scholarly journals Gambling in Spain: the need for a geographical perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arsenio Villar Lama ◽  
David Fiedor ◽  
Miguel García Martín ◽  
Miloslav Šerý
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
International Context ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Games Of Chance ◽  
The Social ◽  
Location Patterns ◽  
Geographical Perspective

The social practice of games of chance and gambling can be read in an interesting variety of ways in the area of the Social Sciences. One is the geographical perspective, which highlights the spatial repercussions of this form of recreation. However, in Spain, very little scientific literature exists on the topic, which justifies the appropriateness of this contribution with the purpose of establishing an initiatory conceptual and methodological framework. A variety of statistical and legal sources are treated to establish three levels of analysis: first, the position of games of chance and gambling in Spain in the international context; second, location patterns in Spain at the regional level, and third, the spatial aspects of the different legal norms at the autonomous community level. To conclude, games of chance and gambling are a deep-rooted form of recreation in Spain and offer interesting lines of geographical research, although it would be desirable for the quality, variety, and accessibility of data to be improved.

Cultural Influences on Body Image and Eating Disorders

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen Anderson-Fye
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Theories ◽  
The Rich

Sociocultural factors have long been implicated in body image and eating disorders. Decades of data, drawn from multiple disciplines, consistently demonstrate the influence of culture on body image and eating disorders across several levels of analysis. This chapter engages the rich empirical literature on this subject to retheorize the role and importance of these contextual factors in light of anthropological and related social theories relevant to contemporary circumstances. Specifically, this chapter first analyzes and operationalizes what we mean by “culture” in body image and eating disorder scholarship, describes trends in salient sociocultural factors, and highlights the varying impacts of globalization where societies are increasingly interconnected. It also urges research that builds on current understandings by increasing collaborations among not only multiple disciplines within the social sciences but also biological and clinical sciences.

Anthropologists Meet the 15M: The Rise of Engaged Ethnography

1969 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-344
Author(s):  
Beltran Roca ◽  
Iban Diaz-Parra ◽  
Vanessa Gómez-Bernal
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Methodological Choices ◽  
The Social ◽  
Crisis Of Representation ◽  
Engaged Ethnography ◽  
Feminist Movements

In 2011 we were involved as activists in labour, 15M, and the housing and feminist movements. Part of our scientific production became intertwined with our militancy. In addition, drawing on our research and militant experiences in the cycle of struggle that started in 2011, we noticed that the process of questioning and delegitimisation was also affecting the ambit of the social sciences. Thus, we undertook a review of the scientific literature on the 15M in order to ascertain whether the epistemological perspectives and the methodological choices of these studies were related in some way to the crisis of representation that was affecting other social institutions. This is the objective of this article. First, it explains the strategy we followed in searching the literature on the 15M. Second, it introduces the findings of the literature review on this social movement, both in Spanish and in international academic journals. Third, it proposes a typology of engaged ethnographic research. Fourth, it provides a series of limitations and precautions that researchers should bear in mind when putting this research technique into practice. Fifth, it includes a final section synthesising the main conclusions of this article regarding the anthropological production of the 15M, the types of engaged ethnography, and the limitations of this technique.

scholarly journals Futures Narratives, Possible Worlds, Big Stories: Causal Layered Analysis and the Problems of Youth

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 231-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cate Watson
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Possible Worlds ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
Causal Layered Analysis ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Alternative Scenarios ◽  
Causal Variables

Narratives of the future can be seen as a form of colonialisation, structuring fields of discourse, in a process which Johan Galtung (cited in Andersson, 2006) refers to as ‘chronological imperialism’. However, futures narratives can also be used to disrupt these attempts at colonialisation through surfacing problematic assumptions in order to explore alternative scenarios. In this paper I first consider modal narratives and possible worlds and their relevance to the social sciences. I then discuss Sohail Inayatullah's ‘Causal Layered Analysis’ (CLA) - a narrative technique for constructing past and present and imagining the future. CLA draws on a ‘poststructural toolbox’ to examine problematic issues using a process which focuses on four levels of analysis: litany (the official public description of the issue); social science analysis (which attempts to articulate causal variables); discourse analysis or prevailing worldview; and myth/metaphor analysis. The aim is to disrupt current discourses which have become sedimented into practice and so open up space for the construction of alternative scenarios. In the third part I demonstrate how this approach can be used to examine ‘big issues’ taking as my example the current preoccupation with troubled and troublesome youth.

