey from 2014/15 see society as class divided and a considerable share espouses other elements of class consciousness. Furthermore – and in spite of profound societal changes in the intervening period – results from 2014/15 are, by and large, at the level of responses in a similar survey conducted in 1954.

The Politics of Love and Intimacy in Goma, Eastern DR Congo: Perspectives on the Market of Intervention as Contact Zone

This paper takes an ethnographic approach to illuminate everyday interactions relating to physical intimacy and emotional support in Goma's ‘market of intervention’. It offers insights into the heterogeneity and complexity of gender identities in the context of protracted war and humanitarian intervention. Conceptualized as a contact zone, the market of intervention illustrates processes of encounter and distancing in Goma's urban space. In particular, the paper offers concrete perspectives on the ambivalent practice of transactional sex and examines it in terms of a conflict between morality and materiality that shapes and (re)configures local gender relations. Taking the issue of love and sex seriously allows one to hone in on processes of profound societal change that challenge constructed and contested notions of femininity and masculinity.

Sea‐level fall implicated in profound societal change about 2570 cal yr bp (620 bc) in western Pacific island groups

During the warmest time of the last 10 000 years (Holocene Thermal Maximum), approximately 6000–4000 cal yr bp in the western Pacific, sea level is known to have reached as much as 2.1 m above its present mean level before declining subsequently. Records throughout the region show that sea level fell an average 0.7 m in the period 3500–2000 cal yr bp during which the earliest (culturally distinct) period of human occupation occurred in five western Pacific island groups [Bismarck Archipelago (Papua New Guinea), Fiji, Mariana Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu]. In the interest of testing whether there is evidence for climate forcing of cultural change in this region, dates are presented for the archaeologically conspicuous termination of early‐period settlement in these island groups which show that it ended in each around 2570 cal yr bp. From the contemporaneity of this, it is argued that sea‐level fall was the principal driver of this cultural transformation, forcing coastal peoples who had previously depended (largely) on foraging from nearshore‐marine ecosystems to reconfigure their subsistence economy, something that invariably involved moving their settlements to places where horticulture and agriculture could be practiced more successfully. This research provides an example of where insights into causation of cultural change can be gleaned from comparing precise chronologies of human occupation to equally precise palaeoclimate chronologies.

Meat, beyond the plate. Data-driven hypotheses for understanding consumer willingness to adopt a more plant-based diet

A shift towards reduced meat consumption and a more plant-based diet is endorsed to promote sustainability, improve public health, and minimize animal suffering. However, large segments of consumers do not seem willing to make such transition. While it may take a profound societal change to achieve significant progresses on this regard, there have been limited attempts to understand the psychosocial processes that may hinder or facilitate this shift. This study provides an in-depth exploration of how consumer representations of meat, the impact of meat, and rationales for changing or not habits relate with willingness to adopt a more plant-based diet. Multiple Correspondence Analysis was employed to examine participant responses (N = 410) to a set of open-ended questions, free word association tasks and closed questions. Three clusters with two hallmarks each were identified: (1) a pattern of disgust towards meat coupled with moral internalization; (2) a pattern of low affective connection towards meat and willingness to change habits; and (3) a pattern of attachment to meat and unwillingness to change habits. The findings raise two main propositions. The first is that an affective connection towards meat relates to the perception of the impacts of meat and to willingness to change consumption habits. The second proposition is that a set of rationales resembling moral disengagement mechanisms (e.g., pro-meat justifications; self-exonerations) arise when some consumers contemplate the consequences of meat production and consumption, and the possibility of changing habits.

The Proposed Gender Equality Directive: Legality, Legitimacy, and Efficacy of Mandated Gender Equality in Business Leadership

This article sets out to revisit the idea of mandated gender equality in the context of business leadership. In response to the slow pace at which female representation at management level is increasing, the EU has proposed the ‘Directive on improving the gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges and related measures’. In recent years, the normative thrust of the argument for gender equality in corporate decision-making has been fortified by compelling evidence as to the positive impact of female leadership on business performance. Despite the appeal of these arguments, an analysis of the experiences made with positive action historically and internationally yields mixed results, requiring a critical examination of quota instruments as a means to achieve gender equality. A review of the Union’s long-standing tradition of equality legislation and its more recent open approach to positive action shows that the rationale of the Directive is in keeping with the Union’s most fundamental principles. Whilst the Directive can face up to most objections raised in relation to mandated gender equality measures, this article argues that the Directive, as it stands, is inherently ineffective in addressing the causes behind women’s managerial under-representation. Examining these causes to their extent and social context, profound societal changes are called for which must precede and complement any legislative measure in order to achieve substantive gender equality both inside and outside the boardroom.

Phantom Menaces: The Politics of Rumour, Securitisation and Masculine Identities in the Shadows of the Ninjas

The article examines the 2009–2010 Zumalai ‘ninja’ scare, in which the deaths of a child and a young woman had triggered rumours of shadowy ninjas being at work, which in turn led to a massive operation by police special forces. The article traces the history of the ninja phenomenon in Timor-Leste and Indonesia. It then examines the case from three different vantage points: the politics of rumour surrounding the case; the securitisation of the scare; and as a clash of competing masculinities. Through these approaches, not only some of the long-lasting legacies of Indonesian occupation and of the resistance become visible, but also some of the profound societal changes since independence.