Social Perspective Research Articles

Environmental and Social Life Cycle Assessment of Data Centre Heat Recovery Technologies Combined with Fuel Cells for Energy Generation

The energy sector is essential in the transition to a more sustainable future, and renewable energies will play a key role in achieving this. It is also a sector in which the circular economy presents an opportunity for the utilisation of other resources and residual energy flows. This study examines the environmental and social performance of innovative energy technologies (which contribute to the circularity of resources) implemented in a demonstrator site in Luleå (Sweden). The demo-site collected excess heat from a data centre to cogenerate energy, combining the waste heat with fuel cells that use biogas derived from waste, meeting part of its electrical demand and supplying thermal energy to an existing district heating network. Following a cradle-to-gate approach, an environmental and a social life cycle assessment were developed to compare two scenarios: a baseline scenario reflecting current energy supply methods and the WEDISTRICT scenario, which considers the application of different renewable and circular technologies. The findings indicate that transitioning to renewable energy sources significantly reduces environmental impacts in seven of the eight assessed impact categories. Specifically, the study showed a 48% reduction in climate change impact per kWh generated. Additionally, the WEDISTRICT scenario, accounting for avoided burdens, prevented 0.21 kg CO2 eq per kWh auto-consumed. From the social perspective, the WEDISTRICT scenario demonstrated improvement in employment conditions within the worker and local community categories, product satisfaction within the society category, and fair competition within the value chain category. Projects like WEDISTRICT demonstrate the circularity options of the energy sector, the utilisation of resources and residual energy flows, and that these lead to environmental and social improvements throughout the entire life cycle, not just during the operation phase.

How does family resilience develop among stroke survivors and their caregivers? A mixed-method study using a chain mediating model

BackgroundWalsh's family resilience theory indicated that families could foster resilient outcomes among their members when they are facing changes or crises. However, little is known about family resilience among Chinese stroke survivors and their caregivers. ObjectivesTo explore the direct and indirect relationships between the family resilience of stroke survivors, perceived social support, self-perceived burden, self-efficacy, and the burden on their principal caregivers, and to examine the journey of adapting to family resilience among stroke survivors. DesignAn explanatory sequential mixed-method study. MethodsA quantitative assessment of perceived social support, self-perceived burden, self-efficacy, and family resilience was conducted among a cohort of stroke survivors. For a deeper understanding of the family resilience formation process, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were undertaken with a purposefully selected subset of participants, consisting of 15 stroke survivors and their principal caregivers who met the study criteria. Data analysis encompassed descriptive statistics, mediation models, and content analysis to integrate and interpret both quantitative and qualitative data. ResultsIn a comprehensive hospital in Guangdong Province, China, 379 participants—229 men (60.4%) and 150 women (39.6%)—completed a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. The quantitative phase revealed significant statistical differences (p < 0.05) in total family resilience scores among stroke survivors related to various factors, such as age, marital status, educational level, occupational status, average monthly income per capita, first-time onset, and types of stroke. Self-perceived burden and self-efficacy partially mediate the relationship between perceived social support and family resilience, contributing to a sequential chain-mediated effect. During the qualitative phase, in-depth interviews revealed a progressive trajectory from the initial shock of diagnosis through the ongoing presence of stress and challenges to the ultimate development of family resilience and an adaptive perspective toward the future. ConclusionsExploring the factors influencing family resilience in stroke survivors could assist healthcare professionals developing interventions to enhance family resilience and lessen the burden on principal caregivers from individual, family, and social perspectives.

The Effectiveness of Restorative Justice in Resolving Juvenile Criminal Cases: An Examination of Legal and Social Perspectives

The objective of this research is to examine and address issues pertaining to the enforcement of the law in instances of violent criminal activity perpetrated by students of legal age who are enrolled in educational institutions. External factors, including association, education, and social environment, exert a significant influence on children's criminal behavior, which frequently originates from the tendency to emulate negative behaviors and the lack of adequate parental supervision. This research employs a normative legal approach to elucidate the nature of the penalties imposed upon minors who perpetrate criminal acts, as delineated in the Juvenile Criminal Justice System No. 11/2012. The findings indicate that to avert criminal conduct by minors, it is imperative to implement sustainable development initiatives that bolster the survival, physical, mental, and social advancement of children, while safeguarding them from threats that could jeopardize their future and the nation. The juvenile criminal justice system incorporates community involvement throughout the entirety of the case process. Crimes occurring within the community are shaped by the prevailing social conditions, along with individual factors pertaining to the perpetrators and victims. At the conclusion of each case, the community is tasked with facilitating the reintegration of offenders and victims back into the social milieu. This is achieved through either the establishment of new informal institutions or the reinforcement of existing formal ones.

