Social Questions Research Articles

Methodological considerations and assumptions in social science survey research

The articles in this special issue are based largely on results from online social surveys on beliefs and self-reported behaviours related to COVID-19, with an emphasis on ethnicity differences. There are many considerations and assumptions used when conducting this type of research, and when analysing the resulting data, which are often not discussed in the resulting journal articles. These include how the research questions are chosen, how the measurement of the key constructs is done and the analytic approach. The article goes through several of the steps necessary to conduct social science survey research that are often not reported in papers. The aim is to provide a backstage view of how this approach to social scientific questions occurs, pulling back the curtain on these issues.

A Comparison of Error Correction Methods Embedded in the Orton-Gillingham Approach to Spelling

The present study examined the effects of two error-correction procedures on the spelling performance of five students who were rising first through third grades. Each participant was diagnosed with a learning disability in reading and spelling. Using an Adapted Alternating Treatments Design, a teacher-led questioning procedure and a student-led visual comparison procedure were implemented in the unbranded Orton-Gillingham instructional model. Teacher- led questioning is the scaffolded model of error-correction described in Orton-Gillingham Simultaneous Oral Spelling instruction. Student-led visual comparison is a method which is well documented in the literature as highly effective for students with learning disabilities. The intervention results across participants showed little difference in students’ spelling accuracy under each condition. Responses to social validity questions indicated that student preference could be a determining factor in selecting which error correction method to implement in the Orton-Gillingham approach to spelling instruction.

"Social question" in political philosophy of N.A. Berdyaev, S.N. Bulgakov and S.L. Frank: comparative analysis of concepts

The difference in organizational forms in social policy is caused by different economic and political reasons and different political and philosophical approaches to social problems. The hierarchy of values defines opinions on the social question and ideas about the appropriate architecture of social policy. The decisions that laid the foundations for social policy in Europe were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and their logic resembles the philosophy of the “Christian socialism” most. The purpose of the article is to identify and compare the attitude of Russian authors who were closest to Christian socialism towards the social question and their approaches to solving it. The key works of the authors on the social question were studied. The comparative historical approach, hermeneutics, discourse analysis, and institutional analysis were used. All authors tend to problematize both the social question and its' solutions, rather than offer their own proposals. All three talk about the importance of human internal development and criticize socialist ideas about environmental determinism and human renewal through mechanical reorganization of the economy. All authors moved from Marxism to its criticism, although Berdyaev's views shifted in his later works to the left, to the most radical position of the three thinkers, to the conviction that capitalism has to be abolished, which he blames for oppression and exploitation. Bulgakov sympathizes with the logic of economic organization in socialism, but considers it possible to change economic relations while maintaining the political system. Frank is convinced that limited social reforms within the framework of a market economy are sufficient to provide social support to those in need. Berdyaev and Bulgakov think that justice is the most important value, while Frank thinks that duty is. Berdyaev and Bulgakov follow the key arguments of Christian socialism, and Frank - those of liberal conservatism.

Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America’s Future

Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America’s Future

Digital formation processes: A high-frequency, large-scale investigation

Large sources of digital trace data (i.e. “Big Data”) have become increasingly important in the study of material culture. However, akin to the offline material culture traditionally studied by archaeologists, digital trace data is rarely a passive reflection of human behavior – it is a complex palimpsest produced through a variety of erasure and accretion formation processes. To better understand how digital trace palimpsests are formed and how digital formation processes influence and inform our ability to interpret the offline material processes they index, we introduce a computational method – high-frequency archaeological survey – which allows us to observe digital formation processes at a high temporal resolution, as well as a large spatial scale. Using this method every hour for one month, we surveyed posts from across the United States in Craigslist's “Free Stuff” category (popularly called “Curb Alert”), a user-generated source of big digital trace data, indexing material things that have been placed on users' curbs for removal by scavengers or trash collectors. For each post, we observed its time-to-erasure and any edits that were made during the study period – finding that the posts that survive represent a biased sample of those that were posted over the course of the month, conditioned by how recently and on what day the post is posted, the material characteristics of things that are posted about, as well as regional variation. Far from only being evidence of biased end-of-month data, however, we show that further analysis of identified digital formation processes can be an important object of study in its own right – in this case, shedding new light on social scientific questions linking the exchange of “free stuff” with the process of social stratification and urban inequality in the United States. Overall, our findings suggest the importance of accounting for and explicitly analyzing digital formation processes in studies that utilize digital trace data.

