Cloaking the Pregnancy: Scientific Uncertainty and Gendered Burden among Middle-class Mothers in Urban China

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-28
Author(s):  
Jialin Li

In this article, I use radiation-shielding maternity clothes (cloak) as a window to explore motherhood and reproductive uncertainty in urban China. By engaging with literature on scientific uncertainty and intensive mothering, I argue that the scientific uncertainty over the possible negative impact of electromagnetic radiation (EMF) on pregnancy has led to a situation in which uncertainty is being socially reproduced by experts, markets, and policy makers through different media channels. Middle-class mothers do not fully believe that the cloak is scientifically trustworthy. But under the influence of social networks and the ambient awareness of the reproductive crisis related to environmental pollution and the pressures of modern life, middle-class mothers still choose to wear the clothes for a variable period of pregnancy for psychological feelings of safety. In the end, they choose to cloak their pregnancies (to perform responsible motherhood) but immediately claim their suspicions of the cloak (to perform their scientific knowledge).

Author(s):  
Willow S. Lung-Amam

This chapter investigates Asian American-oriented shopping centers. It shows that these malls are central in the lives of Asian American suburbanites. For many, the malls serve their practical needs, support vital social networks, and foster their sense of place, community, and connection to the larger Asian diaspora. But these vibrant pseudopublic spaces are also deeply contested. In Fremont, many non-Asian American residents, policy makers, and planners have charged that these malls are socially exclusionary and questioned their deviance in form and norm from the conventions of suburban retail. The chapter shows how these debates have framed ethnic shopping malls as “problem spaces” that required greater regulation and scrutiny. Yet planners and city officials have also used their power to regulate and control these shopping centers to promote particular visions of multiculturalism that are more aligned with their projected image of a middle-class suburb.


Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Ourania Tzoraki ◽  
Svetlana Dimitrova ◽  
Marin Barzakov ◽  
Saad Yaseen ◽  
Vasilis Gavalas ◽  
...  

The ongoing ‘refugee crisis’ of the past years has led to the migration of refugee researchers (RRs) to European countries. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RRs often had to work from home and/or to continue their social, cultural and economic integration process under new conditions. An online survey carried out to explore the impact of the pandemic on the refugee researchers showed that RRs found it difficult to adapt their everyday working life to the ‘home’ setting. The majority have had neither a suitable work environment at home nor the appropriate technology. Although they stated that they are rather pleased with the measures taken by the public authorities, they expressed concern about their vulnerability due to their precarious contracts and the bureaucratic asylum procedures, as the pandemic has had a negative impact on these major issues. The majority of RRs working in academia seem not to have been affected at all as far as their income is concerned, while the majority of those employed in other sectors became unemployed during the pandemic (58%). Recommendations are provided to the public authorities and policy makers to assist RRs to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic on their life.


2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (No. 7) ◽  
pp. 335-344
Author(s):  
Muhammad Waqas Khalid ◽  
Ashar Sultan Kayani ◽  
Jamal Mohammed Alotaibi ◽  
Muhammad Muddassir ◽  
Bader Alhafi Alotaibi ◽  
...  

Higher consumption and increased import requirements for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region can be catered through neighboring trade partners if resources are optimally utilized. The purpose of this research is to analyze the connection between regional trade of SAARC countries and the food security challenges faced by the region. The study uses data from 1990–2018 for Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh to econometrically analyze the determinants of the volume of food trade. The results show that the gross domestic product of importing or exporting countries and foreign direct investment (FDI) have positive impact on regional trade. The bilateral exchange rate between trading partners has a negative impact on the trade volume. The results also showed the absence of a long-run relationship between volume of trade and food security using Johansen’s cointegration test. Our analysis suggests that policy makers should focus on the means for creating favorable environment in Pakistan and India to not only meet the increasing global demands for food but also increasing their competitiveness for high-quality and low-quality priced products in major exports markets.


