Search Results (449)

The manuscript aims to assess the scale of shadow economic processes within the non-observed economy, focusing on the self-employment sector, which is insufficiently reflected in national statistics. The research methodology includes an analysis of the conceptual foundations of the shadow economy, decomposition of its components, identification of factors negatively affecting the economy, development of an algorithm for sociological research, and the selection of appropriate models for evaluating the non-observed economy. The study formulates the concept of the shadow economy and shows that shadow business activity in Kazakhstan contributes to income inequality, hidden unemployment, and the exclusion of certain goods and services from official GDP statistics. Using statistical data from 2005 to 2024 and applying methods such as system and statistical analysis, modeling approaches, and the MIMIC (Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause) and DGE (Dynamic General Equilibrium) models, the study estimates the size of the shadow sector. The results reveal insufficient statistical data on shadow activities within self-employment and SMEs. The study concludes that the most reliable assessment of the shadow economy requires an integrated methodological approach, including targeted sociological research and models that account for the influence of multiple factors on informal self-employment. Full article

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a significant paradigm of methodology and epistemology in the social sciences. Machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), and generative models enable researchers to work with big, multimodal datasets, identify complex patterns, and recreate events in the social world in ways that previously were not feasible. At the same time, these innovations also lead to ethical challenges related to algorithmic bias, black boxes, data extractivism, and reinforced structural inequalities in welfare, government services, education, and criminal justice. The article critically questions the social sciences in the light of AI on three dimensions that are inextricably linked, namely: (1) the opportunities that AI provides to social-scientific inquiry; (2) the biases and constraints generated through data, models, and institutional application; and (3) ethical pathways that are necessary for the responsible governance of AI-facilitated research and decision support. The article is based on a scoping, critical thematic review of the recent literature, and its conceptualization of AI as a socio-technical infrastructure is that it produces knowledge and, at the same time, offers power. It explains the impact AI practices have on restructuring disciplines like sociology, psychology, political science, and policy analysis, and how it blindly predicts how data practices, design choices, and governance arrangements can either preserve or destroy existing hierarchies. The paper suggests an analytical framework synthesizing AI practices, social research practices, and governance structures in ethical frameworks. It argues that the emancipatory promise of AI in the social sciences is dependent on the attainment of something beyond principle-based claims of so-called ethical AI by operational governance mechanisms that make systems visible, debatable, and responsible in their respective situations. Full article

This article examines the interplay of memory, politics, and religion at the Buchenwald Memorial, focusing on the 2024 edition of the Genius Loci festival. Once staged by the German Democratic Republic as a monumental site of antifascist resistance, the memorial has undergone multiple reinterpretations, reflecting shifting regimes of remembrance and contested political claims, and an architectural vocabulary informed by Christian metaphors. Drawing on Durkheim’s sociology of religion and concepts of memory (Nora, Assmann), the analysis highlights how memorial architecture, ritual practices, and artistic interventions frame collective memory as both a political resource and a civic challenge. The Genius Loci festival exemplifies how contemporary art can reactivate debates around memorial spaces, exposing their religious frame of reference while simultaneously opening them to contemporary renegotiation. Full article

This article examines how artificial intelligence and algorithmic systems are reconfiguring truth regimes in digital societies, introducing the concept of “Artificial Truth” to describe an emerging form of epistemic governance where knowledge production and validation become infrastructural functions of sociotechnical systems. The study develops an integrated theoretical framework combining Foucault’s notion of truth regimes, Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic capital and fields, and Actor-Network Theory’s constructivist approach. Through conceptual analysis, the article investigates how algorithmic recommendation systems, generative AI, and automated fact-checking operate as epistemic devices that actively shape what is recognized as credible, authoritative, and true in public discourse. The analysis reveals three fundamental transformations: (1) the restructuring of trust economies, with epistemic authority shifting from institutional expertise to platform-native capital based on engagement metrics and affective proximity; (2) the emergence of generative AI as an epistemic actor producing “synthetic truth” through linguistic fluency rather than propositional understanding; (3) the institutionalization of computational veridiction in algorithmic fact-checking systems that translate situated epistemic judgments into probabilistic classifications presented as neutral. These dynamics configure a regime where truth is evaluated less by correspondence with reality and more by computational plausibility and platform integration. The article’s primary contribution lies in providing a unified theoretical framework for understanding contemporary transformations of epistemic authority, moving beyond disinformation studies to analyze AI as an epistemic actor. By integrating classical sociological perspectives with Science and Technology Studies, it conceptualizes algorithmic systems as epistemic infrastructures that embody specific power relations, restructure symbolic capital economies, and distribute epistemic authority asymmetrically, with profound implications for democratic knowledge, citizen epistemic agency, and public sphere pluralism. Full article

