Social Processes Research Articles

Aware and unaware- stereotypes and gender scripts in family narratives in the process of education

The aim of the article is to discuss the issues of shaping gender roles in children of early school age, taking into account the importance of stereotypes and gender scripts in this process.First of all, the basic concepts of roles, stereotypes and scripts referring to gender were presented, then I briefly reconstructed the basic assumptions of theories explaining the process of shaping a child's gender identity, in the second part of the considerations I discuss the most common patterns of female and male roles in Polish culture and present their relationships with the construction of identity, at the end I shared information on what behaviors should be avoided and how can we replace them so as not to disturb the formation of the child's ideas about functioning in gender roles. I am looking for answers to questions important from the research point of view: what role does communicative knowledge play in the process of shaping children's ideas about gender roles, and what role does conjunctive knowledge (experience) play? Is it possible to avoid stereotyping that comes from the dichotomy of gender roles in interactions with a child? How do images of gender roles become scripts? What is the significance of interference of messages from different environments (family, school, peer group) for the formation of a child's gender identity?Finally I emphasize the importance of both the narrative and dialogical character of education as a process of conscious influence on the formation of the child's ideas about gender roles (communicative knowledge), but also the broader impact of socialization processes, including intergenerational transmission (knowledge/conjuctive experience).

The interplay between the urban development of Rome (Italy) and the Tiber River floods: A review of two millennia of socio-hydrological history.

The urban development of Rome (Italy) has been intertwined with the dynamics of the Tiber River since its foundation. In this review paper, we analyse more than 2500years of flood history and urban development to untangle the dynamics of flood risk and assess the resulting socio-hydrological phenomena. Until the 1800s, urban dwellers living in the riparian areas of the Tiber River were accustomed to frequent flooding. From the 1900s, the construction of flood walls reshaped the co-evolution of hydrological, economic, political, technological, and social processes. As a result, while the probability of flooding is currently very low, its potential adverse consequences would be catastrophic. From the analysis of the long-term feedback between urban development of Rome and flood events from ancient times to present days, it emerges the crucial need for an effective flood risk mitigation strategy that combines structural and non-structural measures. In particular, heightened flood risk awareness and preparedness to cope with rare but potentially devastating events is key to alleviate flood risk.

Interethnic communications in the formation and implementation of state information policy

The article examines the problems of interethnic communications in the context of changing state information policy and from the point of view of the increasing impact of mass media on social processes in the world. The author introduces the concept of pseudo-communication used by subjects of the global information space, in particular, within the framework of information confrontation. Analyzing the space of political communication, the author draws attention to its saturation with information noise, verbal aggression, which creates problems and barriers in the process of communication between states. These problems are no less characteristic of interethnic communications, that is, for the processes of interaction with certain ethnic groups or between them. Noting the growth of the ethnic factor in modern political processes, the author calls for taking into account the range of problems inherent in interethnic communications at the present stage of their development, in the formation and practical implementation of the state information policy, which should respond to the needs and interests of society, taking into account the cultural and ethnic diversity of its representatives.

Inside the football factory: young players’ reflections on being ‘released’

ABSTRACT Every year, most young football players experience deselection and for some, this has profound consequences including drug addiction and death. Yet little is known about these young hopefuls whose careers are abruptly cut short and who are released into a world they are ill prepared for. This study brings a social psychological lens to examine how social identity processes underpin these consequences. Our research sheds light on the formation of a footballer identity in young players; one that is exclusive and excluding, that devalues alternative identities, and that cuts young players off from alternative sources of self-worth and support. The first author, a deselected player with professional football experience, conducted semi-structured interviews with eight males (M = 26.63, SD = 4.66), who had been deselected at an early age. Through reflexive thematic analysis we identified three themes that spoke to (a) the centrality of football identities and how this was fostered by clubs to the detriment of players; (b) the experience of deselection as ‘exiting the bubble’ and the mixed emotions of pain, relief, and bewilderment; and (c) the enduring importance and complex understanding of the footballer identity as something that continues to shape who they are. Our analysis implicates players, their parents, clubs, and wider society in the development of a footballer identity, which leaves young men vulnerable to life-long health consequences. Our findings contribute to calls for deeper consideration and action around football club culture, and clubs’ responsibility for player welfare, including when players are released.

