Social Science Approaches Research Articles

In Search of Atmospheres: Directions, Methods, Perspectives (an Interview with Tonino Griffero)

The article is a commented translation from English and German of an interview, conducted in February 2024 with the Italian philosopher-phenomenologist, professor of aesthetics at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, the current undisputed leader in the study of (affective) atmospheres Tonino Griffero. The interview touches upon a diversity of traditions in atmospheric research (including national variation in such studies), the correlation of the notions of atmosphere with the notions of mood (Stimmung) andambiance, research methods and ways of theorizing of atmospheric phenomena by German phenomenologist Hermann Schmitz (16.05.1928–05.05.2021) and aesthetics specialist Gernot Böhme (03.01.1937–20.01.2022), and, finally, the prospects of employing the relevant methods and approaches in social sciences, including anthropology.

Computational Analysis of Linguistic Markers Reveals Group Identification Patterns During a Global Public Health Crisis

ABSTRACTUsing a computational social science approach integrating evolutionary psychology, social psychology, and intergroup relations, this research examined associations between disease threats and group identification across cultures by analyzing the relationship between COVID‐19 threats (actual and perceived) and first‐person plural versus singular pronoun usage—a linguistic marker of collective identity. Two studies analyzed epidemiological and Google Trends search data over 154 weeks: Study 1 established baseline patterns using U.S. data, while Study 2 investigated cross‐cultural variations globally. Through transfer function methodology to pre‐whiten time series data for cross‐correlation function analysis and random‐slope‐random‐intercept multilevel modeling, the research explored temporal dynamics of threat‐identification relationships. Results indicated that perceived COVID‐19 threat, measured through pandemic‐related search volumes, exhibited consistent correlations with increased first‐person plural pronoun usage across both studies. While COVID‐19 cases demonstrated non‐significant relationships globally but positive associations in the U.S., mortality rates showed negative correlations with first‐person plural pronoun usage globally, differing from U.S. patterns. Cultural collectivism emerged as a moderating factor in the global analysis, with individualistic cultures displaying stronger associations between perceived threat and collective linguistic markers. These findings contribute to our understanding of the relationship between collective threats and group identification processes across cultures while demonstrating the potential of computational linguistic analysis for monitoring real‐time collective responses to pandemics, offering insights relevant to preparedness strategies for future global challenges.

Transformative Sustainable Education Approach as Environmental Literacy Transformation: Case Study of Ecosystem Material in Elementary Schools

The adiwiyata program has been implemented in several elementary schools in Indonesia, but its implementation has yet to be integrated into learning. The objectives of this research are: 1) To find out the implementation of the Transformative Sustainable Education (TSE) approach in Natural and Social Science (NSS) learning; 2) To find out whether the implementation of the TSE approach is effective in improving students' environmental literacy. This TSE approach is implemented in natural and social sciences learning. This research used an experimental method with pretest-posttest control group design. The population of this study were 5th grade students of MIN 2 Bantul which consisted of class A and class B. The sample was selected by cluster random sampling and the students were selected. The sample was selected by cluster random sampling and class A of 29 was selected as the experimental class and class B of 28 as the control class. The instruments used in this study include observation sheets of learning implementation with the TSE approach and environmental literacy observation sheets. The results showed that: 1) The TSE approach was implemented with a percentage of 95% in the very good category; 2) The TSE approach was effective in improving environmental literacy in the medium category.

How do the social sciences approach wicked resource nexus problems? A bibliometric review

How do the social sciences approach wicked resource nexus problems? A bibliometric review

A Potent Chew?: Kenyan Khat and the Agency of Drugs

Few other categories of things appear so bound up with questions of agency, power and responsibility as that of ‘drugs’. With over a century of global treaties and prohibition of such substances, we are accustomed to thinking of them as potent things that can hold us in their thrall. Social science approaches, in contrast, tend to downplay the agency and power of the drug itself, showing how such agency and power is distributed among wider contexts. This paper explores themes of drug power and agency through a case study of khat. While relatively weak in terms of pharmacology, khat brims with potency in how people talk about it and its effects. I argue that such talk is crucial for understanding the potency of the substance itself. This talk helps us understand how drug potency is not just a pharmacological property, but an historical, sociological and anthropological one too; such talk also acts to reinforce this potency through influencing expectations of what being ‘under the influence’ entails. Furthermore, while drug potency during moments of intoxication is fleeting, the stories of succumbing to a drug that arise from these moments have a longer-term potency as they are recounted over the years.

