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Societies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Gintaras Aleknonis

A common European identity is an important part of the European political lexicon; however, at the institutional level, it was taken seriously only when the economic crisis, the legal challenges of EU integration, and the Brexit story encouraged a fresh look into the problem. Moreover, the European identity problem may be viewed differently from the Western and Eastern European perspectives, which helps to identify the roots of contemporary “official” and “sociological” perceptions of a common European identity. The Standard Eurobarometer (EB) questionaries were used as a proxy to analyze the interest of the EU in a common European identity. We analyzed the types of questions asked from 2004 to 2020 and took a look at the responses. The shifts in the composition of the Standard EB questionaries signal that the “official” understanding of identity is gaining ground against the “sociological” approach. The promotion by official bodies of the EU of a one-sided understanding of a common European identity, based on the Western approach, narrows the field and creates certain risks. In the face of a permanent EU-ropean unity crisis, it would not be wise to lose one of the important instruments that could be successfully used to identify the hidden challenges of the future.


Societies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Tor-Ivar Karlsen ◽  
Charlotte Kiland ◽  
Gro Kvåle ◽  
Dag Olaf Torjesen

Building heavily on the Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach, Norway implemented the Public Health Act in 2012 to reduce social inequalities in health. Local public health coordinators (PHCs) at municipal levels were seen as tools to provide local intersectoral public health work. In this study, we examine factors related to intersectoral agency and if intersectoral work is understood as relevant to securing social justice in local policy outcomes. A national web-based survey in 2019 of all Norwegian PHCs (n = 428) was conducted with a response rate of 60%. Data were analysed through multiple linear regression, hierarchical regression modelling and structural equation modelling. Neither factors relating to community contexts nor individual characteristics were associated with intersectoral agency. Organisational factors, especially position size, being organised at the top level and having a job description, were significantly associated with perceptions of intersectoral agency. PHCs seeing themselves as intersectoral agents also found themselves able to affect annual budgets and policy outcomes. We conclude that municipal PHC positions can be important HiAP tools in local public health policies. However, organisational factors affect how PHCs perceive their influence and role in the municipal organisation and thereby their possibilities to influence local policymaking through intersectoral agency.


Societies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Calum J. R. Webb

Policymakers and academics continue to debate the criteria used in formulas to allocate funding to children’s services, but few studies have considered how well the results of these formulas align with rights-based entitlements and commitments after implementation. This research measured correspondence between local authority spending per child and levels of income deprivation, special educational needs, and child development from 2011–2019 to assess the extent to which funding matches local authorities’ statutory responsibilities to provide support to children ‘in need’ under the Children Act 1989. There was weak and worsening correspondence between funding and needs, especially for preventative services.


Societies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Luís Gouveia ◽  
Catarina Delaunay

This article uses data gathered from a study conducted in Portugal to examine the (plural and composite) conceptions that doctors, embryologists, and beneficiaries of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) have of the in vitro human embryo. Taking the sociology of engagements, developed by Thévenot, as its theoretical lens, the article draws on a total of 69 interviews with ART patients to analyse the plurality of fluid meanings produced about this biological entity, whose status is neither static nor universal. ART beneficiaries are likely to produce plural conceptions of the lab-generated embryo within the framework of different regimes of engagement, understood as cognitive and evaluative formats. These various pragmatic regimes, in turn, entail distinct emotional investments. When speaking about their relationship with embryos, beneficiaries therefore express plural emotional experiences, which are articulated using terms such as affection, love, detachment, loss, frustration, hope, mourning, and anguish. Using the theoretical framework of the sociology of engagements, we propose an approach that enables us to produce a detailed record of the connections between the cognitive, evaluative, and emotional dimensions in beneficiaries’ relationship with—and decision-making processes about—the embryos, accounting for the plasticity of emotional states linked to the (re)configuration of attributed meanings.


Societies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Presca Wanki ◽  
Ilse Derluyn ◽  
Ine Lietaert

In Africa, international migration to the Global North is often interpreted as a means to achieve upward social mobility. This article highlights the importance of considering the socio-economic and political transformations that form migration aspirations, especially among African youths. Simultaneously, increasing restrictive migration regimes impacts the extent to which migrants can meet the clauses in the moral economy of migration in their origin communities. We focus on (Anglophone) Cameroon, where international migration is referred to as “bushfalling”. A person who migrates to a Western society desires or is expected to return home to share the wealth he/she has accumulated. This interpretation of migration forms different perspectives regarding migrants and guides expectations towards returned migrants. However, little is known on how these expectations are defined and redefined in the society of return. Based on focus group discussions conducted among local community members, we show that the expectations were guided by the visa regimes of destination countries. Moreover, successful returnees were defined by their ability to be visible and create an impact after return. Thus, this article contributes more broadly to an African perspective on the meaning and impact of return migration.


Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Gabriel López-Martínez ◽  
Francisco Eduardo Haz-Gómez ◽  
Salvador Manzanera-Román

In recent years, courier and home delivery services have experienced extensive growth around the world. These platform companies, that operate through applications on smartphones, have experienced the benefits of the technological leap that has been produced by the conditions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions on traditional commerce. This business model integrates novel elements that move away from a classic contractual relationship, employer-employee. They combine a strong cooperative culture, integrated by company values and principles that make the rider assume an identity that defines him/her as a worker and a member of a community. In addition, on the other hand, precarious working conditions, in which extreme competitiveness among colleagues and dependence on high standards of service compliance are encouraged. In Spain, there is a lack of research on the identity of workers in this type of platform. By means of in-depth interviews with drivers of two different companies in the Region of Murcia (Spain), the main objective of this article is to identify and describe the figure of what we define as homo rider, understood as a prototype individual in the context of contemporary labor relations, linked to the incorporation of new technologies for the intermediation and interconnection between people, goods and services. We approach to the socioeconomic spectrum and identity imaginary of the homo rider through two dimensions, material and ideological, to construct this broad, ambiguous figure between self-employment and wage-earner that would also represent a complex relation between precarious work and new technologies.


Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Monica Lillefjell ◽  
Ruca Elisa Katrin Maass

Five principles for health promotion (HP) stand out in various forms, providing guidance for HP measures and policy implementation: (1) a broad and positive health concept, (2) participation and involvement of key stakeholders, (3) build action and action competence by involving and empowering target groups, (4) a setting perspective, and (5) equity in health. The purpose of this study is to describe, and critically discuss, how the five HP principles can be applied to structure collaboration processes for implementing HP measures in local communities. A case study methodology was applied when investigating how the HP principles guided actions and focus-of-attention throughout the process of implementing a local community HP measure. Of special importance was the broad involvement of stakeholders and the anchoring of overarching, as well as specific, HP goals in the municipal strategic documents to ensure political commitment, ownership, and adequate resources. Direction on how to apply or achieve the HP principles should be further explored, described, and brought into systematic day-to-day work for a better society-development.


Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Dragana Trninić ◽  
Anđela Kuprešanin Vukelić ◽  
Jovana Bokan

The presence of “fake news” and potentially manipulative content in the media is nothing new, but this area has largely expanded with the emergence of the Internet and digital media, thus opening itself up to anyone who has online access. As a result, there is an increasing amount of such content in the media, especially in digital media. This paper deals with the perception of fake news and potentially manipulative content by various generations—in particular, the perceptions of the young and the middle-aged generations, with the focus being on their ability to recognise, verify, and relate to such content. The results of this study were gained by means of a qualitative methodology applied to focus groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results are presented through a thematic analysis of the differences in perception of “fake news” between these generations, firstly in terms of their apprehension and interpretation of it, and secondly in terms of their relation to it. The authors conclude that both generations lack competence concerning media literacy, and that providing education in the field of digital media might offer a long-term solution for building resistance to “fake news” for future generations.


Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Dong-Hyuk Kim ◽  
Bo-Young Kim

COVID-19 and the fourth industrial revolution have rapidly changed our society into an overall contactless one. As smartphones become more popularized, donation methods are shifting to online activities that are beyond the traditional methods. In such a contactless society, mobile payment services are emerging as an innovative payment method. However, donation consolidation and persistence are lacking in online donation marketing and other online situations. This study empirically examines the effects of personal factors (unselfishness, self-esteem, and social norms) and technical factors (perceived usefulness, ease of use, and perceived behavioral control) on donation trust, attitude, and satisfaction if donations were made through a simple mobile payment system. To this end, an online questionnaire survey was carried out on donors using the Korean Red Cross’ simple mobile payment service. By collecting 250 data samples, this study verified hypotheses. As a result of the analysis, social norms under the personal factors were significant, but unselfishness and self-esteem did not affect donors. The perceived usefulness and ease of use, which are technical factors, positively affected trust in donation, but the perceived behavioral control was not significant. Consequently, intrinsic behavioral influence factors such as personal unselfishness, self-esteem, or behavioral control did not significantly affect donation behavior, in contrast with traditional donation methods.


Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Christine Morley ◽  
Joanne Clarke ◽  
Chez Leggatt-Cook ◽  
Donna Shkalla

Child protection systems within Anglophone countries have been increasingly dominated by neoliberal managerial, risk-dominant paradigms over the past three decades. Assumed to deliver a cost-effective strategy to increase the safety of children, there are many ways this paradigmatic combination systematically undermines child welfare, participation, and well-being. This paper specifically focuses on the ways that risk assessment, neoliberal, and managerial discourses have infiltrated practice and operate to silence and exclude children’s voices. It draws on two case studies to showcase key findings of a comprehensive, state-wide research project called Empowering Children’s Voices, which was initiated by UnitingCare, a non-government organisation within Queensland, Australia, and conducted in partnership with researchers from Queensland University of Technology. It will be argued that a paradigm shift towards a critically reflective reinterpretation of risk can be far more effective at promoting child-inclusive practice and establishing children’s empowered voices as a protective factor against harm.


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