Teaching against torture: Evidence based abolitionist pedagogies in an era of intensified bordering.

Recent years have seen the progressive expansion of Integrative Medicine (IM) as a self-proclaimed movement of medical professionals aiming to radically re-orient medicine's reductionist focus on disease and treatment towards a new approach centred on health and healing. Despite its increasing mainstream visibility, IM remains under-theorised in the social sciences and is often dismissed as a repackaged version of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). As a result, little scholarly attention has been paid to the kinds of questions that IM poses to conventional medicine, or, indeed, why it appears to capture the imagination of an ever-growing number of medical practitioners discontent with the status quo. Based on a pilot study with leading IM doctors in the UK conducted in 2023-24, this paper argues that their engagement with IM reflects a deep disconcertment with the conceptual and practical limitations of conventional medical practice. Rather than a coherent field of theory and practice, IM emerges as a heterogenous space for problematising medicine's perceived limitations and for experimenting with new modes of 'response-ability'; that is, new ways of engaging with the situated demands of therapeutic encounters. While questions remain about IM's ability to unsettle some of the problematic conceptual assumptions that inform current medical orthodoxies, I argue that it offers not just a compelling object for social scientific inquiry but also a potential site from within which to reimagine what a different medicine might look like.

Where do uninsured patients go? The paradox of collaborative network dynamics in interhospital transfers.

Grid networks are electrical distribution infrastructures that are typically represented as essential for society, however, constructing new power lines often creates conflict. Developing a critical-spatial approach to social acceptance, this research defined such conflicts as underpinned by spatially-embedded and multi-scalar power asymmetries between different stakeholders and organisations. Attending to the spatial dimensions of power, we extend the critical social acceptance literature in three ways. First, by investigating how stakeholders, technologies and discourses are embedded across spaces, places and scales. Second, by assessing the performative dimensions of imaginaries used to legitimise or contest power line proposals. Third, by adopting a methodological approach that integrated participatory GIS into semi structured interviews. We use the Munga-Hamra power line proposal in Sweden as a case study. Thematic analysis revealed how the powerline was legitimated by an ‘elite’ coalition of private and public sector stakeholders who ‘localised’ a national socio-technical imaginary in regional and local imaginaries of industrial growth. The power line was contested by a coalition of rural stakeholders including affected landowners, residents and tourism businesses who invoked imaginaries of a ‘rural idyll’ to argue for undergrounding the line. Both coalitions legitimated their positions by ‘othering’ imaginaries held by the adversary coalition (e.g., urban vs. rural). Moreover, we identified a third set of ‘neutral’ actors who strategically avoided adversarial positions and coalition membership. The findings illustrate the valuable contributions that critical-spatial approaches to social acceptance research can make; and the significance of attending to stakeholders with overlooked ‘neutral’ positionalities within such conflicts.

Understanding the key domains of adolescent social media experience: a parallel Delphi study with young people and key adults

Five years on—Impact of social tourism research in Finland

• Challenges the assumption that customer engagement signals a strong brand relationship. • Recasts engagement by exposing self–presentation as a core motivational driver. • Identifies three self–presentation–driven engagement behavior types. • Highlights risks for firms relying on surface–level engagement metrics. Customer engagement research assumes engagement is underpinned by pre-existing purchase or usage relationships and genuine cognitive or emotional connections with a brand. However, social media research reveals extensive activity motivated by self-presentation, resulting in content that lacks veracity. This paper explores self-presentation-driven engagement behaviors on social media and the brand relationships that drive them. A qualitative study employing semi-structured interviews with 30 Facebook users was conducted, revealing three types of engagement behaviors for self-presentation (EBSP) — “staged,” “fanciful,” and “faked” behaviors — and identifying their underlying brand relationships and consumer motivations that deviate from existing assumptions in engagement research. This study contributes by (1) introducing new types of engagement behaviors informed by self-presentation theory; (2) challenging assumptions about the brand relationships that support customer engagement; (3) reframing how engagement should be conceptualized and studied; and (4) revealing how engagement behaviors reflect differing levels of congruity between the self and brand.

Public acceptability of fusion energy: A scoping review of social science research

Understanding the impact of social determinants of health in hematology: a scoping review of trends across journals and over time.

