La Unión Europea en la serie ‘Parlement’ (2020). Entre la ficción y el realismo

The interest of this research resides in the analysis of the only fiction series dealing with the functioning of the European Union: the French- Belgian-German production Parlement (Émilie Noblet and Jérémie Sein, 2020). Through a qualitative methodology, it seeks to answer a threefold re- search objective: (1) to analyze the main characters and their characteristic elements; (2) to identify the space-time relationship and the political actions addressed in fiction in order to provide realism to its development through the scenarios and arguments presented; and (3) to detect the existence of parallelisms between the European Union in the social imagery and the one presented in the series according to the theory of social representations, the reality effect and the Eurobarometer surveys. The results reveal that Parle- ment works with stereotypes and social perceptions about the European Union through satire but manages to offer pedagogical elements in all its epi- sodes. In this way, it accomplishes becoming a popular catalyst to bring Euro- pean politics closer to citizens, by projecting a more human and lighthearted image.

Perceptions of Generation Y on Social Aspects Involving Sustainable Tourism in Romanian Destinations

Sustainable tourism destination management requires the simultaneous and multidirectional pursuit of interactions. One of these are tourists, which are structured differently, based on socioeconomic and psycho-formative criteria. Taking into account the general features of Generation Y, the study aims at analyzing their perception regarding social aspects demanded in sustainable tourism destinations in the case of Romania. The research is focuses on the survey method, which relies on a semi-structured questionnaire applied online in 2020. The answers were modeled, using data analysis tools or graphics functions in IBM-SPSS v.28. Study findings highlight the interesting social perceptions of Y tourists in Romania (RGY), with an emphasis on their desire for conflict-free destinations, to spend time with friends or family, but also to make carefully chosen friends. The perceptions regarding the acceptance of interactions with hosts varies by their socio-demographic characteristics, depending especially on the issues that require their active involvement. These reveal a predominantly interest on professional services, largely excluding creative activities for the acquisition of local traditions. In conclusion, RGY considers that their social inputs as neutral in the tourist areas. However, more attention should be focused on the management of tourism products, in order to come up with specific offers for a highly skilled, but stressed generation, as well as on finding ways able to boost through motivating solutions the young people's interest for social dimension of the sustainable tourism development.

Integrated Assessment of Drought Impacts on Rural Areas: The Case of the Chapada Diamantina Region in Brazil

Drought is one of the most significant hazards that farmers face in rural areas. This study aims to examine an integrated assessment of the drought impacts in rural territories, considering the social perceptions related to the effects of natural hazards on health, social relations, income, and other impacts. The study area is located in the rural area of the Chapada Diamantina region in Northern Brazil. The characterization of the region was carried out based on historical meteorological and agricultural productivity data. The method used in this study was based on a survey of social perceptions regarding drought impacts by small rural producers through a participatory process. The results indicated how extreme events such as drought influence rural areas. In addition to agricultural productivity (~50%), aspects such as social migration and health problems were observed.

Social perceptions of convicts about the attitude of society towards ever imprisoned persons

The article analyzes the content of the social perception of convicts about the attitude of society towards ever imprisoned persons. It is noted that the very fact of a conviction often causes a wary attitude of people towards former convicts, which significantly complicates the process of their adaptation to life in freedom. The negative assessment of the personality and behavior of criminals which still persists in public opinion even after they have served their sentence and this contributes to the fact that convicts feel themselves as a group being subjected to stigmatization. An empirical study tested the hypothesis that in convicted persons’ view, who have served their sentences in places of deprivation of liberty, are still criminals in public opinion who constitute a menace even after their release. The assessment of society position about people with conviction by convicts is associated with the experience of those who were in places of liberty deprivation. Repeatedly convicted persons as compared with those who were convicted for the first time are surer in negative and biased treatment of former prisoners. To study the content of social perceptions a mixed research strategy was used. It consists in integrating of methods for collecting and analyzing data of qualitative and quantitative strategies. The study used specially designed interview plan and rating scale constructed on the basis of the data obtained with its help. The research sample includes groups of convicts formed depending on the number of sentences served. The results of the research allow us to conclude that in convicts’ perception there is a negative society attitude towards former prisoners which manifests itself in social distance from them in various spheres of social interaction. Persons who have previously served their sentences in places of deprivation of liberty, unlike those convicted for the first time, demonstrate greater confidence in the discriminatory nature of society’s attitude towards their group.

