Social Marginalization Research Articles

Rethinking global health from south and north: A social medicine approach to global health education

ABSTRACT This study examines efforts to integrate social medicine into global health education and its potential to guide the new practice of structural competency. The methods employ participant observation and interviews with program coordinators and participants in a social medicine course. Areas of success included: pedagogical innovation, conscientizing course participants, decentralising global health practice, and promoting reflexivity. Accompanying these successes were points of friction, including: inequities in personal risk and mobility limitations among course participants, as well as complexities and nuances in unintentionally reproducing hierarchies of knowledge. Specifically, further recommendations from our research include: (1) incorporating innovative pedagogical approaches, which highlight social medicine practices outside the global north, prioritising opportunities for cross-collaboration among practitioners from the global south; (2) framing social theory as a bidirectional flow: global south traditions must be included in teaching social theory; (3) practising structural humility by highlighting the perspectives and expertise of communities experiencing social and structural marginalisation, while including strategies in organising and direct pathways to political engagement. These conclusions highlight how social medicine-based training can both build from and move beyond the competencies explicitly specified by the structural competency model to create a global health practice inclusive of diverse thought from around the world.

Impact of social marginalization on oral health-related quality of life in older adults.

The aim of this study was to determine the association between oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and social marginalization in people aged 60 years and older enrolled in social security in Mexico. A cross-sectional and analytical study was carried out in older adults. To assess the OHRQoL, the OHIP-14 instrument was applied, and the degree of social marginalization and sociodemographic characteristics were analyzed. Measures of central tendency and dispersion, simple frequencies and proportions were estimated. Student's t-test was used for comparison of means, and prevalence ratio (PR) and logistic regression were used to assess associations, all with a significance value of 0.05 and 95% confidence intervals. Perceived OHRQoL in the population measured through the OHIP-14 reached an average value of 9.84 ± 8.91, with the highest value in the dimension of physical pain (2.06 ± 1.91). Perceived treatment need was higher among people with social marginality (p = 0.011). The multivariate analysis shows that marginalized people have a lower OHRQoL. Socially marginalized older adults showed a low a better perception of OHRQoL, independent of demographic and clinical factors.

Social Evolution, Marginalization and Vulnerability of the Hijra Community in Bangladesh: A Historical Analysis

Hijra people live all over the world. They have a prehistoric connection to the first historical setting in which men and women were created. This article aims to provide facts about the nomenclature, identity, categorization, social status in different civilizations and religions, and the social evolution and marginalization of the hijra community. Based on secondary sources of data, this has been analyzed adopting a historical method. Social scientists claim that the hijra community is a district group that is neither man nor woman. The hijra group is recognized as a transgender or third gender since they do not undergo the typical maturity of their genitalia after birth due to an abrupt or aberrant physiological alteration in the chromosomes during fertilization and division. Hijra people have been documented in several ancient civilizations, including Mesopotamian, Babylonian, Sumerian, Egyptian, and Mediterranean societies throughout human history. Moreover, the concept of third gender has been explicitly and implicitly emphasized in Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. Over time, the social history and customs of the hijra people on the Indian subcontinent have evolved and changed due to the influence of Mughal rule, British colonization, the Pakistan period, and post-independence Bangladesh. Specifically, there have been several historical shifts in the metrics of domicile, profession, education, status and authority of the community. In addition to improving the lives of these marginalized and neglected people, this article may make a significant contribution to gender studies, sociology and anthropology by helping to comprehend the historical background of the community.

Strong Rights, Weak Remedies, and the Hollow Hope: Covid-19, Social Marginalization, and the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil

Strong Rights, Weak Remedies, and the Hollow Hope: Covid-19, Social Marginalization, and the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil

Precarious Emplacement in Croatia: Conceptualising More-Than-Transient Migration on the Balkan Route

The article argues that the dynamic of migration on the Balkan route is changing into something more than transit. Croatia is presented as a case in point of a site where former migration aspirations are redefined as migrants encounter various types of bordering mechanisms that decelerate migration and begin developing relations with other residents. We argue that the dynamic of mobility and immobility and the ways it entangles localities en route are crucial for understanding the changing migration patterns in the Balkans. We overview concepts such as “stuckness”, “waiting”, “permanent temporariness”, “limbo”, and “liminality”, which describe the ways in which migrants navigate between temporary and permanent states of movement and residence. Additionally, the article develops the concept of “precari¬ous emplacement” in order to move beyond transit and to capture the ambiguities between moving and staying, temporariness and permanence, and inclusion and exclusion. The concept highlights that the practices related to settling, along with the social interactions with other residents associated with them, occur in conditions of uncertainty and social marginalisation. Precarious emplacement encompasses the ways precarity permeates migrants’ experiences and the fabric of post-war and post-socialist urban spaces and relations they move through and come to inhabit. The article concludes by arguing that, given the heterogeneity of migrants’ life trajectories, the concept of a “transit migrant” may obscure the vulnerabilities migrants experience during periods of immobility, and it advocates for a more nuanced conceptual approach.

