Agents Of Social Change Research Articles

Material Anomaly as Ecocide in Ginsberg’s “Ballade of Poisons” and Dickinson’s “Agents Orange, Yellow, and Red”: Epiphany in Ecological Precarity

Ecocide has been a classic anthropogenic phenomenon from time to time, It dated from the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century to the present post-industrial era of digital technology. This anthropogenic activity correlates with an overconsumption of material things such as fossil fuels and other earth minerals. Despite the merit, these subterranean minerals in fact contain toxic particles that have detrimental impacts on any life form and the physical environment. This study discusses Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Ballade of Poisons” and Adam Dickinson’s “Agents Orange, Yellow, and Red” as two poetic texts from different periods, the modern and contemporary ones. The purpose of the study is to highlight how these two poems polemicize the anthropogenic overuse of material and chemical products as ecocide that wreaks havoc on any life form. The study uses close reading method by examining ecological aspects in the poems and then contextualize these aspects within ecopoetic perspectives by referring to some notions such as material transcorporeality and its intrusion on human’s body. Poetry as one literary genre becomes an agent of social change and an ecological epiphany in this present posthuman precarity. Ginsberg’s “Ballade of Poisons” and Dickinson’s “Agents Orange, Yellow, and Red” then serve as an agent to actualize epiphany in this present ecological precarity. Their epiphanic poetics evokes one’s instantaneous awareness of the hazards of material overuse and of the insubstantial natures of these things through the human’s material objectification.

Sense and Spreadability: Considering How Data and Visibility Could Support more Engagement-led Socio-Spatially Inclusive Pride Events in Peripheral Neighbourhoods of Amsterdam

As a strategy to better manage the social-exclusionary impacts of overtourism, urban decision-makers in Amsterdam are looking at the physical spreading of events to better manage crowds, mobility and anti-social behaviour. Perceptions of safety, security and exclusion can vary significantly across the city and communities, threatening its status as a leading gay destination in Europe. These may impact proposals being made to Amsterdam Pride Week that look to spread visitors as much as possible over the city and its surroundings. By venturing beyond the ‘safe’ inner city, can the event still act as an agent for social change, or will its presence displace unwelcome conflicts in periurban neighbourhoods?© The Authors 2023

Transformative resilience: Transformation, resilience and capacity of coastal communities in facing disasters in two Indonesian villages

This study aims to identify the transformation process of coastal village communities in building resilience to disasters. We develop our theoretical framework based on the concepts of socio-ecological resilience, transformative resilience, panarchy systems and resilience capacities. Using the qualitative research methods, we examine two cases of coastal villages in Indonesia that represent differing levels of socio-economic vulnerability and community responses to disasters. The findings of this study highlight that the building of transformative resilience is affected by the transformation phases, the heterogeneity and interdependence of capacities, and the intensity of resources used as capacity. The building process of transformative resilience cannot happen instantly but requires an ideal timeframe for transitional phase navigation in which communities form valley and peak waves to create a perfect phase in each regime. This condition triggers the achievement of high resilience conditions in the face of disasters. Although endogenous capacities, in the form of local social networks and agents of change, have become the key aspects of resilience, openness to external conditions and collaborations are also essential in nurturing transformation. Our findings suggest an important implication for policy, in that a long-term transformation process should be taken into account in policymaking. Further, in enhancing the resilience of coastal communities it is important to build their innovative capacities, among other things, by nurturing their networks through various opportunities and exposures to external parties which enable collaborations and exchanges of knowledge.

Does Competition Intensity of SMEs Moderate the Environmental Turbulence-Organizational Agility Relationship?

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) among the essential economic cornerstones of our age, where many factors are constantly changing. Social paradigm shifts are both diverse and complex. In fact, the increasing number of SMEs as a result of this complexity also constitutes the reason for this complex structure. So much so that while entrepreneurs are the agents of social change, the driving force of economic change is SMEs. There are always opportunities and threats for businesses arise directly from the business and competitive environment hence analysing data from 1256 SME’s the study shows that competition intensity moderates the environmental turbulence-organizational agility relationship.

