Collective Sense Research Articles

Translation as Transference of Identity and Resistance: (Re)presentations of Dalits in Pa. Ranjit’s Kaala

Translation is generally defined as the rendering of a text from one language to another. But in its broadest etymological sense, translation means something that is being carried across. When the process of translation is considered an act of creativity, translation is the transference of the self-identity of the creator from one language or medium to another. Therefore, the process of transferring the identity into creativity itself is a form of translation. Social identity theory proposed by John Turner and Henri Tajfel explains that a person’s social group will contribute to their sense of self as well. In India, Dalit identity is a social identity that aids a Dalit individual to form his personal identity as well. Dalit identity gets formed as an after-effect of not only the distinctive experience that they live through but also the discrimination and oppression that they face being socially marginalized groups. The revocation of their Dalit identity gradually leads them to engage in various forms of resistance through mediums such as politics, literature, and arts, by ensuring the representation and participation of Dalits in the respective fields. Cinema is one such medium, which had not opened its doors to Dalit representations until the twenty-first century. This discrimination resulted in creating an unspoken void in representing true Dalithood, their history, resistance, and representation in the field of cinema. Tamil cinema industry is an example of a brave exception regarding this from the recent past. A number of directors, claiming their Dalit identity and their politics behind making films, which honestly talk about Dalit issues in a collective sense have come up. This article tries to analyse how these filmmakers translated their identity into representation and resistance through their films, taking Pa. Ranjit’s Kaala as an example.

The phenomenology of dissensus: Zetetic rituals for a flat earth

Reparative theory is a means of comprehending the allure of distortions through the fundamental needs they fulfill. Considering the ongoing collapse of consensus reality into a world fractured by multiple intersecting crises, our collective sense of truth is becoming unglued. Here, conspiritualities like flat-earth theory are emerging as praxes of sense-making. Filling the void left by the absence of a shared narrative, as coercive forms of authority prove inadequate to the task of either processing or suppressing our intensities, I argue that we are becoming disoriented and detached from our phenomenological senses. The phenomenological rituals of flat-earth theory return to the flatness of the earth to ground the senses in an immanent world, confronting the fragility of a consensus failing to redress its regular production of dissensus. As the pressures of social rupture tear apart the fabric of our existence, dissensus realities offer those on the margins a way to navigate their phenomenological differences—making sense of an incoherent world by radically reducing its complexity. Analyzing primary flat-earth texts, YouTube videos, blog posts, and maps, I explore how Zetetic Astronomy interrogates the epistemological foundations of our current reality with both destructive and liberatory potentials.

Computational diplomacy: how 'hackathons for good' feed a participatory future for multilateralism in the digital age.

This article explores the role of hackathons for good in building a community of software and hardware developers focused on addressing global sustainable development goal (SDG) challenges. We theorize this movement as computational diplomacy: a decentralized, participatory process for digital governance that leverages collective intelligence to tackle major global issues. Analysing Devpost and GitHub data reveals that 30% of hackathons since 2010 have addressed SDG topics, employing diverse technologies to create innovative solutions. Hackathons serve as crucial kairos moments, sparking innovation bursts that drive both immediate project outcomes and long-term production. We propose that these events harness the neurobiological basis of human cooperation and empathy, fostering a collective sense of purpose and reducing interpersonal prejudice. This bottom-up approach to digital governance integrates software development, human collective intelligence and collective action, creating a dynamic model for transformative change. By leveraging kairos moments, computational diplomacy promotes a more inclusive and effective model for digital multilateral governance of the future. This article is part of the theme issue 'Co-creating the future: participatory cities and digital governance'.

Emotive architecture: Design strategies for urbanization and rural revitalization in China

Taking a specific lens on China’s unique and intricate interplay between urbanization and rural revitalization, this article traces these dynamics back to the nation’s social-cultural fabric. It contextualizes the coexistence of urban and rural identities within the broader Chinese cultural tapestry, underscoring their shared heritage within a collective consciousness shaped by an agrarian legacy. This culminates in the philosophical concept of “Oneness of Heaven and Humanity,” the apex of Chinese cultural aspirations, deeply rooted in the relationship between humans and the land, and calibrated by a state of harmony. Emotion is not merely a tool for achieving this ideal but also a phenomenon shaped by it. Through a comparative analysis of two architectural projects – one urban and one rural – this study examines the practical application and influence of emotive architecture. This approach, sensitive to emotional undercurrents, employs precision akin to acupuncture in diagnosing and addressing regional challenges. It accentuates the meticulous interpretation of emotional resonance, a sensory comprehension of place, and the harmonious fusion of digital craftsmanship with local construction techniques. By positioning architecture as the interface between individuals and their broader environment, the study reveals how emotion-centric design can evoke profound emotional responses, foster community engagement, nurture a collective sense of belonging, and contribute to the economic and cultural vibrancy of specific locales. Particularly pertinent amid the significant sociocultural and environmental shifts in both urban and rural China, this research advocates for a reevaluation of architectural practices that prioritize understanding and addressing the emotional dimensions of space. It offers a strategic framework for navigating the complexities of modern development in China.

