Structuring Research Articles

Constructing, Deconstructing or Abolishing? Discourses on Masculinities in Violence Against Women Prevention by Stakeholders in Spain.

In the field of violence against women (VAW) prevention, one of the current questions at stake is how to address men's role and masculinities, but it is still an emerging field in Spain. The aim of this study was to analyze the up-to-date discourses on masculinity among stakeholders in the field of VAW prevention and gender equity in Spain. We used a qualitative methodology with semi-structured interviews, conducted between October 2019 and February 2020 in Madrid and Alicante (Spain), with 23 key stakeholders from different areas: in governmental (public health and VAW prevention/intervention, and institutional and policy positioning) and nongovernmental organizations (anti-violence masculinities workers, youth education workers, and feminist and LGBT associations). A discourse analysis was performed with the data collected. Our findings showed that discourses around masculinities among Spanish stakeholders in VAW prevention and gender equity were diverse and presented different layers of critique. Despite a general agreement on the importance of transforming sexist men's practices toward more gender equitable relations, three main interpretive repertoires were identified: "Constructing positive/new masculinities" discourse, focused on promoting men's engagement and egalitarian practices; "Deconstructing hegemonic masculinity" discourse, intended to critically identify and question harmful masculinities norms; and "Abolishing gender" discourse, which aims at dismantling masculinity, and gender in general, as a social structure that generates oppression in itself, advocating for its abolition. Those interpretive repertoires were not mutually exclusive and sometimes stakeholders incorporate in their work more than one approach. The study findings shed light on this current emerging and urgent debate and contributes more broadly to the critical assessment of the concepts used and their implications for VAW prevention.

Advancements in Research on Cichlid: Reproductive Biology, Social Structure, and Communication

The social behavior of cichlid fish emerged as a captivating subject within the realm of ichthyological research. The sociality of these aquatic organisms often encompasses a wealth of intricate elements. Within this complexity, the reproductive biology of cichlids was observed to mirror the characteristics pivotal for progeny propagation and population development. Their social structures were characterized by stringent hierarchies and occupational specialization among individuals. Communication mechanisms were found to be instrumental in ensuring the timely exchange of information across members of the species. Furthermore, population behaviors served as vital conduits, maintaining the cohesion of the aforementioned elements and securing the seamless operation of this organic system. Given these aspects, this study chose these topics as entry points for inquiry, synthesizing recent scholarly work on cichlid sociality to retrace the trajectory of research in this field. This retrospective analysis was conducted to distill clear future directions based on the examined data. The research undertaken provided a scientific reference poised to enhance further inquiry into the enigmatic subject of cichlid sociality, laying a robust foundation for both advancing the study of these fishes and fostering their conservation.

An agent-based model of cross-platform information diffusion and moderation

Social media platforms are highly interconnected because many users maintain a presence across multiple platforms. Consequently, efforts to limit the spread of misinformation taken by individual platforms can have complex consequences on misinformation diffusion across the social media ecosystem. This is further complicated by the diverse social structures, platform standards, and moderation mechanisms provided on each platform. We study this issue by extending our previous model of Reddit interactions and community-specific moderation measures. By adding a followership-based model of Twitter interactions and facilitating cross-platform user participation, we simulate information diffusion across heterogeneous social media platforms. While incorporating platform-specific moderation mechanisms, we simulate interactions at the user level and specify user-specific attributes. This allows practitioners to conduct experiments with various types of actors and different combinations of moderation. We show how the model can simulate the impacts of such features on discussions facilitated by Reddit and Twitter and the cross-platform spread of misinformation. To validate this model, we use a combination of empirical datasets from three U.S. political events and prior findings from user surveys and studies.

Oxytocin induces the formation of distinctive cortical representations and cognitions biased toward familiar mice

Social recognition is essential for the formation of social structures. Many times, recognition comes with lesser exploration of familiar animals. This lesser exploration has led to the assumption that recognition may be a habituation memory. The underlying memory mechanisms and the thereby acquired cortical representations of familiar mice have remained largely unknown, however. Here, we introduce an approach directly examining the recognition process from volatile body odors among male mice. We show that volatile body odors emitted by mice are sufficient to identify individuals and that more salience is assigned to familiar mice. Familiarity is encoded by reinforced population responses in two olfactory cortex hubs and communicated to other brain regions. The underlying oxytocin-induced plasticity promotes the separation of the cortical representations of familiar from other mice. In summary, neuronal encoding of familiar animals is distinct and utilizes the cortical representational space more broadly, promoting storage of complex social relationships.

