Subtle Discrimination Research Articles

Unequal Spaces: An In-depth Analysis of Caste Discrimination in Indian Universities

Caste discrimination in higher education in India remains a deeply entrenched and pervasive issue, presenting formidable barriers to the goal of achieving equal access and opportunity for all. The article explores the various dimensions of caste discrimination in education, including the denial of equal educational opportunities, the perpetuation of humiliation, and the resultant psychological trauma experienced by victims. Additionally, it examines the role of faculties and the increasing trend in the suicide of students, especially Dalit students. Based upon the qualitative data collected from Dalit scholars, the study describes the everyday struggle of Dalit students who experience stereotypes, subtle discrimination and prejudice on campus due to their caste identity. It discusses how this discrimination not only hampers individual growth and potential but also contributes to the perpetuation of social inequalities and reinforces stigma, resulting in the social exclusion of Dalit students in higher education.

Mental Health and Substance Use Among Black Women Attending STD Clinics in Baltimore: The Role of Overt and Subtle Discrimination.

Black women are disproportionately impacted by mental health conditions, like depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use harms. Experiences of discrimination may cause and exacerbate these conditions, but little is known about how distinct types of discrimination (overt vs. subtle) may be related to these outcomes. The current study sought to evaluate the associations between overt and subtle discrimination, mental health, and substance misuse outcomes among Black women. Data were drawn from ESSENCE, a retrospective cohort study (2013-2018) on sexual assault and HIV risk among Black women attending sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics in Baltimore, Maryland (n = 199). Multivariable Poisson regression models tested the associations between overt and subtle discrimination, depressive and PTSD symptoms, and substance misuse while controlling for covariates. Nearly half (42.2%) of participants reported depressive symptoms, and over a third reported severe PTSD symptoms (35.2%). Higher levels of subtle discrimination were associated with increased risk of depressive symptoms (adjusted relative risk [aRR] = 1.32, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.16, 1.50, p < .0001), whereas higher levels of overt discrimination were associated with increased risk of severe PTSD symptoms (aRR = 1.22, 95% CI [1.02, 1.46], p = .0287). Neither overt nor subtle discrimination was significantly associated with hazardous alcohol use or daily marijuana use in adjusted models. We identified that subtle discrimination has a unique negative association with depressive symptoms, while overt discrimination is positively associated with PTSD symptoms. This information is critical for tailoring stigma reduction interventions and mental health supports for Black women.

Diversity as Capital? Marginalized Identities and Subtle Inequality in Data Journalism

ABSTRACT This study examines the intersectional dynamics of gender, socio-economic status, and migration history in data journalism, applying Bourdieu’s field theory to explore how capital is accumulated and how social change can be pursued. Through in-depth interviews with 13 German-speaking data journalists with marginalized identities, the study reveals that their capital accumulation reflects adherence to existing norms and does not automatically lead to transformative agency. Minority characteristics can enhance symbolic capital through increased recognition in specific contexts, but these same characteristics also hinder the accumulation of economic, social, and cultural capital due to smaller networks and lack of social or cultural fit. Due to the paradoxical function of minority characteristics for capital accumulation, data journalists often adopt strategies to fit in by selectively revealing their minority identities. Yet, interviewed data journalists experience subtle discrimination in informal interactions, such as casual conversations with colleagues. While the data journalists want to increase diversity in who participates in playing the field, transformative change remains limited as these journalists primarily focus on succeeding within existing structures rather than altering them. The study advocates for newsroom diversity initiatives that go beyond mere representation, emphasizing the need to share responsibility for inclusivity across all newsroom members.