Exploring the influence of contextual factors on social entrepreneurial intentions: A study of generation Z

With the increasing trend of social entrepreneurship intention research, the literature is majorly fragmented into examining the influence of individual personality level factors. Little attention has been given to the role of contextual factors which affect the social entrepreneurial intention process. The purpose of the study is to explore the inter-relationships between contextual factors i.e., perceived support and perceived barriers with social entrepreneurship intentions of Generation Z in the presence of theory of planned behaviour. Data was collected from 610 students in undergraduate and postgraduate courses. PLS-SEM 4.0 was used for the analysis. PLSpredict and IPMA were employed. Results of our study highlights the significant positive impact of perceived support and negative impact of perceived barriers on social entrepreneurial intentions. Theory of planned behaviour holds different significant as a mediator for both the contextual factors. Majority of the current body of literature on social entrepreneurship has focused on testing intentions of older generations. Therefore, empirically testing the impact of contextual factors (combined) from entrepreneurship support system framework on social entrepreneurial intentions among the Generation Z in a developing economy context provides valuable insights.

New Trust Based Smart Data Forwarding Mechanism in Vehicular Delay Tolerant Network

Vehicular Delay Tolerant Network (VDTN) is the growing field with a considerable possibility to handle future wireless application’s requirements. Using vehicles for the data communication purpose can be contemplated as a substitute for the wired and wireless systems. This paper proposes a trust-based data forwarding mechanism for Vehicular Delay Tolerant Network (VDTN). Data forwarding in VDTN requires every vehicular or stationary node to participate in data forwarding. But some time malicious nodes show non-cooperative behaviour in data forwarding. Therefore, malicious nodes must be identified specifically to accelerate the data forwarding. A threshold based social skeleton membership process along with new trust-based data forwarding mechanism is proposed in this paper. We reveal that the social skeleton members perform better in data forwarding in terms of data delivery ratio, data delay and data overhead. Simulation results demonstrate that the trust-based data forwarding improves the data delivery ratio with trust-based data forwarding approach. After simulation a comparative analysis of two different scenarios is presented with epidemic routing, prophet routing and spray and wait routing.

Potential of media resources in popularizing volunteer activities

The article is devoted to the potential of mass media in popularization of volunteering among students. Development of media technologies inevitably influences the process of socialization. Digital media resources have a strong influence on the formation of behavior patterns, norms and rules, and therefore their capabilities can be used to develop a prosocial orientation in the behavior of young people. Promotion of volunteer activities involves an appropriate choice of channels and methods of presenting information in the mass media, taking into account the characteristics of the audience. Effective constructs in this process can be strategies that involve the possibility of influencing decision-making at the subconscious level, including on the basis of priming, framing, imprinting by focusing the audience's attention on strategically important moments and situations. The combination of social, cognitive and information technologies makes it possible to include manipulative techniques in the communicative and information space that contribute to the formation of an attractive image of volunteering and motivation of corresponding behavioral attitudes.

Понятие и признаки правовой системы общества как динамичной и нелинейно развивающейся структуры

The article is devoted to the study of the key features of the legal system of society, which characterize it as a nonlinear, dynamically developing, complexly organized form of coexistence of legal phenomena, through which the impact on social relations is carried out. Based on the study of the key stages in the formation of the legal system as one of the most important categories of jurisprudence and its elemental composition, the thesis is substantiated that the most important features of a legal system should include its ability to self-organize, adaptability, emergence, alternative development, relative self-sufficiency and autonomy in constant active interaction with other social systems. The conclusion is formulated that the legal system of society is both an object of research and an analytical instrument that should be used when carrying out a systemic-structural analysis of social phenomena and processes.

From Health Risks to Environmental Actions: Research on the Pathway of Guiding Citizens to Participate in Pocket-Park Governance

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the demand for urban pocket parks near residential areas, posing new challenges for environmental governance. However, there is a lack of research on how to engage citizens in pocket-park governance to address both potential and unforeseen risks. This study combines social information processing theory with a norm activation model to develop a framework that identifies the shaping stages and influencing factors of citizens’ intentions to participate in pocket-park governance. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling, this research analyzed the relationships among external factors, attitudes, moral norms, and intentions to participate based on 719 responses from an online survey targeting Chinese citizens in November and December 2023. Results indicate that health risks and pocket-park environmental quality positively affect perceived usefulness. Attitudes and moral norms are indeed important factors mediating the positive effect of the external environment on the intention to participate. The pathway of guiding citizens to participate in pocket-park governance is clarified, which helps bolster the resilience of urban green spaces and improve the quality of life of residents after public crises.

