Frontiers in Sociology最新文献

Introduction: This study examines socio-educational work in reception centres for unaccompanied foreign minors (MENAS) in Salerno, Italy, focusing on tools, practices, and challenges within residential care.

Methods: Qualitative single-case study; interviews with judges, prosecutors, law enforcement and staff; two focus groups with eight socio-educational workers; thematic analysis using a grounded approach.

Results: Participants reported tensions between empathy and professional distance, bureaucratic hurdles, language barriers, trauma-related needs, and limited inter-institutional coordination. Six thematic categories emerged: actors' map; migration drivers; challenges; practitioner role; minors' perspectives; operational tools.

Discussion: Findings align with social learning, scaffolding, and transference frameworks. Reflective teamwork and structured daily activities support integration but require supervision and training. Implications concern inter-agency coordination and rights-based inclusion pathways.

Geneticization is a concept originally introduced by Abby Lippman to critique the growing dominance of genetic explanations in health, identity, and society. Over the decades, the notion of geneticization has undergone significant development across various academic fields including sociology, bioethics, clinical medicine, and cultural studies, highlighting its broad relevance and impact on multiple areas of research. We conducted a scoping review of 25 peer-reviewed studies from 2011 and 2024, to investigate how the concept has been taken up, redefined, and challenged across multiple disciplines. Guided by two central research questions: (1) What are the prevailing themes surrounding geneticization in recent scholarship? and (2) To what extent do Lippman's original concerns remain relevant? the review synthesizes insights from these studies, categorizing them across sociological, clinical, and ethical dimensions. Findings reveal a shift from deterministic framings toward more complex understandings, such as enlightened geneticization, biosociality, and biological citizenship, which highlight individuals' agency in interpreting genetic information. At the same time, the review identifies ongoing risks of genetic reductionism in areas such as race, identity, reproduction, and education. The results underscore that while the term "geneticization" has evolved in both use and meaning, it remains a critical analytical lens for evaluating the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of genetic technologies. The review concludes by emphasizing the continued relevance of interdisciplinary inquiry and ethical vigilance in the genomic era.

Introduction: Existing studies emphasize microcredit's role in women's entrepreneurship but often overlook other forms of support such as training and support services influencing sustainability and income growth. Furthermore, research exploring sectoral differences in the effects of these types of assistance has been insufficient. This paper analyzes the effects of training and support services on women's micro-enterprises in rural Bangladesh and compares the differential effects in three sectors.

Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used. A field survey was conducted with 170 randomly selected women entrepreneurs in the Tangail District: 63 in tailoring, 73 in embroidery, and 34 in basket-weaving. Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were used to identify support services that are important in each of the sectors. In-depth interviews were also carried out with 20 women entrepreneurs, and nine key informant interviews were organized with local officials and NGO representatives to gain insights into the implementation and roles of support services.

Results: While training and support services enhance enterprise income, their effects vary by sector, likely due to differences in business operations, skill requirements, and resource dependence. Businesses in the tailoring sector benefit from skills-based training, while those in basket weaving gain from market access support. Sectoral differences were also found in how external factors affect financial performance, such as education, family support, and experience. These findings highlight a need for sector-specific strategies to empower rural women entrepreneurs.

Introduction: The imposition of martial law on December 3, 2024, in South Korea has reignited critical discussions on the intersection of political systems and occupational justice. Authoritarian governance imposes significant restrictions and disruption of meaningful occupations and exacerbating inequities, particularly among marginalized communities. This study examines the implications of martial law through the lens of occupational justice and political occupational therapy. Additionally, the introduction engages with organizational communication theories, such as institutional discourse, public rhetoric, and crisis communication frameworks, to position occupational therapists as communicative agents of systemic change. By integrating historical events such as the Gwangju Uprising, the study aims to highlights systemic barriers to occupational engagement and the broader socio-political determinants of occupation.

Methods: This study employs an exploratory review methodology to analyze the impact of martial law on occupational justice. Drawing from historical, political, and occupational therapy literature, the review synthesizes theoretical frameworks, policy analyses, and case studies to examine how authoritarian governance shapes occupational participation. The study also explores the role of occupational therapists in addressing socio-political determinants of occupation during periods of political crisis.

Results: Findings indicate that martial law imposes systemic occupational disruptions, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities, including political dissidents, low-income workers, and individuals with disabilities. Restrictions on movement, expression, and access to essential services limit occupational engagement, reinforcing structural inequalities. Historical comparisons with events such as the Gwangju Uprising demonstrate recurring patterns of occupational injustice under authoritarian regimes. The analysis suggests that occupational therapy, when positioned as an inherently political discipline, has the potential to advocate for occupational rights and mitigate the impact of governance-related disruptions.

Conclusion: This study argues for a paradigm shift in occupational therapy, urging practitioners to transcend traditional clinical roles and engage in policy advocacy. Recognizing occupational justice as a fundamental human right, occupational therapists can play a critical role in addressing socio-political determinants of occupation. By advocating for policies that safeguard occupational engagement during crises, the profession can contribute to a more just and equitable society.