ChatGPT's advice is perceived as better than that of professional advice columnists.

ChatGPT is a high-performance large language model that has the potential to significantly improve human-computer interactions. It can provide advice on a range of topics, but it is unclear how good this advice is relative to that provided by competent humans, especially in situations where empathy is required. Here, we report the first investigation of whether ChatGPT's responses are perceived as better than those of humans in a task where humans were attempting to be empathetic. Fifty social dilemma questions were randomly selected from 10 well-known advice columns. In a pre-registered survey, participants (N = 404) were each shown one question, along with the corresponding response by an advice columnist and by ChatGPT. ChatGPT's advice was perceived as more balanced, complete, empathetic, helpful, and better than the advice provided by professional advice columnists (all values of p < 0.001). Although participants could not determine which response was written by ChatGPT (54%, p = 0.29), most participants preferred that their own social dilemma questions be answered by a human than by a computer (77%, p < 0.001). ChatGPT's responses were longer than those produced by the advice columnists (mean 280.9 words vs. 142.2 words, p < 0.001). In a second pre-registered survey, each ChatGPT answer was constrained to be approximately the same length as that of the advice columnist (mean 143.2 vs. 142.2 words, p = 0.95). This survey (N = 401) replicated the above findings, showing that the benefit of ChatGPT was not solely due to it writing longer answers.

The Luck of the Draw: Wellcome's Institutional Fund for Research Culture.

Wellcome's Institutional Fund for Research Culture (IFRC) closed call is an invite-only grant call in 2023. It is a departure from Wellcome's previous methods of institutional funding, providing institutions with up to £1m of grant funding to take on ambitious projects that advance research cultures and research environments that are equitable, diverse and supportive. Recognising the broad range of topics and ideas for advancing positive research cultures, IFRC is the first ever Wellcome-funding scheme to use partial randomisation to allocate funding. Applications were grouped by a funding committee into three categories (Gold, Silver and Bronze), with the applications selected for Gold being directly recommended for funding and all applications in the Silver group being set for funding by the randomiser. Applications grouped into Bronze were not funded. To ensure that this activity Wellcome's principles for openness and transparency, we have included the Python script for the call here. IFRC comes when efforts to fund positive and inclusive research cultures are mainstream. Similar efforts to support research culture activities at scale have come from the Research England Development (RED) Fund, and the next iteration of the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2028) will also mark 25% of the assessment criteria for people, culture and environment. IFRC was not designed with the national picture in mind but is a testament to Wellcome's values as an inclusive funder. The range of projects and geographies that IFRC will fund is exciting.Still, it also threw up several interesting social and philanthropic research questions we want to explore in future community-facing activities following the call. We hope that findings from IFRC projects become a valuable resource for institutions wishing to improve their research cultures and a catalyst for future change and discussion within the sector that makes academic careers more inclusive.

The luck of the draw: Wellcome's Institutional Fund for Research Culture

Wellcome's Institutional Fund for Research Culture (IFRC) closed call is an invite-only grant call in 2023. It is a departure from Wellcome's previous methods of institutional funding, providing institutions with up to £1m of grant funding to take on ambitious projects that advance research cultures and research environments that are equitable, diverse and supportive. Recognising the broad range of topics and ideas for advancing positive research cultures, IFRC is the first ever Wellcome-funding scheme to use partial randomisation to allocate funding. Applications were grouped by a funding committee into three categories (Gold, Silver and Bronze), with the applications selected for Gold being directly recommended for funding and all applications in the Silver group being set for funding by the randomiser. Applications grouped into Bronze were not funded. To ensure that this activity Wellcome's principles for openness and transparency, we have included the Python script for the call here. IFRC comes when efforts to fund positive and inclusive research cultures are mainstream. Similar efforts to support research culture activities at scale have come from the Research England Development (RED) Fund, and the next iteration of the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2028) will also mark 25% of the assessment criteria for people, culture and environment. IFRC was not designed with the national picture in mind but is a testament to Wellcome's values as an inclusive funder. The range of projects and geographies that IFRC will fund is exciting.Still, it also threw up several interesting social and philanthropic research questions we want to explore in future community-facing activities following the call. We hope that findings from IFRC projects become a valuable resource for institutions wishing to improve their research cultures and a catalyst for future change and discussion within the sector that makes academic careers more inclusive.

