| 1. |
- Ahlberg, Beth Maina, 1949-, et al.
(author)
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Ethnic, racial and regional inequalities in access to COVID-19 vaccine, testing and hospitalization : Implications for eradication of the pandemic
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic has made visible inequalities as exemplified by unequal access to COVID-19 vaccine across and within countries; inequalities that are also apparent in rates of testing, disease, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 along class, ethnic and racial lines. For a global pandemic such as the COVID-19 to be effectively addressed, there is a need to reflect on the entrenched and structural inequalities within and between countries. While many countries in the global north have acquired more vaccines than they may need, in the global south many have very limited access. While countries in the global north had largely vaccinated their populations by 2022, those in the global south may not even complete vaccinating 70% of their population to enable them reach the so-called herd immunity by 2024. Even in the global north where vaccines are available, ethnic, racialized and poor working classes are disproportionately affected in terms of disproportionately low rates of infection and death. This paper explores the socio-economic and political structural factors that have created and maintain these disparities. In particular we sketch the role of neoliberal developments in deregulating and financializing the system, vaccine hoarding, patent protection and how this contributes to maintaining and widening disparities in access to COVID-19 vaccine and medication.
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| 2. |
- Ahlberg, Beth Maina, 1949-, et al.
(author)
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Invisibility of Racism in the Global Neoliberal Era : Implications for Researching Racism in Healthcare
- 2019
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-7775. ; 4
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper describes the difficulties of researching racism in healthcare contexts as part of the wider issue of neoliberal reforms in welfare states in the age of global migration. In trying to understand the contradiction of a phenomenon that is historical and strongly felt by individuals and yet widely denied by both institutions and individuals, we consider the current political and socioeconomic context of healthcare provision. Despite decades of legislation against racism, its presence persists in healthcare settings, but data on these experiences is rarely gathered in Europe. National systems of healthcare provision have been subject to neoliberal reforms, where among others, cheaper forms of labor are sought to reduce the cost of producing healthcare, while the availability of services is rationed to contain demand. The restriction both on provision of and access to welfare, including healthcare, is unpopular among national populations. However, the explanations for restricted access to healthcare are assumed to be located outside the national context with immigrants being blamed. Even as migrants are used as a source of cheap labor in healthcare and other welfare sectors, the arrival of immigrants has been held responsible for restricted access to healthcare and welfare in general. One implication of (im)migration being blamed for healthcare restrictions, while racism is held to be a problem of the past, is the silencing of experiences of racism, which has dire consequences for ethnic minority populations. The implications of racism as a form of inequality within healthcare and the circumstances of researching racism in healthcare and its implication for the sociology of health in Sweden are described.
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| 3. |
- Ahlberg, Beth Maina, 1949-, et al.
(author)
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“Just Throw It Behind You and Just Keep Going” : Emotional Labor when Ethnic Minority Healthcare Staff Encounter Racism in Healthcare
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - Switzerland : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Encountering racism is burdensome and meeting it in a healthcare setting is no exception. This paper is part of alarger study that focusedonunderstandingandaddressingracismin healthcare in Sweden. In the paper, we draw on interviews with 12 ethnic minority healthcare staff who described how they managed emotional labor in their encounters with racism at their workplace. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The analysis revealed that experienced emotional labor arises from two main reasons. The first is the concern and fear that ethnic minority healthcare staff have of adverse consequences for their employment should they be seen engaged in discussing racism. The second concerns the ethical dilemmas when taking care of racist patients since healthcare staff are bound by a duty of providing equal care for all patients as expressed in healthcare institutional regulations. Strategies to manage emotional labor described by the staff include working harder to prove their competence and faking, blocking or hiding their emotions when they encounter racism. The emotional labor implied by these strategies could be intense or traumatizing as indicated by some staff members, and can therefore have negative effects on health. Given that discussions around racism are silenced, it is paramount to create space where racism can be safely discussed and to develop a safe healthcare environment for the benefit of staff and patients.
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| 4. |
- Ahmadi, Fereshteh, 1958-, et al.
(author)
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How has the University Community Been Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic? : An Iranian Survey
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: The present study, one of the first to look at COVID-19 and coping in Iran, aimed at mapping, describing and understanding the coping methods academics employ as protective resources to deal with the psychological challenges and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. We specifically aimed at identifying the meaning-making coping methods used and understanding the influence of culture. The guiding research question has been: Are there differences in meaning-making coping methods by gender, age group, work/student status, and place of residence?Design: The study, which used convenience sampling, was a quantitative inquiry. It employed a modified version of the RCOPE scale among faculty/staff members and students in Iran (n = 196, 75% women).Results: The most frequently used coping method among all subgroups of the study sample was thinking that life is part of a greater whole, followed by praying to Allah/God. The least used coping methods were the negative religious ones. Gender differences were found for being alone and contemplating, stronger for men. Thinking that life is part of a greater whole was found mainly among on-campus students. Praying to Allah/God was most common among the youngest staff and students, as well as among women. Two segments of respondents were discovered-the Theists and Non-theists-where the former used more religious coping methods, were more likely to be women, older staff and students, on-campus students, married, have children, and lived in capital.Conclusions: Our conclusion is that the RCOPE methods, which include religious and spiritual meaning-making methods, are of great importance to the studied Iranian informants. However, they use some secular existential meaning-making coping strategies too. This is explained by the role of religion in the larger orientation system and frame of reference in parallel with a secular worldview. Further, a sharp distinction between religious and secular worldviews was not found, which is explained by the fact that secular norms are hardly internalized in ways of thinking in Iran.
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| 5. |
- Anne, Ouma, 1963-
(author)
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Intergenerational Learning Processes of Traditional Medicinal Knowledge and Socio-Spatial Transformation Dynamics
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The transfer of traditional knowledge to new generations of traditional medicinal practitioners takes place through place-based intergenerational learning processes, which are increasingly challenged by intensified rural–urban migrations and accelerating biodiversity loss. Research on traditional medicinal knowledge (TMK) has mainly focused on the medicinal properties of different plant species while social, economic, and locational aspects of TMK learning processes have received less attention. The purpose of this article is to contribute to the research field by examining how the learning processes of TMK are affected by on-going socio-spatial transformations in rural and urban parts of the Eastern Lake Victoria region. Urbanization and migration are transforming the learning processes of TMK and affect the ways traditional practitioners are able to transfer TMK to a new generation of practitioners. Based on in-depth interviews, participant observations and focus group discussions with male and female traditional practitioners aged between 30 and 95 from rural and urban settings in Mwanza (Tanzania) and Nyanza (Kenya) in the Eastern Lake Victoria Region. The study analyzes the role of socio-spatial and migration dynamics on major intergenerational forms of learning of TMK (learning in place; being sent; ritual places); health knowledge diffusion and interactions between TMK and formal health systems. Despite some major challenges to the continuity of TMK learning due to increased migration identified by the traditional practitioners, many also saw emerging roles for TMK in primary health care for sustainable livelihoods for the younger generations of men and women in this region.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Batstra, Laura, et al.
