Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: How Can Gender‐Related SDP Programmes Enhance Gender Inclusion? A Scoping Review File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9369 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9369 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9369 Author-Name: Wanmeng Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: Independent Scholar, China Author-Name: Qi Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: School of Physical Education, Yanshan University, China Author-Name: Gen Li Author-Workplace-Name: College of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing Normal University, China Abstract: Since the emergence of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) programmes in the early 21st century, these initiatives have become a global effort to leverage sport in addressing social challenges and advancing the SDGs, with the promotion of gender equality (Goal 5) being one of their key objectives. In male‐dominated sports environments, both women and sexual and gender minorities (SGM) face persistent barriers such as gender stereotypes, exclusion, inequitable regulations, and discrimination, highlighting the critical need for interventions that promote gender inclusivity. While some studies have examined the role of SDP programmes in promoting gender inclusion, the field remains fragmented and largely overlooks SGM. There is also a lack of systematic analysis of how SDP programmes specifically impact the inclusion of women and SGM. To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review of 18 academic articles on SDP programmes that focus on gender inclusivity, employing thematic analysis to categorise findings based on research contexts, contents, methods, and outcomes. By synthesising existing literature, this article seeks to map the development of this emerging field, identify existing contributions and ongoing challenges, and provide insights to enhance the effectiveness of future SDP initiatives in promoting gender inclusion. Findings suggest that while some SDP programmes can empower women and SGM, their effectiveness is often constrained by structural inequalities and varying programme designs. Our review also identifies gaps in long‐term evaluation and inclusivity for diverse gender identities. Keywords: females in sports; gender; gender in sports; LGBTQ+; social inclusion; Sport for Development and Peace Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9369 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Physical Activity and Sport to Fight Social Isolation Among Houseless People in “Northtown” (France) File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9312 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9312 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9312 Author-Name: Julie Duflos Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Sciences and Techniques of Physical and Sporting Activities, Polytechnic University of Hauts de France, France Author-Name: Williams Nuytens Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Sciences and Techniques of Physical and Sporting Activities, University of Artois, France / University of Lille, France Abstract: This article examines the impacts of a physical activity program on individuals in extreme poverty and facing social isolation in a French city we called Northtown. The findings are based on an ethnographic approach conducted between 2022 and 2023: Forty‐three session observations, twelve biographical interviews, and four structured interviews were conducted. The article first identifies the mechanisms leading to social destabilization or breakdown among the participants. Their life trajectories are analyzed to understand the construction of their social isolation, highlighting the impact of life experiences and social conditions on this situation. Due to their difficult pasts, participants are anchored in the present and find bodily engagement in physical activity sessions. These moments provide temporary escape and a form of recognition but the effects are ephemeral. After the sessions, they return to their reality marked by isolation and persistent difficulties. Physical activities offer momentary security, distraction, and relief but they cannot compensate for the lasting impacts of their life experiences as they do not address the underlying issues of their isolation and distress. Keywords: France; houselessness; life trajectory; physical activities; precarity; social isolation; sports Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9312 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Can Educational Policy Influence Major Choices in Higher Education Through Changes in School Curriculum? File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9638 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9638 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9638 Author-Name: Norbert Sendzik Author-Workplace-Name: Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi), Germany Author-Name: Melinda Erdmann Author-Workplace-Name: Berlin Social Science Center (WZB), Germany Author-Name: Marcel Helbig Author-Workplace-Name: Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi), Germany Abstract: The impact of high school curriculum reforms on students’ major choices in higher education remains an underexplored field, despite their potential role in shaping workforce composition, economic development, and social mobility. This study addresses this gap by examining the varying emphasis on compulsory school subjects across German states. We focus on non‐core subjects that vary significantly in importance across states (civic education) or that are part of the curriculum in some states but not in others (economics and computer science). These subjects are increasingly recognized as essential for fostering democratic values, economic understanding, and digital literacy, which also shape students’ career aspirations and educational trajectories, ultimately contributing to a skilled workforce and potentially reducing the shortage of skilled labor. Using a novel dataset documenting state‐specific introduction of compulsory courses and instructional time from 1995 to 2018, we analyze their influence on major choice. This dataset is linked with German higher education register data to assess whether increased compulsory instruction time and the introduction of compulsory courses affect students’ subsequent major choices. For our analyses, we employed two‐way fixed effects models to examine whether changes in the curriculum led to changes in major choices. Our results indicate small but positive effects of additional compulsory hours in civic education and economics on related major choices. However, our findings for computer science courses remain inconclusive. These results, along with the methodological limitations identified, highlight the need for further research on the long‐term educational implications of school curriculum reforms. Keywords: civic education; computer science; curriculum reform; economics; educational context; educational policy; major choice Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9638 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Preparing Transitions: The Impact of Vocational Role Models on Occupational Aspirations Within Social Contexts File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9798 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9798 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9798 Author-Name: Eva Böhle Author-Workplace-Name: VET Research and Monitoring Department, Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Germany / Department of Sociology and Social Psychology, University of Cologne, Germany Author-Name: Janina Beckmann Author-Workplace-Name: VET Research and Monitoring Department, Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Germany Author-Name: Mona Granato Author-Workplace-Name: VET Research and Monitoring Department, Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Germany Abstract: The formation of occupational aspirations, an important prerequisite of successful school‐to‐work transitions, is embedded in different social contexts, including youths’ families and peers. At the same time, adolescents are guided by various career orientation activities, including vocational role models, that provide them with information on available career options and stimulate career decision‐making. In this study, we combine both strands of research and examine how vocational role model effects unfold in the different social contexts that students are embedded in, potentially enabling or constraining intervention effects. Based on a large‐scale role model intervention study comprising 1,190 students in Germany, we first examine how peer and family contexts are associated with students’ occupational aspirations as key dimensions of social influence. Our results show that both peer and parental social contexts are related to students’ career aspirations, with descriptive peer norms and injunctive peer and parent norms being the most relevant. Second, we show that unique encounters with vocational role models are, on average, related to increased occupational aspirations for the presented occupation, extending previous empirical findings to the VET context. Third, we examine whether and how role modelling interacts with students’ social embeddedness. We do not find statistically significant interactions between the examined social contexts and the role model intervention. Hence, role model effects apply even in contexts that convey strong norms. Nevertheless, we find subtle patterns suggesting that role model effects are more pronounced when peers convey adverse norms and less knowledge regarding an occupation and when peers’ self‐efficacy is high. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Keywords: career orientation; intervention; occupational aspirations; role models; social contexts Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9798 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Social‐Sportive Work and Local Policy: Reflections From the Flemish Case File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9383 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9383 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9383 Author-Name: Shana Sabbe Author-Workplace-Name: HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Belgium Author-Name: Luc De Droogh Author-Workplace-Name: HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Belgium Author-Name: Carmen Leenknecht Author-Workplace-Name: HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Belgium Author-Name: Annick Verstraete Author-Workplace-Name: HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Belgium Abstract: Social‐sportive work (SSW) in Flanders operates at the intersection of sport, welfare, and youth work, aiming to enhance accessibility and social inclusion through alternative sporting initiatives. Despite its growing prominence, SSW faces challenges in gaining recognition within local policy structures, which often remain rigid and compartmentalised. This study explores the perspectives of local government officials on the relationship between SSW and local policy. Drawing on a qualitative case study approach, the research was conducted across two Flemish cities between November 2021 and April 2022. The findings support previous research on the tension between the hybrid nature of SSW and the rigid nature of policy structures. Furthermore, the study sheds light on the role of personal affinities, professional backgrounds, and political mandates of local government officials in determining the extent of support for SSW as well as the need for a broader discussion on creating transversal local policy cultures, next to local policy structures. Keywords: Flanders; local policy; qualitative research; social‐sportive work; sport‐for‐all Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9383 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Do Municipal Factors Influence the Type of Schooling Newly Arrived Refugees Receive? File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9505 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9505 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9505 Author-Name: Gisela Will Author-Workplace-Name: Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories, Germany Author-Name: Regina Becker Author-Workplace-Name: Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories, Germany Abstract: In the context of refugee immigration in the mid‐2010s, a considerable number of adolescents of compulsory school age came to Germany. This group of lateral entrants to the German school system is more frequently enrolled in less demanding school types and often taught in separate classes. Previous research suggests that, in addition to individual and family‐related factors, educational policy regulations at the federal‐state level impact the schooling of refugees. However, these regulations are relatively abstract, leaving the individual municipalities considerable room for implementation. Furthermore, the associated administrative regulations can vary greatly between districts and might affect school integration differently. Yet, the influence that such municipal‐level factors have on refugees’ educational participation has hardly been quantitatively researched. We analyse whether conditions at the municipal level correlate with the school type and class type attended by refugees. We expect education‐related municipal resources, but also local experience with immigrants, to be important. Applying multivariate multilevel models, we test these assumptions with data from the ReGES study regarding 1,879 adolescent refugees. The results show that the more refugee pupils there are in the municipality, the more likely it is that pupils will be educated in a separate class for newcomers. In most cases, examining the further hypotheses shows the assumed direction of the relationships, but they are not statistically significant. Overall, municipal factors only contribute to a very small extent to explaining the schooling of lateral entrants in our analyses. Possible explanations for this are discussed in the conclusion. Keywords: educational participation; lateral entrants; municipal context; newcomer classes; refugees; secondary schools Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9505 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Vocational Pathways to Higher Education: Real or False Chances? File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9783 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9783 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9783 Author-Name: Claudia Schuchart Author-Workplace-Name: School of Education, University of Wuppertal, Germany Author-Name: Benjamin Schimke Author-Workplace-Name: School of Education, University of Wuppertal, Germany Abstract: In this study, we examine whether vocational pathways to a higher education entrance certificate (HEEC) via upper secondary vocational schools lead to wages in the first five years of the occupational career that are comparable to the wages achieved after following the “royal roads” in general education, which lead directly to HEEC. We derive hypotheses on wage differences and the reasons for these differences from classical labour market theories such as human capital theory and labour queue theory, which we test using the German NEPS‐SC6‐ADIAB study with 1,256 male and 1,197 female employees. Applying multilevel regression analyses and Kitagawa‐Blinder‐Oaxaca decomposition analyses, we find that graduates from direct pathways earn between 12% (men) and 18% (women) higher wages than graduates from vocational pathways to HEEC. For both men and women, these lower wage levels for the members of the latter group are first of all due to the lower level of their further educational attainments (vocational training/university [of applied science] degree) and school‐related competencies. Furthermore, female graduates from vocational pathways are more likely to be overqualified for their jobs and have less access to better‐paying “closed” occupations than graduates from direct pathways. We conclude that vocational pathways to HEEC cannot fully compensate for disadvantages in labour market opportunities that arise due to an early stratified educational system, and the extent to which they can be compensated is not the same for men and women. Keywords: occupational career; returns to education; upper secondary education; vocational schools Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9783 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Regional Disparities, Geographical Marginality, and Educational Pathways: A Study on Upper Secondary Education in Italy File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9555 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9555 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9555 Author-Name: Stefano Cantalini Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Milan, Italy Author-Name: Nazareno Panichella Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Milan, Italy Author-Name: Andrea Pietrolucci Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Milan, Italy Author-Name: Moris Triventi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Milan, Italy Abstract: This study examines the role of geographical location for educational outcomes in Italy, analysing variations between “central” and “marginal” areas in high school enrolment, dropout