Social Systems Research Articles

The influence of linguistic profiling on perceived employability: a new application of the systems theory framework of career development

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to clarify the influence of linguistic profiling on perceived employability. In doing so, we recognize multiple factors that can contribute to this relationship. Using the systems theory framework (STF) of career development, we categorize these factors based on whether they primarily reside within the societal system, the organizational system, or the individual system. Subsequently, we construct and present an open systems model that depicts the influence of linguistic profiling on perceived employability in context with other societal, organizational and individual factors.Design/methodology/approachThe STF provides a theoretical perspective on how to contextualize linguistic profiling and perceived employability within the scope of career development. We employed an integrative literature review method to locate existing research studies that investigated the influences of linguistic profiling and perceived employability. The literature search process, coupled with inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulted in 46 publications retained for analysis.FindingsFindings provided evidence of language ideologies that contribute to linguistic profiling globally. Linguistic profiling usually results in reduced perceived employability. There was variation in the research findings based on the context of the research studies. The context consisted of the societal, organizational and individual systems in which the research study was conducted. Findings supported our construction of an open systems model of the influence of linguistic profiling on perceived employability, which is rooted in the STF.Originality/valueThis study highlights the negative influence of linguistic profiling on perceived employability. It also demonstrates how the STF can be used to contextualize the linguistic profiling problem within societal and organizational systems.

On abstract goals' perverse effects on proxies: The dynamics of unattainability.

Proxies should not be classified as failures or successes because, in most cases, they are impossible translations of abstract, polysemous goals to supposedly univocal concrete measures. The "success" or "failure" of a proxy does not depend on its actual accuracy as a valid indicator of goal attainment, but on a social system's willingness to maintain an illusion of its accomplishment.

Threads of Tradition Social Expectations and Marriage in Emma by Jane Austen and Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

This study explores the theme of marriage and social expectations in two beloved novels: In case of two British novelists Jane Austen's Emma and Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The paper is focused on revealing a multi-faceted character of the figure of gender roles, social values and traditions linking the lives of Emma Woodhouse and Tess Durbeyfield by means of a comparative analysis. These tensions between female characters' individual goals and social constraints are exposed by the study and the opinions of Elizabeth V. Spelman, Ann Bo-Hubert, Hazel Carby, Elaine Showalter, Susan Gubar and Sandra M. Gilbert are referred to. Austen dismantled the precedent social norms of the Regency period through the vital tool of satire and wit after this novel is through and through analysed out. The made decision to make the word association “Brain” instead of “love” is a pretty good way to show the society who sees marriage as only a calculated action, not the passionate connection. The multilayered substructures of a theme are formed due to the "crazy woman in the attic" metaphor constructed by Gilbert and Gubar which implies the true self of a woman in society is suppressed due to restricted roles. Unlike Stone's 'Greek Myths,' Hardy in Tess of the D’Urbervilles focusing on a gloomy story that work to demonstrate the harmful consequences of ignoring Victorian society rules. The article analyses the marriage and gender role issues that Hardy has shown in a vivid manner as Eagleton says. The main conflict of the play is about what man want and what society demands, that is: what is true happiness and what is right in social term. Social class differences get intensively scrutinized, as the plot shows how the social systems influence the lives of the characters and build their destinies which deepens the theme analysis further. The study shows that these classic novels have been excellent guides and examples that have helped readers figure out what they would like to do with their lives. Moreover, the readers have been able to see people confront the challenges they encounter from institutions or interpersonal dynamics as well as expectations to balance their culture and social obligations.