Author(s):  
Alfred Moore

What might a deliberative politics of science look like? This chapter addresses this question by bringing together science studies and the theories and practices of deliberative democracy. This chapter begins by discussing the importance of considering the role of deliberation within scientific communities and institutions, particularly as it bears on the production of scientific judgments and decisions at the boundary between science and politics. The chapter then discusses the emergence of institutions for communicating scientific knowledge to policy-makers, public officials and citizens, which include not only expert tribunals but also the development of citizen panels, consensus conferences, and other forms of mini-publics. Finally, the chapter considers the role of “uninvited” ’ participation in science, emphasizing the role of social movements and critical civil society in both challenging and informing scientific knowledge production.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elias Naumann ◽  
Ellen von den Driesch ◽  
Almut Schumann ◽  
Carolin Thönnissen

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed social life within a very short time. Lockdown policies often consider the trade-off between containing the spread of the pandemic and the negative impact for the economy. Policy makers should pay more attention to the psychological and social impacts of the lockdown.ObjectivesHow did the mental health of adolescents in Germany change during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown in Germany?Material and MethodsAnalyses are based on longitudinal data from Germany and a random sample of the birth cohorts 2001-03. Respondents were 15-17 years old at the first interview in 2018/19. 854 adolescents participated in the second wave of the survey in May and June 2020. Depressiveness is assessed with the State-Trait Depression Scale.ResultsDuring the first lockdown, adolescents show a significant increase in depressive symptoms. Prior to the lockdown, 10.2 percent had clinically relevant depressive symptoms [CI: 8.0; 12.4]. In spring 2020, the prevalence increased to 25.2 percent [CI: 22.0; 28.4]. Young women have a significantly higher risk of developing depressive symptoms than men of the same age. Immigrant background is an equally strong risk factor. The prevalence of depressive symptoms among adolescents with an immigrant background increased from 11% to 33%.DiscussionTo address this increased mental health risk and the inequalities, policy makers and society should ensure access and availability of target-group-specific and low-threshold prevention and counselling.


Author(s):  
Elvira Vitaljevna Burtseva ◽  
Olga Chepak ◽  
Olga Kulikova

The subject of this research is the implementation of digital technologies in educational process of a university. The goal consists in studying the impact of digital technologies upon the students’ learning activities. The article presents the results of questionnaire-based survey among students by the three question pools. In the course of research, the author examines such aspects of the problem, as the positive and negative impact of technologies upon learning activities of the students of digital generation. Particular attention is given to consideration of students’ attitude on digitalization of higher education. The opinions of pedagogues on the results of conducted research are presented. The scientific novelty lies in mainstreaming the question on the negative impact of digital technologies upon learning activities of the modern generation of students that deserves special attention. On the background of common passion of the scholars of researchers and pedagogues for the ideas of digitalization of education, when digital technologies are viewed as virtually the key factor for modernization of educational process; second come the problems of growing pathological dependence of youth on digital technologies, undesired to switch to digitalized educational process to the disadvantage of communication in social networks and pleasant pastime online. The problem of the negative effect of digital technologies on learning activities must be recognized in order to find the ways for its solution.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (16) ◽  
pp. 275-284
Author(s):  
Graciela Núñez Núñez

Distance language learning is a real challenge to both teachers and learners, since the students’ exposure to the target language in a distance learning system is not as authentic and interactive as required. Additionally, it also entails a significant reduction in the amount of students’ interaction and in the support from both the teacher and other learners, which has a negative impact on students’ levels of motivation and achievement. In the hope of enhancing the distance teaching-learning process of a language and compensating for the previously mentioned drawbacks, a number of technological tools are currently being implemented. However, these technologies have also brought about new challenges that need to be addressed by policy makers, materials developers, teachers and students, if they are to be successfully implemented.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0261927X2110445
Author(s):  
Inse Janssen ◽  
Friederike Hendriks ◽  
Regina Jucks

Scientific knowledge is intrinsically uncertain; hence, it can only provide a tentative orientation for political decisions. One illustrative example is the discussion that has taken place on introducing mandatory mask-wearing to contain the coronavirus. In this context, this study investigates how the communication of uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of mandatory mask-wearing affects the perceived trustworthiness of communicators. Participants ( N = 398) read a fictitious but evidence-based text supporting mandatory mask-wearing. First, epistemic uncertainty was communicated by including a high (vs. low) amount of lexical hedges (LHs) to the text (e.g., “maybe”). Second, we varied whether the source of information was a scientist or a politician. Thereafter, participants rated the source's trustworthiness. Results show that the scientist was perceived as more competent and as having more integrity but not as more benevolent than the politician. The use of LHs did not impact trustworthiness ratings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 210 ◽  
pp. 20016
Author(s):  
Zinaida Ryabikina ◽  
Ekaterina Bogomolova ◽  
Lyudmila Ozhigova

