Understanding Of Social Relations Research Articles

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION IN THE DEFENSE OF SUSTAINABLE CITIES

This article reflects on the management of a neighborhood residents' association located in a large city in the state of São Paulo. This study makes an important contribution to the debate on popular participation in city planning as a management strategy to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 11, which states: "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable." The methodology developed was bibliographic and field research with a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interview techniques and observation. The data collected in the interviews were analyzed from a theoretical-critical perspective that ensures a reading of social reality and favors the understanding of social relations in their essence, that is, beyond what is presented in the appearance of facts. The study brought indicators that, although residents' associations are privileged spaces for popular participation, in the institution investigated, no practice of protagonism of residents in social mobilization and participation in collective affairs was observed. It is clear that the residents' association is unable to perform its political functions, much less facilitate the population's approach to municipal management, aiming at participation in the elaboration of public policies and sustainable local development.

Support as a double-edged sword: a social-relational understanding of teaching assistants’ support to young people with dwarfism in secondary schools

ABSTRACT Although teaching assistants’ support has been described as central for the inclusion of disabled students in mainstream schools, disabled students’ insights into such support indicate they have mixed feelings towards it. This paper explores the ambiguity young people with dwarfism feel towards support in secondary schools in the United Kingdom, drawing on the qualitative accounts of fourteen participants. Utilising a social relational understanding of disability, this paper aims to indicate how teaching assistants’ support reinforces and/or removes barriers to doing and barriers to being, which are the outcome of disability and impairment respectively. Participants’ stories highlight the psycho-emotional toll support can have and the hidden labour disabled students put to navigate such barriers. The complicated relationship between support and independence is also considered, with participants drawing on various understandings of independence. The paper concludes by discussing what a social relational analysis has to offer in our understanding of support and how this could translate into inclusive support.

At-risk or a risk? SENCOs’ conceptualisations of vulnerability and risk in relation to school exclusion

ABSTRACT In this paper we explore how Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) conceptualise vulnerability and risk, and how these conceptualisations inform their responses to students at risk of exclusion from school. The literature typically makes a distinction between within-child and systemic or structural factors. We draw on interview data from SENCOs working in 11 secondary schools in England, and an activity theory approach to unpick the contradictions and tensions in their conceptualisations and responses. Overall, we identify a mismatch between SENCOs’ conceptualisations of risk and vulnerability intersecting at multiple levels, and interventions that are primarily located at an individual level. National policy, with its shift away from a contextual understanding of difficulties and difference towards a requirement for clinical diagnosis to access additional funding plays a key role in mediating or shaping SENCO responses, including the tools that schools use to identify at-risk students. The conceptualisations indicate a source of differential impact with some students shifting from being seen as ‘at-risk’ and requiring support, to being ‘a risk’ and better educated elsewhere. In the face of these conceptualisations, we argue for the place of a social relational understanding, emphasising the dialogic spaces in which behaviour is framed, and interventions planned.

Listening to the voices of adults with physical disabilities in Delhi, India: the lived experiences of psycho-emotional disablism

This article explores the lived experiences of psycho-emotional disablism among adults with physical disabilities in Delhi, India, aligning with Carol Thomas’s social relational understanding of disability. This perspective posits that disability encompasses not only barriers to participation but also obstacles to emotional well-being. While research on psycho-emotional disability is abundant in global north nations, there is a dearth of studies in the Indian context. This study addresses this gap by collecting and analyzing the life stories of twelve adults with physical disabilities using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). These individuals reported experiencing emotional distress due to pervasive structural and social barriers. Additionally, they internalized negative societal perceptions of disability. In an effort to resist psycho-emotional disablism, many attempted to pass as non-disabled, which proved to be emotionally exhausting.

Religious Buildings, Cultures, Spatiality: New Urban Narrations Between Semiotics and an Intercultural Application of Law

AbstractIn a society marked by transnational migration and religious globalization, spatial factors are assuming a central role in the understanding of social relations. This is most prominent in urban areas, where the coexistence of culturally and religiously diverse subjects imposes a forced sharing of territory. Starting from a study of the semiotic concept of the city, the contribution aims first of all to explore the claimed right of the other to use public space through the creation of aedes sacrae. It will show how the construction of a place of worship of a ‘minority’ religion can alter the pre-existing urban geography, leaving its imprint on space. Through a brief examination of the Italian constitutional jurisprudence on the so-called “anti-mosque” legislation, the paper will also outline a semantically relational conception of the religious building, offering a starting point for a rethinking of spatial organisation. An intercultural application of law is then needed insofar as the aim is towards a non-hegemonic polyphonic rewriting of urban territory.

