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In a rapidly changing healthcare environment, we need a robust evidence base to inform effective education and training. This study aimed to examine factors perceived to determine career progression in clinical education research in the UK. Six online focus groups were conducted, with 35 participants from a range of medical, dental, nursing, and allied health professions who identified as aspiring or early career clinical education researchers. Transcripts underwent thematic analysis. Two themes and associated subthemes were constructed to illustrate perceived factors impacting on career development: (1) A cultural challenge from clinical norms. Challenges included differences between the epistemological assumptions of biomedical and clinical research, and the underlying philosophy of education research, which is more closely aligned with the knowledge generation of the social sciences. This led to difficulty communicating the impact of education research to patient care. There were also blurred boundaries between education delivery and research, with the latter lacking a clearly defined group identity. (2) Structures, systems and relationships for career progression. Practical considerations included time and funding (or lack thereof), the opportunity to undertake formal training, networking and role models. This research highlights a number of systemic barriers and facilitators to careers in clinical education research and offers targets of intervention to enable a sustainable academic workforce in clinical education research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparative social policy research continues to face considerable methodological challenges. Scholars particularly struggle to capture sub-national policy variation in comparatively reliable ways, including subjective perceptions of local policies. Local-level variation increases the need for conceptual and methodological attention to comparability across differing national, cultural, and linguistic settings. The article outlines a conceptually grounded approach relying on the 3MC (multinational, multicultural, multiregional) method to measure and compare individual perceptions of local policies cross-nationally. Often applied in cross-national survey research, a 3MC approach can help address methodological challenges inherent in comparative policy research and improve cross-national studies of local policy differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decline of females in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields has drawn global discourse among researchers and policymakers, including Cambodia. At Cambodian upper secondary schools, female students' enrolment rates in science classes dramatically decreased from 97% in 2014–42% in 2019. In contrast, female students' enrolment rates in social science classes significantly increased from 4% in 2014–58% in 2019. This study aimed to examine factors influencing female students to leave science classes at upper secondary schools. It included 421 female grade-12 students from 20 secondary schools as samples. Due to the nested structure of the data, the two-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) was used for data analysis. The findings revealed that ease of national examination, high passing rates, pursuits for grades, attitudes toward science, and financial burden of private tutoring significantly influenced female students to opt for social science classes over science classes. Female students had no intention to pursue STEM majors and reported that their parents advised them not to involve in science. The findings were discussed with a call for policy implications and improved practices at the school level to promote female students' enrolment in science classes in Cambodia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is the first to examine the use of screen-capture video feedback on student assignments on a social science degree at a British university. It is based on qualitative, focus group, research with students who received one or more video recordings on their academic work over the period 2019–2021. The article first places video feedback in the wider context of research on the subject. Our literature review suggests that whilst video does not herald a pedagogic revolution, it is a considerable advance on orthodox written feedback. Our findings are that students prefer video recordings because they provide (1) an interpersonal aspect to feedback; (2) more extensive, detailed, nuanced and directed coverage of their work than with written comments; (3) a more credible appreciation of their grade. Our discussion ends with a summary of our findings and a breakdown of the benefits and constraints of video feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychiatric and mental health (PMH) nurses integrate the concept of trauma-informed care into practice, policy, and education. Despite the frequency of PMH nurses practicing in a trauma-informed manner, there is a paucity of literature focused on integrating trauma-informed principles into research methods. Professions outside of the nursing sphere, specifically social work and social sciences, predominate the discourse around trauma-informed research. The authors of this manuscript provide detailed methods on a project using trauma-informed qualitative research methods with a feminist perspective. Semi-structured interviews with ten individuals with an experience of sexual violence answered the research question: what is the retrospective experience of women who encountered sexual violence in post-secondary education? An important part of the research design was an informal debrief with the audio recorder off, after the interview. Field notes were taken within this debrief, and participants reviewed these field notes as part of the member-checking process. By explaining the methods used in detail, referencing the available literature, and using the critical reflection of participants captured in the field notes, the authors of this manuscript explore strengths, conflicts, and boundary issues PMH nurses need to consider when integrating trauma-informed research methods into their research practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioethicists influence practices and policies in medicine, science, and public health. However, little is known about bioethicists' views. We recently surveyed 824 U.S. bioethicists on a wide range of ethical issues, including topics related to abortion, medical aid in dying, and resource allocation, among others. We also asked bioethicists about their demographic, religious, academic, and professional backgrounds. We find that bioethicists' normative commitments predict their views on bioethical issues. We also find that, in important ways, bioethicists' views do not align with those of the U.S. public: for instance, bioethicists are more likely than members of the public to think abortion is ethically permissible but are less likely to believe compensating organ donors is. Our demographic results indicate the field of bioethics is far less diverse than the U.S. population—less diverse even than other academic disciplines—suggesting far more work needs to be done to build an inclusive field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Philosophers and moral educators have examined the potential for narrative media (e.g., novels or films) to influence the development of practical wisdom (the forms of perception and reasoning necessary for virtuous living). Interest in studying this relationship using social scientific methodology is growing. One social science discipline with relevant insights that have not yet been explored is media psychology, a subdiscipline in communication that empirically studies the effects of narrative media. Drawing on media psychology research, this paper proposes a model of one process by which narratives can help us develop practical wisdom. Developing certain functions of practical wisdom involves increasing our sensitivity to types of morally relevant features (MRFs) that we normally miss (i.e., increasing the accessibility of those features). The proposed model explains how, under the right conditions, narratives can influence the accessibility of a given type of MRF. Implications for operationalizing narrative effects on practical wisdom are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThroughout American law enforcement history, a persistent pattern has emerged, emphasizing marginalized groups. This emphasis extends to higher education, notably seen in the proliferation of Terrorism and Homeland Security courses post-9/11 in criminology and related fields. These courses predominantly focus on the ‘Islamic threat’ to America, reflecting broader biases in counter-terrorism policies. Such biases overlook other forms of terrorism, especially right-wing extremism. We analyzed 382 syllabi from American higher education institutions to assess this bias. Our analysis reveals a concerning prevalence of misinformation in these courses. Educators hold a pivotal role in rectifying this imbalance, shaping the perceptions of future criminologists. Addressing this bias is crucial to providing a comprehensive understanding of terrorism threats and acknowledging all forms of extremism equally. It underscores the urgency for educators to present accurate and inclusive portrayals of terrorism in their curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a transsecular reading of the Mapuche poet Elicura Chihuailaf by exploring the transversal elements in his writings and examining how poetics, spirituality, and conceptions of nature are negotiated. To this end, the article focusses on the intercultural dialogue between Mapuche and Western cultures and the hybrid, transcultural moments that this dialogue entails; the essential interconnectedness of spiritual and poetic speech; and the simultaneity of tradition and modernity in contemporary Mapuche literature. The article furthermore argues that there are numerous intersections and points of contact between Mapuche philosophy and current eco-critical and neo-materialist theory. While this does not mean equating them or incorporating the former into the latter, the aim here rather is to draw attention to the significant contribution of Indigenous perspectives to current debates in cultural studies and social sciences about other, sustainable forms of multispecies existence in view of the current global socioecological crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student dropout is a major concern in studies investigating retention strategies in higher education. This study identifies which variables are important to predict student dropout, using academic data from 3583 first-year students on the Business Administration (BA) degree at the University of Barcelona (Spain). The results indicate that two variables, the percentage of subjects failed and not attended in the first semester, demonstrate significant predictive power. This has been corroborated with an additional sample of 10,784 students from three-degree programs (Law, BA, and Economics) at the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain), to assess the robustness of the results. Three different algorithms have also been utilized: neural networks, random forest, and logit. In the specific case of neural networks, the NeuralSens methodology has been employed, which is based on the use of sensitivities, allowing for its interpretation. The outcomes are highly consistent in all cases: both a simple model (logit) and more sophisticated ones (neural networks and random forest) exhibit high accuracy (correctly predicted values) and sensitivity (correctly predicted dropouts). In test set average values of 77% and 69% have been respectively achieved. In this regard, a noteworthy point is that only academic data from the university itself was used to develop the models. This ensures that there's no dependence on other personal or organizational variables, which can often be difficult to access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on Michel Serres's unconventional approach to society, which diverges from traditional social sciences terminology and boundaries. Topics include Serres's critique of social contract theory, his concept of unbounded sociality, and his exploration of how global phenomena challenge traditional social frameworks.

