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Purpose: This paper outlines the theoretical and empirical basis for compassion focused therapy (CFT) for psychosis, the gaps in the current knowledge and research, as well as some of the challenges for addressing gaps. It will guide the direction of future work and the steps needed to develop and advance this approach. Method: This paper reviews evidence of how evolutionary models such as social rank theory and attachment theory have greatly contributed to our understanding of psychosis and provide a clear rationale and evidence base for the mechanisms of change in CFT for psychosis. It reviews the evidence for outcomes of compassion training more generally, and early feasibility evaluations of CFT for psychosis. Results: The process evidence shows that people with psychosis have highly active social rank and threat systems, and the benefits of switching into attachment and care systems, which can support emotion regulation and integrative mind states. The outcomes evidence shows that compassion training impacts not only psychological outcomes, but also physiological outcomes such as neural circuits, immune system, and the autonomic nervous system. Within the psychosis field, outcomes research is still in the early days, but there are good indications of feasibility and a clear path forward for the next steps. Conclusions: CFT for psychosis is an approach that integrates biopsychosocial processes, an integration that's evidenced across each aspect of the model, from theoretical foundations (evolution‐informed) to interventions (e.g., body/breath training and relational techniques), to evaluation. Future RCTs are required to understand the effects on biopsychosocial outcomes for people with psychosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper advances multidisciplinary research, policy, education and activisms which cohere around the concept of the 'water–energy–food (W–E–F) nexus' via an evidence-led critique of normative forms of nexus-thinking which draws upon research with 3705 diverse young people's (aged 10–24 years) W–E–F experiences in SE Brazil. We consider how the neat, cool, ostensibly authoritative buzzword style of W–E–F nexus-thinking is radically unsettled – and sometimes conceptually-critically overwhelmed – via encounters with social scientific data in practice. In particular, the paper presents two interlinked analyses of data relating to young people's everyday engagements with water resources. First, we present a quantitative analysis of young people's everyday participation with/in water resources, highlighting diversities and inequities in relation to age, gender, ethnicity and social class, among other modes of social–cultural heterogeneity and intersectionality. Second, we present a qualitative narration of young people's water-related anxieties, evidencing their intimate everyday interrelations with watery materialities and insecurities – 'black water', 'muddy water', 'shit water' and all. In so doing, we advance an argument for what we term more-than- nexus-thinking: i.e., forms of research, theory and practice which value the apparent conceptual-ethical clarity and interoperability of nexus-thinking, whilst actively thinking-with complexities and deeply-affecting lived experiences of W–E–F in everyday spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is based on a Keynote Lecture at the 2022 Colloquium of the Society for Educational Studies. It analyses the articles published in four leading journals in 2021 and compares these with the same journals 20 years earlier. Key findings include a considerable increase in authorship and multiple authorship and a very strong international dimension to authorship in current UK-based journals. Two-thirds of the papers were empirical, and by far the most common type of research design was qualitative interview studies, often of a very small-scale nature. Aspects of the teaching profession were the most common form of content, and there was also a focus on social class and multi-cultural issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since all policies address problems, they necessarily include implicit or explicit constructions of these problems. This paper explores how child maltreatment has been constructed in New Zealand's child protection policies. It questions the underlying assumptions of this problem construction and seeks to shed light on what has been omitted. Utilizing a qualitative content analysis of eight key policy documents, this study reveals the construction of child maltreatment has been dominated primarily by a child-centric, risk-focused approach. This approach assigns blame and shifts responsibilities onto parents and families. In addition, the vulnerability discourse and social investment approach underpinning this perspective have allowed important structural factors, such as poverty and inequality, to remain unaddressed. This paper also highlights the one-dimensional focus on the lower social class to control future liabilities. We suggest that the harm inflicted by corporations on children's well-being is another form of child exploitation currently omitted from the problem construction. We suggest that child abuse should be defined and understood in policy as harm to children's well-being and argue that the state should prevent and mitigate harm by addressing structural forces of the problem as well as protecting children against corporate harms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Western European welfare states, research shows that support for welfare chauvinism, or the notion that welfare benefits for immigrants should be restricted, is highest among white, blue-collar working-class voters. On the other hand, higher-educated, middle-class voters are more likely to reject welfare chauvinism and support the inclusion of immigrants into the welfare state. For social democratic parties, this might pose an electoral dilemma between generous welfare states and open borders: They rely on both middle- and working-class constituencies and are ideologically tied both to a universal welfare state and the protection of (national) workers. To what extent does such an electoral dilemma between classes exist for social democratic parties? How do social democratic parties solve this dilemma when in government? In this paper, we postulate that a class divide around welfare chauvinism exists within the electorate for social democratic parties and that these parties' policies in government reflect these divides: If the social democratic electorate has a high share of working-class voters, they should act more welfare chauvinist than if their electorate is mostly middle class. We test these hypotheses by combining survey and macro-level policy data in 14 Western European countries from 1980 to 2018. We find consistent evidence of the existence of a working-class/middle-class divide regarding welfare chauvinism, even within social democratic electorates. On the macro-level, we find partial evidence that social democratic parties in power respond to the class demands of their electorate: They are less welfare chauvinist when they have a higher proportion of middle-class voters, whereas their working-class vote share does not significantly condition their policies at all, contrary to assumptions in the literature. We therefore conclude that as social democratic parties become parties of the middle classes, the likelihood that they will retrench immigrant welfare rights reduces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To scope how the Australian Bureau of Statistics Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) has been applied to measure socio-economic status (SES) in peer-reviewed cardiovascular disease (CVD) research. Methods: The Joanna Briggs Institute's scoping review methodology was used. Results: The search retrieved 2788 unique citations, and 49 studies were included. Studies were heterogeneous in their