Discussion Of Concepts Research Articles

Family language policy in Swedish-English families: Rhizomatic conceptualisations

AbstractAlthough past research has established that family language policies are composed of numerous complex, entangled, heterogenous elements, as of yet, most works grounded within this research paradigm do not attempt to fully embrace this complexity. This article argues that the complexity can be more fully engaged with by conceptualising a family language policy as a rhizomatic system which consists of a multiplicity of temporary assemblages. Drawing on video recordings, interviews, and stimulated recall protocols from a project on the dimensions of language in Swedish-English families, this article aims to consider how interactional episodes within these families can be viewed as an assemblage of material elements, experiences, agential forces, and conceptual discourses. It is argued that through the analysis of multiple assemblages, and through the consideration of the connectivity between such assemblages, that a holistic picture of the rhizomatic structure that is a family language policy begins to be built.

Measuring social exclusion and its distribution in England

BackgroundSocial exclusion is a multidimensional concept referring processes which restrict the ability of individuals or groups to participate fully in society. While social exclusion has been used to explore patterns of disadvantage, it has been difficult to measure. Thus, we aimed to use population-based data to measure social exclusion and its constituent domains and to describe its distribution in England.MethodsWe used data from Understanding Society in 2009/2010 develop a multidimensional measurement approach, replicated in 2018/2019. We defined five domains of social exclusion from the literature and expert consultation: material, relational, political, digital, and structural. In both waves, we identified measures for each domain, then conducted principal component analysis to identify the components. We generated domain scores and an overall social exclusion score. We described the distribution of social exclusion and its domains by sex, region, age, and ethnicity.ResultsWe found the level of social exclusion was higher in the youngest age group and decreased by age. We found elevated levels of overall social exclusion for ethnic minoritised groups including African, Arab, and Caribbean groups compared to White British groups. We found distinct patterns within each domain.DiscussionWe developed an overall measure of social exclusion with five domains, and finding distinct patterns of social exclusion by age, ethnicity, and region which varied across domain. These findings suggest that attention should be paid to the separate domains due to different population distributions. This measurement approach moves beyond conceptual discussions of social exclusion and demonstrates the utility of a quantitative measure of social exclusion for use in health and social research.

Is Academic Entrepreneurialism a Universal Concept? New Ideas and Insights From Contextualisation Beyond East and West

This paper considers the conceptualisation of ‘academic entrepreneurialism’ and develops new ideas and insights by contextualising the concept. It critically reviews the conceptual literature of academic entrepreneurialism which is dominated by research and conceptualisation by the West and reflects its implications for understanding academic entrepreneurialism in China. After that, it answers the key question: Is academic entrepreneurialism a universal concept? By academic entrepreneurialism, it refers to the phenomenon that universities are willing to supply knowledge for capitalising new opportunities, managing risks and maximising revenues, reputation, or human capital in response to the demands for education, research and knowledge solutions by the knowledge society and economy, as well as developing new markets for their knowledge-based services and goods. This paper draws on global perspective and the case of Chinese higher education, and engages in conceptual discussions about the applied universality of academic entrepreneurialism and its limitations of making sense of cultural uniqueness in various contexts. We argue that academic entrepreneurialism is not a universal and all-encompassing template but the beginning of constitutive, continuous and complex transformation of institutional reasoning of different universities across the world. Not taking the culturalist presuppositions, new ideas from this paper may be helpful for reconsidering, redesigning and reorganising research, education and engagement of universities beyond East and West so as to foster their self-understanding in the entrepreneurial age and future-oriented development.

Making cyber security more resilient: adding social considerations to technological fixes

How can a focus on socio-technical vulnerability and uncertainty make cyber security more resilient? In this article, we provide a conceptual discussion of how to increase cyber resilience. First, we show how cyber security and resilience thinking co-evolved through their connection to critical infrastructures, and how the ensuing dominant technical focus inevitably always falls short due to the diverse societal values that underpin their critical social functions. We argue that a sole focus on aggregate systems neglects the important differences in how cyber threats are experienced and dealt with by individuals. Second, we draw on insights from social resilience and disaster management literature to establish a better link between individuals and cyber systems. We focus on two key aspects of cyber security that highlight its social nature: vulnerability and uncertainty. Instead of thinking of cyber security as a “technical problem + humans,” we suggest cyber security should be conceptualized as a “social problem + technology.” We conclude by highlighting three ways forward for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners: interdisciplinary research, public debate about a set of normative questions, and the need for an uncertainty discourse in politics and policymaking.