The recent so-called 'data revolution' offers unprecedented opportunities to innovate regional policies. New data sources are being widely used by the scientific community, however their uptake is far from being systematic in the policy cycle, where data innovation can improve territorial impact assessment. This paper presents a survey on the use of non-traditional data in the context of regional policy, together with a case study on real estate markets of three European countries, highlighting the perspectives and limitations of computational social science in regional analysis in terms of data quality and availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remunicipalisation of local public services has attracted the interest of scholars from different fields of the social sciences in recent years. Whereas earlier studies into this phenomenon were dominated by case-based analysis, there has been a noteworthy increase in quantitative studies in recent years. There is now, abundant evidence on the drivers of remunicipalisation especially the influence of pragmatic and political motivations. Other topics, such as the effects of remunicipalisation, however, remain underdeveloped. We provide an overview of the scope and dynamics of remunicipalisation, recent advances in its research, and discuss where future research should be directed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past four decades, biomedical science has transformed clinical outcomes for HIV and AIDS. However, the social, economic and gendered determinants of HIV remain largely intact. The social science and humanities offer concepts and methods for articulating why these remain intractable. I used poetic inquiry – an arts-based, qualitative approach – as I reviewed literature on the "end of AIDS, and post-AIDS". As I did so, I considered what contribution the social sciences and humanities could make in moving us closer to these ideals. Several themes and found poems emerged in this reading: (1) how language oversimplifies complex social realities; (2) the voices of people living with HIV and AIDS must be included; (3) HIV and AIDS intersects with social inequalities; (4) social and structural issues are no barrier to HIV prevention and (5) the need for radical interdisciplinarity. The paper concludes that the end of AIDS requires responses that are integrated, holistic and that radically challenge our silo'd disciplinary boundaries and frames. The social sciences and humanities are key to this charge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scriptural and cultural sources of moral authority within Islam beginning with the Koran are described and their regulations about homosexual behavior summarized. The body of works of literature and media in the social sciences and humanities dealing with issues related to being both an observant Muslim and identifying as LGBT created between the late nineteenth and the early twenty-first centuries is then reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symmetry considerations are important in science, and Group Theory is a theory of symmetry. Classical Measurement Theory is the most used measurement theory in the social and behavioral sciences. In this article, the author uses Matrix Lie (Lee) group theory to formulate a measurement model. Symmetry is defined and illustrated using symmetries of the square. Then it is shown how a matrix group can represent the symmetries of the square. A brief introduction to Group Theory follows. Then four assumptions on which the Lie matrix group model of measurement is based are articulated. Formulation of the model follows. The notion of approximate symmetry is introduced, and a measure of approximate symmetry is proposed. It is shown CMT is a special case of the Lie matrix group model. A simulation is used to test invariances predicted from the Lie matrix group model. Finally, implications of this model are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses performance-based research evaluation for the higher education sector in a postcolonial context through a Foucauldian lens. Using Hong Kong as an example, this paper examines the formulation of and receptions towards the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). It is argued that Hong Kong academics, especially those working in the humanities and social sciences, associate the key concepts of 'world-leading' and 'internationally excellent' research in the RAE framework with Western knowledge that undermines local and regional research. They respond to RAE in four main ways: pragmatic compliance; refusal to conform to the demands of RAE; adoption of a dualistic strategy by publishing internationally and locally; and re-imagining of research assessment coupled with the promotion of indigenous knowledge. Two significant implications are highlighted in this article. First, the preservation of a research evaluation mechanism inherited from a colonial government perpetuates and entrenches external control and dominance in the former colony. Secondly, there is a need to re-construct the research appraisal apparatus as well as advance indigenous and hybrid knowledge in a postcolonial educational landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past decades have seen increased emphasis on graduate employability as a driver of higher education policy. In the Australian context, employability discourses in the public domain have become inflected with anti-intellectual sentiment, serving to reproduce the perception that the humanities and social sciences are of less value to graduates' employability than are science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine. Against this backdrop, and with particular reference to the Job-ready Graduates Package, we investigate how diverse notions of employability shape student-hood for working-class female students who are largely engaged in the social sciences. Attending to affective dynamics, we show how employability imperatives 'land' for these students, individually, and as an 'equity group'. While employability policies are typically positioned as a salve for class inequalities, they can also discredit educational and employment endeavours of working-class students, and reproduce class tensions. To enhance employability policies, there is a need to move beyond reductionist models of job-readiness, towards responding to the complexities of policy as enacted through lived relations. We propose attending to the variability of both identity and value positions and recognising the contribution of affect and emotion to this complex set of policy dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper advocates reading philosophy and using its concepts in educational and social science research. The lengthy engagement with the various concepts and conceptual orders of poststructuralism required for post qualitative inquiry exceeds the scope of reading required for a conventional literature review at the beginning of a typical empirical research project. Reading that spans many years of an academic career does not serve the epistemological project of stabilizing what is known through recognition, representation, and summary but attends to an ontological project of re-orienting thought through experimentation, invention, and creation to enable what does not yet exist but might. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction to the special issue titled, "Reading: The Long Preparation for Inquiry," asks why reading has not been as prominent as writing in educational and social science research. The authors suggest reading may not seem as empirical as writing and so has been assigned fairly limited roles in the research process—reading for the literature review at the beginning of a research project and reading to review research reports at the end. Reading, especially reading philosophy, which the authors encourage, can be considered speculative and ephemeral and bound more to the rational than the empirical side of the rational/empirical binary that structures empirical research's epistemological goals. Also, it can be difficult to control reading—who knows what a reader might read? The authors recommend that researchers commit to reading as a necessary, lengthy preparation for scholarship and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contributors to the Superdiversity book symposium welcome the myriad ways that scholars from a variety of research fields and social scientific disciplines have adopted the concept across varying scales, sites and social phenomena. Each writer nevertheless stresses the need to place any application of the term, descriptively or analytically, within specific social, political and historical contexts. Superdiversity appears very different depending upon an array of conditions – hence we observe a variety of context-dependent superdiversities. This point holds too for categories – especially ones drawn from colonial histories – that comprise differing configurations of superdiversity. These are also highly contextual. It is suggested that the superdiversity concept helps us to "unsee" purportedly fixed, uni-dimensional categories like ethnicity and to place more emphasis on multiple, intersectional combinations of categories. The re-thinking of categories and their contexts might also help us imagine possible superdiversity futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the future of criminal justice education based on insights from a leadership survey conducted by Drs. Denise Paquette Boots and Bitna Kim. Topics include the significant growth in Criminology and Criminal Justice (CCJ) programs, student enrollments, and faculty hires in the United States over the past two decades, reflecting a strong interest in the field and the belief that it offers career advancement opportunities.