Теоретические аспекты взаимодействия субъектов конституционного права

Considering the relationship between any subjects of constitutional law, it should be noted that their interaction is the most effective and efficient. In this study, it is perceived as an analogue of the category “cooperation”; partnership is also considered as one of the components of this social phenomenon. Studying the essence of interaction between the actors under consideration allows us to understand the mechanisms and legal basis for its implementation for the subsequent modernization of legal regulation, based on the actual practice of its implementation, as well as on the needs of society and naturally occurring social processes.

A human-centered approach for designing a social care referral platform.

Health Information Technology (HIT) is increasingly being used to help providers connect patients with community resources to meet health related social needs (e.g., food, housing, transportation). Research is needed to design efficient, simple, and engaging interfaces during a sensitive process that involves multiple stakeholders. Research is also needed to understand the roles, expectations, barriers, and facilitators these different stakeholders (i.e., patients, providers, and Community-based Organizations (CBOs) face during this process. We applied the Human-Centered Design approach to develop a multi-interface social care referral platform. This approach allowed us to understand the needs of each stakeholder and address potential workflow concerns. This paper reports on the research team's understanding of the design process from 48 different user tests. We conducted three rounds of user testing on an interactive prototype(s) and adapted the prototype after each round. Our results summarize a number of key findings useful for patients, clinical teams, and staff of CBOs when designing a social care referral platform. Our user testing highlighted that patient-facing interfaces offer tremendous opportunities to allow patients to be the leader of the social care referral process. CBOs have varying needs that must be addressed, and providing CBO staff with opportunities to connect with patients is critical. Finally, healthcare teams have more structured workflows. Integration within the electronic health record system provides opportunities for healthcare staff to support their patients more easily given these barriers.

Functional specialization and distributed processing across marmoset lateral prefrontal subregions.

A prominent aspect of primate lateral prefrontal cortex organization is its division into several cytoarchitecturally distinct subregions. Neurophysiological investigations in macaques have provided evidence for the functional specialization of these subregions, but an understanding of the relative representational topography of sensory, social, and cognitive processes within them remains elusive. One explanatory factor is that evidence for functional specialization has been compiled largely from a patchwork of findings across studies, in many animals, and with considerable variation in stimulus sets and tasks. Here, we addressed this by leveraging the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) to carry out large-scale neurophysiological mapping of the lateral prefrontal cortex using high-density microelectrode arrays, and a diverse suite of test stimuli including faces, marmoset calls, and spatial working memory task. Task-modulated units and units responsive to visual and auditory stimuli were distributed throughout the lateral prefrontal cortex, while those with saccade-related activity or face-selective responses were restricted to 8aV, 8aD, 10, 46V, and 47. Neurons with contralateral visual receptive fields were limited to areas 8aV and 8aD. These data reveal a mixed pattern of functional specialization in the lateral prefrontal cortex, in which responses to some stimuli and tasks are distributed broadly across lateral prefrontal cortex subregions, while others are more limited in their representation.

Robin Dunbar: The neurobiology of human sociality

Robin Dunbar is an eminent evolutionary psychologist and anthropologist whose pioneering work has permanently redefined how we think about human social relationships. Dunbar, who is an emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford, became world-renowned for, among other contributions, his formulation of “Dunbar's number,” a theoretical limit to the number of stable social relationships an individual can maintain, typically cited as about 150. That idea, which he developed as he studied the relationship between brain size and social group size in various primate species, has since had broad influences across areas from social media design to organizational management. Over time, Dunbar's number has become more widely known and discussed, particularly with the advent of social media and online social networks. This has led to renewed interest in its implications for digital social interactions. Dunbar's illustrious career spans multiple prestigious institutions, including, prior to joining Oxford in 2007, the University of Cambridge, the University of Stockholm (Sweden), University College London and the University of Liverpool. He is a fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Anthropological Institute, a Foreign Member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, and an elected Honorary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His interdisciplinary expertise is reflected in his professorships in psychology, evolutionary biology, and anthropology at institutions such as Liverpool and Oxford Universities. He has held a visiting chair in statistical physics and computer science at Aalto University, Finland, which has also awarded him an honorary doctorate. Dunbar studies the evolution of social processes in primates and humans, with work that blends neurobiology, cognitive science, and the social dynamics of how we communicate via friendship networks. His insights into friendships and community cohesion continue to shape our understanding of human social behaviour in the digital age. It is an absolute pleasure that Professor Dunbar answered the Genomic Press Interview as we celebrate the extraordinary story of his scientific odyssey with our readers.