Precipitation exacerbates spatial heterogeneity in the propagation time of meteorological drought to soil drought with increasing soil depth

Abstract The propagation of meteorological droughts to soil droughts poses a substantial threat to water resources, agricultural production, and social systems. Understanding drought propagation process is crucial for early warning and mitigation, but mechanisms of the propagation from meteorological drought to soil drought, particularly at varying soil depths, remain insufficiently understood. Here, we employ the maximum correlation coefficient method and the random forest model to investigate the spatiotemporal patterns and drivers of propagation time (PT) from meteorological drought to soil drought at four different depths across China from 1980 to 2018. Our findings reveal consistently higher PT in northern China and lower PT in southern China across varying soil depths, with more pronounced spatial heterogeneity with increasing soil depth. Furthermore, we identify temperature and precipitation as determinants of spatial patterns of PT in surface and deeper soil layers, respectively. Additionally, precipitation emerges as the dominant factor influencing changes in PT between different soil layers. Our study highlights a discernible shift in PT drivers from temperature to precipitation as soil depth increases and the significant impact of precipitation on exacerbating spatial heterogeneity in PT. This study contributes to an enhanced comprehension of the propagation process from meteorological drought to soil drought at different depths, which can aid in establishing practical drought mitigation measures and early warning systems.

Students health physique information sharing in publicly collaborative services over edge-cloud networks

Data privacy is playing a vital role while facing the digital life aspects. Today, the world is being extensively inter-connected through the internet of things (IoT) technologies. This huge interconnectivity is bringing very wonderful capabilities for improving the quality of life (QoL) with itself, for instance, in distributed healthcare. On the other hand, there are new challenges in the interconnectivity per use. One of the most challenging issues of IoT use in social systems and digital life is secure, trustable, and reliable interactions over IoT networks such that safety, security, and privacy in both aspects of cyber and physical worlds for humankind should be planned and controlled.Due to the less physical activity of most people in the current world, fitness and aerobic sports are now an important need at any age to help them keep healthy in their cyber-physical life, specifically, for the younger student that are still in the growth ages. However, these sport activities need to be monitored seriously and closely to not put their life in danger. Herewith, healthcare services through IoT is becoming more applicable. Therefore, health information privacy for athletes is now a hot topic of investigation as we present the topic here. We propose an IoT-based physique healthcare system considering private information sharing for athletes based on data hiding at the edge of a collaborative system. The proposed system pays attention to the key factors of healthcare IoT infrastructure but it is bringing its new suggestions for more safety. Moreover, many evaluations based on different kinds of healthcare data are provided.

Policy impacts in dynamic relation to food, income, learning and security: COVID-19 lockdowns in a Nigerian Agrarian Community

AbstractWhose Crisis? The Global COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of communities in Africa is an international research project that aims to investigate and represent the diverse experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic from those marginalized by mainstream media and policy influence. This article focuses on the multidimensional effects of the generalized lockdown policy in an agrarian community in Nigeria. The project engaged participatory and culturally responsive adaptations of qualitative methods including participatory engagement and individual and group discussions with purposively selected community members. This relational research practice is supported by a Systems Thinking approach to data analysis. In particular, a Causal Loop Diagram (CLD) is used to analyse and visually present the relationships between various elements (variables) of the research context (the system). This study reveals the interrelated effects of the COVID-19 prompted generalised lockdown policies on livelihoods, education, health, and security in rural Nigeria. Although the lockdown policy was intended to curtail the impact of COVID-19, it had severe unintended consequences, exposing weaknesses in the social support system and threatening the foundations of the agrarian community of this study. This article culminates in recommendations for participatory and culturally responsive approaches to future policy formulation.

Getting an outsider’s perspective - sick-listed workers’ experiences with early follow-up sessions in the return to work process: a qualitative interview study

PurposeThe aim of this study was to explore how early follow-up sessions (after 14 and 16 weeks of sick leave) with social insurance caseworkers was experienced by sick-listed workers, and how these sessions influenced their return-to-work process.MethodsA qualitative interview study with sick-listed workers who completed two early follow-up sessions with caseworkers from the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration (NAV). Twenty-six individuals aged 30 to 60 years with a sick leave status of 50–100% participated in semi-structured interviews. The data was analyzed with thematic analysis.ResultsParticipants’ experiences of the early follow-up sessions could be categorized into three themes: (1) Getting an outsider’s perspective, (2) enhanced understanding of the framework for long term sick-leave, and (3) the empathic and personal face of the social insurance system. Meeting a caseworker enabled an outsider perspective that promoted critical reflection and calibration of their thoughts. This was experienced as a useful addition to the support many received from their informal network, such as friends, family, and co-workers. The meetings also enabled a greater understanding of their rights and duties, possibilities, and limitations regarding welfare benefits, while also displaying an unexpected empathic and understanding perspective from those working in the social insurance system.ConclusionFor sick-listed individuals, receiving an early follow-up session from social insurance caseworkers was a positive experience that enhanced their understanding of their situation, and promoted reflection towards RTW. Thus, from the perspective of the sick-listed workers, early sessions with social insurance caseworkers could be a useful addition to the overall sickness absence follow-up.