Action-based explanations as a basis for the analysis and design of the social world.

In sociology, the question of what it means to explain social phenomena and how this relates to the purpose of the social sciences is important but nowadays rarely asked. This article elaborates on this question and provides an answer by outlining the program of "explanatory sociology" as a branch of the modern social science approach. It is shown that, in this framework, to explain means to uncover cause-effect relationships based on models of individuals who are assumed the central force in social life. This idea is taken further to uncover specific challenges that individuals face in social life and how and why they establish and manage (or do not) social forms that help to organize the world from the viewpoint of their abilities and needs. Such action-oriented explanations have been presented and developed in sociology since its very beginning. Two main forms or logics to construct action-based explanations are outlined and developed due to the form and function of the used action theory or model. The article contributes to the discussion about the form and task of sociological theorizing by presenting action-based explanations as a form of sociological theorizing that defines a clear task in exploring challenges in social life and assessing possible forms of coping with them from the perspective of individuals. By doing so, two main ways of broadening explanations are considered and compared in light of what the purpose of sociology might be.

Shaping the Coast: Accounting for the Human Wildcard in Projections of Future Change

AbstractCoastal change and evolution are the product of physical drivers (e.g., waves) tightly coupled with human behavior. As climate change impacts intensify, demand is increasing for information on where, when, and how coastal areas may change in the future. Although considerable research investments have been made in understanding the physical drivers and processes that modify and shape coastal environments, many do not account for human behavior, compromising the accuracy of comprehensive future change predictions. We outline four social science approaches—historic case studies, simulations, longitudinal studies, and longitudinal studies supported by experimental data—that can be coupled with physical change information to support transdisciplinary understanding of future change. A fundamental need for each approach is more and better empirical data to better gauge human behavior. In addition, foundational investments in transdisciplinary collaboration help research teams support the integration of these approaches.

Teaching strategic management accounting with sustainability

ABSTRACT Current agendas such as decolonising curriculum, incorporating sustainability, and navigating the neoliberal global political-economic order demand a broader perspective on management accounting education in universities than the prevailing techno-economic taxonomy. With a critical social science approach, this paper first explores why current management accounting thought limits the consideration of social and ecological justice issues. It then seeks to broaden management accounting teaching by integrating ecological and social justice concerns into the Strategic Management Accounting (SMA) curriculum. Drawing from Deleuze and Guattari’s theoretical concepts of arborescent and rhizomatic assemblages, the paper provides a conceptual framework to contextualise, historicise, politicise, and theorise the techno-managerial particularities of SMA within a broader framework of strategising ecological and social justice. This approach encourages management accounting students to critically engage with professionally accredited techno-managerial elements of SMA while considering their sustainability implications.

Problems with combining modelling and social science approaches to understand artisanal fisheries bycatch

AbstractAimArtisanal fisheries account for 40% of the world's fisheries catch, yet its environmental impacts remain poorly understood. This is especially the case in developing countries. In this study, we sought to integrate Local Fisher's Knowledge with distribution modelling to estimate the annual bycatch of Titicaca Grebe (Rollandia microptera), an endangered endemic bird from Lake Titicaca whose main anthropogenic threat is bycatch.LocationLake Titicaca, Peru and Bolivia.MethodsWe conducted transect and point counts of fishing nets in March–September 2022 and conducted interviews with fishers across the Lake Titicaca region. Using bathymetry, distance from shore, distance from a settlement, distance from the protected area, presence/absence of aquaculture, distance from aquaculture, and wetland cover, we constructed a distribution model of fisheries using maximum entropy modelling. We conducted interviews with fishers asking about the frequency of grebe bycatch and conducted short‐term monitoring at various sites while conducting transect points for dead grebes.ResultsWe estimate 3270 km2 of the surface area of Lake Titicaca is used for fishing, which amounts to 39.40% of the lake's surface area. The area under the curve (AUC) of the distribution model was 0.89 and the True Skill Statistic was 0.67, which suggests maximum entropy modelling can model fisheries occurrence. The results of our interviews suggested a biologically implausible large number of grebes caught as bycatch annually. The cultural context of the interviews, including potential influences of non‐response and social‐desirability bias, being with fishers who often view the Titicaca Grebe as a nuisance species, might have caused over‐reporting of bycatch and hence led to these implausible figures.Main ConclusionsIt is possible to map fisheries using distribution models as one might with species. However, obtaining accurate measures of fisheries bycatch through interviews is more difficult, due to cultural factors which affect the accuracy in fisher's responses. While we hope that this method provides a low‐cost alternative to monitoring, it is not a suitable replacement for it.

