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        <title>Frontiers in Sociology | New and Recent Articles</title>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sociology</link>
        <description>RSS Feed for Frontiers in Sociology | New and Recent Articles</description>
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        <pubDate>2026-05-24T17:43:51.537+00:00</pubDate>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
        <item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1764193</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1764193</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Diachronic analysis of social structure in Italian metropolitan areas: a comparative–historical research and open-access database for urban studies (DIAMETROIT)]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Study Protocol</category>
        <author>Niccolò Morelli</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Urban research has demonstrated the impact of residential location on life chances and opportunities. This perspective highlights how population structure and territorially embedded opportunities and constraints shape life courses, employment, crime and civic participation. Imbalances in social structure may lead to residential segregation, often with adverse consequences for disadvantaged groups. However, prevailing frameworks—largely developed in rental-dominated or ethnicity-focused contexts—tend to treat dimensions such as age and occupation as analytically independent. DIAMETROIT advances a different view: in home–ownership–centered housing regimes, these dimensions are jointly mediated by the intergenerational transmission of property, which structures access to space and opportunities. In Europe, which is traditionally characterized by strong welfare systems, residential segregation is increasing in major urban areas. This trend calls for a shift in analytical focus from metropolitan cores to broader functional urban areas (FUAs), where economic opportunities and structural constraints increasingly operate. Understanding segregation also requires a diachronic perspective that captures long-term transformations. In Italy, however, comprehensive metropolitan analyses on a fine spatial scale remain limited. This gap reflects both technical and institutional constraints: data aggregation at administrative levels, changing census units and limited longitudinal comparability, alongside chronic underfunding and a fragmented research system. At the same time, the Italian case is theoretically consequential: high home ownership rates and a familistic welfare regime mean that housing access is largely mediated through intergenerational transfers, reinforcing the link between demographic and socio-economic segregation. The DIAMETROIT project focuses on two dimensions: generational and socio-professional segregation. Younger cohorts face increasing precarity in labor and housing markets, yet their spatial distribution remains underexplored. Socio-professional segregation, which is central in European debates, is also gaining relevance in Italy amid stagnant wages and rising costs. Rather than treating these as separate processes, we interpret them as interdependent outcomes of housing structures. By developing harmonized, comparable spatial units and integrating demographic and socio-economic data, the project provides new insights into metropolitan inequalities across Italian FUAs.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1836374</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1836374</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Determinants of job performance among secondary school teachers in Vietnam: evidence from a mixed-methods study]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Quoc Giang Tran</author><author>Thi Tuyet Hanh Nguyen</author><author>Tan Dat Truong</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionThis study examined how individual and organizational factors are associated with the job performance of secondary school teachers in Vietnam, with particular attention to self-efficacy, resilience, principal support, and burnout.MethodsAn explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was employed. In the quantitative phase, survey data from 536 secondary school teachers were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression. In the qualitative phase, 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted to explain and elaborate the statistical patterns identified in the survey results.ResultsThe quantitative findings showed that self-efficacy was the strongest positive predictor of job performance, followed by resilience and principal support, whereas burnout was negatively associated with performance. The qualitative findings provided deeper insight into these relationships. Teachers linked strong performance to pedagogical competence, adaptability, and confidence in managing classroom demands. They also described supportive leadership, peer collaboration, and collegial sharing as important conditions that helped sustain professional functioning. By contrast, burnout was associated mainly with administrative workload and documentation pressures rather than with teaching itself.DiscussionTaken together, the findings suggest that improving teacher performance in Vietnam requires a dual strategy: strengthening teachers’ professional capacity and restructuring school governance processes to reduce administrative overload and foster more supportive school environments.