Search results for: social%20responsibilities

Authors: Amani Hassan Abu Atieh

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This study aims at examining the patterns of ideology reflected in the written discourse of women writers in the media of Jordan; Lana Mamkgh is taken as an example. This study critically analyzes the discursive, linguistic, and cognitive representations that she employs as an agent in the institutionalized discourse of the media. Grounded in van Dijk’s critical discourse analysis approach to Sociocognitive Discourse Studies, the present study builds a multilayer framework that encompasses van Dijk’s triangle: discourse, society, and cognition. Specifically, the study attempts to analyze, at both micro and macro levels, the underlying cognitive processes and structures, mainly ideology and discursive strategies, which are functional in the production of women’s discourse in terms of meaning, forms, and functions. Cognitive processes that social actors adopt are underlined by experience/context and semantic mental models on the one hand and social cognition on the other. This study is based on qualitative research and adopts purposive sampling, taking as an example a sample of an opinion article written by Lana Mamkgh in the Arabic Jordanian Daily, Al Rai. Taking her role as an agent in the public sphere, she stresses the National and feminist ideologies, demonstrating the use of assertive, evaluative, and expressive linguistic and rhetorical devices that appeal to the logic, ethics, and emotions of the addressee. Highlighting the agency of Jordanian writers in the media, the study sought to achieve the macro goal of dispensing political and social justice to the underprivileged. Further, the study seeks to prove that the voice of Jordanian women, viewed as underrepresented and invisible in the public arena, has come through clearly.

Keywords: critical discourse analysis, sociocognitive theory, ideology, women discourse, media

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Authors: Inês Ramalhete, Hugo Farias, Rui da Silva Pinto

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Adequate housing has been a widely discussed theme in academic circles related to low-cost housing, whereas its physical features are easy to deal with, overcrowding (related to social, cultural and economic aspects) is still ambiguous, particularly regarding the set of indicators that can accurately reflect and measure it. This paper develops research on low-cost housing models for developing countries and what is the best method to embed overcrowding as an important parameter for adaptability. A critical review of international overcrowding indicators and their application in two developing countries, Cape Verde and Angola, is presented. The several rationales and the constraints for an accurate assessment of overcrowding are considered, namely baseline data (statistics), which can induce misjudgments, as well as social and cultural factors (such as personal choices of residents). This paper proposes a way to tackle overcrowding through housing adaptability, considering factors such as physical flexibility, functional ambiguity, and incremental expansion schemes. Moreover, a case-study is presented to establish a framework for the theoretical application of the proposed approach.

Keywords: adaptive housing, low cost housing, overcrowding, housing model

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Authors: Muhammad Atif, M. Samsul Alam

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of board room gender diversity on firm sustainable investment. We test the extent to which sustainable investment is affected by the presence of female directors on U.S. corporate boards. Using data of S&P 1500 indexed firms collected from Bloomberg covering the period 2004-2016, we estimate the baseline model to investigate the effects of board room gender diversity on firm sustainable investment. We find a positive relationship between board gender diversity and sustainable investment. We also find that boards with two or more women have a pronounced impact on sustainable investment, consistent with the critical mass theory. Female independent directors have a stronger impact on sustainable investment than female executive directors. Our findings are robust to different identification and estimation techniques. The study offers another perspective of the ongoing debate in the social responsibility literature about the accountability relationships between business and society.

Keywords: sustainable investment, gender diversity, environmental proctection, social responsibility

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Authors: Yu Cheng-Yu

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‘Heterotopia’, ‘Visual Cultural Art Education’ and ‘New Media’ of these three subjects seemingly are irrelevant. In fact, there are synchronicity and intertextuality inside. In addition to visual culture, art education inspires students the ability to reflect on popular culture image through visual culture teaching strategies in school. We should get involved in the community to construct the learning environment that conveys visual culture art. This thesis attempts to probe the heterogeneity of space and value from Michel Foucault and to research sustainable development strategy in ‘New Media Art Village’ heterogeneity from Jean Baudrillard, Marshall McLuhan's media culture theory and social construction ideology. It is possible to find a new media group that can convey ‘Visual Culture Art Education’ around the National Taipei University of Technology in this commercial district that combines intelligent technology, fashion, media, entertainment, art education, and marketing network. Let the imagination and innovation of ‘New Media Art Village’ become ‘implementable’ and new media Heterotopia of inter-subjectivity with the engagement of big data and digital media. Visual culture art education will also bring aesthetics into the community by New Media Art Village.

Keywords: social construction, heterogeneity, new media, big data, visual culture art education

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Authors: Mirjana Dokmanovic

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The paper will introduce main findings of the research of the responses of the Central European and South Eastern European (CEE/SEE) countries to the global economic and financial crisis in 2008 from human rights and gender perspectives. The research methodology included desk research and qualitative analysis of the available data, studies, statistics, and reports produced by the governments, the UN agencies, international financial institutions (IFIs) and international network of civil society organizations. The main conclusion of the study is that the governments in the region missed to assess the impacts of their anti-crisis policies both ex ante and ex post from the standpoint of human rights and gender equality. Majority of the countries have focused their efforts solely on prompting up the banking and financial sectors, and construction business sectors. The tremendous debt which the states have accumulated for the rescue of banks and industries lead to further cuts in social expenses and reduction of public services. Decreasing state support to health care and social protection and declining family incomes made social services unaffordable for many families. Thus, the economic and financial crisis stirred up the care crisis that was absorbed by women’s intensifying unpaid work within a family and household to manage household survival strategy. On the other hand, increased burden of the care work weakened the position of women in the labour market and their opportunities to find a job. The study indicates that the artificial separation of the real economy and the sphere of social reproduction still persist. This has created additional burden of unpaid work of women within a family. The aim of this paper is to introduce the lessons learnt for future: (a) human rights may not be derogated in the times of crisis; (b) the obligation of states to mitigate negative impacts of economic policies to population, particularly to vulnerable groups, must be prioritized; (c) IFIs and business sector must be liable as duty bearers with respect to human rights commitments.