Understanding the Social and Cultural Dynamics of Science and Technology: A Social Sciences Approach for Understanding Science and Technology in Relation to Society and Culture

Understanding the Social and Cultural Dynamics of Science and Technology: A Social Sciences Approach for Understanding Science and Technology in Relation to Society and Culture

Between two states: Cultural relation in frontier area Indonesia-Philippines

This article aims to describe and analyze pattern of management learning communities in frontier area Indoensia-Philippines. The relationship between Indonesia-Phlippines in frontier area represents a unique intersection culture and dynamic interplay onf interaction. The people in frontier area were relating by the historical events in the past. This article using historical methods; heuristic, critics/verification, interpretation and historiography were to emphasize the utilization of primary sources. The primary source collected from the oral tradition between Indonesia-Philippines people in frontier area. This article employs a social scientific approach to elucidate the cultural relationships within border communities. Cultural relationships are indicative of an extensive process that exerts influence on communal living practices in the management of their existence as a unique identity. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the cultural relations in the frontier area between Indonesia and the Philippines. The findings offer insights into the intricate interplay of factors shaping cultural dynamics in border regions, contributing to a deeper understanding of cross-border interactions and the construction of cultural identities.

New frontiers for Biosocial Birth Cohort Research: interdisciplinary approaches to exposure, harmonisation and collaboration

In this Open Letter we bring together researchers from the Biosocial Birth Cohort Research (BBCR) network to reflect on interdisciplinary research and methods within birth cohorts and to draw attention to social science approaches to this field, which we argue are underutilized. A more comprehensive and consistent integration of social science approaches would expand the scope and value of research with birth cohorts. We critically engage three specific areas of birth cohort research that provide significant opportunities for exchange across disciplines; how exposure is defined and measured in birth cohorts, the harmonisation of data within and between birth cohorts and the broader experience of interdisciplinary collaboration in birth cohorts and birth cohort research. By reflecting on these three areas, we highlight the need for more in-depth dialogue between life and social sciences in the design of birth cohorts, the measures that are used, and the research made possible. We argue that improving the methodological tools for measuring social and biological exposures, incorporating the complexity of participant experience, and ensuring that longitudinal studies are recognised by a wider range of disciplines are essential for collaborative biosocial research with the goal of mitigating health disparities in global and public health.

A conciliatory and persuasive social campaign changes owner behavior to reduce cats' hunting

AbstractSolutions to the cats‐hunting‐wildlife environmental conflict could benefit from social science approaches. Our Theory of Planned Behavior questionnaire—informed by an elicitation survey of cat owners at veterinary clinics about their attitudes, norms, and beliefs regarding bringing their cats inside at night—surveyed 158 cat owners across 20 veterinarian clinics in four cities. It revealed that wildlife conservation was not influential on cat owner intention but veterinarians, cat safety, peers, and household members were. Thus, we designed a social marketing campaign with two treatments: (1) a veterinarian/cat safety message or (2) social/family norm message. Thirty‐four veterinary clinics received one of the two campaign posters or served as the control group. Customers (n = 510) received a “cat welfare” survey and then a pamphlet with the advocated message, and a follow‐up survey by email or telephone 3–6 weeks later (69% response rate). Campaign messaging significantly increased the number of cat owners who reported bringing their cats inside at night compared to the control group. The social/family norm message was most effective. Although rudimentary, the campaign generated measurable changes in cat owner intention and behavior. Conservation campaigns informed by co‐benefits for cat owners may reduce cats' hunting and be conciliatory ways of transcending environmental conflict.