COVIDSensing: Social Sensing Strategy for the Management of the COVID-19 Crisis

The management of the COVID-19 pandemic has been shown to be critical for reducing its dramatic effects. Social sensing can analyse user-contributed data posted daily in social-media services, where participants are seen as Social Sensors. Individually, social sensors may provide noisy information. However, collectively, such opinion holders constitute a large critical mass dispersed everywhere and with an immediate capacity for information transfer. The main goal of this article is to present a novel methodological tool based on social sensing, called COVIDSensing. In particular, this application serves to provide actionable information in real time for the management of the socio-economic and health crisis caused by COVID-19. This tool dynamically identifies socio-economic problems of general interest through the analysis of people’s opinions on social networks. Moreover, it tracks and predicts the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic based on epidemiological figures together with the social perceptions towards the disease. This article presents the case study of Spain to illustrate the tool.

Attitudinal Judgments of Dialect Traits and Colorism in African Americans

This study demonstrates how language and complexion influence professional and social perceptions of African Americans. This study contains an online verbal-guise survey where participants either saw a photo of a lighter skin-toned African-American male and female or an electronically darkened version. Audio was attached to each photo, which contains traits of African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) in the case of the male and Standard American English for the female. The results suggest African-American females are more likely to experience colorism in professional traits while African-American males are more likely to experience colorism in social traits. Additionally, the respondent’s race influences perceptions of AAVE.

Subjective social well-being of employees with different socioeconomic statuses

Thepurposeof the research is to specify differences in the subjective social well-being of an organization’s employees with different socioeconomic statuses. The following methodshave been used to conduct the empirical research (n=38): theoretical analysis and generalization of scholarly views of the problem; empirical methods: “Questionnaire of Subjective Social Well-Being” (T.V. Danylchenko); “Questionnaire of Subjective Economic Well-Being” (V.O. Khashchenko); the methods of statistical analysis: correlation analysis; F-test. Results.The authors have established statistically significant correlations between the criteria of subjective social well-being and subjective economic well-being, namely, between the scales “Social visibil-ity”, “Social remoteness” and the indices of economic optimism, economic anxiety, and financial deprivation. It has been confirmed the statistical interdependence between the scales “Emotional acceptance” and “Family well-being index”. The research has determined differences between employees’ groups, which were divided according to socioeconomic status (managers and “performers”), on the following scales: “Social visibility”, “Positive social perceptions”, and “Economic optimism index”. Conclusions.The employees with higher socioeconomic status recognize their influence, the capability to settle problems, the availability of social ties, financial, economic, material, and social resources due to which they are confident when coping with stressful situations, have a positive economic expectation, a high level of efficient social functioning. The employees with low socioeconomic status are mainly characterized by unsatisfactory emotional and social relations, a failure to actively influence their social environment; they feel economic anxiety about their finances and the future.Keywords: social status, employees of organization, economic well-being, subjective economic well-being, mental well-being.

Effects of an Autism Educational Presentation on High School Students’ Perceptions of Autistic Adults

Background Social communication difficulties are a clinical characteristic of autism, but social interactions are reciprocal in nature and autistic individuals’ social abilities may not be the only factor influencing their social success. Non-autistic individuals’ social perceptions and behavior also contribute to autistic individuals’ social difficulties, and previous research has identified that non-autistic individuals’ perception of autistic individuals is influenced by autism knowledge and the quantity and quality of exposure to autistic people. We explored whether high school students’ perceptions of autistic adults can be improved by an autism education presentation and whether these perceptions were associated with their self-reported social competence. Methods151 senior high school students completed the First Impression Scale on video-recordings of 20 autistic and 20 non-autistic adults in social situations either before or after viewing a 50 minute autism educational presentation detailing the everyday experiences of autistic people and participating in a question-and-answer session. The students’ prior experiences with autistic people was assessed using the Quantity and Quality of Contact Scale, and their own self-perceived social competence was measured using the Multidimensional Social Competence Scale. ResultsStudents who provided their judgements after viewing the educational presentation rated autistic adults as more attractive (β = -.05, p = .042) and likeable (β = -.06, p = .029), and reported greater interest in hanging out with (β = -.06, p = .028) and being near the autistic adults (β = -.06, p = .026), relative to peers who completed their judgments before watching the presentation. Consistent with a Double Empathy framework, students who reported being more socially competent endorsed more negative judgments of autistic adults (r = .211, p = .011), whereas students reporting higher quality interactions with autistic individuals expressed more positive judgments (r = -.278, p = .010). Conclusion Improving non-autistic individuals’ understanding of autistic social behaviors, whether through educational presentations or quality interactions, may revise their expectations of social behavior and improve perceptions of autistic differences. Changing non-autistic individuals’ social expectations may provide an avenue for improving interactions for autistic individuals without putting the onus on autistic individuals to change or mask their behavior and identity.