Effectiveness of Online Adverts on the Purchasing Behavior and Cultural Change among University Students

This research article is an analysis of the Effectiveness of Online Adverts on Purchasing Behaviour and cultural change among Students at the University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. The main research hypothesis is, “It is perceived as online adverts help in promoting purchasing behavior among Students of the University of Central Punjab, Lahore.” This study is conducted on a quantitative survey research design, for this purpose representative sample size of 160 undergraduate and graduate students are drawn using a stratified sampling technique. To document and analyze the research objectives of purchasing behavior of students and the role of online adverts in promoting new trends and glamour which resultantly become agents of social change, distinct statistical tests i.e. ANOVA and one sample t-test are used. The findings of the study reveal that there is a significant relationship between online adverts and purchasing behavior of students moreover online adverts also promote new trends and glamour which helps in bringing and maintaining social change.

In Front of God, Next to the Neighbours

Abstract This article presents how emotions contribute to the construction of self-images by shaping perceptions of particular problems that arise during cultural encounters, as described in Turkish instruction textbooks in Germany. I argue that textbooks serve as key information and emotion entrepreneurs, generating emotional resources to shape particular understandings of problems while constructing self-image(s) in transgenerational and transcultural contexts during these encounters between heritage- and mainstream-cultures. A critical discourse analysis of narratives depicting how they were considered as a challenge to the socio-cultural belonging of the actors of heritage culture would highlight textbooks’ representative role as agents of social change through the adoption of specific discursive components and strategies. In addition to research on emotions and textbooks, the analysis would contribute to the study of religion by demonstrating how debates referring to religious reasoning can be approached as social issues perceived and conceptualized through an emotional framework attached to socio-cultural belonging.

Pendekatan Dakwah Dalam Membangun Mental Masyarakat Kota Surakarta

Substantially, religious proselytizing can be divided into two agents. They are agent of social service and agent of social change. As the agent of social service, religious proselytizing tries to fix the system of human live in Islamic through the process of amar ma’ruf and nahi munkar. Religious proselytizing as the agent of social change is changing situation and condition of moslems from underdevelopment, ignorance, destitution, atheism, tyranny, godlessness, and many more which is to be fixed or diverted toward the progress of wisdom, prosperity, faith, orderliness, and many more. Surakarta City is one of city where has glory and golden history of Islam before the freedom of RI and beginning of freedom. The desire of the future of Surakarta City is to go back at Solo City like the past time, so that the glory of Islam must be built with revitalization the role of religious proselytizing in building Surakarta City. The condition of Surakarta City is very diverse. It needs creativity of delivering the massage of religious proselytizing, so that it can create the value of Islam theory in the society. Some of method and phenomenological in building Surakarta City, namely : Integrative Functional, Dialogue, Cultural Approach, Physiology Approach, Political Approach, Cooperation between the Institutions, and Building Public Opinion.

The role of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in cultivating the next generation of social justice and public service-oriented moral leaders during the racial reckoning and COVID-19 pandemics.

In the United States, college has often served as an incubator for social change agents in the form of student activism and participation in broader social movements. Historically Black colleges and university (HBCUs) have played a pivotal role in social justice movements since their inception with the most notable example being the central role of HBCUs in the Civil Rights Movement. The role of HBCUs in cultivating exemplary leaders provides invaluable examples and frameworks for tackling the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and the latest racial reckoning. The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study of how an all-male HBCU contributes to the development of moral leadership and how that tradition has evolved with the current dual pandemics. We provide a historical overview of Morehouse's leadership models and provide a case study from students currently enrolled at Morehouse College, the only all-male, historically Black college in the United States. Student participants described how leadership has evolved from previous generations, the impact of social media, and what it means to be a moral leader and how the HBCU tradition, shapes leadership.