Cultivating dispersed collectivity: How communities between organizations sustain employee activism

Pushing for social change at work is frustrating and precarious. Many employee activists therefore seek support in communities that form around their aspirations and reside ‘between’ organizations. This article advances our understanding of how community participation shapes employee activists’ experiences of their change agency as they return to and pursue their social purpose in their corporate lives. Grounded in an in-depth qualitative study of an inter-organizational community of employee activists, we introduce the notion of ‘dispersed collectivity’: employee activists generate a shared sense of collectivity that they maintain even as they disperse into their workplaces. Dispersed collectivity enables subtle agentic experiences by emboldening employee activists to endure their often-challenging corporate lives, unsettle corporate norms, and detach from their corporate positions. Even without mobilizing a collective push for change across firms, communities can thus play a critical role in sustaining employee activism. Our study contributes a more nuanced account of employee activists’ change agency and offers new theoretical insights into the role of inter-organizational communities in social change, the practices they can use to build collective momentum and empathic connections, and their impact on employee activists’ determination to drive social change from within.

Articulating Indigeneity in the messiness: Resource politics and capitalism in Qalang na Tayal (Tayal communities), Taiwan

This paper addresses Indigenous articulation in contemporary resource politics and capitalist markets, beginning with the contestation over Indigeneity within the socio-political context of Taiwan. Indigenous peoples in Taiwan have been challenged by the spatial trope of the ‘mountain’. This complex trope encompasses not only topographical aspects but also socio-cultural and political-economic characteristics. It has historically represented remote, montane areas and their populations as primitive, barbarian, and uncivilized, in contrast to the modern and developed plains. This paper presents two case studies to challenge the hegemonic construction of Indigeneity: a water management committee and a tomato cooperative. These case studies illustrate how Tayal people connect across time and place, and how they engage in a reconfiguration of the mountain imaginary, thereby producing a shift that heralds the mountains as authentically Indigenous. Tayal people articulate existence and belonging-together-in-place with non- Tayal settlers in novel ways. They have persisted and resisted in their homeland despite consistently facing stereotypes. This paper argues that there is no singular Indigenous other; therefore, there is no single way of being Indigenous. It also posits that the Tayal people’s articulation is deeply rooted in their collective sense of belonging-together-in-place. Finally, this paper proposes an ontological shift urging geographers and fellow academics to engage with Indigenous people in contested cultural landscapes.

Shift Happens

In 1989, Ray Oldenburg coined the term “third place” to describe locations individuals frequent to connect with their local community outside their home and work. Third places add immense value to the local community by fostering social ties, increasing happiness, and fostering a sense of collectivity. Third-place declines have steadily occurred over the past few decades, with a sharp reduction during the Great Recession. This decline primarily affects privately run organizations and food and beverage stores, which often serve as third places, emphasizing the importance of nurturing these community spaces. This paper examines how communicative efforts contribute to community integration in a transient college town, focusing on the role of length of residence and online communication. Focus groups at a local third place found that to expedite the community integration process for temporary residents, third places need to employ overly welcoming communication strategies paired with effective use of social media.

Cultural Sensitivity and Social Well-Being in Embassy Architecture: Educational Approaches and Design Strategies

Over the past two decades, the expanding environmental and ecological crises highlight the need to broaden the concept of sustainability to encompass support for cultural sensitivity and social well-being. This study explores the role of architectural education in fostering cultural sensitivity and social well-being in embassy architecture within a framework of environment–behavior studies. It starts from the premise that the architectural values of a culture are deeply rooted in the relationship between the users, architecture, and surrounding environment. State-sponsored architectural works (e.g., embassies, consulates, cultural centers) built outside the country are viewed as symbolic representations of a nation’s diplomatic and cultural influence. These architectural typologies hold a unique potential to act as bridges for cross-cultural dialogue and foster a collective sense of global citizenship. In order to develop and assess the teaching curriculum, a specific assignment was given to master’s students of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, with the aim to explore how engineering education can be adopted to motivate students toward sustainable attitudes and design solutions. While traditional diplomatic architecture emphasizes inward-facing, fortress-like design strategies, establishing physical and symbolic barriers between the embassy’s territory and the surrounding context, this research advocates for a more holistic approach oriented toward cultural sustainability, openness, and integration within an urban context. Key findings highlight creative solutions for balancing cultural representation with functional requirements while prioritizing community engagement, environmental responsibility, and user well-being. By demonstrating the two distinctive architectural strategies, this study contributes to the culturally responsive embassy design within the broader context of sustainable architectural education.

