Social Sciences

15 pages, 301 KiB

Open AccessArticle

“I Need this Chance to … Help My Family”: A Qualitative Analysis of the Aspirations of DACA Applicants

by Yvonne M. Luna and T. Mark Montoya

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 265; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090265 - 19 Sep 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 9438

This study explores the aspirations of undocumented youth seeking to defer deportation from the United States and obtain temporary employment authorization through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The data are twenty-three letters submitted from 2013–2015 to a nonprofit foundation in the US [...] Read more.

This study explores the aspirations of undocumented youth seeking to defer deportation from the United States and obtain temporary employment authorization through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The data are twenty-three letters submitted from 2013–2015 to a nonprofit foundation in the US Southwest that provides financial assistance to pay DACA application fees. Conducted within a narrative framework, analysis of emergent themes reveals a story of hope and family that counters the dominant political story of fear and threat to public safety. Specifically, from the DACA applicant’s standpoint, family is their most valuable form of social capital and by providing the means for employment and the education needed to launch a sustainable career, DACA status provides the leverage required to maximize family capital. Our analysis reveals a disturbing disjuncture between their testimonios and the realities of a policy intended to serve as a safety net. The current political climate makes aspirations like theirs increasingly difficult to achieve and may actually exacerbate legal and social liminality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding Family Diversity: Inclusive Perspectives)

21 pages, 43726 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Entanglements of Difference as Community Togetherness: Faith, Art and Feminism

by Anna Hickey-Moody and Marissa Willcox

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 264; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090264 - 18 Sep 2019

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 7356

Abstract

Using a feminist, new materialist frame to activate ethico-political research exploring religion and gender at a community level both on Instagram and in arts workshops, we show how sharing ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs, gender identities and sexualities through art practice entangles a diffraction [...] Read more.

Using a feminist, new materialist frame to activate ethico-political research exploring religion and gender at a community level both on Instagram and in arts workshops, we show how sharing ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs, gender identities and sexualities through art practice entangles a diffraction of differences as ‘togetherness’. Such entanglement creates cross-cultural interfaith understandings and gender diverse acceptance and inclusion online. We use diffraction, intra-action and entanglement as a way of framing our understanding of this ‘togetherness’ and show that human feelings rely on more-than-human assemblages; they rely on homelands, countries, wars, places of worship, orientations, attractions, aesthetics, art and objects of attachment. The feelings of ‘community’ and ‘belonging’ that we discuss are therefore direct products of human and non-human interactions, which we explore through arts-based research. In this article, we apply Karen Barad’s feminist new materialist theories of ‘diffraction’, ‘intra-action’ and ‘entanglement’ to ways of thinking about human experience as intra-acting with aspects of the world that we classify as non-human. We use these new materialist frames to reconceptualize the human feelings of ‘community’, ‘belonging’ and ‘what really matters’ in feminist and intra-religious collaborative art practices and Instagram-based art communities. To better understand and encourage communities of difference, we argue that the feelings of ‘community’ and ‘belonging’, which are central to human subjectivity and experience, are produced by more-than-human assemblages and are central to identity. The methodologies we present are community focused, intra-active, arts-based research strategies for interrogating and understanding expressions of ‘community’ and ‘belonging’. We identify how creative methods are a significant and useful way of knowing about communities and argue that they are important because they are grounded in being with communities, showing that the specificity of their materiality needs to be considered. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feminist new materialisms: Activating ethico-politics through genealogies in social sciences)

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18 pages, 292 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implementation of the ISO 26000 Guidelines on Active Participation and Community Development

by Oscar Daniel Licandro, Adán Guillermo Ramírez García, Lisandro José Alvarado-Peña, Luis Alfredo Vega Osuna and Patricia Correa

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 263; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090263 - 16 Sep 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5405

Abstract

The ISO 26000 Guidance provides valuable conceptual and methodological guidelines for making corporate social action an effective tool through which organizations contribute to the solution of social problems within the communities they operate. These guidelines focus on their potential to contribute to the [...] Read more.