The article offers information on the current state of justice-related education and the assessment of justice-related degree programs (JRDP). Topics include the significant variability and lack of consensus in degree requirements within the Criminology and Criminal Justice (CCJ) discipline, which presents challenges for the field.

This contribution analyses the scientific and political meaning of the concept of 'population' within Thomas Robert Malthus' thought. It is here argued that by encapsulating 'population' in a scientific principle, the author not only aimed at contrasting radical and revolutionary theories of his time; he was also looking for a renovation of the role principles hold in scientific reasoning. He considered this crucial for delineating a plausible science for such an elusive political object as society. Through an examination of key passages of Malthus' theoretical production – his critique of previous definitions of 'population', his reassessment of the natural history of society, and the use of selected metaphors to explain his political thought – it is possible to observe how the author attempted to naturalize society and the inequalities arising from its historical laws. As shown in the conclusions, Malthus' scientific and political effort was directed towards questioning possibilities to reduce the history of social relations to a path of rational progress, which is consistent with the way he re-conceptualized 'population' as regarding the fate of the people and their chances to transform the future in the plausible outcome of their political action in the present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reviewed articles on computer-assisted language learning, focusing on intercultural education studies published in the last five years. We investigated the following aspects: (1) the theoretical foundation that the studies were based on, e.g., theory, hypothesis, model, or framework, (2) the technologies used by the participants, (3) the languages and cultures that the studies focused on, (4) the methodology of the reviewed studies, and (5) the findings reported by researchers. Our results showed that Byram's intercultural communicative competence model, sociocultural theory, and social constructivism were the most frequently used theoretical foundations. The participants frequently used discussion forums, Facebook, email, and Skype. English was the most popular language, and American culture received more attention than any other culture. In terms of the methodology, most studies were conducted for four to 18 weeks, and undergraduate students with advanced language skills were the most frequent participants. The participants interacted with their partners, e.g., introduced cultural backgrounds, created collaborative products, and reflected on learning experiences. Researchers in most studies used questionnaires and interviews to collect the data, and their results demonstrated that intercultural telecollaboration in foreign language education promotes language and culture learning. Benefits such as students having positive attitudes toward technology-supported learning activities and learning activities contributing to developing language abilities and intercultural skills were reported by the researchers. However, according to the results, high cost and learning burdens were the most frequently reported drawbacks of CALL for intercultural education. Several implications were drawn from the results of this review study. The significance of this study is that it provides up-to-date information on CALL-based intercultural education, keeps track of changes in technologies and their applications to language and culture learning, and focuses on aspects that are important to the field but were neglected in earlier review studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenization has been an important nationalist project undertaken by various colonized countries seeking to liberate the existing knowledge systems from colonial hegemony. In India too, one witnesses serious efforts at indigenization that began during the colonial rule as part of the anti-colonial nationalist struggle. This continued after independence with new vigour. It found resonance in the domain of social sciences and the Indian social scientists have been engaged in debates around decolonizing the extant knowledge texts in their respective domains. An essential part of indigenization of social science in the Indian context is their vernacularization, which implies a process of translation and adaptation of the knowledge texts in its diverse local/regional languages. Underscoring the importance of both the processes in decolonizing the social sciences, the paper also highlights the existing and the emerging challenges to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One topic that is currently playing a major role in education is climate change, given its implications for raising awareness and training in present and future society. The objectives of this research are to analyse the knowledge of Spanish school children (Primary, Secondary Education and Baccalaureate) studying Social Sciences and/or Geography in terms of climate change, the causes and consequences that they identify and the effects that they perceive in their daily lives. For a sample of 1328 students surveyed between the academic year 2020–2021 and 2022–2023, the results indicate that the majority believe that climate is changing (75.0%) and the main origin of this phenomenon is pollution (46.5%). With respect to the consequences, they principally identify the increase and changes in temperatures (54.3%), and with regards the perceived effects, more than half (60.0%) perceive an increase and change in the temperature. In conclusion, the study determines what students know about this global phenomenon and whether it coincides with their experiences. This is of utmost importance due to implications it has for the education system and training the youngest cohorts about climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral history as a method of understanding the lived experience spans multiple disciplines including education, women and gender studies, history, and disability studies. Oral histories can be a vehicle for people on the periphery to tell their stories, a method well suited to pursuits related to social justice and social work. The purpose of this manuscript is to report on a scoping review that was conducted to better understand how oral history methods have been used in social work. To answer our review question, we use an established scoping review framework. Based on eligibility criteria, 23 manuscripts