Extending sexual scripting theory through critical discursive psychology: An analytical approach to explore the performance of sexual identities

Sexual scripting theory, a widely used tool in sexuality research, was originally developed by Gagnon and Simon to illuminate the social nature of sexual practices and identity construction. Later, they sought to develop the theory further to align with a social constructionist perspective. However, vestiges of individualism and cognitivism haunt sexual scripting theory largely due to the use of the symbolic interactionist concept of performance. To address this, we draw on the performance–performativity approach in critical discursive psychology that develops the notion of performance from a discursive perspective and offers a way of extending sexual scripting theory that offers a truly social explication of sexual identity construction. We provide a practical illustration of this extended theorising, drawing on data from a project about young people’s online engagement with pornography. We demonstrate how developing the notion of sexual scripts as discursive resources that enable the performance of sexual identities allows us to illuminate the social and situated nature of identity construction. This framework enhances understanding of the process of sexual identity construction and provides a valuable tool for studying how broader sexual scripts that are sociohistorically specific provide a scaffolding for the ways an individual can construct sexual identities. Overall, this paper offers a valuable contribution to discursive scholarship in psychology by presenting a nuanced analytical framework that coheres with a constructionist, performative view of identity.

Prescribers' perspectives: The impact of the controlled substance scheduling system on providing optimal patient care

BackgroundIn the United States, the scheduling system for controlled substances was established by the Controlled Substance Act of 1970. In 2009, Parker et al. published the study “Physicians' knowledge and attitudes toward scheduling.” Since 2009, the opioid epidemic has gathered national attention from social and scientific perspectives as the number of drug overdose deaths in the United States has nearly tripled. ObjectiveTo follow up on a 2009 survey by Parker, et al. to determine prescribers' knowledge and attitudes regarding the controlled substance scheduling system and assess the impact of the controlled substance scheduling system on providing optimal patient care. MethodsThe cross-sectional survey was designed to assess prescribers' attitudes and mailed to 400 randomly selected physicians and 400 randomly selected nurse practitioners. ResultsPrescribers across all groups provided consistent responses suggesting an overall lack of understanding of controlled substance regulations, a negative attitude towards the controlled substance scheduling system, and a detrimental effect on providing optimal patient care. Responses from nurse practitioners differed significantly from physicians in 75 % (3 of the 4) questions regarding regulations, suggesting nurse practitioners possess a greater understanding of pharmaceutical regulations. Specialists' responses demonstrated an enhanced level of dissatisfaction regarding the controlled substance scheduling system compared to primary care providers in 75 % (3 of the 4) questions. Questions regarding the impact of the scheduling system on prescribing patterns differed significantly across multiple demographic groups, notably between physicians and nurse practitioners, differences in practice setting, and primary state of practice for 75 % (3 of the 4) questions. ConclusionsThe results of this survey confirm the findings of Parker, et al., and further display the need for investigation into how to improve the controlled substance scheduling system in the United States.

Flying high and breaking stigma: a social identity perspective on Chinese frisbee participants

ABSTRACT The growing popularity of frisbee sport in China has brought both recognition and stigmatisation. Rooted in the social identity perspective, this study employs in-depth interviews and participatory observation to explore this phenomenon, creating a multifaceted analytical framework that includes affective commitment, self-categorisation, group self-esteem and self-expansion. The study finds that the primary manifestations of frisbee stigmatisation encompass the heightened online attention and scrutiny, conflicts due to limited playing venues, misconceptions from one-sided sport perceptions, and controversies around its use for blind dates. Moreover, the study reveals that frisbee community members employ diverse strategies to counteract stigma, such as positive confrontation, ignoring or humorously resolving stigmatisation, selective online self-presentation, and converting opponents into supporters. This research contributes to the field of leisure studies by offering a deeper understanding of how leisure sports identities are negotiated in the context of societal prejudices. Furthermore, it provides practical insights for fostering resilience, promoting a positive sports culture, and encouraging a healthier approach to leisure sports among youth, potentially minimising the negative impact of stigma on emerging leisure sports activities.

