Social media? It's serious! Understanding the dark side of social media

Research and practice have mostly focused on the “bright side” of social media, aiming to understand and help in leveraging the manifold opportunities afforded by this technology. However, it is increasingly observable that social media present enormous risks for individuals, communities, firms, and even for society as a whole. Examples for this “dark side” of social media include cyberbullying, addictive use, trolling, online witch hunts, fake news, and privacy abuse. In this article, we aim to illustrate the multidimensionality of the dark side of social media and describe the related various undesirable outcomes. To do this, we adapt the established social media honeycomb framework to explain the dark side implications of each of the seven functional building blocks: conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, groups, and identity. On the basis of these reflections, we present a number of avenues for future research, so as to facilitate a better understanding and use of social media.     

Numerical solution of optimal allocation problems in stratified sampling under box constraints

Modern sampling designs in survey statistics, in general, are constructed in order to optimize the accuracy of estimators such as totals, means and proportions. In stratified random sampling a variance minimal solution was introduced by Neyman and Tschuprov. However, practical constraints may lead to limitations of the domain of sampling fractions which have to be considered within the optimization process. Special attention on the complexity of numerical solutions has to be paid in cases with many strata or when the optimal allocation has to be applied repeatedly, such as in iterative solutions of stratification problems. The present article gives an overview of recent numerical algorithms which allow adequate inclusion of box constraints in the numerical optimization process. These box constraints may play an important role in statistical modeling. Furthermore, a new approach through a fixed point iteration with a finite termination property is presented.     

Attitudes toward lesbians,gay men,bisexual women,and bisexual men in Germany

Attitudes toward lesbians, gay men, bisexual women, and bisexual men were assessed in a national representative sample of 2,006 self‐identified heterosexual women and men living in Germany. Replicating previous findings, younger people held more favorable attitudes than older people; women held more favorable attitudes than men; and men held more favorable attitudes toward female than male homosexuality, whereas women did not differentiate. However, women held more favorable attitudes toward homosexuals than toward bisexuals, whereas men did not differentiate. Knowing a homosexual person was an important predictor of attitudes, as was political party preference. Both same‐sex and opposite‐sex sexual attraction were substantially related with attitudes. Our findings support the notion that attitudes toward lesbians, gay men, bisexual women, and bisexual men are related but distinct constructs.     

Review of Australian Health Related Social Work Research 1990–2009

Abstract

Social workers form a critical component of the Australian health workforce. While their roles as practitioners are very strategic within the health system, less clear is their contribution to health research. This paper reviews the published record of social work research in Australian health from 1990–2009 in order to discern the patterns of the social work contribution to new knowledge in health. The results of this review indicate a tendency to focus on discursive commentary rather than empirical research as well as a less-than-expected focus on client studies. Given the rise of evidence-based practice, there are potentially serious implications for social work in terms of how it positions itself as a contributor to new knowledge within the health field.     

Academic mothers with disabilities: Navigating academia and parenthood during COVID-19

Academic mothers (including nonbinary, trans, and genderqueer parents) have always faced challenges in their profession due to systemic barriers and a “motherhood tax”; however, COVID-19 has exacerbated already existing inequalities (Oleschuk, 2020). This study examines how the pandemic has affected academic mothers with mental health and physical disabilities, as these voices often remain hidden and unheard in academia despite increased awareness of their presence (Brown & Leigh, 2018; Kelly & Senior, 2020). Here, we share the voices of 23 participants using a qualitative methodology drawing from social justice and feminist theories to highlight the lived experience of academic mothers with mental and/or physical disabilities and their experiences as a scholar and parent during COVID-19. Understanding the lived experience of this intersectional population can provide invaluable insights into ableist privilege within higher education, especially in the context of COVID-19 which has substantially disrupted work and homelife routines.     

Slug grazing effects on seedling and adult life stages of North American Prairie plants used in designed urban landscapes

Designed vegetation is a major contributor to ecosystem service provision in cities, and as such the study of how herbivory and other ecological factors determine its capacity to deliver such services, is long overdue. This study investigated the effect of slug grazing on the establishment and development of 26 species of North American prairie forbs and grasses used in sown or planted naturalistic communities in urban greenspace. The experiment was designed to provide slugs with the opportunity to choose between the plant species used, to mirror the situation that prevails in public greenspace. Slug density was manipulated through baiting with metaldehyde at different frequencies. Seedlings of prairie species were more palatable to slugs than adults. Seedling establishment was significantly reduced in most species by slug grazing, with only seven species showing no significant increase in establishment in response to baiting with metaldehyde. In many species successful establishment was based on moderate-high unpalatability and large or fast growing seedlings. Adult prairie plants were typically more able to withstand slug damage, and once their shoots reached a certain size, grazing declined. This was not true of the most palatable species, which even as adults were eventually eliminated by grazing in the absence of baiting. Phenology plays an important role in the survival of adults, with early emerging species potentially subject to severe damage due to the limited availability of alternate food plants. As a group, prairie forbs are typically palatable to slugs, and unlikely to be persistent in the most slug-rich urban situations.     

I Am Woman,Hear Me Tweet! Gender Differences in Twitter Use among Congressional Candidates

This study synthesizes two theoretical literatures to explain gender differences in Twitter usage and effectiveness among US Congressional candidates. The first suggests that candidates in perceived disadvantaged positions, females in this case, innovate to improve their chances of success, and the second, that female politicians often adopt stereotypically masculine behaviors to be successful. On the basis of these theories, we hypothesize and confirm that female candidates are more likely than males to integrate Twitter into their campaigns, but our results are less conclusive regarding a difference in the likelihood that females use negative campaigning tactics via Twitter. Our results also indicate that those females who use Twitter more than their male counterparts tended to do better electorally, but this difference is conditional. Female Republican candidates who tweeted more increased their vote share, but the opposite is true for Democrats. We speculate that this differential effect may be a product of different audiences for social media in each party’s electorate.     

The differential influence of geographic isolation on environmental migration: a study of internal migration amidst degrading conditions in the central Pacific

Population and Environment - This study investigates how geographic isolation interacts with declining environmental and economic conditions in Kiribati, an island nation wherein which limited...     

Power and identity in theory and practice

Power is often theorised in a way that equates its meaning with A's control over B. Alternatively, it is regarded as a universal transformative capacity. In which case, power is conceptualised in terms of its accomplishment of social order. The central objective of this paper is to expose the contribution and limitations of existing functionalist, action theoretic, radical and relational conceptions of power. This is done by attending to the significance of identity securing strategies in the reproduction of power relations. Highlighting the relevance of this identity dimension, we argue that individuals’ attempts to distance and protect themselves from their ‘powerlessness’ can have important, self-defeating consequences in respect of the reproduction of asymmetrical relations of power. Connecting the search for independence to the preoccupation with securing a stable and valued sense of identity, we explore how this preoccupation sustains the very structural conditions that promote insecurity. Our thesis on power and identity is then applied and illustrated through a critical discussion of relevant aspects of two recent labour ethnographies: Nichols and Beynon's Living with Capitalism and Willis's Learning to Labour.