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Job Loss: Risks for Governments

The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies presents both opportunities and challenges for labor markets globally. By adopting a qualitative methodology, this study analyses the impact of AI integration in jobs on the labor market and the subsequent policy responses by governments. The study specifies the industries and jobs that are highly susceptible to AI-driven automation, particularly those characterized by routine and repetitive tasks. The study also acknowledges the potential for AI to create new job categories. Key findings suggest that while AI poses a significant risk of job displacement in several sectors, it also offers opportunities for economic growth, opening of new jobs and innovation. Moreover, the study highlights various government strategies employed globally, including up-skilling and re-skilling initiatives, strengthening social protection systems, and fostering AI-human collaboration. These strategies aim to mitigate the adverse impacts of AI on employment and ensure a balanced transition to AI-integrated economies. Based on these strategies, the paper suggests some recommendations for governments to address AI-driven job losses, emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary education, ethical AI use, inclusive growth strategies, and international cooperation.

Catalyzing change: A framework for equitable health among MSM—insights from South Africa for developing nations

AbstractThis research paper seeks to close health disparities among MSM in developing countries by presenting a holistic framework that will ensure equal access to healthcare services. Conducted in South Africa with 25 MSM participants, employing qualitative methods and Nvivo software for analysis, the framework integrates WHO's social health determinants and systems theory principles into three dimensions: Input, process, and output. The main components are sensitization training, community engagement, MSM empowerment, health promotion coupled with the look at finances, human resources, and infrastructure. The study underlines the importance of collective action by MSM and other stakeholders for achieving health equity and offers valuable lessons for policy makers and healthcare professionals in terms of inclusiveness and equal health service delivery. It highlights the critical role of inter‐disciplinary strategy comprising of community participation and resource allocation to erase the health inequality among MSM in developing countries.

Evaluating the Sustainable Development Performance of China’s International Commercial Ports Based on Environmental, Social and Governance Elements

An environmental, social and governance (ESG) evaluation system can focus on the value of enterprises more comprehensively and better scrutinize the development premise of enterprise. As a novel investment concept, both domestic and foreign investors widely acknowledge the significance of ESG. With the implementation of “carbon peak”, “carbon neutral” and other national strategies, an increasing number of transportation enterprises in China’s international commercial ports have started to focus on the role of ESG evaluation. This not only facilitates self-examination and correction within enterprises but also helps in adjusting the strategic direction toward sustainable development. This shift toward ESG evaluation is crucial for promoting environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility within the transportation industry. In this regard, this study aims to evaluate the sustainable development performance of China’s international commercial ports based on ESG elements. A data envelopment analysis (DEA) is considered to be a non-parametric performance evaluation method that can effectively solve for multi-criteria decision-making units, so this study mainly selects the DEA model for the performance evaluation. This study conducted research to select eight benchmarking companies within the industry and found that efficient units excelled in their ability to complete capacity levels with high quality and quantity at ports. In contrast, less efficient units scored lower in the domain of social responsibility.

Feeling a little uneasy: A comparative discourse analysis of White and BIPOC college students’ reflective writing about systemic racism

AbstractThis critical discourse analysis compares the ways in which White and BIPOC college students discuss their experiences of an educational intervention meant to promote better understanding of systemic racism. We analyzed reflective writing produced by 11 White psychology students from a private liberal arts college in the eastern United States and 17 BIPOC students from a Human Services program at a public university in the western United States. White students engaged in whiteness discourse that distanced themselves from the realities of systemic racism and/or relieved the cognitive dissonance associated with the self‐ and group‐image threat related to learning about systemic racism. In so doing, they unwittingly upheld white supremacy. BIPOC students, in contrast, engaged an antiracist discourse that employed critiques of the social systems that produce systemic racism and destabilized dominant colorblind narratives, often by drawing on lived experience. From the Critical Race Theory perspective that the centrality of lived experience is a legitimate lens through which to analyze racial subordination, we discuss the importance of attending to the action orientation and constructed nature of discourse in antiracist education.