approach to analysis using SEIFA. Not all studies provided information as to what version was used and how SEIFA was applied in analysis. Spatial unit of analysis varied between studies, with participant postcode most frequently applied. Study quality varied. Conclusions: The use of SEIFA in Australian CVD peer-reviewed research is widespread, with variations in the application of SEIFA to measure SES as an exposure. There is a need to improve the reporting of how SEIFA is applied in the methods sections of research papers for greater transparency and to ensure accurate interpretation of CVD research. What is known about the topic? A socio-economic status (SES) gradient is well established for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Research has generally applied two approaches to classifying SES: at an individual level using income, education or occupation data, and at an area level using a range of existing socio-economic information, including the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA). What does this paper add? This review examined how SEIFA has been applied to measure SES in Australian peer-reviewed CVD research and to identify any variations in research practice. What are the implications for practitioners? It is recommended that researchers provide a clear explanation in the methods section of research papers as to which SEIFA version and index was applied, how it was applied, at what spatial unit, and whether the spatial unit was an ABS or non-ABS unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Urban Studies (Sage Publications, Ltd.) is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores how special educational needs (SEN) and social class can become intertwined in post-primary school choice in Ireland. The paper draws on data generated during a three-year ethnographic study of a DEIS school. Data are analysed using Holland et al.'s (1998. Identity and Agency in Cultural Worlds. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press) positional identities, authored selves and figured worlds in order to examine how learner identities and school choice processes can become informed by emergent school cultures being formed and re-formed by neoliberal marketisation of education and how these actions are taken up in the identity work of young people and their families. Soft barriers and their contribution to aspects of school stratification by social class and SEN in this setting are explored. Finally, the paper calls for recognition of the responsibilities of every school to own diversity in their own settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the impact of the 'hostile environment' on racialised migrant women's experiences of pregnancy and childbirth in England, arguing that the 'hostile environment' functions as a technology of 'stratified reproduction.' First coined by Shellee Colen, the concept of stratified reproduction describes the dynamic by which some individuals and groups may be supported in their reproductive activities, while others are disempowered and discouraged. This paper locates the stratified reproduction produced by the 'hostile environment' as intertwined with wider gendered and racialised discourses around British citizenship which have been 'designed to fail' racialised residents of the UK. Drawing on interviews with racialised migrant mothers in the north of England, this paper analyses how the proliferation and intensification of immigration controls interacts with gender, race, class, and other social regimes to differentially allocate the resources necessary for a safe and healthy pregnancy and childbirth, and how this is experienced materially by pregnant migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intersectionality is a proven theoretical framework, offering a lens to explore how multiple identities and interlocking systems of power influence equity for historically underserved groups. This paper, with its unique focus on Black/African American women as a unilateral demographic, applies the multi-level intersectionality model to elucidate how race and gender converge to impact the educational and leadership experiences of Black/African Diasporan women. By illustrating the model's utility in research, policy, and practice, it not only sheds light on how systems of privilege shape opportunities and (in)equities for underrepresented groups, particularly within the context of higher education and leadership, but also provides actionable insights that empower policymakers and practitioners to make a difference. Framed within the context of higher education in the United States, this research underscores the need for more attention to race-gender diversity in higher education, as education and leadership are, in many ways, a manifestation of attainment and self-actualization. These insights can guide the development of effective policies and practices that promote equity and diversity in higher education, offering tangible solutions to the persistent challenges faced by Black/African American women in these spheres. Plain Language Summary: Intersectionality and Its Application in Higher Education Literature Intersectionality is an established theoretical framework that examines how various identities and power structures impact equity for marginalized groups, focusing specifically on Black/African American women. This paper applies a multi-level intersectionality model to show how race and gender intersect to influence the educational and leadership experiences of these women, providing valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners in higher education. It emphasizes the importance of addressing race-gender diversity in education and leadership to create more equitable opportunities and outcomes, offering practical solutions for the challenges faced by Black/African American women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Human & Society / İnsannsan ve Toplum is the property of Scientific Studies Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This qualitative study examines strategies used by children in a kindergarten dual language immersion (DLI) class, when enacting and negotiating intersecting social constructions such as ethnicity, social class, and bilingualism. Drawing on data collected during the 2017–2018 academic year, this paper uses an intersectional lens to describe the ways in which children are actively engaged in sociocultural processes of language use and socialization. In addition, it employs the notions of identity and social class position to analyze how children's bilingual understanding and strategic language use is manifested in different ways. The paper ends by encouraging educators and researchers to reconsider the way they evaluate power at work in educational settings and children's ways of displaying it. A more nuanced understanding of children's interactions in bilingual settings is necessary in order to stretch our considerations of power and social relations in present-day school contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the ways in which working-class boys negotiated the content and delivery of physical education at a 'typical', white working-class secondary school located in the north of England. The study utilised a quasi-ethnographical case-study design conducted over a non-continuous three-month period involving covert and overt participant observation, guided conversations, and group interviews. A total of 48 key stage 4 (Year 10 and 11) male pupils were selected to take part in eight focus groups following the observation of approximately 340 key stage four (KS4) pupils in PE lessons. The data revealed that the vast majority of these male pupils arrived at the school with a narrow sporting repertoire as result of the upbringings and lifestyles made up of 'traditional' working-class activities such as football and fishing. Their strong predisposition for recreational involvement in these activities impacted directly