This technique is crucial, but problems arise from insufficient rotation speed, which affects accuracy. In reality, many beginner table tennis players and UKM members still experience difficulties in producing consistent serves, especially with variations in spin and precise ball placement. Observations during the UKM training program indicate that many students struggle to control the ball''s direction, vary its spin, and maintain consistency in their service strokes. This research design uses a quasi-experimental type of research, design the Non-Equivalent Control Design Group is the most frequently used design in social research. This design is where the experimental group is influenced by a particular variable by involving a non-randomly selected control group, measured before and after the intervention. The sample used in this study consisted of 22, the experimental and control groups were divided equally, with 11 participants per variable class. The results of the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that the covariate variable (pretest) had a significant effect on the posttest score, F (1,39) 8.224 p 0.007. After controlling for the influence of the pretest score, the posttest score experienced a significant difference, F (3,39) 13.605 p 0.001 partial N2 0.511. However, from an inferential perspective, the statistical analysis showed no significant difference between the experimental and control groups (p0.05). This indicates that the effectiveness of the New Spin Wheel method has not been proven strongly at the 5% significance level. This insignificance may be influenced by several methodological factors, including the relatively small sample size, differences in initial ability levels between the groups, and limited control of variables in a quasi-experimental design.

This article outlines two initiatives: (1) a part-time course in research methods for social workers in practice; and (2) a study of an evidence-based screening tool in child protection. Presentations of these at the Evidence into Practice Special Interest Group session at the European Association for Social Work Research 2025 conference are summarised. They are discussed using the overarching concepts of acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility as examples of practical approaches to bringing evidence from research into practice.

The article provides a theoretical analysis of the role of methodological pluralism in contemporary science and substantiates its significance for the development of research competence of PhD students within the system of third-level higher education training in the specialty of Public Administration and Management. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing complexity of scientific knowledge, the interdisciplinary nature of modern research, and the need to develop researchers’ ability to navigate a variety of theoretical approaches and methodological strategies. It is shown that in contemporary philosophy of science methodological pluralism is considered an important characteristic of the development of scientific knowledge, reflecting the coexistence of different research programmes, theoretical models, and explanatory concepts. Recognition of the plurality of methodological approaches contributes to a deeper analysis of complex social phenomena and opens opportunities for integrating various research strategies and conceptual frameworks. Particular attention is paid to the significance of methodological pluralism in social and administrative research, where the objects of analysis are characterized by multidimensionality, dynamism, and interaction of different social institutions. In this context, the expediency of combining different methodological approaches and research methods is substantiated, which makes it possible to ensure a more comprehensive analysis of public administration processes. It is argued that the course “Philosophy of Science” plays an important role in developing the methodological culture of future researchers and constitutes an essential component of PhD training in higher education. The use of methodological pluralism principles in teaching this course contributes to the development of critical thinking, the ability for methodological reflection, and the conscious selection of research strategies. The study concludes that integrating the ideas of methodological pluralism into the content and teaching methodology of the Philosophy of Science course contributes to the development of research competence of PhD students, the formation of their methodological culture, and the improvement of the quality of scientific research in the field of public administration.

This article examines the preparedness of emergency management (EM) for addressing questions pertaining to artificial intelligence (AI), encompassing its benefits to EM missions, the potential biases, the societal impacts, and more. We pinpoint two key shortcomings in early EM research on AI: (i) insufficient discussion of both AI's history and evolution; and (ii) a lack of frameworks for organising AI-related knowledge-building efforts. We offer a comprehensive survey of AI that is tailored for EM scholars and practitioners. Then, utilising the case of cyberspace and domain concept development, we explore the challenges of applying legacy ideas to disruptive technologies. We argue that current EM frameworks struggle to align with emerging technologies; as a result, we propose a new framework that bridges EM-specific concerns and broader social science inquiries and AI. This framework aims to facilitate research and practical efforts to navigate the complexities of AI technology within the context of EM.

ABSTRACT In humanitarian work, data play an increasingly important role in programming and decision-making for population assessments, resource allocation and aid prioritisation. Based on qualitative field research conducted in Uganda, the study examines how ‘data-driven’ vulnerability assessment tools mediate social life in the Nakivale and Oruchinga refugee settlements. Drawing on literature from feminist science and technology studies, refugee studies, critical humanitarianism and social policy research, this study reveals how assessment tools that rely on standardised and quantitative methods have constitutive effects, generating new forms of social arrangements, subjectivities and precarity through their assumptions, logic and design. The main argument is that current prioritised assistance functions less as an assessment of vulnerability and more as a mechanism to identify households considered ‘stable’ enough to be excluded from assistance. The normative and gendered notions about the refugee household underpinning assessment tools such as the household questionnaire, eligibility criteria and the database work to restructure familialrelationships in problematic ways, introducing new insecurities as evidenced by increased family violence, child abandonment and further marginalisation through secondary uses of data. Ultimately, these tools do more than determine access to scarce resources. They reconfigure refugee livelihoods, sense of self, social and community standing and their relationships.