Global research on social–emotional learning (SEL) demonstrates robust benefits for student well-being and academic outcomes, yet SEL is still largely treated as gender and culturally neutral, with little attention to how it intersects with locally specific constructions of masculinity. We address this gap through a qualitative study in three urban secondary schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, combining focus groups with boys aged 13–16 (n = 18), student interviews (n = 10), and teacher/counsellor interviews (n = 10). Using critical masculinity theory, the sociology of emotions, and transformative SEL, a reflexive thematic analysis identifies four patterns: (i) sadness and fear framed as status risks while anger signals strength, (ii) “switching off” feelings as masculinized emotion work tied to locally valued ideals of sabar (endurance) and izzat (honour), (iii) fragile “islands of care” where privacy and dignity enable conditional vulnerability, and (iv) SEL-like practices fostering empathy but also reinforcing stigma when emotions are labelled unmanly. We argue that SEL is a contested site where masculinities are reproduced and renegotiated, and we propose five findings-grounded design principles, including graduated emotional entry points, anti-ridicule norms, and indirect pedagogy for gender-attentive SEL that reduces stigma and supports non-violent masculinities in Pakistani secondary schooling. Full article

This article investigates how site-specific audiovisual performances can reconfigure the contemporary relationship between art and the sacred in contexts characterised by religious plurality and late-modern disenchantment. In response to the erosion of traditional religious language, it examines how non-verbal mediation through sound, moving images and embodied presence can enable alternative ways of engaging with sacred spaces. Drawing on three artistic interventions created within different religious contexts, the article shows that performative memory emerges as a presence-in-absence phenomenon, activated through sensory, spatial and atmospheric engagement. The analysis reveals that religious spaces act as active agents in the process of performative remembrance, generating shared experiences centred on themes of shelter, humility, and fragility. Methodologically, the research takes a practice-as-research approach, informed by an emergent research design. This approach combines site immersion, audiovisual performance and reflexive analysis in order to articulate the knowledge produced through artistic practice. The findings suggest that these performances counter the accelerated temporal regimes characteristic of late-modern life by cultivating slowness, attentiveness, and affective resonance. The article concludes that performative memory functions as a relational practice through which the sacred persists and is reimagined beyond doctrinal representation, fostering inclusive forms of encounter within plural religious environments. In this way, the study contributes to broader sociological and humanistic debates on art, religion, and the transformation of sacred experience in contemporary society. Full article

This study proposes a novel theoretical synthesis, bridging the sociology of lived religion with economic club good theory to explore the high-commitment dynamics in domestic spheres in the analysis of “Amen meals”, a rapidly spreading ritual among Jewish women. Using a qualitative–ethnographic methodology based on 23 participant observations and 53 in-depth interviews with a diverse spectrum of Jewish women in Israel, the research examines the ways this ritual functions as a gendered religious economy. The findings identify emotional stringency as a key mechanism for communal cohesion: unlike traditional religious clubs that filter out free riders through external prohibitions, this economy demands a tariff of emotional exposure and vulnerability, where public tears serve as costly signals of commitment. These enable the participants to gain access to exclusive club goods such as social insurance and spiritual agency. The study concludes that Amen meals challenge the binary between institutional–rational and private–emotional spheres, positioning women’s ritual creativity as a mutual insurance system for risks that formal institutions fail to cover. It reveals the powerful economies operating within the lived religion of women. Full article