Keywords: CEE/SEE region, global financial and economic crisis, international financial institutions, human rights commitments, principle of non-derogability of human rights

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Authors: Shorena Sadzaglishvili, Teona Gotsiridze, Ketevan Lekishvili, Darejan Javakhishvili, Alida Bouris

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Globally, adolescents and young people experience high levels of HIV vulnerability and risk. Estimates suggest that AIDS-related deaths among young people are increasing, suggesting poor prioritization of adolescents in national plans for HIV testing and treatment services. HIV/AIDS is currently the sixth leading cause of death in people aged 10-24 years. Among young people, street connected youth are clearly distinguished as being among the most at risk for HIV infection. The present study recognizes the urgent need to scale up effective HIV responses that are tailored to the unique needs of street connected youth for the global HIV agenda and especially, the former Soviet country - Georgia, where 'street kids' are a new phenomenon and estimated to be about 2,500. During two months trained interviewers conducted individual semi-structured qualitative interviews with 22 key informants from the local governmental and nongovernmental service organizations, including psychologists, social workers, peer educators, mobile health workers, and managers. Informants discussed social network characteristics influencing street connected youth’s sexual risk behaviors. Data were analyzed using Dedoose. It was revealed that there are three types of homogeneous networks of street-connected youth aged 10-19 based on ethnical background: (1) Georgians; (2) migrant kids of Azeri-Kurdish origin, and (3) local Roma-Moldavian kids. These networks are distinguished with various HIV risk through both risky sexual and drug-related behaviors. In addition, there are several cases of HIV infection identified through reactive social services. Street connected youth do not have basic information about the HIV related sexual, alcohol and drug behaviors nor there are any systematic programs providing HIV testing and consultation for reducing the vulnerability of HIV infection. There is a need to systematically examine street-connected youth risk-taking behaviors by applying an integrated, multilevel framework to a population at great risk of HIV. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRNSFG) [#FR 17_31], Ilia State University.

Keywords: street connected youth, social networks, HIV/AIDS, HIV testing

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Authors: Ioanna Garefi, Irene Kalemaki

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Education is not solely about preparing young people for the world of work but also about equipping them with competences that will enable them to become socially proactive, empowered, responsible, and engaged citizens who will collectively contribute to and benefit from an inclusive and sustainable future. Hence, progress assessment towards competence development is an ongoing process where continuous efforts are needed. This paper abstract presents the work of the H2020 NEMESIS project that aims to investigate, experiment and co-create together with schools a model for introducing and embedding social innovation education (SIE henceforth) in European primary and secondary schools. All in all, during the 2018-2019 academic year, 8 schools from 5 European countries involving 56 teachers, 1030 students, and 80 external stakeholders, experimented with different methodologies for embedding SIE in their contexts. This paper captures briefly the impact of these efforts towards the cultivation and progression of students’ social innovation (SI henceforth) competences. As part of the model, 14 SI competences, whose progress was evaluated, have been introduced falling under 3 interrelated categories: competences for identifying opportunities for social and collective value creation, competences for developing collaborations and building meaningful relations and competences for taking action both on an individual and collective level. Methodologically wise, the evaluation strategy employed was informed by a realist approach, enabling the researchers to go beyond synthesizing 'what happened' and towards understanding 'why it happened', delving into ‘what works, for whom and in what circumstances’. The reason for choosing such an approach was because it goes beyond attempting to answer the basic yes or no question of evaluation and focus on an ‘explanatory quest’ tracing the limits of when and where intervention is effective. A rich mix of sources of evidence have been employed, from focus groups with 80 people from the 5 EU countries to an online survey to 206 students, classroom observations, students’ narratives granting them with the opportunity to freely express their opinions, short stories letting students express their feelings through their imagination and also, drawings so that younger children can express their perception of reality. All these evidences offered insights on the impact of SIE on the development of students’ competences. Research findings showed that students progressed in all 14 SI competences through their involvement in the different activities. This positive progression is attributed to the model’s three core principles: 1) the student-centered approach, rendering students active and self-determined producers of their own learning, 2) the co-creation process fostering intergenerational interactions, empowering thus students by making their voices heard and valued and also, 3) the transformative social action whereby through their projects, students are able to witness the impact they are bringing about with their actions. Concluding, these initial findings, together with the forthcoming evaluation research to a pool of 30 schools around Europe, have the potential to raise the dynamics of the under-investigated field of SIE and encourage its embeddedness in more schools around Europe.

