Structuring Research Articles

Unsupervised detection of coordinated fake-follower campaigns on social media

Automated social media accounts, known as bots, are increasingly recognized as key tools for manipulative online activities. These activities can stem from coordination among several accounts and these automated campaigns can manipulate social network structure by following other accounts, amplifying their content, and posting messages to spam online discourse. In this study, we present a novel unsupervised detection method designed to target a specific category of malicious accounts designed to manipulate user metrics such as online popularity. Our framework identifies anomalous following patterns among all the followers of a social media account. Through the analysis of a large number of accounts on the Twitter platform (rebranded as X after the acquisition of Elon Musk), we demonstrated that irregular following patterns are prevalent and are indicative of automated fake accounts. Notably, we found that these detected groups of anomalous followers exhibited consistent behavior across multiple accounts. This observation, combined with the computational efficiency of our proposed approach, makes it a valuable tool for investigating large-scale coordinated manipulation campaigns on social media platforms.

PRAXEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF ESG: THE PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STAKEHOLDER MODEL

This paper presents a praxeological examination of ESG —Environmental, Social, and Governance— conceptualized as the practical enactment of the Stakeholder Model, where the corporation is seen as an instrument for social organization. At the heart of this scrutiny is the entrepreneurial function, explored through the lens of the impossibility of economic calculation theory, dynamic efficiency theory, and the theory of spontaneous order. These notions are contrasted against the neoclassical critique of ESG challenges, underscoring that the Austrian viewpoint penetrates more profoundly into the fundamental issue: ESG is an institutional encroachment on the entrepreneurial function and, thus, a variant of socialism that induces miscoordination in social processes. The paper delves into the multifaceted causes and resultant effects, elucidating why the prevailing prescriptions for ESG enhancement are likely to lead to augmented regulation and further miscoordination.

LA INCONCEBIBILIDAD DE LA POBREZA EN LA SOCIEDAD LIBRE. EL ARGUMENTO JURÍDICO.

Poverty, an open wound on humanity, is also a pending issue for libertarian political theory, the current of thought that advocates minimization of coercion, and thereby maximization of freedom, as an ideal of social organization. While libertarians have prolifically argued that a free society would be much more prosperous in all its strata, they have never sought to demonstrate so ambitious a proposition that such a society would become incompatible with the very phenomenon of poverty. This essay provides demonstration thereof by means of a legal-philosophical argument built upon the legal treatment that so-called famine theft would presumably receive in the non-statist legal community. Based on the primacy of human life and dignity over any other legal value, famine theft would constitute an exception to the inviolability of private property. Echoing the historical development of maintenance obligations arising from a family relationship, the evolutionary nature of decentralized law would gradually widen the range of material needs suitable to qualify as determinants of poverty, the presence of which would legitimize the resort to this exception. Likewise, it would spontaneously result in the voluntary articulation of social assistance networks, the contribution to which would be judicially recognized as a counter-exception to the admissibility of famine theft and similar behaviors—thus affording full legal protection of property.

Energy Service Security for Public Health Resilience: Perception and Concerns in Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan☆

AbstractThe Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan includes six rural counties and one Tribal Nation. The region is characterized by long winters, legacies of the extractive mining economy, and the infrastructural features of extreme rurality, including aging housing and low health service density. The region also faces exceptionally high electricity prices. There is limited research on the public health implications of energy service disruption in rural regions resulting from the increasing intensity and frequency of weather events caused by climate change. This article presents research findings examining the readiness of health facilities in this area to manage the rising intensity, severity, and frequency of severe weather that could disrupt energy services. The study also considers how this knowledge can guide decision‐making to improve energy service access and maintain resilient public health services in the region. This exploratory study utilized a qualitative approach that combines semi‐structured interviews with public health stakeholders and a short survey to triangulate the findings from health facilities. Given the pivotal role of dependable energy services in community health, these findings underscore the community's perception of self‐reliance as both an asset and a hurdle. This perception aligns with the realities of rural communities at the “end of the line” regarding critical infrastructure, which also serves as a formidable barrier to social organization and infrastructure access during energy service disruptions that can severely impact public health.