Pirate Imageries and the Law: Utopias, Seven Seas and Sunken Treasures

AbstractFew phenomena in world history have such a vivid imagery in popular culture as piracy. Law is a major element of those images, whether looking through its lens one considers pirates as lawless or, conversely, as free of the shackles of society. This article proposes to investigate the relationship between the two, choosing three eponymous images as the focus of its investigations. Beginning with the study of the ways in which images of piracy were created in popular culture, the author then turns his attention to the question of the ways in which law has framed pirates throughout the ages. Thus, he looks into each of the three pre-selected images: of pirates as symbols of liberty (focusing on the question of pirate’s social organisation and pirate utopias), of pirates as outlaws (focusing on the question of how international law has treated pirates throughout history to the present day) and of pirates as treasure hunters (focusing on the question of legal rights to sunken treasures). In the final part of the article the author ponders the endurance of images of piracy, asking the question as to what this phenomenon reveals about law in particular and society in general.

Improving smallholders' capacity building by creating an enabling environment for sustainable crop production

CONTEXTSustainably improving food production to meet the needs of a growing population necessitates a dual-pronged approach involving both top-down policy support from governments and grassroots support from social organizations. The combination of these two elements can yield comprehensive and systematic solutions for sustainable crop production, particularly in smallholder-dominated agriculture. However, integrating these approaches to empower smallholders with advanced agricultural technologies and enhance crop sustainability remains a subject that warrants further investigation. OBJECTIVESWe explored collaborative practices for the integration of resources using a dual-pronged approach to empower smallholders for sustainable crop production. METHODSThe DPSIR framework was applied to our case study. Using stratified and random sampling, 258 farmers were recruited from Quzhou, China. We divided the participants into three groups: six farmers who had worked with China-founded Science and Technology backyards (STBs) for 15 years as leading farmers (LF), 90 neighboring farmers (NF) who were closely related to LF, and 162 traditional farmers (TF) from three villages in Quzhou who were not related to STBs. An intervention experiment focusing on the LF and NF was conducted. Interviews were conducted with 258 farmers after harvesting wheat. In addition, we used statistical analyses to examine the differences in yield and economic and environmental benefits among the different groups. Multiple linear regression was used to determine how different factors affected wheat yield, net profit, and technology adoption. We used a mediation model to analyze the mechanisms by which enabling environmental creation affects sustainable production by empowering farmers. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSCompared to TF, LF and NF increased social value by 31% and 25%, technology trust by 16% and 5%, and willingness to accept green production technologies and adoption behavior by 20% and 21%, respectively. In addition, LF and NF achieved wheat yield increases accompanied by net profit gains of 86% and 13%, respectively, and LF demonstrated 53% and 52% reductions in nitrogen surplus compared to TF and NF, respectively. The study found that the synergy of social organizations and government support promoted farmers' knowledge generation and sustainable agricultural production by increasing their social value and technology trust. SIGNIFICANCEThis study underscores the pivotal role of STBs in bridging these two approaches and facilitating an environment that empowers smallholders for sustainable crop production. This study provides initial insights into a multi-actor, co-participation-based approach to promoting farmers' capacity, which provides important information for future agricultural policy development and implementation.