Keywords: competence development, education, social innovation, students

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Authors: Szilvia Halmos

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Hungary was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereinafter: CRPD). Consequently, Hungary assumed an obligation under international law to review the national law in the light of the Article 12 of the CRPD requiring the States parties to guarantee the equality of persons with disabilities in terms of legal capacity, and to replace the regimes of substitute decision-making by the instruments of supported decision-making. This article is often characterized as one of the key norms of the CRPD, since the legal autonomy of the persons with disabilities is an essential precondition of their participation in the social life on an equal basis with others, envisaged by the social paradigm of disability. This paper examines the impact of the CRPD on the relevant Hungarian national legal norms, with special focus on the relevant rules of the recently codified Civil Code. The employed research methodologies include (1) the specification of the implementation requirements imposed by the Article 12 of the CRPD, (2) the determination of the indicators of the appropriate implementation, (3) the critical analysis of compliance of the relevant Hungarian legal regulation with the indicators, (4) with respect to the relevant case law of the Hungarian Constitutional Court and ordinary courts, the European Court of Human Rights and the Committee of Rights of Persons with Disabilities and (5) to the available empirical figures on the functioning of substitute and supported decision-making regimes. It will be established that the new Civil Code has made large steps toward the equality of persons with disabilities in terms of legal capacity and the support model of decision-making by the introduction of some specific instruments of supported decision-making and the restriction of the application of guardianship. Nevertheless, the regulation currently in effect fails to represent some crucial principles of the Article 12 of the CRPD, such as the non-discrimination of persons with psycho-social disabilities, the support of the articulation of the will and preferences of the individual instead of his/her best interest in the course of decision-making. The changes in the practice of the substitute and the support model brought about by the new legal norms can also be assessed as significant, however, so far unsatisfactory. The number of registered supporters is rather low, and the preconditions of the effective functioning of the support (e.g. the proper training of the supporters) are not ensured.

Keywords: Article 12 of the UN CRPD, Hungarian law on legal capacity, persons with intellectual and psycho-social disabilities, supported decision-making

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Authors: Francesco Colcerasa, Fabio Pisani

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We contribute to the subjective well-being literature testing the relationship between life satisfaction and inequality of opportunity in health, measured through the Human Opportunity Index calculated at the national level using individual socio-economic data from the cross-country European Social Survey sample. We compute several indexes of opportunity inequality in health, each obtained according to a different combination of circumstances (gender, immigrant status, parents’ education). We find a robust and significant relationship where life satisfaction is higher in correspondence with low levels of health opportunity inequality. The result is twofold. On the one hand, the importance of the well-being of other types of inequality than income inequality emerges. On the other hand, the socioeconomic roots of inequality in health are investigated, suggesting that circumstances at birth have a role in future well-being. Several rationales for the nexus between life satisfaction and inequality of opportunity in health are possible, which we investigate by splitting the sample. Among others, we find a prominent role of pro-social preferences – formalized as interest towards own offspring (which can be interpreted as intergenerational justice) – as a mediating factor of the relationship.

Keywords: Inequality of opportunity, subjective wellbeing, health, health inequality, inequality of opportunity in health

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Authors: Anat Peleg, Hadar Dancig-Rosenberg

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This interdisciplinary study, to our knowledge the first in this field, is located on the intersection of victimology-law and society-and media literature, and it corresponds both with feminist writing and with cyber literature which explores the techno-social sphere. It depicts the multifaceted dimensions of shaming in the eyes of the survivors through the following research questions: What are the motivations of sexual-assault survivors to publicize the assailants' identity or to refrain from this practice? Is shaming on Facebook perceived by sexual–assault victims as a substitute for the CJS or as a new form of social activism? What positive and negative consequences do survivors experience as a result of shaming their assailants online? The study draws on in-depth semi-structured interviews which we have conducted between 2016-2018 with 20 sexual-assaults survivors who exposed themselves on Facebook. They were sexually attacked in various forms: six participants reported that they had been raped when they were minors; eight women reported that they had been raped as adults; three reported that they had been victims of an indecent act and three reported that they had been harassed either in their workplace or in the public sphere. Most of our interviewees (12) reported to the police and were involved in criminal procedures. More than half of the survivors (11) disclosed the identity of their attackers online. The vocabularies of motives that have emerged from the thematic analysis of the interviews with the survivors consist of both social and personal motivations for using the practice of shaming online. Some survivors maintain that the use of shaming derives from the decline in the public trust in the criminal justice system. It reflects demand for accountability and justice and serves also as a practice of warning other potential victims of the assailants. Other survivors assert that shaming people in a position of privilege is meant to fulfill the public right to know who these privileged men really are. However, these aforementioned moral and practical justifications of the practice of shaming are often mitigated by fear from the attackers' physical or legal actions in response to their allegations. Some interviewees who are feminist activists argue that the practice of shaming perpetuates the social ancient tendency to define women by labels linking them to the men who attacked them, instead of being defined by their own life complexities. The variety of motivations to adopt or resent the practice of shaming by sexual assault victims presented in our study appear to refute the prevailing intuitive stereotype that shaming is an irrational act of revenge, and denote its rationality. The role of social media as an arena for seeking informal justice raises questions about the new power relations created between victims, assailants, the community and the State, outside the formal criminal justice system. At the same time, the survivors' narratives also uncover the risks and pitfalls embedded within the online sphere for sexual assault survivors.