Intercultural relations and trust in schools: perceptions of immigrant families in the city of Barcelona

ABSTRACT Previous research in Spain has shown that immigrant families’ views regarding the education offered to their children are on the whole positive. This article adds to the current literature by exploring how immigrant families’ perceptions about their relationships with the school staff and other families affect their trust in schools. The article looks at immigrant families’ predominant perception of their relations with schools and other families, whether they perceive discrimination or positive contact, and how this affects their trust in the schools. The study is based on qualitative interviews as well as on participant observation with immigrant parents from differing origins in four neighbourhoods in Barcelona. The results show that the trust that immigrant parents place in schools varies according to three main perceptions of intercultural relations: (i) blatant and subtle discrimination, (ii) intercultural tension with the school, and (iii) intercultural tension with other immigrant parents.

Overt and Subtle Discrimination and Psychological Well-Being: Examining the Mediating and Moderating Role of Ethnic-Racial Identity Among Emerging Adults

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) has been reported as mediator and moderator of the relation between discrimination and psychological well-being. However, it remains unclear how different forms of discrimination (i.e., overt and subtle) predict well-being over time, and whether ERI exploration and commitment mediate or moderate this association. This preregistered study explored the associations of overt and subtle discrimination with well-being (i.e., depression, substance use, life satisfaction) in a sample of 323 ethnic-racial minoritized college students ( M age W1 = 18.03, 62.7% female) from longitudinal data collected in the US. Cross-lagged panel models across three waves indicated no associations of overt discrimination, but participants experiencing more subtle discrimination during their transition to college reported more depressive symptoms after four months. Ethnic-racial identity did not function as mediator or moderator. Findings indicate the need for a more nuanced understanding of the role of ERI during emerging adulthood.

We Fear So We Judge: A Mediation Analysis on the Relations Among Ageing Anxiety, Ageism, and Ageist Microaggressions.

Ageism remains an obstacle to building an age-friendly environment. Although the rise of ageist microaggressions (i.e., subtle discrimination) threatens older adults from maintaining well-being, the mechanism of ageist microaggressions remains understudied. The present study examined ageist microaggressions using a transactional model. Specifically, we examined whether ageing and death anxieties contribute to self-ageism and influence benevolent and hostile ageism. These ageist beliefs might lead to benevolent and hostile ageist microaggressions, respectively. Cross-sectional data from 214 Hong Kong middle-aged adults (Mage = 50.97) were obtained. The results from a structural equation model revealed that ageing anxiety, but not death anxiety, was a significant predictor of self-ageism, hostile ageism, and hostile ageist microaggressions. A revised model further suggested that benevolent and hostile ageism were predictive of hostile ageist microaggressions. The results highlight the importance of defying the conventional perception of ageing to reduce ageing anxiety, ageism and ageist microaggressions for an age-friendly society.

Prosumers' experiences of witnessed discrimination and internalized stigma: A moderated mediation.

Discrimination toward individuals with lived experiences of mental illness is widespread within the field of clinical psychology. Further, there is some presence of clinical psychologists who are both consumers and providers of mental health services, termed prosumers. However, no research has evaluated how witnessing discrimination as part of professional activities may influence prosumers' experiences with internalized stigma, anticipated stigma, and stigma resistance. This exploratory study aimed to establish associations and interactions between having witnessed discrimination toward others with lived experiences of mental illness and internalized stigma, anticipated stigma, and stigma resistance from the perspective of prosumers within the clinical psychology field. A cross-sectional quantitative approach was employed to understand these dynamics by utilizing descriptive, correlational, and multivariate regressions analysis. A total 175 prosumers (39 graduated doctoral-level clinical psychologists and 136 in training) completed survey measures pertaining to witnessed discrimination, internalized and anticipated stigma, and stigma resistance. Prosumers reported witnessing frequent subtle and overt discrimination by their colleagues, supervisors, and faculty members. Overt discrimination was reported as witnessed more frequently compared with subtle discrimination experiences or microaggressions. Our findings have implications for the prevalence of witnessed discrimination and how these may create cumulative experiences of stigma and stigma resistance among prosumers in clinical psychology. Further research should explore additional understanding of how clinical psychologists, including prosumers, may hold stigmatizing attitudes and perpetuate discrimination toward individuals with lived experiences of mental illness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Pyramid hybrid pooling quantization for efficient fine-grained image retrieval

