Italian Sociological Review

The Multiple Nuances of Online Firestorms: The Case of a Pro-Vietnam Attack on the Facebook Digital Embassy of China in Italy Amidst the Pandemic

2025-01-10T09:53:08+00:00

The paper illustrates the intricacies of online collective behaviors by delving into the multifaceted nature of online firestorms. Behind seemingly similar expressions, collective online behaviors can be driven by different underlying sociological and techno-communicative processes. Using the case of online firestorms, the paper expands on the more common perspective of these events as marketing-related reputational crises by examining them as coordinated political digital protests. A firestorm orchestrated by pro-Vietnam activists targeting the Facebook page of the Chinese embassy in Italy, which is analyzed using digital and computational methods, exemplifies this viewpoint, illustrating how the event results from strategic mobilization within a networked environment. More broadly, the paper advocates for a nuanced analysis of online collective behaviors, digging beyond seemingly similar digital traces.

The Deconstruction of Women’s Values in #MeToo on Instagram

2024-07-01T07:54:06+00:00

This study aims to explain and reflect on the deconstruction of women’s values disseminated through #MeToo on Instagram. This issue tends to be overlooked in previous studies. The findings in this study show that the deconstruction of women’s values disseminated in Instagram is not least done in the context of dominant attitudes, identities, and ideologies labelled on women. The deconstruction is not only influenced by cultural, structural, and spiritual factors, but also oriented towards values that are evaluative, negotiative, and repressive towards the dominant meanings labelled on women.

Modern Times of Living (Loving) and Working: What Has Happened to Them?

2024-10-08T05:54:14+00:00

The article is intended to be a reflection on modern times of living and working in the age of the smartphone and new technologies in general. Is there still, today, a clear distinction between living time and working time? Or has the smartphone, which we take as the most common and widely used representative of new technologies, made the boundaries between what were once clearly distinct living and working times increasingly blurred and con-fused? Smartphones contain all kinds of apps, from those useful or even necessary for life and work, to those for playing games, having fun and meeting people; and it is with us morning, afternoon, evening and night; weekdays and holidays; when we are well and when we are ill; when we are alone and when we are with friends. Losing it (or not being connected) is unthinkable for us and generates what is called nomophobia (NO MObile PHone PhoBIA). Another well-known fear related to new technologies in general and the smartphone in particular goes by the name of FOMO, short for “Fear Of Missing Out”, which is a worried feeling that you may miss events (both offline and, more importantly, online) that other people seem to take part in and thus run the risk of being excluded, forgotten, left out and substituted. Can all this be without consequences of various kinds? In this article, we focus on the consequences this has on our modern times of living (loving) and working.

Taking Cultural Heritage Seriously. Sociological Theory, Emotions and Human Rights. Niklas Luhmann in Memoriam

2024-10-14T10:36:27+00:00

This study focuses on the communication of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), defined to include the scientific production of researchers across both the hard sciences and the humanistic and social realms. Considering museums as institutions of memory undergoing transformation due to new technologies, we analyse institutional definitions of ICH and museums from a global perspective. We also examine the languages, technologies, and contexts suitable for communicating ICH in museums.

Our analysis is based on an empirical study conducted in Germany, exploring the use of digital technologies to transmit and valorize ICH through museum initiatives, with a focus on the emotional aspect. In addition to its theoretical background, this study reflects on the roles of law, human rights, and emotions in defining cultural identity, concluding with a provocative proposal on enhancing cultural communication.

Mapping Reproductive Health of Indigenous Women in India: A Systematic Review

2024-09-11T08:37:18+00:00

Reproductive health among Indigenous women is a multifaceted issue involving socio-cultural, economic and systematic factors. The present work aims to systematically review and synthesize existing research on reproductive health of Indigenous women in India. It addresses two interconnected research questions: their perception towards family planning & contraceptive usage and their accessibility to reproductive healthcare resources. Accordingly, a comprehensive search initially yielded 15,058 articles and later reduced to 669 after applying inclusion criteria like content accessibility, publication time frame, language and subject focus. In order to make the review country-specific, 62 articles related to India were identified. After screening the title, abstract and full-text, 17 articles were finally reviewed. The review highlights reproductive healthcare barriers faced by Indigenous women due to factors such as spatial, socio-economic status, and cultural & traditional values. It also identifies the importance of awareness regarding family planning and contraceptive uses. With reference to healthcare provision for Indigenous women, it stresses on the accessibility and quality of care as well as culturally appropriate reproductive healthcare. The review also emphasises the evident need for collaborative work between policymakers and healthcare providers in order to address such challenges and achieve equitable and comprehensive reproductive healthcare for Indigenous women.