Despite increasing efforts by the scientific community to raise awareness of breed-related health problems through educational campaigns, public information initiatives, and veterinary outreach programmes, brachycephalic dog breeds remain highly popular. As the number of brachycephalic dogs increases, the prevalence of associated health problems rises accordingly. Ethical and animal welfare considerations appear to play a limited role in breed selection. In German-speaking regions, extensive educational efforts have been undertaken in recent years to address the issue of so-called torture breeding, defined as intentional selection for extreme phenotypic traits that impair health, reduce welfare, and cause chronic suffering, particularly in brachycephalic breeds. The aim of this study was to determine the underlying reasons for the decision to buy and keep a brachycephalic dog. Although the veterinary profession is already improving education and communication, this qualitative study intended to find new starting points for targeted education against animal suffering and to explore the sociological background of the ownership of such dogs. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews with people with brachycephalic dogs were conducted throughout Switzerland (n = 16). The focus was on the animal–human relationship. The interviews were defined by systematically applied guidelines for the design of the interview process, while still allowing maximum openness (all possibilities for expression). The transcribed interviews were coded and analysed according to the Kuckartz methodology, which allows us to set certain focal points of analysis and to structure them according to codes. The results of this study indicate that, although awareness of torture breeding is present within the broader population, owners of brachycephalic dogs frequently rely on individualised arguments and rationalisations. These typically involve emphasising the perceived health, functionality, or exceptional characteristics of their own animal (e.g., claims that their dog is “healthy” or not affected by breed-related problems), thereby distancing their personal ownership experience from the general welfare concerns associated with the breed. This psychological pattern can be interpreted as cognitive dissonance, in which contradictory beliefs are harmonised through selective perception or re-evaluation. The results also show that brachycephalic dogs offer a very strong projection surface: their owners assign them a variety of social roles that go beyond the classic animal–human relationship—for example, as a substitute for children, a romantic partner, or a best friend. This qualitative study provides differentiated insights into the attitudes and motivations of owners of brachycephalic dogs and illustrates that traditional awareness campaigns have not been sufficient to effectively change problematic breeding practices and ownership patterns. In order to develop long-term effective solutions, interdisciplinary cooperation is therefore needed—for example, between veterinary medicine, animal welfare, communication science, psychology and law. In addition to individual education, new, target-group-specific communication strategies and consistent legal regulations are needed to protect animal welfare in the long term. This study is intended to serve as a catalyst for a broader ethical and social debate on the keeping of torture breed dogs. Full article

Overtourism has intensified socio-environmental pressures in popular destinations, raising concerns about ethical responsibility and sustainable behavior among tourism actors and visitors. In this study, we explored how environmental awareness and ethical values shape behavioral intentions under overtourism pressure by combining a systematic literature review with qualitative field data from Bali. Through a PRISMA-based review of 100 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2015 and 2024, we synthesized evidence on environmental ethics, responsible tourism, and pro-environmental behavioral mechanisms. The review reveals that increasing scholarly attention is being paid to ethical norms, emotional engagement, and contextual constraints but shows that there is limited empirical understanding of how these factors are experienced in practice by local actors and domestic tourists. To address this gap, qualitative interviews were conducted with three key stakeholders, including accommodation and tourism service providers, and 10 domestic tourists. Thematic analysis identifies three interrelated mechanisms influencing behavioral intention: (a) recognition of environmental risk and destination vulnerability, (b) ethical reasoning and sense of collective responsibility, and (c) structural barriers shaped by convenience, economic pressures, and weak governance. While participants express strong environmental awareness and moral concern, behavioral intentions are often constrained by limited information, the perceived ineffectiveness of individual actions, and a lack of regulatory enforcement. This study contributes to the sociological literature on sustainable tourism by elucidating how ethics and awareness translate into intention under overtourism pressure. We report the practical implications for ethical communication, stakeholder collaboration, and participatory governance. Full article

This article examines the religious education for Muslim chaplains in France through a sociological case study of the Institut Al-Ghazali of the Grande Mosquée de Paris, considered to be one of the principal institutions for the training of imams and chaplains in France. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork, the study combines direct observation and semi-structured interviews with actors at the Institut Al-Ghazali, including students, graduates, instructors, and institutional representatives. The paper focuses also on analysing the internal curricula of this religious education intended for chaplains working in public institutions such as prisons and hospitals. The analysis of the Institute’s internal training curricula, based primarily on the lived experience, combined with participant observation and the experiences of alumni, covers the period from 1994 up to 2020. The article thus contributes to sociological debates on the institutionalisation of Islam in Francophone Europe and the professionalisation of Muslim religious leadership within the secular framework of the French Republic. Full article

This article argues that the da’wa movements initiated by Islamic mass organizations such as Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) through the concept of Islamic locality constitute one of the key factors contributing to the failure of the caliphate idea in Indonesia. This locality is characterized by the synthesis of Islamic theology, law, and practice with the sociocultural, political, and historical realities of the Archipelago. Employing a historical–sociological method and document analysis, this article traces how these da’wa movements have embedded a distinctly Indonesian notion of Islamic locality. The findings reveal that through the establishment of socio-educational institutions (schools, hospitals, pesantren), cultural adaptation, and participation in the nation-building project, these Islamic da’wa movements have addressed the social and spiritual needs of Indonesian Muslims within the framework of the nation state. Therefore, the failure of the caliphate idea is not due to a lack of religiosity of Indonesian Muslims, but rather because localized Islamic understanding has rendered the caliphate not only irrelevant but also theologically incongruent with the perspectives of the majority of Indonesian Muslims. Full article

