Can TV shows promote acceptance of sexual and ethnic minorities? A literature review of television effects on diversity attitudes

Until recently, western TV programming rarely featured sexual or ethnic minority members; if present, their representation was mostly negative. Increasingly, though, diverse characters start to play likeable protagonists as well. Thus, television can promote negative diversity attitudes and, at other times, positive ones. The present article reviews and connects theories and research from sociology, psychology, and media and communication studies to clarify the role of television in diversity attitudes formation and to identify directions for future research. Specifically, two research questions are addressed. First, through which processes does television influence diversity attitudes? Second, what features of TV shows contribute to positive diversity attitudes formation among viewers, according to different theories of television effects? Findings indicate that television can entrench existing negative diversity attitudes through the echo chamber phenomenon. However, TV content featuring numerous, likeable, attractive, and typical minority characters that have friendly interactions with the rest of society can promote positive diversity attitudes. Future research should study openness to view content with minority characters, examine the effects of the complete video media diets, check media effects in non-western countries, explore media effects in longitudinal studies and investigate what constitutes attractive, likeable, and typical representation of ethnic and sexual minorities.     

Ownership and corporate social responsibility: "The power of the female touch"

Using a sample of 26,029 firm-year observations over the period 2002–2017 from 4,479 firms and 44 countries, we examine the relationship between ownership concentration and corporate social responsibility by focusing on the mediating role of board gender diversity and the moderating role of family shareholding. We find that ownership concentration negatively affects corporate social responsibility, and the board gender diversity partially mediates this negative effect. Our results indicate that the mediating effect of board gender diversity leads to a 10.65 percent decrease in the impact of ownership concentration on corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, moderated path analysis indicates that family shareholding weakens the direct effect of ownership concentration on board gender diversity and its indirect effect on corporate social responsibility. In post hoc analysis, we also document that the effect of gender diversity on the board is more prevalent in high gender-egalitarian societies where women are more involved in decision-making. Our study addresses the strategic role of female board members in increasing firms’ respect for corporate social responsibility, especially in family-controlled firms. Thus, our results may provide insights to regulators and policymakers to enhance firms’ corporate social practices by encouraging women’s participation on corporate boards.     

Neither bridging nor bonding: A test of socialization effects by ethnically diverse voluntary associations on participants' inter-ethnic tolerance,inter-ethnic trust and intra-ethnic belonging

The distinction between bridging and bonding associations is a cornerstone of social capital research. Nevertheless, this study is the first to provide a direct test of the socialization mechanism that supposedly causes ethnically mixed (bridging) associations to generate interethnic tolerance and trust, and homogenous (bonding) associations to cement self-affirming identities.This multilevel analysis of the Citizenship, Involvement & Democracy (CID) 1999/2000 survey data on Mannheim (Germany), Enschede (the Netherlands), and Aberdeen (Scotland) covers 3166 active participants in 645 associations. The CID includes objective, exogenous measures of each association's composition and aim. Socialization and self-selection effects are pulled apart through interactions with detailed measures of associational involvement.The results display no evidence for (diverse and homogenous) associations as socializing agents. Although inter-ethnic tolerance is higher in ethnically diverse associations, this should be attributed to self-selection effects.     

Coalitional affiliation as a missing link between ethnic polarization and well-being: An empirical test from the European Social Survey

Many studies converge in suggesting (a) that ethnic and racial minorities fare worse than host populations in reported well-being and objective measures of health and (b) that ethnic/racial diversity has a negative impact on various measures of social trust and well-being, including in the host or majority population. However, there is much uncertainty about the processes that connect diversity variables with personal outcomes. In this paper, we are particularly interested in different levels of coalitional affiliation, which refers to people’s social allegiances that guide their expectations of social support, in-group strength and cohesion. We operationalize coalitional affiliation as the extent to which people rely on a homogeneous social network, and we measure it with indicators of friendships across ethnic boundaries and frequency of contact with friends. Using multi-level models and data from the European Social Survey (Round 1, 2002–2003) for 19 countries, we demonstrate that coalitional affiliation provides an empirically reliable, as well as theoretically coherent, explanation for various effects of ethnic/racial diversity.     

Trust and contact in diverse neighbourhoods: An interplay of four ethnicity effects

Ethnically diverse neighbourhoods are generally less cohesive. A negative relationship between neighbourhood diversity and social cohesion is, however, neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition to conclude that neighbourhood diversity erodes intra-neighbourhood cohesion. This contribution shows – by using data collected during the second wave of the NEtherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study (NELLS) – that: (1) members of ethnic minority groups are more likely to report having contact with and trust their immediate neighbours than natives (ego ethnicity effect); (2) minority group residents are less likely to be contacted and trusted by their neighbours (alter ethnicity effect) and (3) all ethnic groups prefer to mix with coethnics (dyad ethnicity effect). Once we control for these three ethnic composition effects at the ego, alter and dyad-level, neighbourhood ethnic diversity is no longer related to less contact between neighbours. Previously identified negative relationships between neighbourhood diversity and cohesion should therefore be re-evaluated, as they may be the consequence of ethnic composition effects instead of a true neighbourhood diversity effect.     