The ISO 26000 Guidance provides valuable conceptual and methodological guidelines for making corporate social action an effective tool through which organizations contribute to the solution of social problems within the communities they operate. These guidelines focus on their potential to contribute to the institutional strengthening of the social institutions of these communities, as well as to empower, generate autonomy, and develop skills in their final beneficiaries. Nevertheless, the academic literature has paid little attention to these guidelines. This document presents the results of pioneering research which was intended to provide information on the application of corporate social action. For measurement, a battery of 24 indicators was built and included in a structured questionnaire which was applied to a non-probabilistic sample of companies that carry out social actions. It was found that most of them apply the guidelines to a large extent and that this application correlates with the importance they assign to corporate social responsibility, with the degree to which they have incorporated it into their management, and with the construction of alliances with social organizations. Also, it was found that the application of these guidelines is independent of knowledge of the Guide and the approach to social responsibility that companies adopt. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marketing in Nonprofit Organizations)

19 pages, 286 KiB

Open AccessReview

Integrating Social Scientific Perspectives on the Quantified Employee Self

by Thomas Calvard

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 262; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090262 - 15 Sep 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 7005

Abstract

A key technological trend in big data science is that of the quantified self, whereby individuals can self-track their health and well-being using various sources of information. The aim of this article was to integrate multidimensional views on the positive and negative implications [...] Read more.

A key technological trend in big data science is that of the quantified self, whereby individuals can self-track their health and well-being using various sources of information. The aim of this article was to integrate multidimensional views on the positive and negative implications of the quantified self for employees and workplaces. Relevant human and social scientific literature on the quantified (employee) self and self-tracking were drawn upon and organized into three main influential perspectives. Specifically, the article identified (1) psychological perspectives on quantified attitudes and behaviors, (2) sociological perspectives on sociomaterial user construction, and (3) critical theoretical perspectives on digital power and control. This article suggests that the three perspectives are complementary and can be usefully integrated into an embodied sensemaking perspective. Embodied sensemaking views the employee as a self-conscious user of big data seeking to make sense of their embeddedness in wider digital and organizational environments. This article concludes with implications for protecting employee agency in tension with employers’ big data strategies for governing and managing the performance of quantified digital employee selves. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Big Data and Employee Wellbeing)

15 pages, 1464 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Trade Impact of EU Tariff Margins: An Empirical Assessment

by Maria Cipollina and Luca Salvatici

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 261; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090261 - 12 Sep 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4635

Abstract

This article provides an assessment of how the EU trade policies affect EU imports. The main contribution is that we compute a theoretically consistent measure of the EU tariff margin and estimate the elasticities of substitution at the sectoral level, using a structural [...] Read more.

This article provides an assessment of how the EU trade policies affect EU imports. The main contribution is that we compute a theoretically consistent measure of the EU tariff margin and estimate the elasticities of substitution at the sectoral level, using a structural gravity model that includes domestic trade flows. Our analysis is related to the most recent gravity literature and the identification strategy is based on the existence of a sufficient variation of the tariffs applied by the EU to different markets of origin. We use cross-section data (more than 5000 tariff lines and 188 exporters, including the EU28 Member States, in the year 2017), to obtain structural gravity estimates of trade substitution elasticities. Since tariffs greatly differ by product, an in-depth analysis should take place at the tariff line. Moreover, we use the information provided by the Eurostat Comext database on the tariff regime of imports, so we distinguish the Most Favored Nation (MFN) from the preferential trade flows. The estimated elasticities can be used to calculate the counterfactual change in total EU imports that would follow either from the removal of trade preferences or from the removal of trade policies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Analysis of EU Trade Policies)

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17 pages, 255 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Intersections of the Convention on the Rights of the Child General Principles and Diverse Sexes, Genders and Sexualities in Education

by Jenna Gillett-Swan and Lisa van Leent

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 260; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090260 - 10 Sep 2019

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 6010

Abstract

Using a rights framework underpinned by the general principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child of; best interests, participation/respect for the child’s views, non-discrimination and life, survival and development, this paper outlines four key tensions for rights realisation in the [...] Read more.

