Social Research Research Articles

Cultural transmission among hunter-gatherers

We examine from whom children learn in mobile hunter-gatherers, a way of life that characterized much of human history. Recent studies on the modes of transmission in hunter-gatherers are reviewed before presenting an analysis of five modes of transmission described by Cavalli-Sforza and Feldman [L. L. Cavalli-Sforza, M. W. Feldman, Cultural Transmission and Evolution: A Quantitative Approach (1981)] but not previously evaluated in hunter-gatherer research. We also present two modes of group transmission, conformist transmission, and concerted transmission, seldom mentioned in hunter-gatherer social learning research, and propose a unique mode of group transmission called cumulative transmission. The analysis of the additional modes of transmission indicated that cultural evolutionary signatures of vertical transmission, such as the conservation of cultural traits, have been underestimated because previous studies have seldom considered remote generations or distinguished intrafamilial from extrafamilial horizontal and oblique transmission. However, field data also indicate that hunter-gatherer children interacted with and learned from many nongenetically related individuals; about half of children’s and adolescents’ horizontal and oblique social learning came from nongenetically related individuals. Intimate living conditions of hunter-gatherers provide opportunities for group transmission, and ethnographic evidence presented demonstrates that at least three types of group transmission exist. All three forms of group transmission theoretically contribute to the conservation of culture, homogeneity of intracultural diversity, and high intercultural diversity. Analysis of additional modes of oblique and horizontal transmission and discussion of previous and unique modes of group transmission demonstrate the various mechanisms by which hunter-gatherer children learn and how cultures are conserved and contribute to cumulative culture.

School Social Workers' Responses to Racial Injustice During COVID-19: A Need for Anti-Racist Practice in K-12 Schools

ABSTRACT This qualitative study examines how school social workers (SSWers) responded to the U.S. racial injustices highlighted by the media during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. SSWers were interviewed during what some scholars dubbed a “moment of reckoning and crisis” following the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent nationwide demonstrations for justice that aimed to challenge racialized police violence (Villarreal Sosa 2022, p. 67). Seventeen SSWers in K–12 public schools from various school districts across three states (Minnesota, Colorado, and Nevada) completed two key informant interviews related to their experiences during the spring and fall semesters of 2020. A constructivist grounded theory approach, including three coding cycles, was used to analyze participant narratives. A substantive theory for understanding SSWers’ responses (or lack of responses) to racial injustices during this period emerged. The findings provide an initial understanding of how SSWers’ responded to racial injustice during this moment of crisis and some of the factors that impacted their responses. The most common responses to racial injustice during this moment of crisis included: 1) engaging in conversations about race and racism and 2) participating in learning opportunities about race, racism, and racial justice. Our theory highlights how (lack of) structural support influenced SSWers’ responses. Implications for school social work (SSW) practice, curriculum, and research are discussed.

Addressing social norms for adolescent timing and spacing of pregnancy in low and middle-income countries: Developing a global research agenda.

Social norms shape adolescent sexual and reproductive health behaviours contributing to contraceptive and pregnancy outcomes. No global research agendas exist to guide research on adolescent social norms shifting in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We developed a social norms research agenda to improve adolescent healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy in LMICs. We adapted and applied the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method. A group of researchers guided the process, and consulted with diverse experts to develop a list of 21 research questions for global stakeholders to score via an online survey. Survey participants scored each research question according to four criteria (fills key gap, feasible, impactful, equitable). Research priority scores (RPS) and average expert agreement (AEA) statistics were calculated for each question and analysed overall and by stakeholder region and profession. We received 185 survey responses. Participants were, on average, 44 years old, 64% were women, 70% were from LMICs and 47% were implementers. The RPS ranged from 52 to 81% (74% median) and the AEA ranged from 49 to 70% (58% median). Nearly 70% of stakeholders gave the same score to each of the top five research questions. The top five research priorities focused on effective norm-shifting interventions (NSIs) strategies, processes and indicators to NSIs, and NSI adaptation and scale-up. Using a collaborative and rigorous process with diverse representation from LMICs and implementers, we reached consensus on five priority research questions to guide future adolescent social norms research to improve healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy in LMICs.