rates, and academic track placement. Drawing on data from the Italian Labour Force Survey (2005–2014) and INVALSI (2017–2018 and 2018–2019), the findings indicate that geographical marginality is only moderately associated with educational outcomes, especially in comparison to the more pronounced South–North divide. The analysis of non‐enrolment reveals notable regional variations. In marginal areas of the North, non‐enrolment in five‐year secondary programmes is often offset by a higher prevalence of enrolment in three‐year vocational schools. Conversely, the findings suggest a “protective effect” of marginality in southern regions, where students in marginal areas exhibit lower dropout rates and a higher likelihood of enrolling in the academic track compared to their peers in central areas. The results indicate that in the South, geographical marginality accentuates the dichotomy between non‐enrolment and academic track enrolment, particularly favouring the choice of enrolling in a lyceum over other options. Keywords: geographical inequalities; geographical marginality; inequality of educational opportunities; Italy; tracking; upper secondary education Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9555 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Breaking False Polarization: How Information on Descriptive Norms Mitigates Worry Rooted in Polarization (Mis)perceptions File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9904 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9904 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9904 Author-Name: Tom Nijs Author-Workplace-Name: ERCOMER, Utrecht University, The Netherlands Abstract: Worry about polarization in society, particularly around the topic of immigration, is widespread despite the lack of substantial evidence supporting the existence of actual polarization of attitudes. This study explores whether this widespread “polarization panic” can be attributed to misperceptions of the descriptive norm, more specifically, to overestimations of polarization in society, a phenomenon known as false polarization. I investigated whether Dutch participants were more worried about polarization when they perceived stronger polarization in immigration attitudes due to a misperception of attitudinal extremity as the descriptive norm and whether correcting their misperceptions with accurate information about the actual descriptive norm reduced this association. A pre‐registered survey‐embedded experiment (N = 925) revealed that the significant positive relationship between perceptions of polarization and polarization worry disappeared when participants were provided with accurate information about the descriptive norm in society. However, this effect was only observed among participants who realized and acknowledged that they overestimated the differences in attitudes. These results suggest that during times of widespread media reports on alarming increases in polarization, informing individuals about the actual descriptive norm can alleviate worry amongst those who overestimate polarization. This approach could potentially facilitate respectful dialogue about the hotly debated topic of immigration. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of this strategy hinges on ensuring that the descriptive norm is correctly interpreted, leading individuals to realize that their worry was based on misperceptions. Keywords: descriptive norms; false polarization; perceived polarization; polarization worry Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9904 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Promoting Social Inclusion Through Sport: A Case Study of Uyghur Youth in China File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9409 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9409 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9409 Author-Name: Hongxin Li Author-Workplace-Name: College of Physical Education, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, China Author-Name: Yunchao Bai Author-Workplace-Name: Global Talent Development Center, Civil Aviation Management Institute of China, China / Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, USA Author-Name: John Nauright Author-Workplace-Name: School of Kinesiology, Louisiana State University, USA Abstract: This study examines the role of sports as a means of promoting social inclusion among Uyghur youth in China, drawing upon social inclusion theory. Utilizing a qualitative case study methodology, we explored the perspectives of Uyghur youth athletes to gain insight into the challenges they face in achieving social inclusion without feeling “othered” or excluded. Data analysis followed an inductive grounded theory approach, identifying first‐order concepts, second‐order themes, and aggregate theoretical dimensions. Our findings reveal that social inclusion of Uyghur youth through sports participation is influenced by multiple factors, including language barriers, stereotypes, cultural differences, high expectations, and government policies. Despite these challenges, engaging in sports has enabled Uyghur youth to foster friendships, build confidence, and adapt more effectively to new environments, highlighting the potential of sports as a powerful tool for promoting social inclusion among marginalized groups. Keywords: China; minorities; social inclusion; sport; Uyghur Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9409 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Exploring the Futures of Datafied Welfare State Education: Thematic Analysis of Sociotechnical Imaginaries File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/10087 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.10087 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 10087 Author-Name: Lauri Palsa Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, Finland Author-Name: Janne Fagerlund Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, Finland Author-Name: Pekka Mertala Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, Finland Abstract: Technological developments have inspired many scholars and other professionals to envision the possibilities that digital data technologies bring to the future of education. However, some aspects of this so‐called datafication may conflict with the local characteristics of education systems. In this study, we investigate the future imaginaries of datafied education in the context of a welfare state education system. By interviewing Finnish experts (N = 25) from various sectors, we looked beyond official policies to explore the multi‐perspective views of national‐level stakeholders. Through a thematic analysis, we constructed four 1st order sociotechnical imaginaries that illustrate the anticipated impacts of datafication on education, specifically that it makes education (a) easier and (b) more coherent, (c) maximises learning, and (d) enhances visibility. However, some future visions involve recognising and assessing the consequences of the 1st order imaginaries. These 2nd order imaginaries broaden the spectrum of perspectives and highlight the pluralism of educational futures. Thus, the results did not give rise to a single coherent or holistic “imaginary” of datafied education but, instead, highlighted different aspects of datafied education. Through these imaginaries, we were able to identify the key characteristics of the Finnish welfare state education system, such as trust and the strong role of the public sector, that may be subject to negotiation in the datafication process. Through the development of sociotechnical imaginaries, our goal is to create a space for an inclusive debate on the future of education and thereby contribute to the promotion of sustainable development in education. Keywords: datafication; education; experts; imaginary; sociotechnical Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:10087 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Pathways to Inclusion? Labor Market Entry Trajectories of Persons With Disabilities in Europe File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9603 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9603 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9603 Author-Name: Jonna M. Blanck Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany Author-Name: Christian Brzinsky-Fay Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social Sciences, Hamburg University, Germany Author-Name: Justin J. W. Powell Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg Abstract: Almost a fifth of the population in OECD countries report having a disability and the proportion of students classified as having special educational needs (SEN) has steadily increased over recent decades. While this group faces marginalization in schooling and employment everywhere, there are profound differences in disability‐based disadvantages across countries. However, comparative research on the labor market opportunities of persons with disabilities (PwDs) remains limited, especially regarding school‐to‐work transitions (STWT) that are crucial for subsequent labor market opportunities. Thus, lacking comparative knowledge on how institutional contexts shape these transitions also limits opportunities for policy learning and improvement of supports provided. This study addresses these gaps by analysing longitudinal data from the European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU‐SILC). First, using sequence and cluster analysis, we classify these trajectories and provide an in‐depth analysis of labor market entry patterns for PwDs compared to those without disabilities across 31 European countries. Second, we explore whether the timing of first employment, instability during the STWT, as well as inclusionary or exclusionary transitions vary between these groups and how the disparities between persons with and without disabilities regarding these indicators are related to institutionalized segregation and support structures. Our findings highlight that PwDs usually do not transition more slowly to (some form of) employment, yet they experience more instability and less inclusion during their STWT. Segregation exacerbates disadvantages, whereas institutional support structures reduce the disadvantages youth with disabilities face when these programs actively facilitate pathways to inclusion. Keywords: disability; Europe; European comparisons; inclusion; labor market; pathways; school‐to‐work transition; segregation; sequence analysis; support Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9603 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Unemployment Scarring in the Early Career: Do Skills and Labour Demand Matter? File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9530 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9530 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9530 Author-Name: Miriam Hänni Author-Workplace-Name: Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training (SFUVET), Switzerland Author-Name: Irene Kriesi Author-Workplace-Name: Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training (SFUVET), Switzerland Abstract: Rocky school‐to‐work transition processes, characterized by spells of unemployment and education–job mismatch, can have long‐lasting scarring effects on young people and often lead to a loss of income and occupational status. However, the mechanisms that either foster or prevent unemployment scarring are underinvestigated. Our article thus asks whether vocational education and training (VET) diploma holders’ unemployment duration and the probability of status loss at labour market re‐entry are affected by the interplay between occupation‐specific labour demand and young workers’ skill sets acquired in VET. Our theoretical approach combines job search, human capital, and signalling theory with arguments from structural segmentation approaches. Our analyses use complete national register data on VET diploma holders who became unemployed during their early careers. We combine national register data on unemployment spells with register data on education trajectories in Switzerland and occupation‐specific labour demand data. Results from event‐history analyses indicate that unemployment episodes are associated with lower employment chances and higher risk of status loss of VET diploma holders. These general patterns are attenuated by occupation‐specific labour demand and the skills taught in vocational training programmes. Re‐employment chances are higher and the risk of status loss lower when occupation‐specific labour demand is high and few of the accessible job opportunities offer lower status than the job before unemployment. Additionally, we find that workers who trained in occupations imparting large proportions of occupation‐specific skills have a higher re‐employment probability but also face a higher risk of status loss than those who trained in occupations imparting larger proportions of general skills. Our findings indicate a trade‐off between occupation‐specific skills and general skills. Keywords: downward mobility; labour demand; occupational status; skills; unemployment duration; vocational education and training Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9530 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Inequality at the Transition to Higher Education in Germany: Social Differences by Prior Educational Pathways File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8766 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.8766 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 8766 Author-Name: Heiko Quast Author-Workplace-Name: German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, Germany Author-Name: Heike Spangenberg Author-Workplace-Name: German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, Germany Author-Name: Hanna Mentges Author-Workplace-Name: German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, Germany Author-Name: Jessica Ordemann Author-Workplace-Name: German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, Germany Author-Name: Sandra Buchholz Author-Workplace-Name: German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, Germany Abstract: In this article, we assess the importance of alternative pathways via vocational schools and vocational education and training (VET) for social differences in the transition into higher education in Germany. Drawing on data from the DZHW Panel of School Leavers 2018, we use sequence analysis to identify both classical and alternative pathways to obtaining a higher education entrance certificate. We then apply logistic regressions and decomposition techniques to examine the variation in the probability of studying for each pathway compared to the classical pathway through general upper secondary school. Finally, we investigate the underlying reasons for these social differences. We show that the graduates in our analysis take six distinct and socially selective pathways to a higher education entrance certificate, four of which have strong vocational elements. All pathways differ in their study probability: Graduates of almost all alternative educational pathways are less likely to opt for higher education than graduates of the classical pathway. However, this is not solely due to the different composition of graduates in terms of social origin and school performance. Although graduates from less privileged social backgrounds and with lower school performance are disproportionately represented in the alternative pathways, they also differ in their assessment of the costs, benefits, and probabilities of success of investing in higher education. Finally, differences in study probability can be explained by several theoretical mechanisms, the individual explanatory power of which varies according to the pathways. Keywords: educational pathways; Germany; higher education entrance qualification; study decision; vocational schools; vocational education and training Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8766 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: “People Have Nowhere to Go”: Stakeholder Perceptions on Sustainability of Funded Community Sport Programmes File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9315 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9315 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9315 Author-Name: Anees Ikramullah Author-Workplace-Name: Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, UK Author-Name: Niki Koutrou Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Education, Society and Creative Industries, University of Sunderland in London, UK Abstract: Overstated promises of hosting the Olympic Games to deliver sustainable participation legacies have been a common occurrence, and a lesson that the UK did not learn from London 2012. Despite this, schemes like Sportivate that sought to distribute public funds to community intervention initiatives have emerged to promote long‐term engagement in physical activity and sports. This research aims to build further understanding on sport programme/intervention sustainability. Stakeholders of recipient organisations of Sportivate funding through London Sport offered insights on aspects that aid sustainability of their programmes. Semi‐structured interviews took place with 33 board chairs, board members, CEOs, project officers, and coaches positioned at 12 different Sportivate‐funded organisations. For analysis purposes, the organisations that these individuals represented were categorised into Target Achieved and Target Not Achieved to