Introduction: In 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved Aduhelm (Aducanumab), a pharmaceutical developed to treat Alzheimer's disease. At first, many in the advocacy and caregiving community responded with jubilation as there are currently few effective treatments to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. However, suspicions about the approval process quickly arose as well as concern from the medical community, which led to controversy about the drug. With this context in mind, our study aims to analyze the viewpoints of caregivers, medical professionals, and Redditors on a popular subreddit for caregivers, as the controversy unfolded. Understanding caregivers' perspectives is vital, as they play an important role in medical compliance and Aduhelm's reception may impact adherence to future treatments. We aim to address two research questions: (a) What are the attitudes towards Aduhelm of caregivers, medical professionals, and members of an online forum associated with caregiving for Alzheimer's patients (r/Alzheimers) and (b) How does the controversy surrounding Aduhelm influence attitudes about the health system and medical practice?

Methods: We conducted a grounded theory analysis of 23 semi-structured interviews with caregivers and five medical professionals, alongside an online discourse analysis of r/Alzheimers.

Results: Our findings reveal various concerns about Aduhelm involving efficacy, safety, and affordability. Most notably, we find these narratives increased a sense of medical mistrust from participants, which may be problematic for adherence and the doctor/patient interaction.

Discussion: Drawing on sociological literature, we introduce the concept of pharmaceutical ambiguity, a theoretical framework for understanding these social phenomena. This study highlights how controversies like that surrounding Aduhelm can deeply erode trust in medical systems.

Introduction: Japanese workers have experienced prolonged wage stagnation for over 30 years, leading some young and middle-aged people to seek economic opportunities abroad. While self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) represent a growing segment of Japan's international workforce, their economic outcomes compared to domestic workers remain underexplored. This study examines whether Japanese SIEs achieve superior earnings growth compared to domestic workers and assesses the economic implications of returning to Japan.

Methods: Using longitudinal survey data from the ADIOS-J project (2020-2022) tracking Japanese expatriates and the JLPS dataset for domestic workers, we tested two hypotheses: (1) Japanese SIEs experience higher earnings growth than domestic workers, and (2) returning to Japan economically penalizes SIEs. The analysis controlled for observable and unobservable factors affecting earnings trajectories with random and fixed effects models.

Results: Japanese expatriates experienced approximately 6% annual earnings growth, while domestic Japanese workers' earnings remained virtually stagnant (around 1% annual growth). Earnings levels varied significantly among expatriate categories-SIEs in multinational companies earned more than domestic workers, while SIEs in Japanese-owned companies had comparable earnings to domestic workers. The apparent economic penalty for SIEs returning to Japan was largely explained by job characteristics and pre-migration conditions rather than the return itself.

Discussion: These findings reveal that transnational careers economically benefit Japanese middle-class workers, challenging conventional views of upward mobility occurring primarily within domestic labor markets. Despite theoretical and empirical issues to be addressed in the future studies, the research contributes to understanding middle-class migration from high-income countries within Asia's rapidly growing economic centers, suggesting that international mobility can serve as an alternative pathway for career advancement when domestic opportunities are limited.

Rising violence in adolescent sexual-affective relationships is a global concern. Studies attribute the issue to socialization towards violence and coercive discourse, which might contribute to pushing girls into violent and non-egalitarian relationships. Prevention hinges on science-backed dialogic interventions, focusing on attraction and election of egalitarian relationships. This research examines a dialogic gathering intervention with 15 heterosexual adolescent girls (aged 15-18), mainly using the book "Radical Love." Communicative Methodology assessed the impact on the participants, with audio-recorded dialogues, life histories, and focus groups. Results reveal the dialogic gatherings' effectiveness in countering coercive discourse and empowering participants to freely choose the safest and healthiest sexual-affective relationships.

The article argues that despite a growing trend of generous leave policies for fathers, leave-related workplace discrimination against them persists, contributing to lower rates of uptake compared to mothers. Using a comparative design, we explore the link between different leave policies for fathers and differences in subtle discrimination of fathers in their workplace when it comes to leave-taking. Drawing on semi-structured individual interviews with fathers and mothers conducted in 2019-20, we compare the cases of Poland and Slovakia, two contexts similar in their inegalitarian gender structures-casting mothers as primary stay-at-home carers of young children and fathers as ideal workers-but different in policies. At the time of our interviews, Poland granted fathers 2 weeks of well-paid, non-transferable paternity leave; Polish fathers could also draw on 32 weeks of well-paid parental leave, which could be divided by parents as they wished. By contrast, Slovak fathers were entitled to 28 weeks of well-paid non-transferable "maternity leave for fathers". Polish fathers' rate of uptake of paternity leave was the highest, their uptake of parental leave the lowest, with Slovak fathers' uptake of the "maternity leave for fathers" in-between. We find that differences in workplace obstacles linked to the three policies help explain the different rates of uptake. While fathers in Poland rarely reported opposition to taking the short non-transferable paternity leave, Slovak fathers were faced with multiple obstacles to their use of their non-transferable but considerably longer policy, ranging from a lack of established HR processes, through a need to find substitutes for their position to fears of losing their jobs. The obstacles were further exacerbated for Polish parental leave, which parents can divide freely and which is viewed as mothers' entitlement. We conclude that though gendered norms on the division of leaves remain strong in both Poland and Slovakia, casting men as ideal workers and women as primary carers, policy details matter and affect the level of discrimination. Slovak fathers with their non-transferable leave entitlements face comparatively less discrimination than Polish fathers when taking longer leaves. In sum, more egalitarian policy design may help counter subtle workplace discrimination when it comes to fathers' leave-taking.