were identified – all published in peer-reviewed English language journals between 2005 and 2023 and written by social work-credentialed authors. The authors identified three themes that reflect the uses of oral history studies in social work: oral history used as a teaching tool in social work education, oral history used to document the experiences and knowledge of social service trailblazers, and commentaries about using oral history and other biographical methods in social work. This review highlights how oral history, as a method, has contributed to social work research and scholarship. Recommendations are made as to the usefulness of oral history to address social problems and practice issues important to the field of social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents findings from an empirical study in which we investigated Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) students' linguistic resources in the L2 (English) to convey different Cognitive Discourse Functions (Dalton-Puffer 2013; 2016)—Describe, Compare (Categorize), Report, Evaluate and Explore—in two different contexts. The participants were primary school students (grade 6) participating in CLIL programs in Finland and Spain. To allow comparison, two sets of data were obtained by asking the students to write in response to a similar prompt in the area of social science (History in the Spanish context and Geography in the Finnish context). We compared the frequency of the Cognitive Discourse Functions (CDFs) produced, and the fluency and complexity of students' realizations of CDFs, using tools of Systemic Functional Linguistics. The results reveal similarities across contexts in the frequency and extension of some of the CDFs produced, and differences in terms of CDF complexity, measured in students' use of clause complexes, Appraisal resources and complex nominal groups to express different CDFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Special Issue addresses a range of educational issues linked to main themes from our 2019 book The Emergence of Complexity: Rethinking Education as a Social Science. This book elaborated two major theses that raise fundamental questions for philosophy of education. First, that learning by groups is typically a distinctive kind of learning that is not reducible to learning by individuals. Second, that a degree of holism, as against a focus on individuals, is essential for achieving a convincing understanding of this distinctive type of group learning. These two theses are of direct interest to philosophy of education since they challenges the resources of received theories of learning. Yet this kind of group learning characterises the vast bulk of human learning situations that occur outside of formal education systems. In this Special Issue introductory article we, firstly, introduce some basic principles of complexity theory, and demonstrate that, together with the concept of a 'co-present group' (between 2 and about 12 individuals), these ideas offer develop novel understandings of the distinctive learning that occurs within such groups. Secondly, we outline and illustrate with further examples the main features of co-present groups. Thirdly, we consolidate our conceptual work by showing five ways in which our account of group learning serves to refurbish the concept of 'learning'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative researchers delve into the lives of their study's participants and embark on profound explorations to attain in-depth information and rich contextual data. For those who research trauma and victimization, they share a close, empathetic relationship with their study participants who communicate intimate, non-abstract information regarding traumatic events. These researchers give voice to and archive the traumas of everyday life as experienced by victimized and traumatized individuals. However, qualitative researchers are at risk of vicarious trauma as a result of listening to the narratives of survivors of trauma and violent crime. In Trinidad and Tobago, this is an under-researched topic. As a result, twelve qualitative Social Sciences researchers at Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) in Trinidad and Tobago were interviewed to elicit their lived experiences of being immersed in qualitative research, the existence of vicarious trauma, and coping strategies employed. The study adopted a phenomenological approach, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results indicated the presence of vicarious trauma among the study's participants as well as a host of coping mechanisms employed to manage its effects, which raises policy implications for IHE which employs qualitative researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the collection activities of Paul Dyck (1917–2016), a collector of Native North American Plains objects. Paul Dyck's extensive archive is employed to explore networks of collectors and their practices, spanning the entirety of the United States in the mid-twentieth century. Weaving ethnographic material conducted with private collectors and heirs alongside Dyck's correspondence, Dyck's activities are situated within the history of anthropological thought, a discourse on the nature of settler colonial practices of collection, and U.S. settler identity formation. The article draws on these insights to introduce settler materiality, a new theoretical term and definition with relevance for anthropologists, Native American and Indigenous Studies scholars, historians, and settlercolonial theorists interested in the way material culture functions in settler colonial societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having recently completed my first decade in China's Normal System, in this Point of Departure (PoD) I explore precarity in higher education teaching using four tools: slipstream, fugia hacia adelante, exophony, and autoethnography. This is an exploration in the form of a structured performance of precarities that I witness in my praxis, e.g., geopolitical, emotional, and health. I illustrate the potential of humanities-infused social science writing to translate emotions and experiences around precarity that are 'in the room' in higher education teaching (Rohrer, J. 2018. 