The Persistence of Racial Constructs in Spain: Bringing Race and Colorblindness into the Debate on Interculturalism

In this article, I argue that persisting racial constructs in Spain affect conceptions of national belonging and continue to shape and permeate contemporary discriminations. I begin by describing several recent political events that demonstrate the urgent need for a discussion about “race” and racialization in the country. Second, some conceptual foundations are provided concerning constructs of race and the corollary processes of racism and racialization. Third, I present data from various public surveys and also from ethnographic research conducted in Spain on mixedness and multiraciality to demonstrate that social constructs of race remain a significant boundary driving stigmatization and discrimination in Spain, where skin color and other perceived physical traits continue to be important markers for social interaction, perceived social belonging, and differential social treatment. Finally, I bring race into the debate on managing diversity, arguing that a post-racial approach—that is, race-neutral discourse and the adoption of colorblind public policies, both of which are characteristic of the interculturalist perspectives currently preferred by Spain as well as elsewhere in Europe—fails to confront the enduring effects of colonialism and the ongoing realities of structural racism. I conclude by emphasizing the importance of bringing race into national and regional policy discussions on how best to approach issues of diversity, equality, anti-discrimination, and social cohesion.

Structural Power, Systemic Poverty, and Entrenchment Among African American Males

Poverty and structural power are immensely broad phenomena shaping economic and social architectures of societies globally. However, among the depth of complex mechanisms covertly functioning to perpetuate poverty, this chapter identifies structural power as one of the critical social constructs influencing systemic poverty. To explore structural power as a social force influencing systemic poverty, as a conceptual framework, and as means to support the overtone of social injustice, throughout this chapter an adaptation of the adverse childhood experiences (ACE) model is used. Through a more narrowed approach, the researcher uses the ACE model to explore structural power and systemic poverty through four experiential factors: educational, social, physical, and psychological. The experiences are motived by structural power and defined within the context of systemic poverty to explore the influence of those experiences on entrenchment of African American males later in adulthood.

Black Women Speak: Examining Power, Privilege, and Identity in CS Education

Despite the increasing number of women receiving bachelor’s degrees in computing (i.e., Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, etc.), a closer look reveals that the percentage of Black women in computing has significantly dropped in recent years, highlighting the underrepresentation of Black women and its negative impact on broadening participation in the field of computing. The literature reveals that several K-16 interventions have been designed to increase the representation of Black women and girls in computing. Despite these best efforts, the needle seems to have barely moved in increasing the representation or the retention of Black women in computing. Instead, the primary goals have been to recruit and retain women in the CS pipeline using gender-focused efforts intended to increase the number of women who also identify as members of racialized groups. However, these gender-focused efforts have fallen short of increasing the number of Black women in computing because they fail to acknowledge or appreciate how intersectionality (the overlapping social constructs of gender, race, ethnicity, class, etc.) has shaped the lived experiences of Black women navigating the computing pipeline. Without honest dialogue about how power operates in the field of computing, the push for racial equality and social justice in CS education remains an elusive goal. Leveraging intersectionality as a critical framework to address systemic oppression (i.e., racism, gender discrimination, power, and privilege), we interview 24 Black women in different phases of the computing pipeline about their experiences navigating the field of computing. An intersectional analysis of Black women’s experiences reveals that CS education consists of saturated sites of violence in which interconnected systems of power converge to enact oppression. Findings reveal three primary saturated sites of violence within CS education: (1) traditional K-12 classrooms; (2) predominantly White institutions; and (3) internships as supplementary learning experiences. We conclude the article with implications for how the field of CS education can begin to address racial inequality that negatively impacts Black girls and women, thus contributing to a more equitable and socially just field of study that benefits all students.

Willingness to Pay to Improve Quality of Public Healthcare Services in Mauritius

Mauritius has a universal free healthcare system, based on the Beveridge model which is financed by taxpayers. There are growing considerations over improving quality of healthcare services. The purpose of the study is to employ a contingency valuation (CV) to investigate the willingness of Mauritians people to pay to improve the quality of public healthcare services and the associated determinants using the double-bounded dichotomous choice model. A drop off survey with a sample size of 974 respondents from the working population is used. The empirical analysis shows that the majority of the sample was willing to pay for improving quality of public healthcare services. Other than the conventional determinants of respondents’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, the findings support the assertion that psycho-social constructs such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Norm-Activation, Public Good Theory, and Perceived Response Efficacy are found to significantly affect Willingness-to-Pay (WTP). The results of this study might be of use to policymakers to help with both priority setting and fund allocation.

Replacing Rights with Indigenous Relationality to Reclaim Homelands

Indigenous peoples have had and continue to have contested relations with protected spaces of nature, many of which nation states have carved from Indigenous homelands and waters. Usually in the name of the common good, governments and their officials prohibit or limit Native peoples from exercising their rights in these spaces. This gives rise to conflicts and tensions that emerge from a Western rights framework that white settlers and elites have used to prioritize the rights of nature over Indigenous peoples. This chapter seeks to provide some historical context for the way that three problematic and closely related “white-settler social constructs”—wilderness, preservation, and the ecological Indian—came to shape the emergence and management of protected spaces of nature, particularly under a Western rights framework. Overall, the chapter argues that a relationality framework offers an Indigenous-based counterpoint to the rights framework, in which white settlers and elites privilege the rights of nature over those of Native peoples.