Including diversity through cinema-based affective literacy practices: A case study with EFL/ESL pre-service teachers

ABSTRACT This article shares an innovative pedagogical experience that approaches diversity through cinema-based affective literacy practices in the EFL/ESL classroom. Following a social justice approach to education, we designed and implemented a workshop to develop affective literacy practices targeted at 49 pre-service teachers from the Master’s programme in EFL/ESL Teacher Training at the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain). Then, we analysed the experience’s results through semi-structured interviews with 20 teachers who volunteered to participate in the study. Our ultimate intention was to raise pre-service teachers’ awareness of teachers’ important responsibility as agents of positive social change (Katsiaficas 2020). The conclusions point to the success of the experience and unveil implications for future lines of work.

Posttraumatic growth: Experiences of Mongolian and Hungarian survivors of intimate partner violence

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to compare posttraumatic growth (PTG) of Mongolian and Hungarian survivors of intimate partner violence. MethodsThe study employed semi-structured interviews with fifteen women – ten Mongolian and five Hungarian survivors. Thematic analysis identified patterns and themes regarding survivors' PTG. ResultsPTG occurred in all participants, and identified themes were; positive changes, strengthened or new relationships and role models, personal strength, interest in advocacy for social change, and new found appreciation of life. Along with learning new skills and knowledge, a sense of security and caring for children were apparent as positive changes as well. Participants acknowledged interpersonal relationships through communities, including parents, colleagues and friends. Personal strengths, such as being trustworthy and optimistic, also contributed to the PTG with realized independence, increased self-confidence, assertiveness and being brave. Participants identified as individuals striving for social justice and being social change agents by involvement in local non-governmental organizations. Appreciation of life was enhanced or encouraged by supportive parents, community and believing in oneself. ConclusionSimilarities between Hungary and Mongolian survivors are more than the differences in posttraumatic growth for survivors of intimate partner violence. Posttraumatic growth includes acquiring new skills, aspiring for the future, interpersonal relationships, perseverance, and being social change agents. A sense of security, a sense of autonomy, independence and self-worth were significant common features found in this study.

Can the Museum Be an Agent of Social Change? A New Model of the Functioning of the Museum in the Twenty-First Century

A large group of scholars believe that, in the face of an increasing awareness of global challenges, the mission, role, values and responsibilities of museums as institutions require radical rethinking and transformation. In 2016, at an ICOM conference, Mário Moutinho suggested that the category of new museology be broadened towards sociomuseology as a school of thought, whose task is to integrate efforts to adapt museum structures to the present-day reality, to achieve a new level of autonomy for museums, and to open museums to the social context. The philosophical basis for this movement is the idea of participation, and its goal is to create a network of institutions, communities and individuals whose objective is sustainable local development. This approach to museum activism means modifying the tasks the museum undertakes as a civic institution, and the new model of its operation is aimed at real political, social and environmental change. The concept has met with criticism from researchers and museologists who believe that the museum should preserve its identity and focus on its traditional tasks. By giving examples of similar activity conducted by some Polish historical museums the author offers answers to the question of whether and to what extent museums in the twenty-first century can and should adopt this new model in order to truly influence their environment while, at the same time, preserving the functions of an institution whose role is to protect national heritage.

Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions about Gender Equality

Teachers are the agent of social change. For teachers, promoting gender equality is not a question of opinion, but a requisite responsibility. The present study aims to examine the B.Ed. trainee students’ perception of gender equality. It followed a descriptive survey design for which one self-made questionnaires was used as the tool and focused group discussions arranged for qualitatively perspective. Total 136 B.Ed. trainee students was taken as sample from Aliah University and WBUTTEPA of Kolkata, West Bengal. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis was done. It is found the B.Ed. trainee students have average level of gender equality perception irrespective of their gender, place of residence stream, types of family. There exist no significant differences in the perception level of gender equality among the students from different categories such as gender, discipline, residential status and although there exist significance positive differences in between family types. Based on this study, guidance and suggestions may be provided to enhance students’ awareness, knowledge, understanding and competencies in relation to gender equality and to encourage student engagement in a global sustainable development. This study will give a direction to the management and administration for endorsing a favorable environment where seeds of human rights, gender equality, social justice can be sown.

From the medical model to the recovery model: Psychologists engaging in advocacy and social justice action agendas in public mental health.

