Social Systems Research Articles

Social support in maintaining mental health and quality of life among community-dwelling older people with functional limitations in Malaysia: a population-based cross-sectional study

ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the mediation role of perceived social support in the relationship between functional limitations, depressive symptoms and quality of life among older people in Malaysia.SettingThe Malaysian...

North Carolina Caregiver Listening Study: Caregiver Experiences and Perspectives on Services and Supports in an Aging U.S. State

ABSTRACT Family caregivers experience health, financial, and social burdens related to caregiving responsibilities. North Carolina has an estimated 1.3 million caregivers, equating to a value of $13.1 billion per year. Caregiving demands warrant additional understanding of the caregiver lived experiences. Our objective was to document these North Carolina caregiver experiences during the era of COVID-19 through focus groups. Participants were recruited through diverse community organizations. All 44 caregivers who completed interest solicitation surveys were invited to participate; 29 caregivers participated across 11 groups. Thematic analysis was used to code and synthesize transcripts from each participant using Dedoose software and guided by the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ). Caregiver routines (caregiving as an all-encompassing role; dimensions of support); most challenging parts (exhaustion and defeat; lacking support; evolving relationships); most rewarding parts (care recipient resilience; quality time; sense of purpose); social service and healthcare system interactions (positive interactions; negative interactions; inaccessible services); COVID-19 impacts on caregiving (opportunities; challenges); and caregiver suggestions for system improvements (increasing financial support; improved coordination; ideological shifts). Caregivers shared unmet needs, challenges, and opportunities for improvement. Examining these needs and experience-informed recommendations can help advance additional caregiving research, policy-making, and program development.

Risk and low-density dispersed urbanism

Settlements operate across a wide range of densities and do so for every socio- economic mode of life from those based on hunter-gatherer economies to those which are based on industrial production. Human beings also live across a range of residential densities from very high to very low. Why they do so is a function of many factors, especially differing socio-cultural ways of managing interaction and communication and the associated social and political practices of the communities. Settlement forms are seen as a derivative of many factors because they are. But they are not thereby an epiphenomenon - especially as they become larger, more durable, and bulkier. That gives them inertia and, as a consequence, they become an agency in their own right which produces outcomes with consequences for the communities, which inhabit them. They are not a neutral background. Instead, their materiality, their sizes, and their densities have an impact on the viability of social life. This paper considers the outcomes generated by the regional networks of low-density, urban settlements larger than 100 sq km in extent. The implications of what happened to agrarian-based low-density urban settlements, like Greater Angkor and the Classic Maya settlements, such as Caracol, are of consequence for the risk faced by the regional networks of present-day, low-density urban giants – the megalopoleis and desa-kota. A further perspective is provided by placing these great cities of the past and the present in the larger context of the trajectories and outcomes of smaller low-density settlements over the previous six millennia. The concern is the implications for the viability of low-density urbanism in contexts of the rapid, extreme climate change we are now beginning to experience. The implications are ominous, yet the past also indicates that social and cultural systems are robust, that human beings can survive, and that they retain and continue to remake their social traditions as they adjust to seriously changing circumstances.

Quality in care homes: How wearable devices and social network analysis might help.

Social network analysis can support quality improvement in care homes but traditional approaches to social network analysis are not always feasible in care homes. Recalling contacts and movements in a home is difficult for residents and staff and documentary and other sources of individual contacts can be unreliable. Bluetooth enabled wearable devices are a potential means of generating reliable, trustworthy, social network data in care home communities. In this paper, we explore the empirical, theoretical and real-world potential and difficulties in using Bluetooth enabled wearables with residents and staff in care homes for quality improvement. We demonstrate, for the first time, that a relatively simple system built around the Internet of Things, Bluetooth enabled wearables for residents and staff and passive location devices (the CONTACT intervention) can capture social networks and data in homes, enabling social network analysis, measures, statistics and visualisations. Unexpected variations in social network measures and patterns are surfaced, alongside "uncomfortable" information concerning staff time spent with residents. We show how technology might also help identify those most in need of social contact in a home. The possibilities of technology-enabled social network analysis must be balanced against the implementation-related challenges associated with introducing innovations in complex social systems such as care homes. Behavioural challenges notwithstanding, we argue that armed with social network information, care home staff could better tailor, plan and evaluate the effects of quality improvement with the sub-communities that make up a care home community.

The improvement of the social credit environment and corporate ESG performance - evidence from the "construction of china's social credit system"

This article explores the influence of the social credit environment on corporate ESG performance in China. By analyzing the impact of China's initiative to build pilot cities for the social credit system, the study introduces a unique approach to assessing corporate sustainability. Findings indicate a positive relationship between an enhanced social credit environment and superior corporate ESG performance. This relationship is notably stronger among NSOEs and in limited marketization regions, highlighting the significant role of the social credit system in fostering corporate sustainability practices. The study's insights contribute to the discourse on the interplay between societal factors and corporate governance.