Consequences of forced conjunction: Social work’s struggles for independence from sociology in mainland China

This article critically reviews the relationship between social work and sociology in mainland China, focusing on the reconstruction period from 1988 to the present. The forced conjunction of social work and sociology, initiated by governments and sociologists, has created significant barriers for social work education, research, and practice. Given the proliferation of the field of social work in mainland China, and sociology’s substantial influence on social work, this article emphasizes the crucialness of discipline autonomy of social work and sheds lights on potential solutions including strengthening social work practices at multiple levels and making efforts in promoting social work science.

AANZCA2023 Conference Special Issue Introductory Article

ABSTRACT We often look to the past to think about how to navigate the future. The 2023 AANZCA conference theme drew on the Māori whakataukī or proverb, ‘Ka mua, ka muri’, which roughly translates to ‘walk backward into the future’. The theme provoked colleagues to reflect on the contextual forces of the recent past to make sense of our unknowable futures. In this editorial, we explain the local organising committee’s reasoning behind the theme, retell the story of the conference as it played out, and introduce the articles that make up this special issue. The articles span a range of topics from crisis communication, media identity, and the changing role of the internet in our social lives and research practices. Across their different contexts and methods, they illustrate the diversity of ways our community is looking to our past to feel our way towards a future.

Teaching Note—Positioned for Success at a PWI: A Minority Fellow Narrative

ABSTRACT The Council on Social Work Education’s Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) supports the mission of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to increase the number of individuals who are trained to work with underrepresented and underserved persons with or at risk for mental health or substance abuse disorders. This teaching note is a critical autoethnographic investigation of a doctoral MFP alum reflecting and sharing her journey to overcome barriers to advance her nontraditional social work research agenda in a predominantly White institution. It is the intention that this teaching note provides suggestions of how to maintain a research agenda in a teaching university. Discussion of the author’s MFP affiliation, career trajectory, community effect, research findings, and remarks regarding the necessity of MFP will be provided.

The distance between us: the role of ideological proximity in shaping perceptions of inter-partisan relationships

ABSTRACT Escalating hostility between partisans threatens democratic governance and social cohesion by eroding trust and fuelling discriminatory behaviour towards opposing groups. This study investigates how people perceive the relations between different partisan groups and why certain pairs of partisans are viewed as friendlier or more hostile towards one another. Drawing on similarity-attraction theory in social psychology and research on affective polarization, I argue that citizens perceive the relationship as more friendly between individuals who support ideologically similar parties. The claim is empirically supported through the use of a novel survey item that assesses the likelihood of two partisans becoming good friends, across three multi-party democracies: Canada, Germany, and the UK. The findings suggest that the ideological proximity of parties not only shapes citizens’ perceptions of parties themselves but also influences their views of fellow citizens across party lines. By demonstrating that people consider party proximity and ideological alignment when evaluating inter-partisan relations, the study sheds light on how ideological and affective dimensions intertwine within these relationships in multi-party democracies.

Spatial overlap: trade-offs in refugees’ residential choices

ABSTRACT Social science research gives rise to what we call the ‘refugee mobility puzzle’: While restrictions on the freedom of residence limit refugees’ socio-economic integration, those who do not face such restrictions often move to areas with high unemployment that similarly hinder their labor market prospects. This study addresses a central element of this puzzle: What draws refugees to high unemployment areas? We propose the spatial overlap hypothesis arguing that refugees in comparatively generous reception systems initially prioritize or are forced to prioritize non-labor-market resources such as affordable housing and proximity to social networks. Thereby they often settle in areas with general economic disadvantage as such areas frequently overlap with said resources. Based on the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees this study tracks residential histories of more than 2,400 refugee respondents across all German counties and postcodes. Discrete choice models show that preferences for cities, lack of affordable housing, the presence of small, service-oriented companies, and co-ethnic communities explain refugees’ gravitation to disadvantaged areas. These results support the spatial overlap hypothesis and suggest that recently approved refugees face trade-offs: area characteristics that are initially attractive tend to spatially overlap with such that likely inhibit longer-term integration prospects.

