How party polarization shapes the structuring of policy preferences in Europe

A significant body of literature has addressed the impact of party polarization on voting behavior. Yet little is known of the relationship between party polarization and belief systems. The present study argues that party polarization enhances the ideological consistency of belief systems and does so for the citizenry as a whole. We first demonstrate that the more party systems are polarized on economic and sociocultural issues, the more consistently belief systems are aligned with the progressive-conservative continuum. Second, we show that ideological consistency is greater in highly polarized party systems, not only among the most politically attuned Europeans but also among those with lower levels of political sophistication. Results have implications for our understanding of citizen competence and responsiveness to elite cues in polarized party systems.

What’s “Up Next”? Investigating Algorithmic Recommendations on YouTube Across Issues and Over Time

YouTube’s “up next” feature algorithmically selects, suggests, and displays videos to watch after the one that is currently playing. This feature has been criticized for limiting users’ exposure to a range of diverse media content and information sources; meanwhile, YouTube has reported that they have implemented various technical and policy changes to address these concerns. However, there is little publicly available data to support either the existing concerns or YouTube’s claims of having addressed them. Drawing on the idea of “platform observability,” this article combines computational and qualitative methods to investigate the types of content that the algorithms underpinning YouTube’s “up next” feature amplify over time, using three keyword search terms associated with sociocultural issues where concerns have been raised about YouTube’s role: “coronavirus,” “feminism,” and “beauty.” Over six weeks, we collected the videos (and their metadata, including channel IDs) that were highly ranked in the search results for each keyword, as well as the highly ranked recommendations associated with the videos. We repeated this exercise for three steps in the recommendation chain and then examined patterns in the recommended videos (and the channels that uploaded the videos) for each query and their variation over time. We found evidence of YouTube’s stated efforts to boost “authoritative” media outlets, but at the same time, misleading and controversial content continues to be recommended. We also found that while algorithmic recommendations offer diversity in videos over time, there are clear “winners” at the channel level that are given a visibility boost in YouTube’s “up next” feature. However, these impacts are attenuated differently depending on the nature of the issue.

Artistic means of representation of sociocultural issues in the works of Thomas Bernhard

The article is devoted to sociocultural issues in the works of Thomas Bernhard, the Austrian writer and the playwright of the twentieth century. Born in 1931, the eyewitnesses of nazi transformations, Thomas was too young to resist them. The period of his personal formation was marked by the drams of a more personal, family character, which, nevertheless, later, the writer will always feel as closely associated with the historical destinies of the country and the world. His own childhood and adolescence, dramatic and traumatic, become for the writer permanent source of dramatic literary plots, the main characters of which will be confused, desperate people, losers and travels, unable to cope with the challenges of fate. In this case, the fiction in his works is often almost impossible to separate from the introduced autobiographical material. The numerous works of Bernhard demonstrate the Austrian mass consciousness, full of shame, guilt, disgust to yourself, escapism. Bernhard shows an acutely critical attitude towards the Austrian society and the state that did not get rid of the Nazi past. However, the writer does not declare his social views directly and unequivocally. Special inaccessibility and hints are much more characteristic of his prose. As a result of the analysis of the most striking works by Bernhard (“Frost”, “The Loser”, “Amras”, “Old masters”, “Yes”, “Correction”, “The Lime Works”, “Beton”, “Gargoyles”) some typical artistic techniques are identified — autobiographical reception, eccentricity, monologism (as a symbol of loneliness, removal, isolation from society, acute individualism and even sociophobia), emotional saturation (the spectrum of emotions is monotonous: most often it is deep disappointment, sadness and grief, anxiety and a cured fear), mosaic of narration, motivation of the reader to joint, “interactive” reflection and independent conclusions, some techniques of “musicalization” of literary text.

Ethical and sociocultural challenges in managing dead bodies during epidemics and natural disasters

BackgroundCatastrophic natural disasters and epidemics claim thousands of lives and have severe and lasting consequences, accompanied by human suffering. The Ebola epidemic of 2014–2016 and the current COVID-19 pandemic have revealed some of the practical and ethical complexities relating to the management of dead bodies. While frontline staff are tasked with saving lives, managing the bodies of those who die remains an under-resourced and overlooked issue, with numerous ethical and practical problems globally.MethodsThis scoping review of literature examines the management of dead bodies during epidemics and natural disasters. 82 articles were reviewed, of which only a small number were empirical studies focusing on ethical or sociocultural issues that emerge in the management of dead bodies.ResultsWe have identified a wide range of ethical and sociocultural challenges, such as ensuring dignity for the deceased while protecting the living, honouring the cultural and religious rituals surrounding death, alleviating the suffering that accompanies grieving for the survivors and mitigating inequalities of resource allocation. It was revealed that several ethical and sociocultural issues arise at all stages of body management: notification, retrieving, identification, storage and burial of dead bodies.ConclusionWhile practical issues with managing dead bodies have been discussed in the global health literature and the ethical and sociocultural facets of handling the dead have been recognised, they are nonetheless not given adequate attention. Further research is needed to ensure care for the dead in epidemics and that natural disasters are informed by ethical best practice.

Military Sociology

This chapter discusses issues germane to military sociology and focuses on explaining how sociocultural factors sap the effectiveness of Gulf armies. The first portion of the chapter is devoted to the social and regional backgrounds of enlisted members of the armed forces and explores the reasons for the introduction of mandatory military service in Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE. The following section is dedicated to a comprehensive appraisal of the officer corps from cadets to generals, examining their career trajectories and education at home and abroad. The chapter then explores the age-old practice of Gulf rulers to utilize the services of contract soldiers (aka mercenaries) and foreign advisers. The chapter’s last part focuses on sociocultural issues from education to decision-making and the pervasive influence of tribalism.