Lived experiences of matrilocal husbands in Filipino marriage patterns: a phenomenological inquiry

Marriage exists to bring a man and a woman together as husband and wife. Hence, determining a community's rules or rules of residence in marriage has long been established as an essential requirement in understanding the social system. Moreover, in-residence practices are the first family pattern to exhibit change and cause subsequent change; thus, they warrant attention. Meanwhile, when couples marry, they usually live in or near the home of the man's parents. However, sometimes, this wasn't practiced because of the preeminence of the bride's family. Hence, unlike the more common patrilocal marriage, the groom resides with the bride's parents. A phenomenological qualitative study was utilized to understand the lived experiences of matrilocal husbands in Filipino marriage patterns. The researcher identified four major themes from the transcripts using Colaizzi's phenomenological data analysis procedure. Reasons for becoming a matrilocal husband are primarily based on the socioeconomic status of the couple. The participants expressed that there were moments of self-adjustment and set-aside decisions. They expressed a need to socialize, particularly with his in-laws. This study can be used for policy-making, specifically for the local government unit, to extend activities to cater to the personal, social, and psychological impacts of being a matrilocal husband. It can also be integrated into gender and society courses in college.

Exploring Forms and Practices of Menstruation in the Changing Social System: A Study of Suryabinayak-05, Katunje, Bhaktapur

Menstruation forms and practices with restriction have a long history not only in a single culture and region but in various religions and cultures may vary according to the level of their cultural norms, values and superstitions. The aim of the study is to explore the forms of practices of menstruation in the changing Nepali society. The qualitative data were collected from the Suryabinayak-05, Katunje, Bhaktapur district. All total 10 potential research participants were selected for in-depth interview along with non-participant observation in the field. The study indicates that the women from Brahmin and Chhetri community affiliated to Hindu religion are practicing almost all forms of discrimination due to menstruation. Stay in a separate room, eating in a separate room, bathing in separate bathroom, be away from social activities and not participate in religious activities. This discrimination should be addressed through awareness programs in the community.

Wives, Daughters and Sisters: Noble Women in Medieval Lithuania (13th–15th Centuries)

The history of medieval women in Lithuania a little-known topic. This is due to two reasons. Firstly, the long-dominant research tradition, which has given the main role to the history of “great men”, has undoubtedly left women on the margins of studies. Secondly, the state of research has been, and continues to be, largely determined by the availability of the sources. Of all the rulers of Lithuania during the pagan period, only the names of Mindaugas’ wife and both of Algirdas’ wives are known with certainty. Sensing this gap, some of the rulers’ wives were “given” names by later chroniclers.The situation concerning the sources regarding the wives and daughters of the nobility is similar. For example, of the 26 most influential nobles of the time of Grand Duke Vytautas, in 14 cases, we do not know the name or origin of the wife. Nevertheless, the processing and compilation of the rather scattered material on the Lithuanian noble women allows us to draw some conclusions about the political and social system of the Lithuanian medieval state.Women played an important role in the world of the nobility. As wives, daughters, and sisters, they established and maintained ties between relatives, both at home and (in the case of rulers) abroad. Successful marriages often determined the trajectories of men’s careers, and sometimes even of individual families. However, they mostly remained in the silence of the sources and, thanks to the conjuncture of the sources, they appear before us first of all as pious foundresses, preservers of the memory of the family, and guardians of children.