This article examines inclusive work models in Russian cultural institutions, documenting institutional models of work with the blind and visually impaired in Russian museums and theaters against the backdrop of a broadening inclusion agenda and a shift toward results-oriented management approaches in the cultural sector. The goal is to classify models of interaction with this group of visitors and highlight their strengths and weaknesses in terms of management, resources, and sustainability. Modeling and comparative analysis of empirical data are used, drawing on monitoring data conducted by the VER.SIA LAB Laboratory for Social Research and Analytics in 2024 as part of the "Special View" Program of the Art, Science, and Sport Foundation. Three successive stages of inclusive policy development in cultural organizations are identified, also known as models of inclusive policy: episodic, project-based, and program-based. The episodic model is based on one-time actions and the enthusiasm of individual employees. It is not formally documented and lacks its own budget, making inclusion vulnerable to staffing and financial changes. The project model relies on grants, sponsorship, and team expansion, enabling more regular practices, but remains dependent on external funding and a shortage of staff dedicated to inclusion. The program-based model assumes inclusion is integrated into the development strategy, with stable internal funding and specialized positions allocated. However, it faces the risk of bureaucratization and loss of priority when the management agenda shifts. The transition from the episodic to the project-based and then to the program-based model requires management support, inclusion being anchored in strategic documents, regular budgeting, developing partnerships with NGOs and communities of people with visual impairments, and their inclusion in participatory program design. For cultural institution managers, a typology of inclusion models is important as a tool for assessing the current level of development of inclusive work, planning a transition to more sustainable models, and minimizing risks associated with human factors and funding instability. The authors formulate practical conclusions for managers: the need to institutionalize inclusion in the institution's mission and strategy, create cross-functional teams, develop partnerships with communities of blind and visually impaired people, and gradually transform successful projects into permanent services. The article is addressed to museum and theater directors, program curators, and inclusion and cultural policy specialists.

This interview with Carlo Ginzburg — conducted in Bologna in May 2025 by sociologists Filippo Barbera and Maurizio Catino — explores the epistemological foundations of the indiciary paradigm and its relevance for historical and social inquiry. Ginzburg articulates a conception of truth as a provisional endpoint reached through the careful analysis of traces, signs, and unintentional revelations, as opposed to the postmodern dissolution of the boundary between historical and fictional narrative. Drawing on his work in microhistory, the history of witchcraft trials, and the Sofri case, Ginzburg clarifies the role of philology as both a technical discipline and a moral disposition — one that enables scholars to overcome the provincialism of the ego through critical distance rather than empathetic identification. The conversation addresses the relationship between the indiciary paradigm and abductive inference, the methodological potential of judicial records for sociology, and the ongoing relevance of an Aristotelian rhetorical tradition that places evidence at the centre of argumentation. Ginzburg also reflects on the threat posed by neosceptical and post-truth positions to democratic epistemology, and on the possible convergence of the indiciary paradigm with computational methods and artificial intelligence.

The paper reflects on the use of the indiciary paradigm in ethnographic research. Ethnography, and social research more broadly, must address the invisibility of action’s meaning and the definitions of situation. For accessing these “internal states” — beliefs, meanings, values — a semiotic orientation toward reading traces, signs, clues, and minor details is essential. The specificity of this reading practice emerges through comparison with medical diagnosis, revealing a critical difference: unlike patients who collaborate in diagnosis, research participants deploy dissimulation and simulation as self-protection. Drawing on Becker’s insight that participants orient performances toward more consequential audiences (superiors, peers) rather than ethnographers, and Anteby’s analysis of resistance strategies, the paper illustrates how the indiciary paradigm addresses this opacity through attention to “expressions given off” and unwitting testimonies. The paper subsumes the indiciary paradigm under abductive logic, thereby addressing Ginzburg’s ostensible resistance to this framing. Ethnographic fieldwork becomes the theatre where indiciary paradigm and abductive inference operate together. Following Peirce’s classical definition, enriched by Walton and Eco’s contributions, the paper adopts Eco’s distinction of three abductive types: overcoded, undercoded, and creative. Each type is illustrated through Sherlock Holmes’ adventures — Ginzburg’s exemplar of the indiciary paradigm — and through the author’s ethnographic studies on nature sacralization in Italian communities and childhood vaccine hesitancy across seven European countries. The paper concludes that the indiciary paradigm guides the ethnographer’s gaze toward marginal details and unwitting testimonies that trigger abductive reasoning — the core engine of ethnographic practice.