Using a rights framework underpinned by the general principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child of; best interests, participation/respect for the child’s views, non-discrimination and life, survival and development, this paper outlines four key tensions for rights realisation in the context of diverse sexes, genders and sexualities in education. Children are commonly acknowledged as being more knowledgeable than previous generations about sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. Gender and sexuality are relevant in young people’s daily lives as the Western world is increasingly acknowledging children’s exposure, access and awareness to such knowledge. Even so, diverse sexes, genders and sexualities are still largely considered taboo and controversial in formal schooling contexts. Emerging tensions in contemporary education practices related to diverse sexes, genders and sexualities due to pervading opinions about its appropriateness need interrogation and discussion. Conceptualisations of childhood innocence and heteronormativity are used to analyse tensions between the Convention and the reality of the complexities involved in actualising children’s rights in this context of diversity. Through its general principles, a way forward is offered to value and embrace the rights of children to learn about diversity in safe and inclusive educational environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Childhood and Society)

15 pages, 1068 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Collective Perception of Anthropic and Extractive Interventions in the Colombian Llanos

by Luca Eufemia, Hector Morales, Michelle Bonatti, Maximilian Graser, Marcos Lana and Stefan Sieber

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 259; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090259 - 09 Sep 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3967

Abstract

Increasingly, the developmental model of anthropic and extractive interventions is a global concern. Its impacts are challenging not only the precarious equilibrium of natural resources but also the one of local communities and identities. The case of the Colombian Llanos shows how the [...] Read more.

Increasingly, the developmental model of anthropic and extractive interventions is a global concern. Its impacts are challenging not only the precarious equilibrium of natural resources but also the one of local communities and identities. The case of the Colombian Llanos shows how the local culture of the Cultura Llanera (CL) is deep-rooted with natural resources, their use and their management. Throughout the use of a survey based on the Governance Analytical Framework (GAF), this paper presents and discusses shared problems and social norms. The collective perception of local groups shows that the CL, in particular traditional livestock practices in flooded savannahs, is a key element for the sustainable development of the region. Furthermore, it reveals that agricultural and extractive activities, primarily rice and oil, are considered the main threats to both the ecosystem and the protection of the CL. Full article

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13 pages, 897 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Social Welfare Service Delivery System to Reinforce Sustainable Social Participation

by Mikyoung Lee, Marko Majer and Boyoung Kim

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 258; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090258 - 09 Sep 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 9517

Abstract

Structural social changes and population aging are emerging as important policy issues in many countries around the world. In particular, although early retirees aged 50 or older are left behind from social welfare services and suffer from worsening social problems, policies have often [...] Read more.

Structural social changes and population aging are emerging as important policy issues in many countries around the world. In particular, although early retirees aged 50 or older are left behind from social welfare services and suffer from worsening social problems, policies have often only focused on elderly people aged 65 or older and vulnerable groups. Based on the theory of a welfare service delivery system, the present study analyzed the case of the Seoul 50 Plus Project in South Korea, which was established to enhance service professionalism and integrate various services to keep up with a changing environment, considering four factors: ‘integration’, ‘accessibility’, ‘systematic function distribution’, and ‘participation’. The case analysis revealed that interconnected service content, which can improve leisure activities, hobbies, and self-development, is very important along with job creation from social services to the 50 plus generation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Social Policy and Welfare)

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14 pages, 222 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mutual Involvement in Families Living with Type 2 Diabetes: Using the Family Toolbox to Address Challenges Related to Knowledge, Communication, Support, Role Confusion, Everyday Practices and Mutual Worries

by Dan Grabowski, Maria Beatriz Rodriguez Reino and Tue Helms Andersen

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090257 - 08 Sep 2019

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4422

Abstract

Family involvement plays a key role in diabetes management. Challenges related to type 2 diabetes (T2D) often affect the whole family, and relatives are at increased risk of developing diabetes themselves. Creating family involvement in families living with T2D is a complex matter. [...] Read more.