Exploring information processing as a new research orientation beyond cognitive operations and their management in interpreting studies: taking stock and looking forward

ABSTRACT This article is a conceptual discussion reflecting on research trends in interpreting studies. It begins with an overview of the long-term focus on cognitive operations and their management in interpreting studies. By revisiting the multiple dimensions and distinctive features of interpreting, it reveals the necessity to go beyond the cognitive approach. Through a stock-taking of relevant literature, it identifies the pivotal role of information processing in interpreting. Proceeding from the distinctive features of interpreting, it proposes a framework on how information processing can be studied, which highlights four lines of research that call for new attention in interpreting studies: (1) how information is processed multimodally as a hyper-discourse in interpreting; (2) how information is processed strategically under the conditions of immediacy and singular presentation in interpreting; (3) how information is processed as meaning-making in interpreting as interpersonal communication and sociocultural interaction; (4) how information processing in interpreting has language-pair specificity.

How are psychodynamic conflicts associated with personality functioning? A network analysis.

Personality functioning and psychodynamic conflicts are central constructs in psychoanalytic theories of psychopathology as well as in many psychodynamic treatment models. Although there has been a longstanding conceptual discussion on how they relate to each other, empirical evidence on this question is still scarce. In this study, we explore the associations between psychodynamic conflicts and levels of structural integration (which can be used synonymously with personality functioning) by means of a partial correlation network analysis in a sample of N = 220 outpatients interviewed and rated according to Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis (OPD-2). We examined network centrality, bridge centrality, clustering, and network stability. The network analysis resulted in separate clusters for levels of structural integration and conflicts, supporting the assumption of distinct psychodynamic constructs. The greatest association between the two clusters was found between the individuation vs. dependency conflict (C1) and the structural capacity to attach to internal objects. In general, C1 showed significantly greater connections with structural dimensions compared to the other five OPD conflicts included. C1 was also more central in the network compared to most other conflicts, whereas the structural dimensions did not differ in centrality. All structural dimensions were found to be strongly interconnected. C1 showed exclusively negative edges to the other conflicts, suggesting that a profound C1 decreases the probability of other psychodynamic conflicts. We discuss clinical as well as conceptual implications of our findings for psychodynamic diagnosis and treatment.

Surveillance infrastructure in China: Key concepts and mechanisms enhancing the Party-state’s governance ambitions

Surveillance infrastructure in China monitors and enables authorities to react to potential risky, miscreant or criminal behaviour. What type of behaviours are perceived to be so, is determined in large part by ideology. Therefore, surveillance infrastructure relies on the machinery of ideology to define the boundaries of its use. In this paper, we outline six key ideological concepts relating to governance in Xi Jinping’s China that have helped to expand the boundaries of surveillance. We identify terms embedded in promotional material of Hikvision and other surveillance technology firms as a springboard for conceptual discussion. The aim is to survey the ideological lexicon of concepts that position surveillance within the Party-state’s broad capacity-building ambitions for governance in Xi’s China. This positioning amplifies the political responsibility of state, social and market actors to work together to broaden surveillance activities for ‘society-building’ purposes, and ultimately for the realisation of Xi Jinping’s goal of National Rejuvenation.

Architectural Design Method Suggestion with Machine Learning Technologies Based on Voronoi Diagram Principle

Today, computer and new art themes are important resources that can reflect its own logic to architectural design inputs and architectural products by opening new horizons in architectural concepts. The fact that art, and therefore architecture, has started to benefit from digital technologies that change the boundaries of life and can be produced with digital media tools, creates a new conceptual discussion and application environment open to development, transformation and experimentation. In the literature, many theories have been produced on the development of digital art, architecture and technology. However, studies should be conducted on the effective/possible methods in architectural design such as digital technologies and digital arts, interactive/text-based artificial intelligence interfaces, and how these methods will transform and change architectural design and architectural identity. With the creation of the architectural form through text-based artificial intelligence interfaces, a new design and production process is envisaged for the discipline of architecture with its possibilities such as autonomous and rapid alternative generation according to various contexts. In this study, architectural plan and form experiments were carried out with the principle of Voronoi diagram, which is a productive and algorithmic system with text-based artificial intelligence interfaces. In this context, it would not be wrong to say that the Voronoi diagram is fractal representations for the resulting products obtained in a fast and autonomous process with multiple alternatives. Architecture, which is in a constant transformation depending on time, technologies and users, will seek a new aesthetic with new production and expression techniques.