Adaptive information fusion network for multi‐modal personality recognition

AbstractPersonality recognition is of great significance in deepening the understanding of social relations. While personality recognition methods have made significant strides in recent years, the challenge of heterogeneity between modalities during feature fusion still needs to be solved. This paper introduces an adaptive multi‐modal information fusion network (AMIF‐Net) capable of concurrently processing video, audio, and text data. First, utilizing the AMIF‐Net encoder, we process the extracted audio and video features separately, effectively capturing long‐term data relationships. Then, adding adaptive elements in the fusion network can alleviate the problem of heterogeneity between modes. Lastly, we concatenate audio‐video and text features into a regression network to obtain Big Five personality trait scores. Furthermore, we introduce a novel loss function to address the problem of training inaccuracies, taking advantage of its unique property of exhibiting a peak at the critical mean. Our tests on the ChaLearn First Impressions V2 multi‐modal dataset show partial performance surpassing state‐of‐the‐art networks.

Perpetrators in multimodal media discourse: a case study of personalization in images from The Telegraph

The article deals with the visual and linguistic representation of alleged perpetrators through personalization in news reporting from The Telegraph’s online media platform. The analysis shows how visual message, along with verbal labelling in the text, represent different groups of alleged perpetrators as more or less ‘dangerous’ in news reports. Agency is analyzed through a focus on the lens range and its influence on perceived social distance, the angle of the shot and its role in the understanding of social relations, as well as the direction of an alleged perpetrator’s gaze in images as a way of social interaction with the viewer. The photos of alleged perpetrators appear in The Telegraph with the aim of informing the public about the danger these individuals pose, as well as legitimizing the actions of law enforcement institutions. It appears that verbal and visual identification of these individuals is done with the intention of ‘excluding’ the most dangerous social actors, such as ‘murderers’, from ingroups.

Jaringan Sosial dalam Sistem Agribisnis Sayur: Peran Pertukaran Sosial dalam Membentuk Kemitraan yang Berkelanjutan

This research explores the pivotal role of social exchange in shaping sustainable partnerships between vegetable farmers and customers in Dusun Wayari. Within the framework of a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews as the research method, this study identifies two primary dimensions of social relations within the vegetable agribusiness system in Dusun Wayari: the associative dimension and the disassociative dimension. The research findings indicate that social exchange plays a central role in establishing close relationships between vegetable farmers and customers. During the process of ordering and harvesting vegetables, the interdependence between farmers and customers serves as a strong foundation for mutually beneficial social relations. Farmers provide high-quality products, while customers offer financial support and long-term commitment. This study underscores that social relations based on social exchange play a key role in creating sustainable partnerships in the vegetable agribusiness. In addition to benefiting farmers and customers, these relations also contribute to the collective well-being within the local community. Therefore, a deeper understanding of social relations within this agribusiness system has the potential to provide valuable insights and practical guidance for the development of sustainable business models in agriculture and other local business sectors.

RESHAPING THE FUTURE OF WORK: NAVIGATING THE IMPACTS OF LIFELONG LEARNING AND DIGITAL COMPETENCES IN THE ERA OF 5.0 INDUSTRY

Technological advancements and changes in the labor market require workers to continuously enhance their skills. Lifelong learning becomes a necessity in reality, and proposals in developed countries for returning to college after graduation open up new opportunities for acquiring new knowledge. Digital literacy, communication skills with both humans and robots, and understanding complex problems may become key skills for the 21st century. Jobs in the fields of medicine and technological innovation are expected to be in high demand. Furthermore, the digitization of society requires an increase in digital competences. These competences encompass not only computer literacy but also readiness for collaboration, quick problem-solving, and understanding of social relationships in a digital context. The paper “Lifelong Learning and Digital Competences in the Era of Industry 5.0: Keys to Success in the Future of Work” highlights the importance of continuous education and the development of skills necessary in the modern work environment, which is increasingly shifting towards Industry 5.0 and digital transformation.

Beyond the Positivism/Non-Positivism Binary as a Step Toward Inclusive Sociology

This article contributes to a movement to interrogate the history and foundation of sociology. The current hegemonic narrative credits a few European men for establishing sociology as a mechanism for using science to understand social conditions amid the rise of industrialization and modern capitalism. This hegemonic story defines positivism as a central concern in the foundation of the discipline, justifying its continued dominance in U.S. sociology and using binary logic to position non-positivist approaches as subordinate and unscientific. In this article, we explore the ways early Black sociologists integrated positivist and non-positivist approaches in their work to arrive at truth and discuss ways that transcending binary distinctions facilitated rich developments in their understanding of social relations and institutions. We draw on existing scholarship to argue that privileging binary logic helped justify these scholars’ marginalization in the sociological canon and conclude with recommendations to move the discipline beyond the positivism/non-positivism binary as an important mechanism for transformation. In so doing, we contribute to the growing body of scholarship aimed at correcting the history of sociology and reimagining the foundational works and epistemological approaches to foster liberation within the discipline.