Social Contexts in Social Work: a View from Teachers in the Centro East and Colombian Caribbean Region

Objective: To reveal, from the point of view of the teachers dedicated to the training of social workers, the meanings they attribute to the social contexts in order to establish relationships with the training emphases proposed by the social work programs in the Caribbean and central-eastern regions of the Colombian territory. Theoretical Framework: oriented from the study group methodology, where the exchange of knowledge was the basis for analyzing and deciding the basic theoretical course for the configuration of historical and theoretical perspectives of the developed process, based on local sociologies to understand life contexts of subjects and communities, which paraphrasing Wiebke Keim (2010) work the dynamics of the local, recovering the voices of actors against the classical social theory that marked even the powers of the so-called North Atlantic. Method: the study was developed from the hermeneutic paradigm, qualitative approach, non-probabilistic designs, focus group technique and discourse analysis, aimed at teachers of Social Work Programs. Results and Discussion: the relationship of the context as a scenario where interactions are developed is reaffirmed, product of an economic structure that determines certain social representations, built in the groups permeated by social dynamics and intervention processes influenced by diagnoses that give reading to social, economic and political determinants that allow their development. Research Implications: It contributes to the epistemological, theoretical and methodological developments of Social Work from the reading of context. Originality/value: It provides views of context related to the emphasis of training that give sense to areas of professional performance.

Cohabitation with criminals: civilian women’s everyday cooperation with Mexican drug cartels

ABSTRACT Armed conflicts between drug cartels and the Mexican government have caused collateral damage to local communities while prompting various responses from civilian women. Existing studies on women’s reactions to narco-violence have focused on either their active resistance against violence or their direct participation in cartels. In reality, however, most civilian women’s actions exist on a spectrum between these two extreme poles, which has received relatively little attention in the literature. This article examines how civilian women cooperate with cartels by analyzing qualitative data, including 37 semi-structured interviews with participants from Jalisco, Mexico. Using the concept of “everyday cooperation,” we divide civilian women’s actions to cohabit with cartels in the narco-environment into three categories: keeping silent, pursuing benefits, and idealizing narco-culture. Though civilian women’s actions are shaped by the normalization of violence embedded in their local communities, they strategize their behavior through social learning processes. This study conceptually and empirically contributes to the literature on civilian agency under narco-violence by scrutinizing the array of local civilian women’s responses to pervasive criminal violence, focusing on their daily cooperation with cartels in Mexico.

Developing an interprofessional identity complementary to a professional identity - findings related to Extended Professional Identity Theory (EPIT).

Collaboration among various professions often faces barriers owing to divergent perspectives, priorities, and expertise shaped by distinct socialization processes. These differences can hinder effectiveness, efficiency, and workforce well-being. The Extended Professional Identity Theory (EPIT) addresses this issue by fostering an interprofessional identity without weakening professional identities. Drawing from psychological theories, EPIT explains the coexistence of interprofessional and professional identities, and predicts associated behaviors. It also emphasizes the importance of combining interprofessional identity formation with developing interprofessional competencies and adapting to environmental factors to achieve synergy in (temporary or permanent) mixed profession groups. Introduced in 2018, EPIT research initially relied on the measurement of congruent interprofessional behaviors as indirect indicators of interprofessional identity that could not yet be measured. An experiment demonstrated that enhancing social identification in mixed profession groups with interprofessional assignments reduced the social hierarchy within 6 h across three meetings. The 2020 development of the Extended Professional Identity Scale (EPIS) confirmed interprofessional identity as a three-dimensional social construct. So far, several scientific studies have supported many propositions of EPIT. These propositions are related to dimensionality and various psychometric properties, cross-cultural similarities, evidence and clues for interprofessional identity formation, and its predictive validity in interprofessional education and collaborative practice. Türkiye is among several countries (e.g., the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Lithuania, Finland, and Indonesia) where EPIT-based interprofessional identity is being investigated. To illustrate contextual differences and their potential cross-cultural implications, it is valuable to explore how interprofessional identity adds value in the Turkish context. This approach facilitates understanding the regional implications of interprofessional identity, including interprofessional education initiatives, increased university engagement, the development of measurement instruments, challenges and future directions, and national and international collaborations. This paper aims to explain and clarify EPIT propositions compared to other theories, describe current evidence, and outline future research directions, with a focus on developments within the Turkish context as a showcase.