(author)
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Teachers with Special Needs. De-Psychiatrization of Children in Schools
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-7775. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Psychiatrization not only affects adults. Ever more children in Western countries are being diagnosed with a mental disorder of behavior, such as ADHD. Children may often be labelled with the best intentions, for example in order to be able to provide them with suitable care and guidance. However, this labelling can have exclusionary effects and often entails the consequence that important discussion about contextual factors that give rise to (the perception of) unwelcome behavior or academic underperformance rarely, if at all, takes place. In this article we contend that although children are of central concern to schools and the design of pupils’ education, it is important not to make pupils the sole owner of problems that arise. It is therefore high time that a far more critical normative stance towards inclusive education is taken, in which the presently widespread biomedical approach is met with a school community response that focuses not on the nature of individual disorders but on the special need for additional capacity that schools and teachers have in meeting (perceived) deviant behaviors and emotions and/or academic underperformance. We argue that teaching should not set out to remedy individual diagnoses, but that teachers should be supported to extend their professional competence to the benefit of all pupils.
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| 8. |
- Bevelander, Pieter, et al.
(author)
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Refugee Employment Integration Heterogeneity in Sweden : Evidence From a Cohort Analysis
- 2020
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sweden, like many other European countries, has lower employment levels for the foreign-born compared to native-born Swedes. To some extent, this could be due to the country's relatively large intake of refugees. However, few studies have focused entirely on the employment integration of these refugees. In order to fill this gap, we use detailed longitudinal Swedish register data of three arrival cohorts (1998-2000). These data cover the employment of refugees from different countries of origin in Sweden in the first 12 years since their arrival. In line with related work and theoretical considerations and with respect to group characteristics, outmigration, and employment integration over time, we find differences between dissimilar groups of refugees. The findings concerning employment integration decrease to a small degree after rich regression adjustments. Moreover, maybe more surprisingly, we find a very similar result within the main groups of refugees from countries such as Bosnia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. Women from these groups, in particular, have similar or higher employment probabilities than Swedish-born women after between 5 and 8 years in the country. Overall, each group managed to catch up to a non-negligible, yet varying, degree compared to related empirical evidence from other countries. The role of contextual factors in the refugee sending and receiving countries is highlighted.
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| 9. |
- Bjursell, Cecilia, 1970-
(author)
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Growth through education : the narratives of older adults
- 2019
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The focus of Narrative Gerontology is placed on stories about the aging process. In the present paper, the learning of older adults in a Senior University context is captured by means of stories written by the participants themselves. The examination of older adults' stories, as they look back on life or any narrative that connected to a specific area of life, can contribute to our understanding of growth later in life. The aim of the study is to examine how growth manifests itself later in life. Participants at Senior University were asked to share their experiences of education later in life. Participation was voluntary and the identity of each participant was kept anonymous for the purpose of the research project. Fifty-three stories written by Senior University participants (n = 38 women and 15 men) were analyzed according to: (i) an inductive analysis of the stories that resulted in a description of the main topics addressed in the stories, and (ii) a deductive analysis that invoked a theoretical framework concerning the existential aspects of older adults' learning, including “corporeality,” “relationality,” “spatiality,” “temporality,” and “materiality.” The two analyses were compared, and it was noted that “relationality” and “spatiality” corresponded to the educational experiences in the stories. “Relationality” was observed to be concerned with the social dimensions of life; but in the context of Senior University, “relationality” was strongly intertwined with the learning process. “Spatiality” addressed how older adults relate to physical- and mental space. Participation at Senior University entailed an expansion of both physical- and mental space for the participants. A number of tensions were identified in the stories. One the one hand, the stories can be interpreted as illustrations of moving forward and embracing continued growth and development. On the other hand, the stories can be interpreted as illustrations of resistance toward aging and decline. Since life is complex and contradictory, multiple, and even contradictory plots, co-exist in life stories.
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| 10. |
- Bjursell, Cecilia, 1970-, et al.
(author)
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Telework and lifelong learning
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The increase of telework during the pandemic is predicted to impact working life, not only in terms of a larger number of employees working from home, but more importantly, it may transform the way we conceptualise work. This will in turn impact systems for and participation in lifelong learning. There is a risk for increased social inequalities, as neither telework nor lifelong learning is evenly distributed among workers. Statistics on telework in the EU show that there are differences between age groups, nations, sectors, and professions. If these trends will steer forward, there is a risk of widening gaps between countries, companies, and workers. To establish the current knowledge base, we have gathered literature reviews from several disciplines. One finding is that the previous literature on telework has not included lifelong learning in any form (formal, non-formal and informal). Based on a review of previous studies, we suggest a number of research questions for future research. This is relevant as research about telework and lifelong learning has the potential to contribute to a sustainable working life in terms of providing more flexible arrangements for employees and to support the lifelong learning that takes place in contexts such as the office, home, online meetings, and virtual reality.
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| 11. |
- Björkenfeldt, Oscar
(author)
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Swedish journalists' perceptions of legal protection against unlawful online harassment
- 2023
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - 2297-7775. ; 8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study examined journalists' perceptions regarding the legal system's ability to protect them against online harassment. By utilizing open-ended survey responses from respondents with varying levels of trust in the legal system, the findings suggested a need for increased technical proficiency, resources, and priority within the legal system to adequately address the issue. Additionally, a reciprocal relationship between the normalization of online harassment within the journalistic profession and the legal system's commitment to providing protection was identified. However, the study also found that when the legal system's mediated approach to online harassment is positive, it affects attitudes and norms relating to legal protection. Consequently, it reveals a unique insight into how journalists respond to the message conveyed by fair treatment and respect from the legal system. Notably, this result implies that when such messages are internalized, journalists feel more empowered to take measures against online harassment. As a result of this analysis, I propose that current laws should be implemented more effectively and that policy strategies should be developed to positively influence social norms and social control to bolster journalistic autonomy and freedom of speech in the digital age.
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| 12. |
- Bohman, Andrea, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Politics and prejudice : How political discussion with peers is related to attitudes about immigrants during adolescence
- 2019
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Research on prejudice has shown that with whom we surround ourselves matters for intergroup attitudes, but these studies have paid little attention to the content of those interactions. Studies on political socialization and deliberation have focused on the content of interaction by examining the transmission of norms as well as the direct consequences of political discussion on attitudes and behavior. However, this literature has not focused on prejudice as a potential consequence. In this study, we combine these approaches to examine if political discussions with peers during adolescence matter for prejudice. We rely on five waves of a Swedish panel of adolescents, ages 13-22. Results show an association between political discussion and prejudice over time, and that this relationship increases as adolescents grow older. Results also demonstrate that the effect of political discussions depends on the level of prejudice in one’s peer network. Discussion with low prejudice friends is associated with lower levels of prejudice over time, while political discussion with high prejudice peers is not significantly related to attitudes.
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| 13. |
- Boström, Magnus, 1972-
(author)
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Social Relations and Everyday Consumption Rituals : Barriers or Prerequisites for Sustainability Transformation?