Deep hashing approaches, including deep quantization and deep binary hashing, have become a common solution to large-scale image retrieval due to their high computation and storage efficiency. Most existing hashing methods cannot produce satisfactory results for fine-grained retrieval, because they usually adopt the outputs of the last CNN layer to generate binary codes. Since deeper layers tend to summarize visual clues, e.g., texture, into abstract semantics, e.g., dogs and cats, the feature produced by the last CNN layer is less effective in capturing subtle but discriminative visual details that mostly exist in shallow layers. To improve fine-grained image hashing, we propose Pyramid Hybrid Pooling Quantization (PHPQ). Specifically, we propose a Pyramid Hybrid Pooling (PHP) module to capture and preserve fine-grained semantic information from multi-level features, which emphasizes the subtle discrimination of different sub-categories. Besides, we propose a learnable quantization module with a partial codebook attention mechanism, which helps to optimize the most relevant codewords and improves the quantization. Comprehensive experiments on two widely-used public benchmarks, i.e., CUB-200-2011 and Stanford Dogs, demonstrate that PHPQ outperforms state-of-the-art methods.

Do Chinese Women Face Subtle Discrimination in Job Hiring?

Do Chinese Women Face Subtle Discrimination in Job Hiring?

“If Another Person Says, ‘You’re So Articulate,’ So Help Me”

Few studies have examined the nature of microaggressions experienced by employees of human service agencies. This exploratory study identified the types of microaggressions that women and non-binary people of color experience within their agency settings. Narrative data were collected using a web survey. The survey consisted of two instruments, both developed by the researcher--a non-categorical demographic questionnaire and a survey that asked participants about their experiences of four types of workplace microaggressions. The sample consisted of 52 self-identified women and non-binary people of color employed by non-profit agencies or governmental departments providing human services in the United States. Data were analyzed by applying interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) and a constant comparative approach, generating three overarching themes: (a) misperceptions of identity or circumstances, (b) navigating racial stereotypes, and (c) racialized objectification. Findings stress the importance of addressing microaggressions among employees to foster inclusive workplaces and the salience of race/ethnicity as a targeted identity in the human service professions. Recommendations include the development of workplace policies that create clear and effective avenues for addressing subtle discrimination. Individual social workers can effectively implement these policies by acknowledging, validating, and ultimately reducing unintended harm to colleagues.

“As If I Use a Filter, and It Has Become a Part of Me”: Discriminatory Workplace Experiences of Lesbian and Gay Employees of India

In 2018, the Indian penal code scrapped section 377 and decriminalized consensual homosexuality. However, there exists a significant knowledge gap regarding what extent Indian workplaces have been successful in ensuring a discrimination-free environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) employees. Thus, to address this gap, the current study explored discriminatory workplace experiences encountered by Indian lesbian and gay (LG) employees. The qualitative data has been collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews and analyzed through the thematic analysis method. A hybrid of the inductive and theoretical thematic analysis revealed four themes, that is, subtle discrimination, disclosure dilemmas, dressing and appearance norms, and gender-binary filter. LG employees frequently encounter workplace discrimination in subtle forms (distancing, excluding, commenting behind the back, and dignity-attack). Experiences of discrimination and fear of going through workplace discrimination lead to disclosure dilemmas, that is, a multilayered decision-making process involving strategy formation, risk perception, and fear of discrimination while choosing/ not choosing whether/how/where/when to disclose sexual identity at the workplace. Also, to establish heteronormativity, Indian organizations often maintain strict dress and appearance norms. In addition to these externally employed norms, LG employees use a gender-binary filter to screen their behaviors, gestures, speech (content, tone, pitch), walking, and dressing to confirm they align with the gender binary and to avoid workplace discrimination. Thus, the study shows that in Indian organizations, the workplace experiences of LG employees are far from discrimination-free. The organizations can use the study findings to understand current affairs and develop policies to ensure an inclusive workplace for LG employees.