From public to market use: a historical perspective on the changes in health data collection and use in France from 1930 to the present

Purpose This study aims to understand the progressive marketization of health data collection and use, through a study of its historical development in France, from the 1930s to the present day. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected a set of legal, institutional, political and media data. These came from the INA (National Audiovisual Institute), the French national newspaper websites and the websites legifrance.gouv.fr and vie-publique.fr. The authors then conducted a thematic content analysis. Findings The study results highlight the changes in the health-care system related to the increased use of data in France over three major periods. The first period – 1930s to 1980s – is marked by the creation of the French social security system to collect large sets of data to better manager people’s health care. The second period – 1980s to 2000s – is characterized by the adoption and assimilation of tools to manage patient data through several national and European regulations. The last period – 2000s to the present – saw the introduction of measures in favor of the digitalization of health care, and consequently of data, in parallel with the advancement of digital technologies in general. The institutional dynamics in healthcare have evolved with the nature of the actors and their practices, in connection with new perceptions about health data. Originality/value This research sheds light on the historical transformation of health data collection and use in France, revealing the involvement of diverse stakeholders, the discourses driving data development and the need for regulation. It exposes the dual nature of health data collection and use, initially sanctioned by the state and public entities but later exploited for private interests.

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.

Flyways Beyond Migratory Pathways: The Case of Waterbird Conservation

Abstract For almost a century, the term ‘flyways’ has been used to order relations over time and space. It has been used to coordinate scientific research and communication as well as monitoring and management efforts for waterbird conservation. In this article, we revisit the concept of ‘boundary object’ (Star and Griesemer 1989) to investigate how this term ‘flyways’ has been central to common efforts while also having multiple meanings for the actors it connects. The article discusses both contemporary and historical achievements of the term by analysing its underlying knowledge infrastructure. We account for the complex assemblages of social, material, natural, and technical systems that shape how the term ‘flyway’ has been functioning as a boundary object and how this has changed over time. By discussing how the term ‘flyways’ as a boundary object and its underlying knowledge infrastructure shape each other, we empower the actors to define, visualise, communicate, and imagine flyways in more purposeful ways. Our analysis contributes to the literature on boundary objects and knowledge infrastructures by expanding their original definitions, arguing for a co-productive relation between them.

Integrating human infrastructure in post-disaster critical lifeline restoration scheduling

Critical societal services, such as health care, are offered from facilities that are supported by civil lifelines. In disaster events, restoration of the damaged lifeline elements and facilities is necessary for restoring societal function. It is generally presumed that the critical societal services are intact as long as the buildings from which they are provided are functioning and have operating supporting lifelines. This paper recognizes that the services require not only a functioning space for supporting related operations, but also depend on the presence of skilled personnel. For this purpose, a mathematical technique for modeling this human infrastructure as a civil lifeline is proposed. This human infrastructure lifeline modeling approach is integrated into a stochastic program that seeks an optimal schedule of post-event restoration actions across lifelines to minimize the amount of time that civil lifeline elements, including personnel, and the critical societal services they support are nonfunctioning. The model is cast in a real-time setting, where situational awareness increases over time as information is obtained either endogenously via the repair crews or by way of exogenously provided information from other sources (e.g., inspectors, emergency responders, drones, remote sensing). The approach is also useful in estimating critical societal systems resilience. Numerical experiments were conducted on a synthetic, yet realistic problem instance to illustrate the capabilities of the proposed techniques and investigate the importance of adequately capturing the multi-faceted role of personnel in post-disaster service capacity restoration.

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.

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.

Regulating Algorithmic Assemblages: Exploring Beyond Corporate AI Ethics

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, fueled by extensive research and development investments, has ushered in a new era where AI permeates decision-making processes across various sectors. This proliferation is largely attributed to the availability of vast digital datasets, particularly in machine learning, enabling AI systems to discern intricate correlations and furnish valuable insights from data on human behavior and other phenomena. However, the widespread integration of AI into private and public domains has raised concerns regarding the neutrality and objectivity of automated decision-making processes. Such systems, despite their technological sophistication, are not immune to biases and ethical dilemmas inherent in human judgments. Consequently, there is a growing call for regulatory oversight to ensure transparency and accountability in AI deployment, akin to traditional regulatory frameworks governing analogous processes. This paper critically examines the implications and ripple effects of incorporating AI into existing social systems from an 'AI ethics' standpoint. It questions the adequacy of self-policing mechanisms advocated by corporate entities, highlighting inherent limitations in corporate social responsibility paradigms. Additionally, it scrutinizes well-intentioned regulatory initiatives, such as the EU AI ethics initiative, which may overlook broader societal impacts while prioritizing the desirability of AI applications. The discussion underscores the necessity of adopting a holistic approach that transcends individual and group rights considerations to address the profound societal implications of AI, encapsulated by the concept of 'algorithmic assemblage'.

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.