Social Sciences最新文献

{"title":"“Non-Corrupt Government”: Less Than Good, More Than Impartial","authors":"M. Villoria","doi":"10.3390/socsci12120682","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12120682","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years, the study of corruption has become one of the most prominent in the social sciences. If there is corruption, however, it is because something has been corrupted; something pure has been sullied. This pure element serves mainly as a normative reference: It may never have constituted a social and political reality. However, the purpose of this article is to try to define what its components might be. In this way, theoretical considerations can be used to provide a more solid basis for the fight against corruption. The position of this paper is that the opposite of corruption should be explicitly defined without the use of abstract categories such as good governance or integrity. The paper will begin with a discussion of the concept of “non-corrupt government” and then proceed to a theoretical analysis of the main issues involved. It will conclude with some practical remarks on how to build, in the most parsimonious way, the benchmark of quality that corruption undermines. The contention is that a “non-corrupt government” is based on four principles: (1) equality (input side), (2) reasonableness (input side), (3) impartiality and professionalism of the administration (output side), and (4) accountability of the office (output side).","PeriodicalId":37714,"journal":{"name":"Social Sciences","volume":"33 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139009003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unaccompanied or Separated Migrant Children and Adolescents at the Colombian–Venezuelan Border: Loss of the Social Moratorium and Its Implications","authors":"Carolina Ramírez-Martínez, Neida Albornoz-Arias, Leida Marcela Martínez Becerra, Karla Gabriela Tamayo Ramírez","doi":"10.3390/socsci12120683","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12120683","url":null,"abstract":"This study explains the Venezuelan migration involving unaccompanied or separated adolescents (UASA) on the Colombian–Venezuelan border, specifically in Norte de Santander-Táchira. This explanation is framed within the concept of the social moratorium, highlighting three subcategories that contribute to the early abandonment of childhood: 1. the violation of rights, 2. working life, and 3. confrontation of dangers. These subcategories compel UASA to transition prematurely into youth, assuming social, labor, or family responsibilities. Methodologically, we adopt a narrative approach, conducting group interviews with 24 immigrant children and adolescents. Furthermore, 14 interviews are conducted in 2 local markets, and the remaining 10 on 2 central avenues in the city of Cúcuta, Colombia. We conduct a theoretical analysis drawing upon key concepts, including the social moratorium, social constructionism, interaction, and moral and cognitive development. This theoretical framework helps us understand the consequences for the life prospects of this generation. They arise from factors such as school dropout, exposure to health risks, and the absence of free leisure time. These indicators reflect socioeconomic problems, including poverty, abuse, and violence.","PeriodicalId":37714,"journal":{"name":"Social Sciences","volume":"46 21","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139006985","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of Entrepreneurial Potential in the Training of a New Generation of Change Agents in Spain","authors":"Antonio Ramón Cárdenas-Gutiérrez, Ana M. Domínguez-Quintero, Antonio Bernal-Guerrero","doi":"10.3390/socsci12120680","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12120680","url":null,"abstract":"The development of entrepreneurial potential in the training of school-age pupils is relevant for carrying out projects of an innovative and transformative nature. Entrepreneurial training is enacted through Spanish educational regulations, in relation to the development of the key entrepreneurial competence. Thus, a training programme in entrepreneurial potential for school-age students, who are considered as agents of change, was evaluated under the approach of “enterprise education pedagogy”. For this purpose, an experimental research study, pre-test and post-test, with a control and experimental group, was designed. The sample consisted of 1036 participants from eight autonomous communities in Spain. The data analysis was carried out by means of a t-test to compare the mean before and after the application of the programme on the total number of participants, as well as on the subgroups with and without entrepreneurial intentions. The results show that the PEIEO programme had a positive effect on entrepreneurial potential. The experimental group, compared to the control group, significantly increased their total score in the t-test, as well as for each dimension of entrepreneurial potential. Similarly, the participants considered to have entrepreneurial intentions further increased their entrepreneurial potential compared to the group considered to have no entrepreneurial intentions. Consequently, the results indicate that entrepreneurship education, in a holistic sense, has a relevant impact on entrepreneurial potential in a programme aimed at training agents of change.","PeriodicalId":37714,"journal":{"name":"Social Sciences","volume":"75 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138982409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An