Keywords: criminal justice, gender, Facebook, sexual-assaults

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Authors: Zineb Emrane

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This abstract addresses the issue of radicalization of young people in a context with background of radicalization, in North of Morocco, 5 terrorist of Madrid's Attacts on 11th March, were coming from this context. It were developed a study pilot that describing young people perception about the main causes that lead and motivate for radicalization. Whenever we talk about this topic, we obtain information from studies and investigations by specialists in field, but we don’t give voice to the protagonists who in many cases are victims, specifically, young people at social risk because of social factors. Extremist radicalization is an expanding phenomenon, that affect young people, in north of Morocco. They live in a context with radical background and at risk of social exclusion, their social, economic and familiar needs make them vulnerable. The extremist groups take advantage of this vulnerability to involve them in a process of radicalization, offering them an alternative environment where they can found all they are looking for. This study pilot approaches the main causes that lead and motivates young people to become radicals, analyzing their context with emphasis on influencing factors, and bearing in mind the analysis of young people about how the radical background affect them and their opinion this phenomenon. The pilot study was carried out through the following actions: - Group dynamics with young people to analyze the process of violent radicalization of young people. -A participatory workshop with members of organizations that work directly with young people at risk of radicalization. -Interviews with institutional managers -Participant observation. The implementation of actions has led to the conclusion that young people define violent radicalization as a sequential process, depending on the stage, it can be deconstructed. Young people recognize that they stop feeling belonging to their family, school and neighborhood when they see behavior contrary to what they consider good and evil. The emotional rupture and the search for references outside their circle, push them to sympathize with groups that have an extremist ideology and that offer them what they need. The radicalization is a process with different stages, the main causes and the factors which lead young people to use extremist violence are related their low level of belonging feeling to their context, and lack of critical thinking about important issues. The young people are in a vulnerable stage, searching their identity, a space in which they can be accepted, and when they don't find it they are easily manipulated and susceptible to being attracted by extremist groups.

Keywords: exclusion, radicalization, vulnerability, youth

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Authors: Armend Kelmendi, Adnan Ahmeti

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The purpose of our study was to assess the impact of soccer in the overall wealth fare (education, health, and economic prosperity) of youth in Kosovo (age: 7-18). The research conducted measured a number of parameters (training methodologies, conditions, community leadership impact) in a sample consisting of 6 different football clubs’ academies across the country. Fifty (50) male and female football youngsters volunteered in this study. To generate more reliable results, the analysis was conducted with the help of a set of effective project management tools and techniques (Gantt chart, Logic Network, PERT chart, Work Breakdown Structure, and Budgeting Analysis). The interviewees were interviewed under a specific lens of categories (impact in education, health, and economic prosperity). A set of questions were asked i.e. what has football provided to you and the community you live in?; Did football increase your confidence and shaped your life for better?; What was the main reason you started training in football? The results generated explain how a single sport, namely that of football in Kosovo can make a huge social change, improving key social factors in a society. There was a considerable difference between the youth clubs as far as training conditions are concerned. The study found out that despite financial constraints, two out of six clubs managed to produce twice as more talented players that were introduced to professional primary league teams in Kosovo and Albania, including other soccer teams in the region, Europe, and Asia. The study indicates that better sports policy must be formulated and associated with important financial investments in soccer for it to be considered fruitful and beneficial for players of 18 plus years of age, namely professionals.

Keywords: youth, prosperity, conditions, investments, growth, free movement

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Authors: Semra Çörekçi̇

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In this study, a new source on Ottoman Self-narratives, Kulakzâde Mahmud Paşa’s Düşname (Dreambook), will be introduced to illustrate how dreams can provide a ground for historical analysis. The manuscript looks like a private notebook of an Ottoman official, Mahmud Pasha, who lived and operated in Rumelia in the early eighteenth century. It provides insight into the ordinary and daily concerns of a bureaucrat who had the knowledge and tools to record them in writing. On the one side of the notebook, Mahmud Pasha recorded his travels and appointments in 1730-1731. He wrote places that he reached and stayed every day. On the reverse side, the same author kept a record of his dreams and named that part of his notebook, Düşname. He recorded his dreams on a daily basis in writing and therefore they were well-preserved in a dream diary. This study aims at drawing the social, cultural and psychic life of an early modern Ottoman bureaucrat. It will uncover the ways and means whereby he interpreted his environment, as well as how he made meaning of his dreams considering the social milieu and historical context within which he lived. The first part will focus on 'official dreams' uncovering how his official life and ambitions coincide with his spiritual life. Related to this, connection between anxiety and dream narratives will be evaluated as dreams in which the mundane concerns of securing a post occupied the most central place in the construction of his narrative. A further point will be made by questioning Mahmud Pasha’s possible Sufi connections and his familiarity with the tradition of dream interpretation. Also, considering Mahmud Pasha’s inclusion of other’s dreams in his Düşnâme, the issue of dream-telling will be questioned in order to reveal how dreams were interconnected and how they created a space for social gathering.

Keywords: Ottoman self-narratives, dreams, diary, Ottoman cultural history

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Authors: Foluke Abimbola

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There are two separate groups of a recognised body of human rights. These are known as Civil and Political Rights, and Economic and Social Rights. There is however an impression that civil and political rights are enforceable in courts while socio-economic rights are not. Nigeria is an example of one of such countries whose constitution has social, economic and cultural rights’ provisions as well as civil and political rights. However, the socio-economic rights provided in the Nigerian constitution are not justiciable or are unenforceable in a court of law. On the other hand, a comparative examination of the socio-economic right provisions in the South African constitution and judgments of the constitutional court of South Africa reveals that socio-economic rights may be enforceable. This position may ensure the protection of the socio-economic rights of the poor and vulnerable groups. These rights include the rights to food, adequate shelter, health, and education. Moreover, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) which incorporates similar socio-economic right provisions, has been recognized as a domestic law in Nigeria and its provisions are enforceable by the domestic courts by virtue of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap A9 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. It is not only a regional treaty signed and adopted by Nigeria but has been passed into law by the National Assembly and can be enforced like any other local law. This paper will propose that in view of the provisions of the African Charter and mechanisms for implementation as well as other international conventions and national constitutional provisions on human rights, domestic courts may be able to assess state responsibilities in the light of socio-economic rights. Cases decided by South African courts and other jurisdictions will be discussed in order to lend weight to the notion that socio-economic rights can be enforced in jurisdictions such as Nigeria even though the constitution provides otherwise.