Shark Fin City: transitional marine wildlife economies in Global Hong Kong

ABSTRACT Hong Kong has historically been the epicenter of the global shark fin trade. Despite this legacy, recent public outreach campaigns highlighting the effects of consumption on marine ecosystems have precipitated shifts in the market. Fish maw and sea cucumber have emerged as substitutes in wildlife markets, marking an understudied phenomenon from urban geographical perspectives. This article investigates the transitional nature of social value systems underpinning Hong Kong's marine wildlife market through interviews with retailers, conservation organizations, and government officials, as well as visual surveys of market displays. Hong Kong's marine wildlife market, this article contends, brings into sharp relief how transitions in social value systems that substitute one type of non-fungible wildlife commodity for others can amplify biodiversity loss and reproduce expressions of social difference in urban space. The article illuminates how social value systems embedded in urban wildlife markets are related to human health, aging, gifting, and relationship building. Furthermore, it analyzes how the possession, consumption, and display of high-value wildlife commodities in cities reflects classed and gendered forms of social difference. The article further examines the challenges of regulating the market and shaping public values and actions in the face of escalating global biodiversity loss.

Is incoherence required for sustainability?

Unstoppable feedback loops and tipping points in socio-ecological systems are the main threats to sustainability. These behaviors have been extensively studied, notably to predict, and arguably deviate, dead-end trajectories. A core group of repeated and predictable patterns in all systems, called systems archetypes, has been identified. For instance, the archetype of escalation is made of two positive feedback loops fueling one another. Interestingly, none of the known archetypes provide sustainability: they all trigger endless amplification. In parallel, systems biologists have made considerable progress on the role of incoherent loops in molecular networks in the past 20 years. Such patterns in biological networks produce stability and a form of intrinsic autonomy for all functions, from circadian rhythm to immunity. Incoherence is the fuel of homeostasis of living systems. Here, I bridge both conclusions and propose that incoherence should be included in the list of systems archetypes, and considered as an operational way to buffer socio-ecological fluctuations. This proposition is supported by the well-known trade-off between robustness and efficiency: adaptability requires some degree of internal contradiction. This applies to both technical and social systems: incoherent strategies recognize and fuel the diversity of solutions; they are the essential, yet often ignored, components of cooperation. Building on these theoretical considerations and real-life examples, incoherence might offer a counterintuitive, but transformative, way out of the Great Acceleration, and possibly, an actionable lever for decision makers.

How to manage the ecosystem services effectively and fairly?

Ecosystem services (ES) are the bridge between social system and ecosystem, and effective management of ecosystem services is the basis of sustainable development. According to the objectives of ecosystem service management, this study constructed an ecosystem service management framework based on trade-off theory, and proposed the “Driving force regulation” toolkit and “Compensation scheme construction” toolkit to try to improve the efficiency and fairness of ecosystem service management. And take Zhejiang Huzhou Mulberry-dyke & Fish-pond System (MDFP) as the practical object of the framework. The results showed that: (1) When the thickness of the pond sludge is 10 cm, increasing the frequency of covering pond sludge to mulberry-dyke (CSMD) can effectively improve the supply of soil nutrient retention services in MDFP, but it will reduce the provision services. (2) When the pond sludge thickness is 10 cm, the frequency of CSMD is the driving force of the supply-supply trade-offs between soil nutrient retention services and provision services. Increasing the frequency of CSMD to once a year can effectively manage trade-offs between ES supplies and thereby improve stakeholders’ group benefits. (3) The benefits obtained by various stakeholders from the management of ES supply-supply trade-offs are uneven. Entrepreneurs, environmentalists and tourists need to pay compensation in the ratio of 6:6:1, while farmers and government agencies receive compensation in the ratio of 3:2. This research shows that the ecosystem service management framework based on trade-off theory optimizes ES supply according to the ES preferences of stakeholders, and determines the proportion of compensation paid (received) by private winners (private losers) based on differences in changes of individual benefits, thereby effectively improving the “efficiency” and “fairness” of ES management.