on what the young males would, and could, do during PE at school and in this way were able to influence (to lesser and greater degrees) the content and delivery of their PE experiences. The findings of the study, therefore, go some way explaining how PE in many working-class secondary schools may come to influence the long standing, class-related adult participation anomalies that continue to exist in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Stratification-of-Goods" expresses social ranking where the lower status group consumes almost exclusively coarse goods such as Rambo films while the upper status group consumes almost exclusively refined goods such as Shakespearean plays. The Stratification-of-Goods is an enigma for the social welfare function (SWF)—which also applies at the level of the individual utility function. It is an enigma because it makes SWF and individual utility function ill-defined: there is no single metric that allows us to compare the utility functions across groups, as well as the tastes across a single decision maker (DM), insofar as they are segregated by the refinement of taste. This paper proposes a model that promises to solve the Stratification-of-Goods Enigma. The model, consistent with rational choice theory, starts with DMs who have identical tastes but differ with respect to income level. If income inequality is non-trivial, DMs invest differently in what this paper calls "sophistication capital"—the education needed to appreciate refined goods. The difference in investment in sophistication capital sets in motion dynamics that generates hard-to-reverse status stratification. In this fashion, this paper offers a solid endogenous account that solves the Stratification-of-Goods Enigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents and preschool teachers play a key role in shaping children's dietary behaviors. Knowledge of nutrition and healthy dietary choices is a key component to improve dietary habits and reduce the prevalence of obesity and associated co-morbidities. Using valid and reliable instruments is necessary for accurate assessment of knowledge to tailor interventions and measure effectiveness specific to the population of interest. The objectives of this paper are to (1) identify potential gaps in the baseline nutrition knowledge among parents and teachers using a previously validated questionnaire prior to a preschool obesity prevention intervention; and (2) assess the instrument's reliability and construct validity for a low socioeconomic status population using a post hoc Rasch analysis. Participants included 177 parents and 75 teachers who participated in a Head Start intervention study. Knowledge scores, instrument reliability, and item fit and difficulty were assessed using a Rasch analysis; t-tests were used to determine differences in scores between parents and teachers. Parents answered 38% of questions correctly while teachers correctly answered 46% of the questions. Adequate item fit and reliability were indicated for Sections 1 and 2 of the Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (NKQ). Section 3 demonstrated less adequate reliability. The items were found to adequately and reliably define the unidimensional measures of the three components of knowledge represented in this instrument, providing evidence of construct validity. However, Rasch measures indicated the NKQ overall was difficult for participants. Recommendations for improving the instrument for nutrition education/intervention and research practice areas related to obesity and obesity-related conditions are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the influence of class on migrants' social positioning strategies in transnational spaces. It contributes to debates about the processes of transnational class‐making and class formation. Going beyond an analysis of class in socio‐economic terms, the paper focuses on peoples' (changing) subjective understandings of middle‐class membership as a relevant factor in migrants' transnational social positioning strategies. Based on qualitative interview data with middle‐class migrants in Germany, the presentation relates their experiences with downward social mobility before and after migration to their subjective perspectives on middle‐class membership over time and in different places. The findings show that middle‐class performance is shaped by migration experiences but also shapes peoples' mobility trajectories and therefore influences and promotes different transnational lifestyles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the post-Keynesian and Sraffian perspectives on the relationship between monetary policy and income distribution, highlighting their endogenous demand-led money approach and rejection of the neutrality of interest rates, and monetary policy as tool of redistribution among social classes. Both approaches acknowledge that the central bank can influence interest rates and hence, the functional distribution of income. These shared ideas recognize the political nature of interest rates and the distributive impacts of monetary policy. Although all are crucial common points, some differences persist; PK theory often emphasizes the impact of monetary policy on rentiers vs. non-rentier classes, while Sraffians focus more on wage earners vs. non-wage earners. Further, while PK theorists advocate for alternative monetary policy rules, Sraffians favor discretionary policy tailored to each economy's unique institutional framework. The paper concludes by suggesting that these shared critical conceptions, despite minor differences, should stimulate collaborative efforts to further develop heterodox theories of monetary policy and income distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores enduring influences on life satisfaction using empirical analysis of World Values Survey (WVS) data (four versions of the most comprehensive dataset, namely 1.6, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0). Five significant values emerged—financial satisfaction, happiness, freedom of choice, health, and democracy. Through rigorous selection processes and various statistical techniques, a subset of three determinants resulted, along with consecrated socio-demographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, social class, and settlement size. Advanced methodologies such as feature selection, random and non-random cross-validations, overfitting removal, collinearity and reverse causality checks, and different regressions served to evaluate and validate robust models. Nomograms helped to predict life satisfaction probabilities. The findings contribute to understanding life satisfaction dynamics and offer practical insights for future research and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early language delay is exacerbated by social disadvantage. Factors such as parents' low levels of literacy, confidence and self‐perception can affect the capacity to act on advice received, critical to empowerment. Methods used to achieve successful health outcomes in socially disadvantaged clinical populations may need enhancing. Aims: To compare the impact of standard parent‐based intervention (PBI) to enhanced PBI for young children with speech, language and communication needs (SCLN) and their families living in more socially disadvantaged populations. Methods and Procedures: A multicentre clustered blind randomised controlled trial was used to compare the effect of parent‐based group interventions to improve early language development with children (mean age 27.5 months) from more socially disadvantaged populations with an expressive vocabulary of 40 or less single words. Intervention sessions were delivered by a speech and language therapist, over a 20‐week period. Participants received one of two interventions: (1) Standard Care – indirect group PBI – (PBI) (2) Enhanced Care: indirect group enhanced PBI – (EPBI). Both standardised and non‐standardised measures were