Public Sphere Research Articles

Memescape Narratives of Romanian Social Movements (2013-2021): A Framing Theory Perspective

In the digital age, social movements increasingly leverage memes to shape narratives and mobilize support. This study examines Romanian social movements through the lens of memes from 2013 to 2021, focusing on the Save Roșia Montană Campaign, the Colectiv nightclub fire protests, the #REZIST movement, and anti-restriction protests. Data were collected from popular Romanian Facebook meme pages and other online platforms. Applying framing theory, we seek to determine how memes identify issues, assign blame, propose solutions, and motivate participation. Our findings reveal that Romanian memes often criticize digital activism as superficial, remix mainstream cultural images, and use satire to challenge dominant narratives. This study underscores the potential of memes to reflect and influence public discourse and sociopolitical debates in Romania.

What is said about #donateliver or #liverdonor? Reflexive thematic analysis of Twitter (X) posts from 2012 to 2022

BackgroundThere is sustained interest in understanding the perspectives of liver transplant recipients and living donors, with several qualitative studies shedding light on this emotionally charged subject. However, these studies have relied primarily on traditional semi-structured interviews, which, while valuable, come with inherent limitations. Consequently, there remains a gap in our comprehension of the broader public discourse surrounding living liver donation. This study aims to bridge this gap by delving into public conversations related to living liver donation through a qualitative analysis of Twitter (now X) posts, offering a fresh perspective on this critical issue.MethodsTo compile a comprehensive dataset, we extracted original tweets containing the hashtags “#donateliver” OR “#liverdonor”, all posted in English from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2022. We then selected tweets from individual users whose Twitter (X) accounts featured authentic human names, ensuring the credibility of our data. Employing Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis approach, the study investigators read and analysed the included tweets, identifying two main themes and six subthemes. The Health Policy Triangle framework was applied to understand the roles of different stakeholders involved in the discourse and suggest areas for policy improvement.ResultsA total of 361 unique tweets from individual users were analysed. The major theme that emerged was the persistent shortage of liver donors, underscoring the desperation faced by individuals in need of life-saving liver transplants and the urgency of addressing the organ shortage problem. The second theme delved into the experiences of liver donors post-surgery, shedding light on a variety of aspects related to the transplantation process, including the visibility of surgical scars, and the significance of returning to physical activity and exercise post-surgery.ConclusionThe multifaceted experiences of individuals involved in the transplantation process, both recipients and donors, should be further studied in our efforts to improve the critical shortage of liver donors.

Public discourse narratives: from 'Secret Aid Worker' discontent to shifting power in humanitarian systems.

Public discourse is rich in meaning, reflecting consensus, dissent, and change. Yet, very little public discourse on the humanitarian sector has been authored by aid workers themselves. We conducted a thematic analysis of the 'Secret Aid Worker' (SAW) series, published in The Guardian newspaper between 2015 and 2018, the only corpus of data on humanitarian life experiences publicly accessible through mainstream media. Our research questions were twofold: how did authors frame their work and appraise humanitarian structures?; and how did they reflect and amplify humanitarian issues of the time? The main themes included: personal challenges of humanitarian life; characterisation of stakeholders; and systemic issues within the humanitarian sector. The SAW narratives reveal a powerful discourse of discontent. They planted seeds of change regarding shifting power, coloniality and racism, sexual abuse, and duty of care. We argue that such public discourse has symbolic power, calling for greater accountability, equity, and justice in remaking the future of the humanitarian sector.

Little Magazine Dialogism

ABSTRACT This article aims to show how a range of little magazines (Rogue, the Voice of the Negro, and Fire!!) engaged with their surrounding media environment and influenced aesthetic or ethical discourse in other print publications. The article argues that it was precisely the magazines’ minor status that allowed them to affect larger modern print culture. Through explicit dialogues with other publications, modernists tended to reach beyond their initial readership communities in order to rearrange perceptions about aesthetics, norms, or politics in the public sphere. Their dialogues are pertinent to analyzing modernism’s refractory impulses vis-à-vis mass culture or public consciousness.