'It's in the room': Reinvigorating feminist pedagogy, contesting neoliberalism, and trumping post-truth populism. Teaching in Higher Education 23, no. 5: 576–92). In a think-piece style epilogue, I propose that perhaps our best teacher is precarity itself and our best teaching is done in precarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although founding and directing an independent research laboratory is often expected of faculty at American universities, there are several barriers to successful completion of this important task. There is little guidance in the literature regarding exactly how to go about starting a research laboratory. The guidance that exists for faculty often focuses on running research labs in the "hard sciences," such as biomedical science and engineering, leaving social and behavioral scientists out of such considerations. Additionally, smaller or teaching-focused universities often have little infrastructure or support for starting a research lab, so faculty at these institutions may not know where to begin. These barriers are significant concerns for junior faculty, who are often unprepared for the realities and challenges of starting a successful research lab while obtaining other milestones required for promotion and tenure. We present two examples of recently-formed gerontology research laboratories begun by junior faculty, one in the psychology department of a research university and one in public health at a teaching-focused university. Our case studies present the reader with specific examples, lessons learned, and guidance for starting their own gerontology research laboratory in higher education, whether as a physical or virtual space, as well as recommendations on maintaining its functioning during a global pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is often argued that 1954 was a very important year for comics in the United States because of the consequences of Fredric Wertham's major work appearance. However, long before that, there was already a multitude of academic publications about comics, children and education. Apart from sensationalist and apocalyptic publications, there are several academic references previous to 1954 focusing on topics related to education, language and comics as an object of learning. Most of these references develop very important empirical work in terms of the size of the samples studied, while others incorporate innovative methodologies for the time, such as factor analysis or qualitative interviews. In part, these advances can be explained by the conjunction of two factors: firstly, the dynamics of the social sciences in the United States, where quantitative fieldwork became commonplace from the 1930s onwards. Secondly, the popularisation of comics with the arrival of comic books, first, and the appearance of Superman, later. This article attempts to develop a systematic review of academic publications published before 1954 in the United States. 35 empirical publications are identified and analysed attending to the author's gender, sample size and number of citations, among other variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature from various academic disciplines indicates that in recent decades, community resilience (CR) has evolved significantly in conceptualization and operationalization. However, the relevance and empirical inclusion of CR in social and health sciences research remain sparse and fragmented. This scoping review, therefore, aimed to assess the conceptualization of CR in social and health sciences research; determine the availability of tools measuring this construct; and identify the psychometric properties of available instruments. Findings highlight how CR has shifted from a peripheral ecological concept to a central goal in the psychosociological discourse. Though several common core elements were identified in the included literature, results indicated little consensus regarding the conceptual or operational definitions of CR. Furthermore, there is minimal evidence on robust metrics that comprehensively measure CR as a complex psychosocial construct. Review results thus highlight the importance, and provide pragmatic implications, regarding the inclusion of core elements of CR in community-based strategies and development efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An "urban" subfield exists in virtually every social science discipline, but these subfields seldom engage one another. We asked scholars from five urban subfields to respond to questions about the state of urban research within their discipline. This article consists of their consequent essays and reflections on their responses. The questions posed included the discipline's conception of "urban," the main concerns motivating the subfield, the primary methodologies pursued, the extent to which their subfield interacted with or was informed by research in other urban subfields, and the main concepts or approaches it had to offer to other subfields or might take away from them. In our reflections, we particularly note the intellectual and institutional difficulties in creating a broader field of urban research or of engaging in truly inter-disciplinary research. We also highlight the desirability of greater engagement across these subfields through encouraging a "republic of conversation" among them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore the competing claims of two tourism stakeholders, local residents and tourists, for the best possible interpretation of the cultural landscape of Jiufen, a mining heritage destination in Taiwan, using the social representation theory. The study uses the conceptual tool of social landscape connectivity to examine the linkages among various levels of access to cultural landscapes for residents and tourists in its current state of tourism development. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 local residents and 16 tourists using purposive and snowball sampling. Results indicated that representations of cultural landscape consist of four interconnected themes: memory linking the past to the present, collective identity, belongingness, and mass tourism destinations. However, opinions regarding precisely what representations comprised the best possible cultural landscapes for tourism were inconsistent. The ramifications of value co-creation in a mining heritage destination's sustainable development are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there exists an extensive body of literature on Early Career Researchers (ECRs), there has been a notable lack of focus on the hurdles encountered by ECRs in social sciences at local universities when it comes to academic publishing. This study addresses this gap by conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 15 Chinese university academics to explore the hindering factors affecting ECRs’ scholarly publishing in CSSCI-indexed journals. The research is grounded in the conceptual frameworks of the halo effect and academic socialization. The findings reveal a myriad of hindering factors operating