Empirical Study on the Impact of China's Energy Consumption on Economic Growth Under the Background of \"Dual Carbon\"","authors":"Fang Liu, Ni Yilin","doi":"10.11648/j.ss.20231206.16","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20231206.16","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37714,"journal":{"name":"Social Sciences","volume":"491 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139011149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Surveillance Capitalism in Mental Health: When Good Apps Go Rogue (and What Can Be Done about It)","authors":"Nicole Gross, David Mothersill","doi":"10.3390/socsci12120679","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12120679","url":null,"abstract":"Research shows that a large proportion of the world’s population has experience with mental health difficulties, and reliable as well as scalable care is urgently needed. Digital mental health seems to be an obvious solution to provide the better delivery of care but also the delivery of better care. With an imagined future of real-time information sharing, improved diagnosis and monitoring of mental health conditions, and remote care, supported by advances in artificial intelligence, many tech companies have emerged over the last three decades to plug the treatment gap and provide services. The evidence base seems compelling: some online treatments have the capability to treat individuals quite successfully. However, the introduction, utilisation, and expansion of digital mental health technologies have not always focused on public health only. Using a surveillance capitalism perspective, this paper approaches the democratisation–privatisation dichotomy in digital mental health with a critical lens. In particular, the paper details how (commercially valuable) mental health data are extracted, “shared”, and claimed as an asset by big tech companies. Reviewing the terms, conditions, and practices of ten popular mental health apps, the paper polemically argues that mental digital health cannot unlock real value for society—better treatment, good quality care, and efficient delivery—if power, politics, and profits remain in the hands of big tech companies. To conclude, the paper draws attention to contemporary discourses that seek to promote democracy and public value for digital mental health apps, technologies, and solutions.","PeriodicalId":37714,"journal":{"name":"Social Sciences","volume":"96 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139011491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Work–Life Conflict and Job Satisfaction: The Moderating Role of Gender and Household Income in Western Europe","authors":"Vladimir Mentus, Jovana Zafirović","doi":"10.3390/socsci12120678","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12120678","url":null,"abstract":"Although many potential moderators of the work–life conflict and job satisfaction relationship are well-studied, previous research has often overlooked the potential influence of different income groups on this dynamic. Our aim in this paper is to test this moderation effect within the context of Western Europe. Additionally, we carry out the analysis for men and women separately, as this dynamic may be strongly influenced by gender. Using data from the tenth round of the European Social Survey for twelve countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Switzerland), we found a significant positive moderating effect of household income on the relationship between work–life conflict and job satisfaction for women, while for men the moderation effect is not significant. Our results thus suggest that for women, higher household income may serve as a buffer, alleviating the detrimental impact of individual work–life conflict on job satisfaction.","PeriodicalId":37714,"journal":{"name":"Social Sciences","volume":"186 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139011168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Boundaries of Parental Consent: The Example of Hypospadias Surgery","authors":"Katrina Roen, R. Sterling","doi":"10.3390/socsci12120677","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12120677","url":null,"abstract":"Human rights organisations raise concerns about medical interventions on children with intersex variations, particularly when these interventions impinge on the child’s bodily autonomy and are without a sound biomedical basis. Psychosocial literature and legal literature have made very different contributions to thinking about the healthcare of people with intersex variations, but both literatures pay attention to the process of informing patients about elective interventions and the workings of consent. The present paper addresses the absence of dialogue across medical, legal, and psychosocial literatures on the surgical treatment of children with intersex variations. The analysis presented in this paper focusses on the assumptions underpinning the practice of allowing parents to consent on behalf of their children to elective surgery in the instance of hypospadias. In this paper, we (i) introduce consent from a medico-legal perspective, (ii) analyse selected documents (including medical, psychosocial, and human rights documents) in relation to the concept of parental consent on behalf of a child, and (iii) reconsider the current practice of inviting parents to give consent for elective genital surgery on infants. What emerges from our analysis is a picture of long-term relationships and interactions over time within which the consent process is located. The focus is not whether consent is