Keywords: african charter, constitutional court of south africa, nigerian constitution, socio-economic rights, south african constitution

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Authors: Tekalign Gidi Kure

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This paper addresses a range of serious problems involving higher education in Ethiopia. In spite of increased enrollment in higher education, educational quality is deteriorating afterwards. Thus, this paper tried to assess the role of social infrastructure in education for economic development of the country and examined major critical problems in higher education of Ethiopia such as higher education finance, curriculum development, and instructor’s career development. Primarily the paper discusses the fundamental contributions of social infrastructure in higher education to economic development; namely development of human capital, improved health, life expectancy, increased productivity, and personal saving, then, the paper examines critically higher education in three regimes of Ethiopia (Emperor Regime, Derg Regime and EPDRF/current government). Thus, four main questions were raised during this research: "What are the antecedents of Ethiopia Higher Education System under three regimes?", " what are the current and emerging higher educational needs in Ethiopia economic development?", " what are the role of private sector in addressing the gaps in the higher education of the country and its adverse effect on quality issues? ", and "what improvements are needed in higher education system of Ethiopia?". Documents from Ministry of Education in Ethiopia, National Statistical Abstracts, and Reports from the World Bank and other recognized institutions were used in addition to recent empirical researches conducted in the country. In doing so, care had been taken to reduce prejudiced reports by involving different reports from multiple sources. The paper concludes that during emperor system higher education enrollment was among the very lowest in the world, therefore, the skilled human resource available to guide development were little, but the cost was very high. During the Derg regime where an ideological change in the system penetrated into higher education resulted with the lack of a large amount of resources to support higher education; the war inside and outside the country diverts resources from the sector. The main purpose of this paper is not only to discuss the problems and issues of higher education in the past, but it also investigates the influence that the current expansion of higher education has on the finance, staff, and other resources for the quality of education. The paper concludes that higher education in Ethiopia are financed by government, outdated curriculum and lagging behind the standard regarding qualified staff. Finally, it provided inevitable solutions if the country wants to gain well record in quality of education as well.

Keywords: social infrastructure, higher education, ethiopia, education quality

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Authors: T. Sakai, A. Aikawa

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This study defined 'gratitude skills training' as a social skills training which would become a new intervention method about gratitude intervention. The purpose of this study was to confirm the intervention effect of gratitude skills training on the reduction of loneliness. The participants in this study were university students (n = 36). A waiting list control design was used, in which the participants were assigned either to a training group (n = 18) or a waiting list control group (n = 18); the latter group took the same training after the first group had been trained. The two-week gratitude skills training comprised of three sessions (50 minutes per each of sessions). In the three sessions, the guidebook and the homework developed in this study were used. Results showed that gratitude skills training improved the participants’ gratitude skills. The results also indicated the intervention effect of gratitude skills training on the reduction of loneliness during the follow-up after three weeks. This study suggests that gratitude skills training can reduce loneliness. The gratitude skills training has a possibility of becoming a new treatment to reduce loneliness.

Keywords: gratitude skills, loneliness, social skills training, well-being

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Authors: Mohammad Saraj Sharifzai, Keisuke Kitagawa, Mohammad Kamil Halimee, Javid Habib, Daishi Sakaguchi

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The overall goal of this paper is to examine the suitability and potential of the policies addressing the sustainability and affordability of housing for returnees, and to determine the impact of this policy on housing delivery for Afghan refugees. Housing is a central component of the settlement experience of refugees. A positive housing situation can facilitate many aspects of integration. Unaffordable, and unsafe housing, however, can cause disruptions in the entire settlement process. This paper aims to identify a suite of built forms for housing that is both affordable and environmentally sustainable for Afghan refugees. The result was the development of a framework that enables the assessment of the overall performance of various types of housing development in all zones of the country. There is very little evidence that the present approach of housing provision to the vagaries of market forces has provided affordable housing, especially for Afghan refugees. There is a need to incorporate social housing into the policy to assist people who cannot afford to have their own houses.

Keywords: Afghan refugees, housing policy, affordability, social housing, housing provision, environmental sustainability principles, resettlement

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Authors: Irfan Ahmad Afip

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This main research objective is to accurately identify the possibility for a Leptospirosis outbreak severity of a certain area based on its input features into a multivariate regression model. The research question is the possibility of an outbreak in a specific area being influenced by this feature, such as social demographics and hydrometeorological extremes. If the occurrence of an outbreak is being subjected to these features, then the epidemic severity for an area will be different depending on its environmental setting because the features will influence the possibility and severity of an outbreak. Specifically, this research objective was three-fold, namely: (a) to identify the relevant multivariate features and visualize the patterns data, (b) to develop a multivariate regression model based from the selected features and determine the possibility for Leptospirosis outbreak in an area, and (c) to compare the predictive ability of multivariate regression model and machine learning algorithms. Several secondary data features were collected locations in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, based on the possibility it would be relevant to determine the outbreak severity in the area. The relevant features then will become an input in a multivariate regression model; a linear regression model is a simple and quick solution for creating prognostic capabilities. A multivariate regression model has proven more precise prognostic capabilities than univariate models. The expected outcome from this research is to establish a correlation between the features of social demographic and hydrometeorological with Leptospirosis bacteria; it will also become a contributor for understanding the underlying relationship between the pathogen and the ecosystem. The relationship established can be beneficial for the health department or urban planner to inspect and prepare for future outcomes in event detection and system health monitoring.

