Search

Discourse and ideology are interrelated concepts in social sciences and the humanities and are even occasionally employed interchangeably. This paper sheds light on their relationship in academic discourse and examines the role of sociology as a scientific field in its conceptualization. Using bibliometric analysis, we examined 15,716 academic publications mentioning "discourse" or "ideology" in their title and written in English by American and British scholars between 1966 and 2015. The investigation focused on the two terms' conceptual environment, areas of usage, journals, and the organizations to which the authors were affiliated. First, we conclude that although some sociology researchers have attempted to create a sociological definition for the concept of discourse, sociologists are not its most active users. The same is true for ideology. These concepts have established niches in other disciplines (political science and history for "ideology," and educational science and linguistics for "discourse"). Second, throughout the years, the field of discourse studies has become more diversified and fragmented than that of ideology. Third, the leading organizations in both fields are prestigious American and British universities, which indicates that discourse and ideology are elements of the intellectual elites' language. Fourth, the concept of discourse was more frequently applied than that of ideology in the years 2010–2015, and we expect that it will remain popular among scholars in the next decade. As for ideology, we believe that new social challenges could foster the rediscovery of this concept in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, the author discusses the assessment of evidential value in sex research. Also cited are the disadvantages of using single-study papers in research like they maximize the danger of false positives and they undermine the critical test of theoretical and conceptual patterns, as well as the dangers of false positive psychology in psychological science.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the degree of international visibility for the Romanian scientific social sciences journals included in the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) database. By examining the national distribution of authors and the proportion of co-authorship within and outside Romania, the paper proposes the use of the Theil Index and its decomposition as a tool to assess international visibility. Although there are 10 ISI social sciences journals in Romania, the international visibility of these journals is relatively low; the number of foreign authors as a percentage of the total number of authors remains below 30 % for most journals. There is a high degree of geographic concentration for the foreign authors, as most come from two countries. Regression models also indicate that the number of authors from the same institution as the one that issues the journal affects significantly a journal's Impact Factor. The number of articles authored exclusively by mixed teams (including authors from the same institution that issues the journal and authors from abroad or authors from other Romanian institutions) as a percentage of the total number of articles published is extremely low (8 %). This suggests that the Impact Factor, when used as a measure of research quality for the Romanian social sciences journals, may create bias in the judgement of those interpreting the results of the Impact Factor rankings, favoring insularity at the expense of scientific collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millions of people cross political borders yearly without having the proper documents. This has led to increased detention and deportation practices in destination countries for reasons related to security and sovereignty. The objective of the current study was to analyze and visualize research publications on the detention and deportation of migrants to identify current research hotspots, research gaps, and potential future research in the field. Relevant research articles were obtained from the Scopus database for the study period from 1900 to December 31, 2022. The analysis included presentations of key contributors to the field and visualization of topics, themes, and international collaboration. In total, 906 articles were found. The earliest was in 1982. The majority of articles were published in journals within the subject areas of social sciences and humanities. The number of publications showed a steep rise from 2011 to 2022. The Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies was the most prolific, but publications in the Citizenship Studies journal received the highest number of citations per article. Researchers from the United States contributed the most. Mexico ranked fifth in the number of publications. Oxford University was the most prolific institution, followed by three universities in Australia. The majority of articles were single-authored, indicative of limited author-author collaboration. Research hotspots in the field were "human rights" and "mental health". The detention and deportation of Mexican and other Latino migrants in the United States constituted a distinct research theme in the field. International research collaboration was limited by geographical proximity (e.g., the United States and Mexico) or common language (e.g., the United Kingdom and Australia). Future research topics should focus on alternatives to detention, family separation, and healthcare services for detained migrants. Research activity on detention and deportation is required from all world regions, including the source countries of migrants. Future research should promote alternatives to traditional detentions. The contribution of countries in Africa, the Middle East, and South-Eastern Asian regions needs to be encouraged. Future research on the detention and deportation of non-Latino migrants is highly required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education studies give considerable attention to understanding change. The interest in change reflects the historical conditions in which higher education emerged as a distinct field of study. Around the mid-twentieth century, a pragmatic need for an academic response to managing larger and more complex higher education institutions and systems was taking shape. This need gave rise to a tradition of studying change in higher education, which has continued into the present. To explore how higher education researchers have been grappling with the problem of change, we examine a selection of works published in this and other higher education outlets since the 1970s. We organize our exploration around three distinct yet interrelated lines of research: (a) change within higher education institutions, which in higher education studies are typically conceptualized as organizations; (b) change concerning nation-states, which are usually conceptualized as systems; and (c) transnational change, sometimes referred to also as global. Each line of research features the field's telltale dual orientation: (i) contributing to abstract knowledge through academic inquiry, on the one hand, and (ii) generating practical and actionable insights for decision makers, on the other. We find that the field's dual orientation shapes knowledge creation along each line of inquiry, yet with important variations. We propose more generally that higher education studies' ability to balance the two orientations is an important source of its legitimacy as a field of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rooted in altruism theory, the purpose of the double-blind academic journal peer-review process is to: (1) assess the quality of scientific research, (2) minimize the potential for nepotism, and; (3) advance the standards of research through high-quality, constructive feedback. However, considering the limited, if any, public recognition and monetary incentives that referees receive for reviewing manuscripts, academics are often reluctant to squander their limited time toward peer reviewing manuscripts. If they do accept such invitations, referees, at times, do not invest the appropriate time needed and, as a result, scantily review manuscripts, which adversely affects the quality of the review. In addition, given that authors' identities are not blind to journal editors, there is the potential for bias toward well-established academics from highly-ranked institutions. As a result of these issues, the aims of the academic journal review process are currently not being fulfilled. To rectify these issues, several recommendations, namely: single-blind the editors, pay reviewers, standardize the review process, increase the acceptance standards at academic conferences, and provide constructive feedback, are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large literature has documented links between harmful early-life exposures and later-life health and socioeconomic deficits. These studies, however, have typically been unable to examine the possibility that these shocks are transmitted to the next generation. Our study uses representative survey data from the United States to trace the impacts of in utero exposure to the 1918 influenza pandemic on the outcomes of the children and grandchildren of those affected. We find evidence of multigenerational effects on educational, economic, and health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]