Social-cultural Context Research Articles

Better Problems

Better Problems

Visual storytelling of Song Ci and the poets in the social–cultural context of Song dynasty

Song Ci is treasured in traditional Chinese culture, which indicates social and cultural evolution in ancient times. Despite the efforts by historians and litterateurs in investigating the characteristics of Song Ci, it is still unclear how to effectively distribute and promote Song Ci in the public sphere. The complexity and abstraction of Song Ci hamper the general public from closely reading, analyzing, and appreciating these excellent works. By means of a set of visual analysis methods, e.g. the spatio-temporal visualization, we exploit visual storytelling to explicitly present the latent and abstractive features of Song Ci. We apply straightway visual charts and lighten the burden of understanding the stories, in order to achieve an effective public distribution. The effectiveness and aesthetics of our work are demonstrated by a user study of three participants with different backgrounds. The result reveals that our story is effective in the distribution, understanding, and promotion of Song Ci.

External stressors and trajectories of marital quality during the early years of Chinese marriage: Buffering effects of resources at multiple ecological levels

Drawing from the stress resistance process within the conservation of resources theory, this study examined how resources at multiple ecological levels—personal (self-esteem), relational (spousal support), and social network (relationships with parents and parents-in-law)—moderate the spillover and crossover effects from external stressors to trajectories of marital quality. We used three-annual-wave, dyadic data from 268 heterosexual Chinese couples who were at the beginning stages of marriage. Consistent with theory, personal, relational, and social network resources all buffered the detrimental effects of external stressors for marital quality. Further, nuanced findings emerged, likely given the social cultural context in contemporary China. Specifically, gender differences emerged in whether a specific resource attenuated the detrimental effects of external stressors (e.g., husbands’ vs. wives’ self-esteem attenuated detrimental effects of external stressors). Moreover, opposite patterns existed for the short-term versus long-term results for husbands’ relational resources. In sum, our findings highlight that when helping couples cope with stressors, it is necessary to (a) include available resources at multiple ecological levels (personal, relational, social network) and (b) consider whether social cultural backgrounds may have influenced the effectiveness of a specific resource.

Restoring (Old) Questions of Sovereignty under the Cover of Minority Protection?

Abstract Minority groups are often the subject of studies dealing with sovereignty and European integration. A now also common topic in political science is the rise of populist movements. Scholars study both of these issues extensively, but little research has been done on their nexus. Against this background, this article looks at the current sovereignty discourse in the minority area of South Tyrol. Even though three linguistic groups peacefully co-exist in the Italian province, various calls for dual citizenship have arisen. The possibility of acquiring an Austrian passport became a salient topic, especially since the övp/fpö government of Austria. Using the discourse-historical approach, the authors contextualize medial discourses with social-cultural context information. Results suggest that local media are disseminating a discourse regarding dual citizenship that largely differs from the opinion of the majority of the population, but corresponds to that of the populist actors who seem to fuel the issue.

Considering Autonomous Exploration in Healthy Environments: Reflections from an Urban Wildscape.

Autonomous exploration should be considered in the creation of healthy environments since autonomy is an important developmental experience for children. For a group of boys in Raleigh, N.C., U.S. during the period 2002–2006, autonomous exploration was a meaningful experience. Results of a qualitative research project (n = 5) which highlight the importance of autonomous exploration are organized within a proposed framework for thick description. The framework creates verisimilitude by reporting on the context, social action and cultural context, and behavior and intentionality. The context of Raleigh and urban wildscapes furnished areas ripe for exploration. The social action and cultural context of attachment supported the autonomous exploration through scaffolded experiences of autonomy. The intentionality of the behavior was a desire to distinct themselves through a focus on individual development and the pursuit of extraordinary experiences. The ultimate outcomes of autonomous exploration for the boys were the development of long-term, intimate friendships and confidence in their decision-making ability. As cities become more health-focused, attention should be paid to preserve the rough edges of a city for children to explore.