Keywords: geographical information system, hydrometeorological, leptospirosis, multivariate regression

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Authors: Rameesha Javaid

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Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of the province of Balochistan which is known as the ‘fruit basket’ of Pakistan. Its climate zones comprising highlands and plateaus, dependent on rain water, are more suited for the production of deciduous fruit. The vagaries of weather and more so the persistent droughts prompted the government to announce flat rates of electricity bills per month irrespective of the size of the farm, quantum or water used and the category of crop group. That has, no doubt, resulted in increased cropping intensity, more production and employment but has enormously burdened the official exchequer which picks up the residual bills in certain percentages amongst the federal and provincial governments and the local electricity company. This study tests the desirability of continuing the subsidy in the present mode. Optimization of social welfare of farmers has been the focus of the study with emphasis on the contribution of positive externalities and distortions caused in terms of negative externalities. By using the optimization technique with due allowance for distortions, it has been established that the subsidy calls for limiting policy distortions as they cause sub-optimal utilization of the tube well subsidy and improved policy programming. The sensitivity analysis with changed rankings of contributing variables towards social welfare does not significantly change the result. Therefore it leads to the net findings and policy recommendations of significantly reducing the subsidy size, correcting and curtailing policy distortions and targeting the subsidy grant more towards small farmers to generate more welfare by saving a sizeable amount from the subsidy for investment in the wellbeing of the farmers in rural Balochistan.

Keywords: distortion, policy distortion, socio-cultural distortion, social welfare, subsidy

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Authors: Ramesh K. Adsul, V. R. Shinde, S. S. Jadhav

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The main aim of the present study was to explore the effect of various levels of parental acceptance – avoidance attitude on various areas of adjustment of urban and rural junior college students. It was hypothesized that 1. There exists no significant effect of various levels of parental acceptance attitude on adjustment of urban and rural junior college students. 2. There exists no significant effect of various levels of parental avoidance attitude on adjustment of urban and rural junior college students. 3. There would be no significant difference between urban and rural Junior College students on various areas of (home, health, social, and emotional) adjustment. The 847 students (427 boys and 420 girls) studying in 11th class of various Junior colleges in Sangli ,Satara and Kolhapur districts of Maharashtra State, India were selected by random sampling method. Study was conducted by using two psychological tests namely 1. Family Relationship Inventory. 2.Bell’s Adjustment Inventory. One way ANOVA was employed to find out the effect of parental acceptance – avoidance attitude and adjustment in various areas of urban and rural junior college students. ‘t’ test was used to find out the difference between urban and rural students on various areas of adjustment. The results of the study indicate that (1) It is observed that three groups of parental acceptance attitude (PA) are significantly varied on home and social adjustment. It means that PA affects home and social adjustment of adolescents. High PA creates excellent adjustment and low PA creates poor adjustment in adolescents. (2) Study revealed that PV significantly affects adjustment of adolescents. High PV significantly creates poor adjustment in adolescents than average and low PV. (3) There is significant difference between urban and rural adolescents on adjustment. Urban adolescents have better adjustment than rural adolescents.

Keywords: parental acceptance, avoidance attitude, adjustment, urban-rural student

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Authors: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi

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We here describe the theoretical and philosophical understanding of a long term use and development of algorithmic computer-based tools applied to music composition. The findings of our research lead us to interrogate some specific processes and systems of communication engaged in the discovery of specific cultural artworks: artistic creation in the sono-musical domain. Our hypothesis is that the patterns of auditory learning cannot be only understood in terms of social transmission but would gain to be questioned in the way they rely on various ranges of acoustic stimuli modes of consciousness and how the different types of memories engaged in the percept-action expressive systems of our cultural communities also relies on these shadowy conscious entities we named “Reduced Descriptive Structures”.

Keywords: algorithmic sonic computation, corrected and self-correcting learning patterns in acoustic perception, morphological derivations in sensorial patterns, social unconscious modes of communication

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Authors: Adebisi A. Sunday, Babajide Adeokin

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The persistent rise in farm theft in rural region of Nigeria is attributed to the lack of adequate and effective policing in the regions; thus, this brought about the inevitable introduction of native charms on farmlands as a means of fortification of harvests against theft in Ayetoro community. The use of charm by farmers as security on farmlands is a traditional crime control mechanism that is largely based on unwritten laws which greatly influenced the lives of people, and their attitudes toward the society. This research presents a qualitative sociological study on how native charms are deployed by farmers for protection against theft. The study investigated the various types of charms that are employed as security measures among farmers in Ayetoro community and the rationale behind the use of these mechanisms as farm security. The study utilized qualitative method to gather data in the research process. Under the qualitative method, in-depth interview method was adopted to generate a robust and detailed data from the respondents. Also the data generated were analysed qualitatively using thematic content analysis and simple description which was preceded by transcription of data from the recorder. It was revealed that amidst numerous charms known, two major charms are used on farmlands as a measure of social control in Ayetoro community, Ogun state South West Nigeria. Furthermore, the result of this study showed that, the desire for safekeeping of harvest from pilferers and the heavy punishments dispense on offenders by native charms are the reasons why farmers deploy charms on their farms. In addition, findings revealed that the adoption of these charms for protection has improved yields among farmers in the community because the safety of harvest has been made possible by virtue of the presence of various charms in the farm lands. Therefore, based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that such measures should be recognized in mainstream social control mechanisms in the fight against crime in Nigeria and the rest of the world. Lastly, native charms could be installed in all social and cooperate organisation and position of authority to prevent theft of valuables and things hold with utmost importance.

