The article describes collaborative research into the relationship between non-formal education and civil society in post-Soviet Russia. It shows how through social survey data and case studies of ...non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other civil society organisations (CSOs), using a combination of social science perspectives, much can be learned about the current condition and democratic potential of Russian civil society.
In a world in which social media, visual images, and instant messaging are the everyday realities of today's young people, films and videos play a crucial role in developing a critical understanding ...of how social, economic, political, and cultural structures mediate the lives of youth. As teaching tools and cultural media, videos, and films offer frameworks through which one can access the political and cultural realities of the world in which racialized minority and immigrant youth live. In as much as youth see themselves represented in various media, they can also learn to critically question identity, representation, and ideologies. In this article, the authors look at the stories that four films--"Warrior Boys, Family Motel, Invisible City," and "Colour Blind"--communicate about racial minority and immigrant youth in Canada. They are especially interested in how the films engage issues of racialization, racism and colonization, as well as anti-racism and anti-colonialism. They reflect on the racialized norms within these films noting the particularity of their storylines: their starting points, assumptions, and agendas; how they employ examples; their moral undertone; and the roles of the antagonists. They discuss the extent to which the videos reinscribe or challenge existing images of racialized youth, and/or provide critical insights into the colonization and racialization process. (Contains 2 notes.)
Beginning in the 1970s, there has been a growing body of literature on the depictions of women in advertisements. However, the intersection of race and gender in advertising has rarely been explored. ...This study was designed to compare how White, Black, and East Asian women were portrayed in advertisements found in fashion magazines directed at adolescent girls. A correlation was found between race and the type of product advertised. Black women were prominent in clothing advertisements, and East Asian women were prominent in advertisements for technology products. A correlation was also found between race and the importance of the model in the advertisement. The results of this study illustrate that older stereotypes may still exist (White beauty ideal, hypersexual Black women), and some new stereotypes are being formed (technologically savvy East Asians). Adapted from the source document.
This article applies the theory of representative bureaucracy to state-level political appointees. The theory holds that the demographic composition of the bureaucracy should mirror the demographic ...composition of the general public. In this way, the preferences of a heterogeneous population will be represented in bureaucratic decision making. New measures introduced in the article provide a more comprehensive picture of the extent to which demographic groups are truly represented in state government bureaucracies. In addition, the study offers a detailed breakdown of policy leaders by gender, race, and ethnicity. Our findings show that, in most cases, women and people of color are not well represented in top policy making positions in state governments across the country. We also find that in most cases, women and people of color have achieved even lower levels of representation than is evident from earlier studies, which focus almost exclusively on the representation of these groups in career posts.
The aims of this study were twofold: first, to identify the characteristics that distinguish neglected children from other children reported to youth protection services; and second, to assess the ...relative importance of each of these characteristics in the differentiation of such children. Researchers analyzed data from the Quebec Incidence Study (QIS), which documented all reports retained for in-depth assessment out of 4,774 reports filed with youth protection services over a 3-month period. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses examined variables on different levels to establish which of the factors linked to the phenomenon of neglect were most significant. Results indicate that neglected children tend to be younger than other reported children, and have a greater frequency of prior referrals and a greater number of learning and development problems; their parents have a greater tendency to have personal, economic, and social problems and childhood histories of maltreatment. Adapted from the source document.
Purpose - This paper seeks to analyse publications on Nigeria indexed in Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) of Thomson Scientific databases ...respectively to understand the international perspective of aspects of research publication dynamics in both fields.Design methodology approach - Data covering the period 2002-2007 were collected from the SSCI and AHCI of the Web of Science, an online service of Thomson Scientific in June 2008.Findings - SSCI and AHCI indexed a total of 716 publications on Nigeria, 634 and 82 respectively. Paper production in each of these fields rose during 2002 to 2004 and 2005 respectively, and then started dropping. The publications received a total of 1,371 citations; the 82 AHCI documents received only six citations, while the 634 SSCI publications received 1,366 citations, equivalent to means of 0.06 and 2.15 citations per AHCI and SSCI document respectively. Only 6.1 per cent of the AHCI documents were cited compared with 46.7 per cent of SSCI publications; but citation of social science papers was consistently on the increase, while citation of arts and humanities publications, flattened in 200 humanities, was consistently on the increase. In both fields, article type of papers written in English dominated.Research limitations implications - This research covers only a period of six years; a fuller picture would be obtained with a longer period.Practical implications - Publications in sources listed in international databases could illustrate the extent to which Nigerian scholars have addressed issues of global relevance.Originality value - The paper uncovers the international status and perspective of Nigerian publications in social science and arts and humanities disciplines.