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Macro-institutional structures and consumerist culture force and urge people to reproduce unsustainable levels of consumption. A crucial role for sociology, the article argues, is to address theoretically and empirically the intersection between social relations and (over)consumption. The purpose with this article is to address how social relations are involved in both reproducing and challenging consumer culture. This is done by emphasizing the intersection of consumer culture and socially integrating everyday rituals and drawing on literature on both voluntary and involuntary (the pandemic) disruption of consumer practices. The Covid-19 pandemic brings unexpected opportunities to highlight this intersection, as the pandemic offers a window of opportunity for lifestyle change. The review shows there are important lessons about both challenges and opportunities, gained from both voluntary and involuntary disruption of consumer practices.
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| 14. |
- Bradby, Hannah, 1966-, et al.
(author)
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Editorial : Inequalities
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 7
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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| 15. |
- Bradby, Hannah, 1966-, et al.
(author)
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Is Superdiversity a Useful Concept in European Medical Sociology?
- 2017
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-7775. ; 1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Medical sociology has a poor track record of researching diversity in theoretically innovative ways. This paper notes usage of the term superdiversity in migration and urban studies, to ask about its utility in general and more specifically for researching the social production of health and illness. Referring to a multi-country interview study about healthcare seeking strategies, the need to understand the diversification of diversity and the challenges for multi-method health research are described. Six interviews each were conducted in Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the UK, to give a diversity sample of 24 adults who described their strategies and practice when seeking healthcare. In discussing how far superdiversity can help to model socioeconomic and cultural changes already identified as challenging health policy and service provision, the paper draws on case study material. The complex intersecting dimensions of population diversity to which superdiversity draws attention are undoubtedly relevant for commissioning and improving healthcare and research as well as policy. Whether models that reflect the complexity indicated by qualitative research can be envisaged in a timely fashion for quantitative research and questions of policy, commissioning, and research are key questions for superdiversity’s ongoing usefulness as a concept.
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| 16. |
- Bradby, Hannah, 1966-, et al.
(author)
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Policy Makers', NGO, and Healthcare Workers' Accounts of Migrants' and Refugees' Healthcare Access Across Europe : Human Rights and Citizenship Based Claims
- 2020
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-7775. ; 5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Freely available healthcare, universally accessible to the population of citizens, is a keyideal for European welfare systems. As labor migration of the twentieth century gave wayto the globalized streams of the twenty-first century, new challenges to fulfilling theseideals have emerged. The principle of freedom of movement, together with large-scaleforced migration have led to large scale movements of people, making new demandson European healthcare systems which had previously been largely focused on meetingsedentary local populations’ needs. Drawing on interviewswith service providers workingfor NGOs and public healthcare systems and with policy makers across 10 Europeancountries, this paper considers how forced migrants’ healthcare needs are addressedby national health systems, with factors hindering access at organizational and individuallevel in particular focus. The ways in which refugees’ and migrants’ healthcare accessis prevented are considered in terms of claims based on citizenship and on the humanright to health and healthcare. Where claims based on citizenship are denied and thereis no means of asserting the human right to health, migrants are caught in a new formof inequality.
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| 17. |
- Bradby, Hannah, 1966-
(author)
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Research Agenda in Medical Sociology : Specialty Grand Challenge Article
- 2016
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-7775. ; 1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sociology queries taken for granted understandings of the world and especially those that claim universal applicability, but that in fact support particular interests. In showing up the hidden workings of power – the interests of institutions, professions, corporations, and capital – the complex set of interests that make up modern medicine can be explored to disrupt simplistic accounts of its beneficence. By seeing health and illness as social as well as individual bodily processes, and conceptualizing medicine as a practice and profession that is entangled with governance and speculative capital, sociology offers critical insights to medicine’s curative and therapeutic benefits (Bradby, 2012). The challenge for a progressive sociology of medicine is to critique the range of interests that make up medicine (as profession, discipline, business, statutory, and non-governmental institution across the world) while holding a sense of medicine’s benefits and deficits at individual and population level in balance with other knowledge systems and moralities of healing.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
- Cetrez, Önver, Associate Professor, 1970-, et al.
(author)
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A Public Mental Health Study Among Iraqi Refugees in Sweden : Social Determinants, Resilience, Gender, and Cultural Context
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This public mental health study highlights the interactions among social determinants and resilience on mental health, PTSD and acculturation among Iraqi refugees in Sweden 2012-2013.Objectives: The study aims to understand participants' health, resilience and acculturation, paying specific attention to gender differences.Design: The study, using a convenience sampling survey design (N = 4010, 53.2% men), included measures on social determinants, general health, coping, CD-RISC, selected questions from the EMIC, PC-PTSD, and acculturation.Results: Gender differences and reported differences between life experiences in Iraq and Sweden were strong. In Sweden, religious activity was more widespread among women, whereas activity reflecting religion and spirituality as a coping mechanism decreased significantly among men. A sense of belonging both to a Swedish and an Iraqi ethnic identity was frequent. Positive self-evaluation in personal and social areas and goals in life was strong. The strongest perceived source of social support was from parents and siblings, while support from authorities generally was perceived as low. Self-rated health was high and the incidence of PTSD was low. A clear majority identified multiple social determinants contributing to mental health problems. Social or situational and emotional or developmental explanations were the most common. In general, resilience (as measured with CD-RISC) was low, with women's scores lower than that of men.Conclusions: Vulnerability manifested itself in unemployment after a long period in Sweden, weak social networks outside the family, unsupportive authorities, gender differences in acculturation, and women showing more mental health problems. Though low socially determined personal scores of resilience were found, we also identified a strong level of resilience, when using a culture-sensitive approach and appraising resilience as expressed in coping, meaning, and goals in life. Clinicians need to be aware of the risks of poorer mental health among refugees in general and women in particular, although mental health problems should not be presumed in the individual patient. Instead clinicians need to find ways of exploring the cultural and social worlds and needs of refugee patients. Authorities need to address the described post-migration problems and unmet needs of social support, together comprising the well-established area of the social determinants of health.
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| 20. |
- Chakraborty, Proshant, 1992
(author)
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Rethinking NGOization as Postfeminist Practice: Interstitial Intimacies and Negotiations of Neoliberal Subjectivity in Violence Prevention
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-7775. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The decade of the 1990s marked the rise of postfeminism, a series of discursive, mediatized and intellectual interventions that furthered, but also broke away from, past forms of feminist theory and practice. This period also witnessed the global proliferation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the “NGOization” of feminism, referring to the cooption and erasure of critical social movements. Beyond their temporal instantiation in the 1990s, postfeminism and NGOization converge and entangle in everyday practices of women’s NGOs and organizations. In this article, I examine such convergences and entanglements as they unfold in an NGO’s community-based program to prevent violence against women and girls in Mumbai’s urban poor neighborhoods. Such programs create new forms of femininity and womanhood among women who participate in interventions as frontline workers. These women navigate complex pressures of communitarian gender norms, disciplinary regimes of professionalization and quantification, and the vicarious harm of supporting survivors. Their affective caring labor, thus, is facilitated by and produces what I describe as interstitial intimacies, which problematize and embody key postfeminist claims, while engendering political actions and contestations under neoliberalism.