Family involvement plays a key role in diabetes management. Challenges related to type 2 diabetes (T2D) often affect the whole family, and relatives are at increased risk of developing diabetes themselves. Creating family involvement in families living with T2D is a complex matter. This article studies potential effects of working with dialogue tools specifically developed to create family involvement. The data consist of 18 semi-structured family interviews. The data were analyzed using radical hermeneutics and theories on family identity and healthcare authenticity. The analysis revealed five themes: (1) Working with the tools created better and broader intra-familial involvement; (2) the tools enabled new roles and self-understandings for all family members; (3) the tools facilitated mutual insights into each other’s thoughts and worries; (4) after working with the tools, it was easier to discover potential challenges and possible behavior change; and (5) gaining new knowledge and the motivation to seek more knowledge was easier after working with the tools. Working with the tools changed how the families perceive themselves and the ways in which they can affect their own T2D-related health behavior together. This has direct implications for healthcare practitioners working with people with T2D. Full article

14 pages, 475 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fashion Brand Love: Application of a Cognition–Affect–Conation Model

by Tae-Im Han and Dooyoung Choi

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 256; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090256 - 06 Sep 2019

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 9406

Abstract

A large numbers of studies have supported the crucial role of brand love in consumer–brand relationships; however, research that examines fashion brand love and its relationship with cognitive aspects and self-concept congruency remains limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify [...] Read more.

A large numbers of studies have supported the crucial role of brand love in consumer–brand relationships; however, research that examines fashion brand love and its relationship with cognitive aspects and self-concept congruency remains limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify important factors that are associated with fashion brand love. A questionnaire in which participants provided self-reported responses was created to measure the constructs and structural equation modeling (SEM) and independent sample t-tests were conducted to test the hypothesized relationships. Our results indicated that consumers who know more about fashion brands are more likely to have stronger emotional attachment to their favorite fashion brand and brand love, in turn, has a significant effect on performing brand-loyal behaviors. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that fashion brand love is strongly associated with actual and ideal self-congruity. These findings suggest that it is important for fashion brands to focus on developing affective relationships with consumers to gain brand loyalty and one way to achieve this goal is to enhance brand awareness or knowledge among consumers. Fashion brands also need to invest in activities that aim to deliver a brand image congruent with actual and ideal self-concepts of the target market. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Social Economics)

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17 pages, 249 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pragmatism as a Research Paradigm and Its Implications for Social Work Research

by Vibha Kaushik and Christine A. Walsh

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 255; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090255 - 06 Sep 2019

Cited by 229 | Viewed by 198758

Abstract

Debates around the issues of knowledge of, and for, social work and other social justice–oriented professions are not uncommon. More prevalent are the discussions around the ways by which social work knowledge is obtained. In recent years, social work scholars have drawn on [...] Read more.

Debates around the issues of knowledge of, and for, social work and other social justice–oriented professions are not uncommon. More prevalent are the discussions around the ways by which social work knowledge is obtained. In recent years, social work scholars have drawn on the epistemology of pragmatism to present a case for its value in the creation of knowledge for social work and other social justice–oriented professions. The primary focus of this essay is on providing a critical review and synthesis of the literature regarding pragmatism as a research paradigm. In this essay, we analyze the major philosophical underpinnings and methodological challenges associated with pragmatism, synthesize the works of scholars who have contributed to the understanding of pragmatism as a research paradigm, articulate our thoughts about how pragmatism fits within social work research, and illustrate how it is linked to the pursuit of social justice. This article brings together a variety of perspectives to argue that pragmatism has the potential to closely engage and empower marginalized and oppressed communities and provide hard evidence for the macro level discourse. Full article

16 pages, 1837 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Teaching Urban Sustainability: A Study Abroad Perspective

by Geoffrey Buckley, Tawny Paul, Hamish Kallin and Harriet Cornell

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 254; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090254 - 05 Sep 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4916

Abstract

Since 2011 more than 100 students from Ohio University have travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland, to study history, urban planning, and sustainability. In this paper we recount the genesis of this highly successful program, situate it in the broader literature on urban sustainability and [...] Read more.