To encourage the health and well-being of American Indian (AI) communities, it is first necessary to understand the meaning of health for particular tribes. As such, this investigation reports on the ...meaning of health and well-being for Chickasaw families. Findings from this investigation additionally highlight ways in which characteristics of strong Chickasaw families are both similar to and different from those of other AI tribes. Implications for science and practice are discussed.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and especially in robotics we can observe a tendency towards building intelligent artefacts that are meant to be social, to have 'human social' ...characteristics like emotions, the ability to conduct dialogue, to learn, to develop personality, character traits, and social competencies. Care, entertainment, pet and educational robots are conceptualised as friendly, understanding partners and credible assistants which communicate 'naturally' with users, show emotions and support them in everyday life. Social robots are often designed to interact physically, affectively and socially with humans in order to learn from them. To achieve this goal, roboticists often
model the human-robot interaction on early caregiver-infant interactions. In this paper I want to analyse prominent visions of these 'socio-emotional' machines as well as early prototypes and commercial products with regard to the human-machine interface. By means of this I will ask how feminist critiques of technology could be applied to the field of social robotics in which concepts like sociality or emotion are crucial elements while, at the same time, these concepts play an important role in feminist critiques of technology.
Low birthweight is a major determinant of infant mortality, as well as a contributor to infant and childhood morbidity. A key issue is how to reduce the incidence of low birthweight in the United ...States. One emerging factor is exposure to psychosocial stressors. In this research, we evaluated the association between exposure to psychosocial stressors and low birthweight in a population of urban, low-income pregnant women.
Over 2,000 pregnant women 18 years of age and older were enrolled in this prospective study and recruited at their first prenatal care visit. We obtained information on maternal exposure to stressors. After the pregnancy, we abstracted clinical records of each woman enrolled in the study. Logistic regression was used to estimate the adjusted odds ratio for the association between stressor group membership and low birthweight, controlling for the effects of confounding factors.
In logistic regression analyses stratified by race, for African-American women, the following variables were significantly associated with low birthweight: smoking, hypertension, low prepregnancy weight, hospitalization during pregnancy, previous preterm birth, and exposure to stressors. For Caucasian women, significant predictors were: smoking, drug use, hospitalization during pregnancy, hypertension, and previous preterm birth. Exposure to stressors was also significantly associated with many clinical and behavioral risks for low birthweight.
Our results suggest two potential mechanisms for an association between stressors and low birthweight. Exposure to stressors may be indirectly associated with low birthweight through a relationship with clinical and behavioral risks for low birthweight. Exposure to psychosocial stressors may also be directly associated with risk of low birthweight among African-American women.
Introduction. Chronic somatopathies are usually progressive and may result in substantial psychological changes. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) ranks very high as a reason for physical ...disability in the world.
Aim. This study aimed at estimating mood, mental activity, efficiency, and tonus of the vegetative nervous system of patients with COPD.
Materials and methods. Colour Luscher’s test was used to survey 62 patients with COPD of mild and moderate degree, including 38 men and 24 women of the median age: 48±2.1. The control group, also tested, consisted of 56 essentially healthy people, comparable with regards to age and sex to the researched group. Colour Luscher’s test was applied to study psychological and social characteristics, as
well as the level of the «simpaticus» scale of the vegetative nervous system in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Decreased functional ability, increased uneasiness, and a high level of the «simpaticus» scale of the vegetative nervous system did not correlate with the gender of the patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Psychological and social characteristics of the patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are provided and discussed considering their gender.
Conclusions. Irrespective of sex, COPD patients manifest a high tonus of sympathetic department of the vegetative nervous system, reduced efficiency, and increased anxiety. In male patients, striving for recognition, impressionability and sensitivity, lead to marked nervous pressure in connection with their attempt for self-esteem. In female patients, reduction in the factors of: instability of choice, emotional indifference, and pessimism, is marked.
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