indicate success in meeting Sportivate key performance indicators. Analysis suggests the relevance of policy remodelling, capacity, funding, programme fit, leadership, communication, and social bonds as key areas in achieving sport programme sustainability. However, Target Achieving organisations portray signs of strength in some of these sustainability areas, unlike Target Not Achieving organisations. The complexities of sustainability as a multi‐layered construct provide a starting point for further study, while recognising the relevance of organisation type, capacity, and staff roles in influencing sustainability perceptions. Keywords: community intervention programmes; participation; physical activity; public funding; sustainability Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9315 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Coping with Poverty and Social Exclusion: Promoting Capabilities Through Long‐Term Sports Participation File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8341 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.8341 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 8341 Author-Name: Lukas Oettle Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Sport and Sport Science, University of Freiburg, Germany Author-Name: Jörg Greiner Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Sport and Sport Science, University of Freiburg, Germany Abstract: Poverty and social exclusion (PaSE) are multifaceted challenges that affect individuals across all stages of life, manifesting as financial deprivation, health inequities, and restricted access to social and economic opportunities. Sports participation offers a promising avenue to mitigate these challenges, providing access to health benefits, social connections, and life skills. This study contributes to the limited body of research on sports programmes for adults affected by PaSE by investigating how long‐term participation in a low‐threshold and diverse sports programme supports them in navigating and coping with their challenges. Drawing on Amartya Sen’s capability approach (CA) as a theoretical framework, biographical‐narrative interviews were conducted with 16 adults who participated in the sports activities of a voluntary sports club (VSC) in Southern Germany for at least one year. The thematic analysis identified three key capabilities fostered through participation: the capability for better coping with daily life, the capability for group belonging and social confidence, and the capability to actively shape physical and mental changes. Crucial conversion factors—such as flexible participation options, reliable programme structures, and a supportive group culture—played a pivotal role in enabling these capabilities and achieving related functionings. By identifying the mechanisms through which the sports programme fosters inclusion and well‐being, this study provides deeper insights of how sports programmes can address the complex needs of individuals experiencing PaSE. These findings provide actionable insights for the design of inclusive and long‐term sports programmes that empower participants to achieve meaningful and self‐determined outcomes. Keywords: capability approach; health; inclusion; social support; poverty; social exclusion; sport for development; voluntary sports club Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8341 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Refugee Women’s Transition to VET in Germany: Examining the Role of Gender Norms and Human Capital Endowments File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9559 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9559 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9559 Author-Name: Franziska Meyer Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Sociology, Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg, Germany Abstract: The article examines the extent to which gender roles as well as the human capital resources acquired in the country of origin are associated with refugee women’s chances of taking up vocational education and training (VET) in Germany. It follows the assumption that traditional gender roles, which assign women to the domestic sphere, can affect refugee women’s behavior either directly or through social contacts who impose these roles upon them. Additionally, it argues that the human capital that refugee women acquired in their country of origin can affect the trainers’ decision to hire them as trainees. The focus of the investigation is women between the ages of 18 and 30 who applied for asylum in Germany between 2015 and 2019 and mainly originate from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran (N = 945). By applying a piecewise constant exponential model to monthly data from the IAB‐BAMF‐SOEP Survey of Refugees, the analysis shows that neither the women’s endowment with human capital acquired in their country of origin (i.e., level of education and work experience) nor their own gender role attitudes, having children, or the frequency of contact with persons from the same country of origin are significantly associated with their chances of transitioning to VET. Having a partner is, however, associated with almost 60% lower chances of refugee women entering VET. Keywords: gender roles; human capital; Middle Eastern women; migration; refugees; vocational education and training; women Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9559 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Socio‐Economic and Gender Differences in Post‐Secondary Pathways in the UK, Germany, and Australia File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9601 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9601 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9601 Author-Name: Wojtek Tomaszewski Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, Australia / ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Over the Life Course, The University of Queensland, Australia Author-Name: Hans Dietrich Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Germany Author-Name: Golo Henseke Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Education, Practice and Society, University College London, UK Author-Name: Ning Xiang Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, Australia / ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Over the Life Course, The University of Queensland, Australia Author-Name: Ingrid Schoon Author-Workplace-Name: Social Research Institute, University College London, UK Abstract: This study investigates variations in school‐to‐work transitions (SWTs) by socio‐economic status (SES), gender, and socio‐cultural context. Leveraging data from three nationally representative longitudinal panel studies, we compare the experiences of young people coming of age in the 21st century (2011 to 2023) in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia. We examine the role of different support systems that scaffold the SWT process along various post‐secondary pathways, including university, further education/vocational training, and employment tracks, with a particular focus on variations by parental education and gender. Utilizing longitudinal data from the Understanding Society Panel in the UK (N = 15,692 observations), the German Socio‐Economic Panel (GSOEP; N = 5,464), and the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey (N = 5,759), we track synthetic cohorts born between 1993 and 1995 from ages 18 to 27 in the three countries. We employ linear probability models to conduct a cross‐national comparative analysis, identifying variations in post‐secondary pathways across the three country contexts. The choice of countries is motivated by their shared status as developed economies with distinct features in their SWT systems—contrasting the neoliberal deregulatory frameworks of Britain and Australia with Germany’s employment‐focused dual system. The findings reveal significant effects of parental education on post‐secondary transitions, as well as the differing roles of gender across various educational policy contexts. These results underscore the complexity of SWT when considered in different national settings. The insights generated by this analysis highlight the importance of dedicated policies to support low‐SES youth and promote gender equality in education and employment outcomes. Keywords: Australia; cross‐national comparative analysis; gender; Germany; post‐secondary pathways; school‐to‐work transitions; socio‐economic status; UK Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9601 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Overshadowed By Royal Roads: Vocationally Oriented Middle Schools as Pathways to Higher Education in Switzerland File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8873 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.8873 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 8873 Author-Name: Raffaella Simona Esposito Author-Workplace-Name: University of Teacher Education Northwestern Switzerland Abstract: In Switzerland, four different educational pathways lead to higher education (HE): baccalaureate schools, upper‐secondary specialized middle schools, vocational middle schools, and dual vocational education and training (VET) combined with a federal vocational baccalaureate. The four pathways are not equally supported by Swiss education policy: Baccalaureate schools and dual VET plus a federal vocational baccalaureate are politically treated as the two royal roads to HE, while specialized middle schools and vocational middle schools, in this study grouped under the term vocationally oriented middle schools (VOMS), receive only little political attention. This holds true even though VOMS have a high transition rate to HE and are considered to have the potential to bring young women into male‐typical HE programs and attract high‐achieving youths with a migration background. The study investigates from a governance perspective how (in practices and processes) the conception of the royal roads to HE is constructed and reproduced as well as how this affects the positioning of VOMS as pathways to HE in Switzerland. The study refers to the theoretical framework of the sociology of conventions and the concept of valuation practices. The data basis consists of publicly available documents and qualitative interviews. The findings show that commensurations, categorizations, visualizations, and the interplay between a variety of human and non‐human actors reinforce two highly stable and powerful cognitive formats of royal roads to HE. At the same time, these same practices construct an image of VOMS as less significant additional pathways to HE by rendering their qualities and potentials as such pathways comparatively invisible or tabooing them in the service of educational policy interests. With these findings, the present study contributes to the international scholarly discussion on permeability between VET and HE. Keywords: governance; higher education; invisibilization; policy; power; royal roads; sociology of conventions; upper‐secondary; valuation practices; VET; vocationally oriented middle schools Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8873 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Overcoming Obstacles? Institutional Support for the Pathways to Higher Education at German Vocational Schools File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8771 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.8771 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 8771 Author-Name: Nadine Dörffer Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Educational Sciences, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany / Leibniz Center for Science and Society, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany Author-Name: Nadine Bernhard Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Educational Sciences, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany Abstract: The institutionalization of new types of vocational schools in the 1960s and 1970s aimed to open up the German education system and create new pathways for accessing higher education, particularly for socially disadvantaged students. Today, one‐third of German students with a higher education entrance certificate graduate from vocational schools. However, these graduates are less likely to pursue or succeed in higher education. This raises the question: How do vocational schools support their heterogeneous student body in transitioning to higher education, and to what extent do differences exist between school types? Sociological research has shown that institutional support for and during transitions is crucial for expanding access to education. In particular, organizational structures and practices play a role in the (re)production of social inequality. To analyze these, we apply the concept of institutional permeability, focusing on information and counseling, financial support, learning organization and pedagogy, and school culture. The study draws on problem‐centered interviews with staff from different types of vocational schools in one German federal state, analyzed through qualitative content analysis. The results reveal significant variations in how schools aim to prepare students for higher education. Specifically, students of Fachoberschule face a double disadvantage due to their social background and institutional structures, which hinder their higher education pathways. The lack of personalized support at vocational schools complicates students’ orientation process, placing much of the responsibility on students and a few dedicated teachers. Keywords: Germany; higher education; institutional permeability; institutional support; school types; social background; study orientation; vocational schools Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8771 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: “We Know Best Because Our Skin Is in the Game”: Doing Politics Through DIY Pharmaceuticals File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9037 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9037 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9037 Author-Name: Natasa Stoli Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Health, Ethics & Society, Maastricht University, The Netherlands Author-Name: Klasien Horstman Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Health, Ethics & Society, Maastricht University, The Netherlands Author-Name: Olga Zvonareva Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Health, Ethics & Society, Maastricht University, The Netherlands Abstract: In recent years, critical social science scholarship has expanded our understanding of public participation beyond talk‐based and institutionally organised formats, such as citizen juries and focus groups. Building on these insights and relying on digital ethnography, we studied the practices of an online community of transgender activists producing their own hormones to broaden access to hormone replacement therapy (HRT). We argue that they pursue a political cause related to their gender identity, not by partaking in visible protest movements, but by producing what they deem as superior pharmaceuticals. In the process of DIY hormone production, the community members perform three distinct types of political work: contesting the hierarchy of expertise in biomedical science, moving the locus of pharmaceutical production from big pharmaceutical companies to the household, and producing better pharmaceuticals by focusing on affordability and responsiveness. Thus, this article delineates what public participation may look like in hostile circumstances, where it works around public spaces, maintains its invisibility, and is not directed at openly contesting formal institutions. Keywords: digital ethnography; DIY pharmaceuticals; public participation; science and technology studies; transgender healthcare Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9037 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: The Body as a Tool for Demanding Climate Action and Justice File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9042 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9042 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9042 Author-Name: Margaret Tilk Author-Workplace-Name: Independent Researcher, Estonia Author-Name: Antje Jacobs Author-Workplace-Name: Research Group TRANSFORM’s Idiosynchratic Inventors Collective, KU Leuven, Belgium / Social Transformation and Education Academic Group, University of Melbourne, Australia Author-Name: Karin Hannes Author-Workplace-Name: Research Group TRANSFORM’s Idiosynchratic Inventors Collective, KU Leuven, Belgium Abstract: The escalating frequency and intensity of natural disasters underscore the urgency of the climate crisis. Against this backdrop, the global climate movement has surged, amplifying awareness of the climate emergency and pressuring governments and corporations to take decisive climate action. In climate manifestations, activists are increasingly using their entire body for/in climate activism, with Extinction Rebellion activists barricading driveways, and Just Stop Oil and Greenpeace activists gluing or tying their bodies to objects. These bodily ways of participating in climate activism have provoked public and political hostility, with concerns being raised about these so‐called “radical” forms of bodily activism. In response to these growing hostilities towards bodily climate activism, this study maps how the body is intimately connected to other actors