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1747374</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1747374</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Intimate partner violence and eating disorders among married women: the mediating role of emotion dysregulation]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Rula Odeh Alsawalqa</author><author>Nisreen Mahmod Alkaraki</author><author>Lubna Aladaileh</author><author>Ann Mousa Alnajdawi</author><author>Roqaya Alreesi</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This longitudinal study investigated the relationships between exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), difficulties in emotion regulation (DERS), and eating disorder symptoms (ED) among married women in Jordan. Results showed strong positive correlations between all forms of IPV—including economic control, economic exploitation, psychological abuse, physical violence, emotional abuse, and harassment—and all dimensions of DERS, including nonacceptance of emotions, impulse control difficulties, and limited access to emotion regulation strategies. DERS were also significantly associated with ED symptoms, such as dieting behaviors, binge eating and food preoccupation, and oral control. Longitudinal analyses revealed that ongoing exposure to IPV led to significant increases in DERS and ED symptoms over 6 months, particularly in impulse control difficulties and limited access to regulation strategies. Changes in DERS significantly predicted corresponding changes in ED symptoms, even after controlling for baseline levels and demographic variables. Mediation analyses confirmed that DERS partially mediated the relationship between IPV and ED symptoms, highlighting the critical role of emotion regulation in this pathway. Furthermore, women exposed to multiple types of IPV exhibited significantly higher DERS and ED symptom scores compared to those exposed to a single type of violence. Structural equation modeling supported these findings, showing that exposure to IPV increases DERS, which in turn exacerbates ED symptom severity, while a partial direct effect of IPV on ED symptoms remains. These results underscore the compounded negative impact of IPV on emotional regulation and eating pathology among married women, emphasizing the importance of interventions targeting emotion regulation to mitigate the effects of IPV on disordered eating.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1741022</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1741022</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Generations in the grove: the Dongria Kondh's ecological kinship and intergenerational resilience]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Anjali Yadav</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This article repositions the family as a central yet overlooked institution in environmental governance by examining the Dongria Kondh of the Niyamgiri hills in India. Moving beyond dominant policy narratives that treat families as passive beneficiaries of sustainability frameworks, the paper argues that indigenous households function as sites where ecological knowledge, legal agency, and intergenerational solidarity converge to produce enduring forms of environmental stewardship. Drawing on a critical interpretive review of statutory law, constitutional jurisprudence, ethnographic accounts, and policy documents, the study develops the concept of familial ecological sovereignty to capture how kin-based institutions sustain ecological continuity through everyday practices of care, ritual, and decision-making. The analysis situates Dongria Kondh familial practices within India's plural legal landscape, particularly the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and relevant Supreme Court jurisprudence, including the landmark Niyamgiri case. It demonstrates that legal consciousness is not solely generated in courts or formal institutions but is cultivated within domestic spaces through intergenerational transmission of norms, values, and ecological understanding. At the same time, the paper critically engages with internal tensions within families, including gendered authority, migration, and intra-community inequalities, cautioning against idealized portrayals of indigenous governance. By integrating insights from legal pluralism, relational sociology, and traditional ecological knowledge, the study advances a conceptual triad linking legal agency, ecological knowledge, and intergenerational solidarity as mutually reinforcing processes. It argues that sustainability in indigenous contexts is not merely a matter of resource management but a relational practice rooted in kinship and moral obligation across generations. The paper concludes by proposing a shift in environmental governance from technocratic and centralized models toward relational frameworks that recognize families as co-governors of ecological systems. It outlines modest but actionable legal and policy reforms within existing statutory structures to better accommodate familial forms of knowledge and authority. In doing so, the study contributes to broader debates on decolonizing sustainability and foregrounds the role of intergenerational solidarity in shaping resilient ecological futures.