Elder financial abuse refers to the exploitation or improper use of older adults' assets or money. Unlike physical abuse, which usually leaves visible signs, the impact of financial abuse is often more subtle. Commonly identified adverse impacts include depression, frustration, anger, anxiety, insomnia, and panic attacks. Over time, these emotional struggles can have adverse effects on their physical and mental health. Although elder financial abuse has been widely examined in social and medical research, little attention has been given to this issue from an Islamic ethical perspective. This study investigates the level of knowledge and awareness of financial abuse among senior citizens in Kedah and Perlis. Using convenience sampling, data were collected from 122 respondents. The survey results show that senior citizens in these two states have a moderate level of knowledge and awareness about financial abuse. From an Islamic perspective, financial abuse raises serious ethical concerns, as Islam emphasizes justice (ʿadl), compassion (raḥmah), and the protection of vulnerable groups. Grounded in Islamic values that condemn exploitation, it is therefore crucial to implement stronger institutional and social protections for senior citizens.

The determination of research methodology is a formidable issue in the social sciences and other educative fields. In these disciplines where the accuracy of the study design dictates conclusively on the quality of subsequent effects, lies primarily on the pedagogical policies and practices. The paper attempts to present a detailed guide to the novice researcher by comparing three major methodological methods in a systematic fashion, namely, qualitative, quantitative and mixed methodology, on the basis of a critical review of twelve education research articles. In the field of the social sciences, the qualitative method has always been effective in addressing the specifics of human activity and deep-seated visions, for example research on the importance of parents in the pandemic or the use of the triangulation approach in understanding the best practices of STEM. On the other hand, quantitative methods in education will help measure a large-scale social phenomenon objectively, such as the analysis of the demand in early childhood services on a demographic basis or the development of a valid scale to determine the quality of educational centers. Mixed methods, in this regard, provide a pragmatic blend that aims at addressing complex social problems, such as the correlation of teacher well-being profiles with the precursors of occupational attrition. In conclusion, this paper emphasized that the efficiency of any social science research does not lie in the innate superiority of one particular method but in the similarity between that particular method and the research questions it is attempting to answer. The study is useful as it offers systematic conceptual advice in the choice of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods research methods in the social sciences. This research aids the researchers in making better methodological justifications by a reasoned and thoughtful approach to discuss the strengths, limitations and suitability of each approach depending on the objectives and research questions, a factor that enhances the quality and rigor of social science research designs.

This paper presents a thematic narrative review of mixed methods research (MMR) design in the social sciences, critically examining its evolution, philosophical foundations, typologies, integration strategies, dimensions of validity, strengths, and limitations. Three guiding questions frame the review: (1) How can mixed methods design move beyond typology-driven templates toward context-responsive, problem-driven approaches? (2) What constitutes strong integration in practice, and how can it be systematically designed? (3) How should researchers navigate philosophical pluralism — Pragmatism, Transformative Paradigm, and dialectical pluralism — in concrete design decisions? Drawing on a thematic synthesis of peer-reviewed articles, handbooks, and methodological works published primarily between 2004 and 2024, the review argues that mixed methods research should not be treated as a menu of fixed designs. Instead, it advances five context-responsive design principles: starting from the problem and context; pre-specifying integration points across design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation; making philosophical stance explicit and reflexive; designing for genuine meta-inference rather than parallel reporting; and tailoring designs to social, cultural, and institutional contexts. The paper illustrates these principles with concrete examples of integration success and failure, provides a comparative framework contrasting typology-driven and problem-driven design, and translates findings into practical guidance for novice researchers, supervisors, and practitioner-researchers. The review concludes that MMR, when designed adaptively and implemented with deliberate integration and reflexivity, significantly enhances the depth, validity, and real-world applicability of social science inquiry.