Power Relations in Optimisation of Therapies and Equity in Access to Antibiotics (PROTEA) Study: investigating the intersection of socio-economic and cultural drivers on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and its influence on healthcare access and health-providing behaviours in India and South Africa

Across social structures within society, including healthcare, power relations manifest according to gender, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and class influencing infection related healthcare access and health providing-behaviours. Therefore, accounting for sociocultural drivers, including gender, race, and class, and their influence on economic status can improve healthcare access and health-providing behaviours in infection prevention and control (IPC) as well as antibiotic use, which in turn helps mitigate the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This Wellcome funded research will investigate how and why the social determinants of health and economic status influence how people seek, experience, and provide healthcare for suspected or proven (bacterial) infections and how these factors influence antibiotic prescribing and use in South Africa (upper middle-income country) and India (lower middle-income country). The aim of this body of work is to, (1) define and estimate the sociocultural and economic drivers for AMR in different resource settings, (2) design, implement and evaluate context-sensitive IPC and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interventions, and (3) inform policy and strategy for AMR mitigation. The population will be healthcare workers (HCWs), patients, and their carers across acute medical and surgical pathways where IPC and antibiotic-related healthcare access and health-providing behaviours will be studied. Qualitative methods will include ethnographic research, semi-structured in-depth interviews, and focus groups with healthcare providers, patients and carers. Quantitative analysis of bedside observational data from hospitals and population level data on antibiotic use will study the various predictors of AMR using bivariable and multivariable regression analyses. The research will provide high-quality evidence on how social determinants intersect with health, social well-being, and vulnerability in IPC practices and antibiotic use. Using this knowledge we will: 1) design, implement, and measure effects of interventions accounting for these factors; 2) provide a toolkit for advocacy for actors in AMR, and healthcare to assist them to promote dialogue, including policy dialogue on this issue. This work directly benefits the target population and informs healthcare services and practice across the participating countries with potential for wider translation. The setting will be hospitals in South Africa (middle-income country) and India (lower middle-income country). The population will be healthcare workers (HCWs), patients, and their carers across acute medical and surgical pathways where IPC and antibiotic-related health-seeking and health-providing behaviours will be studied. These populations represent communities most affected by infections and AMR because existing interventions do not address a) differences in how surgical versus medical teams manage infections; b) the role of the wider social network of individuals on their decision-making, c) intersection of the social determinants of health including race, gender, socioeconomic deprivation with AMR.

Enabling and inhibiting doctors transitions: introducing the social identity resource and belonginess model (SIRB).

The transition into postgraduate medical training is complex, requiring an integration into the workplace, adjustment to new identities, and understanding of the social and organisational structure of healthcare. Studies suggest that social resources, including a sense of belonging, inclusivity from social groups, and having strong social identities can facilitate positive transitions. However, little is known about the role these resources play in junior doctors' transitions into the healthcare community. This study aimed to explore the implications of having access to social resources for junior doctors. This study undertook secondary analysis from a longitudinal qualitative study which followed 19 junior doctors (residents within two years of qualification) for nine months. Data were thematically analysed using an abductive approach, with the social identity resource and belongingness (SIRB) model as a conceptual lens to explore how social networks of support act as identity resources (IRs) for junior doctors as they experience transitions. The doctors narrated that having accessible IRs in the form of supportive workplace relationships enabled an integration and a sense of belonging into healthcare practice, supported the construction of new professional identities, and strengthened career intentions. Those with inaccessible IRs (i.e. poor workplace relationships) expressed a lack of belonging, and casted doubt on their identity as a doctor and their career intentions. Our study indicates that SIRB model would be beneficial for medical educators, supervisors, and managers to help them understand the importance and implications of having IRs within the workplace environment and the consequences of their accessibility for healthcare staff experiencing transitions.

On Swami Vivekananda and Caste Prejudice: Ethical Implications of the Experience of Non-Duality

The well-known modern Hindu reformer and pioneer of Vedānta in the West, Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902), based his ethical vision on mysticism: specifically, on the direct experience of non-duality and the ultimate unity and organic interconnectedness of all beings. This paper will explore the implications of this experientially based ethos for caste prejudice. Caste remains a hot-button issue in India to the present day and was no less so in the time of Swami Vivekananda. This system of social organization is rightly criticized by social justice advocates for the inequities it enshrines and enforces in Indian society. Because it has historically been justified by reference to Hindu textual sources—specifically such Dharma Śāstras as the Manusmṛti—prejudice based on caste, or casteism, has frequently been depicted, especially by critics of Hinduism, as essential or inherent to Hindu traditions. The implication of this identification of caste with Hinduism, and caste with social injustice, is that Hinduism is an intrinsically wicked and unjust religion. Such simplistic equations fail to consider the extent to which caste prejudice has been condemned by authoritative Hindu teachers, not least, by Swami Vivekananda himself. It is thus important to rearticulate Swami Vivekananda’s rejection of caste prejudice—and indeed, of all prejudice—based on Advaita Vedānta both to make the case against such prejudice in today’s world and to address criticisms of Hinduism as inherently or essentially casteist. Finally, it will be noted that Vivekananda’s criticisms of caste anticipate those of a contemporary anti-casteist voice from the Advaita tradition: that of Hindu theologian Anantanand Rambachan, who has also argued against prejudices of various kinds, including caste prejudice, based on Advaita Vedānta.