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1755911</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1755911</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Can cumulative disadvantages be reversed? Class attainment and a network analysis of intergenerational occupational pathways by migratory origin in Buenos Aires, Argentina]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Pablo Dalle</author><author>Joaquín Carrascosa</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This article analyzes patterns of intergenerational social mobility by family migratory origin in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area. The Argentine case contributes to current debates on assimilation and social mobility by comparing long-term class attainment among descendants of European immigrants and those of internal (“mestizo”) or Latin American origin. Drawing on pooled data from two recent probabilistic surveys (2021 and 2023), we apply multinomial logistic regression models to estimate the relative chances of social class attainment across different groups. In addition, social network analysis (SNA) is employed to conduct a micro-level examination of intergenerational occupational trajectories among migrants, natives, and their descendants, who share similar working-class backgrounds but differ in ethnic origin. This approach highlights occupations that serve as springboards for upward mobility and magnets for class reproduction. Results show that migrants, both internal and regional, have had fewer opportunities for upward mobility. Second-generation individuals born in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (MABA) of mestizo descent and children of Latin American migrants display similar chances of upward mobility to those of European descent when controlling for class origins and education. However, the children of internal migrants of mestizo descent exhibit limited upward mobility, even after controlling for class origins and educational attainment. This pattern is also observed among the first generation of internal migrants and among Latin American migrants. Disparities in class attainment reflect the cumulative disadvantages experienced by subaltern ethnic groups, rooted in long-standing structural inequalities. However, the micro-level analysis shows that, among disadvantaged migrant groups, the offspring of Latin American immigrants tend to experience slightly greater short-range upward mobility, particularly through gendered patterns, such as manual crafts among men and tertiary qualifications among women, especially in health and education.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1697330</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1697330</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Legal consciousness revisited: a dynamic framework for rights awareness in a relational and mediated world]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Conceptual Analysis</category>
        <author>Alfonso Renato Vargas Murillo</author><author>Hugo Adan Falconi Tupiño</author>
        <description><![CDATA[While foundational, classic legal consciousness scholarship is insufficient to capture the complexity of contemporary citizen-law relations. This article distinguishes legal consciousness from rights consciousness, treating the latter as the claim-oriented subset of legality-making concerned with entitlement, remedy, and institutional redress, and proposes a dynamic, multi-layered framework for analyzing their interaction. Synthesizing classic and recent socio-legal work, the framework is organized into three interconnected layers: (1) a foundational layer, which recasts legality as relational, plural, and cognitively mediated; (2) a mobilization and resistance layer, which theorizes rights mobilization, strategic withdrawal, and legal insufficiency in relation to adjacent concepts such as legal alienation, legal estrangement, and legal cynicism; and (3) a contemporary contextual layer, which defines digital legal consciousness through online dispute navigation, algorithmic curation and affect, platform governance, and digitally networked rights-claiming, thereby showing how digital legal consciousness reshapes and partially decouples legal sense-making from national legal cultures, while specifying the scope conditions under which geopolitical comparison and cultural intimacy matter most—especially in semi-peripheral and post-transitional settings. To facilitate empirical use, the article also maps the framework's three cross-layer mechanisms—mediation, feedback, and re-framing—to concise scope conditions, observable indicators, and exemplary literatures. The result is an analytically sharper tool for explaining when legality is experienced as claimable, insufficient, estranging, or strategically withdrawable in an increasingly interconnected and mediated world.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1799827</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1799827</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Sexualized relations in the workplace: the end of a taboo? A perspective on-state-of-the-art research and issues of regulation by work institutions]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Conceptual Analysis</category>
        <author>Stéphanie Monay</author><author>Morgane Kuehni</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Sexualized relations in the workplace have received limited attention beyond research on sexual harassment. This article reviews legal, organizational/managerial and sociological literature on so-called “consensual” sexualized relations, bringing together the scarce studies written in French with a more prolific scientific literature written in English. It identifies key issues in these three disciplinary fields, as well as the terminology used to define and analyze such relations. By mobilizing the concept of a continuum of sexualized relations at work, it highlights underexplored questions for the sociology of work and gender studies. The concept of a continuum not only enables a critical deconstruction of the binary categories opposing consent to harassment, but more fundamentally it renews the analytical framework by conceptualizing sexualized relations in the workplace as a structural phenomenon, shaped by work organization and conditions, as well as by the norms and power relations that govern professional environments. In conclusion, this concept makes the regulation of sexualized relations at work a fully-fledged research question: in a post-#MeToo context, it makes it possible to ask not only who is protected by regulatory mechanisms, but whether those mechanisms reproduce or reconfigure the very power relations they claim to address.