Social Context Variables Research Articles

Dendropsophus minutus repertoire complexity and its relationship with environmental traits

ABSTRACT Anurans have several characteristics in their acoustic communication that distinguish them. These characteristics are influenced by body-related, environmental and social variables. However, the complexity of anuran repertoire and the effect of such variables on it are still understudied. Dendropsophus minutus is a Neotropical treefrog that has a wide repertoire composed of three notes, grouped in at least 71 unique combinations. To quantify complexity, we used the entropy measurement, since it measures the randomness of a sequence. Therefore, we could test if repertoire complexity in D. minutus is related with body condition, social context, and environmental variables. We recorded vocalisations of 80 males in three sites and found 44 unique note combinations not described before, increasing the species’ repertoire to 115 combinations. We observed that the species has near maximum entropy for note frequency, but a low entropy for note sequencies, showing a clear a bias for some note combinations. We found a positive relationship between repertoire complexity and air temperature. Thus, based on our results, the complexity of this species’ repertoire is an additional trait influenced by climate, and should be considered in future studies.

Connectedness with students as a key factor in online teaching self-efficacy

This paper investigates how lecturers’ connectedness with students affected their experience of online teaching during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK and Switzerland. We examined how this connectedness predicted lecturers’ self-efficacy in online teaching. This was in addition to other social context variables (connectedness with colleagues and perceived support from the university) and their previous experience with digital tools. The shift to online teaching in the lockdown period abruptly removed any in-person contact between lecturers and their students. Lecturers’ self-efficacy in online teaching is crucial to student motivation, achievement, and the lecturer's own teaching experience. Likewise, lecturers’ connectedness with students and colleagues has been identified as a key factor in learning. Consequently, this study explored how different forms of connectedness predicted lecturers’ self-efficacy in the new teaching environment. A total of 252 lecturers from UK and Swiss universities completed an online survey about their teaching experiences before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. Multiple regressions were used to predict lecturers’ online teaching self-efficacy. The results revealed that connectedness with students was a significant and positive predictor of online teaching self-efficacy. However, connectedness with colleagues and perceived support from the university did not. The perception that digital tools enhanced teaching prior to the lockdown was a significant predictor only for the UK lecturers, but not for the Swiss ones. These findings point towards lecturers’ connectedness with their students being a pathway to success in online teaching.

IJCM_53A: Association between women’s autonomy and unintended pregnancy in India using NFHS- 5

Background: Numerous research studies conducted in low- and middle- income nations have suggested that women’s autonomy can be a major factor in lowering the rate of unwanted pregnancies. In the Indian setting, where patriarchy is prevalent and women’s participation in crucial choices is restricted by sociocultural norms, there is limited data on women’s autonomy. The National Family Health Survey 2019-2021 (NFHS-5) provides information on population, health, and nutrition for India and each state/union territory (UT). Data of 4,00606 women aged 15-49 years who reported their reproductive intentions were extracted and analysed in which 3,70,691 had a birth in the last five years and were not pregnant, and 29,915 women were pregnant at the time of the survey. Objective: To determine the association between women’s autonomy and unintended pregnancy in India. Methodology: The National Family Health Survey-5 conducted in 2019-21 was used for the analysis. Information on ever-married women was extracted from women aged 15-49 years. Bivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association of unintended pregnancy with women’s autonomy, demographic, socio-economic, and social context variables. Results: The highest proportion of unintended pregnancies 12.82% were found in the women with low autonomy. A significant difference was seen between the pregnancy intention of respondents and their demographic, economic and social covariates. The prevalence of unintended pregnancy was higher among women who were in the age group 15-24 years, in the poorest wealth quintile, lived in rural areas, had more than three children, and who married before the age of 18 years. Conclusion: Improvement in women’s autonomy can reduce unintended pregnancy in India. Women with higher autonomy will be able to regulate their fertility and can appropriately limit their family size.

The Social Determinants of Health and Athletic Trainer Availability in Indiana Secondary Schools.