Framing as Lobbying with Limited Resources: A Conceptual Discussion On Contemporary Ethnic Lobbying in The US / Sınırlı Kaynaklarla Bir Lobicilik Yöntemi Olarak Çerçeveleme: ABD’deki Güncel Etnik Lobicilikle İlgili Kavramsal Bir Tartışma

Due to the main characteristic of the American society as well as its political system, ethnic lobbying has become an important concept and activity in order to influence the domestic and foreign policy of the United States. By providing a conceptual discussion on the contemporary ethnic lobbying in the US, this article aims at demonstrating the importance of framing strategy for ethnic lobbying groups which have limited resources to promote their interests. The article reviews the existing literature on ethnic lobbying in the US by specifically considering the recent studies regarding the relatively new lobbying groups. Consequently, it argues that framing strategy can become an effective lobbying strategy not only for the lobbies that have access to the United States’ system with an institutional existence in its capital but also for those attempting to gain access to the policymaking communities in this country. Additionally, in order to achieve their specific purposes, ethnic lobbies can apply to the methods of strategic framing and normative framing during their lobbying campaigns.

Skill Mismatch as Constraint to Entrepreneurship in the Leather Sector of Bangladesh: A Conceptual Study

Promoting entrepreneurship is a key approach to reducing youth unemployment and enhancing economic development. This paper aims to explore skill mismatch as a constraint to entrepreneurship in the leather sector of Bangladesh. The paper is a conceptual study and follows the worldview of critical realism. This study used one-to-one interviews and a survey based on a non-probability sampling procedure to supplement the conceptual analysis. The empirical findings were considered complementary evidence to the conceptual discussion. The study was designed to explore the issues related to skill mismatch through a conceptual analysis instead of aiming to make generalizable statistical inferences. The paper had two major findings. Firstly, the ability to develop ‘political connections’ is considered an important skill that entrepreneurs look for in their business partners and managers, especially at the early stage of business capital formation. Other forms of skills mismatch impose a high amount of cost on the entrepreneurs and function as an entry barrier to entrepreneurship. Secondly, entrepreneurs are not well incentivized to invest in training and up-skilling their workers due to the high risk associated with such investments. Social Science Review, Vol. 39(1), June 2022 Page 103-123

Islamic Entrepreneurship Research Since 1990: A Systematic Literature Review

This study aimed to explore the progress of the Islamic entrepreneurship literature by examining the various thematic research areas and try to draw a map on Islamic entrepreneurship through a systematic review. There are 274 documents revealed from the reputable database called Scopus since 1990. This paper also includes the conceptual framework and discussion on important things related to the Islamic entrepreneurship. This study finds the root and details information on the Islamic entrepreneurship researches which had been done in more than 30 years as well as the issues related to the Islamic entrepreneurship. It also finds the data on the prominent authors, reputable journals, productive institutions, and supportive countries on the Islamic entrepreneurship studies. Despite having limitations, one of them is relying on one database (Scopus), it still gives huge information on the Islamic entrepreneurship research. A comprehensive insights and pictures would be benefited the researchers, academicians and practitioners able to formulate any crucial plans and strategies related to the research on Islamic entrepreneurship.

Emerging Discourses on Freedom of Religion or Belief in Indonesia

The notion of religious freedom has existed since the founding of an independent Indonesia in 1945, but it took on a more prominent and effective profile only after the democratization that started in 1998. While the discourse has been dominated by discussion of the normative legal dimensions and lack of effective implementation that led to certain violations of the rights to FORB, it has recently expanded to deeper, more foundational questions and touched on more theoretical issues. This article considers three relevant developments that constitute the context: the legal landscape, advocacy, and the emerging conceptual discourses. It then positions the three issues discussed in the following three articles. Acknowledging that the three issues do not exhaust the whole landscape of FORB discourses in Indonesia, this article concludes by mentioning a few other issues that deserve attention and suggests discussing them as part of the international discourse on FORB.