when performing activism. We conducted interviews with nine European climate activists and, based on their stories, we mapped themes of relational practice of bodily activism. Our findings suggest that the body as a tool for climate activism manifestations is in relation to other material agencies, including (a) the public space, (b) other climate activists, (c) material objects, (d) law enforcement, (e) the general public and media, and (f) climate governance and policy. The body is not a stable and autonomous figure, but a dynamic and ever‐changing political tool through its socio‐spatial configurations that co‐constitute climate activism, making the role of the individual body in climate change activism manifestations elusive. Through its relational transformative collectivity, bodily climate activism proves itself as a valuable form of non‐violent participation in politics. Keywords: bodily activism; climate activism; climate change; embodiment; public participation; social constructivism Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9042 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: From Criminal to Crucial Participation: The Case of Dutch Volunteer Hackers File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8876 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.8876 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 8876 Author-Name: Anne Marte Gardenier Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands Abstract: Since the 1980s, Dutch volunteer hackers have been identifying and disclosing vulnerabilities in computer systems. Initially criminalized, these hackers now play a crucial role in Dutch cybersecurity governance. This article explores the transformation of hackers from criminals to crucial participants and examines what this case reveals about citizen participation in the digital age. The case study demonstrates that citizens can play a pivotal role in addressing challenges posed by digitization, although their contributions can remain unrecognized and constrained by hostile institutions. This article aims to deepen the understanding of various forms of citizen participation in digital society, how institutions can support or constrain them, and how citizens play a central role in shaping these institutions to legitimize their participation. Keywords: cybersecurity; digitization; material participation; technological citizenship; uninvited participation; volunteer hackers Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8876 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Navigating Non‐Invitation: Pro‐Vaccine Choice Communities Amidst Exclusion and Public Participation File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8966 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.8966 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 8966 Author-Name: Barbara Morsello Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, University of Padova, Italy Author-Name: Paolo Giardullo Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, University of Padova, Italy Abstract: Between 2017 and 2021, specific health policy concerning vaccination in Italy contributed to the “non‐invitation” of pro‐vaccine choice communities to decision‐making processes and public services with significant consequences for their societal life. This situation led to the emergence of new, often barely visible, participatory pathways. This article aims to examine the dynamics of exclusion and participation of pro‐vaccine choice communities in Italy, adopting a science and technology studies (STS) framework that allows us to explore how non‐invitation and participation are deeply entangled. Through digital ethnography and interviews, we investigate how individuals and communities navigate “non‐invitation” and seek alternative avenues for participation. We observe their efforts to contest compulsory vaccination policies and legitimize their claims through political representation and independent scientific research. Despite facing stigmatization and marginalization, they employ various strategies to influence decision‐making processes. However, challenges persist due to public stigmatization and punitive measures. Our findings highlight the nuanced interplay between dissenting perspectives, exclusionary practices, and participatory strategies in public health debates. The study underscores the ambivalence of participatory processes in knowledge societies, where participation and non‐invitation often coexist, shaping the contours of public discourse and policy agendas. Keywords: non‐invitation; participation; social movements; vaccine hesitancy Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8966 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Self‐Organised Practices of Social Participation; or How Individualisation is Collectively Contested in the Raval File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9090 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9090 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9090 Author-Name: Olaf Tietje Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Sociology, LMU Munich, Germany Abstract: In this article, I focus on current developments in the Raval district of the Spanish metropolis of Barcelona and show how social participation can be made possible despite hostility. Social participation is the opportunity for subjects to take part in society and, in this way, to experience “belonging to society.” “Belonging to a society” means experiencing both active and passive opportunities to shape and use socially founded and politically constituted community relationships and infrastructures. The example of the Raval shows how neighbours can be activated as a collective through self‐organised practices of social participation. In the context of a welfare state in transformation, social participation is partly being transferred from the state to civil society actors. Focusing on the issues of housing, security, and care, this article shows how, on the one hand, this transferring of responsibility contradicts individualisation and creates something in common. On this basis, the residents can find collective answers to individualised problems and improve social participation. On the other hand, it shifts the weight of social responsibility unto civil society, which means that social participation is no longer guaranteed by the state and, as in the case of the Raval, becomes dependent on more or less randomly developed structures in the social environment. Keywords: Barcelona; collectivising; hostility; neighbourhood; self‐organisation; social environment; social participation; Spain Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9090 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Public Participation in the Time of Covid‐19: Response From the International Disability Movement File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9105 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9105 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9105 Author-Name: Hanxu Liu Author-Workplace-Name: Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht University, The Netherlands Author-Name: Claudia Coveney Author-Workplace-Name: School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds, UK Abstract: This article examines attempts by the international disability movement to influence Covid‐19‐related policy by becoming involved in high‐level decision‐making processes and advocacy activities. Global emergencies like the Covid‐19 pandemic limit opportunities for citizen engagement in governance. Like other marginalised groups, persons with disabilities faced increased exclusion in this period, including barriers and lack of opportunities to participate in public decision‐making processes via civil society. The de‐prioritisation of their lives and opinions was evident in many countries’ initial approaches to containment and treatment, contributing to an excess risk of death among persons with disabilities. International legal instruments like the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by 191 (state) parties, affirm persons with disabilities’ right to participate in all public affairs as crucial for their equality and inclusion. This article defines the scope of public participation of persons with disabilities under international human rights law and employs a document analysis of public and grey literature from civil society organisations and international institutions of governance. This analysis examines the barriers preventing persons with disabilities from participating in Covid‐19‐related policy and decision‐making and explores how a representative organisation—the International Disability Alliance—utilised existing channels and created new spaces to amplify their voices globally. To do this, we utilise the concept of “invited and invented space” and demonstrate the strategic response of the movement to barriers to public participation during the global pandemic. Keywords: Covid‐19; disability rights; emergency policymaking; international disability movement; public participation Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9105 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Ambivalence and Agonism of Public Participation in Contemporary Societies File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/10095 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.10095 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 10095 Author-Name: Olga Zvonareva Author-Workplace-Name: Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht University, The Netherlands Author-Name: Claudia Egher Author-Workplace-Name: Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, The Netherlands Abstract: In this editorial we introduce the thematic issue “Public Participation Amidst Hostility: When the Uninvited Shape Matters of Collective Concern.” The aim of this issue is twofold. First, it takes stock of various ways in which public participation can be hindered, directly and indirectly. Second, it investigates different kinds of participatory practices that emerge in situations of hostility towards public participation. Given that participation in such situations often involves working around formal procedures and public spaces and depends on remaining hidden, particular attention is paid to de‐publicised participatory practices. Overall, the articles in this thematic issue show how hostilities co‐develop with specific participatory practices that, in turn, attune to, navigate, and resist the particular (hostile) circumstances in which they arise. The articles draw attention to the ambivalence and, in some cases, agonistic quality of participatory processes in contemporary societies, where mutually constitutive relations between participation and hostilities towards it shape matters of collective concern, political agendas, and possible futures. Keywords: agonism; barriers to participation; democracy; exclusion; hostilities to participation; non‐democracy; public engagement; public issues; public participation; uninvited participation Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:10095 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Androcentrism and Violence in Online Video Games: Perpetuation of Gender Inequality File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9425 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9425 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9425 Author-Name: Beatriz Esteban-Ramiro Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Labour Law and Social Work, University of Castilla‐La Mancha, Spain Author-Name: Patricia Fernández de Castro Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Labour Law and Social Work, University of Castilla‐La Mancha, Spain Author-Name: Orlanda Díaz-García Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Labour Law and Social Work, University of Castilla‐La Mancha, Spain Abstract: This article aims to offer an analysis of the presence of hate speech, harassment, and cyber‐violence towards women in the interaction within massively multiplayer online video games (MMOs), an act of gender‐based violence perpetrated through new technologies in an environment generally described as androcentric. Filling a gap in the experience in Spain, a qualitative methodology was applied that allowed us to analyse the forms of harassment towards female video gamers, as well as some of the consequences of experiencing these situations for them. A systematic analysis of the discourses was carried out after five focus groups and 15 in‐depth interviews with young people between 18 and 29. Amongst the results, it is worth highlighting that, as occurs in offline reality, in MMOs gender schemas and asymmetric relationships are reproduced that perpetuate gender‐based violence. On the one hand, female gamers affirm that they suffer sexist violence in gaming environments through the use of language focused on physical appearance, hypersexualisation, and undervaluation, and are often considered intruders. On the other hand, they also report experiencing overprotective and paternalistic behaviours. Female gamers sometimes decide to leave their games, or avoid certain types of games apriori, because of toxic behaviours perpetrated by male gamers, which generates feelings of discrimination in their experiences as players, perpetuating androcentric patterns in this sort of environment. Applying a gender approach, this article will examine the social implications of these behaviours in order to propose appropriate social and educational responses. Keywords: cybermisogyny; cybersexism; cyberviolence; gender; hate speech; MMOs; videogames; young people Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9425 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Frames and Triggers of Extreme Speech: The Case of Transphobia File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9379 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9379 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9379 Author-Name: Fabienne Baider Author-Workplace-Name: Department of European Studies, University of Cyprus, Cyprus Abstract: This research explores, from a critical discourse perspective, the following questions: What frames are used to construct transphobic argumentation and its counterargumentation? What triggers the discriminatory comments? Answers to these questions will help in understanding what motivates transphobia and how to improve counterspeech. Our data comprises 1137 annotated comments discussing trans personnel in the UK army. The annotations and our analysis focus on the argumentation used in transphobic speech to construct the topos of threat and its counterspeech. We adopt both a quantitative and a qualitative approach and identify two main argumentative frames (the medical and misfit frames), their counterspeech, which is mainly based on logic and facts, and the triggers of transphobia, namely gender ideology based on binarism as well as the role played by public figures such as politicians in spreading disinformation and prejudice. Our results include suggesting an argumentation schema (argument, premise, conclusion and claim) based on the topos of threat, a schema which may be used in automatic counterspeech. Keywords: counterspeech; misfit and medical frames; argumentation; topos of threat; triggers of transphobia; Trump Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9379 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Hate Speech Directed at Spanish Female Actors: Penélope Cruz—A Case Study File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9250 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9250 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9250 Author-Name: Lucía Tello Díaz Author-Workplace-Name: Arts and Social Sciences Department, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Spain Author-Name: Lizette Martínez-Valerio Author-Workplace-Name: Journalism and Corporate Communication Department, Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain Abstract: Penélope Cruz is one of the most internationally acclaimed Spanish performers. However, despite her successful career, she is also one of the celebrities subject to most controversy on social media and the most frequent target of hate speech. Although she does not manage her own profile on X (previously Twitter), her name and criticism of her are constant on this platform. The objective of this study is to detect possible hate speech, as well as to categorise it by its intensity and typology. The study analyses the unrestricted comments on X containing the name Penélope Cruz posted during the period between January and June 2023. The methodology utilised is that of quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the comments registered (N = 6,620). One of the chief results is the fact that the majority of the comments classified as hate speech refer to ideological issues (70.9%) and/or are misogynistic (8.9%), among which are the specific allusions to her acting skills and her physical characteristics. The results coincide with other studies in which hate messages directed at actresses are related to their physical appearance. However, they differ in that in this case the main type of hatred is not misogyny, but ideological hatred. The actor is not only accused of being a “communist” and a “hypocrite” for her lifestyle, but also for having used her body to succeed in her profession. Both her physique and intellectual capacity are also subject to hate speech. Most of these messages are based on