Behavioural Genetics in the Context of Proof Within Civil Procedure

Since being established as a separate branch of scientific knowledge, behavioural genetics has raised many ethical, legal and social questions. The identification of the genetic origins of behaviour is expanding beyond the scientific field into socially relevant areas such as justice, education and health care. The development of new techniques and analytical approaches, including genome sequencing, non-invasive prenatal testing and optogenetics, has clearly changed the direction of further development of behavioural genetics. This has also transformed the legal and social contexts of biomedical research analysed in this article. The author discusses the expanded scope of behavioural genetics which has become prominent in many countries. The author further focuses on the ethical, legal, social and political issues raised by the potential application of behavioural genetics used for evidentiary purposes in legal proceedings. The author draws the conclusion that behavioural genetics and behavioural genetic evidence are of significant value in determining circumstances relevant to a given case, thus assisting the court in coming to a legitimate and well-reasoned decision. By examining specific categories of cases (civil torts and guardianship cases), the author shows how the application of behavioural genetics can ensure that the rights of certain vulnerable groups (juveniles and persons with mental health problems) are adequately protected.

Social policy as knowledge process: How its sociotechnical links to labour reconfigure the social question

The relationship between labour and social policy is at the heart of the social question. Scholars often treat this link as either a causal relation out there or a conceptual connection in policy makers’ minds. This article examines its sociotechnical materiality instead. It follows anthropologists who ask how bureaucrats practice policy and scholars of science and technology studies who explore how social and technical aspects are interrelated in knowledge processes. China studies has suggested that the minimum livelihood guarantee ( dibao) was originally designed as a market-oriented response to transformations of labour such as mass layoffs, peasant proletarianisation and associated unrest but later revamped to only combat extreme poverty. Ethnographic insights into dibao policy in a village in Sichuan show how its designed links to labour were erased and transformed through different methods of bureaucratic targeting, as well as expectations about the bureaucratic ability to know. For a time, dibao was even integrated into alternative rural development projects aimed at decommodification. Studying social policy as a knowledge process uncovers how its sociotechnical links to labour reconfigure it as an answer to the social question.

Social media and social impact assessment: Evolving methods in a shifting context

Among many by-products of Web 2.0 come the wide range of potential image and text datasets within social media and content sharing platforms that speak of how people live, what they do, and what they care about. These datasets are imperfect and biased in many ways, but those flaws make them complementary to data derived from conventional social science methods and thus potentially useful for triangulation in complex decision-making contexts. Yet the online environment is highly mutable, and so the datasets are less reliable than censuses or other standard data types leveraged in social impact assessment. Over the past decade, we have innovated numerous methods for deploying Instagram datasets in investigating management or development alternatives. This article synthesizes work from three Canadian decision contexts – hydroelectric dam construction or removal; dyke realignment or wetland restoration; and integrating renewable energy into vineyard landscapes – to illustrate some of the methods we have applied to social impact assessment questions using Instagram that may be transferrable to other social media platforms and contexts: thematic (manual coding, machine vision, natural language processing/sentiment analysis, statistical analysis), spatial (hotspot mapping, cultural ecosystem modeling), and visual (word clouds, saliency mapping, collage). We conclude with a set of cautions and next steps for the domain.

Examining Social Studies Course Questions in Terms of Question Type and Test Item Writing Techniques

Examining Social Studies Course Questions in Terms of Question Type and Test Item Writing Techniques

Patient Perspectives on Social Risk Screening and Documentation in a Dermatology Clinic