A buzzword, a “win-win”, or a signal towards the future of agriculture? A critical analysis of regenerative agriculture

AbstractAs the term regenerative agriculture caught fire in public discourse around 2019, it was promptly labelled a buzzword. While the buzzword accusation tends to be regarded as negative, these widely used terms also reflect an important area of growing public interest. Exploring a buzzword can thus help us understand our current moment and offer insights to paths forward. In this study, we explored how and why different individuals and groups adopt certain key terms or buzzwords, in this case the term “regenerative agriculture”. We used an interpretivist approach to understand how “regenerative agriculture” is being constructed, interpreted, understood, and employed, drawing from 19 semi-structured interviews conducted with farmers, researchers, private companies, and NGO/nonprofits. Several interviewees felt that regenerative agriculture is making an important societal shift in thinking towards addressing major issues like climate change and parity in our food and agricultural systems. However, farmers in particular felt that the term is being greenwashed, coopting the work they do, and even diluting the meaning. We also found that regenerative agriculture is being advanced as mobilizing “win-wins”—for farmers, for consumers, for society—but that this discourse may be veiling the political and economic agendas of the big companies using the term. Our findings further illustrated the debates over standardizing the term regenerative agriculture, with some contending that there should be room for “continuous improvement” but others felt it is meaningless without a definition.

Describing the play of three-year-old children in the home context

This study examines play in the Finnish home context by specifically concentrating on the forms of play, quality factors of play and social nature of play. It is of particular interest to study play especially of three-year-olds, because the research on play for this group, in home environment is scarce especially in the Finnish context. This study is part of longitudinal, multidisciplinary study (STEPS) and is based on the responses from 921 families who answered the questionnaires both at the study recruitment point and at three years. The data were gathered during the years 2011–2013 for the first time ever from the Finnish home context and are a basis for research to be done later. There is a need for this kind of descriptive and identifying study to understand play in the home context. The results suggest that play, and especially playing outdoors, had a strong position in children’s lives. Some forms of play were clearly gender-based and some demographic factors had a connection to the social nature of play. In addition, the level of participation in early childhood education and care was associated with play. No earlier studies have been conducted on the associations between participating in ECE and an increase in the sociability of play in the home context. Participating in ECE expands children´s social network and promotes possibilities to form friendships. In public discourse, the need to increase children's participation in ECEC has been strongly emphasized. This research supports these views.

Формування відповідальної поведінки молоді в процесі соціалізації.

The paper analyzes the problem of the influence of surrounding environment on the formation of responsible behavior of young people. The modern challenges of the digital society and the problems of the “aging” of human resources increase scientific attention to the question of the readiness of young people to take responsibility for the future social development. Therefore, it is important to determine the external conditions which form responsible behavior of young people. General scientific methods of research were used to fulfill the task: systematic approach, statistical and graphic methods, method of analysis and synthesis, method of empirical research. A meaningful connection between the categories “responsibility”, “responsible behavior”, “readiness for responsible behavior” was established; on this basis, the importance of early formation of responsible behavior of young people at the stage of socialization was substantiated. The key spheres of youth socialization were found out: those are family, education, public activities. The author established that under the influence of these institutions, the integrated accumulation of a knowledge base, practical experience of responsible actions is carried out by young people, which develops the ability for critical thinking and collectively forms in young people the readiness for responsible behavior as a norm and an integrated value. Proactive methods of informal education and social practices promising for the formation of responsible behavior of young people were identified, the author’s model of the Summer School was presented as an example, which integrates the acquisition of basic management skills with the practical development of social projects, which contributes to the acquisition of experience. As a result, the agents of socialization were suggested to direct the key influences on young people in the following directions: educational environment — introduction of proactive methods of informal education, social practices; family environment — development of family education strategy; public environment — implementation of motivational mechanisms to involve young people in the participation in non-governmental organizations, wide use of educational collective methods.