The social determinants of health (SDOH) are circumstances under which individuals are born, work, and live that influence health outcomes. Previous researchers have examined 1 determinant of economic stability and found disparities in socioeconomic status and athletic trainer (AT) availability. To examine the SDOH characteristics of Indiana secondary schools and AT availability. Cross-sectional study. Database secondary analysis. A total of 426 secondary schools. All data were collected from publicly available databases. The independent variable was AT availability, and schools were classified as having a full-time AT, a part-time AT only, or no AT. The SDOH variables were gathered for each school (at the school and county levels). Data were summarized using measures of central tendencies, 1-way analysis of variance, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. School enrollment was larger in schools with greater AT availability (P< .001). The proportion of non-White students was greater in schools with more AT availability (P= .002). Greater AT availability was present in counties with higher graduation rates (P= .03). Post hoc comparisons revealed differences in graduation rates between schools with a part-time AT and those with no AT (P= .04). Schools with less AT availability were located in counties with a slightly higher percentage of the population uninsured (P= .02). Schools with greater AT availability were located in counties with a higher ratio of population to primary care physicians (P= .03). Schools with less AT availability were located in counties with a higher population experiencing severe housing problems (P= .02). No differences were found in AT availability based on the 3 social and community context variables (P> .05). Differences were noted in AT availability and SDOH characteristics at the secondary school level. We observed less AT availability where high school graduation rates and the population of primary care providers were lower. Strategies should be implemented to improve access to athletic health care in underresourced communities.

Moderators of the Link Between Social Preference and Persistent Peer Victimization for Elementary School Children

ABSTRACT Objective Current antibullying programs can reduce overall rates of victimization but appear to overlook processes that give rise to persistent peer victimization. Needed are studies that delineate the interplay between social contextual and individual difference variables that contribute to persistent peer victimization. We examined the extent to which two individual-difference variables – internalizing symptoms (IS) and anxiety sensitivity (AS) – moderated the link between children’s average social preference score across the school year and their status as persistent victims. Method Participants included 659 4th-grade students (Mage = 9.31 years, SD = 0.50, 51.8% girls; 42.3% Latinx, 28.9% non-Hispanic White, 10.2% Pacific Islander, 7.7% Bi/Multiracial, 1.9% Black, 1.7% Asian, 1.7% Native American, and 3.4% unreported) from 10 public elementary schools in the U.S. Results As expected, higher social preference scores predicted a decreased likelihood of being persistently victimized. Conversely, IS and AS were positively linked to persistent victim status. AS significantly moderated the link between social preference and persistent victim status such that for children with high AS, compared to those with AS scores at or below the mean, the negative association between social preference and persistent victim status was attenuated. Conclusions Findings provide evidence that children who experience high levels of IS and AS are at risk for being persistently victimized by peers and that high AS could signal increased risk for persistent victimization even when children are generally liked by peers. We discuss the implications of these findings for efforts to develop focused interventions for chronically bullied children.

Internet Use in Very Old Age: The Role of the Social Context and Individual Characteristics.

The social context plays an important role in very old age. However, little is known about its relationship with internet use, whereas individual characteristics (e.g., sociodemographic variables, and health status) are better studied. Still, representative studies for the oldest old are missing. Therefore, this study analyzes the relationship between social context variables and individual characteristics with internet use in a representative sample of oldest old from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (N = 1,862; Mage = 85.43, SDage = 4.15). Descriptive statistics reveal differences between oldest old onliners and offliners regarding their social context and individual characteristics. Logistic regression analyses show that the significant role of the social context (family and living situation, social contacts and activities) diminishes after adding individual characteristics to the model, which appear to be significantly related to internet use. The results indicate an association of social context variables and individual characteristics with internet use in very old age.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in Extremadura (SW Spain) during the Period 2014–2020:New Opportunities for Economic Diversification in Rural Areas?