Ncedile Saule’s Umlimandlela (at the cross-roads) as a witness to colonial and apartheid lexicology in South Africa

The primary objective of this article, among other prescripts, is to unravel the lexicological arena of colonialism and apartheid as a pertinent subject in Ncedile Saule’s Umlimandlela (At the cross-roads). The reason to undertake this scholarly discourse is because of the vestigial elements of colonialism and apartheid that continue to subterfuge the constitutional democracy of our country, thereby decaying and delaying social cohesion and consciousness. Post-colonial theory is employed given that it concentrates on matters before and after the formal end of colonialism in South Africa in 1994. On the other hand, qualitative research methodology is utilized to recognize the selected isiXhosa novel as a primary source of data. Through conceptual and contextual discussions, the main findings certify that though South Africa formally ended colonialism, the currently witnessed colonial tendencies are deeply rooted in the colonial and apartheid systems. As a result, it is fair to accept that colonialism and apartheid in South Africa demonstrate resistance and resilience – and that requires maintained and continued discourses in a bid to challenge the conundrum. The concluding remarks call for the recognition and appreciation of isiXhosa modern literature owing to the reality that it provokes colonial and apartheid discourses that will pivot towards reasonable contestations.

‘What do we talk about when we talk about climate change?’: meaningful environmental education, beyond the info dump

AbstractLearning about the causes and effects of human-induced climate change is an essential aspect of contemporary environmental education (EE). However, it is increasingly recognized that the familiar ‘information dump delivery mode’ (as Timothy Morton calls it), through which new facts about ecological destruction are being constantly communicated, often contributes to anxiety, cognitive exhaustion, and can ultimately lead to hopelessness and paralysis in the face of ecological issues. In this article, I explore several pathways to approach EE, beyond the presentation and transmission of ecological facts. I position my conceptual discussion around my own teaching experiences speaking about climate change with undergraduate students across several Education classes through 2019 to 2021. I situate these reflections within the current discourse on education and teaching in/for the Anthropocene. Throughout this discussion, I locate various ways in which much EE fails to contribute to student’s agency and empowerment by consistently reducing complex ecological phenomena to a set of problems, mainly economic/technological, to be fixed by technocracy. I propose that a contemplative–existential perspective to EE is capable of responding to these reductions, most basically by providing opportunities and practices for students to process their grief and other emotions through recognizing the Anthropocene as an inescapable reality, but also a reality that cannot be determinately imagined or predicted.

CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS IN PSYCHOLINGUISTIC STUDY: STAGE MODEL OF INFORMATION PROCESSING

This article concerns psycholinguistics glasses metaphor is not always a tool of rhetoric or literature, but a form of strong computational ability that significantly supports human cognition by allowing similar relationship structures in different conceptual domains identifiedthe discussion of psycholinguistics regarding the intelligence of verbal linguistics of children who are explained by the picture of the stage theory where the gadget is the external stimulus and the conceptual metaphor of the keywords of friends and gadgets that are paradox Gadgets as one of some technological advances depend on the purpose and attention of parents to children.the mapping of conceptual metaphors in psycholinguistics in the domain of friends namely learning, playing, stories, and influence.

Parental States Associated with Stress: Conceptual Discourse and Differentiation

Research interest in the study of the subjective side of parenthood has increased. This has led to the emergence of a spectrum of terms describing dysfunctional parental conditions. The purpose of this article is to review and differentiate concepts found in studies of parental stress states. A theoretical analysis of the research was carried out. They consider such concepts as ‟parental stress”, ‟parental distress”, ‟parental burnout”, ‟traumatic and post-traumatic stress of parents”. The main essential properties of these definitions and their correlation are shown. The prevalence and ‟normativity” of the existence of stress in the parental role is determined. It is the result of an imbalance between requirements and resources. During the review and comparison, the emphasis is placed on the traumatic and post-traumatic stress of parents. What place does it occupy in the series of parental stress states. The insufficiency of studies of traumatic and post-traumatic stress in ‟normotypic” parents (their children do not have health and developmental disorders) is shown. The analysis of the main research loci relevant to the study of this stress is carried out. These are: the need to analyze the subjective-evaluative and emotional-semantic side of traumatic events; the importance of studying the relationship of trauma with maladaptive psychophysical symptoms, with the history of human life; the need to analyze the mechanisms of development of traumatic stress, the mechanisms of transformation into post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic disorders.