The Role of Technology in the Digital Economy’s Sustainable Development of Hainan Free Trade Port and Genetic Testing: Cloud Computing and Digital Law

In an era of swift technical advancement, the confluence of digital technology, security, and the digital economy bears substantial implications. This research aims to investigate the complex interplay among patient rights, genetic testing, and cloud computing, with a particular emphasis on the legal contexts that govern these fields. Individuals must possess the ability to properly interact with health-related information and understand the economic components of digital platforms. Genetic testing and cloud computing are two areas where these literacies overlap, presenting distinct difficulties and opportunities. Legal considerations cover a wide range of issues, from data privacy and security to regulatory compliance and intellectual property rights. There are also implications for long-term economic growth, particularly in the area of health and well-being. A special economic zone exists at the Hainan Free Trade Port. In addition, this research explores how digital technologies may improve healthcare while considering the security precautions and ethical issues that must be taken to promote sustainable development through genetic testing. It also looks at how genetic data can be used to provide individualized economic outcomes and the roles that artificial intelligence and privacy play in these intertwined domains. The emergence of Web 2.0 has brought about a significant transformation in the digital realm, enabling individuals, businesses, and communities to leverage cutting-edge technologies for benefits in the social, economic, and environmental spheres, and advance sustainable progress. This study examines the opportunities and challenges presented and offers insights into the development of strong legal frameworks and moral standards, as well as the responsible application of these innovations for the benefit of society as a whole. This research will highlight how crucial it is to foster a more sustainable future through digital inclusivity, cooperative problem-solving, data-driven decision-making, and worldwide sustainable practices.

Diversity and multiplicity in uncertain times: the category of “difficult knowledge” in the sensitive contexts of education and social research

This article explores the category of “difficult knowledge” within the sensitive contexts of education and social research amidst contemporary global transformations. Uncertain times marked by humanitarian crises, wars, migration, and socio-economic shifts challenge the stability and security of societies. Difficult knowledge encompasses emotionally charged, complex topics integral to social, political, and educational spheres, compelling individuals and groups to confront uncomfortable truths and deconstruct human understanding. This concept, introduced by Britzman (1998), addresses the cognitive and emotional struggles in engaging with traumatic representations of historical and social events. The paper highlights the necessity for educators and researchers to navigate these challenges, fostering critical and reflective analyses while managing their psychological impacts. It underscores the dual role of researchers as both empathetic human beings and objective professionals, particularly in extreme field conditions. Additionally, it discusses the implications of conspiracy theories as a form of difficult knowledge, emphasizing the need for educational strategies that promote critical thinking and resilience. The article calls for greater attention to the sensitivities of the research process and the ethical responsibilities in studying and teaching difficult knowledge.

Religion on the island of Ireland during the Covid-19 pandemic: piety in the public sphere?

ABSTRACT This article examines how religious institutions and religious media on the island of Ireland framed religion’s place in the public sphere during Covid-19. Through qualitative analysis of Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Humanist organisations’ public documents and religious media, it finds religious institutions supported government restrictions and adopted secular reasoning to justify their actions. The major churches also avoided claiming special status or religious freedom protections. This reveals a constrained religious input to public debates, reflecting a realistic assessment by religious leaders that they lack policy influence due to long-term declines in church power. The pandemic provides evidence of a reformulation of the relationships between religion, state, and society on the island, albeit with religion retaining more influence in Northern Ireland. Religious media outlets largely reproduced institutional discourses, with the exception of a weekly newspaper, the Irish Catholic. The Irish Catholic argued that stringent restrictions in the Republic of Ireland violated religious freedom, and made a case for the value of piety in the public sphere. But while religious actors still seek to contribute to public debates, there is little consensus or vision about religions’ distinctive contributions, even around existential questions posed by the pandemic.

The Medieval Public Sphere and the Response to a Condemnation for Heresy in Bologna, 1299

The Medieval Public Sphere and the Response to a Condemnation for Heresy in Bologna, 1299

The mirage of the alleged Chinese new left

ABSTRACT This paper clarifies the mysteries surrounding the alleged Chinese New Left as an intellectual movement since the 1990s and explains why the term Chinese New Left mismatches with what it seemingly refers to. In fact, as an intellectual movement, the alleged Chinese New Left is an artificial construction of distorted and incoherent referentiality, which has no commonality with the New Left in its original sense. Notwithstanding, as possible and marginal space in the political spectrum and public sphere, a New Left could exist in China, though illegally by far.