Visual Literacy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Serafini
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Visual Literacy ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Visual Images ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range

Visual literacy was originally defined as a set of visual competencies or cognitive skills and strategies one needs to make sense of visual images. These visual competencies were seen as universal cognitive abilities that were used for understanding visual images regardless of the contexts of production, reception, and dissemination. More contemporary definitions suggest visual literacy is a contextualized, social practice as much as an individualized, cognitively based set of competencies. Visual literacy is more aptly defined as a process of generating meanings in transaction with multimodal ensembles that include written text, visual images, and design elements from a variety of perspectives to meet the requirements of particular social contexts. Theories of visual literacy and associated research and pedagogy draw from a wide range of disciplines including art history, semiotics, media and cultural studies, communication studies, visual ethnography and anthropology, social semiotics, new literacies studies, cognitive psychology, and critical theory. Understanding the various theories, research methodologies, and pedagogical approaches to visual literacy requires an investigation into how the various paradigm shifts that have occurred in the social sciences have affected this field of study. Cognitive, linguistic, sociocultural, multimodal, and postmodern “turns” in the social sciences each bring different theories, perspectives, and approaches to the field of visual literacy. Visual literacy now incorporates sociocultural, semiotic, critical, and multimodal perspectives to understand the meaning potential of the visual and verbal ensembles encountered in social environments.

scholarly journals Evidentiary function of systematic reviews of scientific literature: Epistemological foundations and methodological derivatives

2021 ◽  
pp. 25-40
Author(s):  
N. S. Babich
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Scientific Communication ◽  
Scientific Investigation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Essential Components ◽  
And Migration

The author analyzes implicit epistemological assumptions of the modern systematic reviews of scientific literatures that usually are left unconsidered or problematized. The foundations for building the image of scientific communication as representative, clearly cut and easily analyzed reflection of efficient search for and spread of truth which approaching is characterized by increased explorers’ consent. Generalization of this communication brings the evidential effect to advance argument in scientific discussions. However, a series of conditions for adequate conversion and «migration» of published conclusions into the conclusions of systematic review has to be provided to preserve evidential effect in summarizing analysis. The essential components of systematic reviewing methodology comprise: setting the task of obtaining quantified results; selection criteria for unambiguous correspondence between the model of process under scientific investigation and totality of publications; representative observation of relevant publications and making conclusions based on comparative evidential effect of research and consent level achieved. The systematic reviews compliant with the above requirements make them a powerful instrument of evidence in the social sciences, biology and medicine.

scholarly journals THE BRAZILIAN ‘JEITINHO’ IN THE CONTEXT OF TEACHING OF PORTUGUESE FOR FOREIGNERS: BEYOND THE COMMON PLACE

Diacrítica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Thais De Freitas Mondini Belletti
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Accurate Analysis ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Common

The concept of ‘jeitinho’ is present in a series of discourses that express a set of values that Brazilians perceive as their own. Thus, a foreigner in the process of learning Portuguese FL/2L will eventually come into contact with this style of Brazilian social practice. The concept of ‘jeitinho’, however, shows different forms of representation in discourse. Our aim with this work is to approach such concept from a more accurate analysis that moves away from a simplistic discourse, which associates the jeitinho to the image of a Brazilian who seeks to take advantage of everything. In this process, we reviewed the literature that approaches this concept based on analyzes from the Social Sciences, with emphasis on the studies of Barbosa (2006) and Borges (2006). As a possible material to be inserted in a context of teaching Portuguese for foreigners, we chose the reading and analysis of the Brazilian literary chronicle “Dar um jeitinho”. The analysis of chronicles was carried out from the perspective of discursive semiotics, aiming to search for meanings that are related to the concept of jeitinho.

scholarly journals The End-Purpose of Teaching Social Sciences and the Curricular Inclusion of Social Problems

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Delfín Ortega-Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
The Social ◽  
Points Of View