granted, but whether free and informed consent is granted. This picture allows us to expand the understanding of “informed consent,” highlighting the importance of producing ethical interactions between health professionals and patients with the view that these relationships last for years. Understanding consent as a process, considering information as dynamic, partial, and negotiated, and understanding the doctor–patient interaction as relational might enable us to imagine the kind of informed consent process that genuinely works for everyone concerned. Our examination of selected legal, medical, and psychosocial texts raises doubt about whether current hospital practice meets the requirement of informed parental consent on behalf of children undergoing hypospadias surgery.","PeriodicalId":37714,"journal":{"name":"Social Sciences","volume":"42 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139010855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An Adaptive Representational Explanation of COVID-19’s Evolution","authors":"Ruizhi Li, Yidong Wei","doi":"10.11648/j.ss.20231206.15","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20231206.15","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37714,"journal":{"name":"Social Sciences","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138984975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Adapting to Change: Investigating the Influence of Distance Learning on Performance in Italian Conservatories","authors":"Veronica Giffi, Stefania Fantinelli, T. Galanti","doi":"10.3390/socsci12120664","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12120664","url":null,"abstract":"During the COVID-19 pandemic, the sudden switch from face-to-face learning to distance learning generated many critical issues in music institutes. Specifically, conservatories found themselves using a didactic methodology that had never been considered before to ensure the continuation of students’ education. In particular, the adoption of distance learning has had a greater impact on those classes characterized by a significant practical–experiential component. This study aims to investigate the phenomenon of distance learning in Italian conservatories to explore how this experience affects students’ performance through their satisfaction with distance learning. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 328 students of 41 Italian conservatories, using an online self-report questionnaire to investigate conservatory students’ experience of distance learning and its impact on performance. To test the hypotheses, a mediation model was tested using SPSS version 26. The results show that the positive experience of distance learning has a positive impact on perceived performance and that satisfaction with distance learning, as a mediator role, further reinforces this relationship. This study is the first known one to explore the relationship between the experience of distance learning and student performance in the context of conservatories and music teaching.","PeriodicalId":37714,"journal":{"name":"Social Sciences","volume":"35 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139196714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Trajectories That Remain to Be Told: Civic Participation, Immigrant Organizations, and Women’s Leadership in Portugal","authors":"Joana Topa, Carla Cerqueira","doi":"10.3390/socsci12120665","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12120665","url":null,"abstract":"This study focuses on migrant women and their civic participation in civil society organizations and/or immigrant associations. Despite women’s migration having a long global history and being of academic interest, extensive knowledge of this situation has increased substantially in recent decades; research on the civic participation of immigrant women in Portugal is still incipient. The structural conditions affecting these women’s mobility processes remain overlooked, concealing their vulnerabilities. Additionally, success stories of migrant women, which could serve as inspirations for others, are often invisible. This exploratory research examines the role of female immigrant leaders and the demands they face in facilitating immigrants’ integration into Portuguese society. Eight qualitative interviews were conducted with diverse immigrant organizations in Portugal, advocating for immigrant rights and promoting integration through various strategies. The results reveal that migrant women’s experiences and participation in leadership roles are shaped not only by their migrant background and their qualifications but also by the difficulties they encountered upon arrival in Portugal. These leaders tend to focus on constraints, particularly regarding the organization’s sustainability, rather than emphasizing opportunities for civic participation. Nevertheless, this study also reveals that participation in IOs leads to increased autonomy and a heightened sense of empowerment for these women. It grants them a voice, visibility, and recognition both in the host society and their own communities. Overall, the study sheds light on the significance of recognizing immigrant women’s contributions and challenges, as well as the crucial role played by immigrant organizations in promoting integration and advocating for immigrants’ rights in Portugal. It also emphasizes the need for the government to financially support these organizations.","PeriodicalId":37714,"journal":{"name":"Social Sciences","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139201343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}