At the intersection of marketisation,diversity and migration: reshaping the provision of paid family eldercare in Sweden?

This article explores how paid family eldercare in Sweden is reshaped at the intersection of marketisation, accommodation to ethnic diversity and globalisation of international migration. Using a mixed-methods case study approach, the paper examines how implementation of customer choice in publicly funded homecare services to older adults in the city of Stockholm interacts with paid family care. The results show that some private homecare companies employ family caregivers as a business strategy; moreover, that the majority of employed family caregivers are foreign-born women coming primarily from non-European countries. The findings point towards gains but also risks for all parties involved. Though the family caregiver is ensured an income, the employment is generally associated with low wages and weak social security. In addition, employed family carers often lack formal training, which affects documentation procedures and monitoring of the daily care work. It is therefore difficult to evaluate the quality of care services performed by employed family carers. The results indicate a need for policy-makers to reconsider how customer choice in eldercare interacts with paid family care. Otherwise, unintended consequences may result in negative effects for integration as well as social work practice with foreign-born older adults.     

The relationship between faculty diversity and graduation rates in higher education

This study examines the relationship between faculty racial/ethnic diversity and graduation rates of undergraduate students, in particular those from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority populations. Using IPEDS data, the researchers calculated a Diversity Score for each institution. Findings suggest U.S. faculty diversity is lower than in the U.S. national population. Overall graduation rates for underrepresented minority students of all races/ethnicities are positively affected by increased diversity of their faculty.     

动词前“来”功能的多样性与属性的统一性

"来"在"(PP/VP)+来+VP"句式中的功能纷繁复杂,以往的研究主要着眼于个性的挖掘,进而不断地分裂出新的属性。而从认知语言学的角度看,那些分布于不同句法环境中的"来",虽表现不同,但其本质上还都保留了"位移"这一核心特征,因此在属性上仍可统一处理为动词。     

全球化下的多样时间呈现与现代时间反思：凯文•伯斯的时间研究

人类学的时间研究虽然已逾百年,但直至20世纪末才开始系统地探讨全球化下的时间特点。美国人类学家凯文?伯斯（Kevin Birth）是相关领域的重要推动者之一。近30余年来,他从地方社区的多样时间互动及其社会建构、计时方式的认知塑造及其具身后果、现代时间的霸权及其时间多样性遮蔽等层面,深入考察了全球化下多样时间的互动和全球通用现代西式时间的局限。本文依托时间人类学的基本脉络,梳理了集中体现伯斯成就的三部代表作,并认为,理解伯斯著作中多维综合、情境性、实践取向的时间论,重视地方经验和跨学科的时间研究路径,以及多样性与同一性交织的全球时间景观,对后续研究推进具有重要意义。     

Leisure and quality of life in an international and multicultural context: what are major pathways linking leisure to quality of life?

This paper aims at advancing the conceptualization of leisure as a contributor to quality of life (QOL) in an international and multicultural context, based on an extensive and critical review of literature on leisure and QOL from a global, international perspective. Given the central role of culture in conceptualizing this notion, this paper gives attention to various cultural contexts world-wide. To illustrate the diversity of our societies, examples are introduced specifically from three culturally unique contexts in this paper – i.e., Asian, Middle-East, and Indigenous contexts. Also, some examples are drawn from other cultural groups in global and international contexts, particularly, in non-western contexts. Then, the final section of this paper aims at integrating and synthesizing the knowledge gained from this review to develop a tentative/working proposition about how leisure can contribute to QOL from international and cross-cultural perspectives. Specifically, based on such integration, this paper identifies and describes major pathways linking leisure to QOL. Overall, an overarching theme common to almost all cultural contexts examined appears to be the role of leisure-like activities as a context or space for creating meanings which then help to promote the quality of people’s lives. Major pathways or mechanisms that can facilitate meaning-making and life-quality-enhancement highlighted in this review include: (a) positive emotions and well-being experienced from leisure, (b) positive identities and self-esteem gained from leisure, (c) social and cultural connections and a harmony developed through leisure, and (d) leisure’s contribution to learning and human development across the life-span. Also, emphasized in this paper is the role of leisure as a context for realizing and utilizing human strengths and resilience. It is important, however, to stress that in people’s quest for a meaningful life, the benefits of meaning-making through leisure involve both “remedying the bad” and “enhancing the good,” as shown throughout this paper. Despite these benefits, we should not ignore that leisure experiences are socially and culturally constructed and shaped by the inequalities of society. Thus, the reality of power imbalance and inequalities should be acknowledged and appropriately addressed socially, culturally, and politically. Particularly, providing culturally relevant and meaningful leisure opportunities for less privileged population groups world-wide is clearly a top priority.