used as outcomes. Parent engagement in the intervention was captured through analysis of attendance and the Parent Activation Measure – Speech & Language Therapy (PAM‐SLT) (Insignia Health, 2014). The PAM measures a person's knowledge, skills and confidence to manage their own health and well‐being (NHS England, 2018). In this study, activation referred to parents' knowledge, skills and confidence to manage their child's language development. Outcomes and Results: One hundred fifty‐five participants were randomised at baseline. Children in both groups made significant improvements in the outcome on MacArthur‐Bates Communicative Development Inventories Sentence Length, from pre‐intervention to post‐intervention and 6 months post‐intervention (p < 0.05). Changes in vocabulary and expressive language skills were more equivocal, showing wide variation in confidence intervals for both groups. Where parents attended at least one intervention session almost all effect sizes were in favour of the EPBI intervention. Parents' activation levels significantly increased for both groups (EPBI p < 0.001, PBI p = 0.003), with a moderate effect size in favour of EPBI (Hedges' G 0.37, confidence interval –0.02 to 0.76), although wide variation was found. Conclusions and Implications: This trial provides some evidence of facilitating the language development of children with SLCN from more socially disadvantaged areas through supporting caregivers. However, we found variation in outcomes; some children made excellent progress, whilst others did not. Further exploration of parent engagement and its relationship to child language outcomes will be valuable to understanding more about mechanisms of change in interventions that involve parents. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) have a knock‐on effect on emotional well‐being, school readiness, literacy and school attainment, putting children at increased risk of long‐term consequences such as poor literacy, mental health problems and unemployment. In disadvantaged areas, the prevalence of language difficulties is higher than elsewhere. Factors such as parents' low levels of literacy, confidence and self‐perception can affect the capacity to act on advice received, critical to empowerment. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: Children with SLCN from more socially disadvantaged areas can make improvements in their language development through parent intervention, although wide individual variation was found. There was some evidence that children achieve better outcomes with EPBI, which employed an interagency collaborative approach. Parent's engagement (activation levels) increased significantly over time with intervention, with the increase twice as big for EPBI. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: This trial provides some evidence that it is possible to facilitate the language development of children from more socially disadvantaged areas through supporting their caregivers. Further research would be useful to determine whether increases in parent engagement are related to adherence to intervention and change in child outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the lasting impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on research ethics in social sciences by focusing on the concept of vulnerability. We unpack the current conceptualisations of vulnerability and their limitations and argue for the need to reconceptualise vulnerability as multidimensional, consisting of both universal and contextual dimensions, as well as their dynamic interplay. Multidimensional vulnerability is inspired by and relevant to social science research during the pandemic but can also be useful in other contexts such as climate change or conflict. The paper puts forwards several considerations about how this revised concept of vulnerability may be useful when evaluating ethical dimensions of social science research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: This study takes on the challenge of quantifying a complex causal loop diagram describing how poverty and health affect each other, and does so using longitudinal data from The Netherlands. Furthermore, this paper elaborates on its methodological approach in order to facilitate replication and methodological advancement. Methods: After adapting a causal loop diagram that was built by stakeholders, a longitudinal structural equation modelling approach was used. A cross-lagged panel model with nine endogenous variables, of which two latent variables, and three time-invariant exogenous variables was constructed. With this model, directional effects are estimated in a Granger-causal manner, using data from 2015 to 2019. Both the direct effects (with a one-year lag) and total effects over multiple (up to eight) years were calculated. Five sensitivity analyses were conducted. Two of these focus on lower-income and lower-wealth individuals. The other three each added one exogenous variable: work status, level of education, and home ownership. Results: The effects of income and financial wealth on health are present, but are relatively weak for the overall population. Sensitivity analyses show that these effects are stronger for those with lower incomes or wealth. Physical capability does seem to have strong positive effects on both income and financial wealth. There are a number of other results as well, as the estimated models are extensive. Many of the estimated effects only become substantial after several years. Conclusions: Income and financial wealth appear to have limited effects on the health of the overall population of The Netherlands. However, there are indications that these effects may be stronger for individuals who are closer to the poverty threshold. Since the estimated effects of physical capability on income and financial wealth are more substantial, a broad recommendation would be that including physical capability in efforts that are aimed at improving income and financial wealth could be useful and effective. The methodological approach described in this paper could also be applied to other research settings or topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Costumes played a significant role at the royal courts of King Henry VIII, and courtiers maintained scrupulous cautiousness regarding their presentability and dress. Theatricality is a persistent trope in Mantel's Neo - Tudor novels, often exercised through strategically displayed extravagant fabrics. This study interprets the clothing culture at the courts of King Henry VIII, as represented in the three Wolf Hall novels. As social classes became increasingly stratified during the Renaissance, the bourgeoisie distinguished themselves from the commoners and sustained inclusivity into the monarchical elite by enacting strategic theatricality. This paper demonstrates how the theatricality of magnificence was performed through the politics of apparel, ornamentation, and distinguished fashion. Referring to works by John Matusiak, Tracy Borman, Maria Hayward, and Elizabeth Currie, this study argues that fashion was at the core of Royal Tudor governance, and Mantel utilises this trope to camouflage or amplify the magnitude of a political persona. In the context of the Tudor Sumptuary Laws, this paper also analyses how Mantel used dress as a motif of theatricality to demonstrate class segregation during sixteenth-century England. The gendering of clothes and its political ramifications shall be another issue tackled by this paper, focusing on the sartorial choices of the characters of Anne Boleyn, Katherine, and Jane Seymour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining the entanglement of democracy and social justice in education and the relationship to social mobility, this paper critiques the individualising nature of social mobility in policy discourse as inimical to human flourishing and education as a public good. The rhetoric of social mobility which responsibilises