Make America hate again? Before and after Trump, there were differences in how Muslims and Islam were portrayed in American media

ABSTRACT Islamophobia has historically been used to refer to racism, prejudice, and securitization, indicating that these are structural, cognitive, or cultural aspects of the issue. The term now refers to an Islamophobic social structure in the West, where people tend to act in a way that is hostile against Islam and everything that it represents, according to the current study. The prefix neo has thus been introduced by the researchers to this phrase to account for the psychological aspect of Islamophobia, which shows itself in behaviors and discourses. In order to comprehend the nature of Islamophobia in the UK and the USA, this research aims to investigate Islamophobic discourses in the media of these two Western cultures. Using the DHA analytical methodology, it examines 446 top stories from The Washington Post (The Post editorial board has supported Democratic candidates for federal, state, and municipal offices in the great majority of U.S. elections. Decisions on endorsements and the editorial board of the newspaper are made independently of journalistic activities. It wasn't until 1976 that the Post consistently endorsed candidates for president. The Post has never backed a Republican for president in the general election since it endorsed Jimmy Carter in 1976. Instead, it has consistently supported Democrats in presidential contests. Despite this, the Post declined to either Republican nominee Vice President George H. W. Bush or Democratic candidate Governor Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential contest. Obama in 2008 and 2012, Clinton in 2016, and Biden in 2020 were all backed by the Post editorial board (The Washington Post, 2020).) and The Independent (The Independent is typically characterized as liberal, liberal-left, and center to center. The paper's founders believed that readers from The Times and The Daily Telegraph would be its primary audience when it was first founded in 1986 and aimed for its political stance to match the middle of the British political spectrum. It is more of a rival to The Guardian because of perceptions that it leans left on the political spectrum. On economic matters, The Independent, however, leans liberal and pro-market. The Independent described itself as a proudly liberal publication on Sunday (Luce, 2019).) between November 2016 and December 2017. This study finds that although Neo-Islamophobia is more prevalent in the US, where it is considered as a challenge to the socio-political order, classic Islamophobia is more prevalent in the UK, where Islam is seen as a threat to Europe's symbolic identity. It suggests a cycle of neo-Islamophobia that starts with problematizing Islam and moves on to ultimately securitizing Muslims.

Modern Life-Building as a Biopower Strategy: Developing Sports Spaces in Urban, Rural and Industrial Areas in Turkey

In the early Republican period of Turkey (1923–1945), the newly established state provided a biopolitical agenda for developing modern and secular life in order to break the Ottoman heritage religious-traditional social structure. Thereupon, sports, as an indicator of modernization, took an important place in the biopolitics of the regime. Sports spaces were instrumentalized as a medium where biopower infiltrated to build a modern life. In order to effectively accomplish the modern life-building project, the Republican Regime invited international modernist architects to insert sports spaces into the social realm in urban, rural, and industrial areas. Accordingly, this paper explores sports-related spaces as a biopolitical agenda of the Republican Regime in the discourse of planning the city of Ankara and rural and industrial areas. Exploring history through the lens of sports reveals how the city of Ankara and rural and industrial areas formed a spatialized approach to the Republican Regime as a biopower to develop modern life.