Providing person-centered dermatologic care includes consideration of social risk factors, such as housing instability and unreliable transportation, that may affect clinical management. Patients' perspectives on social risk screening and documentation in dermatology clinics have not yet been evaluated. To understand patients' perspectives on social risk screening and documentation in a dermatology clinic. This mixed-methods study used a survey and semistructured interviews and was conducted in a general dermatology clinic at a large urban public hospital. Patients at the clinic were eligible to complete the survey if they were 18 years or older; able to speak and read English, Spanish, or Cantonese; and comfortable using a computer tablet. Survey participants who preferred to use English were eligible for interviews. The survey included social risk screening questions, measures of acceptability, and questions on social risk factors associated with patient acceptability. Semistructured interviews were conducted to explore attitudes and beliefs about social risk screening and documentation. Survey and interview findings were integrated during data analysis through development of themes and joint display. Data were analyzed from December 2021 to April 2023. There were 2 outcome measures of acceptability: appropriateness of screening in a dermatology clinic and comfort with documentation of social risk in the electronic health record (EHR). A total of 135 participants (including 73 males [54.1%]) answered both measures of acceptability in the survey. Of these participants, 116 (85.9%) reported that social risk screening in their dermatology clinic was very or somewhat appropriate and 85 (63.0%) reported being completely or somewhat comfortable with having their social risks documented in the EHR. Themes that were developed from surveys and interviews were the (1) role of interpersonal factors in willingness to disclose social risks, (2) implications of institutional trust for willingness to disclose and comfort with documentation, and (3) relevance of screening in a dermatology clinic. Results of this study showed that most participants found social risk screening to be appropriate in a dermatology clinic, although a smaller proportion of participants were comfortable with EHR documentation of their social risks. Optimizing patients' trust in their physicians and the medical system, while addressing privacy and discrimination concerns, may help facilitate disclosure of social risks.

Parental burnout among Somali mothers: Associations with mental health, perceived social support, and sociodemographic factors.

Parenthood can be defined by the contradiction that it is one of the most satisfying yet stressful experiences in life. Many parents experience stress during parenthood, and some to the extent that they display symptoms of parental burnout. Nevertheless, research on parental burnout is scant and many studies have only examined the condition in Western settings. The aim of this study was to examine parental burnout among Somali mothers in Mogadishu, Somalia, and its association with certain psychological, psychosocial, and sociodemographic factors. In this cross-sectional study, questionnaire data were collected through the measurements Parental Burnout Assessment and Patient Health Questionnaire 9, as well as through social and demographic questions. A total of 882 Somali mothers in Mogadishu participated. The analysis methods used were univariate, bivariate, and multiple linear regression analysis. The results revealed that the mean parental burnout score was low in the sample. Additionally, a significant association was found between higher levels of parental burnout and higher levels of depression, perceived lack of social support, being unmarried, having a low monthly household income, and when the youngest child was of school-age.

Socio-demographic Differences in Prosocial Tendencies Aimed at the LGBTQIA+ Community from a Sample of Slovak Heterosexual Adults

Background: Incidents against gender and sexual orientation minorities have increased significantly in recent months. This discrimination is taking place in a global context, and the Slovak Republic is no exception. However, the increased level of discrimination also creates room for people to get involved in trying to help reduce discrimination while increasing helping and pro-social behaviors towards these minorities in their cultural epicenters. To date, it is unclear and uncertain what role social and demographic characteristics play in this type of behavior toward the LGBTQIA+ community. Objective: This study analyzed public, digital, and overall prosocial behavior toward the LGBTQIA+ community in an online sample of Slovak heterosexual adults. Methods: One thousand fourteen (N = 1,014) heterosexual participants completed an online questionnaire focused on prosocial behavior towards the LGBTQIA+ community in Slovakia. Prosocial behavior towards the LGBTQIA+ community was determined using the authors’ Prosocial Tendencies towards the LGBTQIA+ Community questionnaire. This questionnaire captures public, digital, and overall levels of pro-social tendencies towards the LGBTQIA+ community. Participants also answered basic social and demographic background questions. Results: People in older adulthood also display more digital and overall prosocial behaviors, but not publicly prosocial. Residence-based differences were identified only in the area of public prosocial behavior in favor of people with urban residence. Differences in the context of personal experience with an LGBTQIA+ person demonstrated that people with a positive experience with an LGBTQIA+ person display significantly more public, digital and overall prosocial behavior compared to people with a negative experience and those with no experience. We also identified inter-sex differences in all areas studied in favour of women. Conclusion: People differ in their prosocial actions towards the LGBTQIA+ community based on social and demographic characteristics.