Since 2011 more than 100 students from Ohio University have travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland, to study history, urban planning, and sustainability. In this paper we recount the genesis of this highly successful program, situate it in the broader literature on urban sustainability and study abroad, and then unpack its contents. We then consider how the adoption of green living practices combined with hands-on and experiential learning activities developed specifically for this program—including sustainability diaries, green spaces surveys, group research projects, and walking tours—complement content that is delivered in the classroom, and furthermore, how an emphasis on planning history and social equity contributes to student understanding of the forces that shape urban landscapes over time. In the end, we conclude that an urban sustainability theme conjoined with a location abroad presents educators with an opportunity to communicate critical sustainability principles that would be difficult to replicate if students did not leave their home university. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Teaching Urban Sustainability: Lessons from the Classroom and Beyond)

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22 pages, 4467 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geographical Juxtaposition: A New Direction in CPTED

by Paul Cozens, Terence Love and Brent Davern

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 252; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090252 - 03 Sep 2019

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 10516

Abstract

This paper explores Oscar Newman’s Defensible Space (1972) concept of geographical juxtaposition (GJ) highlighting a significant lack of research within the criminological literature over the last 50 years. We argue the concept is a key foundation in understanding crime and crime prevention theories [...] Read more.

This paper explores Oscar Newman’s Defensible Space (1972) concept of geographical juxtaposition (GJ) highlighting a significant lack of research within the criminological literature over the last 50 years. We argue the concept is a key foundation in understanding crime and crime prevention theories and in developing crime prevention strategies. Findings from a systematic review of the literature are presented to illustrate the paucity of research into geographical juxtaposition. We develop and extend the concept of geographical juxtaposition beyond that originally coined by Newman to include all immediate, local, distant, and remote environmental (physical) factors. Additionally, we demonstrate, by reference to practical criminological situations, the significant and extensive role of our revised concept of geographical juxtaposition. In particular, we point to the way that focusing on geographical juxtaposition identifies serious problems in many taken-for-granted assumptions in planning theory and practice. In exploring the concept of geographical juxtaposition, we highlight ten ways it can affect crime risks and six ways using geographical juxtaposition can benefit efforts to apply crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) more successfully when conducting a crime risk assessment. Finally, this paper briefly discusses four new CPTED principles, which emerge from our exploration of geographical juxtaposition. We identify new classes of CPTED methods and new ways of analyzing crime and offer the basis for new criminological theories. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crime Prevention through Pro-Social Design)

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15 pages, 233 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Trust and Distrust: Listening to Children about Their Relationships with Professionals

by Hayley Davies

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 251; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090251 - 03 Sep 2019

Viewed by 5540

Abstract

This article explores trust in children’s relationships with professionals in the context of safeguarding concerns. With exception, existing research with children about trust in professionals often fails to unpick trust. Using sociological conceptualisations of trust, most often considered in relation to adults, this [...] Read more.