Keywords: Ayetoro, farm theft, mechanism, native charms, Pilferer

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Authors: Okechukwu B. C. Nwankwo

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The surge of social protests sweeping through the globe is a contemporary phenomenon. Yet the phenomenon in itself is not new. Thus, various scholars have over the years developed conceptual frameworks for evaluating it. Adopting and adapting some of these frameworks this paper begins from a purely theoretical perspective exploring the concept and content of social protest within the specific context of Nigeria. It proceeds to build a typology of the phenomenon in terms of form, actors, origin, character, organisation, goal, dynamics, outcome and a whole lot of other variables that are context relevant for evaluating it in an operationally useful manner. The centrality of the context in which protest evolves is demonstrated. Adopting Easton’s systems theory, the paper builds on the assumption that protests emerge whenever and wherever political institutions and structures prove unable or unwilling to transform inputs in form of basic demands into outputs in form of responsive policies. It argues that protests in Nigeria are simply the crystallisation of opposition in the streets. Protests are thus extra-institutional politics. This is usually the case, as elsewhere, where there is no functional institutionalised opposition. Noting that protest, disruptive or otherwise, is an influence strategy, it argues that every single protest is a new opportunity for reform, for reorganisation of state capacities, for modifying rights and obligation of citizens and government to each other. Each reform outcome is, however, only a temporal antecedent. Its extensity gives signal for the next similar protest event. Through providing evidence on how protests in Nigeria create opportunity for reform, for more accountable, more effective governance, the paper shows the positive impact of protests and its importance even in the consolidation effort for the nation’s nascent democracy. Data on protest events will be based on media reports, especially print media.

Keywords: democracy, dialectics, social protest, reform

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Authors: Sakshi Dhruve, Ar. Sarang Barbarwar

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Public spaces are the locus of activity and interaction in any urban area. Such spaces provide identity to cities, towns or neighborhoods and define the people and culture over there. Inclusiveness is one of the core aspects of public or community spaces. With its humongous population and rapidly expanding urban areas, India needs more inclusivity in public spaces to attain true equitable development. The aim of the paper is to discuss the sensitivity of public spaces in India to the transgender community. The study shows how this community was legally included as ‘Third Gender’ in country’s legislation yet lacks social acceptance and security. It shows the challenges and issues faced by them at public spaces. The community was studied on ethnographic basis to understand their culture, lifestyle, requirements, etc. The findings have indicated towards a social stigma from people and insensitivity in designing of civic spaces. The larger objective of the study is also to provide recommendations on the design aspects and interventions in public places to increase their inclusiveness towards the transgender society.

Keywords: community spaces, ethnographic, stigma, Third Gender community

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Authors: Malak Alqaydhi

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A problem in the Saudi Arabia education system is that there is a lack of curriculum- based Social, emotional learning (SEL) teaching practices with the pedagogical concept of SEL yet to be practiced in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Furthermore, voices of teachers and parents have not been captured regarding the use of SEL, particularly in preschools. The importance of this research is to help determine, with the input of teachers and mothers of preschoolers, the efficacy of a culturally adapted SEL program. The purpose of this research is to determine the most appropriate SEL intervention method to appropriately apply in the cultural context of the Saudi preschool classroom setting. The study will use a mixed method exploratory sequential research design, applying qualitative and quantitative approaches including semi-structured interviews with teachers and parents of preschoolers and an experimental research approach. The research will proceed in four phases beginning with a series of interviews with Saudi preschool teachers and mothers, whose voices and perceptions will help guide the second phase of selection and adaptation of a suitable SEL preschool program. The third phase will be the implementation of the intervention by the researcher in the preschool classroom environment, which will be facilitated by the researcher’s cultural proficiency and practical experience in Saudi Arabia. The fourth and final phase will be an evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the trialled SEL among the preschool student participants. The significance of this research stems from its contribution to knowledge about SEL in culturally appropriate Saudi preschools and the opportunity to support initiatives for Saudi early childhood educators to consider implementing SEL programs. The findings from the study may be useful to inform the Saudi Ministry of Education and its curriculum designers about SEL programs, which could be beneficial to trial more widely in the Saudi preschool curriculum.

Keywords: social emotional learning, preschool children, saudi Arabia, child behavior

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Authors: Alireza Rahpeyma

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One of the most significant challenges faced by cities is inefficient and deteriorated urban fabric. Deteriorated areas bring about numerous issues, including economic, social, physical, and infrastructural problems, sewage management, environmental concerns, and security issues. One of the crucial necessities of modern urban life is the revitalization and renovation of these urban fabrics. Another important aspect is preserving a cohesive cultural and social identity during the urban renewal process. Urban renovation and upgrading are not a one-time occurrence but rather an ongoing process that ultimately needs to become ingrained in the system. This process is not swift; it involves sensitive and intricate stages that require well-designed plans within short, medium, and long-term timeframes. To revitalize dilapidated areas, a comprehensive understanding of the urban region's sustainability is essential. The goal of this study is to provide a suitable model for the upgrading and renewal of areas 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10 in Tehran, preserving the heritage within these urban fabrics (urban assets), including the valuable morphologies of these areas, to prevent financial wastage. This study was conducted descriptively and analytically using the SWOT technique and GIS software. The research results regarding urban upgrading and renewal bring about the following points: 1) Urban upgrading and renewal ensure satisfactory efficiency, justice, environmental quality, safety and security, hygiene, sewage management, and the comfort and aesthetics of urban spaces. 2) Employing the above processes in old city centers re-establishes the historical and cultural connection between people and their past, a past that is evolving and improving and will not repeat itself. 3) Despite the expansion and growth of Iranian cities, cultural and national identity can be preserved by adhering to healthy urban revitalization principles. 4) Proper urban upgrading and renewal prevent social fragmentation, deviant behavioral patterns, psychological and occupational disorders, and financial losses. In general, preserving the identity and urban life in renovation and upgrading must be comprehensive, encompassing various dimensions, including physical, social, economic, political, and administrative aspects.