A Collaborative Model in The Distribution of Zakat Fund for Gharimin (Debtors) During Post-Pandemic Recovery

The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual discussion and analysis of the COVID-19 impact on gharimin (debtors) during the pandemic and the recovery support provided by zakat institutions and Islamic financial institutions. The data were qualitatively analysed to explore the different interpretations of gharimin from the Shariah perspective and the current practices in Malaysian zakat institutions. The pandemic COVID-19 has created a sudden health crisis and the number of gharimin increased and was measured as one of the most vulnerable groups especially when the government announced the lockdown period. Hence, many organizations in Malaysia have distributed the zakat fund among the poor and needy as the major recipients. However, there is no dedicated zakat allocation for gharimin to reduce their risk of defaults and non-performing financing problems. Therefore, the finding of this study formulates a new collaboration model to be adopted by zakat institutions and Islamic financial institutions in supporting the gharimin recipients to pay off the debt and survive their basic needs during the pandemic in Malaysia. It is expected to enhance the distribution of zakat among gharimin and assist zakat institutions to identify them as eligible zakat recipients. Further research will examine the reliability of the proposed model as well as its practical implementation in both institutions.

Standard Form Contracts in Online Business

People have been directly selling and purchasing products and services in the past, but with the rapid development of technology nowadays, people prefer online transaction because it easy, fast and efficient. Online business platforms are becoming increasingly relevant for the sale and purchase of goods and services. The seller can earn a profit, and the buyer can easily find something they wanted to purchase. Standard form contracts are usually used to legalize transactions. Before the payment and execution of the agreement, customers must agree and consent to all the standard terms. The implementation of online contracts has resulted in the increasing use of unfair contract terms in standard form contracts in the commercial industry. This paper aims to study the standard form contracts in online business and to discuss the unfair contract terms in online standard form contracts. The approach of this study is purely qualitative where it is based on a library research and involving conceptual discussion and legal analysis. Therefore, it is hoped this article provides valuable knowledge concerning standard form contracts, online business and unfair contract terms.

Development and psychometric properties of a short version of the Patient Continuity of Care Questionnaire.

Hospitalization due to cardiac conditions is increasing worldwide, and follow-up after hospitalization usually occurs in a different healthcare setting than the one providing treatment during hospitalization. This leads to a risk of fragmented care and increases the need for coordination and continuity of care after hospitalization. Furthermore, international reports highlight the importance of improving continuity of care and state that it is an essential indicator of the quality of care. Patients' perceptions of continuity of care can be evaluated using the Patient Continuity of Care Questionnaire (PCCQ). However, the original version is extensive and may prove burdensome to complete; therefore, we aimed to develop and evaluate a short version of the PCCQ. This was a psychometric validation study. Content validity was evaluated among user groups, including patients (n = 7), healthcare personnel (n = 15), and researchers (n = 7). Based on the results of the content validity and conceptual discussions among the authors, 12 items were included in the short version. Data from patients were collected using a consecutive sampling procedure involving patients 6 weeks after hospitalization due to cardiac conditions. Rasch analysis was used to evaluate the psychometric properties of the short version of the PCCQ. A total of 1000 patients were included [mean age 72 (SD = 10), 66% males]. The PCCQ-12 presented a satisfactory overall model fit and a person separation index of 0.79 (Cronbach's α: .91, ordinal α: .94). However, three items presented individual item misfits. No evidence of multidimensionality was found, meaning that a total score can be calculated. A total of four items presented evidence of response dependence but, according to the analysis, this did not seem to affect the measurement properties or reliability of the PCCQ-12. We found that the first two response options were disordered in all items. However, the reliability remained the same when these response options were amended. In future research, the benefits of thefour response options could be evaluated. The PCCQ-12 has sound psychometric properties and is ready to be used in clinical and research settings to measure patients' perceptions of continuity of care after hospitalization. Patients, healthcare personnel and researchers were involved in the study because they were invited to select items relevant to the short version of the questionnaire.

Multidimensional Characteristics of Design-Based Engineering Learning: A Grounded Theory Study

Design-based engineering learning is an important learning model in the field of engineering education research, and also an important embodiment of sustainable development engineering education. At present, the research is still in the stage of conceptual discussion, and its connotation has not been effectively clarified. In order to construct a theoretical model of design-based engineering learning, this study adopted grounded theory to carry out exploratory research. First, we selected the advanced class of engineering education in Chu Kochen Honors College of Zhejiang University as a follow-up case, conducted interviews with front-line teachers and students, and collected relevant data; second, we adopted the three-level coding technology of open coding-axis coding-selective coding and used NVivo software to extract concept categories from open codes, and established the connection between categories through the axis coding; and finally, multidimensional ideas were developed through core categories, including design practice, interactive reflection, knowledge integration, and circular iteration. The multidimensional conception of design-based engineering learning constructed in this study aims to provide theoretical support for promoting engineering education research. At the same time, it puts forward some useful suggestions on the training of engineering talents for sustainable development in practice.