This article explores trust in children’s relationships with professionals in the context of safeguarding concerns. With exception, existing research with children about trust in professionals often fails to unpick trust. Using sociological conceptualisations of trust, most often considered in relation to adults, this article unravels this complex concept. It arrives at a conception of trust as socially situated, an attribute of relationships, and a combination of interpretation (knowledge and experience) and faith. This conceptualization of trust is examined in the context of interview accounts from children that were aged 8–10 in an English primary school. Interviews invited their perspectives on three fictional vignettes about peer conflict, domestic abuse, and child sexual abuse. My analysis, although small-scale, argues that focusing on the process of trust in children’s professional relationships and the social, cultural, political, and relational contexts that shape this process, is a lucrative way to gain enhanced understandings of how trust is generated and what facilitates and undermines trust. It sheds light on children’s interpretations of existing relationships and imagined interactions with professionals, revealing the knowledge that they hold and what they do not yet, or cannot know, and how this knowledge (or lack of) influences their trust. This analysis is socially situated attending to children’s biographies, which offers insights that provide good grounds for improving children’s relationships with professionals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Childhood and Society)

17 pages, 290 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Parents’ Strategies in Dealing with Constructions of Gendered Responsibilities at Their Workplaces

by Gerlinde Mauerer and Eva-Maria Schmidt

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 250; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090250 - 02 Sep 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4747

Abstract

This paper, which is based on qualitative research conducted in Austria, focuses on current gender inequalities between parents in fulfilling their parental responsibilities, which means reconciling the responsibilities of childcare and earning a living. Austria is characterized by a substantial gender gap in [...] Read more.

This paper, which is based on qualitative research conducted in Austria, focuses on current gender inequalities between parents in fulfilling their parental responsibilities, which means reconciling the responsibilities of childcare and earning a living. Austria is characterized by a substantial gender gap in men’s and women’s labor force participation and a system that provides particularly long parental leaves. These foster long-term gender inequalities in parents’ careers and involvement in family life after their transition to parenthood. Against this background, we analyzed constructions of parental responsibilities parents face at their workplaces, and how these constructions shape parents’ decisions on sharing parental responsibilities. The findings demonstrate the relevance of parental norms that comprise a father’s main responsibility as breadwinner and a mother’s primary responsibility as a caregiver, constructed and reproduced by parents’ colleagues and employers. Consequently, for parents who try to share their breadwinning and caregiving in a non-normative (and more gender-equal) way, both parents are forced to find strategies in dealing with normative constructions. These strategies range from making a ‘conscious decision’, insisting on the original plan, and challenging predominant norms at workplaces, through quitting the job and looking for another employer, to modifying or giving up the originally planned arrangement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Family and Work: Parental Leave and Careers)

16 pages, 1016 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gender Inequalities in Early Career Trajectories and Parental Leaves: Evidence from a Nordic Welfare State

by Kati Kuitto, Janne Salonen and Jan Helmdag

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 253; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090253 - 01 Sep 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 6727

Abstract

Parental leaves are, besides unemployment, the main reason for career breaks in early career. Despite the progress in recent decades towards more equal sharing of childcare between mothers and fathers, the labour market risk due to parenting remains mainly with women. In this [...] Read more.

Parental leaves are, besides unemployment, the main reason for career breaks in early career. Despite the progress in recent decades towards more equal sharing of childcare between mothers and fathers, the labour market risk due to parenting remains mainly with women. In this article, we analyse how parental leaves relate to early career trajectories of young Finnish men and women. Using longitudinal register data for 2005–2016 from the Finnish Centre for Pensions, we perform a multi-trajectory analysis of the labour market attachment of a cohort born in 1980. Based on working days and earnings, we find five distinct career trajectories for both men and women, with the majority being well attached to the labour market by their mid-30s. While men and women on average have similar employment lengths, the gender gap in earnings is already 30 per cent in this early career phase. One of the causes may be found in the highly unequal division of family-related career breaks; the duration of mothers’ family-related leaves in this cohort was 13 times longer than fathers’ leave spells. Long home care leaves were particularly common among mothers with low education levels and weak attachment to the labour market. Efforts towards a more equal division of parental leaves are needed in order to combat gender inequalities that already emerge in early career and potentially cause life-long disadvantages for women’s careers, earnings and pensions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Family and Work: Parental Leave and Careers)

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14 pages, 1411 KiB

Open AccessArticle

How do Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Teachers Experience UK Rural School Communities?

by Catherine Lee

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 249; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090249 - 31 Aug 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 9070

Abstract

This article examines how lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers in rural schools negotiate their sexual identities within the workplace. Although there has been progress towards LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) inclusion for teachers in urban and suburban schools, this article shows that [...] Read more.