Did Intimate Partner Violence Increase After the First COVID-19 Lockdown? A Study with Women Attending Antiviolence Centers in Italy

2024-04-15T08:29:18+00:00

Aim of the study is to analyze the evolution of intimate partner violence (IPV) after the first COVID-19 lockdown with women attending antiviolence centers (AVCs) in Italy.

Of 292 women attending an AVC in 2020, 238 were victims of IPV; they were interviewed with a standardized questionnaire, including some open-ended questions. Questions concerned the evolution of violence after the lockdown; women’s fear; and socio-demographic variables. Women’s spontaneous comments were collected. Analyses focused on the increase in four types of violence: controlling behaviors and physical, sexual, and economic violence.

After the lockdown, the evolution in violence was not uniform: for instance, physical violence increased for 22% of women and decreased for 55%, whereas controlling behaviors increased for 29% and decreased for 36%. In open-ended questions, women attributed this increase to the perpetrator’s need to regain control as after the lockdown, the women had regained some freedom. Cohabitation with the violent partner during the lockdown was the most important factor related to the increase in the four types of violence after the end of the lockdown. Most women were afraid of the perpetrator, particularly if they had cohabitated with the perpetrator during the lockdown: the increase in each type of violence was associated with women reporting fear.

Women interviewed in this study reported high levels of partner’s violence and fear after the lockdown, particularly if they had cohabitated during the lockdown. Governments should provide the resources to prevent violence and support the victims; these measures must be included in post-Covid-19 recovery programs.

“Society at Large Is Heteronomous”: Cornelius Castoriadis and the Poietic Creation

2024-09-26T12:02:12+00:00

Why is society at large heteronomous? How can imagination cope with the heteronomous drifts of social dynamics? Castoriadis’ theory of the imaginary construction of society provides some insightful reflections that allow a better understanding of how the “poietic” works in our hyperconnected society and how the “functional” impacts on the construction of society through the stifling and channelling of imagination. The aim of this paper is to theoretically investigate Castoriadis’ emphasis on the “pulsating process” that turns “instituting” societies into “instituted” ones through the power of symbolic and creative pathways, focusing on the conference Imaginary and Imagination at the Crossroads (1996). This paper emphasizes not only Castoriadis’ connection to the sociology of the arts and culture (from Vico to Becker, through Pareto, Adorno and Bourdieu), but also delves into his criticism on contemporary art, in line with denunciation of the “subversion of simulacrum” stigmatized by Jean Baudrillard in reference to the “conspiracy of art”. To the fore is the attempt to interpret the “loss of meaning” boosted by hyper-connectivity and permanent reproducibility of symbols, signs and contents, in a time of short-comings between the functional and poietic within the intramundane praxis of social and communicative acting, as Jürgen Habermas has recently pointed out.

Between “Here” and “There”: Toward Understanding Emigration Representations and Perceptions Among Algerian Physicians

2024-10-30T14:17:24+00:00

The present study explores the motives and perceptions of emigration among physicians working at the University Center Hospital Benflis Al-Tohamy Batna-Algeria. It aims at exploring their representations and views from an Algerian socio-cultural perspective. Data were collected in-situ to grasp the essence of the phenomenon and the conditions under which physicians work and develop their intention to relocate. Purposive and snowballing sampling were chosen to apply the unstructured interview for data collection. Content analysis was used to extract the main themes related to physicians’ experiences. The findings reveal that physicians experience a range array of internal and external conditions that feed their desire to move abroad. The main themes related to emigration motivation and perceptions were: working conditions, quality of life, socio-economic incentives, and cultural motives. The study shows that post-migration perceptions of doctors reflect the influence of former emigrants’ narratives on non-emigrants, with living conditions being compared “here” and “there”, which interestingly nourish migration intentions. The motives that drive the inflow of medical doctors from Algeria should be considered by both policy makers and researcher to develop our understanding and mitigate its deleterious effects.