Justice and ethics in conservation remote sensing: Current discourses and research needs

Advances in remote sensing are transforming research and practice in biodiversity conservation. But the increasing use of these technologies and data also provokes major ethical and social justice questions. In this scoping review, we examine the extent to and ways in which ethics and justice are discussed in relation to uses of remote sensing in conservation. Our literature search identifies only 31 peer-reviewed English language papers containing substantive discussion of justice and/or ethics and conservation remote sensing. Within these papers, emergent themes and tensions include the use of remote sensing technologies for surveillance (and the extent to which this is framed as positive or negative), the militarised associations of remote sensing technologies, the ways that remote sensing technologies can disrupt or harden power asymmetries, and whether the greatest ethical risks or benefits are seen as being for people or other species. Building on recommendations identified in this review, we reflect on how conservation can learn from work on data ethics in other fields, such as the ethics of artificial intelligence. We also discuss the mechanisms (such as formal laws, journal review procedures, and greater individual reflexivity) which could support the use of remote sensing technologies and data to advance socially just conservation. Finally, we highlight research priorities including the need for more comparative case study analyses, greater research efforts on the political economy and geopolitics of conservation remote sensing, and work which situates novel technologies within longer-standing debates about ethics and philosophies of biodiversity conservation.

Analisis Kesulitan Belajar Matematika Siswa pada Materi Aritmatika Sosial Ditinjau dari Aspek Kognitif dan Afektif

Education is the most important thing for humans, in the development of science and technology which is proliferating. One of the sciences that has an important role in the world of education is mathematics. Mathematics is a science obtained by reasoning using a clear, precise, and accurate meaning. This study aimed to describe students' learning difficulties in social arithmetic in terms of cognitive and affective aspects. The method used in this research is qualitative. The researchers obtained many students who experienced incompleteness in answering the story questions given from the research results. The cause of student incompleteness is that students experience many mistakes or difficulties in answering social arithmetic questions. Students have difficulties in answering questions, namely the average student has difficulty in arithmetic operations, does not memorize formulas, and long story questions make them confused and have difficulty working on the test questions.

A dataset of criteria on the use of thermal insulation solutions in building facades located in Norway, Portugal and Italy.

The building sector is responsible for a significant percentage of the energy consumption in Europe. The level of thermal insulation of the building envelope leads to decrease energy consumption, thus contributing towards a sustainable and efficient built environment. As a result, the choice of the most suitable thermal insulation solution to be applied both in new construction and in retrofitting of building facades is fundamental for a satisfactory thermal performance of the building. Nevertheless, the thermal insulation solution should not be chosen considering only the thermal performance, but rather based on a set of performance parameters (i.e., water resistance, fire performance, impact on the environment and human health, among others) and climate-related requirements. This data article includes a dataset on criteria adopted in three European countries (namely Norway, Portugal, and Italy) considering a PESTE analysis (i.e., criteria related to Political, Economic, Social, Technological, and Environmental questions). The main objective was to evaluate the knowledge and perception of people living and/or working in these countries about the use and the performance of thermal insulation solutions in building facades. To this aim a questionnaire was developed within the scope of the EEA Granted EFFICACY research project (November 2022 - February 2023), whose overall objective is to create a database that serves as a reference for the choice of thermal insulation solutions to be applied in building facades for thermal and energy performances optimization. This database contributes to systemize criteria and can be extended by other researchers or professionals in the area, as well as in other countries.

Water 2050 Think Tanks Conclude With Deep Dive Into Social and Demographic Questions

Water 2050 Think Tanks Conclude With Deep Dive Into Social and Demographic Questions

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on social isolation and loneliness among minority populations

BackgroundThe impact of social isolation and loneliness (SIL) was heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the pandemic disproportionately affected racial/ ethnic minorities, no studies have investigated the ramifications of the pandemic on SIL among these populations. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and pervasiveness of SIL during the COVID-19 pandemic on minority communities. Materials and methodsThis was a single center, cross sectional study conducted by scientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) working in collaboration with members of the Rochester community. Adult patients presenting to the emergency department at URMC who identified themselves as belonging to minority communities were asked to complete a survey that comprised questions from the Lubben Social Network Scale-6 and questions from the Campaign to End Loneliness Measurement Tool. We analyzed the percentage of SIL and conducted linear regression models to study the association between these outcomes and race/ ethnicity, age, gender, chronic disease status and the frequency of hospitalizations. ResultsA total of 1,029 subjects completed the survey. Social isolation was reported by 375 (37%) persons. Those of Latinx ethnicity had higher prevalence of social isolation (41%) compared to those of Black/African American race (36%) and also had higher degrees of isolation (14.8%) (15.42; p = 0.07). Loneliness was documented by 215 (21%) for the cohort with no differences based on race or ethnicity. ConclusionsSocial isolation was common among minority communities during the pandemic but loneliness was less pervasive. The study highlights the need to address the specific needs of these populations.