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a European policy created in the early 1960s to address the food and economic problems affecting European society and the agricultural sector in particular. Throughout its history, the various reforms carried out in this policy have oriented it towards a reduction of direct aid to farmers’ production (due to its excessive cost, among other reasons), in favor of income-related aid. In recent years, the agricultural sector in Extremadura has received CAP aid in a very unequal manner, with a more significant concentration in the agricultural areas where intensive production has been established as a base and where there is a larger population. Thus, the main objective of this research is to analyze the spatial relationships between CAP subsidies and other demographic, economic and social context variables. To achieve the proposed objective, a spatial regression model, namely Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR), has been calculated to determine the relationship between the amounts received from the CAP and the socioeconomic situation of each of the municipalities in the region. The results show a concentration of this aid in the most dynamic areas, with municipalities with a larger population and a more productive agriculture, mainly related to irrigated farms.

Science Students’ Motivational Orientations of EFL Reading through the Lens of Self-Determination Theory

This mixed-method study aims to investigate science students’ motivational orientations and their self-perceived experiences contributing to self-determination in EFL reading at a secondary school in Thailand. Drawing upon the questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, the findings revealed that the overall science students’ EFL reading motivations were moderate. Each of their motivational orientations was ranked as follows: identified regulation (ID), intrinsic motivation (IM), external regulation (ER), introjected regulation (IJ), and amotivation (AM), accordingly. ID, a motivational orientation with regard to autonomous motivation, seemed to best correspond with the science students’ perceptions. They also valued the influence of social-contextual variables (i.e., families, peers, and teachers) as relatively important to their behavioural control toward EFL reading (ER and IJ). This study offers pedagogical implications to improve science students’ EFL reading motivation.

GENDER AND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Language acquisition is a complex and lengthy process that has many levels and is affected by different variables. A Sociolinguistic approach to Language Acquisition (LA) is one that studies the relationship between social contextual variables. This review paper intends to focus on one of the variables of language acquisition i.e. gender, which is an important factor in First and Second Language Acquisition. A brief overview of research studies and general trends in sociolinguistic gender over time is presented in order to explore relationship of gender and its role in first and second language acquisition. Keywords: Genderlect; Language Acquisition; Language Change/Maintenance; Bilingualism; Multilingualism; Language Variation.

GENDER AND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Language acquisition is a complex and lengthy process that has many levels and is affected by different variables. A Sociolinguistic approach to Language Acquisition (LA) is one that studies the relationship between social contextual variables. This review paper intends to focus on one of the variables of language acquisition i.e. gender, which is an important factor in First and Second Language Acquisition. A brief overview of research studies and general trends in sociolinguistic gender over time is presented in order to explore relationship of gender and its role in first and second language acquisition. Keywords: Genderlect; Language Acquisition; Language Change/Maintenance; Bilingualism; Multilingualism; Language Variation.

The ties that bind: mediating the connection between perceived parental support/monitoring and perceived peer delinquency with two forms of antisocial cognition

ABSTRACT Prior research has shown that social variables are linked to delinquent and criminal outcomes by facets of antisocial cognition. The current study set out to determine if a person’s perception of different social variables, in this case parental support/monitoring and peer delinquency, are likewise linked by some of these same variables, cognitive insensitivity specifically. Analyses performed across three time periods measured one year apart using data from the Pocono Bullying Study (N = 845, 406 boys and 439 girls, mean age at baseline = 11.2 years) revealed that one of the two pathways (parental monitoring → cognitive insensitivity → peer delinquency) predicted to be significant, was, in fact, significant. Conversely, the two pathways predicted to be non-significant (i.e. the ones mediated by cognitive impulsivity) were non-significant, although the difference between the one significant insensitivity-mediated pathway and its corresponding impulsivity-mediated pathway failed to achieve significance. The results of this study provide partial support for the notion that facets of antisocial thinking may not only mediate relationships between social context variables and delinquent outcomes, but relationships between certain groups of perceived social context variables as well.

Horizontal pay dispersion as social context for predicting employee performance outcomes associated with diagnostic‐ versus criterion‐referenced performance feedback

AbstractDespite its recognised centrality as an organisational tool, there are decades of mixed findings relating to the employee performance benefits associated with different forms of performance feedback. The ambiguity present in the literature has been attributed to multiple factors, including feedback purpose and the context within which feedback occurs. Integrating these broad themes, we develop a model expanding the breadth of relevant social context variables to include horizontal pay dispersion. Building from tournament theory, in a field experiment of 267 employees across 22 units, we find improved performance from diagnostic feedback delivered under increasing pay dispersion; however, substantively different patterns emerge for criterion‐referenced feedback. The current findings have implications for both performance feedback research and tournament theory.