Study on the promoting effect of basketball training on adolescent physical and mental development

This paper discusses the promotion effect of basketball training on the physical and mental development of teenagers, aiming to provide theoretical support for youth physical education. Through a combination of literature review and empirical analysis, the effects of basketball training on adolescent physical health, psychological quality and social adaptability. Studies have shown that long-term participation in basketball training can not only significantly enhance the physical fitness of teenagers, such as cardiopulmonary function, strength and endurance, but also can effectively improve mental health, enhance self-confidence, stress resistance ability and teamwork awareness. In addition, basketball promotes the cultivation of teenagers' social communication ability and collective sense of honor. In general, basketball training plays an important role in promoting the all-round development of teenagers. It is suggested that basketball should be further promoted in school education to improve the overall quality of teenagers.

Специфика добровольческой деятельности в условиях современной России

The article presents the features of the formation of modern Russian volunteer activity, which in the last decade has become a large-scale systemic social phenomenon in the history of our country. The active life position of Russians is realized in the desire to be useful to society through real participation in specific projects of the vol-unteer movement. The approaches, reasons and potential for the development and functioning of volunteer movements are considered. It is noted that in the formation of volunteering as a social system there is, on the one hand, reliance on traditional experience, on the other hand – the desire to use the potential of modern technology and management functioning. The demand for the volunteer movement is beyond doubt, however, in the modern situation, its organization and functionality require the participation of government agencies in order to structure, finance and provide a legal basis for many activities carried out by volunteers. Various areas in which there is a greater need for volunteer support are being considered, ranging from helping the elderly to providing all kinds of support in situations of natural disasters, such as fires or floods. Modern Russian volun-teering is based on mutual assistance, spirituality and a sense of collectivism that has been inherent in our people since ancient times.

The role of leadership in group cohesion: insights from sport club volunteering

Purpose This study aims to address the challenge many organizational leaders face in fostering workforce cohesion. Focusing on the context of sports club volunteering, this study investigates how leaders can enhance group cohesion among volunteers. The study findings provide valuable insights applicable across various work settings. Design/methodology/approach Through a multilevel design, this study examined the role of autonomy–supportive and structuring leadership in shaping social and task cohesion within volunteer teams at the group level. In total, 557 volunteers nested within 52 nonprofit sports clubs situated in the Flemish region of Belgium were involved in this study, providing a robust foundation for our analysis. Findings This research revealed that regular volunteers form “true groups”, exhibiting substantial between-group variance in social and task cohesion and a strong within-group consensus. Additionally, the findings underscored the significance of autonomy–supportive leadership in fostering cohesion, demonstrating a positive relation with social and task cohesion at the group level. Originality/value This study demonstrates that volunteer teams, like work teams in the for-profit sector, actively engage in interpersonal exchanges within their organization, which help shape their collective sense of unity and alignment with common objectives. Leaders can enhance these interactions by fostering an autonomy–supportive environment where members feel empowered to share their perspectives and ideas. Additionally, the findings suggest that the nature of the task and the specific context can influence which leadership style is most effective, with the provision of structure also playing a role. With these insights, leaders in diverse organizational settings can effectively nurture the development of cohesive groups.

The role of regional LGBTQI+ festivals and events in promoting social movements: A local stakeholder perspective

Festivals and events can foster a collective sense of purpose and foster shared commitment to a cause by engaging the numerous and diverse stakeholders necessary for the organisation and running of these events. It is from this stakeholder perspective that this paper explored how LGBTQI+ events can help regional communities resist marginalisation and become advocates for social movements. Interviews with ten key stakeholders involved in the planning and implementation of the Broken Heel festival in Broken Hill and the fabALICE Festival in Alice Springs, identified four overarching themes: resisting marginalisation; places of identity; value of inclusion; and emerging tensions. These themes provide important insights into the role and effect of regional LGBTQI+ festivals on local communities and suggests areas for future research and advocacy.