Disciplining the Akratic user: Constructing digital (un) wellness

Contemporary discourse around digital well-being tends to focus on self-control when it comes to “addicting” social media apps and digital devices. By acting on behalf of users, designers and engineers promote various self-regulating products and services in order for users to “fix” the distractible brains of typical users. This paper explores the role of the history of psychology on user-experience thinking and engineering and provides a critical genealogy of digital well-being discourse and persuasive technology. In particular, I expand on the role of dual-process models in human–computer interaction and health behavior change from the 1980s to today. By exploring the social construction of the distracted, impulsive, “primitive” animal brain (system 1), I find that it is this part of the mind that the engineer wishes to “treat,” via app design. In order to tame this “primitive” brain, researchers and engineers have turned to behavioral science, hoping to better structure user options and encourage users to manage their own time and normalize screen habits. I argue that normality discourses like this are founded upon ideas of time management and delay of gratification, whereas abnormality is tied to ideas of immediate gratification and time wasting. This dichotomy is not simply to enforce social norms around time wasting, but reinforces social and econoimc inequities. Therefore, unlike some other approaches to digital well-being, I urge future scholarship on the subject to examine the taken-for-granted social-cultural context, which will lead not only to a more politically nuanced understanding of the subject but may also lead to further discussions over how digital well-being could be conceived otherwise.

The interactive effect of cultural values and government regulations on firms’ entrepreneurial orientation

PurposeConsidering that the social-cultural context is important as in which the entrepreneurs are embedded to conceptualise entrepreneurial orientation (EO), the purpose of the study is to explicate the influence of the key decision-makers’ internalised cultural values and perceptions of government regulations, to offer nuanced explanations of micro-level variations in EO of firms embedded in the same institutional context.Design/methodology/approachUsing a quantitative approach, relationships are explored in a sample of 201 Malaysian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used for the sample, and an additional test is conducted for a robustness check.FindingsThe study finds that three cultural values of the key decision-maker, namely individualism, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance, exhibit a significant association with the EO of the firms. Further, the analysis reveals that the positive effects of individualism and masculinity are enhanced when moderated by favourable perceptions of government regulations to entrepreneurship.Research limitations/implicationsThe study uses a single key informant in data collection, therefore, the possibility of single-respondent bias. The results must be interpreted in light of these limitations.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the existing literature regarding the relationship between institutions and entrepreneurship. Specifically, it articulates a microfoundations lens to explain the influence of institutions in terms of key decision-makers’ internalised cultural values (informal institutions) and their perceptions of government regulations (formal institutions) on the EO of the firm. It further elucidates the need to embrace informal and formal institutions as interdependent factors instead of treating them as standalone constructs in entrepreneurship research and policy design.

THE USE OF READING STRATEGIES IN ACADEMIC READING BY INDONESIAN LEARNERS

This case study explores the Indonesian learners' reading strategies and identifies high and low-group learners' reading strategies. Semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and open-ended questions were triangulated for validity and reliability data. Several findings were revealed. The Indonesian learners read critically and varied through cognitive, metacognitive, and affective strategies. They applied more cognitive strategies than metacognitive and affective strategies, which was less helpful and less encouraged to think critically. Technology advances, self- concept, and time have affected the strategies used. High and low-group learners also read differently in terms of cognitive, metacognitive, and affective strategies. The high group learners read efficiently, critically with various reading strategies, while the low group learners are more literal, attractive, but straightforward, and specific in reading strategy. This implied that students need to be facilitated with proper reading strategies and reading facilities and use metacognitive strategy to enable critical thinking and affective strategy to overcome anxiety, fear, and relaxation. The socio-cultural strategy needs to be used by learners to reach the four skills required by the Indonesian new curriculum. Meanings were shaped by social interaction and cultural context, which then created fun learning and a conducive learning environment.

How Do Social Partnerships Construct Social Problems? A Social-Symbolic Work Perspective

In the world of social partnerships, one important research puzzle that still remains is concerned with how partners construct the social problems that the partnership is intended to address. To explore this, we draw upon the social-symbolic work literature that defines it as purposeful work carried out by individuals or groups to influence social-symbolic objects (Lawrence & Phillips, 2019), and we ask the following: How does social-symbolic work influence the way in which partnership members construct the social problem? Also, how does this influence the outcomes of the partnerships? Comparing two case studies of social partnership that address gender inequality in Turkey, we found that relational and practice work influenced the social construction of the issue. Our findings illustrate that extensive relational work and in-depth practice work led to embedded social construction of the problem (i.e. where partnership considered the multi-layered interdependencies of social structures and complex societal and cultural dynamics surrounding the problem). In contrast, limited relational work and shallow practice work led to disembedded social construction of the problem, which overlooked the complex, interrelated social structures and cultural context that created, and consistently influenced, the problem. Overall, our research contributes to the research on social issues by unpacking the social construction process in partnerships and the social-symbolic work literature by highlighting the lived experience of social-symbolic work and emphasizing social-symbolic work as embodied and human work.