This article examines how lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers in rural schools negotiate their sexual identities within the workplace. Although there has been progress towards LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) inclusion for teachers in urban and suburban schools, this article shows that their rural counterparts often experience their school communities differently. A questionnaire gathered data from school teachers in the United Kingdom identifying as LGBT. Whilst a small number of transgender, gender queer and non-binary teachers completed the questionnaire, it is important to note that these teachers taught only in urban environments. In rural schools, respondents identified only as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB). Therefore, LGB is used when referring to the rural respondents in this study and LGBT is used when referring generally to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The experiences of teachers working in rural schools were compared with those working in urban or suburban school settings. Results showed that LGB teachers in rural communities lack the opportunity to speak their identity into existence at school, and often find their personal and professional identities incompatible, leading to low self-worth, depression and anxiety. The article shows that in rural school communities, traditional and conservative rural norms and values are compelling and are often protected at the expense of creating safe and inclusive workplaces for LGB teachers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Gender Studies)

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23 pages, 1631 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reflexivity and Structural Positions: The Effects of Generation, Gender and Education

by Tea Golob and Matej Makarovič

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 248; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090248 - 27 Aug 2019

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 8752

Abstract

This article examines how reflexivity, as understood by Margaret Archer, is affected by the structural settings in the context of morphogenetic social and cultural transformations. It draws on the Slovenian national case as an example of swift structural and cultural shifts towards late [...] Read more.

This article examines how reflexivity, as understood by Margaret Archer, is affected by the structural settings in the context of morphogenetic social and cultural transformations. It draws on the Slovenian national case as an example of swift structural and cultural shifts towards late modernity. For that purpose, we apply a new measurement tool developed through our previous research, which upgrades Archer’s existing ICONI model by distinguishing between the intensity and the concurrent practicing of the reflexivity modes within the inner dialogue. Based on a general national sample, we confirm not only the reflexivity changes from the older to the younger generations but also the role of education and gender in reflexivity levels and modes. We refer to the problem of deprivation and the importance of linking fractured reflexivity to the challenges, women are facing nowadays. Thus, the article confirms some of the critics of Archer’s work, demonstrating—despite significant individual differences—the clear impact of the individual’s background and her/his position in the social structure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Contemporary Politics and Society)

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2 pages, 166 KiB

Open AccessCorrection

Correction: Beans, J.A.; et al. Community Protections in American Indian and Alaska Native Participatory Research–A Scoping Review. Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(4), 127

by Julie A. Beans, Bobby Saunkeah, R. Brian Woodbury, Terry S. Ketchum, Paul G. Spicer and Vanessa Y. Hiratsuka

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 247; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090247 - 26 Aug 2019

Viewed by 2861

Abstract

The authors wish to make the following change to their paper (Beans et al [...] Full article

11 pages, 251 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Is Anyone Listening? Audience Engagement through Public Media Related to the Scottish Independence Referendum

by Irati Agirreazkuenaga-Onaindia, Ainara Larrondo-Ureta and Simón Peña-Fernández

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 246; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090246 - 23 Aug 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4070

Abstract

This paper explores perspectives from which citizen participation in media debates on civic issues can be reconsidered by means of a review of the existing literature on this subject and a qualitative study of how one particular public service media programme facilitated audience [...] Read more.