The most recent scientific literature on the treatment of social problems or controversial social questions in the social sciences classroom and their inclusion into curricula emphasizes the need to introduce students into large-scale social debates where different points of view exist, different interests are at stake, and where it is desirable that they construct their own opinions in that respect from a critical and reasoned perspective [...]

scholarly journals Heuristic Interventions in the Study of Intellectual Property

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Silbey
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Patent Law ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Economic Analysis Of Law ◽  
Law Schools ◽  
Intellectual Property Law ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
The Social

In this Essay, I review and elaborate on Dan's Burk's On the Sociology of Patenting with three "heuristic interventions" for the study of intellectual property law. These interventions derive from sociology and anthropology, and to some extent also from critical literary theory. Unoriginal in the social sciences, these heuristic interventions remain largely original to the study of law within law schools and traditional legal scholarship (as opposed to the study of law from within the social sciences and humanities). Burk joins a small but growing group of legal scholars, reaching beyond legal doctrinal analysis and the economic analysis of law to explain intellectual property law as a social practice. The interventions he begins and this essay explains in further depth reframe the understanding or analysis of intellectual property (1) from individuals to institutions, (2) from causation to explanation and (3) in the context of the domestication of IP in contemporary social and political culture. In this way, Burk's Article and this essay demonstrate how law (not only intellectual property or patent law) is a social practice both reflecting and forming social structures, the understanding of which requires attention to organization and culture as much or more than statutes, cases, administrative filings, and economic theory.

What Can Mechanisms Do for You? Mechanisms and the Problem of Confounders in the Social Sciences

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 210-231
Author(s):  
María Jiménez-Buedo ◽  
Juan Carlos Squitieri
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
The United States ◽  
Causal Association ◽  
Spurious Association ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mechanistic Reasoning ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
The Way

The idea that mechanisms are crucially important to differentiate between genuine and spurious causal relations is ubiquitous both in the philosophical and in the social scientific literature. Yet philosophers of the social sciences have seldom attempted to spell out systematically the way in which mechanistic reasoning or evidence are concretely used to deal with spurious association and the problem of confounders in the social sciences. In this paper, we analyze two recent such accounts, proposed by Harold Kincaid and Daniel Steel. We show how these two accounts radically differ in their notion of mechanism (a process account, and a complex system account, respectively), and how this ultimately impacts in the way in which they understand the inferential role of mechanisms in the social sciences. We then confront both accounts with the details of a well-known controversy around the purportedly causal association between the legalization of abortion and the subsequent fall in criminality in the United States. We show the limitations of both accounts in representing accurately the role of mechanistic evidence and hypotheses in practice.

scholarly journals Bias in Social Research

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Hammersley ◽  
R. Gomm
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Systematic Error ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Accurate Estimation ◽  
Population Parameter ◽  
True Score ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The Social ◽  
Specific Sense

Accusations of bias are not uncommon in the social sciences. However, the term ‘bias’ is by no means straightforward in meaning. One problem is that it is ambiguous. Sometimes, it is used to refer to the adoption of a particular perspective from which some things become salient and others merge into the background. More commonly, ‘bias’ refers to systematic error: deviation from a true score, the latter referring to the valid measurement of some phenomenon or to accurate estimation of a population parameter. The term may also be used in a more specific sense, to denote one particular source of systematic error: that deriving from a conscious or unconscious tendency on the part of a researcher to produce data, and/or to interpret them, in a way that inclines towards erroneous conclusions which are in line with his or her commitments. In either form, the use of ‘bias’ to refer to systematic error is problematic. It depends on other concepts, such as ‘truth’ and ‘objectivity’, whose justification and role have been questioned. In particular, it seems to rely on foundationalist epistemological assumptions that have been discredited. And the various radical epistemological positions that some social scientists have adopted as an alternative either deny the validity of this concept of bias, explicitly or implicitly, or transform it entirely. We will argue, however, that while it is true that abandonment of a foundationalist conception of science has important implications for the meaning of ‘bias’ and its associated concepts, they are defensible; indeed, they form an essential framework for research as a social practice. In this context, we shall examine error as a matter of collegial accountability, and define ‘bias’ as one of several potential forms of error. We conclude by pointing to what we see as the growing threat of bias in the present state of social research.

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