Crafting an ultrashort workplace incivility scale and determining cutoffs for varied risk levels through item response theory

Workplace incivility (WI), characterized by disrespectful or rude behavior in the workplace, is linked to poor mental health and overall well-being. The Workplace Incivility Scale (WIS) is a popular 7-item measure for assessing WI. There is a current need for an ultrashort conceptually clear version of the WIS. In addition, the cutoffs for varied at-risks of WI, requiring intervention, remains unknown. Using data from 426 employees across diverse organizations, we employed item response theory (IRT) to create an ultrashort WIS and establish cutoffs for high, moderate, low, and at-not risk of WI. Confirmatory factor analyses were utilized to validate WIS construct validity. In supporting convergent validity, WIS was correlated with workplace bullying and poor health-related quality of life. All items demonstrated adequate severity threshold parameters with very high discrimination and good reliability parameters except for item WIS7. We successfully developed an ultrashort and valid 3-item WIS, specifically comprising items WIS2–4, and identified cutoffs for varying levels of WI risk. This streamlined measure aims to reduce response burden and foster a healthier organizational culture. In essence, cutoff points streamline the classification process, allowing for quicker and more standardized identification of at-risk employees. This concise, valid, and reliable ultrashort WIS holds potential for use in intervention studies conducted by organizational and occupational health psychologists, ultimately promoting employee well-being and cultivating a positive workplace environment. The current study further advances the existing theoretical framework rooted in the social interactionist perspective by delineating WI as a distinct and independent construct.

A narrative inquiry into EFL tutors’ career trajectories through social cognitive career theory

Despite the prevalence of English private tutoring (EPT) in EFL contexts, scant literature has focused on its tutors’ career experiences. This narrative study, underpinned by social cognitive career theory (SCCT), inquiries into the career trajectories of three EFL tutors in Mainland China. Data were mainly collected through three rounds of narrative interviews. Tutors’ photos representing significant career moments supplemented the interview data. Based on their narratives, these participants experienced ‘zigzag’ career trajectories that featured frequent turnovers, lengthy work gaps, and identity shifts from institutional tutors to start-up owners. Informed by SCCT, this study unveils that tutors’ career trajectories were shaped by their self-efficacy beliefs associated with personal attributes and prior experiences. Tutors’ trajectories were also shaped by their outcome expectations from material and social perspectives, and contextual influences, including personal opportunities and barriers, institutional management, and socio-political factors like the ongoing ‘Double Reduction’ policy. These findings are discussed in order to inform other tutors to visualize and organize their career development within the context of policy constraints and, furthermore, offer implications for tutorial institutions to retain tutors for instructional consistency. This inquiry also demonstrates the potential to apply the SCCT model to understanding teachers’ career development in the ‘shadow education’ context.

Dynamic Impact of Digital Inclusive Finance and Financial Market Development on Forests and Timber in China: Economic and Social Perspective

This study investigates how digital inclusive finance, financial development, and technology influenced forest and timber outputs across 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2021. The findings, derived from panel quantile regression analysis, indicate that digital inclusive finance significantly enhances forest economic output, particularly in regions with lower economic activity, by improving access to critical financial resources such as credit and investment. However, the positive effects diminish at higher levels of economic activity, suggesting potential diminishing returns. Through the marketization of credit distribution and diverse financial instruments, financial development is essential for promoting sustainable forestry practices and adopting new technologies. Based on the findings, the study suggests expanding digital financial services in areas with low forest activity to help people access credit and investments, boosting forest productivity. It also recommends improving financial markets and investing in new forestry technologies to support better forest management and timber production.

Mitigation measures for addressing gender bias in artificial intelligence within healthcare settings: a critical area of sociological inquiry

AbstractArtificial intelligence (AI) is often described as crucial for making healthcare safer and more efficient. However, some studies point in the opposite direction, demonstrating how biases in AI cause inequalities and discrimination. As a result, a growing body of research suggests mitigation measures to avoid gender bias. Typically, mitigation measures address various stakeholders such as the industry, academia, and policy-makers. To the author’s knowledge, these have not undergone sociological analysis. The article fills this gap and explores five examples of mitigation measures designed to counteract gender bias in AI within the healthcare sector. The rapid development of AI in healthcare plays a crucial role globally and must refrain from creating or reinforcing inequality and discrimination. In this effort, mitigation measures to avoid gender bias in AI in healthcare are central tools and, therefore, essential to explore from a social science perspective, including sociology. Sociologists have made valuable contributions to studying inequalities and disparities in AI. However, research has pointed out that more engagement is needed, specifically regarding bias in AI. While acknowledging the importance of these measures, the article suggests that they lack accountable agents for implementation and overlook potential implementation barriers such as resistance, power relations, and knowledge hierarchies. Recognizing the conditions where the mitigation measures are to be implemented is essential for understanding the potential challenges that may arise. Consequently, more studies are needed to explore the practical implementation of mitigation measures from a social science perspective and a systematic review of mitigation measures.