Anxiety Sensitivity and Internalizing Symptoms: Co-Predictors of Persistent Peer Victimization in Elementary School Children

ABSTRACT Previous research suggests both social contextual and individual difference variables contribute to chronic peer victimization. We tested whether two individual difference variables – anxiety sensitivity (AS) and internalizing symptoms (IS) – predicted persistent peer victimization in elementary school children. Participants were 677 fourth-grade students (51.8% girls) from 10 public elementary schools. We hypothesized that persistent victims would report the highest levels of AS and IS. We also expected that IS would mediate the link between AS and persistent peer victimization. Results indicated that persistent victims reported significantly higher levels of AS and IS than transient or limited victims, and we found evidence that IS functioned as an intermediate variable between AS and persistent peer victimization status. Implications and directions for research are discussed.

Students' Perception of Social Contextual Variables in Mitigating Email Requests

Given the power imbalance between students and faculty members, many studies on email communication have focused on how email requests are performed in an academic setting. Research has illustrated that power-incongruent emails can lead to pragmatic failure and cause a negative effect on the email recipient. The present study explores how contextual variables, such as social distance, power and imposition are perceived by EFL students in three different situations in an academic context. Moreover, the study examines the degree of request mitigation performed by learners to adjust to these social contextual variables. Findings reveal that learners seem to be aware of social contextual variables, but they do not appear to mitigate email requests accordingly.

Students' Perception of Social Contextual Variables in Mitigating Email Requests

Given the power imbalance between students and faculty members, many studies on email communication have focused on how email requests are performed in an academic setting. Research has illustrated that power-incongruent emails can lead to pragmatic failure and cause a negative effect on the email recipient. The present study explores how contextual variables, such as social distance, power and imposition are perceived by EFL students in three different situations in an academic context. Moreover, the study examines the degree of request mitigation performed by learners to adjust to these social contextual variables. Findings reveal that learners seem to be aware of social contextual variables, but they do not appear to mitigate email requests accordingly.

Assessing Parental Self-Efficacy in Helping Children Succeed in Primary Schools in Tanzania

The present study assessed factors associated with a parental self-efficacy in helping primary school children succeed in Tanzania. The study assessed how social contextual variables, parents' perceptions of general invitation for involvement from others, parents' valence towards school, parents' skills and knowledge and parents' energy and resources are associated with parents' sense of self-efficacy. The study involved parents of grade two children in four regions in Northern Tanzania. A multilevel model showed that parents' self-efficacy was predicted by parents' perceptions of the invitations from school, parents' knowledge and skills and parents' valence towards school. These findings shed light on the need for interventions to promote teachers' skills in working with parents in primary schools in Tanzania.

Top-down modulation impairs priming susceptibility in complex decision-making with social implications

Could social context variables prime complex decisions? Could top-down processes impair this priming susceptibility? Complex decisions have been mainly studied from economic and moral perspectives, and Dual Process Theories provide evidence of how these processes could be affected. To address these issues from a political perspective, online experiments were conducted. Participants (n = 252) were asked to choose a face from 4 options, each associated with different frequencies (repetition priming) or with phrases with different emotional valence (emotional priming), for an unspecified task (UST group) or an important task (IMT group). The most repeated face was chosen most in the UST group, and was associated with lower response times. Positive faces were equally chosen by both groups. To compare results in a more ecological situation, a social study was conducted during the 2019 Argentine Presidential Election, including online surveys (n = 3673) and analysis of news media mentioning candidates. The familiarity and trust to each candidate explained the voting-probability for most of them, as well as correlated with their frequency of mentions in the news, their positive associations, and election results. Our results suggest complex decision-making is susceptible to priming, depending on top-down modulation.