Keywords: dilapidated areas, renovation, sustainable reconstruction, Tehran-Iran

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Authors: Guangzhuang Yu, Chun-Chu Liu

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With the advent of the Internet era in recent years, social music education has gradually shifted from the original entity education mode to the mode of entity plus network teaching. No matter for school music education, professional music education or social music education, the teaching quality is the most important evaluation index. Regarding the research on teaching quality evaluation, scholars at home and abroad have contributed a lot of research results on the basis of multiple methods and evaluation subjects. However, to our best knowledge the complete evaluation model for the virtual teaching interaction mode of the emerging network music education Application (APP) has not been established. This research firstly found out the basic dimensions that accord with the teaching quality required by the three parties, constructing the quality evaluation index system; and then, on the basis of expounding the connotation of each index, it determined the weight of each index by using method of fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, providing ideas and methods for scientific, objective and comprehensive evaluation of the teaching quality of network education APP.

Keywords: network music education APP, teaching quality evaluation, index and connotation

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Authors: Takwa Belwakess

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With the wave of the digitization that invades the modern world, communication tools took their place in the world of business. As for organizations, being part of the digital era necessarily involves an evolution of the management style, mainly in processes management, knowing also as quality management system (QMS). For more than 50 years quality management standards have been adopted by organizations to prove their operational and financial performances. We believe that achieving a high-level of communication can lead to better quality management and greater customer satisfaction, which is essential to make sure long-term competitiveness. In this paper, a questionnaire survey was developed to investigate the use of collaboration tools such as Content Management System and Social Networks. Data from more than 100 companies based in France was analyzed, the results show that adopting new digital communication tools while applying quality management practices over a reasonable period, contributed to delivering a better implementation of the QMS for a better business performance.

Keywords: communication tools, content management system, digital, effectiveness, French companies, quality management system, quality management practices, social networks

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Authors: Kever Gomes, Rosana Martins

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The use of environmental indicators is today an important strategy for analyzing the sustainability of agricultural systems. Despite of the considerable importance of family agriculture for Brazilian economy, sustainable agricultural practices are still weakly known, and the known ones, underused. Currently, economic aspects of the relationship between man and nature lead to the destruction of natural ecosystems, which justifies the urgent need for dissemination and usage of new sustainable production techniques. The study shows the agro-social and social-cultural trajectory of the farmers and hypothesis are advanced on what would imply the adoption of agroforestry systems in family agriculture. This study aimed to investigate aspects related to the perception of sustainable agriculture, especially on agroforestry systems in farms of farmers from Distrito Federal-Brazil. Agro-social characteristics of farmers were systematized considering their perceptions about agroforestry systems for the preparation of proposal for a program of Environmental Services Payment, intended for families who are involved in the various activities of home gardens. This study used qualitative methodological approaches of quantitative research, using descriptive exploratory research. To get the necessary elements for the intended analysis, interviews were conducted at 40 heads of households of which 15 were men and 25 women. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, having been considered in the analysis the frequency, consistency, coherence and originality of responses. It was found that the lack of financial resources and lack of technical assistance are limiting factors for the dissemination and use of sustainable agricultural practices. Considering the great number of species found for the main categories of use, it can be inferred that the home gardens play important functions for the interviewed families, contributing for the food and medicine production destined for the consumption by the families themselves, and also playing an important esthetic function thanks to the variety of their ornamental plants. The wealth of these home gardens may be related to the rural origin and to the culture of the owners, who still keep a cultivation tradition. It was found that the products obtained from the home gardens contributed for the diet’s variety of the informants, representing a promising potential for the improvement of the population alimentation. The study reached the conclusion over the need to motivate the interest of these farmers to seek information and resources to enable the implementation of Agroforestry projects, including the recovery of areas in their properties, even those distinct from their backyards. The study shows the agro-social and social-cultural trajectory of the farmers and hypothesis are advanced on what would imply the adoption of agroforestry systems in family agriculture.

Keywords: agro-biodiversity, natural conservation, silviculture, urban agriculture

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Authors: Karla Hrbackova, Anna Petr Safrankova, Jakub Hladik

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Machiavellianism as social phenomenon reveals certain methods of communication that man puts in contact with other people in both personal and working life (and work with clients). Especially at the helping-profession students is honesty, openness or low motivation for personal benefit important part of the profession. The aim of a study is to expose intercultural differences influence of Machiavellianism between Czech and Slovak university students and to determine whether these differences manifest themselves differently among students focusing on management and social profession (by helping degrees). The research involved 1120 university students from the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The measurement of Machiavellianism used a test Mach IV. The test contained 20 statements divided into four central dimensions of Machiavellianism: flattery, deception and falsehood, immorality and cynicism. We found out, that Czech and Slovak's student expressed a similar attitude toward Machiavellianism as a means of manipulation in the interpersonal relationship, but this is not true in all dimensions. Czech and Slovak's students perceive differently flattery, deception and falsehood and cynicism too. In addition to specific features of cultural conditionality, we found out differences depending on the helping profession. Students focusing on managerial occupation (lower level of helping) tend towards greater acceptance of the use flattery as a means of communication than students specializing in the social profession (high-grade assisting). If they are an intercultural and interdisciplinary influences combined and effect on the perception of Machiavellianism together, then their significant importance for the perception of flattery and cynicism. The result will help us to reveal certain specific traits that students apply communication and with whom we can continue to work during their training.

Keywords: use of manipulative strategies, Machiavellianism, helping-profession students, professional training of students

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