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| 21. |
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| 22. |
- Dahmen-Adkins, Jennifer, et al.
(author)
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Micro Change Agents for Gender Equality : Transforming European Research Performing Organizations
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article explores the experiences of micro change agents for gender equality in seven European Research Performing Organizations in seven different countries. The micro change agents were all participants of an international collaborative project consortium, implementing gender equality plans (GEPs), and funded by the European Commission during 4 years. The analysis draws on empirical data consisting of information submitted by the micro change agents during these 4 years and collected using three different monitoring tools, developed within the project to follow the progress of the implementation efforts, but also to provide an arena for individual and collaborative reflection and knowledge exchange between the partners. The aim of the article is to present a systematic analysis of the change practices that these micro change agents experienced as useful and important for promoting gender equality in their different organizational contexts. A total of six such micro change practices are identified, emerging from the empirical data: 1. communicating, 2. community building, 3. building trust and legitimacy, 4. accumulating and using resources, 5. using and transferring knowledge, and 6. drawing on personal motivation. The findings illustrate the multifaceted character of micro change agency for gender equality, particularly in a time-limited project context with a designated funding period. The results from this study can be useful when developing gender equality strategies, policies and practices and can also be used to empower gender equality micro change agents that face challenges while trying to implement GEPs and promote structural change in any kind of institution.
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| 23. |
- Döllinger, Dominik, 1986-
(author)
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Mechanisms in sociology : a critical intervention
- 2024
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The notion of the mechanism is one of the most popular and widely used concepts in science and sociology is no exception. This paper problematizes the widespread and often uncritical use of the term "mechanism" in contemporary sociology. Drawing on the mechanistic worldview associated with leading figures of the scientific revolution, the paper emphasizes the impact of mechanistic thinking on the societal rationalization process identified by Max Weber and the Frankfurt School. The analysis suggests that mechanisms, when applied to sociological theories, may uncritically reproduce a cultural fetish of the rational society with potentially dehumanizing consequences. The author advocates for a critical reflection on the cultural and historical context of mechanisms, urging sociologists to view them not merely as analytical tools but as active contributors to the creation and shaping of social worlds erected on a belief in instrumental reason.
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| 24. |
- Ekström, Mats, 1961, et al.
(author)
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Conversation analysis and power: Examining the descendants and antecedents of social action
- 2023
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - 2297-7775. ; 8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Conversation Analysis (CA) tends to adopt an ambivalent attitude to the concept of power. The concept is fundamental in sociology but secondary or even disregarded in CA. A closer look at research and the conceptual foundations of CA however demonstrate significant contributions to theories of power. In this paper we aim to demonstrate and discuss these contributions, however, also arguing for an expansion of the CA approach in dialogue with sociological theories to engage in the sociological analysis of power as an essential feature of social relationships and social organisation. Based on a general definition of power, as the transformative capacities of social agents in virtue of their social relationships, we discuss how power is interactionally achieved and negotiated, but also conditioned by social institutions and structures that extend beyond the contexts of situated encounters. The paper is divided into two main sections. The first section presents central contributions of CA in relation to the distinctions between power over and power to, authority as a legitimate form of power, and deontics as a key concept in the analysis of power. The second section critically considers the tendency in CA to localize power solely to actions in interaction, and to conflate structure and action, which constraints the analysis and explanations of power. We present examples of how analyses of power, grounded in CA, can be extended to account for the dynamics of social structures and realities beyond the interactional encounters.
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| 25. |
- Essén, Birgitta, 1961-, et al.
(author)
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Assessing knowledge of migrant sexual reproductive health and rights : a national cross-sectional survey among health professionals in Sweden
- 2024
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Despite the commitment of the Swedish government to ensuring equal access to Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights services for all citizens, shortcomings persist among the migrant population. In cases where healthcare providers lack sufficient knowledge or hold misconceptions and biases about these contentious issues, it can lead to the delivery of suboptimal care. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the level of knowledge of Swedish healthcare providers on global and Swedish migrant Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights.Methods: A national cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire consisting of seven questions related to global and Swedish migrant Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights. The questionnaire was distributed among midwives, nurses, gynecologists and obstetricians, and hospital social workers (N = 731). The analysis was guided by the Factfulness framework developed by Hans Rosling to identify disparities between healthcare providers’ viewpoints and evidence-based knowledge.Results: There was an overall lack of knowledge among the health care providers on these issues. The highest correct responses were on the question on abandonment of female genital cutting/mutilation after migration (74%). The findings indicated that healthcare providers originating from Sweden, physicians, those with fewer years of clinical experience, and exhibiting more migrant-friendly attitudes, demonstrated a higher level of knowledge regarding global and Swedish migrant Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.Conclusion: This study demonstrates that healthcare providers lacked knowledge of global and Swedish migrant Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, which was almost uniformly distributed, except among those with more comprehensive and recent education. Contrary to expectations, healthcare professionals did not primarily rely on their education and experiences but were influenced by their personal values and opinions. The study underscores the importance of upgrading knowledge in Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and encourages policymakers, professionals, and students to base their opinions on well-founded facts, particularly in the context of a diverse and globalized society.
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| 26. |
- Flisbäck, Marita, 1973-
(author)
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Conversations in couple relationships: a trustful foundation when making future parenthood “real”
- 2024
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - 2297-7775. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sociologists often argue that communication in long-term couple relationships is the basis on which expectations, trust, and equality are created in contemporary society. However, what is the role of these everyday conversations in uncertain life situations such as expecting one’s first child? This article examines concerns reported by prospective Swedish parents in order to explain the role of communication to alleviate these. Concerns, related to the formation of new relationships with one’s partner, oneself, and one’s future child, are mitigated by referring to the couple’s “good” communication. In the present prenatal situation, the communication pattern (established in the past) seems to serve three functions in mitigating future concerns: (1) the communication generates a trust capital in the relationship, allowing the couple to venture into the uncertain future, (2) the communication makes social perceptions of family life “real” by constructing a common nomos that is internalized in the individual as an existential motto, and (3) the communication legitimizes family practices as democratic when referring to future plans as emerging from responsive and consensual dialogs. In the article it is emphasized that welfare policy needs to be based on an existential legitimacy, often developed in couple conversations, and particularly shaped in life situations characterized by change. However, the stability offered at the conversational micro level may simultaneously prevent macro level changes, a complexity that needs to be considered when developing a gender equality policy that is to resonate with people’s existential meaning making. With the aim of consensus, and the means of balancing conflicts, there is a risk that the conversation will consolidate the interests of the stronger party. In this way, the responsive conversations in long-term relationships may consolidate gender inequality and counteract the welfare policy goal of equalizing power relationships.
