Frontiers in Sociology最新文献

The development of the Internet has significantly changed the way people live and interact with each other. Interaction is the foundation for building trust and may therefore also be influenced by the Internet. This study aims to examine the impact of Internet use on different dimensions of social trust, focusing on the roles of perceived fairness and social support, using the latest data from the CGSS from China. The results show that Internet use has a significant negative predictive effect on the level of social trust, and the perception of social fairness plays a fully mediating role in this relationship. That is, Internet use can indirectly reduce people's level of social trust by reducing their perception of social fairness. Furthermore, the results indicate that social support can moderate people's perceptions of social fairness and thus mitigate the negative effects of Internet use on social trust. These results suggest that we should raise the profile of the impact of internet use, actively improve people's perceptions of social fairness to increase their level of social trust, and finally, focus on the positive role of social support, which can reduce the negative impact of internet use.

This paper reports an investigation of the determinants of femicide using the context of Ecuador as case of study. To do so, we use official data spanning 2018 to 2022 from the National Survey on Family Relations and Gender Violence against Women in Ecuador with a dataset revealing 1,325 femicides and violent deaths of cisgender women and girls. Using a probit regression model, we find that several variables related to perpetrators' such as level of education, employment status, and variables related to the crime itself such as location emerge as pivotal factors in understanding femicide incidents. This study contributes to a more profound comprehension of femicide's multifaceted determinants, emphasizing the dynamic nature of these factors. The research aids in the development of evidence-based policies to address this societal issue effectively.

This paper challenges the prevailing belief that assistance dogs inherently love their roles, arguing that the notion of "unconditional love" in discourses on assistance dog perpetuates a human-centric perspective and reinforces speciesism. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing the affective experiences of these working animals and of acknowledging the interdependence between people with disabilities and assistance dogs. The paper has four main objectives: (1) critiquing the concept of unconditional love attributed to assistance dogs, (2) recognizing the physical and affective labor of assistance dogs, (3) highlighting the importance of interdependence over independence, and (4) exploring the intersections of ableism and speciesism in the context of assistance dogs. By examining the role of love as a narrative-framing device, the paper aims to reveal how anthropocentric viewpoints often obscure the exploitation of assistance dogs. Incorporating insights from human-animal studies and disability studies, the paper seeks to enrich sociological research on emotions and power structures, advocating for a shift toward valuing the labor and wellbeing of assistance dogs. This approach challenges the liberal ideology of independence and promotes a more inclusive understanding of interspecies relationships, ultimately enhancing the sociological study of emotions, and intersections between sociology, disability studies, and human-animal studies.

The platform economy has contributed to new ways of organising business, work, and consumption. To understand the shape and scope of these changes, it is crucial to pay simultaneous attention to these three domains. The new ways of organising, dividing and coordinating work are interlinked with specific ways of consuming services made available by digital platforms. This article analyses a case study of a delivery platform company with a specific business model marked by strong territorial roots and promoting relational proximity between the platform, workers, and clients. It proposes an approach to the service relation between the platform, workers, and clients allowing to explore institutional, intersubjective and spatial-temporal dimensions that shape it. Intersubjective, because they point to particular modes of communication and involvement between the parties. Institutional, as the platform reflects the organisational environments within which it operates. Spatio-temporal, as this service relation promotes flexible spatial and temporal arrangement that articulates various urban actors.

The pandemic has tested the fortitude and resilience of a huge swath of humanity. Even measures undertaken to address the pandemic, primarily the massive vaccination campaigns, revealed a glaring disparity between and within societies. The collective grief, anxiety, and desire for survival have led to creative ways to contend with the crisis. Poetry has served as one of those strategies. This paper revolves around selected pieces of poetry particularly those with themes related to being an Asian migrant worker during the pandemic. The primary themes drawn from the poems are as follows: dealing with the changes brought about by the pandemic; concern over family; job precarity and stigmatization; and hope and resilience.

The older citizens represent a portion of the population that is not only already high but is also expected to increase according to trend analyses from major national and international research reports. The pandemic experience has shown how they feel the scarcity of relationships and the loneliness of their homes as factors that significantly impact the quality of their daily lives. This challenging historical moment has provided an opportunity to implement a series of projects specifically dedicated to those over 65, aiming to ensure a full range of possibilities for them, starting from highly "enabling" processes. In this perspective, the theme of social senior housing and its various manifestations represents a key strategy to counteract relational poverty, toward intervening in the level of social sustainability through multi-actor network pathways that bring together institutions, private entities, third sector, and research centers. The article aims to analyze the potential that the senior cohousing model can offer, as well as the difficulties this type of shared living arrangement faces-moreover when designed specifically for older individuals and supported by public administrations-, and which still makes it an almost experimental experience in Italy.