The Role of Majlis Taklim in Medan City: Institutional Growth, Religious Education, and Social Transformation

This study examines the historical and social development of Majlis Taklim in Medan City, focusing on its institutional evolution, the expansion of religious education, and its significant role in community empowerment. Using a qualitative methodology with a historical and social science approach, the research reveals how Majlis Taklim has grown from informal gatherings into structured institutions that not only provide religious education but also serve as centers for social and humanitarian activities. The findings highlight three key aspects: the social and political factors behind the establishment of Majlis Taklim, its formal institutional development, and the diversification of activities to include technology, social media, and targeted programs for different segments of society. Additionally, Majlis Taklim’s collaboration with governmental and religious organizations has strengthened its role in promoting Islamic values while addressing contemporary social issues. The study also identifies challenges such as limited resources, leadership issues, and the need for modernization to maintain relevance. The research concludes that Majlis Taklim plays a crucial role in shaping religious understanding, fostering social cohesion, and contributing to the social welfare of Medan’s Muslim community.

The Reddit cannabis subjective highness rating scale: Applying computational social science to explore psychological and environmental correlates of naturalistic cannabis use.

Social media data provide unprecedented access to discussions of active, naturalistic, and often real-time cannabis use in an era of cannabis policy liberalization. The aim of this study was to explore psychological and environmental correlates of cannabis effects by applying computational social science approaches to a large dataset of unprompted reports of naturalistic cannabis use with corresponding self-reported numerical ratings of subjective highness. Post title text was extracted via the Pushshift dataset from N = 328,865 posts to the r/trees Reddit community, where posters self-assess and disclose how high they feel on a scale from 1 to 10 (M = 6.9, SD = 1.8). Structural topic modelling and Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) dictionary-based approaches were applied to identify (1) frequently discussed topics and (2) text indicative of 5 psychological processes (affective, social, cognitive, perceptual, biological), respectively, as well as to examine relationships between subjective highness and (1) topic prevalence and (2) psychological process word counts. A 40-topic model was selected for interpretation based on semantic coherence and exclusivity. The most discussed topics in a 40-topic model were characterized by references to smoking places, social contexts, positive affect, cognitive states, as well as food and media consumed. In LIWC dictionary analyses, words mentioning affective, social, and cognitive processes were referenced more often than perceptual or body processes. Posters reported greater subjective highness when using language that referred to in-person social environments and lower subjective highness when using language that referred to online social environments and positive affect psychological states. This examination of unprompted online reports of naturalistic cannabis use identified textual content referring to affect and to other people as being associated with perceived effects of cannabis. These affective and social aspects of the cannabis use experience were salient to active posters in this online community and should be integrated into experience sampling methods and behavioral pharmacology research, as well as public health messaging.

Acting on climate change concerns: lay perceptions of possibility, complexity and constraint

ABSTRACT How citizens think about, and relate to, climate change and possibilities for addressing it are sociologically important questions, sharpened in the current context of extensive climate change concern. Social science approaches generally have shown the profound importance of context and the social embeddedness of lay perceptions. More specifically, theories of social practice focus analytic attention away from individuals and onto the economic, energy and social arrangements which drive people’s habituated carbon intensive everyday practices. However, there has been a growing interest in how citizens may, at junctures, be more or less reflexive, evaluative and critical of practices which they carry or adapt. Interested in how citizens engage with possibilities for addressing climate change, we report on new UK-based qualitative research and analyse participants’ accounts of (in)efficacy, responsibility, constraint and affect in acting on climate. We explore contextual variation in the meanings participants bring to acting on climate change, and affective aspects of acting, or feeling situated, ‘against the grain’ of normalised practices. The evidence offers insights into the diverse meanings people bring to the possibility of acting on climate and the ways in which such meanings are enmeshed with, but also often critically evaluative of carbon intensive practices.