individuals for their success, without due regard to the systemic changes needed to enable this and the societal barriers to social mobility experienced disproportionately by some groups in society, is detrimental to social justice. A conception of education as a pathway to social mobility must be located in a wider vision of civic engagement in a more inclusive and fairer society. Yet civic engagement in education at the local level has been eroded, as illustrated in this paper by the example of an evolving model of school governance in England. As a corporatist, market driven reform, this model exemplifies how local democratic ties between schools and engagement with their communities can be undermined. Social mobility to enable opportunities, access and participation in democratic civic society becomes a fantasy when society is riven with systemic inequalities, lacks the necessary conditions to enable human flourishing and links to community engagement in education for democratic renewal are downplayed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of The Iraqi University is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This editorial from the journal Frontiers in Digital Health discusses the importance of addressing mental health needs during times of crisis and the potential of digital platforms in providing accessible and affordable mental health care. It emphasizes the need to focus on vulnerable and marginalized populations and raises ethical concerns related to digital mental health research. The editorial mentions six papers published on this research topic, including three that specifically focus on mental health challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. These papers explore the effectiveness of online cognitive behavioral therapy, the challenges faced by social workers, and the impact of virtual classes on the social-emotional development of youth. Additionally, the editorial mentions a study protocol on mental health interventions for young adults in post-conflict regions in Colombia. The study aims to design and pilot mental health support interventions within the existing Youth-in-Action program in Colombia, with the goal of addressing mental health concerns among socioeconomically vulnerable young populations in low- and middle-income countries. [Extracted from the article]

This paper contextualizes Okudzhava's song "And We to the Doorman" (AWD), initially marginal in the Soviet poetic mainstream. It explores its shifts in tone, irregular rhythms, colloquial language, and semi-criminal undertones. AWD's structure, with uneven stanzas and no clear refrain, reveals underlying symmetry and recurring themes. The meter is predominantly iambic but varies. Unconventional verse endings and various rhyme schemes, including distant chains, characterize its prosody. The narrative touches on social cohesion and class conflict. The style reflects a challenging attitude toward privilege, employing rhetorical devices and indirect threats. The melody aligns with thematic elements, featuring repetitive patterns and a spoken quality. Semantically, AWD presents an ambiguous message on class struggle and moral issues. In sum, this analysis uncovers Okudzhava's song's formal complexities, thematic nuances, and stylistic innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper sheds the light on the meaning of the term 'Hybridity' according to Young as shown in the OED and during the nineteenth century which is dominated by colonialism. The spread of the British imperial powers across the different countries lead to the mixing of the various races together. So, Young discusses the prominent ideas that lead to the emergence of racial hybridity such as immigration, diaspora, displacement and others. He also focuses on the debates of the nineteenth century that highlight the theme of racial hybridity in order to determine the specific race of the English nation as it consists of hybrid races. A close reading to Young's analysis to these arguments reveals themes grounded in racism and class distinction. Young in this study resists against the racist theories that are set against the colonized countries during the nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the way the outbreak of coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown has egregiously impeded the Hindu death ceremonies and mourning rituals in India. It makes a comparative analysis of how Hindu death rituals get renegotiated, modified and reinterpreted across two vastly different regions of India, both of which have their local customs. Whilst death rituals in India are contingent on the deceased's caste, community, class, gender and age, the impediment to the major death rituals creates a central conundrum for all mourners. It results from the substitution of 'sacred' ritual guidelines with new 'profane' ones for the 'disposal' of deceased COVID-19 patients. Departure from many significant pre-liminal rites, specific transition rites, and post-liminal rites has eschatological, ritual and cultural ramifications. The inability to grieve in unison during a Shraddh ceremony denies mourners any scope to quell distressing feelings about mortality which serves as a source of consolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do social classes differ inmoral judgment? Previous research showed that upper-class actors have a greater inclination toward utilitarian judgments than lower-class actors and that this relationship is mediated by empathic concern. In this paper, we take a closer look at class-based differences inmoral judgment and use the psychometric technique of process dissociation to measure utilitarian and deontological decision inclinations as independent and orthogonal concepts. We find that upper-class actors do indeed have a greater inclination toward decisions consistent with utilitarian principles, albeit only to a quite small extent. Class-related differences are more pronounced with respect to deontological judgments, in so far as upper-class actors are less inclined to judgments consistent with deontological principles than lower-class actors. In addition, it is shown that class-based differences in utilitarian judgments are mediated by cognitive styles and not so much by empathic concern or moral identity. None of these potential mediators explains class-based differences in the inclination toward deontological judgments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past 20 years, divorce has increased in Indonesia. Indonesian statistics show that divorces initiated by women exceed those by men. One issue that is often neglected is how socioeconomic differences also play a role in this matter. Drawing on our collaborative research on Muslim divorces in Indonesia, this paper focuses on the interplay between divorce strategies and socioeconomic differences among Muslim couples. Our in-depth interviews with 93 Muslim men and women and 19 judges from Islamic courts show that class differences shape distinctive dynamics of divorce among Muslim Indonesians. Couples from less educated, lower-income backgrounds accept marriage dissolution more easily, with women becoming much less tolerant of men's behaviors such as infliction of domestic violence, infidelity, and failure to provide financial support. Educated, middle-class urban couples divorce for similar reasons but tend to experience a lengthier process accompanied by complex layers of conflict. Many educated women's narratives emphasize their ability to support themselves through working, and a desire to be free of a bad marriage at any cost. Class and education thus contribute to significant differences in the experience and trajectories of divorce in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pregnant Tree and the Goblin (2019) is a fantasy-documentary film directed by Kim Dong-ryung and Park Kyoung-tae. The film narrates the story of Park In-sun, a former sex worker in the United States military