Zjawisko prekariatu w filmie fabularnym

This paper discusses selecting films (realized shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic) portraying the precariat in today’s world. Working poor in lowwage jobs cannot secure a livelihood, which creates frustration and leads to a loss of personal and social dignity among this social class. My main focus is human dignity in the face of poverty and economic and social marginalization, enabled by a political system allowing contemporary forms of exploitation. In this paper, I refer to social scientists and filmmakers who warn against the escalation of aggression brought on by this phenomenon. The research aim of my study was to acquire knowledge of how the precariat has been presented in selected films and whether and why this phenomenon is the cause of human dignity and social exclusion. The first part covers definitions of the terms involved (precariat, human dignity), while the second discusses three selected films that explore the subject above.

Gay Male Nomenclatures: Bounding the Information Ecology of Desire and Performance in Technologies and Applications

Information technology has brought many advantages for communications and new possibilities for knowledge organization, but also many ethical challenges and risks for groups at the social margins such as the LGBTIQ+ communities. Self-identifying nomenclature from social media websites such as Grindr, XVideos, TikTok, and Scruf were gathered; keywords and phrases were extracted and arrayed by frequency distribution and compared across sites. There are obvious site-specific emphases: in XVideos the terms are more sexual, in Scruf they are more identity oriented. The aggregated data show different practices of representation of gay males reflecting their sexual and affective interests, likes, and desires. These findings reflect the act of defining and organizing the knowledge about the identity of the group based on what is desirable both in themselves and in others pertaining to the same. The resulting terms can be grouped into three classes: sexual desires/orientation desire, physical characteristics, and sexual roles or performances. In addition to gender self-denomination terms, there are terms that can represent a person’s sexuality, including the description of the romantic or sexual attraction they feel. The snapshots of representation in different social applications studied here show a classification used and shared by the gay male community at present.

Breastfeeding Associated with Intestinal Parasitic Infections among Children Up to Two Years of Age at Selected Health Facilities in Karachi, Pakistan

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections have been a worldwide public health issue. The most vulnerable population is children due to their immature immune systems and nutritional requirements. IPIs are associated with improper sanitation, no access to safe water and improper hygiene, economic uncertainty, and social marginalization. Objective: This study aimed to determine the association of breastfeeding with IPIs among children up to two years of age at selected health facilities in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: The study was conducted among 160 children up to two years of age, out of which 80 were breastfed and 80 were non-breastfed. The study was carried out in selected health facilities in Karachi, Pakistan, from October 2022 to January 2023. The study design was analytical cross-sectional, and the data was collected through a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions related to the demographics of the children and their mothers, feeding practices, hygiene practices, and the health status of the children. Results: The overall prevalence of IPIs among children up to two years of age was 36.9%, with Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia Lamblia being the most common parasites identified. Breastfeeding was significantly associated with a lower risk of IPIs (OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.05-3.90, p=0.033). Other factors associated with IPIs included age 0 to 12 months (OR: 0.30, 95% CI: 0.12-0.74), the habit of fingernails trimming (OR:0.35, 95% CI: 0.17-0.72), mother's hand washing before preparing food (OR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.22-0.85), method of purifying drinking water (OR: 0.45,95% CI: 0.21-0.86) and history of diarrhea, abdominal pain, excessive crying, and perianal itching (OR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.02-3.76), (OR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.02-3.76), (OR: 2.88, 95% CI: 1.47-5.64) and (OR: 3.15, 95% CI: 1.50-6.60), respectively. Conclusion: Our study highlights the prevalence of IPIs among children up to two years of age in Karachi, Pakistan. Breastfeeding was found to be protective against IPIs, while other factors such as age, the habit of fingernail trimming, hand washing, water purification, and symptoms of infection were found to be associated with a higher risk of IPIs.