‘Stop calling me Murzyn’ – how Black Lives Matter in Poland

ABSTRACT The scholarship on race and racism has tended to focus mostly on countries in Western Europe. It has thereby overlooked racial dynamics taking place in other regions – including Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This article examines the reverberations of the recent global antiracist mobilisation triggered by the killing of George Floyd in the United States in this underexplored context. Specifically, it considers the significance of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ (BLM) movement for Black people in Poland. Championed by the BLM movement, there have been demands for further reflection on racial inequalities in European societies, where many citizens in Europe’s West are beginning to engage with the impact of colonialism. The effect of George Floyd’s death has also reached unexpected places such as Poland, where Black communities have renewed their calls to reshape their representation in public discourse. We trace these mobilisations via our analysis of an online video discussion that unfolded under the hashtag #DontCallMeMurzyn. This article makes a case for the significance of concepts such as race and racism to our understanding of social relations in Poland; it shows, furthermore, how the BLM mobilisation has revived conversations about everyday racism and the representation of Black people in the public sphere.

Administration, management and public governance in brazil

Humanity has been experiencing a constant revolution towards a global culture, having at its core the concern with sustainable development, governance and the social purpose of organizations. This wave towards sustainable capitalism is directly linked to the rhythm of the market, accountability, life cycle of technologies and geopolitical tensions. However, this is not a particularity of the private sector, as it impacts and is directly impacted by the actions and strategies of the public sector. This “command” that strategically dictates public initiatives will be exercised by the principles of good governance, which aim at the public interest. In this sense, the question that was expect to answer in this paper is: how the concepts of administration, management and public governance relate to the principles of legality, impersonality, morality, publicity and efficiency, of article 37 of the Brazilian Federal Constitution in the 21st century? In order to answer this question, a qualitative methodological approach was used and, as for the research objectives, these were given in an exploratory way, as it allowed the use of bibliographic research, based on published and accessible material. In the end, it was concluded that the concepts studied are dynamic in relation to the constant evolution of customs, culture and understanding of social relations.

Reassessing power in the archaeological discourse. How collective, cooperative and affective perspectives may impact our understanding of social relations and organization in prehistory

AbstractThis paper critically examines how power is understood and used in archaeological interpretation of prehistoric societies. We argue that studies on power within archaeology have been haltered in their interpretive potential, frequently limited to individualizing coercive power with androcentric connotations. We explore new avenues of power through a retrospective view. Drawing on ideas first conceptualized by Hannah Arendt, while also incorporating theoretical ideas from collective action, anarchistic theory and the affective turn, we argue that power as a phenomenon and explanation within archaeology can be refined and nuanced when approached through a lens of collective agency and the affective potential of material culture. This connects, furthermore, to how we today see and act on changing power dynamics.

Pottery from Collingwood Bay in the Official collection from British New Guinea: the Wanigela style and the social relations of its distribution

During the late nineteenth century, a substantial assemblage of pottery was acquired by William MacGregor for the British New Guinea Official collection from the Collingwood Bay region in the north-eastern region of the colony. The group is highly significant because these ceramic styles are absent from most other museum collections dating to this period. Analyses of the manufacturing and decorative styles represented in the assemblage show that they belong to a style currently associated with the contemporary locality called Wanigela, a placename not used at the time MacGregor was exploring the area. Reconstructing the region of pottery manufacture versus the locations it was distributed through exchange, contributes to an understanding of social relations across the region at a date when there are few ethnographic accounts. This approach also provides an important example of how indigenous groups asserted their agency in their dealings with outsiders, even one as powerful as the representative of the British government.

Recipes for Happiness: a Proposal for Analysing the Moral Orientation of Actions and Emotions

This paper draws up a proposal for analysing discourses on paths to happiness. Recipes promoted by the happiness industry are studied as moral guidelines for social action: imperative messages spread through the Internet seek to guide their recipients in their quest for happiness. In a fielddominated by positive psychology, we approach happiness from a sociological perspective, which is to say as: an institutionalised social discourse; a form of social production; a socially-framed emotion. Research is based on systematic Internet observation and on quantitative and qualitative textual analysis procedures. We show how digital media in the ‘happiness’ field: (a) promotes recipes; (b) provides scientific legitimation for said recipes; (c) focuses on a generic individual as the recipient of the messages and as protagonist. A typology is proposed based on the meaning, nature and object of the actions that lead to happiness. Results show how recipes involve normative and moral orientations of actions and emotions: they indicate what to do and how to think andfeel to be happy. Happiness as a moral obligation involves most concerns shaping the agenda of contemporary societies, with a strong emphasis on individualism and on a utilitarian understanding of social relations and the social environment.