Unveiling the Concealed Risks: The Influence of Digital Finance on Cyber Financial Crime in China

Digital finance has emerged as a pivotal catalyst for economic growth in China, profoundly altering social structures and behaviors. Despite its benefits, it has also engendered financial risks, thereby complicating social governance. This study utilizes a panel dataset from China’s provinces spanning 2011 to 2021 to analyze the influence of digital finance development on cyber financial crime rates. The results reveal a positive correlation: an increment of one unit in the digital finance index is associated with a 0.058 unit increase in cyber financial crime rates. These findings are robustly supported by tests for endogeneity and robustness. Variations in impact are observed across urbanization levels and average wage brackets. And the study identifies income distribution and traditional financial demand as the mechanisms of the effect. Furthermore, this study presents strategic recommendations to enhance financial inclusion, facilitate income redistribution, strengthen cyber crime governance, and integrate digital and traditional finance for the advancement of financial modernization.

The middle class and the media in post-war Japanese mass society theory: domination, satisfaction, connection, and construction

The inconsistency between an objective socioeconomic position and subjective sense of belonging is challenging for middle class studies. Scholars have argued that the information and images the media conveys can become a ‘reference group’ influencing people’s subjective sense of belonging to the middle class, leading to subjective-objective inconsistency. However, the media—the crucial influencing factor—was always on the periphery of class research. This article demonstrates that in today’s media-saturated world, the media plays a critical role in progressively altering social structures, cognitive underpinnings, and behavioral logic; therefore, it is a key variable in class studies. The analysis of discussions on the middle class and media in post-war Japanese mass society theory reveals that some representative viewpoints remain relevant for understanding the middle class from a media perspective. This article revisits the theories of mass society in post-war Japan, and affirms the media’s role in mediating subjective and objective middle-class identities, and constructing class belongingness. It identifies four fundamental perspectives—domination, satisfaction, connection, and construction—to investigate the relationship between media and the middle class. It also highlights the potential to analyze the middle class from a media standpoint, and issues that subsequent research should address.

"I want to succeed for her, so I can assure a better future for her": Parenting in Bedouin society in Israel.

Bedouin society in Israel is characterized as a marginalized minority (Muslim) society struggling to maintain its uniqueness in a Western (Jewish) dominant society. In this unique qualitative study, we aimed to shed light on the distinctive characteristics of Bedouin parenting practices in the context of social change by exploring Bedouin parents' accounts of factors contributing to or hampering their parenthood. Ninety-nine parents (Mage = 33.25, SD = 4.89) were interviewed about their parenting and their perceptions of Bedouin society. Interviews were analyzed using a phenomenological approach. Parents' accounts indicated a tension between preserving traditions, social norms, and religious rules that offer cohesion, comfort, and security and embracing individualistic values and cultural changes to promote social mobility for future generations. Bedouin mothers were conflicted between seeking self-fulfillment and meeting societal expectations. Whereas some emphasized investing time and effort in parenting as a form of ensuring their children's success, others saw investing in themselves as a means to improve family mobility. The findings suggest the need to be mindful of cultural values that are important to parents (e.g., maintaining traditions) and of barriers to help-seeking (e.g., viewing secular ideas as threats to religiously based social structures) when working with parents from minority indigenous societies such as the Bedouin. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Interweaving Ecology and Culture in Bibhutibhushan Bondopadhyay’s Of the Forest

This paper investigates the intricate relationship between ecology and culture as depicted in Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's novel Of the Forest (Aranyak). It looks at how common situations and human social orders are profoundly interconnected, with social character and conventional structure of tribal and rustic communities formed by the forest. The novel depicts the forest not simply as a scenery but as an imperative, living substance that impacts the social, spiritual, and economic lives of the individuals occupying it. This consider uncovers how social structure, such as customs, legends, and jobs like chasing and horticulture, are closely connected to the rhythms of the forest. Through an ecocritical focal point, this paper investigates how the novel highlights the indigenous communities’ ecological information and maintainable structure. These communities don't see the forest just as a asset, but as a sacrosanct space necessarily to their social and spiritual personalities. Their customs, folklores, agricultural structure, and livelihoods—whether chasing, gathering, or farming are molded by the common rhythms of the forest. The novel portrays their relationship with land isn't fair financial, but profoundly social, fortifying a holistic approach where nature and culture are indivisible. The paper moreover digs into how Bandyopadhyay employs the novel to regret the loss of both environmental and cultural differences. As the forest destroyed, the conventional ways of life tied to it, driving to the fragmentation of the communities and havoc of cultural habits established in environmental settings. This demolition is depicted as a catastrophe of both the natural world and the human soul. The novel also studies the capitalist ethos that prioritizes economic advancement at the cost of ecological sustainability, addressing the menacing effect of modernization on both nature and innate culture. The article concludes by examining how Bandyopadhyay’s forest imagery transcends simple environmental imagery and transforms it into a symbol of cultural and environmental tolerance. The forest gets to be a location of social resistance to advancement of modernity, encapsulating a space where innate knowledge and practices proceed to offer an alternative to the destructive impact of modernization. The paper calls for a deeper understanding of the relationship between people and their environment, and calls for a return to a better relationship with nature.