at different levels, including macro-level factors such as the dilemma of growing demand and shrinking supply in CSSCI-listed journals, the halo effect’s impact on journal gatekeeping, and the insufficiency of constructive review feedback. Meso-level factors encompass the lack of academic mentorship and support, and the burden of teaching and administrative responsibilities. Micro-level factors involve inadequate speculative research skills, unfamiliarity with journal norms, diminishing confidence in research endeavors, and a shift in academic identity. To address these problems, academia, institutions, policymakers as well as academics need to take collective efforts to foster an environment that supports the growth and success of young social science researchers at local Chinese universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pregnant women often turn to the internet as a primary source of pregnancy-related information. However, there is great concern about the accuracy of health-related information on the internet, making research on women's internet behaviours and decision-making critically important. Previous research has been conducted within a number of distinct but related fields, yet existing review papers have often failed to connect across the various disciplines. This review aims to synthesise the large and cross-disciplinary body of literature on women's health information-seeking internet behaviour regarding pregnancy and childbirth. A narrative literature review, which includes research from both health and social sciences, was conducted. Findings address the 'who, where, what, why, and how' of information-seeking behaviour on the internet, with suggestions for future research in each area further discussed. Additional research which addresses the remaining gaps in the literature can help providers be more aware of their patients' informational needs. Providers can be an important source of information, while also helping guide their patients on how to evaluate information. Enhanced patient portals and communication platforms can help to provide more timely and reliable information. Providing their patients with guides can be important for fostering enhanced health literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in communication research is gaining broader interest. This interdisciplinary interest has yet to be supported by a systematic scholarly definition and by a holistic theoretical framework in communication research. First, combining prior theoretical efforts from diverse disciplines in the social sciences, especially journalism and communication, this study introduces a wide-ranging working AI scholarly definition in communication research as the tangible real-world capability of non-human machines or artificial entities to perform, task solve, communicate, interact, and act logically as it occurs with biological humans. We also propose its theoretical operationalization based on two dimensions: level of performance and level of autonomy, advancing an elementary conceptual framework drawing on AI's levels of potential actions or performance the AI may accomplish, including 1) performing tasks, 2) taking decisions, and 3) making predictions; as well as AI's level of autonomy, or the agency results contingent on the degrees of human input, interaction, or supervision involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the nearly 75 years that the People's Republic of China has been in existence, the field of contemporary China studies in the United States has developed and evolved through six distinguishable 'generations' of scholarship. The evolving social science scholarly analyses of contemporary China have paralleled the changes in the PRC itself over time, but they have also reflected paradigmatic changes in scholarly disciplines in the United States. Other stimuli which have also impacted the field include domestic politics in America and shifts in US-China relations. This article traces the evolution of field (as observed and interpreted by the author); it concludes that while the field is generally very healthy, diverse, and enjoys great breadth and depth of knowledge, it faces significant new challenges for source material and research in Xi Jinping's China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the longer established citizen science, citizen social science projects in the classroom can have positive effects on student engagement and learning outcomes. This article reports on the incorporation of a citizen social science assessment task requiring students to undertake the transcription of digitised historical prisoner records in Criminology and History courses at two Australian universities in 2020. Analysis of student responses (Criminology n = 42 and History n = 6) found that students were highly engaged by the exercise and gained new insights into change in criminal justice systems, the impact of social inequality on criminalisation and understandings of offender motivation. We conclude that the incorporation of citizen social science into the criminology classroom can lead to significant benefits in terms of student engagement, deep learning and enhancing the teaching-research nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the history of digital testing technology. Using an organisation that pioneered the use of international large-scale assessments – the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) – I discuss the role of computers, punched cards, answer cards and scanning machines as an example of transnational collaboration in the social sciences. In doing so, I particularly look into temporal and spatial dimensions of collaboration. The temporal dimension had to do with ideals of speed and durability, whereas the spatial dimension had to do with questions of where data processing should occur and how data could travel across boundaries. The analysis goes beyond simplistic assumptions where digital technology is seen merely as a tool that facilitates data processing. Instead, I stress the complexity of using computers and emphasize the materiality of digital technology, essential for understanding how data moved around in an era before the World Wide Web. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the theme of "Seeking Solidarity and Wonder Through Performance." Topics include the practice of solidarity within higher education and its impact on collaboration and empathy, recent influential works and events in performance studies and art history that explore solidarity and liberation politics, and the role of performance as a meeting place for togetherness and collaboration amidst challenging conditions.

