Journal for Social Thought

Opinion: My Romani ancestors struggled for their rights. How I continue their fight — and forge my own identity I love Romani heritage and symbols of our unity, including our flag. But celebrating our history of resistance doesn't mean erasing our unique individual identities.

Image sources:
1. Elijah Vardo. www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
2. Starline. www.freepik.com/free-vector/...

Eby's institutional ethnography, which redresses this oversight by analyzing antiziganism from the British press and pro-Brexit government's anti-Roma policy proposals, can be accessed here: ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/js...

#Romani #Brexit #Antiziganism #Racism

What critical component of the Brexit campaign's migration control focus has nearly all research overlooked? It is Antiziganism.

Beyond Borders: The beauty and wisdom of the Romani flag Let's dive into some symbolism on International Romani Day

Image sources:
1. www.theskyandearthknow.com/p/the-beauty...
2. northshoresurfbus.com/aloha-spirit...
3. www.freepik.com/free-vector/...
4. www.wmm.com/sponsored-pr...
5. courtsofbc.ca/justice-syst...
6. courtsofbc.ca/supreme-cour...

In Vol.6 of JST, we are excited to present articles speaking to key issues of race and gender, and the violence and control that can persist when ideologies and structures are not addressed. The editor's introduction is available at: ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/js...

#Gender #Race #Socialstructures

More details can be found in the paper by King-Nyberg et al. (2023): ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/js...

(The background image was generated by Gemini).

"In advancing the spirit of open science, we suggest that researchers create a pre-registered plan for bot removal, include as many of the techniques in the toolbox as they can, and report it in their paper."

#Onlinesurvey #Surveying #Survey

(The bot image was generated by Gemini).

How, then, can we prevent bots from answering our online surveys and impacting our survey results? King-Nyberg et al. (2023) have developed some solutions after reflecting on their experiences in dealing with bots: ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/js...

#Onlinesurvey #Surveying #Survey

"Within the span of a few hours, they arrived by the hundreds and would continue to thwart our best attempts at both preventing bot access to our survey and separating them from human respondents over the next 18 days." — King-Nyberg, Thomson, Morris-Reade, Borgen, and Taylor

"The gender boxes activity serves as a flawed yet promising example of the ways in which invitational and interactive activities can be introduced into on-campus anti-violence work."

For Brockbank's detailed findings and discussions, check out: ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/js...

#GBV

In this context, could the “gender boxes” activity—which invites participants to discuss traditional expectations of masculinity and femininity—serve as an effective approach?

Check out Madison Brockbank’s responses at: ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/js...

#GBV #Sexualviolence #Gender #Masculinity

How can men’s active participation in redressing gender-based and sexual violence (GBSV) on Ontario postsecondary campuses be facilitated, and how can they become allies in ending GBSV?

Image Credit: Freepik

"ASMR practices andexperiences express a significant degree of aesthetic autonomy on the part of ASMRers."

To read Collao Quevedo's (2023) arguments in detail, check out: ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/js...

"The reasoning behind these attitudes toward ASMR ... appears to obey socially specific logics of embodiment that try to identify, judge, regulate, and hierarchize body practices as well as the embodied self’s relation to sensory and affective stimuli."

#ASMR #Aesthetics #Sociology

Image Credit: Freepik

ASMR has often been sexualized, subjected to public harassment, and restricted through strict regulations and bans imposed by companies and governmental organizations.

How can we better understand ASMR? See the insights of Collao Quevedo (2023): ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/js...

“Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is described as the experience of pleasurable, static-like sensations triggered by audio-visual stimuli” (Barratt & Davis, 2015). However, society still lacks a clear understanding of this experience.

#ASMR #Aesthetics #Sociology

For details on the policy suggestions, see: ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/js...

#Ghana #Kayayei #Kumasi

(Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images)

"Ghana’s socio-economic development hinges on their youth and it is imperative for the government and other bodies to pursue policies that will help improve their living so they might contribute significantly to the country." — KANWETUU, WORAE, & ACHEAMPONG (2023)

Kanwetuu, Worae, & Acheampong’s (2023) qualitative study helps fill these gaps: ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/js...

#Kayayei #Ghana #Sociology

(Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images)

Female head porterage (kayayei) is the most common livelihood for young and adult female migrants moving from northern to southern Ghana.

Yet, two research gaps remain:
1. What are their lived experiences outside of the capital (Accra)?
2. How do the women cope with the challenges of this work?

Image Credits:
• LOLSIMPSON: (mymarvellousmundane.com/2020/05/19/k...)
• colnihko (stock.adobe.com/search/image...)
• VERSTA RESEARCH (verstaresearch.com/blog/how-man...)
• MVP Scotland (x.com/MVPScot/stat...)

This volume features four articles examining contemporary social phenomena, including:
• Female head porterage in Ghana
• ASMR experiences
• Bots in online surveys
• The Gender Boxes Activity

Today, we introduce the Editor’s Note for Volume 7: Contemporary Issues through a Critical Lens. Editors Ina and Melissa provide a clear summary of the works published in this 2023 volume. Read the article here: ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/js...

👥 We’re actively recruiting reviewers! If you’d like to join or share feedback on how to improve the journal, we’d love to hear from you!

📖 In the coming months, we’ll also be reintroducing published works from our archives—stay tuned!

#Sociology #GradStudent #Research

✨ Looking for innovative ideas in sociology and the social sciences?

JST is a peer-reviewed, open access journal run by graduate students in Sociology at Western University (Canada). We publish works from grad students, post-docs, academics, and independent scholars.