Beyond markets. On field competition in higher education

ABSTRACT Competition today has become a central policy imperative in higher education. Connected to resource efficiency and scarcity, it remains closely attached to the idea of the market but reaches beyond when related to positional or status orders. In the higher education literature such varieties of competition – as distinct social processes – are still under-investigated. In drawing on common references to competition in the literature and empirical examples the paper identifies and outlines two separable forms: market and field competition. The distinction shows that there are fundamental differences in the way competition in higher education plays out which should not be viewed merely as variations of market settings. To outline the differences among the two forms the paper follows a two-step iterative process. The paper first highlights a time-bound analytical problem in common market-references. Drawing on empirical work by Michel Callon it specifies market competition as the construction, singularisation and detachment of a good. As empirical examples from the German higher education case show, such singularisation and detachment are rarely complete, competition rather operates through the attachment of universities to status-consecrating intermediaries, as analysed in the status competition literature. In a second step, the paper outlines the main premises of status competition but also its lack of a comprehensive frame that could qualify it as a distinct form of competition. The ‘field’ fills this void by providing a selective relational space on which universities can act and observe themselves competing, reinforced by multiple intermediaries.

THE PROBLEM OF VIOLENCE IN THE ANCIENT CULTURAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITION

The article attempts to trace the key points of view on the problem of violence in the philosophical views of the most famous thinkers of European antiquity. It is shown that in the system of social relations, violence in its pure form plays the role of the oldest and most primitive way of resolving the objectively existing conflict of interests of the participants of the social process. The nature of the conflict is rooted in the actual inequality of one subject to another, which finds its fullest expression in the inequality of the needs of individuals. It is substantiated that violence becomes a legal regulator of public interests when the extent of its use in society is recognized by the majority. It is shown that in the context of the development of ancient philosophy, the problem of violence was considered mainly in connection with the socio-political teachings of the classics of Greek philosophy, as well as within the framework of moral discourse. The phenomenon of violence was not tolerated by representatives of ancient philosophy as a separate problem worthy of consideration.

A Systematic Review of Interventions to Promote Parent-Teacher Relationships in Early Care and Education: Exploring the Social Process Between Parents and Teachers

Parent-teacher relationships are known to promote positive outcomes for young children in early childhood education; however, parents and teachers face barriers to forming quality relationships. To better understand how to support parents and teachers in forming quality relationships, the present systematic review sought to identify existing interventions designed to promote quality parent-teacher relationships in early childhood education. Systematic search and data extraction identified peer-reviewed manuscripts describing interventions that included components to increase parent-teacher relationships in early childhood education. Each included manuscript was evaluated to answer the following questions: (1) how is the social process between parents and teachers conceptualized?, (2) what strategies were used to improve this social process?, and (3) what outcomes are associated with improving this social process ? Nine out of the 1,992 nonduplicate screened manuscripts met inclusion criteria. Results indicate a small body of research focused solely on interventions designed to improve parent-teacher relationships. Included interventions were limited in their conceptualization of the social process between parents and teachers, strategies to improve it, and associated outcomes assessed. Additional research is needed to understand low-cost and highly feasible interventions that promote quality parent-teacher relationships in early childhood education.

Digital socialization: Insights into interpersonal communication motives for socialization in social networks among undergraduate students

Social interactions and communication between individuals have been completely transformed by digital technology (DT). People from all around the world can now communicate with each other thanks to social media platforms. The main focus of this study is on interpersonal communication motives (ICM) in social networks (SNs), aiming to examine how Ethiopian undergraduate students socialize in relation to digital technologies (DTs). A concurrent design with a mixed approach was utilized, including self-administered questionnaires and focus group discussions (FGD) during the data collection process. The students' ICM were used to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences and perspectives towards digital socialization (DS) in SNs. A total of 312 undergraduates aged 18 to 27 participated in the study, with 202 being male and 110 female. The results of the investigation highlighted the significance of SNs in shaping undergraduate students' ICM. The findings demonstrate the benefits of SNs in facilitating students' socialization process by providing a platform for interaction, communication, and relationship-building. Interestingly, there were no significant variations in ICM in DS using SNs based on gender. By exploring how students socialize within SNs, this study aims to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the subject. Educational institutions and policymakers could leverage these findings to understand the advantages of incorporating SNs into students' academic experiences, ultimately enhancing their socialization process and overall well-being.