Blind spots in AI ethics

This paper critically discusses blind spots in AI ethics. AI ethics discourses typically stick to a certain set of topics concerning principles evolving mainly around explainability, fairness, and privacy. All these principles can be framed in a way that enables their operationalization by technical means. However, this requires stripping down the multidimensionality of very complex social constructs to something that is idealized, measurable, and calculable. Consequently, rather conservative, mainstream notions of the mentioned principles are conveyed, whereas critical research, alternative perspectives, and non-ideal approaches are largely neglected. Hence, one part of the paper considers specific blind spots regarding the very topics AI ethics focusses on. The other part, then, critically discusses blind spots regarding to topics that hold significant ethical importance but are hardly or not discussed at all in AI ethics. Here, the paper focuses on negative externalities of AI systems, exemplarily discussing the casualization of clickwork, AI ethics’ strict anthropocentrism, and AI’s environmental impact. Ultimately, the paper is intended to be a critical commentary on the ongoing development of the field of AI ethics. It makes the case for a rediscovery of the strength of ethics in the AI field, namely its sensitivity to suffering and harms that are caused by and connected to AI technologies.

We Can Be Heroes: A Study of Mythistoric Genealogies in the Roman Republic

<p>Mythistoric genealogies, the claims of divine or heroic ancestry made by the Roman elite during the Republic, provide an alternative lens through which to understand social constructs and political experiences of Romans. However, the relationship between mos maiorum and these mythistoric genealogies remains unexplored in modern scholarship in a detailed and focused manner. This research sets out to demonstrate that mythistoric genealogies were a natural evolution of the Romans’ ancestral veneration which is implicit in mos maiorum. This thesis focuses on three of the most politically prolific gentes whose social influence spanned the 500 years of the Republic. First, each case study assembles and analyses the evidence (numismatics, literature, sculpture and architecture) that preserved the claims made by each gens and arranges them in such a way as to furnish a linear account of the genealogies. Second, each case study presents and analyses a member of each gens to demonstrate how he exemplifies, retains, or emulates the attributes, instructions and morality of their described genealogy. The historical person is analysed through the lenses of mythistoric genealogy, Paradigmatic Pressure, and Social Capital. The three case studies demonstrate that the clans of Aemilius, Fabius, and Valerius used their mythistoric genealogies to anchor themselves to the majesty of Rome’s past and that mythistoric genealogy was an integral part of mos maiorum. Furthermore, the connection of mythistoric genealogy, as an evolved element of mos maiorum, is emphasised through the following factors: they serve an educational function; serve as binding instructions; display the retention of events, lives and deeds of heroes; serve as examples meant for the emulation of the past morality; and, finally, can be shaped and reconstructed to suit present situations or political agendas. The results of this research contributes directly to the ongoing discussion of mos maiorum, discusses the social concepts held by elite Romans during the Republic, demonstrates how inter-generational connections were crucial to ideals held by the nobiles, and engages with mos maiorum in-depth (in terms of myth and legend) in a way that has not been done in a ‘per gens’ manner in scholarship, filling a gap in the study of social history during the Republic.</p>

Disciplinary differences in the study of the relationship between social variables and mental health: A systematic mapping review

There has been sustained interest in the intersection between social constructs and mental health from diverse disciplines including psychiatry, sociology and public health. However, no systematic attempt has been made to catalogue what is meant by ‘social’ by different researchers, how variables deemed ‘social’ constructs are linked to mental health, nor whether these patterns differ by academic discipline. Understanding interdisciplinary differences and commonalities may reveal opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance our understanding of how social factors relate to mental health. This article presents a prospectively registered systematic map of social approaches to mental health using an innovative synthesis methodology (coding all sentences from a random selection of N = 287 articles). Results indicated that although approaches are diverse, disciplinary overlap is substantial. Psychology and psychiatry led articles tend to focus on social skills or emotions as features of mental (ill-)health, while public health and social sciences led articles tend to focus on social relationships, status or context as determinants of mental (ill-)health. Medicine led articles were most likely to focus on social outcomes of mental (ill-)health. Potential growth areas are noted, particularly the relative dearth of intervention research drawing upon social approaches. The findings are discussed with a view towards enabling more effective interdisciplinary collaboration.

We Can Be Heroes: A Study of Mythistoric Genealogies in the Roman Republic

<p>Mythistoric genealogies, the claims of divine or heroic ancestry made by the Roman elite during the Republic, provide an alternative lens through which to understand social constructs and political experiences of Romans. However, the relationship between mos maiorum and these mythistoric genealogies remains unexplored in modern scholarship in a detailed and focused manner. This research sets out to demonstrate that mythistoric genealogies were a natural evolution of the Romans’ ancestral veneration which is implicit in mos maiorum. This thesis focuses on three of the most politically prolific gentes whose social influence spanned the 500 years of the Republic. First, each case study assembles and analyses the evidence (numismatics, literature, sculpture and architecture) that preserved the claims made by each gens and arranges them in such a way as to furnish a linear account of the genealogies. Second, each case study presents and analyses a member of each gens to demonstrate how he exemplifies, retains, or emulates the attributes, instructions and morality of their described genealogy. The historical person is analysed through the lenses of mythistoric genealogy, Paradigmatic Pressure, and Social Capital. The three case studies demonstrate that the clans of Aemilius, Fabius, and Valerius used their mythistoric genealogies to anchor themselves to the majesty of Rome’s past and that mythistoric genealogy was an integral part of mos maiorum. Furthermore, the connection of mythistoric genealogy, as an evolved element of mos maiorum, is emphasised through the following factors: they serve an educational function; serve as binding instructions; display the retention of events, lives and deeds of heroes; serve as examples meant for the emulation of the past morality; and, finally, can be shaped and reconstructed to suit present situations or political agendas. The results of this research contributes directly to the ongoing discussion of mos maiorum, discusses the social concepts held by elite Romans during the Republic, demonstrates how inter-generational connections were crucial to ideals held by the nobiles, and engages with mos maiorum in-depth (in terms of myth and legend) in a way that has not been done in a ‘per gens’ manner in scholarship, filling a gap in the study of social history during the Republic.</p>