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| 27. |
- Gradskova, Yulia, 1967-
(author)
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Maternalism and new imperialism in Russia : “good mothers” for a militarizing state—expectations, implications, and resistances
- 2023
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 8
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article explores maternalism in Russia in the context of the contemporary Russian authoritarian state. In particular, I analyze what implications maternalism has for women, mothers, and families on the one hand and how it is connected to the Russian state's new imperial ambitions on the other. I also explore how maternalism is challenged and employed by those resisting state politics, including militarism. Historically, maternalism was used for the analysis of the development of the welfare state in Europe and beyond and for studying women's activism that contributed to significant changes in the state's welfare politics. Maternalism in European history could be seen as “a progressive heterosexual maternal womanhood”; according to Mary Daly, it could be explained as a recognition of the “existence of a uniquely feminine value system based on care and nurturing” and as the assumption that women are performing “a service to the state by raising citizen-workers”. Gender historians of Latin America showed that speaking from the position of a mother was quite important for claiming both the right to be accepted as an equal citizen and the improvement of maternity care, welfare, and living conditions for mothers and children. Furthermore, maternalism was widely used in protests against state militarism, wars, and military dictatorships, not least as a part of the campaign against the Vietnam War or the crimes of the Argentinian military dictatorship. However, maternalism was also widely used by several totalitarian regimes, including fascism and Stalinism. Maternalism was an important political instrument used by the state socialist discourse in order to show the superiority of the “socialist” welfare system over the “capitalist” one and to make this system appear attractive to women from “developing” countries.
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| 28. |
- Haberfeld, Yitchak, 1951, et al.
(author)
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Selectivity and internal migration: A study of refugees’ dispersal policy in Sweden
- 2019
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-7775. ; 4
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Following the intensified waves of refugees entering Europe, dispersal policies for newly arrived refugees have been proposed to speed up their integration and to share the financial burden across and within the EU countries. The effectiveness of dispersal policies depends, among other factors, on the extent to which refugees tend to stay in the initial location they are assigned to live in, and on their patterns of self-selectivity during subsequent moves of internal migration. Economic theories of migration suggest that economic immigrants are self-selected to destinations based on their abilities. Highly skilled and motivated people tend to migrate to labor markets with broader opportunity structures, while less capable individuals choose markets that are more sheltered. We use a quasi-experimental design to examine the extent to which those theories are first, applicable to refugees as well, and second, explain their self-sorting into local labor markets at destination. We focus on a refugee cohort that came to Sweden during the period when the so-called “Whole-Sweden” policy was in effect. This policy was designed to reduce the concentration of refugees in the larger cities by randomly deploying asylum seekers across Sweden. After being assigned to an initial location, refugees could move freely within Sweden. We use individual register data from Statistics Sweden to study all refugees who arrived in Sweden during 1990–1993, and we follow each one of them during an 8-year period. We use discrete-time survival analysis (complementary log-log models) in order to assess the effects of abilities on the destination choices of refugees, and individual fixed-effect models to assess the effects of internal migration on their income. Destinations were defined on the basis of the economic opportunities they offer. The results suggest that refugees’ education levels are related to major differences in their destination choices. Highly skilled refugees were more likely to migrate to labor markets with a wide structure of opportunities relative to less skilled refugees. In addition, all relocation choices had positive effects on refugees’ income growth.
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| 29. |
- Hagqvist, Emma, et al.
(author)
-
A Theoretical Development of the Gender Embodiment of Enrichment : A Study of Gender Norms in Enrichment and Factors Related to Enrichment in a Sample of the Swedish Working Population
- 2021
-
In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-7775. ; 6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Enrichment is a phenomenon described as the synergistic and beneficial effects of participating in both work and private life. Far too few studies have acknowledged the role of gender in enrichment. By applying a gender theoretical approach, this article has two aims; first, we aim to study the role of gender in enrichment by examining the factorial structure of enrichment in men and women; secondly, we aim to study the relationship between enrichment and work and private life factors in an approximately representative sample of the Swedish working population. A multigroup confirmatory factor analysis with measurement in variance was performed and this resulted in a two-factor solution for enrichment for both men and women, representing the two directions of enrichment: work-to-life enrichment (WLE) and life-to-work enrichment (LWE). Factor loadings differ across genders, indicating that men and women construct and value items of enrichment differently. Next, linear mixed models were used to answer the second aim. Results show that gendered cultural norms in work and private life manifest in the relationship between factors in the work and home sphere and enrichment. Factors in work and private life with more or less masculine or feminine epithets relate differently to WLE and LWE for men and women. The main conclusion is that masculine and feminine norms are embodied in the values and experiences of enrichment and factors related to enrichment.
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| 30. |
- Hamedanian, Fatemeh, et al.
(author)
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Challenges for Iranian Women in Daily Urban Safety
- 2022
-
In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 7
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ensuring the safety of women as a vulnerable group in urban areas is a fundamental issue and of utmost importance to issues such as violence, crime, victimization, and depression. The purpose of this study is to investigate, through qualitative analysis, the contexts, causes, and consequences of women's feelings of unsafety in urban environments. The research field of the study is the public spaces of Tehran. The subjects and their spatial and interactive dimensions were explored through in-depth individual interviews, direct observation, and participant observation, and data from this study were analyzed using grounded theory. The results show that women's feeling of not being safe in the urban space of Tehran, the capital of Iran, is the result of some influential structural factors such as "socioeconomic challenges" and "dysfunctional socialization" and some contextual factors such as "crowded places" and "showing off." The women in the study also believe that their feelings of unsafety are reinforced by certain reasons evident in the behavior, language, and gestures of men. The feeling of unsafety among women has consequences at the micro and macro levels. Because of this feeling, women take "preventive measures" at the micro-level and at the macro-level, such feelings of unsafety lead to the spread and reinforcement of the "decay of social trust."
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| 31. |
- Heikkilä, Mia, et al.
(author)
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Differentiations in visibility - male advantages and female disadvantages in gender-segregated programmes
- 2020
-
In: Frontiers in Sociology. - Lausanne : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 5
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article stresses the importance of understanding that women and men in gender-segregated programmes experience their gender minority positions very differently. It stems from an interest in the kind of interventions that academia should address in order to reduce gender segregation and provide women and men with the same educational opportunities and personal development. In relation to the obvious and continuing gender differences along a horizontal dimension, previous research seems to have had a limited impact in breaking gender stereotypes and promoting women and men to more atypical fields. The empirical data consists of 25 semi-structured, individual interviews from underrepresented students' gender-related experiences/thoughts about their programmes. By using the concepts of “visibility,” “sense of belonging,” and “negotiating otherness” to analyze how negotiation and belonging are part of students' everyday university lives this study's most important contributions are its findings regarding the differentiations in visibility. A continuum of visibility experiences is explored, from men who receive positive attention to women who are being considered as less knowledgeable. Our visibility scale indicates, as does previous research, that there are differences between how female and male students become visible, but the differences can also appear within both groups of students. This knowledge is crucial when designing interventions so as to provide positive study environments for both women and men. Also—in a broader perspective—it is important in order to recruit and ensure that gender minority students remain in the programs. © 2020 Heikkilä, Isaksson and Stranne.