“The unwavering bond”: examining the sense of place in Harare’s informal urban neighbourhoods

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the sense of place in Hopley and Hatcliffe Extension, the largest informal neighbourhoods in Harare, Zimbabwe. The study draws from insights gained through focus group discussions with selected participants from these two communities. Contrary to conventional beliefs, we contend that residents of these neighbourhoods, despite enduring significant deprivation, exhibit a profound emotional connection to their neighbourhoods. These emotional ties stem from a collective sense of solidarity forged through shared experiences of socio-spatial exclusion. Our empirical findings challenge the prevailing assumptions about the sense of place in marginalised neighbourhoods, where such areas are typically perceived as having a diminished sense of place. This study contributes to the scholarly discourse on sense of place in disadvantaged neighbourhoods – a relatively understudied subject, particularly in Global South cities. These findings hold significant implications for urban planning policies on a global scale, especially those directed at informal settlements.

Global perceptions of state apologies for human rights violations.

State apologies for human rights violations are often seen as a key mechanism in reconciliation processes. Nevertheless, they are often contested as well and have not been embraced equally by countries around the world. This raises questions about their universal value and potential to address or redress past harmdoing by countries. In a study across 33 countries (n = 11,023), we found that people around the world consider apologies by states for human rights violations to be reasonably important but tend to be less supportive of the idea that their own country should apologize for past harmdoing. We found that this discrepancy was amplified in countries with stronger honour norms and a stronger collective sense of victim- rather than perpetratorhood. Moving beyond the decontextualized approach that has prevailed in previous psychological research on this topic, our findings show that people's attitudes towards apologies by their country do not exist in a cultural and social vacuum but depend on the extent to which the broader context affords a critical reflection on past harmdoing. As such, they help explain why some countries have been reluctant to offer apologies, and why such gestures may also be more controversial in some contexts than in others.

Crisis volunteering during COVID-19 pandemic in India: youth responds to health and human rights crisis

Purpose This study aims to explore the experiences of individuals in India who acted as informal crisis volunteers during the peak of the deadliest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory, qualitative design was used, and data gathered via a qualitative survey in three focus areas, namely, motivation, challenges and coping mechanisms. The sample (n = 112) comprised individuals (mean age = 21.89 years) whose volunteering efforts during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic were extended as part of volunteer groups or individually, online or offline, for minimum of 10 consecutive days to four months. Descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis (Mayring, 2000) were used to analyze the data. Findings Most of the participants reported being inspired by social media activism to become crisis volunteers themselves. They also spoke of several human rights violations unfolding around them, namely, people denied right to health (availability and accessibility), rampant discrimination of various kinds and other systemic failures in crisis response by government bodies. Several reported undergoing extreme mental duress during the process, experiencing or witnessing harassment and dealing with corruption. A sense of collective identity and opportunities to engage in collective sense making and collective catharsis with fellow volunteers were reported as the most helpful coping mechanism. Originality/value Very little is known about the experience of informal crisis volunteers who assisted the public health system in India in various capacities during the pandemic. This paper explores those experiences, sheds light on various human rights violations that took place during the time and provides a glimpse into the potential of technology and social media in organized altruistic efforts.

Spondias mombin flavonoids showed super-binder ability with downstream molecular targets of Parkinson's disease: A structural study

Spondias mombin is a prominent botanical resource and has garnered recognition within folkloric therapy. Parkinson's disease (PD), characterized by dopaminergic neuron attrition in the substantia nigra, manifests as motor anomalies like tremors, rigidity, and bradykinesia. This study capitalizes on S. mombin's reservoir of 100 characterized phytocompounds and employs computational methodologies to interrogate their potential with 35 PD-associated target proteins. Employing a multifaceted approach, we engaged in molecular docking, ADMET predictions, Molecular Mechanics/Generalized Born Surface Area (MM/GBSA) evaluations, Density Functional Theory (DFT), and Molecular Dynamic Simulations (MDS). This comprehensive framework facilitated insightful structural assessments and predictive analyses. Impressively, flavonoids hailing from S. mombin, including quercetin, catechin, ellagic acid, and epicatechin, showed optimal binding affinities for PD-related target proteins. Moreover, these identified ligands exhibited minimal signs of mutagenicity, tumorigenicity, or irritancy, except for quercetin, which displayed elevated tumorigenic potential. Notably, quercetin and dopamine exhibited varying band gap energies, with quercetin the lowest (3.63 eV) and dopamine the highest (5.76 eV) values. MDS result suggests a synergistic outcome based on the RMSD and RMSF graphs for quercetin highlighting it as the best of all including the co-ligand. In a collective sense, our findings present S. mombin as a promising reservoir of active pharmaceutical ingredients, warranting further exploration for novel PD therapeutic avenues. Consequently, this study underscores the enhanced efficacy of phyto-ligands sourced from S. mombin, advocating their optimization as potential drug candidates.