This paper explores perspectives from which citizen participation in media debates on civic issues can be reconsidered by means of a review of the existing literature on this subject and a qualitative study of how one particular public service media programme facilitated audience engagement and involvement in public discussion leading up to a major political event. The first section provides a general discussion of what media organisations do to engage the public they serve on political and social issues, the challenge of stimulating audience involvement and the ways in which editors and producers attempt to give average citizens a voice on topics normally framed by elites. The second offers a case study based on semi-structured interviews and content analysis of public participation in Morning Call, a weekday British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Radio Scotland phone-in news and current affairs show (the only programme of its type broadcast in Scotland) during the run-up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Focus has been placed on determining what programmes of this nature can and cannot achieve in terms of civic engagement and which practices implemented by public broadcasting networks best stimulate audience engagement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Contemporary Politics and Society)

22 pages, 8408 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Sonic Intra-Face of a Noisy Feminist Social Kitchen

by Juliana España Keller

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 245; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090245 - 23 Aug 2019

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5485

Abstract

This paper asks what is the value of transforming the kitchen into a sonic performative work and public site for art and social practice. A Public Kitchen is formed by recreating the private and domestic space of a kitchen into a public space [...] Read more.

This paper asks what is the value of transforming the kitchen into a sonic performative work and public site for art and social practice. A Public Kitchen is formed by recreating the private and domestic space of a kitchen into a public space through a sonic performance artwork. The kitchen table is a platform for exploring, repositioning and amplifying kitchen tools as material phenomena through electronic and manual manipulation into an immersive sonic performance installation. This platform becomes a collaborative social space, where somatic movement and sensory, sonic power of the repositioned kitchen tools are built on a relational architecture of iterative sound performances that position the art historical and the sociopolitical, transforming disciplinary interpretations of the body and technology as something that is not specifically exclusively human but post-human. A Public Kitchen represents a pedagogical strategy for organizing and responding collectively to the local, operating as an independent nomadic event that speaks through a creative practice that is an unfolding process. (Re)imagining the social in a Public Kitchen produces noisy affects in a sonic intra-face that can contribute to transforming our social imaginations, forming daring dissonant narratives that feed post-human ethical practices and feminist genealogies. This paper reveals what matters—a feminist struggle invaluable in channeling the intra-personal; through the entanglement of the self, where language, meaning and subjectivity are relational to human difference and to what is felt from the social, what informs from a multi-cultural nomadic existence and diffractive perspective. The labored body is entangled with post-human contingencies of food preparation, family and social history, ritual, tradition, social geography, local politics, and women’s oppression; and is resonant and communicates as a site where new sonic techniques of existence are created and experiences shared. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feminist new materialisms: Activating ethico-politics through genealogies in social sciences)

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13 pages, 268 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Millennial Perceptions of Fast Fashion and Second-Hand Clothing: An Exploration of Clothing Preferences Using Q Methodology

by Katelyn Sorensen and Jennifer Johnson Jorgensen

Soc. Sci. 2019, 8(9), 244; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8090244 - 22 Aug 2019

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 37284

Abstract

Millennials are becoming more conscientious of the products they buy, as well as the social and environmental implications behind them. However, Millennials with low discretionary incomes have limited choices in today’s marketplace, and it is unclear as to how these consumers perceive low-cost [...] Read more.

Millennials are becoming more conscientious of the products they buy, as well as the social and environmental implications behind them. However, Millennials with low discretionary incomes have limited choices in today’s marketplace, and it is unclear as to how these consumers perceive low-cost apparel options, including fast fashion apparel and second-hand apparel. The purpose of this study is to explore and compare Millennials’ perceptions of inexpensive fast fashion and second-hand apparel. The Q methodology was employed to determine patterns among perceptions. Participants sorted 14 statements describing ideal clothing items into a Q sort grid. The Q sort grid forced participants to rank statements by the degree to which they agree (or disagree). Once the Q sort grid was completed, participants shared their thoughts (qualitatively) as to why they ranked each statement the way that they did. The findings indicate that there are varied perceptions across the Millennial generation, which resulted in the emergence of four distinct factors for both fast fashion and second-hand apparel. The findings of this study are extensive. Fast fashion retailers and consignment shops will need to update their future strategies in order to target the Millennial generation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fashion Merchandising and Consumer Behavior)

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Soc. Sci., Volume 8, Issue 9 (September 2019) – 22 articles

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