Chinese intimacies & consumer–culture–brand relations

ABSTRACT Two Western culture-inflected paradigms of intimacy dominate scholarship in the marketing and consumer behaviour disciplines: intimacy as interior-secrets-revealed and intimacy as knowledge-which-accumulates. This article decentres these concepts by exploring how intimacies in China emerge in complex co-created ways, from contextual settings, from the local construction of space and place, through kinship and its extensions, through ritual and embodied everyday practices, and through the situational instantiation of symbolic boundaries which separate the sphere of intimacy from the public and private spheres. The article shows how competing paradigms for intimacy, including the Western culture inflected paradigms, interact across diverse social domains in China, and further, how Chinese persons’ dispositions regards intimacy are shaped by broader processes of globalization. The article draws on autoethnography in China, as well as popular culture, social media, and brand communications analysis. It offers conclusions about how to theorize consumer-culture-brand relationships considering the analyses of intimacy explored throughout.

Seeing an apocalyptic post-antibiotic future lowers antibiotics expectations and requests

BackgroundAntibiotic resistance is an ongoing pandemic which represents a global public health threat. To encourage the judicious use of antibiotics, public health discourse and campaigns often engage in threat-based messaging depicting an apocalyptic post-antibiotic future. We studied the effectiveness of the strategy because of mixed evidence for its success, and because it is unclear how experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic might have influenced it.MethodsWe conducted a randomised controlled trial with 378 participants in three waves (before and during the pandemic in 2021 and 2022). Participants were randomly allocated to either the baseline arm, featuring a control film, or the intervention arm featuring a short film, Catch, depicting a post-antibiotic future. Participants expressed expectations and intended requests for antibiotics for a hypothetical ear infection and their adherence to a prescribed antibiotic for a hypothetical kidney infection. In waves 2 and 3, they also reported any COVID-19-related changes to their antibiotic desires.ResultsShowing participants a film about a post-antibiotic future substantially lowers clinically inappropriate expectations for antibiotics and their intended requests. Participants report that the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic decreased their desire for antibiotics but only when they watched the intervention film. The intervention slightly decreases participants’ adherence intentions towards a prescribed antibiotic treatment.ConclusionsPresenting a film about an apocalyptic post-antibiotic future lowers expectations and intended requests for antibiotics and therefore has the potential to encourage judicious use of them. However, the adverse effects of such messaging on adherence to a course of antibiotics should be proactively managed.

Intergroup ethnocentrism and social media: evidence from three Western democracies

ABSTRACT Mass media have long been known to be deeply linked to ethnocentrism and its consequences. Attitudes towards ethnic outgroups are shaped by news agendas, framing, and tone at least as much or more than by the realities of immigration. By contrast, comparatively little is known about social media and interethnic contact. Unlike mass news, the interactive features of social media use can combine information with a direct interethnic contact. This creates an online public sphere which has the potential of being ethnically more diverse than the offline public sphere. By reviewing and connecting the literature on intergroup contact and online political communication, the given study attempts to connect the optimal intergroup contact theory by Gordon Allport to the realities and affordances of social media. The empirical analysis relies on a three-country survey with 4532 respondents in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Mindful of the endogeneity problem in our cross-cutting data, we perform propensity score matching and find that spending more time on X (formerly Twitter) is correlated with lower intergroup ethnocentrism under randomized conditions. No such effect was found for Facebook. We also find that people who discuss politics with those that have different ethnicity or race via social media (or offline) are less ethnocentric.

How Subjective Socioeconomic Status Influences Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Mediating Role of Sense of Control and Life History Strategy

Understanding the psychological drivers of pro-environmental behavior across different socioeconomic statuses (SESs) is crucial for effectively addressing environmental challenges. To assist businesses and management departments in adequately identifying the psychological characteristics of target consumer groups from different SES backgrounds, our research manipulated subjective SES through three experimental studies to investigate the influence of subjective SES on pro-environmental behavior. Studies 1 and 2 adopted online experiments to examine the influence of subjective SES on pro-environmental behavior within the private sphere and the public sphere. Subsequently, Study 3 further investigated the psychological mechanisms through which subjective SES influences pro-environmental behavior. These results indicated that individuals from high SES backgrounds exhibit a greater propensity for green consumption behavior and contribute more financially to environmental organizations than those from low SES backgrounds. In addition, these studies further elucidated that the sense of control and life history strategy sequentially mediate the relationship. These findings provide empirical evidence for understanding whether and how subjective SES influences pro-environmental behavior, and enriching the theoretical framework of the relationship between subjective SES on pro-environmental behavior.