Cultural omnivorousness in Ukraine: Examining relationships with social indicators via literary preferences among readers

The ability to accumulate extensive tastes, which is known as cultural omnivorousness, can play a significant role in social stratification and marking social groups. The omnivore argument posits that higher-status cultural tastes tend to be broad and diverse (omnivore). In contrast, lower-status cultural tastes are limited and exclusive (univore). This study investigates cultural omnivorousness in Ukraine by (1) examining latent classes of audiences and (2) exploring the relationship between cultural omnivorousness and positions in the social structure, considering educational attainment, financial situation, age, gender and type of settlement. Relying on the data from the survey ‘Reading in the context of media consumption and life construction’ conducted in 2020, this study focuses on the breadth/volume of behavioral preferences in literary genres among readers in Ukraine (N = 1302). The latent class analysis presents evidence of the distinctiveness of the omnivore class. Subsequent regression analysis shows a strong positive association between high education and omnivorous taste, whereas the financial situation bears no significant direct effect. Regression coefficients for socio-demographic variables indicate a more omnivorous taste amongst women and residents of big cities. The study concludes by discussing potential limitations and further perspectives for investigating the relationships between cultural omnivorousness and social stratification.

“Original sufferhead”: The boy-child and masculine sufferings in Ahmadou Kourouma’s Allah n’est pas obligé and Les Soleils des Indépendances

Revered as one of the principal figures of contemporary African literature and one of the greatest francophone writers, the celebrated Ivorian author; Ahmadou Kourouma, is renowned for his criticism of colonial machination, Africa's political and social structure, and satirical writings. In his selected works for this study—“Allah n’est pas obligé” and “Soleils des indépendances,” he profoundly explores and examines the arduous journey of the boy-child and manhood and how they grapple with societal pressures, expectations, challenges, exploitations, and conflicts. More so, he expounds the complexities of masculinity and the challenges of being a “man” in an African society. Thus, this study comprehensively explores the narratives of Kourouma and punctiliously investigates how they illume the intricacies of masculinity and the course of the boy-child. By adopting literary analysis, this study anatomizes the plotlines and characters within the selected works of the Ivorian prodigy and elucidates how the tribulations of the boy-child and the man are vividly depicted. It probes the societal expectations, identity crises, and emotional turmoil linked to these characters who struggle to navigate the turbulent pathway to manhood. Additionally, it spills the allegorical significance of “original sufferhead,” a musical piece from the legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti, serving as a puissant metaphor that captures the struggles of the boy and the man in a failing society.

Unveiling Extra-Institutional Agency in Nationalist Contention: Transformative Events and Grassroots Mobilizations in Scotland and Catalonia (1980s-2000s)

The literature on nationalist movements in Western democracies has almost exclusively focused on ethno-nationalist parties by attributing to them the key-role of “ethnic entrepreneurs”. Yet, non-institutional actors such as social movement organizations and grassroots groups can significantly impact the history of territorial contention and reshape movements. Their role is thus explored in the Scottish and Catalan struggles for selfdetermination between the 1980s and the 2000s. Firstly, the historical analysis of transformative events shows how the latter were set in motion by non-institutional actors. While Scottish organizations and groups operated to foster cross-party cooperation, the Catalan counterparts operated to mobilize society and popular support. Secondly, a thematic analysis of primary sources shows that the mobilizations fuelled by these events produced organizational and cultural changes in both nationalist movements. These changes left their legacy suggesting that former grassroots mobilizations made an important difference to resources mobilized in the current secessionist movements.

Between Cooptation and Surveillance: Varieties of Civic Monitoring in Spain

Civic monitoring is a democratic practice that allows citizens to hold accountable powerholders and enhance the accountability of democratic systems. To date, democratic theorists and collective action scholars have stressed the relevance of monitoring by NGOs, social movement organizations, and alternative media to increase civil society’s watchdog potential, filter publicly relevant information, and ensure the inclusion of new voices and the representation of new instances in democratic arenas. However, little is known about how such diverse collective actors leverage monitoring practices, particularly in interaction with monitored actors and their constituencies. Focusing on the Spanish case (2011-2021), often considered a prominent example of monitory democracy, the study employs Situational Analysis and builds on semi-structured interviews and document analysis to discuss differences within the Spanish monitoring field. The results contribute to ongoing discussions on the hybridization of civic efforts and classifications of civic monitoring initiatives.