WHAT’S ‘UP NEXT’? INVESTIGATING ALGORITHMIC RECOMMENDATIONS ON YOUTUBE ACROSS ISSUES AND OVER TIME

YouTube’s ‘up next’ feature algorithmically suggests videos to watch after a video that is currently playing. This feature has been criticised for limiting users’ exposure to diverse media content and information sources; meanwhile, YouTube has reported that they have implemented technical and policy changes to address these concerns. Yet, there is limited data to support either the existing concerns or YouTube’s claims. Drawing on the concept of platform observability, this paper combines computational and qualitative methods to investigate the types of content YouTube’s ‘up next’ feature amplifies over time, using three search terms associated with sociocultural issues where concerns have been raised about YouTube’s role: ‘coronavirus’, ‘feminism’ and ‘beauty’. Over six weeks, we collected the videos (and their metadata) that were highly ranked in the search results for each keyword, as well as the top-ranked recommendations associated with each video, repeating the exercise for three steps in the recommendation chain. We then examined patterns in the recommended videos (and channels) for each query and their variation over time. We found evidence of YouTube's stated efforts to boost ‘authoritative’ media outlets, but at the same time, misleading and controversial content continues to be recommended. We also found that while algorithmic recommendations offer diversity in videos over time, there are clear ‘winners’ at the channel level that are given a visibility boost in YouTube’s 'up next' feature. These impacts were attenuated differently depending on the nature of the search topic.

Perceptions of healthcare professionals towards palliative care in internal medicine wards: a cross-sectional survey

Background The extension of palliative care services to meet the needs of patients with chronic non-malignant life-limiting conditions faces misconceptions amongst healthcare professionals. A study of prevailing perceptions of healthcare professionals on this wider palliative care service was thus conducted to identify current obstacles, guide the education of local healthcare professionals and improve service accessibility. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out at the Singapore General Hospital. An anonymised and close-ended online questionnaire was disseminated to 120 physicians and 500 nurses in the Department of Internal Medicine. The online survey tool focused on participant demographics; perceptions of palliative care and its perceived benefits; roles and indications; and attitudes and behaviours towards palliative care referrals. Results Forty four physicians and 156 nurses suggested that care of terminally ill patients with chronic non-malignant life-limiting conditions are compromised by concerns over the role of palliative care in non-cancer care and lapses in their prognostication and communication skills. Respondents also raised concerns about their ability to confront sociocultural issues and introduce palliative care services to patients and their families. Conclusions Gaps in understanding and the ability of nurses and physicians to communicate end of life issues, introduce palliative care services to patients and their families and confront sociocultural issues suggest the need for a longitudinal training program. With similar concerns likely prevalent in other clinical settings within this island nation, a concerted national education program targeting obstacles surrounding effective palliative care should be considered.

Themes and Theories Revisited: Perspectives on Processes in Family–Peer Relationships

Nearly thirty years ago, we invited a consortium of esteemed researchers to contribute to a volume entitled Family–Peer Relations: Modes of Linkage that provided a state-of-the-science appraisal of theory and research within the newly emerging discipline of family–peer relations. The volume’s first chapter was titled, “Themes and Theories: Perspectives on Processes in Family–Peer Relationships”, and its primary aims were to identify the processes in the family system that were posited to have a bearing on children’s development in the peer system (and vice versa), characterize potential mechanisms of linkage, describe extant lines of investigation, appraise empirical accomplishments, and identify issues in need of further investigation. Here, nearly thirty years hence, we are pleased to have the opportunity to reappraise the theory and research on family–peer relations. In this article, we revisit the primary objectives that were addressed in our previously published “Themes and Theories” chapter but do so with the express purpose of evaluating the discipline’s progress. Likewise, we also revisit our prior roadmap and associated calls-to-action to update these entities in light of past accomplishments, current limitations, and pressing sociocultural issues and concerns.

Hospitality and Tourism Scholarship in Africa: A Literature-Based Agenda for Future Research

This study examines Africa-related tourism and hospitality literature over the past 35 years (1984 to 2019), taking account of themes, methodologies, geographies, and collaboration structures. The authors identified and analyzed 1,182 published articles from 27 journals using advanced bibliometric to provide a deeper analysis than has been provided previously of tourism and hospitality scholarship in Africa. This article offers an up-to-date systematic overview of Africa-related tourism knowledge production and dissemination. Prominent features of the knowledge domain are discussed—destination management, travel psychology and sociology, sustainability, sociocultural issues, economy, tourism investment and economy, accommodation and hotels in Africa. The authors discussed further research, current and emerging tourism issues, and more diverse approaches toward research focus, methodologies, and geographical structures.

The Characteristics of the Nordic right-wing populism

The last two decades have seen the rise of right-wing parties in Europe, spurred among other things by a series of crises, the latest of which being the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark did not find themselves isolated from the political and socio-economic shocks and aftershocks of such events, and right-wing populist parties and movements belonging to the Nordic region have also gained strength, sometimes even being a part of governments. However, these parties have certain characteristics that distinguish them from their counterparts in the rest of the Europe, given the specific social, political, economic and historical context of the region. Such traits can be listed as welfare chauvinism, right-wing egalitarianism, authoritarian positions on sociocultural issues, and populist, anti-establishment drive. At the same time, these parties have demonstrated their high pragmatism and ability for adaptation to the current political situation in their countries. In this work a quick overview is presented of the principles of four major right-wing parties in the Nordic region (The Finns Party, Sweden Democrats, Norwegian Progress Party, and Danish People’s Party), and the differences and similarities in their motivations are discussed.