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2022 ◽  
pp. 146879412110651
Author(s):  
Jari Martikainen ◽  
Eemeli Hakoköngäs

This paper explores the possibilities of drawing as a method of researching social representations. The theory of social representations focuses on studying the forms, contents, and functions of socially shared common knowledge. In this paper, we (1) present the central premises of social representations theory, (2) elaborate drawing as a visual research method, and (3) synthesize how the drawing method may promote and diversify our understanding of social representations. We suggest that the drawing method is especially fruitful in the analysis of objectification process (how something abstract is made tangible); cognitive polyphasia (the idea of the simultaneous existence of diverse and contradicting social representations); and the different levels of analysis in which social representations become observable: ontogenesis (individual level), microgenesis (social interaction level), and sociogenesis (societal level). Through these insights, this paper advances the current understanding of the drawing method in qualitative social representations research.


Author(s):  
Rebecca Delafield ◽  
Andrea Hermosura ◽  
Hyeong Jun Ahn ◽  
Joseph Keaweʻaimoku Kaholokula

Abstract Introduction Pacific Islanders living in Hawai‘i with ancestral ties to islands in the western Pacific region of Micronesia are common targets of uninhibited forms of prejudice in multiple sectors, including healthcare. Whether the explicit societal-level attitudes toward this group are reflected in implicit attitudes among healthcare providers is unknown; therefore, we designed a pilot study to investigate this question. Our study measures implicit racial bias toward Pacific Islanders from Micronesia among Obstetrician-Gynecologists (OB-GYNs) in Hawai‘i. Methods We developed 4 new implicit association tests (IATs) to measure implicit attitudes and associations (i.e., stereotypes) toward Pacific Islanders from Micronesia in 2 conditions: (1) Micronesians vs. Whites and (2) Micronesians vs. Japanese Americans. Participants were practicing OB-GYNs in Hawai‘i. The study was conducted online and included survey questions on demographic and physician practice characteristics in addition to IATs. The primary outcome was the mean IAT D score. Associations between IAT D scores and demographic and practice characteristics were also analyzed. Results Of the 49 OB-GYNs, 38 (77.6%) were female, mean age was 40 years, 29.5% were Japanese, 22.7% were White, and none were from a Micronesian ethnic group. The mean IAT D score in the Micronesian vs. White condition (N = 29) was 0.181, (SD: 0.465, p < 0.05) for the Attitude IAT and 0.197 (SD: 0.427; p < 0.05) for the Stereotype IAT. Conclusion The findings from this pilot suggest a slight degree of implicit bias favoring Whites over Micronesians within this sample of OB-GYNs and warrant a larger investigation into implicit biases toward this unique and understudied Pacific Islander population.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
John Strang

<b><i>Background and Context:</i></b> Realization of the life-saving potential of “take-home naloxone” has been a personal journey, but it has also been a collective journey. It has been a story of individual exploration and growth, and also a story of changes at a societal level. “Take-home naloxone” has matured since its first conceptualization a quarter of a century ago. It required recognition of the enormous burden of deaths from drug overdose (particularly heroin and other opioids), and also realization of critical clusterings (such as post-release from prison). It also required realization that, since many overdose deaths are witnessed, we can potentially prevent many deaths by mobilizing drug users themselves, their families, and the wider caring community to act as intervention workforce to give life-saving interim emergency care. <b><i>Summary of Scope:</i></b> This article explores 5 areas (many illustrations UK-based where the author works): firstly, the need for strong science; secondly, our improved understanding of opioid overdose and deaths; thirdly, the search for greater impact from our policies and interventions; fourthly, developing better forms of naloxone; and fifthly, examining the challenges still to be addressed. <b><i>Key Messages:</i></b> “Take-home naloxone” is an exemplar of harm reduction with potential global impact – drug policy and practice for the public good. However, “having the potential” is not good enough – there needs to be actual implementation. This will be easier once the component parts of “take-home naloxone” are improved (better naloxone products, better training aids, revised legislation, and explicit funding support). Many improvements are already possible, but we hesitate about implementation. It is our responsibility to drive progress faster. With “take-home naloxone,” we can be proud of what we have achieved, but we must also be humble about how much more we still need to do.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Nils Holtug

The main themes of the book are introduced, and in particular the relation between immigration, identity, social cohesion, and egalitarian justice is highlighted. The progressive’s dilemma is explained, as is the idea that social cohesion may require a shared identity at the societal level. The notion that the investigation relies on an implausible form of methodological nationalism is rejected. Also, the content of the individual chapters is summarized. Furthermore, the methodology employed in the book is explained and argued for. This methodology relies on the distinction between ‘basic levelʼ and ‘regulativeʼ justice, and it is explained how the book operates at both levels. Finally, alternative methodologies, including Rawlsian ideal theory, political realism, and various forms of contextualism, are critically discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 246-274
Author(s):  
Nils Holtug

Where multiculturalists have argued that shared multicultural values and multicultural policies may form the basis for national unity and secure the allegiance of minorities to the polity and its members, critics have suggested that multiculturalism fractures society and promotes commitments to ethnic in-groups rather than trust and solidarity at the societal level. Based on a review of existing studies, this chapter concludes that multicultural policies do not seem to make much of a difference for these aspects of social cohesion, but that insofar as they do have an impact, it seems to be positive. More importantly, multicultural values seem to have positive direct value effects, not only on out-group trust and solidarity, but also on trust and solidarity in the in-group. Thus, as argued in Chapter 4, multicultural policies are in some cases supported by concerns for equality, and there is furthermore no evidence that such policies are detrimental to the social basis for egalitarian redistribution. In fact, the evidence suggests that states can strengthen social cohesion by engaging in community-building based on liberal and multicultural values.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Renana Keydar ◽  
Yael Litmanovitz ◽  
Badi Hasisi ◽  
Yoav Kan-Tor