CONSTRUCTION OF CULTURAL IDENTITY OF VAQUEIRO IN ‘O SERTANEJO’ [THE BACKLANDS] OF JOSÉ DE ALENCAR

The representation of sertanejo man in literature is presented through traditions, values and beliefs constructed in that space, in this process we have vaqueiro as a genuine "sertanejo", because it allows interiorization of northeast, appearing the sertão. Therefore, this article aims to identify how cultural identity of vaqueiro is constructed in regionalist project of Alencariano. In the discussion it used as theoretical contributions about socio-historical context of vaqueiro and the vaquejada in Cascudo (2008) and Magalhães (1970), identity culture in Hall (2006), culture and popular culture in Ayala & Ayala (1987), Santos (1992), Bosi (1992) and Bauman (2001) and sertanist literature in Sodré (1964) and Bosi (1994). The corpus of research is literary work 'O sertanejo' [The Backlands] (1875) by José de Alencar. The results showed construction of cultural identity of vaqueiro in Alencarian literature has physical, socio-affective and symbolic elements are marks of identity of vaqueiro and can be resignified, adapting to new social relations and cultural contexts.

CONSTRUCTION OF CULTURAL IDENTITY OF VAQUEIRO IN ‘O SERTANEJO’ [THE BACKLANDS] OF JOSÉ DE ALENCAR

The representation of sertanejo man in literature is presented through traditions, values and beliefs constructed in that space, in this process we have vaqueiro as a genuine "sertanejo", because it allows interiorization of northeast, appearing the sertão. Therefore, this article aims to identify how cultural identity of vaqueiro is constructed in regionalist project of Alencariano. In the discussion it used as theoretical contributions about socio-historical context of vaqueiro and the vaquejada in Cascudo (2008) and Magalhães (1970), identity culture in Hall (2006), culture and popular culture in Ayala & Ayala (1987), Santos (1992), Bosi (1992) and Bauman (2001) and sertanist literature in Sodré (1964) and Bosi (1994). The corpus of research is literary work 'O sertanejo' [The Backlands] (1875) by José de Alencar. The results showed construction of cultural identity of vaqueiro in Alencarian literature has physical, socio-affective and symbolic elements are marks of identity of vaqueiro and can be resignified, adapting to new social relations and cultural contexts.

Overview of behavioural and psychological consequences of COVID 19.

Purpose of reviewThe paper aims to provide an overview of the psychological and behavioural impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on variations in behavioural response in different geographical areas due to the existence of different social-cultural contexts.Recent findingsWhilst anxiety, depression and economic stressors are common findings worldwide, specific behavioural responses are heavily influenced by government stances, misinformation, conspiratorialism and competing demands of resource scarcity. This has led to very different understandings of the pandemic even in geographically close areas, and more so when comparing disparate regions such as Africa, South America and Europe. The paper also comments on the absence of robust evidence regarding increases of suicidality and violence on a global level, whilst noting evidence certainly exists in specific regions.SummaryThe psychological and behavioural impact of COVID is heavily influenced by the local lens. Beyond a very broad brush approaches, expected behaviours from one area cannot easily be extrapolated to others. Where possible, clinicians should be guided by local data, ideally placing expectations of responses in a cultural context.

Sex Education: Ancient Israel and Igbo Traditional Practices

Every human (male and female) is a sexual being. Exploring and experiencing one’s sexuality is part of being human. Unfortunately, human’s curiosity and interest concerning sexuality are not always guided and nurtured in a wholesome way because sex is viewed as sacred and talking about it constitutes a taboo. Hence, many parents are at ease to teach their children about virtually every other thing in life, but they usually do not, however, teach about sexuality with similar ease. As a result, many grow into adulthood with partial and distorted views of human sexuality. The aim of the study was to discover the teachings of Proverbs 7:24-27 on sex education along traditional practices in tone with sex education in Igbo culture and determine the place of proper sex education for better dealing and understanding of human sexuality. The study adopted African inculturation hermeneutics which makes African social cultural context the subject of interpretation. The study revealed that sex education was integral to the training of the young adults in ancient Israel Igbo cultures. However, the study observed some areas of strength and weaknesses of sexuality training in Igbo traditional practices. Thus, the research upheld that the instructions on human sexuality preserved in the book of Proverbs are very relevant in strengthening the contemporary Igbo culture and her traditional practices in the training of young adults in the areas of chastity. Therefore, the paper called for proper sex education in the Igbo society to instill sexual purity among youths of contemporary Igbo society.