Against the dual backdrop of the rural revitalization strategy and the pursuit of high-quality, balanced urban–rural education, optimizing rural campus spaces has emerged as an important lever for addressing educational resource disparities and improving pedagogical quality. However, conventional evaluation of campus space optimization faces two systemic dilemmas. First, top-down decision-making often neglects the authentic needs of diverse stakeholders and place-based knowledge, resulting in spatial interventions that lose regional distinctiveness. Second, routine public participation is constrained by geographical barriers, time costs, and sample-size limitations, which can amplify professional cognitive bias and impede comprehensive feedback formation. The compounded effect of these challenges contributes to a disconnect between spatial optimization outcomes and perceived needs, thereby constraining the distinctive development of rural educational spaces. To address these constraints, this study proposes a novel method that integrates regional spatial feature recognition with digital media-based public perception assessment. At the data collection and ethical governance level, the study strictly adheres to platform compliance and academic ethics. A total of 12,800 preliminary comments were scraped from major social media platforms (e.g., Douyin, Dianping, and Xiaohongshu) and processed through a three-stage screening workflow—keyword screening–rule-based filtering–manual verification—to yield 8616 valid records covering diverse public groups across China. All user-identifying information was fully anonymized to ensure lawful use and privacy protection. At the analytical modeling level, we develop a Transformer-based deep learning system that leverages multi-head attention mechanisms to capture implicit spatial-sentiment features and metaphorical expressions embedded in review texts. Evaluation on an independent test set indicates a classification accuracy of 89.2%, aligning with balanced and stable scoring performance. Robustness is further strengthened by introducing an equal-weight alternative strategy and conducting stability checks to indicate the consistency of model outputs across weighting assumptions. At the scenario interpretation level, we combine grounded-theory coding with semantic network analysis to establish a three-tier spatial analysis framework—macro (landscape pattern/hydro-topological patterns), meso (architectural interface), and micro (teaching scenes/pedagogical scenarios)—and incorporate an interpretive stakeholder typology (tourists, residents, parents, and professional groups) to systematically identify and quantify key features shaping public spatial perception. Findings show that, at the macro level, naturally integrated scenarios—such as “campus–farmland integration” and “mountain–water embeddedness”—exhibit high affective association, aligning with the “mountain-water-field-village” spatial sequence logic and suggesting broad public endorsement of ecological campus concepts, whereas vernacular settlement-pattern scenarios receive relatively low attention due to cognitive discontinuities. At the meso level, innovative corridor strategies (e.g., framed vistas and expanded corridor spaces) strengthen the building–nature interaction and suggest latent value in stimulating exploratory spatial experience. At the micro level, place-based practice-oriented teaching scenes (e.g., intangible cultural heritage handcraft and creative workshops) achieve higher scores, aligning with the compatibility of vernacular education’s “differential esthetics,” while urban convergence-oriented interdisciplinary curriculum scenes suggest an interpretive gap relative to public expectations. These results indicate an embedded relationship between public perception and regional spatial features, which is further shaped by a multi-actor governance process—characterized by “Government + Influencers + Field Study”—that mediates how rural educational spaces are produced, communicated, and interpreted in digital environments. The study’s innovative value lies in integrating sociological theories (e.g., embeddedness) with deep learning techniques to fill the regional and multi-actor perspective gap in rural campus POE and to promote a methodological shift from “experience-based induction” toward a “data-theory” dual-drive model. The findings provide inferential evidence for rural campus renewal and optimization; the methodological pipeline is transferable to small-scale rural primary schools with media exposure and salient regional ecological characteristics, and it offers a new pathway for incorporating digital media-driven public perception feedback into planning and design practice. The research methodology of this study consists of four sequential stages, which are implemented in a systematic and progressive manner: First, data collection was conducted: Python and the Octopus Collector were used to crawl online comment data related to Fuwen Township Central Primary School, strictly complying with the user agreements of the Douyin, Dianping, and Xiaohongshu platforms. Second, semantic preprocessing was performed: The evaluation content was segmented to generate word frequency statistics and semantic networks; qualitative analysis was conducted using Origin software, and quantitative translation was realized via Sankey diagrams. Third, spatial scene coding was carried out: Combined with a spatial characteristic identification system, a macro–meso–micro three-tier classification system for spatial scene characteristics was constructed to encode and quantitatively express the textual content. Finally, sentiment quantification and correlation analysis was implemented: A deep learning model based on the Transformer framework was employed to perform sentiment quantification scoring for each comment; Sankey diagrams were used to quantitatively correlate spatial scenes with sentiment tendencies, thereby exploring the public’s perceptual associations with the architectural spatial environment of rural campuses. Full article