Restrictions and Challenges that Prevent Women from Moving up in Leadership and Management Positions: A Frequency Count

The number of women occupying senior management positions in Pakistani universities remains significantly low, with only 8.2% of women holding such positions in 2020, as reported by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC, 2021). A recent report by the HEC also revealed that out of the 197 universities in Pakistan, only 16 have female vice-chancellors, indicating the underrepresentation of women in other senior management roles, such as pro-vice-chancellor, registrar, treasurer, and controller of examinations. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors affecting women's career progression in higher education management, this qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews with 48 women in various management positions, alongside a focus group discussion. The data was subjected to thematic analysis, revealing the multifaceted challenges and limitations impeding women's advancement to senior management positions. The findings suggest that factors such as women's non-assertive behavior, preferentialism, Queen Bee syndrome, subtle discrimination, lack of professional ambition, and limited awareness of legal rights are the most significant barriers to women's advancement in senior positions. Interestingly, themes related to women's families were found to have the lowest frequency scores

Relationship Between Perceived Discrimination and Somatic Symptom Disorder Among Young Adults With Immigrant Background in South Korea.

Insufficient research has compared the impact of subtle and overt discrimination on somatic symptom disorder (SSD) among young adults with immigrant backgrounds in South Korea, a country that is becoming increasingly racially and ethnically diverse. Therefore, this study seeks to examine this. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in January 2022 involving 328 young adults aged 25 to 34 years who had at least one foreign-born parent or were foreign-born immigrants. We used ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with SSD as the dependent variable. The results showed that subtle and overt discrimination were positively associated with SSD among young immigrant adults. Subtle discrimination seems more strongly related to SSD among Korean-born immigrant adults (N = 198; beta = 0.171, P < .05) than foreign-born immigrant young adults (N = 130; beta = 0.031, P > .05). This result partially supported the theory that both forms of discrimination were differently related to increased SSD tendencies by place of birth.

Gender inequality and bias in Chinese universities: perceptions of male and female academics

ABSTRACT Gender inequality and bias persists in academia worldwide despite remarkable progress in recent decades. This issue is underexplored in the context of Chinese academia. Drawing on 40 semi-structured interviews with male and female academics at a Chinese research university, this paper assesses the extent and manifestations of gender inequality, bias, and discrimination in the Chinese academic profession. The findings show that most of the male academics had gender-blind perspectives and believed that Chinese academia has an egalitarian structure that is fairer to women than other sectors of activity, and allows them to attain career success. Concurrently, some were suspicious of female academics’ success and explained it based on sexual innuendo. Nonetheless, a considerable number of male academics felt privileged compared to women, explaining this privilege in terms of social and biological factors. The female academics mostly perceived no overt discrimination in academia but described subtle discrimination and biases in which gender could shape opportunities and career advancement. Our findings highlight differences in the perceptions of male and female academics, the prevalence of male power in academia, and micropolitical practices that (re)produce gender inequality.

Discrimination tasks in simulated low-dose CT noise.