Individual and sex differences in the behavior of adolescents Macaque Rhesus (Macaca mulatta) united into a new social group

Introduction. Primates living in groups in the laboratory can exhibit a wide range of behaviors consistent with their natural behavioral repertoire. The study of adolescent macaques’ behavior grouped together in new social group is of interest for understanding the social organization of preschool children, as well as for anthropology in general. The goal of the work is to reveal the individual and sex differences of behavioral activity of unrelated adolescent rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), grouped in new laboratory conditions. Materials and methods. We conducted focal observations recording the behavior activity of each macaque in the first two months of their cohabitation. We analyzed individual and sex differences in the manifestation of locomotor, exploratory and social behavior. Results. Individual characteristics of macaques for each type of behavior were identified. The group turned out to be the most heterogeneous in the degree of manifestation of exploratory behavior. The exploratory activity of females was significantly higher than that of males. Social activity was significantly higher in males due to the predominance of friendly reactions, although aggression was equally demonstrated in both sexes. However, females were significantly more often exposed to aggression from other individuals than they showed it themselves. As for males, aggression towards other individuals and aggression from other individuals did not differ significantly. Most individuals in the group demonstrated more friendliness reactions than aggression, but two macaques showed these types of behavior equally. There were no differences in the number of locomotor reactions between males and females. Conclusion. The analysis made it possible to trace the basic forms of behavioral activity of adolescent macaques in context of the new social group formation. The obtained results give us better understanding of the mechanisms of primates’ social behavior organization.

The political economy of agroecological transitions: key analytical dimensions

ABSTRACT There is a growing global interest in agroecology, yet agroecological transitions remain fraught with challenges. These include the need to reconfigure the productive and reproductive agrarian relations of unsustainable food systems and to rethink how we work with ecosystems. Using a political economy approach, we propose five key interrelated dimensions for analyzing agroecological transitions: (i) social metabolism; (ii) labor dynamics; (iii) markets and resources; (iv) social organization; and (iv) policies and politics. While these dimensions are often analyzed separately and to varying degrees, we argue that together they contribute to a comprehensive analysis of the political economy of agroecological transitions.

The Discourse of Decentralization in Thailand: A Study of Political, Administrative, and Financial Aspects

The decentralization process in Thailand has been shaped by political history, economic policies, and institutional changes, but remains hindered by a centralized authority and entrenched patrimonial culture. Despite post-1997 reforms aimed at enhancing local democracy, decentralization efforts have faced challenges from political instability, limited resources, and national reluctance to relinquish control. This research employs critical discourse analysis to examine how political, administrative, and financial discourses affect power dynamics, social structures, and governance. Findings reveal ongoing struggles between national and local entities, reflecting broader societal attitudes. The study underscores the need for innovative legal and institutional reforms to address regional disparities, promote good governance, and foster equitable development in Thailand.

Social Justice in Reservation - An Analysis

Reservation is one of the mechanisms of protective discrimination for eradicating the present institutionalized effects of past discriminations, through positive governmental steps awarding preferential treatment in favour of certain weaker sections of the society. Reservation is applied only in graded societies, where certain groups enjoyed more powers and privileges, while the other sections have been wholly or partially neglected. It involves encouragement sharing in favour of certain weaker sections of the society. It involves encouragement sharing of opportunities in the executive, legislative bodies, in educational institutions and in public services. Demand by the unprivileged classes to enjoy the same opportunities of the privileged class resulted in social conflict in the earlier stages. In course of time, the unprivileged section came to enjoy social, political and economic and other privileges on par with others. As per the Constitution of India, it is a temporary phenomenon used for some special achievement. In course of time, the unprivileged section came to enjoy social, political and economic and other privileges. Thus, everybody in the beneficiary categories Viz., Other Backward Classes in all India level, Backward Classes and Most Backward Classes in Tamil Nadu, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes did not enjoy the same status in the society. Due to the reservation policy, there are tremendous transformations in the social structure. It is evident that, there are noteworthy rich people among the backward and depressed castes. Similarly there are poor people in the forward castes as well. Not only that as per the Constitution of India, it is a temporary phenomenon used for some special achievement. In this research paper, an attempt has been made to examine and compare the concepts of exclusive reservation and creamy layer and to study the changing trends in the reservation policy towards social justice.