Thoughts on comparative studies of dementia knowledge of older adults across cultural settings.

As the world's population ages, dementia has become a global public health concern (WHO, 2017). However, misconceptions of dementia remain, which pose discrimination and isolation to persons living with dementia (PWD) and prevent individuals from timely access to diagnosis and treatment. Research has shed light on factors associated with dementia knowledge among elders, but little has been known regarding an influence of social-cultural contexts on elder's dementia acknowledge. Dr. Zhao and colleagues' paper on dementia knowledge and its associates among Chinese background elders in Melbourne and Beijing generated inspirational findings in this regard. This commentary highlights major findings of Dr. Zhao et al.'s paper and discusses their implications for dementia education, as well as points out limitations that future research can address.

Kdo je vlastně kaplan? Nástin teologické typologie v současném společenském kontextu

Who is chaplain after all? Towards a theological typology of chaplaincy in contemporary social-cultural context The following article is a contribution to a responsible theological reflection on chaplaincy. The operation of chaplains is considered as a specific and intentionally focused way of spiritual ministry. Unlike the pastoral ministry in the church community, the chaplain ministry is located in the institutions of different public services. The spiritual care provided by a concrete chaplain is therefore being created and negotiated in the ongoing dialogue with the concrete social sphere where the very chaplain is active. What theological position brings the chaplain with her towards this vivid dialogue? What is the theological frame in which the chaplain can operate? Following the official mind setting church documents on missiological approach in contemporary society, we formulated four different types of theological perspective on chaplain ministry. The typology was structured with help of a hermeneutical tool brought by H. R. Niebuhr in his classics „Christ and Culture“. Niebuhr’s typology helped to organize and frame the leading 4 different approaches towards mission and chaplaincy. At the end of the day it helps to design a theological scale on which the concrete Christian traditions view the chaplain’s identity and their ministry.

Resilience in Nicaragua: Preliminary Factor Analysis and Validation of the CYRM-28

Objectives: The current study used factor analytic techniques to examine the performance of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28) in Nicaragua. Method: Nicaraguan youth from Managua, León, Chinandega, and Granada (n = 2,764) completed the CYRM-28 and the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI-A). The CYRM-28 and PWI-A are self-report measures that were translated into Spanish in previous studies. Results: A confirmatory factor analysis on the CYRM-28 did not support the eight-factor model from previous research. An exploratory factor analysis yielded a six-factor model: Social Belonging, Cultural Context, Caregiver Context, Social Skills, Spiritual Context, and Responsibility. Seven items were removed to improve model fit, reducing the CYRM-28 to only 21 items. We named this the CYRM-21-N (Nicaragua). Conclusion: The CYRM-28 did not yield an eight-factor structure in our data from Nicaraguan youth. Implications: From our analyses, we constructed the CYRM-21-N, a briefer version of the CYRM-28 with a revised factor structure. The CYRM-21-N may be useful in studying youth populations or assessing intervention outcomes in Nicaragua.

A Public Mental Health Study Among Iraqi Refugees in Sweden: Social Determinants, Resilience, Gender, and Cultural Context.

This public mental health study highlights the interactions among social determinants and resilience on mental health, PTSD and acculturation among Iraqi refugees in Sweden 2012-2013.Objectives: The study aims to understand participants' health, resilience and acculturation, paying specific attention to gender differences.Design: The study, using a convenience sampling survey design (N = 4010, 53.2% men), included measures on social determinants, general health, coping, CD-RISC, selected questions from the EMIC, PC-PTSD, and acculturation.Results: Gender differences and reported differences between life experiences in Iraq and Sweden were strong. In Sweden, religious activity was more widespread among women, whereas activity reflecting religion and spirituality as a coping mechanism decreased significantly among men. A sense of belonging both to a Swedish and an Iraqi ethnic identity was frequent. Positive self-evaluation in personal and social areas and goals in life was strong. The strongest perceived source of social support was from parents and siblings, while support from authorities generally was perceived as low. Self-rated health was high and the incidence of PTSD was low. A clear majority identified multiple social determinants contributing to mental health problems. Social or situational and emotional or developmental explanations were the most common. In general, resilience (as measured with CD-RISC) was low, with women's scores lower than that of men.Conclusions: Vulnerability manifested itself in unemployment after a long period in Sweden, weak social networks outside the family, unsupportive authorities, gender differences in acculturation, and women showing more mental health problems. Though low socially determined personal scores of resilience were found, we also identified a strong level of resilience, when using a culture-sensitive approach and appraising resilience as expressed in coping, meaning, and goals in life. Clinicians need to be aware of the risks of poorer mental health among refugees in general and women in particular, although mental health problems should not be presumed in the individual patient. Instead clinicians need to find ways of exploring the cultural and social worlds and needs of refugee patients. Authorities need to address the described post-migration problems and unmet needs of social support, together comprising the well-established area of the social determinants of health.