“Re-Inventing How We Live in the City”: Well-being and the Los Angeles Ecovillage

In this study I examine the ritualistic behavior of participants in the intentional community where I live, the Los Angeles Ecovillage, and how that relates to well-being in a collective sense. Studying the ritualistic behavior within the Los Angeles Ecovillage can offer insight into areas that have been perhaps less explored, as in ritual’s relationship to well-being in intentional communities, particularly in the urban context of this community. Furthermore, although it is a factor, psychological well-being in this context is not limited to an individual’s self-reported quality of mental and physical health—it arguably extends to a collective expression of well-being. In describing social alternative approaches to health and well-being related problems posed by societal barriers to human connection, a paradigm may be formed for how intentional community can support psychological needs.

Romantic love and the first-person plural perspective

ABSTRACT On the assumption that romantic partners tend to act from a first-person plural perspective, how should the love that binds them be understood? This paper approaches this question by focusing on romantic practical integration, understood as the tendency of romantic partners to integrate their practical perspectives in such a way that allows them to have ‘reasons-for-us’: reasons for action that apply to them as a group, in a collective and non-distributive sense (Westlund 2009). After dispelling some reservations about the connection between romantic love and the first-person plural perspective, I argue that the resources offered by one leading account of love, due to Bennett Helm, fall short of accounting for romantic practical integration. Building on Stephen Darwall’s account of romantic love as a ‘second-personal attitude of the heart’, I develop an alternative proposal. The proposed view foregrounds the relational and non-deontic normative character of romantic love, by conceptualizing it as an addressing attitude that intrinsically seeks – but doesn’t demand – reciprocation. On this view, the attitude of romantic love co-involves the addressee of the attitude as a (potential or actual) member of a narratively unified interpersonal community, in light of which putative reasons-for-us may be taken on board or rejected.

Avengers assemble: Avenger philanthropy as the new gift opportunity for nonprofit organizations

AbstractThis conceptual paper extends theories of gift giving behavior through identifying and defining the emerging phenomenon of Avenger Philanthropy. This manifests when people make individual monetary donations to nonprofit organizations (NPOs) to achieve a collective sense of moral grandstanding, usually underpinned by humor. For the first time, the paper makes sense of this phenomenon theoretically through drawing on a wide range of literature including gift giving, game theory and consumer psychology, and as a result, identifies seven distinctive hallmarks. The paper maps the importance of public expression of personal values, amplified through social media, together with risks for the NPO that benefits from the donations. Emotion underpins the giving behavior, both moral outrage and humor. This investigation contributes to the gift giving literature by identifying, mapping and anchoring current actions that potentially have far reaching consequences for future research and for nonprofit practice.

Should the Struggle Against Authoritarian Regimes Be Based on Aristotle’s or Freud’s Psychology, or Rather on Neuroscience?

The prevailing global social and geopolitical situation is perceived as unfavorable by most people. According to the authors, many worrying threats are linked to the mental state of the planet's inhabitants. Thus, they believe that the emergence of authoritarian regimes, the constant instigation of wars, and the poor living conditions in many communities require explanations grounded in accurate psychological concepts. The authors refer to their previous work that connects authoritarian regimes with conservative personality traits, particularly those found in far-right, populist groups. These regimes often promote a patriarchal social structure and rely on religious taboos to maintain control. The authors expand on this theory by exploring Sigmund Freud's concepts of "totem" and "taboo," examining how these ideas might explain the behavior of authoritarian regimes. They also refer to Carl Jung's theory of the Shadow and the collective sense of inferiority. The article concludes with suggestions on how to counter the spread of authoritarian regimes. The authors advocate for a balanced approach that focuses on finding ways to coexist with authoritarian individuals. They draw parallels between the different neurophysiological functions of the brain's two hemispheres and the potential coexistence of multiple geopolitical blocs. The authors reflect on a country that recently shifted from far-right, populist, national governance back to a liberal democratic pattern. They also propose a tool to record personal civic feelings, which can help assess whether a particular region is moving toward or away from autocratic governance.