Social protection and the International Monetary Fund: promise versus performance

BackgroundCountries in the Global South are currently facing momentous economic and social challenges, including major debt service problems. As in previous periods of global financial instability, a growing number of countries have turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance. The organization has a long track-record of advocating for extensive fiscal consolidation—commonly known as ‘austerity’—for its borrowers. However, in recent years, the IMF has announced major initiatives for ensuring that its loans support social spending, thus aiding countries in meeting their development targets and the Sustainable Development Goals. To assess this track record, we collected spending data on 21 loans signed in the 2020–2022 period, including from all their periodic reviews up to August 2023.ResultsWe find that austerity measures remain a core part of the organization’s mandated policies for its borrowers: 15 of the 21 countries studied here experience a decrease in fiscal space over the course of their IMF programs. Against this fiscal backdrop, social spending floors have failed to live up to their promise. There is no streamlined definition of these floors, thus rendering their application haphazard and inconsistent. But even on their own terms, these floors lack ambition: they often do not foresee trajectories of meaningful social spending increases over time, and, when they do, many of these gains are eaten up by soaring inflation. In addition, a third of social spending floors are not implemented—a much lower implementation rate from that for austerity conditions, which the IMF prioritizes. In several instances, where floors are implemented, they are not meaningfully exceeded, thus—in practice—acting as social spending ceilings.ConclusionsThe IMF’s lending programs are still heavily focused on austerity, and its strategy on social spending has not represented the sea-change that the organization advertised. At best, social spending floors act as damage control for the painful budget cuts: they are instruments of social amelioration, underpinned by principles of targeted assistance for highly disadvantaged groups. Alternative approaches rooted in principles of universalism can be employed to build up durable and resilient social protection systems.

Formative personal experiences: How benefit recipiency and income changes shape perceptions of system abuse

AbstractPerceptions that others will contribute their fair share are fundamental to the legitimacy of the political system. To better understand how these perceptions take shape beyond the influence of political narratives and socializations, this paper investigates the role of the formative personal experiences of benefit recipiency and income changes in explaining views on welfare abuse as well as tax evasion. Theoretically, both increasing identification or ‘othering’ could occur when these experiences lead to new group adherence. To test this empirically, three‐wave Norwegian panel data (2014–2017) are analysed. Within‐ as well as between‐group analyses show that becoming dependent on benefits leads to lower perceptions of welfare abuse, while positive income changes prompt higher perceptions of tax evasion, albeit mostly among those with lower income levels. Overall, this article shows that formative personal experiences affect views that are fundamental to the perceived fairness, legitimacy and sustainability of the social and political system.

SOCIAL POLICY REGARDING VETERANS, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND OTHER VULNERABLE POPULATION GROUPS

The study focuses on evaluating and analyzing social policies designed to enhance the quality of life for veterans, disabled individuals, and other vulnerable population groups. Emphasis is placed on the effectiveness and adaptability of existing programs and initiatives, along with identifying potential directions for further development of social support for the mentioned citizen categories. The research adopts a comprehensive approach, incorporating the analysis of legislative frameworks, examination of statistical data, and conducting empirical investigations. Comparative analysis methods, surveys, and interviews with representatives of vulnerable groups and experts in social policy are employed. The social policy directed towards veterans, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable population groups is an integral component of the structure of modern society. Providing support to these categories of citizens holds significant humanitarian importance, as it reflects universal values and contributes to addressing issues of social justice. Systematic efforts to create equal opportunities for vulnerable groups foster inclusive development, promoting the construction of a more just and balanced society. The work not only addresses existing challenges in the realm of social support for veterans, disabled individuals, and other vulnerable groups but also proposes specific recommendations for improving assistance programs. This includes exploring opportunities to enhance the accessibility of social services and stimulate the integration of these groups into society. The findings of the research underscore the necessity for actively implementing innovative approaches in social policy, taking into account the individual needs and capabilities of vulnerable groups. The proposed recommendations can serve as a foundation for future policy decisions and improvements in the social support system for relevant population categories. Special attention is given to the development of professional rehabilitation and training programs aimed at integrating individuals into the workforce. In the context of vulnerable population groups, there is a highlighted necessity to expand social protection for the elderly, single parents, and individuals with disabilities. The recommendations also aim to improve mechanisms of civic participation and partnerships between the government, civil society, and businesses to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of social programs. Overall, the study emphasizes the importance of revisiting and improving social policy in response to contemporary challenges and the diverse needs of different population groups. The developed recommendations can serve as a basis for strategic planning and enhancing the overall social system.