Educational and Career Trajectories in Russia: Introducing a New Source and Datasets with a High Granularity

Abstract Studying Russian society is challenging, especially during the period of the Russian military invasion. However, it takes on special significance during a period of economic and social transformation. Studying the career and educational trajectories of Russians in the context of East Studies offers a multifaceted perspective on the state of the job market and education sector and gives an understanding of the current situation of the country’s economy and social structure. The lack of data with a high level of granularity is critical, especially for studying people with a focus on their career and educational trajectories. In this article, the authors respond to this request and present two datasets that can be useful for studying spatial and temporal patterns associated with people’s life trajectories in the context of work and education. The authors utilised open data on cv s created or updated by employment portal users over the period 2015–2023 from the Federal Service for Labor and Employment (Rostrud) and prepared two cleaned datasets covering 83 regions of Russia. Dataset 1 is on the educational and career trajectories (N = 6,221,439) and Dataset 2 is on the activity of unemployed and job-seeking candidates (N = 7,662,089).

Factors Influencing Changes in Social Activity under COVID-19 in Polish Rural Areas

The COVID-19 pandemic, due to unprecedented countermeasures aimed at limiting social contact, affected many spheres of life, including the forms and scope of social activity. This paper aims to identify the importance of the size and economic type of village, as well as the existence of rural organizations before the pandemic to identify the changes in different forms of social activity among rural area residents during the first and second year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. This research was based on phone interviews (CATI) carried out in December 2022 with village administrators. It was concluded that the village size, economic profile, and the activities of various types of social organizations had very limited influence on changes in social contact during the pandemic. The economic type of the village, both low and high levels of agrarisation, showed a significant relationship with change of only one form of social activity: joint work on a farm. The activities of organizations popular in rural areas such as Volunteer Firefighters’ Brigades or Rural Housewives’ Clubs played an important role in the changes (decrease) in meetings at home and after mass in church.

Intersecting inequalities: towards a critical discursive approach

ABSTRACT This introduction to the Special Issue delves into the intersection of critical discursive approaches and intersectionality in the study of language, gender, and societal inequalities. It traces the evolution of gender and language studies, with a focus on how discursive methodologies have facilitated the examination of the material consequences of discourse, particularly in relation to power, gender, and social structures. The aim of this Special Issue is to foster academic synergy by merging discursive and intersectional frameworks to analyze how socio-cultural categories—such as gender, race, and class, among others—intersect to produce inequalities. Furthermore, the issue incorporates a decolonial perspective, critically engaging with the Eurocentric foundations of existing methodologies and advocating for a more inclusive analysis of global power dynamics. The articles within this issue adopt interdisciplinary approaches, including Critical Discourse Studies and Sociocultural Linguistics, to explore diverse experiences and social structures. By integrating these frameworks, the issue offers a multifaceted understanding of how intersecting identities shape discourse and social power relations, underscoring the importance of critical praxis and self-reflexivity in academic research.

“I feel free and comfortable”: The Escape the Corset Movement in South Korea and the question of women's agency

Women's conformity to beauty standards are influenced not only by external pressures but also by internalized beliefs, creating some complex issues with regard to women's agency question. Considering the Escape the Corset Movement (ECM) in South Korea as a critical case, this study examines how female college students who loosely participated in the ECM articulate its impact on their daily lives, especially the extent to which they assess its role in their attainment of freedom, liberation, and independence from societal beauty standards. The findings suggest that young female students experienced heightened self-enlightenment and recognition of beauty ideals, as well as a sense of comfort and safety from societal expectations and the male gaze. However, the accounts of women's ambiguous and critical reflections on the perceived transformations also serve to indicate whether the movement has led to fundamental changes in the prevailing power dynamics of gender systems and social structures. We contend that a nuanced perspective on women's adherence to beauty standards should be integrated into scholarly discourse, as women's perceptions present a complex issue regarding their agency in conforming to or resisting societal beauty standards.