Effect of socio-economic deprivation on refugee health: a natural experiment study in Germany

Abstract Background Characteristics of the place of residence have been proposed as a key determinant of physical and mental health, but so far, little experimental evidence exists. The quasi-random dispersal of refugees in Germany serves as a natural experiment to study the causal relationship between socio-economic deprivation and health as well as the impact of the social context on this relationship. Methods Refugees subject to dispersal policy (n = 1723) were selected from the nation-wide German IAB-SOEP-BAMF Panel from 2016 to 2018. The effect of German Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation quintiles (Q1-Q5) on change between baseline (t0) and follow-up (t1) in mental (mcs) and physical (pcs) health component scales of SF-12 were analysed using multi-level linear regression. Social context variables were included in a mediation analysis. Results Across quintiles, mental health improves (Δmcs=0.5) and physical health declines (Δpcs=-0.8) between t0 and t1. Fully adjusted models show a negative, dose-responsive relationship between deprivation and physical health, which is statistically significant for Q4 (coef. Q4vsQ1: -1.84, 95%CI: -3.50;-0.17). Models for mental health show an improvement in Q5 (coef. Q5vsQ1: 6.00, 95%CI: 1.70;10.31). Social context variables have no effect on physical health but slightly diminish the effect on mental health (coef. Q5vsQ1: 4.78, 95%CI: 0.65;8.90). Conclusions The quasi-random dispersal of refugees in Germany acts as a natural experiment to disentangle selection effects from the relationship between deprivation and health. Results suggest a negative effect of deprivation on physical health and a potential positive effect on mental health which can be partially explained by the social context. Limitations are the small sample sizes in deprived quintiles and short follow-up periods. This analysis can act as a magnifying glass for similar effects among other population groups, but causal paths need to be investigated further. Key messages

COVID-19 and the Mental Health of Nursing Professionals in Brazil: Associations between Social and Clinical Contexts and Psychopathological Symptoms.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an important negative psychological impact on people worldwide, especially nursing professionals who seem to be more vulnerable to the development of psychopathological symptoms. Objective: To analyze relationships between variables from the social and clinical contexts with psychopathological symptoms in nursing professionals from different geographic regions of Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out with 1737 nursing professionals from the five regions of Brazil. Data collection was carried out online with a questionnaire made available via Google Forms containing sociodemographic, occupational, and clinical questions, and the Symptom Assessment Scale-40-R, for the assessment of psychopathological symptoms. Differences between mean scores for the severity of psychopathological symptoms were assessed using the Mann–Whitney and Kruskall–Wallis tests. Results: There was a significant difference in the psychoticism domain scores according to Brazilian geographic region, with greater severity among professionals from the North and Northeast regions when compared with those from the South region. Social context variables (gender, age group, and marital status) and clinical variables (psychological and psychiatric follow-up; psychological or emotional support by the institution; family member, friend, neighbor, or co-worker with COVID-19, and death among them; use of psychiatric medication without a medical prescription; and taking steps to take care of their mental health) were significantly related to psychopathological symptoms. Conclusions: The results point to the importance of mental health promotion strategies for professionals through psychological or emotional support, as evidence indicates that this support can be a predictor of reduced psychological distress.

Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Case Positivity and Social Context: The Role of Housing, Neighborhood, and Health Insurance

Research on racial-ethnic COVID-19 disparities has yet to employ housing variables measured at the individual level, limiting our understanding of housing’s role in determining early exposure to the virus. To address this gap, we linked data from SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests within the Duke University Health System between March 12, 2020, and July 31, 2020 (N = 23,057 individuals), with housing parcel data. We then analyzed how housing, neighborhood, and health insurance explain disparities in case positivity between and within racial-ethnic groups in Durham County, North Carolina. We find that 55% of the Black–White disparity and 25% of the Hispanic–White disparity in positive cases are explained by these social-contextual variables. Neighborhood-fixed effects explained the largest portion (27%) of the Black–White disparity, whereas health insurance type explained the largest portion (14%) of the Hispanic–White disparity. We conclude that housing, neighborhood, and health insurance had a significant role in producing racial-ethnic disparities in COVID-19 case positivity.