conjecture, prejudice, and stereotypes. Keywords: hate speech; ideological hatred; misogyny; Penélope Cruz; sexism; Spanish cinema; Twitter Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9250 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Violence, Hate Speech, and Gender Bias: Challenges to an Inclusive Digital Environment File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9941 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9941 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9941 Author-Name: Max Römer-Pieretti Author-Workplace-Name: Communications and Design Faculty, Camilo José Cela University, Spain Author-Name: Beatriz Esteban-Ramiro Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Labour Law and Social Work, University of Castilla‐La Mancha, Spain Author-Name: Agrivalca Canelón Silva Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Communication and Information Research, Andrés Bello Catholic University, Venezuela Abstract: This thematic issue examines the complex and current intersection between violence, hate speech, and gender bias in digital environments. It explores how digital spaces (encompassing social networks, news platforms, and online multiplayer games) can both perpetuate and challenge systemic inequalities. Contributions present diverse methodologies, including longitudinal analyses, qualitative studies, and systematic reviews, to uncover the mechanisms underlying digital violence and exclusion. This issue highlights the urgency of addressing digital exclusion to safeguard democratic values and social cohesion. It aims to inspire new research and inform policies that build more inclusive and equitable digital environments, laying the groundwork for future social science research and practice. Keywords: digital environment; equality; gender; hate speech; inclusion; misogyny; multiplayer online games; social media; videogames; violence Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9941 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Fleshing Out the Invisible: Activating Social Empathy Through the Material File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8855 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.8855 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 8855 Author-Name: Maria Loftus Author-Workplace-Name: School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies, Dublin City University, Ireland Author-Name: Fiona Murphy Author-Workplace-Name: School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies, Dublin City University, Ireland Abstract: This article begins with the material—objects that hold stories, reveal histories, and provoke sensibilities. Ordinary Treasures: Objects From Home is a short film that foregrounds these materialities as a form of everyday activism (Chatterton & Pickerill, 2010), tracing how displaced individuals become visible through what they hold dear. In this cinematic work, international protection applicants and refugees craft an evocative narrative around the singular object each brought from home, invoking “thick solidarity” (Liu & Shange, 2018; Maillot et al., 2023). It is the material—small, mundane, yet profoundly resonant—that animates these narratives and disrupts the apparent divide between what is visible and what is not. The film’s anonymous participants emerge in fragments: hands in motion, shadows cast, voices layering against a backdrop of an original score that samples their stories. This fragmented presence centres both the material and the relationality at its core, revealing the co‐presence of the visible and the unseen, of the tangible and the unspoken. Motivated by rising anti‐immigrant rhetoric in Ireland (Vieten & Poynting, 2022), the film seeks to cultivate “relationships of discomfort” (Boudreau Morris, 2016), unsettling the frames of ignorance and challenging the boundary work of exclusion. This article aims to examine the materialities evoked by the film, the processes of their cinematic articulation, and their impact on audiences. Anchored in shared imaginings, co‐creation, and a desire to foster social empathy, Ordinary Treasures becomes an uneasy yet vital form of solidarity (Roediger, 2016). It stands as a creative interruption, offering an alternative vision of everyday activism in an Ireland grappling with the rise of populism. In this article, we will trace how these materialities themselves give rise to theoretical frameworks, shaping and reshaping our understanding of their entanglements. These are not static systems but emergent dynamics, unsettling assumptions and holding space for new solidarities to form. Keywords: celebrating the ordinary; co‐design; materiality of displacement; participatory filmmaking; thick solidarity Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8855 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Citizen Participation in Healthy City Making: An Analysis of Infrastructural Work in a Low‐Income City Area File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9041 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9041 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9041 Author-Name: Mare Knibbe Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Health Medicine and Lifesciences, Maastricht University, The Netherlands Author-Name: Sanne Raap Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Health Medicine and Lifesciences, Maastricht University, The Netherlands Author-Name: Klasien Horstman Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Health Medicine and Lifesciences, Maastricht University, The Netherlands Abstract: Despite a strong participatory discourse on the healthy city movement, researchers and activists indicate that low‐income groups and city areas often are excluded from participatory urban development and do not benefit from healthy city policies. To better understand the challenges that citizens who promote a healthy urban environment in low‐income areas face, we analyzed the infrastructural work of a citizens’ initiative. We focused on their building of a socio‐material infrastructure in an empty park surrounded by neighborhoods the municipality and other organizations classified as problematic in multiple ways. The infrastructural work consisted of experiments to attract new publics; regular work to revive a neglected garden; and negotiations with the municipality about new trees, natural play elements, and other additions to the park. However, residents’ work was thwarted by institutional control over the neighborhood public and by unreliable bureaucratic interactions that resulted in endless waiting, adaptations, and failures. In this setting, citizens adjusted their infrastructural work by establishing new alliances and engaging in “garden diplomacy” to maintain constructive relationships and a hopeful perspective. The work citizens do to make new local publics should be acknowledged. Moreover, institutional obduracy and bureaucratic ambiguities form a hostile environment for citizen participation. We characterize this hostile environment as shaped by a “residual realism” that reproduces problem neighborhoods. We end with our contribution to a co‐constructionist approach to public participation. Keywords: citizen participation; inequality; infrastructural work; neighborhood health; neighborhood public; socio‐material infrastructure; urban commons; urban green zones; urban health Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9041 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Factors Facilitating the Sustainable Implementation of Social Sports Programmes: A Multiple‐Case Study File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9270 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9270 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9270 Author-Name: Liselot ter Harmsel-Nieuwenhuis Author-Workplace-Name: Professorship Human Movement, School and Sport, Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands Author-Name: Dico de Jager Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands Author-Name: Niels Hermens Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Health, Welfare and Sport, Inholland University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands Author-Name: Kirsten Verkooijen Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands Abstract: Participation in social sports programmes can benefit people in socially vulnerable positions. In this study, social sports programmes are defined as sports programmes which are designed with the specific aim to support these people. However, the continuity of social sports programmes appears problematic. This study aimed to identify factors that facilitate the sustainable implementation of social sports programmes in a local setting. For this purpose, an exploratory multiple‐case study was conducted in six cities in the Netherlands. In each city, a programme called Life Goals was implemented, offering a range of sports activities for people in a socially vulnerable position. Twenty stakeholders, including programme coordinators, social sports coaches, policy officers of the municipality, social workers, and managers of social work organisations participated in an individual interview using a timelining method. The results of these interviews were subsequently explored during a focus group discussion with seven coordinators, four of whom had also participated in an interview. Five themes facilitating the sustainable implementation of local social sports programmes were identified: (a) employment of the coordinator; (b) funding of the social sports programme; (c) adopting an evidence‐based method; (d) building and maintaining a partnership; and (e) sports‐minded stakeholders. In addition, two overarching themes emerged as a common thread across the five themes: broad commitment and the role of the coordinator. Practical tips for the sustainable implementation of social sports programmes are given, which can be used by professionals and managers in the social work and sports fields. Keywords: community sports programmes; local policy; sport as a means; vulnerable adults Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9270 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: “Things Fall Apart?” Prospects of Solidarity in a Precarious World File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9101 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9101 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9101 Author-Name: Matthew Mabefam Author-Workplace-Name: University of Melbourne, Australia Author-Name: Kennedy Mbeva Author-Workplace-Name: University of Cambridge, UK Author-Name: Issah Wumbla Author-Workplace-Name: University of Melbourne, Australia Abstract: In this article, we examine the potential of solidarity to address global challenges in an increasingly precarious world. Solidarity involves individuals or groups supporting causes—whether ideas, people, or contexts—to combat marginalisation and injustice, even as such efforts frequently encounter resistance. This prompts the critical questions: What motivates solidarity, how is it expressed, and how effective is it in resolving the issues it seeks to address? Drawing on illustrative examples from a variety of social movements worldwide, we analyse the diverse forms of solidarity and the tensions that arise when dissent and resistance intersect with collective action. Despite these challenges, we argue that solidarity remains a viable framework for addressing some of today’s most pressing and complex issues. By exploring both the opportunities and obstacles it presents, we highlight solidarity’s enduring relevance and transformative potential in fostering meaningful change. Keywords: demonstrations; precarity; solidarity; strikes Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9101 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Dancing Hands: On Neurodivergent Embodied Knowledge File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9089 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9089 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9089 Author-Name: Anna Püschel Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Architecture, LUCA School of Arts, KULeuven, Belgium Abstract: This article gives insight into my artistic research project Stimming a Space, which explores “stimming”—auto‐regulative behaviour—as a means to make and hold space for neurodivergent individuals within the art world. The umbrella term “neurodiversity” describes developmental conditions such as autism, ADHD, or dyspraxia. Neurodivergent individuals stim extensively due to frequently occurring sensory issues. I argue that parallel to movements of “queering” public spaces that result in increasing safety for all gender identities, “cripping” spaces through adjusting them to neurodivergent needs can be beneficial to everyone in a competitive capitalist environment such as the art world: from education to art spaces and academia that host an increasing number of artistic researchers. Diversity in the art world is not a luxury but a need. Despite recent motions for inclusion, disabled artists still encounter “ableism,” othering, and exclusion. Lack of diversity perpetuates stereotypes and mental obstacles. From an “emic” perspective, the research project Stimming a Space approaches neurodiversity as a disability affecting the entire body instead of solely focusing on symptoms such as speech impairment or executive dysfunction. As a counterweight to much literature that problematises stimming as “disruptive behaviour,” this autoethnographic research approaches it as a performative tool and claims that exploring the entire “bodymind” and embracing stimming as a radical act of self‐care can enrich current research on neurodiversity. Opening up the art world is not a mere act of solidarity—lived inclusion makes it more accessible and safer for everyone. Keywords: ableism; accessibility; artistic research; auto‐ethnography; crip; disability studies; diversity; inclusion; neurodiversity; stimming Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9089 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Commoning Cosmopolitanism: Solidarity Beyond Capital, Borders, and Sameness File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9220 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9220 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9220 Author-Name: Óscar García Agustín Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Culture and Learning, Aalborg University, Denmark Author-Name: Martin Bak Jørgensen Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Culture and Learning, Aalborg University, Denmark Abstract: Approaches to situated and located cosmopolitanism offer the opportunity to think of the formation of a universal community, which demands equality and social justice and is rooted in urban and local practices. This article delves into this perspective by connecting the literature on cosmopolitanism, the commons, and solidarity. Based on a sociospatial conception of solidarity, the notion of “commoning cosmopolitanism” is developed as a framework to understand how solidarity forges relationships where both commonalities and diversity can coexist. Three aspects are important to consider: (a) class struggle, as a response to exclusion and domination and the need to think relations beyond the logic of capital; (b) space, since the relationships are constituted spatially, connecting local and global scales and questioning the logic of borders; and (c) community, opposed to closed identities and “sameness,” and aiming to include previously excluded groups and establish a common ground whilst preserving multiplicity. Several examples are used to show how commoning cosmopolitanism allows us to consider the universal dimension of urban solidarity and the inclusion of migrants as part of the political community (the cosmopolitan “we”). Keywords: common; commoning; cosmopolitanism; local; solidarity; transnational Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9220 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Solidarity in Ethnically Diverse Contexts: Supportive Relations of First‐Generation Roma Graduates’ Social Mobility in Hungary File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9170 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9170 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9170 Author-Name: Judit Durst Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Minority Studies, HUN‐REN Centre for Social Sciences, Hungary / Department of Anthropology, University College London, UK Author-Name: Margit Feischmidt Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Minority Studies, HUN‐REN Centre for Social Sciences, Hungary / Department for Media and Communication Studies, University of Pécs, Hungary Author-Name: Zsanna Nyírő Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Minority Studies, HUN‐REN Centre for Social Sciences, Hungary Abstract: The relationship between Roma and non‐Roma in Central and Eastern European countries is determined by growing socio‐economic inequalities, racism based on structural inequalities, and far‐right policies of scapegoating. This trend is reinforced by the generally low level of social mobility. However, parallel to the main trend, a less visible process enables the social mobility of people of Roma origin born into marginalised, socio‐economically low‐status families. In this article, we aim to link issues of solidarity and diversity by exploring the support networks of educational and social mobility trajectories of Roma in