This study reports the results of a set of discrimination experiments using simulated images that represent the appearance of subtle lesions in low-dose computed tomography (CT) of the lungs. Noise in these images has a characteristic ramp-spectrum before apodization by noise control filters. We consider three specific diagnostic features that determine whether a lesion is considered malignant or benign, two system-resolution levels, and four apodization levels for a total of 24 experimental conditions. The goal of the investigation is to better understand how well human observers perform subtle discrimination tasks like these, and the mechanisms of that performance. We use a forced-choice psychophysical paradigm to estimate observer efficiency and classification images. These measures quantify how effectively subjects can read the images, and how they use images to perform discrimination tasks across the different imaging conditions. The simulated CT images used as stimuli in the psychophysical experiments are generated from high-resolution objects passed through a modulation transfer function (MTF) before down-sampling to the image-pixel grid. Acquisition noise is then added with a ramp noise-power spectrum (NPS), with subsequent smoothing through apodization filters. The features considered are lesion size, indistinct lesion boundary, and a nonuniform lesion interior. System resolution is implemented by an MTF with resolution (10% max.) of 0.47 or 0.58 cyc/mm. Apodization is implemented by a Shepp-Logan filter (Sinc profile) with various cutoffs. Six medically naïve subjects participated in the psychophysical studies, entailing training and testing components for each condition. Training consisted of staircase procedures to find the 80% correct threshold for each subject, and testing involved 2000 psychophysical trials at the threshold value for each subject. Human-observer performance is compared to the Ideal Observer to generate estimates of task efficiency. The significance of imaging factors is assessed using ANOVA. Classification images are used to estimate the linear template weights used by subjects to perform these tasks. Classification-image spectra are used to analyze subject weights in the spatial-frequency domain. Overall, average observer efficiency is relatively low in these experiments (10%-40%) relative to detection and localization studies reported previously. We find significant effects for feature type and apodization level on observer efficiency. Somewhat surprisingly, system resolution is not a significant factor. Efficiency effects of the different features appear to be well explained by the profile of the linear templates in the classification images. Increasingly strong apodization is found to both increase the classification-image weights and to increase the mean-frequency of the classification-image spectra. A secondary analysis of "Unapodized" classification images shows that this is largely due to observers undoing (inverting) the effects of apodization filters. These studies demonstrate that human observers can be relatively inefficient at feature-discrimination tasks in ramp-spectrum noise. Observers appear to be adapting to frequency suppression implemented in apodization filters, but there are residual effects that are not explained by spatial weighting patterns. The studies also suggest that the mechanisms for improving performance through the application of noise-control filters may require further investigation.

Changes in gender and race composition of the Brazilian Judiciary

This article analyzes the impact of judicial policies aimed at promoting equity in judge’s career on the race and gender composition of the Brazilian Judiciary. We investigate whether these policies impacted on the way in which judicial careers and internal promotions are gendered and racialized. The article uses quantitative data on the composition of the Brazilian judiciary by gender and race, and qualitative data obtained from various documentary sources, including the media and excerpts from interviews with judges published in academic works. The theoretical approach is the one of differences, conceiving them as constructed within the scope of culture. We conclude that despite the timid increase in the presence of black women and men in the Brazilian judiciary, racial and gender issues have been made visible and disputed, with political movements seeking to implement these agendas, sharing identifications and vocalizing experiences of subtle discrimination.

A new distance measure and corresponding TOPSIS method for interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets in multi-attribute decision-making

&lt;abstract&gt;&lt;p&gt;Strengthening the evaluation of teaching satisfaction plays a crucial role in guiding teachers to improve their teaching quality and competence, as well as in aiding educational institutions in the formulation of effective teaching reforms and plans. The evaluation process for teaching satisfaction is usually regarded as a typical multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) process, which inherently possesses uncertainty and fuzziness due to the subjective nature of human cognition. In order to improve the subtle discrimination of evaluation information data and enhance the accuracy of the evaluation results, we have developed an integrated MADM method by combining a new distance measure and an improved TOPSIS method for interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IvIFSs). First, a novel distance measure for IvIFSs based on triangular divergence is proposed to capture the differences between two IvIFSs, and some properties of this distance measure are investigated. Then, the superiority of this new distance measure is compared with some existing distance measures. Afterward, an improved TOPSIS method is also established based on the proposed triangular distance under the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy setting. Besides, to illustrate the practicality of the new method, a numerical example is presentedto evaluate mathematics teaching satisfaction. Moreover, a comparative analysis that includes existing TOPSIS methods, is presented to demonstrate the superiority of the given method. The comparison outcomes show that the proposed technique can effectively discern uncertainties or subtle differences in IvIFSs, resulting in more accurate and comprehensive evaluation results for teaching satisfaction. Overall, the findings of this study emphasize the importance of incorporating the new distance measure in MADM. The proposed approach serves as a valuable tool for decision-makers to compare and evaluate alternatives effectively.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/abstract&gt;