Oltre il “paradosso di genere”: l’identità di genere come “schema culturale” e “risorsa simbolica” nell’era delle singolarità

The analysis of the so-called gender paradox represents the starting point of a theoretical-interpretative framework which, through a structuralist analysis of gender identity, intends to introduce understanding criteria capable of shedding new light on a paradox that only appears to be such. After examining the achievements of the most recent sociological literature on gender, with particular reference to the multidimensional perspectives that look at gender as a structure in the Giddensian sense, the article proposes an original interpretative framework that explores the potentialities of structuration theory, delving into the dual nature inherent in structures, through the recurrence of “cultural patterns” and “symbolic resources”. The second part of the article proposes a theoretical shift that assumes gender identity as a structure, to thematize the processes of social structuring that, starting from modernity, have led to the emergence of individuation processes, then declined, in late-modern societies, into individualization and singularization. The proposed interpretative framework allows, in the concluding part of the article, both to highlight how the gender paradox is not paradoxical at all, and to read the strong polarisation of the public debate around the redefinition of possible gender identifications as an expression of the new cleavage between hyper-culture and cultural essentialism.

Towards achieving quality and equal educational opportunities in Iraq: the role of development and law enforcement in achieving the required change

Legislation is an essential tool for achieving development in any society. It provides the legal framework to stimulate economic and social growth, protects the rights of individuals and companies, and creates a sustainable environment for business and investment. Achieving development, improvement and equal educational opportunities in Iraq is achieved through development and legislation. Quality education contributes to building and strengthening the social and economic structure of Iraq, developing the capabilities of young people and their participation in the labor market, which helps to reduce social disparities and enhance justice in society.

(In)Forming care: negotiating tensions in everyday information work in dementia care

This article highlights carers’ information-related work of caring for community-dwelling older adults living with dementia. Within an institutional ethnography method of inquiry, two sets of interviews with 13 carers and five paid dementia care staff map out the social organisation of carers’ information work. Carers’ information work is organised by timescales of past, present and future. Paid dementia care staff’s work reveals the broader institutional agendas that shape and constrain the ways that family caregivers experience their information work. As carers contend with information that is ‘fluid’ and ambiguous, differing supports are required to agentively support carers’ information needs.

“We can’t allow ourselves to fall ill”: Health and (self-)discipline in female family caregivers from a gender perspective

Research has shown significant differences and inequalities in the health of women and men who care for older dependent family members, with women having poorer health and suffering more from overload. Women internalize a cultural model of caregiving involving social norms whereby caring becomes a central dimension of gender-female identity, cutting across other aspects of life. This study takes a biopsychosocial approach, understanding gender as a determinant of health, in order to investigate the processes of subjectivation (and “technologies of the self”) that mediate between the social organization of care and the health of women. A reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken in this qualitative study, following in-depth interviews with nineteen women caring for family members. The results show that women’s biopsychosocial health is affected by the subjective positions they adopt in order to submit to or resist gender-based social norms about caring in three dimensions: their relationship to their own health problems, their experience of vulnerability, and the place of love and morality in relation to being a caregiver. Those (inter)subjective processes reflect the neoliberal update of the gendered social organization of care and the way its social discourses, such as free choice and unstinting performance, relate to female caregivers’ biopsychosocial health. It is necessary to deconstruct this traditional model and the self-regulated processes as recast by the neoliberal order for the sake of women’s health, to relieve them of this burden. It is essential to commit to sociopolitical articulations aimed at shared responsibility in care.

Research Progress of Digital Social Innovation

Digital social innovation has been rapidly emerging around the world and is attracting more and more attention. By collating and reviewing the relevant literature of digital social innovation, the current research status is summarized, and the potential research direction in the future is analyzed. It is found that the role of digital social innovation is influenced by the development level of information and communication technology, the construction level of digital infrastructure and the commitment level of digital technicians at the technical level, the size and type of organizations and the innovation ability of organizations at the organizational level, and the policy, economic and social environment at the environmental level. The role of digital social innovation in more fields, the role of social organizations and the local practice of digital social innovation are future research directions.