Hungary. Based on 102 narrative life‐story interviews with first‐generation Roma graduates, we explore the helping and hindering relations, as well as the solidarity dynamics, that enabled their social mobility through education. The article answers the following questions: What types of supportive relations facilitate upward social mobility? What kind of mobility trajectories do these supportive (and hindering) relations engender? What happens to those who experience dislocation of social class and change of status? How do they navigate attachment to the community of origin and the attained middle class? By analysing narratives, we aim to highlight personal experiences of (educational) mobility and belonging by identifying different mobility trajectory ideal types and their accompanying supportive relations. Scholars of solidarity usually research the helpers. Here, we shift the perspective and research those lived experiences of solidarity that come from a racialised minority and receive help through their social mobility paths. Our research findings demonstrate that initial solidarity towards the vulnerable can have a spill‐over effect: The helped can become helpers. In our case, first‐generation Roma professionals who have first‐hand experience with social and economic inequalities become drivers of social change, partly by building bridges across communities, partly by fulfilling jobs in the mainstream economy, and also by creating new narratives and advocating for social justice. Keywords: diversity; educational mobility; FIF graduates; Hungary; Roma; social mobility; solidarity Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9170 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: The Dilemmas of Solidarity of Civic Activists: Supporting Displaced Ukrainians in a Non‐Solidarian Regime File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9151 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9151 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9151 Author-Name: Violetta Zentai Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Public Policy and Democracy Institute, Central European University, Austria Author-Name: Margit Feischmidt Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Minority Studies, Center for Social Sciences (HUN‐REN), Hungary / Department of Media and Communication Studies, University of Pécs, Hungary Abstract: Civic actors working with marginalized and disadvantaged groups in society face various dilemmas associated with defining and, if needed, ranking human needs and vulnerabilities. Our article examines the reasonings for intervention in civic solidarity operations that emerged in response to the arrivals of displaced Ukrainians in Hungary in 2022–2023. Solidarians have strived to find spaces of action in an authoritarian regime that normalizes policy rationales of deservingness and social hierarchy in contrast to equality and inclusion‐based diversity. We engaged with those solidarity actors who showed some degree of reflexivity to the wider social, political, governance, and charity activism landscapes considering their position and operational ethos. The mixed research methods generated ethnographic and discursive data that allow us to offer a practice‐centered interpretation of civic actors’ reasoning. This article explores the dilemmas that civic actors face when judging and prioritizing needs, responsibilities, and resources in comparing and contrasting the conditions of their own society and the situation of people with migratory trajectories. We identified three perspectives through which civic solidarity actors articulated their normative and strategic dilemmas: the origin and nature of the needs of the displaced people, the refugee assistance responsibilities thereby assigned, and the broader social care system in the host society. We offer insights into how solidarity actors discernibly departed from pure humanitarianism and deployed concepts of horizontal interdependence, anti‐discrimination, and layered human rights, applying their own vocabularies. Keywords: civic solidarity; defiance to authoritarianism; deservingness; normative and strategic dilemmas; social inequalities; vulnerability Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9151 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Collective Identity and Care Ethics: Insights From Chilean Migrant Solidarity Initiatives File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9073 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9073 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9073 Author-Name: Tamara Hernández Araya Author-Workplace-Name: Cultural Anthropology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands Abstract: Based on ten months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted with more than twelve migrant organizations in Chile, this article examines how mutual support groups establish and maintain networks of care that their members view as moral imperatives. These organizations develop sophisticated citizenship narratives while emphasizing the importance of nurturing both their collective ethos and solidarity initiatives. Through analyzing how members interpret their collaborative care and solidarity efforts, this article reveals how care practices generate a distinctive form of sociability that departs from traditional Chilean solidarity frameworks. This emergent sociability manifests as an ethical project that challenges prevailing paradigms and expands our understanding of citizenship dynamics within migrant communities. The research contributes to anthropological perspectives by illuminating the intricate relationships between care practices, collective identity formation, and human interaction within migrant support networks. Keywords: care; Chile; citizenship; migration; solidarity Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9073 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Solidarity in Diversity: Overcoming Marginalisation in Society File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9850 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9850 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9850 Author-Name: Matthew Mabefam Author-Workplace-Name: University of Melbourne, Australia Author-Name: Kennedy Mbeva Author-Workplace-Name: University of Cambridge, UK Author-Name: Franka Vaughan Author-Workplace-Name: University of Melbourne, Australia Abstract: This introduction situates the thematic issue within the discourse on solidarity, exploring its transformative role in addressing marginalisation and fostering social cohesion. The 13 articles in this issue are organised into four themes: (a) solidarity’s response to exclusion, (b) its dynamic nature in contested contexts, (c) innovative frameworks, and (d) its role in tackling economic inequalities. Through case studies of migrant communities, Roma graduates, neurodivergent artists, and trans women, the contributions highlight solidarity’s potential to counter exclusion, navigate tensions, and inspire collective action. Bridging theory and practice, this thematic issue advances understanding and informs policies to address systemic inequality, diversity, and injustice. Keywords: diversity; marginalisation; polorisation; solidarity Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9850 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Participation in Times of War: The Ambivalence of Digital Media File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9128 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9128 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9128 Author-Name: Olga Zvonareva Author-Workplace-Name: Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht University, The Netherlands Abstract: Do digital media support or undermine democracy and freedom? Building on recent scholarship that highlights the diversity of digital media’s effects, this article begins with the premise that digital media do not clearly shape political life in contemporary societies one way or another but are instead ambivalent. The article seeks to explicate how exactly the ambivalence of digital media emerges and to arrive at a suitable conceptualisation of their role. Empirically, to capture how digital media become embroiled in very different kinds of political action, I draw on a prolonged ethnographic engagement with two war‐time volunteer initiatives in Russia. Both initiatives participate in politics by assisting Ukrainian war refugees who fled in the direction of Russia, and both rely on the messaging app Telegram. However, the participation of one amounts to resisting the imperative of supporting the aggression foisted by the state on Russian citizens, while the participation of another heightens this very imperative. I engage with these two contrasting digitally mediated initiatives doing similar activities but acting on vastly different commitments to illuminate the digital media’s ambivalence. I show how digital media contribute to the creation of and cracking down on democratic openings by becoming actors in the collective action networks that strive to resist oppressive political strategies and, simultaneously, in the networks that strive to further strengthen the very same strategies. Keywords: authoritarianism; collective action; democracy; digital media; digital participation; participation amidst hostility; public participation; Russia; Telegram Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9128 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Citizens in Distress: A Case Study on Public Participation During the Covid‐19 Pandemic in Finland File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9040 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9040 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9040 Author-Name: Mikko Värttö Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Turku, Finland Abstract: In emergencies, public participation can perform a positive function by raising public awareness of the potential harms and injustices that may have resulted from emergency measures and policies. In this way, public participation can contribute to democratic crisis management, and also legitimise democratic institutions more broadly. However, emergency conditions can challenge these participatory practices, undermining citizens’ ability to influence crisis management. To investigate this phenomenon, this article studies how ordinary citizens participated in the management of the Covid‐19 pandemic. The article focuses on Finland, a critical case because its response to the pandemic is often considered successful in international comparison. In the analysis, data on various formal and informal forms of public participation are considered and their impact on emergency response is assessed. The findings show that although multiple forms of public participation were in place, the authorities used them selectively and hesitantly. Also, public participation was often diminished to an advisory role or channelled through established civil society actors, such as labour market organisations. Due to this lack of critical voices in public arenas, citizens decided to bypass formal routes of public participation to express their concerns through civic activism in informal channels. These concerns materialised in campaigns, protests, and demonstrations against emergency measures and policies. While much of the existing literature focuses on the negative effects of civic activism, such as spreading misinformation and undermining official measures, this article argues that informal public participation, such as civic activism, can complement formal decision‐making measures during emergencies, thus contributing to more effective and democratic crisis governance. Keywords: civic activism; Covid‐19 pandemic; crisis management; emergency; public participation Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9040 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: There Are No Thresholds Here: Social Inclusion Among the Participants of a Community Sports Initiative File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9284 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9284 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9284 Author-Name: Linda Nesse Author-Workplace-Name: Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research, University of Oslo, Norway / Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South‐Eastern Norway, Norway Author-Name: Marit Borg Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South‐Eastern Norway, Norway Author-Name: Bengt Karlsson Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South‐Eastern Norway, Norway Abstract: Community sports initiatives can promote social inclusion by facilitating low‐threshold participation in physical exercise with others. Due to social and systemic barriers, persons with experiences of mental health and substance use problems often have limited access to community arenas, such as those offering physical exercise. Community sports may counteract such inequities in practice. In Bergen, Norway, the community sports initiative Psykiatrialliansen (The Psychiatric Alliance) aims to promote participation in physical exercise for anyone with an interest in being involved. On a weekly basis, they arrange a range of sports and activities in ordinary sports arenas across the city, free of charge. The purpose of the study was to explore how members and coaches experience participation, and in which ways participation contributes to experiences of social inclusion. Focus groups, paired interviews, and individual interviews were conducted with 33 participants. A two‐tiered thematic analysis was conducted based on a framework for social inclusion, resulting in the main theme “experiences of social inclusion,” with the following subthemes: (a) access to resources, (b) recognition through responsibilities and roles, and (c) a sense of belonging through relationships. The participants described a unique and generous arena where resources were emphasized. Furthermore, they described experiences of being acknowledged through responsibilities and positive roles. Finally, the community sports initiative was viewed as a low‐threshold, inclusive community that facilitated a sense of belonging through positive relationships. The findings indicate that Psykiatrialliansen contributes to experiences of social inclusion in multiple, intersecting ways. Keywords: citizenship; community integration; community participation; mental health; physical activity; recovery; substance use; well‐being Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9284 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Leave No One Behind? Analysing Sport Inclusion Policy‐Implementation for Persons With Disabilities in Ghana File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8866 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.8866 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 8866 Author-Name: Derrick Charway Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Sport and Social Sciences, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway Author-Name: Francis Asare Author-Workplace-Name: Te Huataki Waiora School of Health, University of Waikato, New Zealand Author-Name: Allan Bennich Grønkjær Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Sport and Social Sciences, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway Abstract: Sport inclusion policies for persons with disabilities are prevalent in many countries; however, actual support in local communities is lacking or inadequately addressed. In this article, we analyse the implementation of sport inclusion policies and the extent to which they exclude or include disabled sport associations in Ghana’s District Sports Units. Using document analysis, focus group discussions, and semi‐structured interviews, we collected data from representatives of state and non‐state organisations, drawing theoretical insights from ableism and policy networks to analyse the implementation of sport inclusion policies. The findings reveal that despite inclusion provisions at the local level, the policy implementation process presents challenges for District Sports Units. These challenges include the lack of funding, conflicts among network actors, deliberate disregard, membership gaps, and the absence of an integrated programme for disabled sport associations. These findings further inform our understanding of collaborative alliances, local autonomy, and the implication of ableism for policy networks. Keywords: ableism; disability sport; District Sports Units; Ghana; policy implementation; sustainable development Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8866 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Unveiling Hate Speech Dynamics: An Examination of Discourse Targeting the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET) File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9291 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9291 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9291 Author-Name: Sergio Arce-García Author-Workplace-Name: Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Spain Author-Name: Virginia Martin-Jiménez Author-Workplace-Name: Universidad de Valladolid, Spain Author-Name: Leticia Rodríguez-Fernández Author-Workplace-Name: Universidad de Cádiz, Spain Abstract: This article examines hate speech directed at AEMET, the Spanish meteorological state agency, on the social media platform X. We analysed nearly half a million messages posted between 