There is increasing recognition of the need for civil rights advocacy for people with mental illness, as basic human rights continue to be violated in mental health systems. Relatedly, an elevated call for recovery-oriented care creates new opportunities for psychologists to act as social change agents and advocates for patients in state hospital and community settings. Despite lack of specific preparation and training to take on this role, psychologists' overall training places them in a unique position to advocate in many ways. This can be for individuals in the system (patients or staff), for the discipline of psychology, as well as acting as advocates for the continued growth of recovery-oriented approaches, more socially just practices in systems of care, and by engaging in public policy transformation. Psychologists, through creating cultural change, can work to advocate for a transformation from a medical model to a recovery-oriented care model, which focuses on building meaningful lives, autonomy, and rights of the individual. We discuss the many ways in which psychologists can act as advocates in state hospitals and community settings via diverse mechanisms, including at a policy level, the challenges that they encounter, and ways to overcome these. Future directions and ways to increase the effectiveness of advocacy efforts are also discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Peran Manajemen Pendidikan Dalam Membina Kompetensi Sosial Tenaga Kependidikan di Kabupaten Ende

Satisfaction of services provided to students, to improve the quality of learning, the role of the principal is very decisive. The principal's creativity and strategy is to apply all the ideas or ideas of teachers that have been obtained from the results of the teacher's meeting to make a real work to be able to master the competencies and abilities of educators as part of communicating and interacting effectively with students and fellow education staff, parents and guardians, the community. around it becomes an agent of social change. Leaders are responsible and accountable for certain jobs successfully, and evaluate how well, teachers and education personnel carry out the tasks that must be completed, if they find tasks that have not been completed within the specified time it is a failure and this is a direct reflection of success. or failure of school leaders

"It's something to own": A psychobiographical exploration of the life story of Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama.

On January 20, 2009, when Barack Obama placed his hand on the Bible and completed his oath of office as the 44th President of the United States, Michelle Obama instantly was First Lady. The purpose of this psychobiography was to interpret the meaning of Michelle Obama's life during a significant life transition. The research design included a social constructivist epistemological stance, a case study design, and an iterative process of narrative interpretation of Michelle Obama's Becoming memoir and documentary. My narrative inquiry led me to crystalize the research question, How does Michelle Obama narratively process her lived experiences and draw upon a pattern of autobiographical reasoning to curate her life story? My interpretive analysis illuminated how she curated her life story with autobiographical reasoning that employs a "phenomenal woman" script and narrative metaphors based in the sound of striving and the concept of location. This psychobiography supports the life story theory of identity and self-defining memory research about enduring goals of the self. It also elevates the role of positionality as a form of sociocultural methodological integrity within psychobiography. Autobiographical authenticity of her agentic self is a profound force in Michelle Obama becoming a person who can garner worldwide status as a social change agent.

"WHAT SKILLS DO FOREIGN LANGUAGES TEACHERS NEED IN THE 21ST CENTURY? AN INTERCULTURAL CONFIGURATION"

Reforming the educational institution for accommodating intercultural values, which are permanently in its current programmes and methods, cannot be achieved only through the full and unconditional commitment of the teaching staff as agents of social change. Through their work, teachers fulfill two fundamental responsibilities: transmission of information and the formation of educated individuals. From this point of view, the new profile of the teacher of foreign languages, i.e. in intercultural configuration, does not essentially differ from the portrait of the professional didactics specialist -an open mind to new, ready to experiment with alternative teaching tools that encourage individuals to attain the goals set for learning, able to initiate communication but also concerned with his / her own professional development.