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| 32. |
- Hertz, Tilman, et al.
(author)
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The Cod and the Cut : Intra-Active Intuitions
- 2021
-
In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-7775. ; 6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Interest in causality is growing in sustainability science and it has been argued that a multiplicity of approaches is needed to account for the complexities of social-ecological dynamics. However, many of these approaches operate within perspectives that establish a separation between what has causal agency and all the rest, which is relegated to the role of background conditions. We argue that the distinction between causal elements and background conditions is by no means a necessary one, and that the causal agency of background conditions is worthy of investigation. We argue that such conditions correspond to what Karen Barad has called a “cut”: a specific determination of the world (or part of it) respective to another part, for which it becomes intelligible. In this sense, most approaches to causality so far operate from “within” particular cuts. To illustrate this, we focus on the paradigmatic case of the Baltic cod collapse in the eighties. This case has been extensively studied, and overfishing has been identified as a key cause explaining the collapse. We dig deeper into the conditions which characterized fishing practices in the run-up to the collapse and uncover the separation between the social and the ecological that they enforce by encouraging policies to increase productivity under the rationale of national “development”. We then re-examine the case from a process-relational perspective, rejecting the separation of nature from society. A process-relational perspective allows us to consider relations as constitutive of processes through which what exists becomes determinate. For this purpose we use the concepts of intra-action (co-constitution of processes) and of performativity (determination of language and matter within processes). We complete our conceptual framework by drawing inspiration from pragmatist philosophers and suggest that the concept of intuition can constitute an alternative to untangle causal dynamics and explain social-ecological phenomena beyond the cause/condition dichotomy. This article seeks to fulfil two objectives: firstly, to question the thick boundaries between conditions and causal elements that explain the processes in which social-ecological systems evolve; secondly, to provide a different approach to transforming a social-ecological system.
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| 33. |
- Hydén, Håkan, 1945-
(author)
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Pornography. The Politics of Legal Changes. An Opinion article
- 2023
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - Lausanne : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 8
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- What are the similarities between pornography and climate change? The answer given by Max Waltman in a book about pornography is that both represent major problems of our times that society must intervene against. Both relate to social dominance and multiply disadvantaged groups that will necessitate political and legal challenges in the future. Waltman claims that in light of the need for efficient and effective policy responses, the insights from a study of legal challenges to pornography might gain. He has conducted such a study providing empirical evidence of legal challenges undertaken in three diverse democracies. His message is that we need to grant real, substantial, and effective legal power to members of those groups most affected if the harms of pornography are to be successfully addressed. The book is unique being a politico-legal study. It is of relevance for lawyers, socio-legal scholars as well as for political scientists.
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| 34. |
- Hydén, Håkan, 1945-
(author)
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The Sociology of Law potential : exploring its scientific landscape
- 2023
-
In: Frontiers in Sociology. - Lausanne : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 8
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Sociology of Law (SoL) is an island of investigation squeezed between two large academic territories: the legal and the social sciences. They represent different knowledge interests based on separate ontologies, which make the epistemologies incommensurable. Law is an open normative science using interpretative, deductive methodology, while sociology has an empirical ontology built on social science methodologies in epistemological respect. The theoretical discourse to try to integrate legal dogmatic and sociology must be regarded as a dead end (Banakar, 2003; Cotterrell, 2006; Nelken, 2009, chs. 10 and 11).). The same can be said about the inside/outside dichotomy in SoL (Banakar, 2002, p. 18). SoL has a territory of its own, which is huge and to a large extent undetected and unknown. The purpose of this article is to investigate this varied landscape that is the home turf of Sociology of Law and explore the Field's contribution to knowledge. What makes it a separate entity? What is its potential?
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| 35. |
- Isaksson, Anna, 1980-
(author)
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Classical sociology through the lens of gendered experiences
- 2020
-
In: Frontiers in Sociology. - Lausanne : Frontiers Research Foundation. - 2297-7775. ; 5
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There is a body of literature problematizing the lack of women's accounts in what is called classical sociology. However, limited efforts have been made to place female and male theorists' writings in juxtaposition with each other in order to demonstrate how their writings and theories differ. The aim of this article is to encourage discussion of how early female and male sociological theorists' descriptions and interpretations on the development of modern society were shaped by their own gendered experiences. Further, the aim is to shed light on the consequences this might provide for the teaching and learning of classical sociology. The article contributes a comparative analysis on how five authors, three female and two male, described and interpreted the transition from traditional to modern society through their gendered experiences. Their various interpretations illustrate how experiences are situated and that there is no complete and objective knowledge. As a consequence, universities should pay careful attention to gender distribution in their syllabi. Rather than achieve equal numbers of female and male authors, this will ensure that students are able to explore and understand classical sociology through the lens of different gendered experiences during their studies. © Copyright © 2020 Isaksson.
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| 36. |
- Isaksson, Anna, 1980-
(author)
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The potential of incorporating norm-critical design objects as a pedagogical tool in sociology courses
- 2024
-
In: Frontiers in Sociology. - Lausanne : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 9
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous research has raised challenges in teaching gender theory in sociology courses. While many students appreciate such theories, some students resist sociological approaches to gender, sexualities, and social inequalities. There is a growing body of research that has recognized and explored pedagogical tools aiming to help students engage with sociological insights and concepts related to gender. However, more studies and pedagogical frameworks are needed to guide higher education teachers. Consequently, this perspective article aims to introduce and present how norm-critical design objects can be used as a pedagogical tool to enhance student learning and engagement. The article demonstrates how such objects have been incorporated into sociology courses and provides a springboard for reflective, thorough, and problematizing approaches to gender issues in sociology. Further, the article encourages a broader sociological discussion about the potential of using norm-critical design objects in sociology courses. © 2024 Isaksson.
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| 37. |
- Johansson, Carl, et al.
(author)
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Swedish experts' understanding of active aging from a culturally sensitive perspective - a Delphi study of organizational implementation thresholds and ways of development
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : FRONTIERS MEDIA SA. - 2297-7775. ; 7
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundInternational migration and aging populations make for important trends, challenging elderly care regimes in an increasingly globalized world. The situation calls for new ways of merging active aging strategy and cultural sensitivity. This study aim to illuminate the gap between cultural sensitivity and active aging to identify perceived thresholds by Swedish municipal officials in the understanding of older late-in-life-immigrants situation. MethodsDelphi methodology in three rounds. Twenty-three persons in municipal decision-making positions participated and generated 71 statements, of which 33 statements found consensus. ResultsThe 33 statements show that the decision makers prefer not to use cultural sensitivity as a concept in their work, but rather tailor interventions based on individual preferences that may or may not be present in a certain culture. However, as the complexity of care increases, emphasis drifts away from personal preferences toward text-book knowledge on cultures and activity.