31 December 2021 and 19 April 2023, using hate speech detection algorithms, text mining techniques, and qualitative analysis to identify patterns and themes in the discourse. Our research reveals a troubling reality, with around 25% of the messages collected displaying some degree of hostility towards AEMET, its staff, and its scientific work. A considerable amount of hate speech was expressed through derogatory comments and insults aimed at meteorologists, which is indicative of a wider trend of anti‐intellectualism and scepticism of scientific expertise. Furthermore, the spread of conspiracy theories, particularly those related to geoengineering and chemtrails, highlights the spread of misinformation within online communities. This study emphasises the importance of acknowledging and addressing the spread of hate speech in meteorology and scientific communication. By emphasising the negative effects of such language on public perception and trust in scientific institutions, this article advocates for collaborative efforts to promote a culture of informed dialogue and evidence‐based discourse. The results highlight the importance of combating hate speech and misinformation to protect the integrity and credibility of scientific institutions such as AEMET. Keywords: AEMET; anti‐intellectualism; disinformation; hate speech; meteorology; X/Twitter Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9291 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Propagation of Hate Speech on Social Network X: Trends and Approaches File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9317 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9317 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9317 Author-Name: Eva Matarín Rodríguez-Peral Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication Sciences and Sociology, Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain Author-Name: Tomás Gómez Franco Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economics, Francisco Vitoria University, Spain Author-Name: Daniel Rodríguez-Peral Bustos Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Information Sciences, Complutense of Madrid University, Spain Abstract: Digital technologies have democratized the transmission of information, enabling individuals to interact and share information instantly through social networks. However, these advancements have also brought about negative aspects such as the propagation of hate speech on social media. This research aims to address the following question: What are the predominant theoretical and methodological approaches in academic research on hate speech on X (formerly known as Twitter)? This study aims to identify and analyze the trends in existing academic research on the proliferation and dissemination of hate speech on the social network X, to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge in this field, and to highlight areas for future research. To conduct this analysis, a mixed‐methods methodology is employed and a systematic literature review is applied as the research technique. Quantitative analysis involves descriptive statistical analysis, while qualitative analysis is conducted using a deductive strategy to study the predetermined categories of research included in this study. Among the main contributions is the integration of findings from multiple studies, facilitating the understanding of this phenomenon, as well as enabling the identification of best practices and existing knowledge gaps in this field. Keywords: academic analysis; digital interaction; hate speech; social conflict; social network X; Twitter Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9317 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Intergenerational Evolution of Gender Bias in Spain: Analysis of Values Surveys File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9288 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9288 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9288 Author-Name: Pilar Antolínez-Merchán Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Communication and Design, University Camilo José Cela, Spain Author-Name: Ángel Rivero Recuenco Author-Workplace-Name: Economy Department, University of Alcalá, Spain Author-Name: Elvira Carmen Cabrera-Rodríguez Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Business and Legal Sciences, University Camilo José Cela, Spain Abstract: This article uses data from the World Values Survey (WVS) and the European Values Study (EVS) for Spain, covering the years between 2005 and 2022 (waves 5, 6, and 7) to analyse the evolution of gender bias in different dimensions: politics, education, economics, and family. The results indicate a positive trend towards the reduction of gender bias, especially in areas of political leadership and education. However, certain biases remain, particularly among older generations. The analysis reveals that variables such as sex, education level, religion, political orientation, and materialistic values have a statistically significant influence on gender bias. Young people demonstrate a higher acceptance of gender equality compared to older adults. However, the younger generations are exposed to ideological and moral influences that cause changes in their perception of politics and democracy. One‐fifth of the sample surveyed did not consider gender equality relevant as a constitutive element of democratic regimes, which seems to indicate a relative fading of the political and moral significance of gender equality as an issue for a significant proportion of young Spaniards. Religion is the only variable linked with a higher probability of maintaining gender biases, and even accentuating them among young people, which would be indicative of a correlation between religion and the adoption of ideologically conservative positions, in line with the socio‐political dynamics of polarisation and the growing influence of neo‐conservative movements in Spanish society. Keywords: gender bias; gender equality; gender stereotypes; values survey Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9288 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Ripple Effects Mapping Within a Process Evaluation of Sport for Development Provision in England File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8911 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.8911 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 8911 Author-Name: Jase Wilson Author-Workplace-Name: Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, UK Author-Name: Dan Bates Author-Workplace-Name: Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, UK Abstract: Evaluating the impact of sport for development is fraught with practical and methodological challenges. The evaluator is often presented with complex and messy social realities compounded by ill‐defined interventions with hard‐to‐follow outcomes. Further, those subject to an impact evaluation can feel under the spotlight with little contribution to the research programme, which complicates the potentially informative learning and developmental processes of the evaluation. This article provides an introduction to ripple effects mapping (REM) as an evaluation technique and draws on the case study of a community‐based, physical‐activity intervention within the UK. This article will demonstrate the utility of REM as a co‐productive technique for exploring programme outcomes but also as a tool to capture and understand the impact of the programme on participants. Through the presentation and analysis of the example REM, produced collaboratively with programme participants and stakeholders, the discussion illustrates the suitability and potential of REM as a process evaluation tool. The article presents REM in the context of evaluating sport for development practices and provides a critique and reflection about the refinement of REM as a robust evaluation tool. Keywords: community engagement; evaluation; impact; participatory methods; physical activity; ripple effects mapping; sport for development Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8911 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Self‐Managed Housing in Vienna: Managing Ambivalences Between “Invitability” and Resistance File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/7993 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.7993 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 7993 Author-Name: Andrea Schikowitz Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Vienna, Austria Abstract: This contribution addresses how self‐managed collaborative housing (CoHo) groups engage in and with urban planning in Vienna and thereby how they manage the ambivalence of simultaneously getting involved in established planning and maintaining their alternative and subversive character. These groups aim to shape their own living environments and contribute to more sustainable, affordable, and collaborative housing and living. The relations and interactions between self‐managed housing projects and municipal planning actors are ambivalent and include both invited and uninvited forms of engagement. To be able to realise their projects and to intervene in urban planning, CoHo groups thus need to manage the boundary between making their aims compatible with and challenging urban planning visions and strategies. I analyse this by paying attention to how CoHo actors enact “invitability” while maintaining their resistance against certain urban policies. For doing so, I draw on and contribute to literature at the intersection of urban planning and STS that address public participation in collaborations and controversy contexts. The empirical materials stem from a multi‐sited ethnography, comprising interviews with members and proponents of CoHo groups, observations of public and semi‐public events of, with, and about CoHo, as well as documents and social media posts. I find that CoHo creates invitability by negotiating and working on three aspects that are directly or indirectly challenged by municipal and professional actors: their relevance, expertise, and reliability. They do so by engaging in infrastructuring activities that stabilise both the invitability and resistance of CoHo in Vienna. Keywords: collaborative housing; hostility; infrastructure; public participation; representation; urban planning Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:7993 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Semiotic Analysis of Hate Discourse in Spanish Digital News Media: Biden’s Inauguration Case Study File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9295 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9295 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9295 Author-Name: Max Römer-Pieretti Author-Workplace-Name: Communications & Design Faculty, Camilo José Cela University, Spain Author-Name: Elías Said-Hung Author-Workplace-Name: Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Spain Author-Name: Julio Montero-Díaz Author-Workplace-Name: Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Spain / Villanueva University, Spain Abstract: This study analyzes hate in Spanish digital media from a semiotic standpoint by focusing on the coverage and discourse of Joe Biden’s inauguration as the US President in January 2021 by El País, La Vanguardia, ABC, El Mundo, and 20Minutos in Spain on the X platform. The event drew significant attention from international and Spanish media. A qualitative investigation was conducted on the interactions, denotations, connotations, and semiosis related to hate in the Spanish media and their followers. The analysis, which is based on a semiotic matrix from Greimas and Courtés (1979), Greimas (1976), Barthes (1970), Kristeva (1969), and Lyotard (1979/2019), and was developed by the authors, covered 661 news items and 721 literal fragments and generated 2,074 interactions for examination. This study offers a semiotic framework for understanding how hate expressions are constructed and disseminated in digital media. It is crucial to recognize the narrative structures that promote the dissemination of hate expression in news content published by digital media on social media platforms. A scenario emerges in which fear, politically charged expressions, and terms aimed at accusing, discrediting, or undervaluing the recipients of such messages become tools for spreading content. Therefore, digital news media must review their content moderation practices to better manage the discussions generated concerning the news that they publish in the current digital landscape. This landscape is dominated not only by hostility rather than violence toward social groups represented by news protagonists but also by people who are used to promoting narratives filled with stereotypes and prejudices through dehumanization or demonization. Keywords: digital news media; digital semiotics; discourse analysis; hate speech; social media platforms Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9295 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Violence, Hate Speech, and Discrimination in Video Games: A Systematic Review File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9401 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9401 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9401 Author-Name: Robeto Moreno-López Author-Workplace-Name: University of Castilla‐La Mancha, Spain Author-Name: Catalina Argüello-Gutiérrez Author-Workplace-Name: Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Spain Abstract: This systematic review analyses the relationships between violence, hate speech, discrimination, and video games. A comprehensive search of the Web of Science and Scopus databases identified 47 relevant studies published between 2018 and 2023. The review examines how video games may provide fertile ground for online violence, hate speech, and discrimination, while also exploring their potential as educational tools. Key findings suggest that exposure to violent video game content can increase aggressive cognitions and behaviours, particularly when combined with competitive gameplay. However, prosocial aspects of gaming may promote positive intergroup attitudes and reduce prejudice. Hate speech and discriminatory behaviours remain prevalent issues in online gaming communities, disproportionately affecting marginalised groups. The article highlights the complex interactions between game content, individual factors, and sociocultural contexts in shaping player experiences and behaviours. While video games pose risks, they also offer opportunities for fostering empathy, cultural understanding, and critical thinking, if they are thoughtfully designed. The findings underscore the need for evidence‐based interventions to mitigate online hate and maximise the educational potential of video games. Keywords: cyberhate; hate speech; inclusion; video games; violence Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9401 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: The Italian Manosphere: Composition, Structure, and Functions of a Digital Network File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9341 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9341 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9341 Author-Name: Elisa Ignazzi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G.d’Annunzio University of Chieti‐Pescara, Italy Author-Name: Mara Maretti Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Legal and Social Sciences, G.d’Annunzio University of Chieti‐Pescara, Italy Author-Name: Lara Fontanella Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Socio‐Economic, Managerial, and Statistical Studies, G.d’Annunzio University of Chieti‐Pescara, Italy Abstract: The digital sphere is pivotal in shaping social norms, and the Italian “manosphere” is a key player in this process. This study examines the composition and structure of the Italian manosphere, an intricate online ecosystem characterised by antifeminist and often misogynistic ideologies. Through a comprehensive analysis of Facebook networks and blog presentations from various groups, we mapped and classified the main actors within this ecosystem, shedding light on their connections and functions. The analysis focuses on two main aspects by employing natural language processing techniques and social network analysis. First, we investigated the functions of different groups within the network—Men’s Rights Activists, Men Going Their Own Way, Involuntary Celibates, and Pick‐Up Artists—identifying their roles, how they interconnect and their ties to the international manosphere. Second, we analysed the blog presentations of members to explore the motivations driving individuals to join these communities, revealing the key themes emerging from their narratives. Our findings highlight the manosphere as a complex and interconnected phenomenon that not only reflects global neosexist trends but also integrates unique socio‐cultural elements specific to the Italian context. This study underscores the significance of understanding the manosphere’s influence on public discourse and its far‐reaching implications for the socio‐political landscape in Italy, particularly concerning gender relations. Keywords: digital sphere; Incels; misogyny; men’s rights activists; men going their own way; natural language processing; pick‐up artists; sexism; social movements Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9341 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Synderesis vs. Consequentialism and Utilitarianism in Workplace