PENINGKATAN PEMAHAMAN PENELITI MENGENAI ASUMSI FILOSOFIS “POSITIVIST SOCIAL SCIENCE” DALAM PEMILIHAN DESAIN PENELITIAN KUANTITATIF

Understanding the philosophical assumptions in social research, whether “positivist” or “interpretive,” is crucial as these foundations shape the way researchers approach, design, and conduct their studies, impacting every aspect from the selection of research design to the interpretation of findings. This community service activity (PKM) focused on enhancing young researchers' understanding of “positivist social science” (PSS) assumptions in selecting quantitative research designs at PTN XYZ, a public university in Riau Province. Discussions with a faculty leader revealed difficulties in publishing quantitative research in reputable international journals, primarily due to a lack of understanding of these philosophical assumptions. To address this, the PKM team organized online training for 18 researchers, covering key topics such as the philosophical foundations of science, PSS approaches in social science, reasons for the acceptance or rejection of research reports by the scientific community, and the research process in quantitative design. The effectiveness of the training was evaluated using a pretest-posttest approach, with initial findings showing only 5% of participants correctly understood the reasons for using a quantitative design. However, post-training results indicated a significant improvement in participants’ knowledge, ensuring the research contributes meaningfully and relevantly to the field. Keywords: Philosophical assumptions, positivist social science approach, quantitative

Meaning Across Context: Oral Histories, Big Data, and Climate Change

Abstract The use of oral histories in social scientific approaches to climate change has enabled richly detailed explorations of the situated, meaning-laden dimensions of local experiences and knowledge. But “big data” approaches have been increasingly advocated as a means to scale up understandings from individual projects, through better utilizing large collections of qualitative data sources. This article considers the issues raised by such secondary analysis, using the NOAA Voices Oral History Archives, an online database with a focus on coastal communities and groups thought especially vulnerable to climatic changes. Coupling larger-scale methods such as text mining with more traditional methods such as close reading reveals variations across time and space in the ways people talk about environmental changes, underscoring how memories and experiences shape understandings and the subtlety with which these differences are articulated and culturally inscribed. Looking across multiple collections illuminates those shared understandings, points of contention, and differences between communities that might be obscured if decontextualized, showing the importance of “small data” approaches to big data to fully understand the deeply cultural understandings, perceptions, and histories of environmental changes such as climate change.

Local social-ecological context explains seasonal rural-rural migration of the poorest in south-west Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the countries most affected by climate change. Internal migration is often presented as a response to environmental degradation. Here, using a people-centred perspective, we explore the complexity of the links between climate-induced change, environmental degradation caused by waterlogging and seasonal rural migration. We used an inductive qualitative approach in social sciences, conducting fourteen semi-directed interviews and six focus group discussions in March-April 2022. We related those results to a rainfall analysis on CHIRPS data for 1981-2021and we represented interactions and feedback between changes and livelihoods in a model. A complex picture of the situation is emerging, showing the interweaving effects of non-climatic and climatic changes, their interplay at different scales, their cumulative effects, the interactions between livelihood types and feedback between social and natural systems. Most of the climate-induced changes gradually become noticeable over the past 25 years. Climate data confirm these changes in recent decades, with July being wetter and January being dryer. Villagers reported waterlogging as the most significant change in their community, pointing to its multiple causes, originating in non-local and local, non-climatic anthropic changes, exacerbated by shrimp farm enclosures and worsened by climate-induced changes such as heavier rains, wetter monsoons and cyclones. Tiger prawn farms, reported as a lucrative and local adaptation to waterlogging and salinisation for the ones who can afford it, worsen the situation for the less wealthy, causing waterlogging and salinisation of the adjacent agricultural lands and buildings, the disappearance of traditional fishing and a reduction of the local job market. In addition, erratic rain patterns, droughts and cyclones affect local production and labour markets. COVID-19 lockdowns, by impacting markets and mobilities, further aggravated the situation. Inequality has increased as the range of adaptations of the less wealthy appears limited in this context of multiple crises.

Re-examining the Representation of the Land in Hosea 4-11 in Light of Sacred Space

This article reconsiders the role of land in the YHWH-Israel relationship in Hos 4-11, a text which reworks positive notions of land-gift, inheritance, homeland-as the land becomes associated with Israel's iniquitous actions and distorted values. To achieve this, the study explores how land is represented as a sacred space in the text and how sacred space is subject to the actions, ideas and perceptions of the people who inhabit the land. The study employs a synchronic, social-scientific approach and conducts a thematic analysis of the text, focusing on the interconnections of sacred space's moderators-holiness, cultural memory and covenantal exchange-and their place in the land's deconstruction and reconstruction. Considering these relational modes, the study shows that the representation of the land is reflected in the text's movements from deconstruction to reconstruction, which suggests that the state of the YHWH-Israel relationship is interlaced with the physical landscape.