Work Inclusion for People with Intellectual Disabilities in Three Nordic Countries: The Current Policy and Challenges

This article illuminates the work inclusion policies and strategies and the situation today when it comes to including people with intellectual disabilities in workplaces in Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The article draws on official documents, previous research, and statistics. We discuss challenges regarding the current situation in the light of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and a social relational understanding of disability. The discrepancy between the current situation when it comes to work inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities in these three Nordic countries, and the perspective of human rights and work inclusion are of special interest as these have increasingly provided the framework for policies in relation to the participation of people with disabilities in the labour market. Approaches in Nordic labour market policies and practices must change to protect and promote the rights of people with intellectual disabilities at work.

Lócus da educação na emancipação do sujeito na contemporaneidade

O presente artigo objetiva apreender o lócus da educação na emancipação social na atualidade. Para tanto, o texto inicia explicitando o contexto educacional neoliberal no Brasil. Após, aborda duas concepções de educação, a neoliberal e a Freireana. Finaliza evidenciando a função social da educação, bem como da escola para a emancipação dos sujeitos na sociedade capitalista. O referencial teórico epistemológico para o estudo pautou-se na perspectiva educacional de Freire e sua base teórica metodológica foi a pesquisa qualitativa bibliográfica. As evidências apontaram que as proposições políticas e as práticas emancipatórias de educação, se efetivadas nas instituições escolares, podem contribuir para a compreensão das relações sociais e das lutas de classe, uma vez que possibilitam aos sujeitos a apreensão crítica do real vivido e, assim os instrumentaliza para a transformação social, com vistas à promoção da justiça e equidade social.

Proximity-based vocal networks reveal social relationships in the Southern white rhinoceros

Vocal communication networks can be linked to social behaviour, allowing a deeper understanding of social relationships among individuals. For this purpose, the description of vocal dyads is fundamental. In group-living species, this identification is based on behavioural indicators which require a high level of reactivity during social interactions. In the present study, we alternatively established a proximity-based approach to investigate whether sex-specific differences in vocal communication reflect social behaviour in a species with rather loose social associations and low levels of reactivity: the Southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum). We performed audio- and video recordings of 30 captive animals from seven groups. Vocal networks for the four most common call types were constructed by considering conspecifics at close distance (≤ 1 body length) to the sender as potential receivers. The analysis of the resulting unidirectional structures showed that not only the sex of the sender but also the sex of the potential receiver, the quality of social interactions (affiliative or agonistic) as well as association strength predict the intensity of vocal interactions between group members. Thus, a proximity-based approach can be used to construct vocal networks providing information about the social relationships of conspecifics—even in species with loose social associations where behavioural indicators are limited.

Methods of intersectional research

Intersectionality is a powerful concept within sociology, urging scholars to consider how an array of socially constructed dimensions of difference intersect to shape each person’s experiences and actions. This paper provides a number of different blueprints for designing intersectional research, which can be adapted for different purposes. The key methodological tenets of intersectional research are oppression, relationality, complexity, context, comparison, and deconstruction. This paper defines these tenets, addresses misunderstandings of their implications, and applies these tenets to existing intersectional research. Multiple qualitative, comparative, and quantitative strategies can be used to carry out intersectional research; there is not just one way to do intersectional empirical research. While intersectional methods require thought in designing the research, they are doable. What is more, they provide much more nuanced understandings of social relations and inequality. If race, class, gender and other socially constructed dimensions of difference are understood not as static but as dynamic, researchers can employ a wide variety of methodological tools to analyze power relations via their intersections.

Disrupting the educational racial contract of Islamophobia: racialized curricular expectations of Muslims in children’s literature

ABSTRACT When racialized knowledge is built into curricular expectations in schools, children are susceptible to beliefs that lead them to a hierarchical understanding of social relationships with particular groups. This article seeks to illuminate orientalist ideologies underpinning award-winning children’s literature. Utilizing racialized curricular expectations as an analytical tool, the article deconstructs Muslim stereotypes and their racial, gender, and religious representations in the following ways: (1) educational racial contract, (2) racial othering as racial selfing, and (3) racist empathy. This article calls upon district personnel, principals, and teachers to deeply interrogate curricula that racialize students and teach them ways to be raced.