Child marriage, a stark disruption of the traditional childhood experience, remains a pressing concern, yet the scientific exploration of this complex issue has been surprisingly overlooked in terms of comprehensive analysis and mapping. This study aimed to bridge this gap by conducting an extensive examination and mapping of child marriage literature within peer-reviewed journals. Employing the powerful Scopus database, the study combed through research articles spanning from 1983 to 2022. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were applied to uncover research trends and content patterns. The search string led to the retrieval of 964 relevant documents, revealing a nearly equal distribution between medical and social science subject areas. The analysis yielded several crucial findings. Firstly, it became evident that the current volume of research on child marriage, considering the prevalent rates and impact, falls considerably short of being adequate. A notable surge in research output was detected in the most recent five-year span (2018–2022), likely in response to the global commitment to sustainable development goals. Despite countries with high child marriage rates contributing relatively less to the research landscape, specific nations like India, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Nigeria left a noticeable imprint. Furthermore, high-income countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia, demonstrated significant involvement primarily through international research collaborations with scholars in high child marriage rate regions. Equally noteworthy is the revelation that the field of child marriage is a convergence of scholarly efforts from both the social and medical sciences. Notably, the University of California San Diego played a pivotal role in shaping and fostering research in this domain. In conclusion, the urgency of eliminating all detrimental practices against girls necessitates heightened research efforts, deeper collaboration, and a more holistic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at the transnational and transsystemic spread of a particular Cold War knowledge regime characterized by (neo-)positivistic premises for the calculation and prediction of human action, attitudes and behaviour, as well as its practical use for matters of propaganda and surveillance. The article analyses, thereby, moments of imperial imitation. It focuses on the scientific and state actors of newly emerging experimental spaces and methods, including their shortcomings and dark spots, that accompanied mutual surveillance practices and inter-imperial exchange circuits. Consequently, Cold War empires are analysed as entities that brought into being scientific but also social, economic and political laboratories. The aim of this article is therefore to place scientific exchanges and practices in the fields of sociology, mass communication and public opinion research within the framework of entangled histories of empire. These histories, however, will also be situated against the complex conflations with and paradoxical relations to the global and local (dis)orders, ruptures, alliances and networks of the Cold War. Empirically, the interest of this article lies in tracing the exchanges, taking place under the watchful eye of their respective secret services, of Polish sociologists and social psychologists with their Soviet and US-American colleagues in the late 1950s to 1970s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing focus on the outcomes of doctoral education, especially regarding employability, we aimed to explore how PhD graduates from humanities and social sciences (HASS), and science disciplines perceived the development of a holistic set of graduate attributes during their doctoral study and the application of these attributes in the workplace. We analysed 136 survey responses and interviews with 21 PhD graduates from one NZ and two US universities. We found that overall, PhD graduates are satisfied with their development as researchers, but had concerns regarding the development of some transferrable skills and attributes. Graduates from the three universities perceived the application of attributes in the workplace similarly. Comparisons of graduate attribute application to their development revealed the following areas requiring better support: teamwork, communication, project management, entrepreneurship, and networking. While development of affective attributes related to global citizenship was lower than expected, graduates perceived these were not always required in the workplace. Universities should consider how their doctoral training programmes can promote a more holistic development of desirable skills and attributes. We provide a possible categorisation to evaluate attainment of desirable attributes for PhD graduates, to ensure researchers and institutions are targeting key attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated how students as stakeholders viewed behavioral and social science (BSS) content in a preclinical longitudinal course entitled "Medicine, Body, and Society" (MBS) at UT Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine (LSOM). We present students' perceptions of successes and challenges tied to "altruism" and other non-biomedical objectives outlined by this institution. We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of MBS course evaluation data. Two researchers independently performed initial coding followed by interrater reliability checks to revise codes and a final MAXQDA lexical search to refine three themes. Three major themes emerged: (1) Students shared pedagogical preferences strongly favoring stories. (2) Students detected deficits in the module content tied to identities. (3) Students labelled BSS content as "soft," "subjective," and "siloed" which confounded its role in the course. Advancing altruism aligned with BSS content in preclinical medical education remains a challenge. A closer review of student evaluations framed as learner-centeredness is key to a greater understanding and resolution of competency issues in preclinical curriculum and its impact on mastery in subsequent clinical education and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]