Subject Review on The Concept of Conflict in Death of a Salesman as Social Study by Miller: American Perspectives

The main purpose of subject review is to provide the literary perspective about the conflict of Death of a Salesman by Miller. This subject review is going to highlight the concept of conflict as the social perspective and the analysis of this study will concentrate on the conflict theory as documentary analysis. This subject review will use the quotations by Miller's Death of a Salesman as the critical genera of literature. The scholar shows the literary biography of the playwright and his play as American perspective. The analysis will be documentary analysis and the model is conflict model by Karl Marx. In conclusion, it is found that Miller is as one of the great playwrights of American literature and his drama is as the mirror to reflect life of human being. For recommendations and future studies, this review is to highlight to other studies in various literature

Negotiating autonomy, community, and divinity in urban Filipino young adults’ moral reasoning

Cultural approaches to examining the development of moral reasoning have been influential for decades. Still, gaps remain in understanding how individuals actively construct their moral reasoning within different sociocultural contexts and the period of young adulthood in the Filipino setting. Thus, this study examined the discourses used by urban Filipino young adults in reasoning about their moral conflicts and the ways they adopted and adapted these discourses in their reasoning. The study used a social constructionist perspective, informed by Shweder and colleagues’ ethics of Autonomy, Community, and Divinity and Jensen’s cultural-developmental approach. We conducted thematic analysis with attention to discourse on interviews with 12 urban young adults aged 21 to 29, producing three major discursive themes: harm and welfare, rules and roles, and liberal principles. The specific appropriation of these discourses suggests the dominance of the ethic of Autonomy. However, this often co-occurred with expressions of Community and Divinity, and the extent and manner of appropriation of these discourses varied according to individuals’ characteristics and experiences. By examining young adults’ negotiation of moral discourses in the Philippines, this research enriches understanding of moral reasoning in a sociohistorical context where young people increasingly contend with conflicts between traditional and global values.

Educational communities of rural schools in the arctic (on the example of the Murmansk oblast): A social justice perspective on inclusion

The article addresses the current problem of searching and substantiating mechanisms for the development of inclusive education. The research relevance is also determined by the Arctic context, which corresponds to the epistemological need of modern interdisciplinary knowledge in the development of inclusive education, the priorities of state policy, as well as to the expectations and demands of regional communities. The authors aim to study social interactions within rural schools in the Arctic from the standpoint of inclusion as an indicator of social justice (on the example of the Murmansk Oblast). To that end, rural schools are modelled and described based on the developed criteria. Difficulties experienced by the teachers in the course of inclusive educational process, including when using distance technologies, are typified. According to the results obtained, typical models of rural schools in the Murmansk Oblast include suburban schools and remote schools and their following variants: the school as a territorial cooperation, a border school, an isolated school, and an indigenous school. In all rural school models, under successful formation of external and internal social ties, a shortage of special education teachers is observed. The teachers face methodological, organizational, and social difficulties. In addition, the educational environment is not sufficiently accessible, which forms barriers to social justice. The revealed regional specificity of rural schools serves as a justification for a conceptual and substantive development of Arctic pedagogy. The results obtained are useful for further theoretical and empirical research in the field of inclusive education, as well as for the development of regional programs of inclusive educational practices, taking the differentiation of social conditions into account.

Land Ownership (Custom) Viewed from Historical Perspectives, Socio-Cultural and Tenurial Issues in Simalungun District

This study aims to examine the status of land ownership in Simalungun district in terms of historical, social, cultural and tenure perspectives. It is important to study this issue because until now the issue of land ownership has not been thoroughly resolved because there are migrants who claim that their customary land was found in Simalungun, whereas in reality their customary land was not found in Simalungun, but what was found was the king's land ( partuanon) according to the surname of the lord of the rest of the kitchen based on the custom of the tolu sahundulan lima saodoran. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative with purposive sampling technique. Data analysis begins with the process of collecting primary data through in-depth interviews with 13 informants. By using interview guideline research instruments combined with the results of library research. The results of the interview transcripts were collected, tabulated, analyzed, verified, and displayed until the conclusions of the research results were formulated. The results of this study showed that in Simalungun district there were no customary lands, customary forests and customary lands from migrant residents and ethnic Simalungun. The land in Simalungun district is the king's land (Partuanon), the people and migrants are only given the right to cultivate, not to own in accordance with the ruling king's clan, namely Sisidapur and Simalungun customary law based on the Tolu sahundulan lima saodoran custom. The transfer of rights and land tenure in Simalungun district occurred after the proclamation of 17 August 1945 and the social revolution in 1946. All land in the former autonomous region in Simalungun became state property, including all of PT. TPL Tbk's concession land in Simalungun district.