Bullying Prevention File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8406 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.8406 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 8406 Author-Name: Jolita Vveinhardt Author-Workplace-Name: Vytautas Kavolis Interdisciplinary Research Institute, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania Author-Name: Mykolas Deikus Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Catholic Theology, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania Abstract: The existence of workplace bullying in modern organizations is, first of all, a serious moral challenge. Since bullying characterized by intense and long‐lasting persecution of the target causes serious negative consequences for organizations, there are proposals to base the prevention of this phenomenon on utilitarianism. However, some studies show that the ethics that judges the goodness of an action by consequences causes many problems at the level of interpersonal relationships. Therefore, in the context of workplace bullying, it is proposed to consider the scholastic idea of synderesis. The article theoretically examines three alternatives to bystanders’ decisions based on the ideas of consequentialism, utilitarianism, and synderesis: to act constructively actively (to support the victim), to act destructively actively (to support the persecutor), and to act destructively passively (not to intervene in the conflict). Considering that different schools of consequentialism and utilitarianism cannot guarantee constructive behaviour of bystanders, the decisions inspired by the conscience guided by synderesis can be a suitable alternative that can be easily implemented in practice. Keywords: consequentialism; ethics; synderesis; utilitarianism; workplace bullying Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8406 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Quarantined Justice, Compromised Diversity: Barriers to Disability Inclusion in China’s Public Sector Employment File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9083 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9083 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9083 Author-Name: Qian Xue Author-Workplace-Name: KoGuan School of Law, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China / Faculty of Law & Justice, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia Author-Name: Bo Chen Author-Workplace-Name: School of Law, Minjiang University, Fuzhou, China Abstract: Under the advocacy for diversity and inclusion within Chinese society, the judiciary has become a significant institution for the protection of marginalized groups, especially disabled people. Through proactive power expansion, the Supreme People’s Court has played a crucial role in scrutinizing employment discrimination in the private sector. However, the judiciary has paid less attention to the fact that government agencies failed to consider the value of workplace diversity and maintained ableist standards that preclude many disabled candidates from public sector positions. Due to the intrinsic political embeddedness within Chinese judicial systems, courts tended to adopt a strategy known as “quarantined enforcement” when confronted with discriminatory recruitment clauses issued by government‐tied entities. Social and political factors collaboratively shaped the intersectional marginalization of the disabled community in China. This article attempts to move beyond traditional legislative‐centric approaches and emphasize the judiciary’s role in minimizing the marginalization of disabled people. It argues that eliminating political barriers within the judiciary is crucial for achieving workplace diversity and employment equality. Keywords: disability equality; disability rights in China; embedded court; integrated employment; quarantined justice; social diversity Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9083 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Migrants’ Participation and Migration Governance Amidst Hostility in Small Localities: An Italian Case Study File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9076 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9076 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9076 Author-Name: Alba Angelucci Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Law and Political, Economic and Social Sciences, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro,” Italy Author-Name: Gül Ince-Beqo Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Milan, Italy Author-Name: Fabio De Blasis Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Milan, Italy Abstract: In this article we examine how small and medium‐sized towns address migrants’ participation amidst hostility. To do so, we focus on a small town in central Italy. We scrutinise two dimensions of participation— visibility and agency in policy‐making—and connect them to specific forms of hostility towards migrants that can arise in small communities. We also consider how changes in the social fabric and political discourse can overcome and subvert such hostilities. By exploring the case vertically (involving institutions) and horizontally (involving civil society actors), we analyse local migrants’ participation in light of political transitions and changes in the local government’s attitude. We focus in particular on how and whether migrants are granted space in the planning and implementation of integration and participation policies across different periods in a small town in central Italy. This case highlights substantial policy transitions that shape migrants’ involvement in local life and set boundaries on their engagement. The article, which is based on qualitative research conducted within the EU‐funded project PISTE—Participation in Small and Medium‐Sized Towns: Experiences, Exchanges, Experiments, relies on policy analysis and 17 semi‐structured interviews with policy‐makers and civil society actors. The results show that political discourse on migration affects perceptions and practices of hostility in regard to migrants and the forms of visibility assumed by migrants’ participation in small and medium‐sized towns. When participation is politically hindered, everyday practices of visibility (such as being visible in public spaces) assume political significance. The presence of “bridging figures” is crucial for facilitating the transition from an adverse to a more inclusive political environment, enhancing participation by specific migrant groups. However, reliance on such bridging figures and personal relationships can be a double‐edged sword. It can promote participation, but it may confine it to individual interactions rather than foster broader migrants engagement. Keywords: bridging figures; hostility; local policy‐making; migrants’ participation; migration policies; political participation; small towns Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9076 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: The Emotional Costs of Solidarity: How Refugees and Volunteers Manage Emotions in the Integration Process File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9009 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9009 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9009 Author-Name: Neeltje Spit Author-Workplace-Name: University of Humanistic Studies, The Netherlands Author-Name: Evelien Tonkens Author-Workplace-Name: University of Humanistic Studies, The Netherlands Author-Name: Margo Trappenburg Author-Workplace-Name: Utrecht University School of Governance, Utrecht University, The Netherlands Abstract: While emerging right‐wing populist voices are calling to prevent the arrival of refugees and their integration, volunteers perform solidarity by performing activities to support refugee integration. Most studies on these forms of solidarity in diversity focus on the quality and effectiveness of the activities. The emotional labor involved has received limited attention. To consider this emotional labor in more detail, we use Arlie Hochschild’s concept of feeling and framing rules and relate these rules to prevailing citizenship regimes, distinguishing between the self‐reliance regime and the community regime. Based on in‐depth ethnographic research of volunteer solidarity work in a deprived urban neighborhood and a middle‐class commuter town in the Netherlands, we show that volunteers are strongly aligned with the community regime, which involves navigating a multitude of feeling rules they struggle with. Refugees are more aligned with the self‐reliance regime, which also gives way to emotional struggles. We argue that to promote solidarity in diversity, scholars and policymakers should pay more attention to these different forms of emotional labor and the painful and joyful emotions involved. Keywords: citizenship regimes; emotions; feeling and framing rules; refugee integration; volunteers Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9009 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Building Resiliency in Community Development: The Experiences of Women in Rural Communities in Ghana File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8705 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.8705 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 8705 Author-Name: Charles Gyan Author-Workplace-Name: School of Social Work, McGill University, Canada Author-Name: Jacob Kwakye Author-Workplace-Name: School of Social Work, McGill University, Canada Abstract: In Ghana, women face challenges such as poverty, illiteracy, restricted legal rights, and entrenched gender roles, impeding their empowerment. Despite these barriers, they exhibit remarkable resilience, often through active engagement in community development initiatives. Previous studies highlight the importance of collective solidarity and intergenerational support in fostering resilience among Ghanaian women. However, these studies frequently apply external frameworks that conceptualize resilience as an internal attribute. This qualitative study explores the intrinsic motivations and support mechanisms that underpin resilience among Ghanaian women (? = 12) actively participating in community development efforts. Thematic analysis of interviews reveals that their resilience is greatly influenced by concerns for their children’s future and strengthened by strong familial and community support networks. This research enriches our understanding of resilience by highlighting authentic sources rooted in the lived experiences of Ghanaian women, challenging conventional perceptions and emphasizing both individual and community‐level factors. Keywords: community development; gender equality; resilience; rural Ghana; women Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8705 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: The High Price of Gender Noncompliance: Exploring the Economic Marginality of Trans Women in South Africa File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8455 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.8455 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 8455 Author-Name: Siyanda Buyile Shabalala Author-Workplace-Name: Psychology Department, Rhodes University, South Africa Author-Name: Megan Campbell Author-Workplace-Name: Psychology Department, Rhodes University, South Africa Abstract: This study brings trans women to the forefront of global discourse on gender‐based economic inequalities. Such discussions, often lacking intersectionality and narrowly focused on cis women, have frequently overlooked the distinct economic obstacles trans women face in cisheteropatriarchal societies. Grounded in critical trans politics and intersectionality, this research explores the lives of five trans women in South Africa, examining the contextual norms, practices, and policies that shape their experiences of economic inclusion and exclusion. Findings reveal that economic marginality for trans women is upheld by social institutions prioritizing cisgender norms, reinforcing biology‐based gender binaries that render those existing outside these frameworks vulnerable, disposable, and disenfranchised. This structural economic bias is reflected in four key areas: (a) patriarchal family systems enforce conformity to cisgender expectations through abuse, financial neglect, and rejection, displacing trans women into precarious circumstances, including homelessness and survival sex work; (b) cisnormative workplace conventions demand legal gender alignment as a precondition for organizational access and employability, shutting out trans identities lacking state recognition of their gender; (c) institutionally entrenched anti‐trans stigma creates heightened scrutiny and discrimination during hiring processes; and (d) a gender‐segregated labor system undermines trans women’s ability to participate in both “male” and “female” jobs due to nonadherence to traditional, biologically defined gender roles. These cisgender‐privileging norms intersect with racism and colonial‐apartheid legacies, compounding economic difficulties for trans women. By mapping the economic conditions of historically invisibilized trans women, this study deepens the scope of economic transformation theories. It calls for a trans‐inclusive, intersectional model of economic justice, advocating for institutional cultures that embrace diverse gender expressions beyond static gender classifications. Keywords: cisgender norms; economic exclusion; gender binary; gender economic equity; labour systems; South Africa; trans women Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8455 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Dual Marginalisation and the Demand for Dual Citizenship: Negotiating “At Homeness” Among Diaspora Liberians File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9033 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9033 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9033 Author-Name: Franka Vaughan Author-Workplace-Name: School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia Abstract: In Liberia, identity and citizenship have long been contentious, with dual citizenship emerging as a focal point in recent decades. On 22 July 2022, former President George Weah signed an Amendment Law allowing Liberians naturalized abroad to retain citizenship and granting Liberian women the right to confer citizenship to their children, addressing a key demand from diaspora Liberians. This article, based on my doctoral thesis (Vaughan, 2022), examines diaspora Liberians’ advocacy for dual citizenship within contemporary debates on citizenship as a strategic institution. Drawing on the “post‐exclusive turn” in citizenship (Harpaz & Mateos, 2019), which suggests that individuals often prioritize a premium passport over strong ties to a homeland, the article explores how diaspora Liberians pursue dual citizenship to secure a “true home” in Liberia. This advocacy is fueled by their marginalization both in Liberia, where they face scrutiny over their Liberianness, and in their host countries, where they experience otherness as ethnic minorities. Dual citizenship, for these Liberians, is a strategic path back to belonging in Liberia. This article highlights the intricate interplay between identity and citizenship in Liberia, complicating the strategic citizenship framework by shedding light on the nuanced experiences of diaspora Liberians as they navigate dual marginalization and negotiate belonging. By focusing on these dynamics, the article contributes to the broader debate on citizenship in Africa, an area that remains understudied. Moreover, it reframes discussions on strategic citizenship, particularly in the context of growing inequalities and rising anti‐immigrant sentiments. Keywords: belonging; diaspora Liberians; dual citizenship; home; Liberia; marginalization; strategic citizenship Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9033 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Title: Engaged Scholarship and Its Discontents File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9124 File-Format: text/html DOI: 10.17645/si.9124 Journal: Social Inclusion Volume: 13 Year: 2025 Number: 9124 Author-Name: Tebeje Molla Author-Workplace-Name: School of Education, Deakin University, Australia Abstract: Engaged scholarship plays a crucial role in shaping collective narratives and fostering inclusive societies. This article explores the concept of engaged scholarship, highlighting both its transformative potential and the discontents that accompany it. Informed by existing literature and personal reflections, the discussion is divided into three key sections. The first section provides a concise overview of engaged scholarship and outlines the conditions that enable its practice. The second section delves into the main discontents of engaged scholarship: narrow definitions of academic work, polarised views on knowledge and truth, restrictive professional guidelines, the potential for backlash, and the risk of burnout. These pitfalls create an environment where scholars may hesitate to engage fully, despite the pressing need for their contributions to public discourse. In the third and final section, the article emphasises the moral imperative of using research for social change and advocates for the creation of supportive ecosystems to help scholars navigate the challenges of public engagement. Keywords: backlash; Bourdieu; burnout; crisis; critical theory; engaged scholarship Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9124