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1707192</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1707192</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Unveiling barriers and prioritizing strategies for empowerment of Oraon tribal women through multi-criteria decision analysis]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Seema Kujur</author><author>Sukanya Barua</author><author>Manjeet Singh Nain</author><author>Subhashree Sahu</author><author>V. Sangeetha</author><author>Anirban Mukherjee</author><author>K. V. Praveen</author><author>Nuthaki Venkata Leela Krishna Chaithanya</author><author>Girish Kumar Jha</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionTribal women play a vital role in their communities, often managing both economic and domestic responsibilities. Despite the growing feminization of agriculture in India, women continue to face multifaceted challenges in accessing and controlling resources, exercising agency, and technological advancements, which collectively impede their empowerment and the achievement of SDG 5. These constraints are more pronounced among Oraon tribal women, who experience compounded disadvantages due to historical marginalization.ObjectiveThis study identifies key challenges and formulates strategic interventions for empowering Oraon tribal women in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, India.Materials and methodsThe cross-sectional study was carried out to assess challenges to women's empowerment. A total of 400 women of reproductive age were selected to prioritize challenges, and 40 officials were randomly selected to formulate the strategies using the Analytic Hierarchy Process for empowerment.ResultsThe Oraon tribal women revealed five critical barriers: socio-cultural (domestic violence, unequal household burdens), economic (wage disparities, limited employment), educational (poverty-driven dropout rates), technical (lack of agricultural knowledge), and psychological (low self-efficacy). Economic and educational challenges emerged as the most significant, with 72.89% and 63.12% severity scores, respectively. AHP-based prioritization highlighted top strategies including economic inclusion through financial services (weight: 0.326) and land access (weight: 0.249), educational investments in infrastructure (weight: 0.332) and quality schooling (weight: 0.227) mass awareness campaigns against domestic violence (weight: 0.298); residential agricultural training (weight: 0.336) and gender sensitization programs (weight: 0.272).ConclusionThe study underscores the need for integrated policies addressing economic participation, education access, and community engagement to dismantle systemic barriers. Findings align with global SDG5 targets, advocating for women-centered extensions and government initiatives to enhance decision-making autonomy. This research provides a scalable framework for tribal women's empowerment, emphasizing multi-criteria decision-making in development planning.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1761036</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1761036</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Cultural representation, soft power, and tourism futures in Vision 2030: Saudi Arabia's path toward the 2034 FIFA World Cup]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Shuruq Alsharif</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This article provides one of the first systematic sociological analyses of Saudi women's representation and positioning within tourism and sports narratives linked to Vision 2030 and Saudi Arabia's preparations for hosting the FIFA World Cup 2034. Addressing a notable gap in scholarship, the study examines the relationship between gendered media discourse, public visibility, and state-led modernization. Grounded in cultural representation theory, feminist reconceptualizations of the public sphere, and gender performativity, the study employs critical discourse analysis to examine a curated corpus of national tourism advertisements, sports promotional campaigns, government communications, and institutional reports published between 2022 and 2025. The findings reveal a strategic transformation in the representation of Saudi women as public actors, entrepreneurs, athletes, and cultural ambassadors operating within tourism and international engagement spaces. These representations combine symbolic references to Saudi heritage, including the abaya, desert landscapes, and equestrian culture, with narratives emphasizing modernization, mobility, and global openness. However, the analysis also demonstrates that these transformations remain uneven, with women's visibility and participation appearing more pronounced in metropolitan and globally oriented spaces than in rural regions, where local cultural norms continue to shape the pace and form of social change. The study further suggests that while symbolic inclusion and public visibility have expanded considerably, deeper forms of structural empowerment remain dependent on institutional mechanisms capable of supporting leadership opportunities, public-private collaboration, and regionally responsive capacity-building strategies. By situating Saudi women at the intersection of gender politics, tourism development, nation branding, and global sports diplomacy, the article contributes to broader debates on symbolic power, visibility, and social transformation in the contemporary Middle East while offering insight into how the 2034 FIFA World Cup may further reshape gendered participation in Saudi Arabia's evolving global future.