The power and potential of space and place in family group conferencing: Reimagining the role of the venue in child protection practice

Family Group Conferencing is a family-led decision-making process used in children’s social care in the UK. Unlike traditional meetings between families and professionals when there is a safeguarding concern, Family Group Conferences are often held outside children’s services’ premises in a ‘neutral’ venue. In this article, we critique the idea that a meeting location can be neutral as spaces may be experienced differently, and hold multiple meanings, for the family, their network and professionals who take part. Starting from the premise that relationships with and in space have the potential to disrupt power imbalances and affect families’ and professionals’ experiences, we propose the meeting location for the Family Group Conference is instead viewed as a core component of the intervention. This bespoke approach begins with the question, how could the meeting venue improve the experiences of Family Group Conferencing for families and professionals? To answer this question, we use two fictional vignettes written from the perspectives of a young woman and her social worker. The vignettes were created based on the combined practice and research experience of the co-authors and are used in the article as a tool to theorise the possible benefits and limitations of considering the meeting venue as an intervention component. By reimagining how meeting somewhere meaningful to the family could influence families’ and professionals’ experiences of Family Group Conferencing this paper contributes to social work research and practice in the UK and beyond.

Building: A Possibility for a Post-critical Perspective in Educational Research

Abstract The aim of this article is to give an example of how an exercise in post-critical educational research might be conceptualised. The example refers to an inquiry into building a public sphere around education in Poland. First, a post-critical approach in educational research is defined with reference to the two dominant perspectives of social research, namely the (neo)positivistic and the critical paradigm. Next, and following insights of Hannah Arendt and Jacques Rancière, the idea of building is presented in terms of the persistent introduction of a new beginning into a social reality through acting in line with an assumption (an axiom) that, from the point of view of critical knowledge about the current status quo, seems fictional (or impossible). Such a persistent verification of an impossible axiom aims at establishing a sphere of exception from the dominant social order, offering—through the ideas of Alain Badiou and Giorgio Agamben—a non-dialectical logic of social transformation. Finally, in conclusion the article focuses on the phenomenon of condensation as one of the key results of the exemplary research project analysed throughout the text. This points to the kind of knowledge that post-critical research projects are able to bring about.

Radicalising hope to resist the neoliberalisation of social work

The influence of neoliberalism is taken for granted in social work and has increasingly shaped social work practice, research and education. This article examines hope in social work and the importance of radically theorising hope to challenge the neoliberalisation of social work. Social work has a dual function that both resists and accommodates neoliberal agendas. Hope is a multidimensional concept. Hope is predominantly individualised in social work, but there are also radical and critical notions of hope that align with the broader political struggles of social work. Consistent with ethics of social justice, this article advocates for broadening the use of hope in social work to incorporate radical and critical hope in social work practice, research and education.

Outputs from a model of co-research with older care-experienced people in Sweden to advance eldercare services.

Within the contemporary policy turn towards co-production and co-research in Sweden, older people, practitioners and researchers alike have expressed uncertainty about how to undertake co-research. Moreover, scepticism persists about the merits and contributions of co-research and co-production to research and service development. In this paper, we aim to describe a co-research model developed with older care-experienced lay co-researchers and explore the utility of our model's outcomes to social care research and practice. In a Participatory Action Research project, we established a team of three co-researchers by professional experience and eight lay co-researchers by lived experience who were over age 75. Our team undertook a complete study cycle from inception and funding through to knowledge exchange and dissemination. Our process lasted one year and comprised three phases: the group alone establishing collective knowledge, testing knowledge in peer interviews with acquaintances, exchanging knowledge in events with multi-sector actors. We generated and analysed data concurrently in fortnightly workshops and round-table meetings using procedures inspired by framework analysis to produce themes illustrated by vignettes. We highlight our co-research model's utility to social research, policy and practice under three themes. Expressly, how our approach (1) reaches and engages older people who are isolated at home, (2) generates out-of-the box thinking and innovative solutions for service development and research, (3) recognizes and benefits from older people's authentic experience and knowledge. We critically reflect upon these three themes and the conditions that lead towards or away from the adoption of key co-research principles. Public services and research and development units working in the interests of older people can take inspiration from our co-research model when seeking to meet the challenges brought by new reforms towards closer community involvement. Despite messiness in the process, integrating and embedding principled co-research and co-production can bring clarity and structure to the issues that matter most to older people, and draw organisations closer to the communities they serve.