Transformation through learning: Education about, for, and as sustainability

The United Nations foregrounds education as a means to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (https://sdgs.un.org/goals). In this conceptual paper, we argue education must offer learning that is transformative to better prepare learners to respond to the current global challenges. We argue that the dominant educational approaches fall short of realizing learners' potential for transformation toward sustainability. Focusing on the region of Southeast Asia we draw on educator experiences working with and at the Green School (Indonesia) and United World College (Singapore) to map some of their educational successes and identify some of the key processes and conditions that have contributed to those successes. The potential that exists in the context of independent international schools maybe a relevant factor in their success. We see the lessons that can be learned from these examples as useful in other school contexts. We draw on three sequential pedagogical development phases of learning in engaging with sustainability: namely, Learning about Sustainability, Learning for Sustainability (LfS), and Learning as Sustainability. We argue that the third transformative learning phase, Learning as Sustainability (which also incorporates processes of learning about and for sustainability) offers the best fertile ground for engaging learners as active social change agents within and outside of the learning environment. We see these learning phases as all interconnected, dynamic, and fluid rather than a formulaic progression. This paper contributes to advancing schools toward a perspective on education that reflects an ecological approach toward sustainability and support educators to better integrate education as sustainability in their learning activities. It is worth mentioning that changes in the school that reflect an ecological approach does not guarantee that the experience of the learner will result in transformative Learning as Sustainability. Instead, it is our contention that attaining a clear understanding of these learning processes empowers educators to facilitate an environment by identifying and incorporating the necessary conditions required to inspire deep ecological transformation, thus increasing the potential to arrive at Learning as Sustainability.

Social change at the local level: A psychobiography of Khali Sweeney from Detroit's downtown boxing gym.

This psychobiography analyzes the life of Khali Sweeney from Detroit's Downtown Boxing Gym to understand his motivation for and methods as a social change agent. In doing so, the project also considers how to prepare the next generation of youth development leaders as social change agents. We conducted a nine-step psychobiography based on recommendations from established psychobiographical methods. Using a team-based, thematic analysis approach we analyzed contextual, first-, second-, and third- person data from the perspective of Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST). Results suggest Khali is an effective social change agent due to five interrelated factors. Analyzing Khali's life through the lens of PVEST also revealed his experiences resulted in two realizations central to him becoming a social change agent: the people and services that are supposed to serve youth at times do not, and; individuals like him can step up to meet youth needs. Results point to several important lessons related to transformational leadership theory that can enable YDP leaders to serve as social change agents.

Being and becoming: A psychobiography of James Baldwin.

James Baldwin (1924-1987) was a prolific African American author and activist whose writing centered primarily on race, sexuality, and religion. Baldwin's lived experiences and breadth of knowledge provided him with a unique perspective of the Black experience in America, a theme he frequently revisited in his work and the impetus for his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement METHOD: This article presents a psychobiographical application of Queering Black Racial Identity Development to conceptualize the life story of James Baldwin. This study explores the life of James Baldwin, highlights his influence as a historical figure and agent of social change, and explores the "why" of his life and behavior. Specifically, his decision to return to the United States during the Civil Rights Movement and possible reasons he avoided politicizing his sexuality in the same way he did his racial identity. As an African American, nonheterosexual, male author and Civil Rights activist, Baldwin's intersectional identities played a significant role in his decision to dedicate his life to writing and activism. Limitations of the study are discussed.

Developing a different voice: The life and work of Carol Gilligan.

To explore the psychobiographical origins of Carol Gilligan's sensitivity to the importance of voice in human psychology, an awareness that, through her foundational written work, transformed the field. Narrative inquiry and analysis. Carol Gilligan's awareness of voice began at a young age with a self-defining memory in which she learned to hold on to her own voice and experience. She never set out to be a social change agent, but she became one. Other scholars relied on her work, particularly the lyrical trope of "in a different voice" to change social (and psychological) attitudes toward women in many ways. This psychobiographical analysis traces Carol's personal struggles to sustain her own voice and knowledge, and these struggles met a culture that became able to hear something about how the patriarchal culture suppresses relational sensibilities. Rooted in a close and intense relationship with her mother, who expressed and imposed on her a duality between the voice of personal experience and the voice of meeting social expectations. Carol's understanding of the differing levels of what it means "to know" grounded a new conception of girls' development as well as of moral development. Carol Gilligan became an agent of social change because her inner world and life path coincided with sociocultural readiness to embrace her work as giving voice to an emerging awareness of the suppression and denigration of women's sensibilities in psychology as well as in the larger culture. Her lifelong conflicts about speaking her own truth versus conforming to a society in which she was well able to be successful attuned her to the ways in which others, particularly women, similarly discounted their own experience.