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1786805</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1786805</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Beyond pigmentocracy: how country-level ethnoracial configurations shape the effects of skin color on educational inequality in Latin America]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Javier Castillo</author><author>Mauricio Salgado</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionSkin color is a durable status marker in Latin America, yet most comparative evidence remains correlational and offers limited leverage for adjudicating whether observed gradients reflect causal stratification processes, cross-national composition, or measurement error in interviewer ratings.MethodsUsing nationally representative AmericasBarometer 2016–2017 surveys from 18 Latin American countries (N = 23,163), we estimate the causal effect of interviewer-rated skin color (PERLA palette; standardized within country) on years of schooling within a counterfactual framework, implementing a partially linear Double/Debiased Machine Learning design that orthogonalizes treatment–outcome estimation from high-dimensional confounding via cross-fitting. We adjust for social origin (maternal education), ethnoracial self-identification, settlement size, age, sex, and country fixed effects, and we explicitly model interviewer-specific rating heterogeneity through interviewer fixed effects to mitigate rater-induced attenuation. We then test contextual moderation using a five-category typology of country-level ethnoracial configurations derived from clustering indicators of phenotypic dispersion and ethnoracial composition.ResultsUnder standard identification assumptions (conditional ignorability given controls, overlap, and stable measurement within interviewers), a one–standard-deviation increase in darker skin causally reduces schooling by roughly 0.3–0.5 years; controlling for interviewer fixed effects increases the estimated penalty, consistent with non-classical measurement error biasing naive estimates toward zero. The causal penalty varies systematically across ethnoracial configurations, being strongest in predominantly White/Criollo countries and weakest in Afromestizo ones, with formal tests rejecting homogeneous effects.DiscussionThe study contributes a causal, cross-nationally comparable estimate of colorism in education, demonstrates that interviewer heterogeneity is substantively consequential for identification and magnitude, and shows that historically sedimented national ethnoracial configurations condition the causal impact of skin color on educational attainment in Latin America.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1861760</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1861760</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Editorial: Parenthood and parental wellbeing: exploring diverse trajectories and influences]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Editorial</category>
        <author>Alessandra Decataldo</author><author>Sara Martucci</author><author>Alessandra Minello</author><author>Livia Elisa Ortensi</author>
        <description></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1742364</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1742364</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Toward a necessary right to self-representation in European civil law]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-18T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Sebastián Rivero Silva</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This article argues that the highly restrictive approach to self-representation in civil proceedings within European civil law systems lacks sufficient historical, dogmatic, and functional justification, being increasingly incompatible with contemporary standards on access to justice. A historical-comparative reconstruction of the Romano-canonical model and the evolution of legal professions shows that there was no original veto on litigants choosing to conduct their own case. In other words, current mandatory-representation rules largely stem from guild-like dynamics of monopolizing audience rights. A contrast with common law systems—where “pure” forms of self-representation coexist with mechanisms such as the McKenzie friend (UK) and Standby/Advisory Counsel (US) —highlights the particular rigidity of the continental model. Paradoxically, civil law systems are characterized by strong judicial management, codified frameworks and the principle of iura novit curia, which make it easier to correct lay errors without excluding self-represented parties from the forum. On this basis, the article advances a twofold normative thesis: (i) in light of Article 6 ECHR and contemporary access-to-justice standards, a limited but effective right to self-representation in less complex civil disputes is possible; and (ii) this right should be structured through assisted self-representation schemes, particularly via an adapted reception of the Standby Counsel model, capable of balancing party autonomy, equality of arms, and procedural efficiency. The proposal requires rethinking the role of intermediate legal professions, subjecting corporate monopolies to scrutiny. Also, recognizing that the democratic legitimacy of civil justice demands meaningful space for the citizen's direct voice before the courts.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1815556</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1815556</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The erratic nature of goodness: a reading of the parasitic nature of toxic masculinity through the character of Achuthan Nair in the select film duology]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-18T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Conceptual Analysis</category>