Globalization In The 21st Century: Economic, Social, And Environmental Perspectives

Globalization In The 21st Century: Economic, Social, And Environmental Perspectives

An ERP study on the role of instant purchasing group quantity in e-commerce live streaming: a social impact perspective

An ERP study on the role of instant purchasing group quantity in e-commerce live streaming: a social impact perspective

A REVIEW OF THE SUSTAINABILITY - CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

Climate change, the number of the global population, and the diversity of activities with an impact on the planet have been on an upward slope, which requires taking preventive measures and changing from a social, economic, and environmental perspective, thus meaning that the adoption of a sustainable lifestyle is necessary. This study provides a review of the literature on the adoption of the circular economy and sustainability concepts in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector. This study aims to qualitatively assess the need to implement sustainability in the pharmaceutical industry, given that the latter has a significant environmental impact on human existence. In this study, the “Web of Science," "Scopus,” databases, and “Springer Publishing” are used, from which works are extracted based on the keywords sustainability in the pharmaceutical industry and circular economy in the pharmaceutical industry, following the evolution of works written in the last ten years on this topic. The most relevant approaches of the authors to this topic are presented. It can be seen that this topic is one discussed by an important category of researchers, especially in countries where the need for medicines is greater due to the standard of living, such as those in Asia, for example. The research can also be extended to other databases using the same keywords or words related to sustainability or circular economy in the pharmaceutical industry.

Heterogeneity in the development of differential reinforcement: examining predictive power of definitions and differential association from a social learning perspective

Social learning theory is a prominent framework for understanding the relevance of socialization processes for predicting behavior. While recent research has focused on placing these processes within developmental contexts, there remain gaps in understanding how differential reinforcement for involvement in antisocial behavior may develop across adolescence and emerging adulthood and how definitions and differential association predict development. All 11 waves of the Pathways to Desistance dataset were analyzed, comprising the responses of 1354 justice-involved youth across seven years post-adjudication. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify developmental patterns of differential reinforcement and regression modeling was used to examine predictors of development. Results indicated that a two-group model of development best fit the reinforcement data (High, Low). Greater endorsement of antisocial definitions and greater differential association with deviant peers and a significant and positive interaction between these constructs predicted increased odds of assignment to the High group.

A Quantitative Assessment Approach to Implement Pneumatic Waste Collection System Using a New Expert Decision Matrix Related to UN SDGs

An innovative decision matrix has been developed to guide the selection and implementation of Pneumatic Urban Solid Waste Collection Systems (PUSWCS) in smart city projects. This study comprehensively collects and analyzes data on the advantages and disadvantages of pneumatic collection systems from technical, economic, and social perspectives. A decision-making tool was created to address the complexities of evaluating the desirability of incorporating PUSWCS in municipalities or specific areas, using a holistic approach. The tool assesses the technical, economic, and social feasibility of implementing PUSWCS, aligning it with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Specific variables are measured to assess compliance with the SDGs, distinguishing technical aspects from economic and social aspects. The methodology includes surveys of system users and technicians, expert assessments, and the development of a decision matrix that cross-references study variables and SDGs. The matrix assigns numerical values to the Magnitude (M) and Impact (I) of each variable, enabling quantitative interpretation. This holistic approach accommodates the complexities of waste management and diverse stakeholder perspectives. The results demonstrate the matrix’s effectiveness in accurately assessing the desirability of implementing PUSWCS. This confirms the matrix’s ability to optimally integrate with innovative smart city concepts and align with long-term sustainability goals. The study concludes that the design of the decision matrix allows the collection of information from experts, users, and stakeholders about economic, social, and environmental variables and relates them to the SDGs, to obtain a numerical result that allows to decide whether in a given urban environment it is advisable to implement a PUSWCS.

MSME taxpayer compliance in Pekanbaru from the perspective of tax understanding, tax sanctions and tax socialization

The tax authorities in Indonesia continue to make extensive efforts to increase tax revenue, which is the main source of state revenue. This extensification focuses on increasing individual tax revenue, especially in the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector. This study aims to analyze the effect of tax understanding, tax sanctions, and tax socialization on the level of taxpayer compliance of MSMEs in Pekanbaru. The study uses a quantitative method with the Structural Equation Model (SEM) approach. Data were obtained through an online questionnaire survey from MSME business actors in Pekanbaru City. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 32 respondents as research samples. The sample criteria include business actors domiciled in Pekanbaru who calculate and pay taxes independently and meet MSME criteria based on applicable regulations. The study results indicate that tax understanding and tax sanctions positively affect the level of taxpayer compliance of MSMEs in Pekanbaru. However, tax socialization does not show a significant effect on taxpayer compliance. This study provides insight into tax compliance patterns outside Java that can be considered when making regulations by the tax authorities in Indonesia.