SOCIAL MEDIA FAKE ACCOUNT IDENTIFICATION USING ML

The proliferation of social media platforms has led to an increase in the creation of fake accounts. These accounts are used for various malicious activities, such as spreading false information, phishing, and identity theft. As a result, there is a growing need for effective methods to identify and eliminate fake accounts. This paper proposes a machine learning-based approach for social media fake account identification. This paper proposes a machine learning-based approach to identify fake accounts on social media platforms. Our method leverages a combination of feature extraction techniques and supervised learning algorithms to classify accounts as genuine or fake. We collect a large dataset of labeled social media accounts, including both genuine and fake profiles, and extract features from various sources such as profile information, network behavior, and content analysis. We experiment with multiple machine learning models, including Support vector machines(SVM),K-Nearest Neighbors Algorithm(KNN),Random forest, Logistic Regression & Artificial Neural Network(ANN) to evaluate their performance in identifying fake accounts. Our proposed method has significant implications for social media platform operators, policymakers, and researchers seeking to combat fake accounts and maintain online trust. The approach can be integrated with existing social media moderation tools to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of fake account identification. Key Words: Support vector machines(SVM),K-Nearest Neighbors Algorithm(KNN),Random forest, Logistic Regression & Artificial Neural Network(ANN),Python.

Responsive service design and workforce strengthening: Recommendations to improve aged care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

This study aimed to develop innovative and practical strategies and recommendations for aged care policy and practice that support the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A research symposium was held in June 2023 on Kaurna Country at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. The symposium brought together 70 attendees including aged care consumers, Federal and State Government representatives, advocacy services, health, aged care and social service providers, and health and aged care researchers. Two roundtable sessions titled 'Responsive Service Design' and 'Workforce Strengthening' were conducted following a World Café approach. Data were analysed thematically. This paper proposes recommendations relating to innovation and improvement within aged care policy and practice. Recommendations for responsive service design and workforce strengthening include the following: (1) promote genuine engagement and involvement, (2) establish partnerships between sectors, (3) ensure compliance, (4) innovative communication and feedback pathways, (5) holistic approaches to well-being, (6) prioritise cultural safety and (7) flexible recruitment and retention strategies. Working together and building partnerships between diverse stakeholders including community members, workforce, service providers and policymakers is required for sustainable and meaningful innovation within the aged care sector. Our recommendations, driven by community needs, provide an opportunity to ensure the innovation and implementation of ongoing aged care reforms meet the needs and expectations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Application of Natural Science Methods in Social Science Research

The introduction of natural science methodologies into social science research aims to enhance the scientific rigor and validity of studies through precise techniques. By employing quantitative analysis, data mining, and model construction, researchers are able to delve deeper into the complexities of social phenomena, injecting new vitality into traditional qualitative research. Quantitative analysis methods render research outcomes more objective and reproducible, while data mining techniques can extract underlying patterns and trends from vast amounts of data. Model construction offers a systematic understanding of social dynamic processes, supporting the prediction and intervention of future social developments. Computer simulation technologies, particularly with the backing of big data and high-performance computing, enable hypothesis testing and virtual experiments on social systems, allowing for multi-level and multi-perspective observations of social phenomena. This interdisciplinary integration not only provides new research tools and methodologies for the social sciences but also effectively fosters the interchange of knowledge between different disciplines. However, continuous reflection and adjustment in practical applications are necessary to address the potential pitfalls and limitations that may arise from the complexity of these methods.