        <author>Ajay Thomas Joy</author><author>R. Preetha</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The practice of masculinity can often masquerade as “goodness” in society. However, the underlying parasitic nature of this ideological practice can extend its sway over society, destroying the environment and the host it inhabits. This article examines the nature of masculinity, which preys on both the environment and its host in the Malayalam films Kireedam (1989) and Chenkol (1993), written by AK Lohithadas, directed by Siby Malayil. This perspective is drawn through the character arc of Achuthan Nair, played by Thilakan; his transition from a proud man to a loathsome end reflects the nature of toxic masculinity. This article on Connell’s hegemonic masculinity and Gramscian ideas of hegemony, coupled with an outspoken feminist performance by the female characters, critiques masculine ideals. This thereby repositions the tragic hero status from Sethumadhavan to Achuthan Nair. He acts as the fulcrum of the entire events of the films; “goodness” practiced by him has a performative quality approved by society. The statements, interactions, and discourses of Achuthan Nair act as the catalyst and medium of this destructive turn. The traditional gender roles and performances are also visited to identify the liminal nature of the host’s identity, which remains in flux, leaving him in an ideological limbo. The article tries to analyze the interactions of Achuthan Nair with other characters and situations to bring in this perspective of the parasitic nature of masculinity, with an emphasis on Achuthan Nair’s interactions with different forms of masculinities in the film, to represent the underplayed notion of hegemonic masculinity and its parasitic nature in a cult film duology. The transition of Achuthan Nair from a hegemonic practitioner to a victim of the same practice is also traced in the article.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1808040</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1808040</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Employing the structural equation modeling in assessing urban farming innovation adoption: examining urban society’s acceptance of the theory of planned behavior and technology acceptance model frameworks]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-15T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>E. T. Yuniarsih</author><author>Muslim Salam</author><author>Muhammad Hatta Jamil</author><author>A. Nixia Tenriawaru</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionThis study examined the factors influencing the adoption of urban farming technologies in urban communities in Makassar City, Indonesia. It integrated the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to provide a comprehensive understanding of how psychological, social, and technological factors shape adoption intentions.MethodsPrimary data were collected from 346 respondents across 15 subdistricts using a questionnaire survey. The data collection was supported by agricultural extension officers who served as field facilitators, having received prior guidance to ensure consistent data collection. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).ResultsThe results revealed that knowledge, subjective norms, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use significantly influenced the intention to adopt urban farming. Several variables also played mediating roles, particularly perceived ease of use, which links socio-demographic characteristics and behavioral control to adoption intention. In addition, subjective norms are influenced by both ease of use and perceived control.DiscussionThese findings highlight the importance of integrated strategies, including community-based education, strengthening social support systems, and improving access to user-friendly technologies. Such efforts are essential to enhancing public participation and promoting the sustainable adoption of urban farming practices.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1802017</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1802017</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Attitude of trainees toward tribal entrepreneurship training on solar lantern development in Ladakh: a descriptive study]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-15T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Mohd Rafee</author><author>Surendra Kumar Gotherwal</author><author>Tsewang Dolma</author><author>Anamika Sharma</author><author>Ruhana Rafiq</author><author>Stanzin Khenrab</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionWhile renewable energy skill development programmes have expanded across India's peripheral regions, limited empirical evidence exists on how tribal trainees in geographically isolated settings perceive such initiatives and the factors that shape their entrepreneurial attitudes. This study examines the attitudes of 320 Scheduled Tribe trainees towards a Solar Lantern Development entrepreneurship training programme in Ladakh.MethodsDrawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior, the Competence-Confidence framework and institutional perspectives on peripheral entrepreneurship, the study employs a cross-sectional descriptive research design. Attitudes were measured using a pilot-tested 20-item Likert scale (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.852) and a post-training technical knowledge assessment. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression were used for analysis.ResultsThe findings indicate an overall positive attitude with the knowledge score demonstrating a strong positive association with entrepreneurial attitude (r = 0.831, p < 0.01). Multiple linear regression confirmed technical knowledge (β = 0.969, p < 0.001) as the strongest predictor of attitude (R2 = 0.765) while age showed a significant negative association (β = −0.161, p < 0.001). However, logistical constraints, limited market linkages and household responsibilities emerged as key barriers identified through item-level mean percent score analysis.DiscussionThe findings are interpreted as associations rather than causal effects, given the cross-sectional design and purposive sampling. The study contributes to the literature on green skills development in peripheral regions by demonstrating that technical competence is a necessary but insufficient condition for entrepreneurial motivation and that institutional support structures are critical for translating skills into enterprise formation.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1813070</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1813070</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Digitalization and financial inclusion among women-led micro and small enterprises in Indonesia: an empirical perspective]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Diah Pranitasari</author><author>Sri Harini</author><author>Sukmo Hadi Nugroho</author><author>Susi Susilawati Harahap</author><author>Aries Sudiarso</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionThis study aims to examine how digitalization and financial inclusion influence the financial performance of women-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia, as well as to explain the social mechanisms that mediate this relationship.MethodsThis study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative analysis based on a survey of female MSME owners with qualitative insights derived from in-depth interviews. The quantitative analysis investigates the relationships among digital literacy, financial support, self-development motivation, digital marketing, and financial literacy in relation to business performance, while the qualitative analysis provides a contextual understanding of the social and institutional factors shaping women’s entrepreneurial practices.ResultsThe findings reveal that digitalization and financial support do not directly enhance the financial performance of women-owned MSMEs. Instead, their effects are mediated by self-development motivation, digital marketing, and financial knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. The results also highlight the existence of a capacity–performance gap, referring to the discrepancy between improvements in individual capacity and actual business performance outcomes.DiscussionThe qualitative findings indicate that structural factors, such as asset ownership, access to financial institutions, social networks, and women’s dual roles within the household, significantly affect the ability of female entrepreneurs to translate these capacities into tangible economic outcomes. This study contributes to the literature on economic sociology and women’s entrepreneurship by demonstrating that entrepreneurial success is shaped by the interaction between individual capabilities and structural conditions influencing economic opportunities, particularly in the informal economy of developing countries.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1814421</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1814421</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Traditional medicine practices and dimensions in the North Al-Batinah region of Oman: frankincense as a case study]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Hajer Harrathi</author><author>Aida Al-Qasimi</author><author>Mohamed Dridi</author><author>Nawal Al-Sheerawi</author><author>Mediha Jlassi</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This study aims to explore traditional medicine in Oman as an integral part of the country's deeply rooted cultural heritage that continues to influence the present through its resilience and persistent roles. The research takes as a case study the practice of healing using lubān (اللّبان, frankincense), which has manifested as a durable and enduring therapeutic system within the preventive and curative practices of participants in the study community. This system operates within a framework of beliefs and representations that have contributed to its continuity, despite the advancements and achievements of modern medicine in Oman. The study adopted a qualitative ethnographic approach supported by semi-structured interviews and descriptive quantitative summaries, relying on field observations and a series of interviews conducted within a defined geographical context and time frame—specifically, the Governorate of North Al-Batinah, across its six wilāyāt (ولايات, districts) during the academic year 2022/2023. The research aimed to document the most prominent methods of treatment using frankincense among participants, examining its key preventive and curative forms, as reported and practiced by participants, as well as the representations that underpin its continued use. The study reached a set of findings, most notably the identification of the ecological, historical, and cultural dimensions of frankincense-based healing practices. These practices are characterized by a degree of ritualization, a blending of natural and metaphysical aspects, and a strong connection to individuals' cultural backgrounds, social upbringing, and the representations they hold about illness and treatment with frankincense as perceived within the study community.