camp-town in South Korea. This paper closely analyzes four key scenes from the film – interview, field visit, revenge, and recalcitrance – to present two arguments. Firstly, the film illustrates the infliction of secondary violence by academia. I specifically examine scenes involving scholar figures’ interviews and field visits to disentangle the politics of knowledge production in the posthumous memorialisation. Secondly, this paper expands the sociocultural meaning of death, considering it as the starting point for imagining new ways of memorialising past violence. To achieve this, I demonstrate how the film’s brilliant delivery of creative and performative re-enactment of survivors’ dream images proposes recalcitrance as a generative analytical concept for memorialising difficult histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When attempting to manage a large social system, it is necessary to have an overview of how the society functions and how economic theories describe this functioning. Recent discussions of higher orders of cybernetics are helping to define a multi‐disciplinary, multi‐level point of view. Knowledge from several disciplines is needed—systems science, management, engineering, cognitive studies and the various social science disciplines all have contributions to make. In this paper, we apply cybernetic ideas to further develop economic theories. The paper also uses economics to illustrate ideas in cybernetics. Similar thinking can be applied to other disciplines thus advancing the unification of science. The paper illustrates a transdisciplinary approach to knowledge development. The implications of the paper are improved understanding among scholars from several disciplines. The intent is to expand the range of conceptual possibilities available for problem‐solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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China's policies about reducing carbon emissions mainly focus on saving energy and reducing pollutant emissions. However, the carbon emissions of the logistics industry remain high. Thus, logistics companies should not only reduce distribution costs, but also consider the impact of carbon emissions when planning distribution routes. This paper studies the supermarket delivery distribution route planning problem considering carbon emissions. Aiming at the lowest economic operating cost composed of fixed cost, driving cost, and carbon emission cost, we propose a grey wolf optimized genetic algorithm to generate delivery route plans, where the social rank and hunting behavior of the grey wolf optimization algorithm are integrated into the selection operation of the genetic algorithm. Finally, a real case of a large third-party logistics enterprise in Beijing is studied. The case study results verify the effectiveness and applicability of the model and algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To fully understand how socio-economic backgrounds shape the university experiences of international students, cross-national measures of social class are needed. This paper offers a contribution to understandings of social class cross-nationally through semi-structured interviews with sixteen international students. It argues that an emphasis on international students' emotional commentaries may offer important insights into subjective understandings of social class that may not otherwise be identified. Participants were able to locate themselves within the societal structure of their own country with conceptualizations of "top," "middle," and "bottom" related to income differentials. Emotional injuries relating to a sense of "working-class-ness" were evident in international students' narratives with hope, fear, and shame prevalent in these accounts. The findings from this study can inform tailored international student support provision, contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the university experience of this group, and challenge the narrative that all international students are "privileged". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the life and educational histories of sixteen high-achieving, working-class girls applying to high-tariff universities, this paper rekindles debates about the role of agency within the decision-making process of young people who might not otherwise be expected to apply to such institutions. It draws on Margaret Archer's theorising to tease out the interplay between structure and agency in the form of reflexivity and show how this shapes the girls' educational trajectories, rather than pre-determining them. The paper highlights how social class powerfully influences working-class applicants' university plans, in the form of constraints and enablements, but also argues that the girls in this paper are not simply passive young women to whom things happen. As active agents, they are instead becoming increasingly skilled in reflexively navigating their own pathways through education and advance their applications to high-tariff universities in strategic and deliberative ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of a wider study into the educational attitudes and experiences of white, working-class male pupils in the north of England, this paper explored the ways that male pupils in years 10 and 11 navigated and experienced the six-level (A-F) academic banding system present in their British mainstream secondary school (Ayrefield Community school – ACS). Following an initial four-week period of both covert and overt observations (including guided conversations), three distinct groups of male pupils emerged. Influenced in part by Paul Willis' seminal study (1977) of males in a working-class school environment, these three 'lads' groups were representative of pupils in the top, middle, and bottom academic bands and were subsequently named Performers, Participants and Problematics respectively by the researcher. Following this initial phase of observations, a total of 74 male pupils from these top (n = 29), middle (n = 26) and lower (n = 19) academic bands were specifically selected to take part in a total of 14 group interviews with the aim being to explore the lads' experiences of, and attitudes towards, being taught in academic bands, as well as their views on education and qualifications more generally. Passages from these group interviews are combined with guided conversation responses to make up the findings presented in this paper which are then explored and explained using some key concepts from Norbert Elias's field of figurational sociology alongside key academic literature linked to the use of academic banding in schools. The paper suggests that despite the fact that all male pupils at ACS were exposed to very similar working-class upbringings and social pressures as part of their wider social figuartions, members of each of the three lads' groups became part of, and were subsequently influenced by, the specific, school-based figuartions that emerged as a result of their allocation to their respective academic group. Influenced by the increasingly diverse and complex social relations within these school-based figuartions, the lads from the three different groups seemed set to achieve relative 'success' at school, albeit on route to different destinations, for different reasons, and towards quite starkly different end goals – all whilst still being very much aware of, and influenced by, the wider social figuration of which they were inextricably a part. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally, it is estimated that one in three adults live with two or more long‐term conditions (multiple long‐term conditions, MLTCs), that require self‐management. People who experience socioeconomic deprivation face significant health inequalities due to a range of interrelated characteristics that lead to a lack of resources and opportunities. Previous research with underserved populations indicate low levels of trust towards primary care providers and potential barriers for developing patient‐healthcare professional relationships. The purpose of this paper is to explore the barriers and facilitators to self‐managing MLTCs, amongst people who experience socioeconomic deprivation. Methods: Semistructured one‐to‐one interviews with adults (n = 28) living in London and Sheffield, United Kingdom with MLTCs who are experiencing socioeconomic deprivation. Participants were recruited through general practices, community channels and social media. Data were analysed in NVivo using reflexive thematic analysis methods. Findings: Four analytical themes were developed: (1) challenges in accessing healthcare services, financial assistance, and cultural awareness; (2) empowerment and disempowerment through technology, including digital exclusion, and use of technology; (3) impact and causes of exclusion on self‐management, including social isolation, area‐based and economic exclusion, and health‐related stigma and (4) adapting self‐management strategies, including cost‐effective, and culturally/lifestyle appropriate strategies. Conclusions: Future health interventions and services need to be developed with consideration of the combined complexities of managing MLTCs while experiencing socioeconomic deprivation. Increased awareness in practitioners and commissioners of the complexities surrounding the lives of people experiencing socioeconomic deprivation, and the need for targeted strategies to promote self‐management of MLTCs are of great importance. Patient or Public Contribution: A patient advisory group contributed to all stages of the study, including providing important feedback on study documents (topic guides and recruitment materials), as well as providing critical insights surrounding the interpretation of interview data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social and spatial mobility have been subject to substantial recent sociological and policy debate. Complementing other recent work, in this paper we explore these patterns in relation to higher education. Making use of high‐quality data from the higher education statistics agency (HESA), we ran a set of multilevel models to test whether the local authority areas where young people grow up influence social and spatial mobility into a higher professional or managerial job on graduation. We found entry to these patterns reflect pre‐existing geographies of wealth and income, with more affluent rural and suburban areas in South‐East England having higher levels of entry to these occupations. Graduates clustered from major cities tended to be spatially immobile and those from peripheral areas further away from these cities show a higher density of long‐distance moves following graduation. We also explored the intersection between social and spatial mobility for graduates with the economic geography of Britain, showing that access to high‐class occupations is not necessarily associated with long‐distance moves across most British districts. Our evidence further suggests that the 'London effect', where working‐class students have higher school attainment than their peers elsewhere, may not continue through to graduate employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the core support criterion, a voting criterion satisfied by Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) that is analogous to the Condorcet criterion but reflective of a different majority rule philosophy. Condorcet methods can be thought of as conducting elections between each pair of candidates, counting all ballots to determine the winner of each pair-election. IRV can also be thought of as conducting elections between all pairs of candidates but for each pair-election only counting ballots from voters who do not prefer another major candidate (as determined self-consistently from the IRV social ranking) to the two candidates in contention. The appropriateness of including all ballots or a subset of ballots for a pair-election, depends on whether the society deems the entire or a selected ballot set in compliance with freedom of association, which implies freedom of non-association, for a given pair election. Arguments based on freedom of association rely on more information about an electorate than can be learned from ranked ballots alone. We present a freedom-of-association based argument to explain why IRV may be preferable to Condorcet in some circumstances, including the 2022 Alaska special congressional election and the 2009 Burlington Vermont mayoral election, based on the political context of those elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present times, there is a high influence caused by social media platforms in case of body image issues faced by an individual. Pregnancy is a stage for women where they go through several mental and physical changes. Realizing the inseparable role played by social media in this aspect, it is an attempt here to determine the effect caused by social media on the body image of pregnant women as well for those in their post-partum stages. The PRISMA method is used by the authors to arrive at 55 research papers from the Scopus databases that are systematically reviewed. The authors' review reveals that social media can have both negative and positive effects on women's perception of body image during pregnancy and the postpartum period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates attitudes towards death and the social factors that influence them among a sample of residents in Tehran, Iran. Using grounded theory and anchoring our analysis in the meaning of death (what people think happens after death), we were able to conceptualise three broad worldviews on death, which were then further refined into nine attitudes. Our research highlights socio-economic status as a factor potentially shaping people's attitudes towards death. A large group of our respondents, mainly among less affluent groups, think about death daily, while many among the more affluent and the educated middle class prefer to avoid thoughts of death. Our study in a Muslim majority setting in the Middle East contributes to the existing literature on attitudes towards death by going beyond simple typologies, such as western versus eastern, traditional versus modern, religious versus secular, denial versus acceptance, to show that the diversity of attitudes towards death can both incorporate and transcend all of these dichotomies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents and autoethnographically analyzes three key sites in which the author—a Lebanese "Arabo-Muslim man"—failed to interpellate the lifeworlds of Lebanese "Arabo-Muslim" female participants during a research project in Lebanon: the public-private divide, gender, and the autonomous subject. Specifically, the article identifies key forces that produce this failure, including education, presence in the Westernized university, Westernized secularization, social class, family background, and urbanity, all situated within the larger structures of modernity/coloniality. Doing this, the article grates against the assumption that researchers who share a "race," citizenship, language, or ethnicity and who are "from" the Arab region are de facto well placed to pursue decolonial knowledge production alongside the region and its dwellers. The article consequently posits the possibility of unlearning and relearning—disrupting this failure—through immersive embodied listening fieldwork within the material space of the Arab world, undoing the formation of an alienated, fractured, Westernized self. Moving beyond the cognitive and theoretical to the material, experiential, and embodied, the article accordingly underlines reflexive listening fieldwork's potential as a generative site (among others) from which alternative knowledges of/with/on the global South(s) can emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adopts a novel Social Reproduction feminist approach to re‐evaluate the Soviet