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| 38. |
- Jordal, Malin, 1973-, et al.
(author)
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"Damaged genitals"-Cut women's perceptions of the effect of female genital cutting on sexual function. A qualitative study from Sweden
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Female genital cutting (FGC) is a traditional practice, commonly underpinned by cultural values regarding female sexuality, that involves the cutting of women's external genitalia, often entailing the removal of clitoral tissue and/or closing the vaginal orifice. As control of female sexual libido is a common rationale for FGC, international concern has been raised regarding its potential negative effect on female sexuality. Most studies attempting to measure the impact of FGC on women's sexual function are quantitative and employ predefined questionnaires such as the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). However, these have not been validated for cut women, or for all FGC-practicing countries or communities; nor do they capture cut women's perceptions and experiences of their sexuality. We propose that the subjective nature of sexuality calls for a qualitative approach in which cut women's own voices and reflections are investigated. In this paper, we seek to unravel how FGC-affected women themselves reflect upon and perceive the possible connection between FGC and their sexual function and intimate relationships. The study has a qualitative design and is based on 44 individual interviews with 25 women seeking clitoral reconstruction in Sweden. Its findings demonstrate that the women largely perceived the physical aspects of FGC, including the removal of clitoral tissue, to affect women's (including their own) sexual function negatively. They also recognized the psychological aspects of FGC as further challenging their sex lives and intimate relationships. The women desired acknowledgment of the physical consequences of FGC and of their sexual difficulties as "real" and not merely "psychological blocks".
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| 39. |
- König, Stefanie, et al.
(author)
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Invisible Scars or Open Wounds? The Role of Mid-career Income for the Gender Pension Gap in Sweden
- 2019
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-7775. ; 4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study investigates the importance of mid-career income for the gender pension gap and psychological scarring effects of low income earlier in life. More specifically we analyse whether women's typically less stable mid-life careers also affect outcomes in late careers and in retirement. Swedish income register data from 1990, 2009, and 2015 was linked to the “HEalth, Ageing, and Retirement Transitions in Sweden” survey. The gender pension gap of 966 retirees and worries about pension income of 2,723 older workers between the age of 60 and 66 years were investigated. Blinder-Oaxaca decompositions were applied to analyse the gender pension gap and linear regressions were used for the analysis of financial worries. Results show that gender differences in mid-career income play a stronger role for the gender pension gap than late career income. Mid-career income is furthermore related to higher worries about pension income and accounts for observed gender differences. Our findings demonstrate that gender gaps in mid-career income can be regarded as an open wound with visible negative effects in older ages. The reformed pension system in Sweden may potentially contribute to an even greater gender gap in pensions.
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| 40. |
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| 41. |
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| 42. |
- Mitchell, Jeffrey
(author)
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Social trust and anti-immigrant attitudes in Europe : a longitudinal multi-level analysis
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Research investigating how social conditions influence attitudes about immigrants has focused primarily on demographic and economic factors as potential threat inducing contexts that lead to anti-immigrant sentiment. However, the empirical evidence supporting this link is mixed, while social cohesion indicators such as the influence of social trust, have largely been left unexamined. This article uses the European Social Survey (2002–2016) to test how differences in social trust, both within and between countries influence attitudes about immigrants. Results from longitudinal analyses show that countries with higher levels of social trust have more favorable attitudes toward immigrants, and while changes in social trust over time are small, they result in comparably large changes in anti-immigrant attitudes, even when controlling for other social factors. These results are robust across different model specifications and data sources.
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| 43. |
- Nordquist, Cecilia, et al.
(author)
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Expanding emotional capital in court
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article develops the concept of emotional capital by exposing its operation in proceedings between legal elite professionals. We argue that (a) the micro-structural restraints of the interaction order among the participants have to be accounted for in order to understand the dynamics of emotional capital, and; (b) the emotional processes at play have to be expanded beyond feelings of care showing how emotions can be employed to reproduce status and power. Empirical examples from criminal courts in Scotland and the United States demonstrate that judges and prosecutors depend on emotional capital to steer the legal proceedings. Emotional capital is both stable in that acquired capital often can be transferred across fields and volatile in that it presupposes interactional agreement to ensure successful emotional capital employment. In contrast, the lack of such agreement may devalue emotional capital regardless of overall capital wealth. In high status bureaucratic positions, the conversion of emotional capital into symbolic capital not only affects the authority of individual actors but reproduces public trust in governmental institutions.
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| 44. |
- Osanami Törngren, Sayaka, et al.
(author)
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"We choose this CV because we choose diversity" - What do eye movements say about the choices recruiters make?
- 2024
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 9
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: A large body of research has established a consensus that racial discrimination in CV screening occurs and persists. Nevertheless, we still know very little about how recruiters look at the CV and how this is connected to the discriminatory patterns. This article examines the way recruiters view and select CVs and how they reason about their CV selection choices, as a first step in unpacking the patterns of hiring discrimination. Specifically, we explore how race and ethnicity signaled through the CV matter, and how recruiters reason about the choices they make.METHODS: We recorded data from 40 respondents (20 pairs) who are real-life recruiters with experiences in recruitment of diverse employees in three large Swedish-based firms in the finance and retail sector in two large cities. The participating firms all value diversity, equity and inclusion in their recruitment. Their task was to individually rate 10 fictious CVs where race (signaled by face image) and ethnicity (signaled by name) were systematically manipulated, select the top three candidates, and then discuss their choices in pairs to decide on a single top candidate. We examined whether respondents' choices were associated with the parts of the CV they looked at, and how they reasoned and justified their choices through dialog.RESULTS: Our results show that non-White CVs were rated higher than White CVs. While we do not observe any statistically significant differences in the ratings between different racial groups, we see a statistically significant preference for Chinese over Iraqi names. There were no significant differences in time spent looking at the CV across different racial groups, but respondents looked longer at Polish names compared to Swedish names when presented next to a White face. The dialog data reveal how respondents assess different CVs by making assumptions about the candidates' job and organizational fit through limited information on the CVs, especially when the qualifications of the candidates are evaluated to be equal.
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| 45. |
- Palm, Camilla, et al.
(author)
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The relationship between dominant Western discourse and personal narratives of female genital cutting : exploring storytelling among Swedish-Somali girls and women
- 2023
-
In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-7775. ; 8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: A dominant narrative, referred to as "the standard tale," prevails in popular representations about female genital cutting (FGC) that often contrast with how cut women traditionally narrate their FGC experience as meaningful in contexts where FGC is customary. However, scholarship has increasingly highlighted how global eradication campaigns and migration to countries where FGC is stigmatized provide women with new frames of understanding which may lead to a reformulation of previous experiences. This article subjects the storytelling itself to analysis and explores how participants narrate and make sense of their FGC experience in a post-migration setting where FGC is stigmatized.Methods: Semi-structured focus groups (9) and individual interviews (12) with Swedish-Somali girls and women (53) were conducted.Results: The article highlights how the participants navigate their storying in relation to "the standard tale" of FGC in their efforts to make sense of their experiences. Navigation was conducted both at an intrapersonal level through continuous identity work, and in relation to the social context in interpersonal encounters, i.e., with service providers and others, among whom the standard tale has become a truth.Discussion: The article places the analysis within broader discussions about anti-FGC work and considers the implications in relation to efforts to end FGC.