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1795425</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1795425</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Criminal governance and extortion in informal economies: fear as a mechanism of territorial control in Lima]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-12T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Javier Hildebrando Espinoza Escobar</author><author>Samantha Sotelo-Llancari</author><author>Viviana Isabel La Rosa Salvador</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionThis article examines extortion as a form of criminal governance embedded in contexts of high economic informality, focusing on the case of San Juan de Lurigancho, Lima. The study conceptualizes extortion not merely as a criminal act, but as a socioeconomic mechanism that regulates territory, economic activity, and everyday life in the absence of effective state protection.MethodsDrawing on a phenomenological qualitative research design, the study involved 20 in-depth interviews with economic agents with constrained agency, community leaders, and judicial actors to explore the dynamics of extortion and its impact on social and economic regulation.ResultsThe findings show that extortion operates as a system of informal taxation sustained through the strategic production and normalization of affective regimes of fear, which function as a technology of social control. This regime is increasingly mediated by digital platforms, enabling the viralization of threats and a digitalization of coercion. Consequently, violence becomes routinized, social trust erodes, and silence is institutionalized as a survival strategy. Economic agents deploy adaptive responses ranging from pragmatic negotiation to fragile forms of collective organization.DiscussionThe article expands the literature on criminal governance by demonstrating how economic informality, selective state presence, and digitally mediated coercion converge to produce a hybrid system of regulation. This study contributes to broader debates on informality, violence, and governance in urban contexts of the Global South.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1739758</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1739758</link>
        <title><![CDATA[From human to posthuman bias: mapping discrimination in futuristic societies through speculative fiction]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-12T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Conceptual Analysis</category>
        <author>Ruchi Singh</author><author>M. Gibu Sabu</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This study investigates the morphologies of bias in speculative fiction that depict futures populated by augmented humans, artificial intelligences, sentient machines, other posthuman entities, and algorithmically governed societies. It maps how traditional vectors of discrimination, such as race, gender, class, color, creed, and species, are reimagined, displaced, or re-entrenched in these fictional worlds. The study addresses bias through three interrelated dimensions: ontological, epistemological, and ethical. Proceeding from the premise that technological advancement may alter both the lexicon and locus of discrimination, the research argues that the underlying logics of exclusion and hierarchy persist, often in more insidious or abstract forms and harder to perceive and resist because they are cloaked in the rhetoric of neutrality, objectivity, and efficiency. Moreover, such narratives frequently imagine emergent forms of bias and exclusion, projecting how new hierarchies might develop in posthuman societies where categories such as biological intelligence, machine consciousness, or access to data and enhancement technologies create fresh axes of privilege and marginalization. To ground these theoretical concerns, this study examines speculative fiction including Luminous by Silvia Park, Death of the Author and Noor by Nnedi Okorafor, Machinehood by S.B. Divya, The Passenger by John Marrs, and Artificial Condition by Martha Wells. Through close textual analysis, it explores how these narratives represent both the persistence of inherited bias and the emergence of novel discriminatory structures in technologically mediated worlds.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1808511</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2026.1808511</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Total pain in the indirect victims of the desaparecidos]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-11T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Perspective</category>
        <author>Gina Tarditi</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This article explores the phenomenon of the desaparecidos—the disappeared, mostly enforced—in Latin America, with a specific emphasis on Mexico. Little is known about the multidimensional impact that a disappearance has on the relatives of the desaparecidos. Government protocols supporting indirect (secondary) victims only partially address legal issues, provide limited economic assistance, and offer perfunctory responses to their psychosocial needs. From the author’s perspective, the concept of ‘total pain’ effectively captures the multi-layered suffering endured by the indirect victims. Framing the multidimensional suffering of indirect victims as ‘total pain’ can inform stronger care protocols and public health policies as they navigate the long-term effects of the disappearance.]]></description>
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