One of the most important priorities of the most recent research work regarding the professional appraisal (PA) process is to understand different aspects of the social workers’ satisfaction with this particular type of professional evaluation. In this sense, this study addresses the imperative to comprehensively understand social workers’ satisfaction with PA, a pivotal yet sensitive human resource instrument within public administration. Drawing on a sociological survey of social workers in Romania’s North-West Development Region, the research empirically validated a multidimensional theoretical model of PA satisfaction (PAS) through rigorous exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The findings definitively establish that PAS is not a unidimensional construct, but rather a complex phenomenon underpinned by three distinct dimensions: (1) satisfaction with the most recent performance rating; (2) satisfaction with the appraisal system; and (3) satisfaction with the rater. This validated model significantly advances the conceptualization of satisfaction regarding PA, providing a precise diagnostic instrument for identifying systemic inefficiencies. Consequently, it offers a strategic framework for targeted organizational interventions and informs the development of more equitable and growth-oriented public policies. The study highlights that holistic measurement across these identified dimensions is crucial for cultivating employee motivation, reinforcing organizational justice, and fostering sustainable professional development within the public sector. Full article

Climate change is a pressing issue that has far-reaching effects on the global ecosystem, societies, and economies. Climate-induced disasters exacerbate multidimensional poverty through economic, social, and environmental pathways. This study examines the relationship between climate-induced disasters and multidimensional poverty, applying a mixed-method design comprising a PRISMA-guided systematic review and thematic analysis. Articles published between 1999 and 2025 were retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science, yielding 3587 articles. After reference checking and screening for relevance and availability, we finally reviewed 17 articles. The results highlight that climate-induced disasters disrupt economic and livelihood activities, negatively impact GDP, slow financial development, reduce per capita expenditure ability, and harm agricultural production. Disasters also have negative impacts on health and well-being, education, gender, the natural environment, and culture; these disasters promote intergenerational poverty. Among all stressors, floods and droughts are the most pervasive, and they have different magnitudes and durations of impacts. The assessment identifies governance quality, gender inequality, education, social positions, and environmental degradation as the significant mediating systems influencing vulnerability and recovery. To cope with vulnerabilities, individuals employ a variety of strategies based on their socioeconomic status. Building on these insights, the study develops the Multidimensional Climate–Poverty Dynamics (MCPD) Framework to conceptually capture climate–poverty as a socially constructed and institutionally mediated process. The study contributes theoretically to environmental sociology and empirically to climate policy by framing adaptation as a social process of transformation rather than as solely a survival mechanism. Full article

Emotional (mental) pain can precipitate a suicidal intention in humans. In contemporary society characterized by an increase in international migrations, the potential impact of immigration remains among the controversial and even quite complex topics in the sociology of suicidal behavior. In other respects, our understanding of the potential impact of immigration status on emotional pain in adults with a dual diagnosis of schizophrenic and comorbid substance use disorders remains unclear. This cross-sectional survey aimed to examine the potential impact of immigration status on the experience of emotional pain. All study participants (N = 93) gave written and signed consent before beginning to complete this individual survey. The analysis revealed significant main effects of both immigration and gender on emotional pain intensity, with the native-born and females reporting a higher intensity of emotional pain. However, no significant effects were found for immigration or gender concerning general self-efficacy. Additionally, significant interactions were found between immigration and gender for both emotional pain intensity and general self-efficacy, with native-born females exhibiting higher emotional pain intensity and general self-efficacy compared to non-native-born females. Regarding the unique contribution of general self-efficacy, the analysis showed that it (but not the lifetime patterns of psychoactive substance use) solely and significantly explained participants’ emotional pain intensity, with higher general self-efficacy associated with lower emotional pain. A mediation analysis revealed that general self-efficacy significantly mediated the relationship between immigration and emotional pain among females, but not males, suggesting that general self-efficacy played a key role in explaining how immigration influenced emotional pain for females with a dual diagnosis of schizophrenic and comorbid substance use disorders. This is the first evidence of the potential impact of immigration status on the experience emotional pain among adults with a dual diagnosis. The general self-efficacy played a key role in explaining how immigration status influenced current emotional pain for females, and not for males, with a dual diagnosis of schizophrenic and comorbid substance use disorders. Full article