A robust ranking model for analysing marginality of regions of Mexico

Marginality still is a significant problem around the world. It generates poverty, social marginalisation and low quality of life. In that sense, the understanding of the systemic contributors to poverty and exclusion can help find better strategies to improve the population's quality of life. The present work studies the spatial dimensions of the marginality in Mexico as its geography and location. A robust ranking model is proposed to find robust parameters of ELimination Et Choix Traduisant la REalité (ELECTRE) III method, analyse the marginality of regions and find extreme marginality in geographical areas. The main finding is a map of marginality in Mexico, showing regions with extreme marginality. The study regards marginality dimensions based on education, housing (services access) and incomes in the population.

24 Bars to Kill: Hip Hop, Aspiration, and Japan’s Social Margins by Andrew B. Armstrong

24 Bars to Kill: Hip Hop, Aspiration, and Japan’s Social Margins by Andrew B. Armstrong

Counter- Representational Discourse of Islam in Islamophobic States: The Case of Mohja Kahf’s The Girl in Tangerine Scarf (2006)

Anglophone Arab literature in general and women in specific witnessed unprecedented change in content and quantity after the Twin Tower collapse. The September attacks of the 2011 brought about great political, social, cultural changes to the situation of Arabs in the West and America in particular since it destabilized their sense of belonging and created an agony and hostility against them. The experiences of social, political, and cultural marginality shape Arab Women’s diaspora fiction which, in turn, attempts to produce a rhetoric of resistance to counter-balance discourses of hierarchies and cultural binaries (self/other, black/white man woman and so forth). In this respect, The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf (2006), written by Arab American, Mohja Kahf, functions as a mirror which reflects on the image of Islam, the veil and Arab-Muslim identities in Islamophobic states. This paper, therefore, offers an investigation of how, in border zone, Mohja Kahf attempts to correct the fallacies vis-à-vis Islam and Muslim and negotiates journeys of displacement and dislocation that Arab immigrants may experience.

An examination of theory-based suicidal ideation risk factors in college students with multiple marginalized identities.

Social marginalization increases the risk of suicidal ideation (SI) among individuals with diverse identities, yet research examining the effects of marginalization has focused on one identity. Emerging adulthood is a critical period of identity development and the age group with the highest rates of SI. Considering the challenges of living in potentially heterosexist, cissexist, racist, and sizeist environments, we tested whether possessing multiple marginalized identities was associated with severity of SI through factors proposed in the interpersonal-psychological theory (IPT) and the three-step theory (3ST) of suicide and if mediation paths were moderated by sex. A sample of 265 college students completed a cross-sectional online survey assessing SI and constructs related to IPT and 3ST. The number of marginalized identities was generated by adding minoritized sexual orientation, race/ethnicity other than non-Hispanic White, body mass index >25 kg/m2, sexual attraction to same sex but identified as heterosexual, and gender-fluid identity. In IPT multiple mediation analyses, possessing more marginalized identities was associated with SI severity through burdensomeness and hopelessness, but not belonging. Indirect paths through burdensomeness and belonging were moderated by sex. For 3ST, possessing more marginalized identities was associated with SI severity through hopelessness and psychological pain, but not social connection or meaning in life. Future research should consider intersecting social identities and test mechanisms by which multiply marginalized college students develop resilience to SI risk factors, such as support within their marginalized groups, to inform suicide assessment and intervention efforts on college campuses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Cercetări arheologice în fosta colonie de muncă forţată din perioada comunistă de la Peninsula, canalul Dunăre – Marea Neagră / Archaeological excavations in the former communist forced-labour camp from Peninsula, the Danube – Black Sea canal

Despite the fact that Peninsula occupies an important place in the memorial literature and historical works regarding the political repression in communist Romania, the materiality of this forced labour colony on the trail of the Danube ‒ Black Sea Canal has been neglected both by archaeological research and by the institutions responsible for memory and heritage protection policies. In order to redress this situation, in the fall of 2020, the first archaeological surveys were carried out at Peninsula, with the following objectives : to draw a general plan of the site ; to make a repertory and detailed description of constructions and facilities (buildings, cement platforms, water tanks, concrete structures) ; to identify those structures which, by their construction elements, can be dated in the 1950s ; to identify, map and document the material traces associated with the working sites of the former forced labour colony ; to document the cemeteries where, according to testimonies, political prisoners from Peninsula were buried. The present archaeological analysis goes beyond the legal distinctions (“ political prisoners”, “ common law prisoners”) and historical chronologies with which the dominant narratives regarding the communist period operate (“ first Canal”, “ second Canal” ; communism, post‑communism) and reveals another kind of memory – of the marginal, of the anonymous and abandoned, of those forgotten, at a given moment, by history. From this perspective, the ruins at Peninsula are relevant not only for understanding communist repression, but also for understanding the mechanisms of social marginalization which are perpetuated to this day.