Rape Appraisals: Class Mobility, Social Geography, and Sexual Morality Tales in Ghana, South Africa, and Rwanda

Interdisciplinary scholarship in violence and trauma studies suggest that a person’s interpretation of stressful events contours how the person will respond. It is through the two-part appraisal process that survivors determine how they will cope. This project utilizes an identity-based approach to demonstrate that survivors use group-based ideologies such as social class, geography, gender, sexuality, and, for some, race to appraise their accounts of violence, assess their coping strategies, and manage traumatic events. Using the cross-cultural accounts of 146 Black Ghanaian, South African, and Rwandan women rape survivors, the findings extend the appraisal approach by highlighting how survivors in this study utilized sexual morality tales to construct a variety of appraisal accounts to interpret their assaults and to justify their coping strategies. I call these appraisals opportunities, possibilities, limitations, and solidarities. These differing appraisals demonstrated that social milieu contours the psychological experience of violence and can engender both parallel and divergent interpretations across social class and cultural contexts. Last, the implications of these findings for comparative sexual assault studies, theories of traumatic coping, gender and development, and intersectionality are discussed.

Exploring patient-provider interactions and the health system\u2019s responsiveness to street-connected children and youth in Kenya: a qualitative study

BackgroundIn Kenya, street-connected children and youth (SCY) have poor health outcomes and die prematurely due to preventable causes. This suggests they are not accessing or receiving adequately responsive healthcare to prevent morbidity and mortality. We sought to gain insight into the health systems responsiveness to SCY in Kenya through an in-depth exploration of SCY’s and healthcare provider’s reflections on their interactions with each other.MethodsThis qualitative study was conducted across 5 counties in western Kenya between May 2017 and September 2018 using multiple methods to explore and describe the public perceptions of, and proposed and existing responses to, the phenomenon of SCY in Kenya. The present analysis focuses on a subset of data from focus group discussions and in-depth interviews concerning the delivery of healthcare to SCY, interactions between SCY and providers, and SCY’s experiences in the health system. We conducted a thematic analysis situated in a conceptual framework for health systems responsiveness.ResultsThrough three themes, context, negative patient-provider interactions, and positive patient-provider interactions, we identified factors that shape health systems responsiveness to SCY in Kenya. Economic factors influenced and limited SCY’s interactions with the health system and shaped their experiences of dignity, quality of basic amenities, choice of provider, and prompt attention. The stigmatization and discrimination of SCY, a sociological process shaped by the social-cultural context in Kenya, resulted in experiences of indignity and a lack of prompt attention when interacting with the health system. Patient-provider interactions were highly influenced by healthcare providers’ adverse personal emotions and attitudes towards SCY, resulting in negative interactions and a lack of health systems responsiveness.ConclusionsThis study suggests that the health system in Kenya is inadequately responsive to SCY. Increasing public health expenditures and expanding universal health coverage may begin to address economic factors, such as the inability to pay for care, which influence SCY’s experiences of choice of provider, prompt attention, and dignity. The deeply embedded adverse emotional responses expressed by providers about SCY, associated with the socially constructed stigmatization of this population, need to be addressed to improve patient-provider interactions.

Fragile Families in Quebec and the Rest of Canada: A Comparison of Parental Work-Life Balance Satisfaction

We address how social policies and cultural context impact the association of marital status with parental work-life balance satisfaction. To accomplish this goal, we examine how this association differs between the francophone province of Quebec and the Rest of Canada (all other provinces combined), as these regions have distinct cultures and family-related social policies. The study uses a sample of 15,870 working parents with at least one dependent child from the Canadian General Social Surveys of 2010 to 2016. Using multivariate regression, we compare satisfaction with their work-life balance among cohabiting, divorced, and single parents with that of their married counterparts. The results indicate significant work-life balance satisfaction advantages for married mothers across Canada, except in the province of Quebec. For fathers, no consistent marital status-related gap is found, regardless of the region of residence. Various implications are discussed, and venues for further research are proposed.