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| 46. |
- Persson, Marcus, et al.
(author)
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Robotic misinformation in dementia care : emotions as sense-making resources in residents' encounters with robot animals
- 2024
-
In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 9
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Robot animals, designed to mimic living beings, pose ethical challenges in the context of caring for vulnerable patients, specifically concerning deception. This paper explores how emotions become a resource for dealing with the misinformative nature of robot animals in dementia care homes. Based on observations of encounters between residents, care workers, and robot animals, the study shows how persons with dementia approach the ambiguous robots as either living beings, material artifacts, or something in-between. Grounded in interactionist theory, the research demonstrates that emotions serve as tools in the sense-making process, occurring through interactions with the material object and in collaboration with care workers. The appreciation of social robots does not solely hinge on them being perceived as real or fake animals; persons with dementia may find amusement in "fake" animals and express fear of "real" ones. This observation leads us to argue that there is a gap between guidelines addressing misinformation and robots and the specific context in which the technology is in use. In situations where small talk and play are essential activities, care workers often prioritize responsiveness to residents rather than making sure that the robot's nature is transparent. In these situations, residents' emotional expressions serve not only as crucial resources for their own sense-making but also as valuable indicators for care workers to comprehend how to navigate care situations.
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| 47. |
- Samkange-Zeeb, Florence, et al.
(author)
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“It's the First Barrier” : Lack of Common Language a Major Obstacle When Accessing/Providing Healthcare Services Across Europe
- 2020
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-7775. ; 5
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- International migration is shaping and changing urban areas as well as impacting on healthcare access and provision in Europe. To investigate how residents of superdiverse neighborhoods put together their healthcare, we conducted qualitative interviews with 76 healthcare providers and 160 residents in four European cities - Bremen, Germany; Birmingham, UK; Lisbon, Portugal and Uppsala, Sweden, between September 2015 and April 2017. A common theme arising from the data was language and communication obstacles, with both healthcare providers and users experiencing language difficulties, despite all four countries having interpretation policies or guidelines to address language barriers in healthcare. Official interpreter services were seen to be unreliable and sometimes of poor quality, leading to a reliance on informal interpretation. Some coping strategies used by both service providers and users led to successful communication despite the lack of a common language. Where communication failed, this led to feelings of dissatisfaction and frustration among both users and providers. Language difficulties came up across all participating countries even though this was not prompted by interview questions, which highlights the widespread nature of language barriers and communication barriers and the need to address them in order to promote equal accessibility to good quality healthcare.
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| 48. |
- Schröders, Julia, 1985-, et al.
(author)
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‘The Devil’s Company’: A Grounded Theory Study on Aging, Loneliness and Social Change Among ‘Older Adult Children’ in Rural Indonesia
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: As a consequence of rising life expectancies, many families are no longer made up of one, but two simultaneously aging generations. This elderly parent–older adult child (OAC) dyad has emerged as a newly overserved yet little explored demographic phenomenon. Studies on this intergenerational aging dyad and the possible ramifications of when caregivers are simultaneously aging with care-receivers are scarce, especially in low and middle-income countries. This study explored the process by which rural Indonesian OACs experience their own aging, thereby gaining insights into how this newly evolving reality impacts the traditional ways of old-age care provision.Methods: This study has a qualitative design and draws on eight focus group discussions with 48 community-dwelling OACs (23 men, 25 women; mean age 64 years) in four rural villages in the Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia. The theoretical framework was largely inspired by symbolic interactionism aided by the sensitizing concepts of social network deficits, interpersonal emotions, and the social construction of risks. Data were analyzed using Grounded Theory as outlined by Corbin and Strauss.Results: Respondents’ accounts reflected four categories: 1) aging in a welt of chronic insecurity; 2) OACs: a generation “betwixt and between” expected demands and unmet expectations; 3) landscapes of loneliness; and 4) compromising against conventions. As depicted in a conceptual model, these categories interrelated with each other and were linked by a core category, “bargaining for a sense of security”, which collectively summarized a process by which OACs’ experienced their own course of aging.Conclusion: Our study provided insights into how and why loneliness emerged amidst the challenges of social and demographic transformations and how in response to this unconventional compromises were made, which affect both the networks of caretakers and the places of old-age care. It is doing so by including the perspectives of rural Indonesian OACs. The results showed how multiple intersecting negative experiences constrained the aging experiences of OACs and produced precarious aging trajectories. Our findings highlight the importance of old-age loneliness as an emerging public health and social problem by discussing how intrinsically this emotion was interwoven with social life.
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| 49. |
- Shmulyar Gréen, Oksana, 1969, et al.
(author)
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Identity Formation and Developing Meaningful Social Relationships: The Role of the Polish Catholic Community for Polish Young People Migrating to Sweden
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-7775. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article draws from a broader research project Transnational childhoods, illuminating the agency and experiences of children and young people migrating from Poland and Romania to Sweden under the age of 18. Focusing on young people born in Poland and having social relationships post-migration as central theoretical component, the article explores the role that the Polish Catholic community in Sweden plays in the lives of young Polish migrants. It does so by grounding the analysis on 23 qualitative interviews, combined with network maps and life-lines, produced by the young Polish participants. The study identifies three important dimensions in the role of the Polish Catholic community. These are comprised of the community's role for young Poles' spiritual development and religious identity, for building new friendships and making sense of common migration and religious experiences, and guidance by specifically Polish Catholic priests in the young migrants' family relationships and in future life projects. The article concludes that while practicing religion and building significant social relationships within the Polish congregations the young migrants shape feelings of belonging and inclusion, however primarily within the limits of their own ethnic community. Further research is needed on the wider implications of primarily mono-ethnic relational practices for the young Poles' lives within the increasingly ethnically heterogeneous Swedish society.
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- Stjerna, Marie-Louise, et al.
(author)
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Inter-embodied parental vigilance; the case of child food allergy
- 2023
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In: Frontiers in Sociology. - 2297-7775. ; 8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There is developing interest in issues of embodiment in studies of children, health and illness. We take our point of departure in the parent-child-health/illness triad to explore the embodied aspects of parental vigilance in parenting children who have a food allergy, utilizing the concept of inter-embodiment. Drawing on a focus group study with parents in Sweden the analysis reveals that this vigilance can be seen as the embodied manifestation of concern for children's bodies in perpetual liminality, when constantly exposed to allergens and the risk of becoming ill. We argue that the lens of inter-embodiment, with a focus on bodies in relation, captures how parents lived experience of managing food allergy intertwines with that of their children in the parent-child-health/illness triad. The analysis uncovers a form of embodied knowledge that is often not verbalized, offering potential for new understandings of parent-child relations that center on chronic child health conditions.
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