Festa e ocupação: uma análise ocupacional dos bailes da saudade

Abstract Introduction There are deep relationships between Brega parties and the city of Belém do Pará, Brazil, manifested in everyday practices that influence the city’s cultural, performance and identity characteristics. These parties are held weekly and inform three main actors: partygoers, bregueiros, and DJs. Even though they are widely validated in the periphery, the Brega parties face processes of social marginalization of their practices, with derogatory notions attributed to the ways of living and everyday actions of the subjects involved with this movement. Among the Brega parties, this study highlights the Baile da Saudade, which concentrates on characteristics more linked to the initial Brega movement. Objective To identify the meanings of producing/participating in the Baile da Saudade parties based on the perspective of its main actors. Method This qualitative study, which was inspired by an ethnographic approach, heard five participants: one DJ, two party planners, and two bregueiros. The data was generated through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and the Photovoice. The resources were analyzed by Thematic Analysis. Results Four thematic units were generated: particularities of the Baile da Saudade, construction of the party as a cultural product, differences in consumption between the Center and the Periphery of city, as well as stigmas and acceptance associated with this party. Conclusion The study revealed the constraints, tensions, and potentials of producing/participating in Baile da Saudade parties, and allowed reflection on the role of some occupations from the counter-hegemonic perspective.

Beyond the report: Prospects and challenges in forensic anthropological investigations of structural vulnerability

Forensic anthropologists are increasingly interested in accounting for embodied marginalization in addition to the biological profile. A structural vulnerability framework, which assesses biomarkers of social marginalization in individuals within forensic casework, is worthwhile but its application must be informed by ethical, interdisciplinary perspectives that reject categorizing suffering within the pages of a case report. Drawing from anthropological perspectives, we explore prospects and challenges of evaluating embodied experience in forensic work. Particular attention is paid to how forensic practitioners and stakeholders utilize a structural vulnerability profile within and beyond the written report. We argue that any investigation of forensic vulnerability must: (1) integrate rich contextual data, (2) be evaluated for potential to perpetuate harm, and (3) serve the needs of a diverse array of stakeholders. We call for a community-oriented forensic practice, wherein anthropologists may act as advocates for policy change to disrupt power structures driving vulnerability trends in their region.

POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE PERIOD OF POST-WAR RECOVERY OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY (EXAMPLE OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP)

The article considered the potential for the development of social entrepreneurship during the period of post-war recovery of the national economy. The peculiarities of this type of entrepreneurship, which will influence the implementation of entrepreneurial activity in this direction after the Victory of Ukraine, are analyzed. It is noted that the evaluation of the potential of the development of social entrepreneurship in Ukraine in the post-war period requires not only a clear structured set of relevant comparative indicators, but also their close connection with the description of the social state. It was determined that, connecting the essence of social entrepreneurship and the understanding of the potential, it is appropriate to consider the potential of social entrepreneurship development as a set of available opportunities of the relevant subjects to satisfy the social needs of certain segments of the population and to solve social problems in society. It was emphasized that one of the main tasks in assessing the state and trends in the development of social entrepreneurship in the national economy, and even more deeply – identifying and evaluating the potential of such development in the conditions of economic transformation and in conditions of limited state and local budgets for the full satisfaction of the social needs of vulnerable segments of the population there is a structuring of the population by groups during the period of post-war recovery of the national economy. It was concluded that, in a broad sense, the potential of social entrepreneurship forms a certain halo of qualitative and quantitative parameters of social development, which determines the ability of the corresponding bearer of social needs for social adaptability (socialization), financial independence and confidence, and this will allow to accelerate the processes of post-war national recovery economy. It is worth noting that the spread of social entrepreneurship is becoming a kind of trend against the background of increasing social problems in society and the importance of positive changes in society. The study shows that in this sphere of activity, the participants are guided by regulatory and legal documents of related or tangential spheres, in which the creation or functioning of entities of entrepreneurial activity by their form and activity can be considered social. Therefore, Ukraine should speed up work on the preparation of normative acts for the development of social entrepreneurship in the post-war period. The lack of separate statistical data on social entrepreneurship was noted both in terms of subjects and from the standpoint of generalizing social needs. Usually, statistical data of a similar nature are related to indicators of the functioning of the social protection system, or in terms of the implementation of certain areas of social policy. Ultimately, this aspect of the problem makes it difficult to objectively assess the potential of social entrepreneurship, since most of the indicators are substitutes or refer to general guidelines for the implementation of social policy without specifying the contribution to the achievement of results by the subjects of social entrepreneurship. It was concluded that in order to improve the state regulation of the development of social entrepreneurship in the period of the post-war recovery of the national economy, a complex system of indicators should be formed, the analysis of the dynamics of which enables the institutions of regulatory influence to respond in a timely manner to the real potential of the accumulated social tension caused by the growing scale of population stratification by income level and increasing social marginalization.