Introduction: Colourism, prejudice where people are penalised the darker their skin and the further their features are from those associated with whiteness, occurs within and between racialised groups and can affect relationships. In this paper we examine the complex processes through which colourism positions Black and mixed Black-White women in contrasting positions in beauty and desirability hierarchies based on their skin shade.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 Black (n = 18) or mixed Black-White (n = 9) adults (18 women, 9 men) living in Britain. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results: Analysis generated four main themes. First, colourist and gendered appearance ideals promoted by mainstream media serve to devalue and thus harm Black people, particularly Black women with dark skin. Second, these ideals can affect Black and mixed Black-White women's experiences of the heterosexual relationship market where women with light skin are desired and those with darker skin often overlooked. Third, colourist appearance ideals and colourist-induced inequities in the heterosexual relationship market affect relationships between Black and mixed Black-White women of different skin shades. Fourth, fostering Black self-acceptance, celebrating natural Black beauty, and creating spaces for dialogue between women of different skin shades are seen as ways to address some aspects of colourism and/or their affects.

Discussion: Findings highlight how colourism shapes desirability in gendered ways and how this affects the lives of Black and mixed Black-White women, influencing within-group social dynamics and relationships.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the impact of online and offline survey methods on the participation of physicians in discrete choice experiment (DCE) surveys in Eastern China and explore their attitudes towards primary healthcare work.

Methods: The study involved active doctors practicing at secondary or county-level general hospitals in Eastern China, who completed a DCE questionnaire either online or offline. A mixed logit model was used to analyze the data, considering the relative importance of various job attributes.

Results: This study found that online surveys save costs and offline surveys help increase the response rate for questionnaires. The validity rate for the completed questionnaires was high (>90%) across both research methods. A mixed logit model simulation analysis revealed that compensation packages were the dominant influence on doctors' choices. The online survey showed that doctors were more likely to choose to work in village health centers if their salary was flat (β = 1.330), while the offline survey showed that doctors were also more likely to choose village health centers when their salary was increased by 10% (β = 1.095). Work organization and public recognition also had a significant effect on doctors' primary job choices (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The study concluded that remuneration, work organization, and public recognition are key factors affecting physicians' willingness to work in primary healthcare settings. For respondents with higher education and cognitive abilities, online surveys are recommended for DCE research.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV), referring to different forms of violence or abuse between two or more intimate partners, negatively impacts physical and mental health, performance in various settings, and familial functioning, leading to long-term adverse outcomes. Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals tend to experience similar or greater frequencies of IPV compared to their cisheterosexual counterparts. Stigma and discrimination toward sexual and gender diversity can lead to myths and misconceptions about relationship dynamics among SGM individuals, which can contribute to IPV occurrence within the community. This study sought to: (1) develop a compendium of myths and misconceptions that SGM individuals exposed to IPV and relevant service providers shared they encountered; (2) describe the impacts of these myths and misconceptions on SGM individuals experiencing IPV; and (3) make recommendations to address these myths and misconceptions.

Methods: This qualitative study used data from a larger project focused on SGM IPV where SGM individuals who experienced IPV (n = 18) and service providers who supported SGM individuals experiencing IPV (n = 8) were interviewed using semi-structured formats. Thematic content analysis and inductive approaches were used to identify and organize findings into themes and subcategories.

Findings: Five major themes related to SGM IPV myths and misconceptions were identified, touching on aspects including, but not limited to, SGM IPV prevalence, prescribed gender roles and expectations, and societal factors. Impacts and recommendations are also discussed.

Significance: This appears to be the very first in-depth study describing myths and misconceptions that SGM individuals and relevant service providers have encountered in regard to SGM IPV, helping to promote understanding of SGM intimate partner relationships with particular relevance to public health and social services policies.

Introduction: Non-normative sexual behaviors were traditionally studied from a psychopathological perspective, although nowadays a distinction is made between paraphilia (nonpathological) and paraphilic disorder (mental disorder).

Methods: The present study aims to examine the differences between a group of millennials (n = 173) and centennials (n = 159) in their appetite for these sexual behaviors without the preconception of these behaviors as harmful or pathological.

Results: Differences in appetite related to exhibitionism and foot fetishism were found in the first instance, with millennials showing a greater appetite for these. When including sexual orientation in the analysis, in addition to exhibitionism and foot fetishism, differences were found in behaviors related to asphyxiation, bestiality and urophilia. Millennials and homobisexual centennials showed the highest appetite for exhibitionism behaviors, homo-bisexual centennials for choking behaviors and bestiality and homo-bisexual millennials for foot fetishism and urophilia-related behaviors.

Discussion: Exploring nonnormative behaviors from a non-psychopathological perspective will help us to understand the evolution of sexual appetite as part of human sexual diversity and to prevent risky behaviors.