This article addresses the gap between normative expectations of the right to protest in liberal democracies and the continued practice of repressive protest policing. The empirical literature has identified three types of factors explaining repressive policing: macro- or societal-level factors, meso-level factors relating to the police organization, and micro-level factors pertaining to specific events. Yet these factors provide only a fragmented understanding of the phenomenon. In this article, we put forward a novel three-tiered methodology of scaled reading, which is able to examine all these explanations together. We use scaled reading to analyze the protocols of the Or Commission of Inquiry, which investigated lethal clashes between the Israeli police and Israel’s Arab minority in October 2000. Through large-scale algorithmic topic modeling, we found that all types of empirical explanations of repressive policing co-exist within the October events. The mid-scale analysis revealed that no type of explanation exclusively belongs to a specific group of actors. The small-scale reading of the most representative documents for each topic demonstrated that this coexistence of mechanisms is also present within single testimonies. Together, our findings challenge existing empirical categories and illuminate repressive policing as a nonlinear, nonbinary, noncausal, and nonunitary phenomenon. These insights help make sense of the phenomenon’s persistence in deeply divided societies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-78

Formal institutions such as laws and regulations, enacted and administered by statutory bodies can be changed overnight. However, that degree of volatility hardly applies to informal institutions, namely traditions, beliefs, national culture values and related behaviour, deeply engrained in social consciousness. Brexit brings about new regulations of international trade and business that cause operational disturbances to international business participants so far as the British market and counterparts are involved. In such a state of flux, business people might find some stability and comfort in the established societal-level values of the United Kingdom and respectively, in the mitigating role of intercultural competence. The paper attempts to reveal the underlying cultural values at a country-level of the United Kingdom and discuss their implications for international business participants. It is a conceptual desk research drawing on contributions of renowned crosscultural communication scholars. The merits of the paper lie with its broad applicability, subject to further contextualization on behalf of international business agents.


2021 ◽  
pp. 073428292110576
Author(s):  
Gordon L. Flett

While the importance of having self-esteem is widely recognized and has been studied extensively, another core component of the self-concept has been relatively neglected—a sense of mattering to other people. In the current article, it is argued that mattering is an entirely unique and complex psychological construct with great public appeal and applied significance. The various ways of assessing mattering are reviewed and evidence is summarized, indicating that mattering is a vital construct in that deficits in mattering are linked with consequential outcomes at the individual level (i.e., depression and suicidal tendencies), the relationship level (i.e., relationship discord and dissolution), and the societal level (i.e., delinquency and violence). Contemporary research is described which shows that mattering typically predicts unique variance in key outcomes beyond other predictor variables. Mattering is discussed as double-edged in that mattering is highly protective but feelings of not mattering are deleterious, especially among people who have been marginalized and mistreated. The article concludes with an extended discussion of key directions for future research and an overview of the articles in this special issue. It is argued that a complete view of the self and personal identity will only emerge after we significantly expand the scope of inquiry on the psychology of mattering.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice Loo ◽  
Truman Teo ◽  
Melanie Liang ◽  
Dawn-Joy Leong ◽  
Diana Weiting Tan ◽  
...  

Many autistic people develop camouflaging strategies to mask or compensate for their underlying autism-related differences in order to get by in predominantly non-autistic societies. Autistic adults have described camouflaging as a “lifetime of conditioning to act normal”, suggesting that camouflaging develops over the autistic person’s lifespan. Yet, very little is so far known about the course of camouflaging motivations and behaviours over time or the psychosocial factors that may influence autistic people’s camouflaging trajectories. In an exploratory qualitative study within an Asian sociocultural context, we interviewed 11 Singaporean autistic adults in depth about their camouflaging experiences throughout their lives. We aimed to better understand the beginnings, continuity and changes in their camouflaging motivations and strategies over time, and related psychosocial influences. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Twenty-six themes were identified, and were organised across four phases - pre-camouflaging, beginnings, continuity, and change over time. The earliest camouflaging motivations were predominantly relational, linked to a negative self-identity shaped by adverse social experiences. Strategies were increasingly complex and better integrated into one’s sense of self over time, or more selectively engaged in. Our findings highlight the role of psychosocial pressures precipitating camouflaging. They also emphasise the need for both individual psychological and societal-level changes to move from pathologizing autistic differences to acceptance, understanding, and inclusion, so as to reduce psychosocial pressures on autistic people of all ages to camouflage.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 304-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riikka Korkiamäki ◽  
Catherine Elliott O'Dare

Friendship is said to promote psychological and physical well‐being and increase social inclusion. Yet, intergenerational friendship has garnered little research attention due to the assumed dominance of age homophily in friendship. In this article we explore intergenerational friendship from the perspective of “younger” and “older” friends at the “generational book‐ends” of the life course. We focus on the role that intergenerational friendship plays in processes of social inclusion in the everyday lives of the participants, bringing together a study conducted in Finland and one in Ireland. Both studies employ qualitative methodology, drawing from interviews with 31 young people who were refugees (aged 13–18) in Finland and 23 older people (aged 65+) in Ireland. Our findings reveal that the younger and the older participants concur on the qualities and benefits of intergenerational friendship. Additionally, while age is not a uniform definer of friendships, differences in chronological age are not meaningless but support caring, enjoyment, and inclusion in alternative ways compared to peer‐aged friendships. Access to diverse company, distinct support, broader networks, and alternative identities lead to increased experiences of social inclusion at a personal and societal level. We conclude by calling on policy makers and communities to create spaces and opportunities for inclusion through friendship for all generations.


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