Considering masculinities at forest fires: the case of the 2021 Muğla forest fires in Turkey

ABSTRACT This article investigates emerging masculinities in Turkey’s massive Muğla forest fires of 2021 and their aftermath. The findings are based on a multi-stage qualitative field study: the disaster research was conducted in Köyceğiz and Marmaris in 2021, as well as social media research and personal observations during the fires, followed by follow-up research in 2022. Following Pacholok (2013). I argue that in the unique time and terrain frame of disaster, masculinities are contested and realized. In relation to disaster and environment, four main local constructions of masculinities are observed during the fires. They are (1) the villagers who embody traditional rural masculinities, (2) the firefighters who represent working-class masculinities based on arduous physical labour without heroism, (3) the forest officers and engineers who represent masculinities with refined state-centred engineering male rationality that aim for men’s domination over nature, and (4) the celebrities and volunteers that comprise the urbanites who represent possibilities for alternative ecomasculinities with subtle gender egalitarianism. They present particular constructions of masculinities that reveal local societal norms and expectations and the gender relations that emerged as a result of the crisis environment caused by forest fires.

“I’ll Be Here:” Reflections on Representation and Research Communication Through Zine Work

This article explores the decision-making process that culminated in the creation of a zine as a responsive research communication tool. The zine “I’ll Be Here” emerged from research conducted with community organizations in three Ontario cities as an alternative format to return research findings to participants in a form more accessible than a conventional academic manuscript. This reflective piece not only draws attention to the limitations of academic writing for knowledge mobilization, but also amplifies the need for research communication strategies capable of encapsulating the richness of knowledge producers’ experiences. Exploring the intricacies of communicating social science research effectively and contemplating the extension of responsive reciprocal research values into writing, this article emphasizes the potential of creative research communication methods like zine work to be effective, accessible, and inclusive avenues for knowledge mobilization.

Exploring how to widen the acceptability of public health interventions: a systematic review protocol

IntroductionHealth interventions that require significant change to individual lifestyles or social norms can pose a challenge for widespread public acceptability and uptake. At the same time, over the last two...

StructuGraphRAG: Structured Document-Informed Knowledge Graphs for Retrieval-Augmented Generation

Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) enhances large language models (LLMs) by incorporating external data sources beyond their training sets and querying predefined knowledge bases to generate accurate, context-rich responses. Most RAG implementations use vector similarity searches, but the effectiveness of this approach and the representation of knowledge bases remain underexplored. Emerging research suggests knowledge graphs as a promising solution. Therefore, this paper presents StructuGraphRAG, which leverages document structures to inform the extraction process and constructs knowledge graphs to enhance RAG for social science research, specifically using NSDUH datasets. Our method parses document structures to extract entities and relationships, constructing comprehensive and relevant knowledge graphs. Experimental results show that StructuGraphRAG outperforms traditional RAG methods in accuracy, comprehensiveness, and contextual relevance. This approach provides a robust tool for social science researchers, facilitating precise analysis of social determinants of health and justice, and underscores the potential of structured document-informed knowledge graph construction in AI and social science research.

Eyes on the data—How the methodology of the 2030 Agenda contributes to its probable failure

More than halfway through the 15-year timeline, the world is still far from reaching the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study locates one important reason for this in the specific design of the 2030 Agenda's methodology, the indicator-based goal-setting. In this, the Global Indicator Framework (GIF) should play a central role as a basis for political decisions and as an instrument for critical political communication. However, drawing on social science indicator research, this article shows that shortcomings in the GIF's genesis have led to the 2030 Agenda's effectiveness being severely limited. These limitations are: the one-sided focus on the provision of data, which results in the neglect of questions of implementation and tensions between and within political and statistical actors, which in turn leads to an undermining of the GIF itself. As a result, the GIF shows several crucial gaps in terms of content, is characterised by discrepancies between the political target and the measurement content of the indicators, and features indicators that change the goals through their measurement content. In response, the article notes a tendency towards non-use of the indicators, which undermines the whole 2030 Agenda. The results of this study can thus also be used as a basis for the future implementation of indicator-based policies.