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Societies, Volume 6, Issue 4 (December 2016) – 7 articles

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217 KiB  
Essay
Reel Royal Diversity? The Glass Ceiling in Disney’s Mulan and Princess and the Frog
by Lauren Dundes and Madeline Streiff
Societies 2016, 6(4), 35; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/soc6040035 - 17 Dec 2016
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 28813
Abstract
Both in Mulan and Princess and the Frog, Disney eschews a traditional fairytale ending involving palatial opulence by substituting an alternative narrative for women of color. Mulan disguises herself as a male soldier in order to serve in her father’s place. After [...] Read more.
Both in Mulan and Princess and the Frog, Disney eschews a traditional fairytale ending involving palatial opulence by substituting an alternative narrative for women of color. Mulan disguises herself as a male soldier in order to serve in her father’s place. After sharing victory with male companions, she willingly returns home to domesticity and the confines imposed by her gender. Tiana spends two thirds of the movie as a frog, substantially limiting her on-screen time as an African American female. Like Mulan, she is driven to please her father. She fulfills his dream of owning a high-end restaurant, ironically named Tiana’s Palace, the closest she comes to a royal lifestyle. Although protagonists with more realistic lives could potentially enhance viewers’ connection with them and model a work ethic or commitment to home life, the standard and more financially successful Disney narrative immerses viewers in a fantasy world of endless prospects including a life of royalty. These nonwhite heroines instead display a willingness to settle for more modest aspirations in stories replete with stereotypical gender and race-bound tropes. This divergent narrative suggests that protagonists of color are not entitled to a life of leisure and privilege that white Disney princesses enjoy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intersectionality: Disentangling the Complexity of Inequality)
205 KiB  
Article
Indigenous Research and Romantic Nationalism
by Paul Atkinson and Anne Ryen
Societies 2016, 6(4), 34; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/soc6040034 - 21 Nov 2016
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5480
Abstract
In recent years, “indigenous research” and “indigenous methods” have become prominent themes in the general field of qualitative methodology. These ideas and their implications raise serious questions for the wider conduct of social research. We will outline some of those ideas, subjecting them [...] Read more.
In recent years, “indigenous research” and “indigenous methods” have become prominent themes in the general field of qualitative methodology. These ideas and their implications raise serious questions for the wider conduct of social research. We will outline some of those ideas, subjecting them to scrutiny, and ultimately using them to question the rise of Romanticism in contemporary social methodology. We develop these ideas to question the contemporary emphasis on the personal and the experiential in current methodological commentary. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decolonizing Methodologies)
907 KiB  
Communication
Reconsidering Teenage Pregnancy and Parenthood
by Frank Furstenberg
Societies 2016, 6(4), 33; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/soc6040033 - 01 Nov 2016
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 10653
Abstract
This paper looks back at the findings reported in Destinies of the Disadvantaged: The Politics of Teenage Parenthood, a decade after its publication in light of recent research. Increasingly, the most methodologically sophisticated research has minimized the “causal impact” of early childbearing [...] Read more.
This paper looks back at the findings reported in Destinies of the Disadvantaged: The Politics of Teenage Parenthood, a decade after its publication in light of recent research. Increasingly, the most methodologically sophisticated research has minimized the “causal impact” of early childbearing on later life events consistent with the findings of the Baltimore Study. I argue in the paper that we must see early childbearing primarily as a marker rather than a cause of economic disadvantage. As such, reducing early childbearing will have a minimal impact on the lives of highly disadvantaged teens unless those teens use the delay in childbearing to improve their education and labor market prospects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adolescent Pregnancy: Past, Present and Future Trends and Issues)
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150 KiB  
Editorial
Special Issue: Adolescent Pregnancy: Past, Present and Future Trends and Issues
by Naomi Farber
Societies 2016, 6(4), 32; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/soc6040032 - 28 Oct 2016
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5495
Abstract
The dramatic overall decrease in rates of pregnancies and births to American teenagers over the last few decades should be counted among contemporary success stories in systematic efforts to reduce bio-psychosocial risks to youth.[...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adolescent Pregnancy: Past, Present and Future Trends and Issues)
151 KiB  
Editorial
Special Issue on Robots and the Work Environment
by António B. Moniz and Bettina-Johanna Krings
Societies 2016, 6(4), 31; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/soc6040031 - 28 Oct 2016
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5169
Abstract
The future development of industries is currently on the agenda of public and scientific debates.[...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robots and the Work Environment)
552 KiB  
Article
A Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the ICECAP-O: Test–Retest Reliability and Item Relevance in Swedish 70-Year-Olds
by Helena Hörder, Susanne Gustafsson, Therese Rydberg, Ingmar Skoog and Margda Waern
Societies 2016, 6(4), 30; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/soc6040030 - 30 Sep 2016
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5065
Abstract
Background: While there is a plethora of Quality of Life (QoL) measures, the Investigating Choice Experiments for the Preferences of Older People—CAPability index (ICECAP-O) is one of the few that taps into the concept of capability, i.e., opportunities to 'do' and 'be' the [...] Read more.
Background: While there is a plethora of Quality of Life (QoL) measures, the Investigating Choice Experiments for the Preferences of Older People—CAPability index (ICECAP-O) is one of the few that taps into the concept of capability, i.e., opportunities to 'do' and 'be' the things that one deems important in life. We aimed to examine test–retest reliability of the ICECAP-O in a Swedish context and to study item relevance. Methods: Thirty-nine 70-year-olds who took part in a population-based health study completed the Swedish version of the ICECAP-O on two occasions. We analyzed the test–retest reliability for the index and for the individual items. Participants also rated the relevance of each item on a visual analogue scale (0–100). Results: Test–retest reliability for the index score was in good agreement with an ICC of 0.80 (95% CI 0.62–0.90). However, Kappa was low for each item and ranged from 0.18 (control) to 0.41 (role). For attachment, we found a systematic disagreement with lower ratings at the second test occasion. Participants gave their highest relevance rating to attachment and lowest to enjoyment. Conclusion: The Swedish version of the ICECAP-O had good test–retest agreement, similar to that observed for the English version. Item level agreement was problematic, however, highlighting a need for future research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Promotion)
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203 KiB  
Article
Sociological and Biological Insights on How to Prevent the Reduction in Cognitive Activity that Stems from Robots Assuming Workloads in Human–Robot Cooperation
by Diego Compagna, Alexandra Weidemann, Manuela Marquardt and Philipp Graf
Societies 2016, 6(4), 29; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/soc6040029 - 29 Sep 2016
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4452
Abstract
The reduction of cognitive tasks brought about by new developments in service-robots’ collaboration with humans in working environments has given rise to new challenges as to how to address safety issues. This paper presents insights from biology, cognitive/neural sciences and sociology that can [...] Read more.
The reduction of cognitive tasks brought about by new developments in service-robots’ collaboration with humans in working environments has given rise to new challenges as to how to address safety issues. This paper presents insights from biology, cognitive/neural sciences and sociology that can conquer these new challenges. The main focus lies in sociological variables that ensure safe human–robot interaction in working environments rather than addressing biological ones (avoiding bodily harm) or purely cognitive ones (avoiding any signals that are outside the human’s sensory comfort zones). We will present an approach on how to integrate behavioral patterns into the robotic system in order to prevent the problem of reduced cognition in relation to essential features, which are necessary for carrying out this pattern in the context of a human–robot interaction with non-humanoid robots (which is the most typical design of robots used in work environments). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robots and the Work Environment)
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