Gabriella Gelardini. Deciphering the Worlds of Hebrews: Collected Essays

Gabriella Gelardini. <i>Deciphering the Worlds of Hebrews: Collected Essays</i>

Social Exclusion: A Subaltern Perspective in Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

Postcolonial Indian society appears to have achieved political freedom but has yet to get social freedom. The modern, democratic Indian society is not yet free as for as the caste system, the unequal distribution of wealth, the safety and security of women, minorities and children, and so on are concerned. The term social exclusion or social marginalisation means ostracization or alienation of an individual or a community as a whole on the base of wealth, social status, caste, class, religion, gender etc. This paper offers a critique of Arundhati Roy’s second published novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness in 2017 to understand the integration of the theme of social exclusion and subalternation in the novel. The novel is fundamentally a painful story of everyone and everything oppressed and suppressed and drifting to the margins of society by the powerful class. The narrative is dedicated to ‘The Unconsoled’ such as the Hijras, the outcasts, women, the Kashmiris, the disappeared, the displaced so on and so forth. The novel transports us on a journey that spans many years, from the claustrophobic Old Delhi neighbourhoods to the escalating new metropolis and beyond, to the Kashmir Valley and the forests of central India, where war is concord and concord is war, and where, occasionally, normality is avowed.

Quality of life is associated with vaccine reluctance via mental health and fear of covid-19: an exploratory investigation on a Palestinian sample

ABSTRACT Quality of life (QoL) has been studied as an antecedent of good mental health in contexts characterized by extreme poverty and acute conflict. The covid-19 crisis exacerbated the risks of health-related consequences in such contexts. Vaccination campaigns have been started worldwide to contain the virus outbreak with high rates of hesitancy and refusal. Our exploratory study sheds light on the relationship between QoL and vaccine reluctance via mental health and fear of covid-19 in a Palestinian population affected by military occupation or socioeconomic marginalization. Who-QolBref, Fcov-19, and Dass were administered to 1122 Palestinian adults living in the occupied territories and Israel. Structural equation modelling was applied to test the relations between variables. Results showed that fear of COVID-19, stress, anxiety and depression mediated the association between QoL and vaccination reluctance with a good model fit (χ2 (5) = 828.37; p = .001; GFI=.93; AGFI=.94; RMSEA=.046; NFI=.94; CFI=.95). QoL and mental health were negatively associated with stress (βX, Y = - .35; p < .001), depression (βX, Y = −.37; p < .001), and anxiety (βX, Y = −.36; p < .001). QoL and fear of COVID- 19 (βX, Y = −.16; p < .001) were inversely correlated. A positive effects was found between stress (βM, Y = .17; p < .001), anxiety (βM, Y = .18; p < .001), and depression (βM, Y = .17; p < .001), fear of COVID-19 and vaccination reluctance (βX, Y = .23; p < .001). According to our findings, Public health measures to ease the social suffering of people with low QoL due to conflict and social marginality might favour the acceptance of the vaccine.

Strangers and Necropolitics in NoViolet Bulawayo's We Need New Names

As a contribution to the recent call for the study of the figure of the stranger in African spaces (Ikhane, 2020), this article examines the first half of NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names (2013). The main reason for this, it is argued, is that the description of the protagonist’s pre-migratory living conditions throughout this part of the narrative reveals a Zimbabwean nation in which the necropolitics resulting from the failures of decolonisation have turned certain segments of the population into strangers in their own land. Their “living dead” status in a situation of social and spatial marginalisation recalls, in particular, the notion of the stranger as the “socially dead” (Rothe &amp; Collins, 2016). However, unlike this and other classical strangers living in a Western urban context, the literary strangers studied here do not represent an othered minority in the community but, rather, exemplify what appears to be a widely shared condition of “strangerness” in some contemporary African cities.