Chromosome-scale genome assembly of the African giant pouched rat (Cricetomys ansorgei) and evolutionary analysis reveals evidence of olfactory specialization

The Southern giant pouched rat, Cricetomys ansorgei, is a large rodent best known for its ability to detect landmines using its impressive sense of smell. Their powerful chemosensory abilities enable subtle discrimination of chemical social signals, and female pouched rats demonstrate a unique reproductive physiology hypothesized to be mediated by pheromonal mechanisms. Thus, C. ansorgei represents a novel mammalian model for chemosensory physiology, social behavior, and pheromonal control of reproductive physiology. We present the first chromosome-scale genomic sequence of the pouched rat encoding 22,671 protein coding genes, including 1571 olfactory receptors, and provide a glance into the evolutionary history of this species. Functional enrichment analysis reveals genetic expansions specific to the pouched rat are enriched for functions related to olfactory specialization. Overall, this assembly is of reference-quality, and will serve as a useful and informative genomic sequence on which we can confidently base future molecular research involving the pouched rat.

Discrimination, resilience, and HIV testing frequency among black women seeking services from STD clinics

RationaleIn the United States, Black women are disproportionately affected by HIV, accounting for most new HIV infections diagnosed among women. Socio-structural barriers to HIV testing include stigma and discrimination but may be mitigated by resilience. ObjectiveWe aimed to examine the effect of discrimination and resilience on HIV testing behaviors among Black women. MethodsBetween 2016 and 2018, we conducted The ESSENCE Project, a retrospective cohort study on the role of physiological and environmental factors on the association between sexual assault and HIV risk among Black women in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Black women aged 18-44 were recruited from public health STD clinics and completed an audio-computer-assisted self-interview survey. Hierarchical multiple negative binomial regression models were used to examine the associations of everyday discrimination (subtle and overt) and resilience on HIV testing frequency; resilience and its subscales (relational maintenance, personal fortitude, positive coping, independence and insight) were also examined as moderators. ResultsAmong 236 Black women reporting HIV testing history, the median number of lifetime HIV tests was 4 (IQR = 2, 6). Mean everyday discrimination was 2.3 (SD = 1.2). Mean resilience was 5.3 (SD = 0.8). Everyday discrimination and its subscales (overt and subtle) were negatively associated with lifetime HIV testing frequency, while overall resilience was not associated with lifetime HIV testing frequency. Accounting for demographics, overall resilience moderated the association of subtle discrimination and lifetime HIV testing frequency. For the resilience subscales, more specifically: (1) associations of subtle discrimination and HIV testing frequency were significant at the lowest relational maintenance and lowest positive coping resilience; and (2) the association of subtle discrimination and HIV testing frequency was significant at the highest resilience for all four subscales. ConclusionsThese findings highlight the need for provider- and community-level interventions addressing the deleterious effects of everyday discrimination and more specifically subtle everyday discrimination to encourage HIV testing.

A relational perspective comparison of workplace discrimination toward Muslims in Muslim-minority and Muslim-majority countries

Research on discrimination and inequality has seen a significant increase in workplace religious discrimination toward Muslims. However, it is not well understood how macro-societal, meso-organizational and micro-individual factors contribute to workplace discrimination toward Muslims. Using a systematic literature review (SLR), this study analyses 134 articles to frame a comparative lens of discrimination toward Muslims in Muslim-minority and Muslim-majority countries. This study reveals different discrimination patterns in both country types. In Muslim-minority countries, only the macro-societal level factors are consistently linked to blatant discrimination form while the other two levels (meso-organizational and micro-individual) contribute towards a mixture of blatant and subtle discrimination incidents. Meanwhile, Muslim-majority countries' discrimination cases specifically occur towards women in subtle manners at each level. The different discrimination patterns in the two country types also leads to other notions such as the logic of in-group discrimination toward Muslim women in Muslim-majority countries and the repositioning of gender and religious identities.