Social comparison on Instagram, and its relationship with self-esteem and body-esteem

BackgroundPrevious research has shown that online social comparison can affect perceptions of self-esteem and body image.Purpose of the studyThis study focussed on social comparison on Instagram and its relationship with levels of self-esteem and body-esteem.Materials and methodsLevels of self-esteem and body-esteem were measured using self-report questionnaires, before and after viewing Instagram images eliciting upward, downward, or no comparison.ResultsStatistical analysis showed self-esteem and body-esteem scores significantly increased after downward comparison, with no change in scores following a neutral condition. Body-esteem scores significantly decreased after upward comparison, whilst self-esteem scores did not. Support for social comparison theory is provided.ConclusionsFuture research and implications are discussed, such as educating young people about posting and viewing of overly positive images on social media. Social media organisations could provide access to resources which provide advice about mental health issues and support for individuals wanting to discuss body image issues. Future research could potentially establish if participants’ views about eating change after engaging in differing levels of social comparison on Instagram.

Family Socioeconomic Status in Adolescence and Gender Identification in Emerging Adulthood

This study contributes to research exploring social factors shaping gender identification. Informed by structural symbolic interactionism, social identity theory, and Levitt’s psychosocial theory of gender, we explore how a key aspect of external social structure—adolescent family socioeconomic status—is associated with gender identification in emerging adulthood. We examine whether correlates of family socioeconomic status, including adolescent family and educational experiences and friend and high school characteristics, are associated with a cisgender, binary transgender, nonbinary, or gender unsure identification. Using data from High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), we find a positive association between adolescent family socioeconomic status and a nonbinary gender identification. Analyses indicate that educational and family experiences account for the largest percentage of the association between adolescent family socioeconomic status and nonbinary gender identification, potentially representing higher SES youths’ heightened access to middle- and upper-class cultural schemas and resources.

Investigating the effect of digital storytelling on multicultural competencies and social justice: A mixed method study in psychological counseling education

This study examined the effect of an education process supported by digital storytelling (DST) regarding immigration on the multicultural competencies and social justice of psychological counselor candidates. The research was designed with mixed methods. Twenty-two junior students studying in the guidance and psychological counseling department of the Faculty of Education of a state university participated in the study. The study was conducted over nine weeks. In the quantitative phase of the research, a single group pretest posttest quasi-experimental design was used. To collect data for the qualitative phase, the researchers created an open-ended questionnaire to collect the opinions of psychological counselor candidates about the application process. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, one of the non-parametric tests, was used to analyze quantitative data in the study. As a result of the application process, there was a positive significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores of the students in the study group regarding their multicultural competence and their attitudes towards social justice. According to qualitative findings, four themes emerged regarding multicultural competencies: (a) Awareness, (b) Understanding different cultures, (c) Professional skills, (d) Concepts. The themes that emerged regarding social justice are as follows: (a) Sensitivity, (b) Advocacy for rights, (c) Social structure, (d) Fundamental rights. Considering these findings, educational process supported by migration-themed DST positively contributed to the multicultural competencies of psychological counselor candidates and their attitudes toward social justice.

The influence of Uganda women’s entrepreneurship program on livelihoods and cultural dynamics in Amolatar, Northern Uganda

This article examines the influence of women’s economic empowerment initiatives under Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP) on livelihoods and cultural dynamics in Amolatar Sub-Region, Northern Uganda. The study focused on how UWEP has contributed to improving women’s economic status and their roles within the cultural practices in the region. A Qualitative interpretive framework as well phenomenological research design was employed in this study involving in-depth and key informant interviews as well as focus group discussion with 28 participants. The study is grounded in Agency theory by Kabeer and Cultural Capital Theory by Bourdieu, which emphasise women’s participation in entrepreneurship to transform their economic lives and well-being within existing social structures. This research indicates that, UWEP greatly contributes to women’s active agency, allowing them to challenge obstacle within the communities, particularly gender inequality and social stratification. In addition, women’s participation in entrepreneurship coupled with the positive shifts in cultural attitudes in Amolatar sub-region have improved their livelihoods through self-employment. This study emphasise the significance of continuous support by Uganda government through Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development (MoGLSD) for UWEP. Constant support is important to further empower women as well as improve their economic status and well-being within their families and communities.