Acceptability for animal-derived and vegan alternative materials: fur, down, leather, silk, wool, and their alternatives

ABSTRACT This study aimed to examine changes in public discourse and attitude toward animal-derived and vegan alternative materials and to confirm the acceptability of vegan fashion materials. Vegan alternative materials for animal-derived materials (fur, down, leather, silk, and wool) were selected based on actual internet search keyword volume. A total of 313,618 tweets were collected, which were about individual materials. Sentiment analysis was binary classified using a deep learning-based BERT model. Structural indicators of the discourse network were collected, and correlation analysis was conducted between changes in network structural indicators and changes in consumer attitudes. Consumers’ attitudes were different even with the same animal-derived or artificial-based material. In the application of vegan fashion, wellon and polyester/acrylic were the most appropriate materials in vegan fashion, and fur was the most challenging material. This study explains vegan fashion materials’ challenges and suggests practical marketing strategies.

The silent public: reconsidering online participation and public concern in a context of Chinese podcast community

Debates about the online public sphere have long centered on the visibility of collective expression and movement. However, the thriving growth of digital technology has increasingly complicated the online participatory culture, sparking numerous controversies concerning user ecology and fostering new forms of public connectivity. We observed members of Chinese podcast communities who listened to knowledge-oriented podcasts, in which “attentive listening” is crucial for online engagement, and thus developed the concept of the “silent public.” The participants perceived podcasts as an effective means of acquiring specialized knowledge and engaging with public affairs, cultivating a podcast reading culture prominently characterized by collective online listening. Podcast users shared consistent identities, collectively defined the cultural boundaries of their communities, and proactively engaged with broader public platforms. The presence of the silent public prompted us to consider an evolving public sphere constantly constructed by digital civic practices. This encouraged us to examine how individuals craft diverse digital identities within specific social structures and reshape the relationships between themselves and the public world.

The (re)production of health in climate change

To date, health in the context of climate change has mainly been considered from a biomedical perspective, whose pathogenic focus on health risks has primarily promoted curative and/or behavioral problem-solving strategies. This article therefore examines health in climate change from a perspective of Urban Public Health and political science, which has received less attention so far. The aim is to address existing constructions of health in climate change and their implications for dealing with the climate crisis, in particular regarding the design of urban environments. In doing so, it adopts a regulation-theoretical approach that allows for a theoretically grounded analysis of health in climate change, taking the triangle of nature, society and the individual as the object of research and revealing the significance of existing constructions of health—understood as a social relation—and its (re)production in climate change. This theoretical approach is extended to aspects of different spatial forms and the productions of space in social relations. The theoretical foundation makes it possible to recognize that there are understandings of health in climate change discourse that largely exclude the causes of climate change and thus make its treatment selective. As a result, broad socio-ecological transformation processes are obstructed, while the structural causes of climate change are preserved and stabilized despite their crisis character. An understanding of health that also sees health as a resource in a salutogenic sense and that strengthens the promotion of health by means of structural changes is being pushed into background. Positioning climate change as a public health issue requires a shift from curative, individual and behavioral interventions toward a focus on structural health promotion, especially through the development of health-promoting, just and climate-friendly urban environments. It also means that health must once again become more of a political issue and that existing boundaries between the private and public spheres must be questioned.

Dalit Literature and Political Consciousness in Sharad Poudel’s Likhe

The article attempts to explore the class and caste consciousness in Nepali Dalit literature; and, to identify contemporary Dalit literature and its presentation of subject matters, social messages and themes. The article sketches how Dalit literature reflects the contemporary socio-political and economic issues where Dalit community is routinely discriminated, exploited, boycotted, and excluded in various social spheres. Basically, every social structure has binary oppositions such as masters-slave, landlord-worker, bourgeois-proletariat and 'haves' and 'haves not'. Dalit literature is a medium to fight against the system for rights, equality and social dignity. The article employs the concept of Marxist concept of class consciousness and aesthetic on Poudel’s novel Likhe. The paper adopts the analytical and exploratory method and qualitative approach as a research tool.