The Internet users have been studied in the terms of a positive or negative impact on personality existence and co-existence in the context of virtual reality. Personality activity focus on backing up their own identity during the interaction with the Other in the virtual co-existence space. The web content mining of opinions expressed by social networks on thematic forums shows that major activity drivers in the virtual space of social networks are communicative, affiliative and self-assertive drivers. This is due to a personality's aim at backing up their identity in co-existence with the Other. The FIRO-B questionnaire has revealed relevant dominance of virtual communication participants' own activity over activity expected from their communication partner regarding the scales of inclusion and control. The opportunity to be an agent for "both" (themselves and their virtual communication partner) in the fields of inclusion and control makes it easier to gain a personality's required confirmation of their identity in relationship with the Other as well as get reassured that their being has been successfully extended into the Other's agent world (to personalize). Virtualization of a personality's relationship carries risks for identity being simulated due to non-availability of a true dialogue with the Other.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-298
Author(s):  
Samsul Samsul ◽  
Mohd. Fauzi Abu Husen

Every time a household is built, there is certainly a hope of achieving happiness, sakinah, mawaddah wa rahmah, which is the purpose of marriage. Divorce can be carried out as an emergency exit, and it is not an urgent thing that must be done, but the most hated of permissible things. Divorce cases in the Religious Courts of Lampung Province increase every year, which shows that the performance of BP4 Lampung has not been optimal. Therefore, it needs to be evaluated scientifically. The objective of this study is to find a form of reconstruction of the work management of BP4 Lampung in building a sakinah family. This study used qualitative research with a descriptive-analytical type. The approach used interviews, documentation, and observation. The work management of the BP4 Lampung in realizing the sakinah family includes: First, the selection of management and organizational members who have spiritual, cultural, and intellectual dimensions; Second, the provision of honorary and social security; Third, training and development or competency development and training. Reconstruction that can be carried out is budgeting, where after the issuance of the law on regional autonomy, then BP4 Lampung, which is a partner of the Ministry of Religion and related agencies in improving the quality of marriage by developing the sakinah family movement, should get attention in the whole budgeting problem by the government, so that this program can be run optimally. To policy makers, both from the legislative and executive elements, along with the scholars, they should be proactive in paying attention to and following up on very complex Muslim problems, especially in the realm of Islamic family law and at the same time damaging the morals and values of the society in general. In this case, the most important problem is the prevalence of divorce practices in Lampung which have a negative impact on the psychological development of families.Setiap terbangunnya rumah tangga, tentunya ada sebuah harapan tercapainya kebahagiaan, sakinah, mawaddah wa rahmah, begitulah tujuan dari perkawinan. Perceraian dapat dilakukan sebagai emergency exit, dan bukanlah hal urgen yang harus dilakukan, melainkan kebolehan yang dibenci. Kasus perceraian di lingkungan Pengadilan Agama Provinsi Lampung tiap tahun meningkat, hal ini menunjukkan bahwa kinerja BP4 Lampung belum berjalan optimal, sehingga perlu dievaluasi secara ilmiah. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menemukan bentuk rekonstruksi terhadap manajemen kerja BP4 Lampung dalam membangun keluarga sakinah. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kualitatif dengan jenis deskriptif-analitis. Pendekatan yang digunakan menggunakan wawancara, dokumentasi dan observasi. Manajemen kerja BP4 Lampung dalam mewujudkan keluarga sakinah di adalah; Pertama, penjaringan pengurus dan anggota organisasi yang memiliki dimensi spiritual, budaya, dan kecerdasan. Kedua, pemberian honorarium dan jaminan sosial, Ketiga, training and development atau pengembangan kompetensi dan pelatihan. Upaya rekonstruksi yang dapat dilakukan adalah melalui budgeting, di mana pasca lahirnya undang-undang tentang otonomi daerah, maka BP4 Lampung yang merupakan mitra Kementerian Agama dan instansi-instansi yang terkait dalam tugas meningkatkan mutu perkawinan dengan mengembangkan gerakan keluarga sakinah, seharusnya mendapatkan perhatian dalam masalah penganggaran secara utuh oleh pemerintah. Sehingga program ini dapat berjalan dengan maksimal. Kepada para penentu kebijakan, baik dari unsur legislatif maupun eksekutif, beserta para ulama’ agar proaktif dalam memperhatikan dan menindak lanjuti permasalahan umat muslim yang sangat kompleks khususnya pada ranah hukum keluarga Islam dan sekaligus dapat merusak akidah dan akhlak masyarakat secara umum. Di mana, permasalahan terpentingnya adalah, tentang maraknya praktik cerai gugat di Lampung yang berdampak negatif terhadap perkembangan psikologis keluarga.


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