experience of industrialization within the context of global research on primitive accumulation. I analyse the first Five‐Year Plan as a unique process of 'primitive Soviet accumulation,' focusing on the Zhenotdel collectivization campaign and the often‐overlooked role of Zhenotdel peasant women delegates [krestyanki delegatki]. The study explores their involvement in peasant women's revolts against collectivization, emphasizing the significance of these events for the Zhenotdel's emancipatory programme in the village. Considering class as a social relation to the conditions of life's reproduction, I demonstrate: (1) how primitive Soviet accumulation reshaped the gendered metabolic relationship between land and labour during the first Five‐Year Plan and (2) yet, the allocation of surplus into the expanded Soviet state apparatus laid the foundation for the distinctive Soviet mother–worker gender contract and social citizenship model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality early care and education (ECE) presents an unparalleled opportunity to avert disadvantage and promote children's development. Mealtimes are essential daily routines, yet are often overlooked in research on ECE quality. This paper crystallises a composite case study of ECE mealtimes in highly disadvantaged communities by combining Departing Radically in Academic Writing (DRAW) methodology with parent surveys, scorings of educator‐child interactions (inCLASS), and field notes. Poverty is perpetuated in these centres: children do not have enough food, and educator‐dictated feeding practices restrict children's opportunities to exercise their agency and learn. Systemic policy action is needed to address poverty in ECE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: In this paper, we investigated which socioeconomic and demographic groups first adopted digital primary care video consultations when they became accessible to the entire population in Sweden. Methods: We analysed data on all patients (378,000) who had a consultation with the largest provider of digital healthcare in Sweden – Kry – in the first years of national availability of the service, 2016–2018. We studied their income, education, demographics, and diagnosis backgrounds using matched registry data. Moreover, to compare users and non-users of digital primary care, we used data on all physical primary care users in one Swedish region: Skåne. Results: We found that this digital primary care was first used by young and higher-income adults, but not far from half of adult users had incomes below the national median. Digital care patients were more educated than the general population, reflecting that urban inhabitants were more likely than rural inhabitants to be users. First-generation immigrants were less represented among digital care users than in the population. However, second-generation immigrants with two foreign parents were slightly over-represented. The prevalence of some chronic diseases in pre-digital secondary (specialist and hospital) healthcare data among digital care users was similar to the population adjusted for age. Studying all physical primary care users in Skåne region, young digital care users had more primary care diagnoses and previous in-person primary care appointments than non-users, while the pattern was reversed for older users. Conclusions: When digital primary care became nationally available, younger, urban and more educated patients were the first to adopt the new technology. Regarding medical history, young users of digital care had a higher previous disease burden than young non-users, suggesting that these digital services were first adopted by young people with high primary care needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Neurofibromatosis Type 1 is an inherited tumour predisposition syndrome with a varied clinical phenotype. Long-term monitoring through imaging is inconsistent and varies in high- and low-income countries. Implementation of a clinical practice guideline through a multidisciplinary clinic is instrumental to the care of adult Neurofibromatosis Type 1 patients. This systematic review aims to evaluate the association between a country's socioeconomic status and diagnostic modalities and strategies used for adult Neurofibromatosis Type 1 patients. Our results show multiple imaging modalities are used in high-income countries; however, there is limited use in low-income countries. The two most common diagnostic modalities used in developed countries are WB MRI and FDG PET/CT. Background: Neurofibromatosis Type 1 is an autosomal dominant tumour-predisposition condition commonly diagnosed in childhood and fully penetrant by adulthood. Long-term monitoring through imaging is inconsistent and varies between high- and low-income countries. Implementation of a clinical practice guideline through a multidisciplinary clinic is instrumental to the care of adult Neurofibromatosis Type 1 patients. We aim to systematically review international diagnostic modalities and strategies to evaluate any association between a country's socioeconomic status and diagnostic modalities or strategies used for Neurofibromatosis Type 1 patients. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane. Relevant clinical information on the surveillance of adult Neurofibromatosis Type 1 patients worldwide was reviewed, extracted, and synthesised. Results: We identified 51 papers reporting on 7724 individuals. Multiple imaging modalities are actively employed in high-income and upper-middle-income countries for surveying adult Neurofibromatosis Type 1 patients. We did not find any relevant papers from low- and middle-income countries. Conclusions: This systematic review suggests that there is robust data on diagnostic modalities for adult Neurofibromatosis Type 1 patients in high-income countries, but not for low- and middle-income countries. There is a lack of data on consolidated diagnostic strategies from both high- and low-income countries. Efforts should be made to publish data on usual clinical practice in low- and middle-income countries to develop clinical practice guidelines describing best medical practice to fit a local context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role that social class plays within the desistance journeys of individuals on probation is largely unexplored. This lack of understanding is acknowledged as a limitation within theorising around desistance processes. It also prompts questions as to the awareness of class and classism issues amongst probation staff and their practice approaches within this difficult area of professional application. This reflective paper offers some discussion areas in which probation staff can collectively consider their experiences within this field, as well as those under their supervision. It is suggested that this topic requires greater attention amongst all involved in providing probation services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to advance psychological theory and research on attitudes and behavior towards low status minority groups by discussing group-level indispensability as an important yet largely unexplored factor in intergroup dynamics. Drawing on theory and international research from psychology and the social sciences, the distinction between functional indispensability and identity indispensability is first discussed. Subsequently various positive intergroup implications of perceived indispensability are considered, and for giving a balanced account possible negative outcomes are also discussed. Then, the minority perspective is considered and the question of when positive or negative intergroup implications of perceived indispensability are less or more likely. The paper concludes with future directions for theoretical and empirical development of the notion of group-level indispensability and its intergroup consequences in a range of settings and contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]