Critical Perspective Research Articles

Commercial Television as a Blind Spot in Emerging Media Systems: Romania and Bulgaria’s Cases

This study explores TV in Romania and Bulgaria, both considered “emerging” media systems in post-communist studies (Sparks, 1995). It uses Hallin and Mancini’s (2004) framework to analyze the central aspects regarding the configuration of commercial TV. The study offers an institutional perspective on TV by exploring the licensing frame and the TV offer. The interaction between commercial TV, politics, and the state underlines the intricate relations through powerful and influential networks involving the interests of a variety of individuals and groups. Currently, commercial TV is the most developed type of media in both countries. Through its empirical contribution, this study fills in the blind spot of media research, aiming to contribute to the understanding of the Romanian and Bulgarian media landscape. It offers a critical perspective on TV systems in relation to the polarized pluralist/Mediterranean model of Hallin and Mancini, considering its explanatory function within the analysis of Eastern European media systems. Elements of the national markets revealed particularities of the TV business, synchronically connected to the contemporary “hyper-television” vision (Scolari, 2009) and the “informational disorder” paradigm (Tambini, 2020).

Unveiling the strategic discourse of european dairy industry pressure groups: A Critical Animal Studies perspective

This article examines the discourse of pressure groups within the European Dairy Industry (EDI) using a Critical Animal Studies perspective. The study first identifies the EDI as a powerful economic actor by analysing its key companies, pressure groups, and their relationships. Then, it analyses the discourse constructed and the rhetorical devices these interest groups use regarding 1) the animals exploited by the industry and 2) the nutritional recommendations influencing dietary guidelines. The dairy industry forms a significant economic and corporate conglomerate that actively influences food recommendations and maintains extensive coalitions and lobbying efforts. The EDI interest groups tailor their narrative to align with current environmental, health, and animal welfare concerns while paradoxically contradicting them. Notably, the interest groups entirely disregard the interests of animals in their discourse, representing them as inanimate objects devoid of sentience, autonomy, and individuality through a series of rhetorical devices.

"Ché Coco, ché Coco": An animal reading of Coco the parrot in Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea

The various human characters of Jean Rhys’s novel Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) have attracted the attention of literary scholars from different perspectives. However, the novel’s nonhuman animal characters have previously been studied mainly as symbols for human actions and destinies. In this article, I problematise this type of anthropocentric approach from a Human-Animal Studies and a literary criticism perspective. I analyse Coco as a character of the novel and as a member of his own species. My analysis examines the nature of human-animal relationships, their representations in literature, and the binary oppositions inherent in them. Additionally, I critically evaluate the ways in which nonhuman animals are perceived and depicted in cultural representations. I argue that Rhys shows Coco as a parrot with species-typical behaviour and as a character with his own agency. Nevertheless, one should not disregard his symbolic functions, which draw attention to gendered colonial violence. Furthermore, the symbolic and linguistic violence in the novel forces the nonhuman animal into a position below the human animal and normalises violence towards nonhuman animals. The human-animal relationships in Wide Sargasso Sea vary from something akin to close companionship all the way to subjugation under the will of the more powerful.

Rational design of a nonclassical liposomal nanoscale drug delivery system for innovative cancer therapy

AbstractAdvanced drug delivery systems are widely considered to be powerful approaches for treating cancer and many other diseases because of their superior ability to improve pharmacokinetics, promote lesion‐targeted delivery efficacy, and/or reduce the toxic effects of diverse therapeutics. Owing to the unique biomimetic structure of lipid bilayers surrounding aqueous cavities, liposomes have been found to encapsulate various therapeutics, ranging from small molecules with different hydrophobicities to biomacromolecules. With the advent of surface PEGylation, stealth liposomes with excellent in vivo long‐circulating behaviors have been generated, thus these liposomes have been extensively explored for the development of liposomal drugs with greatly improved in vivo pharmacokinetic behaviors by functioning as delivery vehicles. Inspired by their successes in clinical practice, stealth liposomes have recently been utilized as the main building scaffold or surface coating layers of other nanoparticulate formulations, which are coined as nonclassical liposomal nanoscale drug delivery systems (NDDSs) in this review, to enable the rational design of next‐generation liposomal nanomedicine. Therefore, after overviewing the latest progress in the development of conventional liposome‐based nanomedicine, we will introduce the development of these nonclassical liposomal NDDSs as well as their innovative cancer treatment strategies. We will subsequently provide a critical perspective on the future development of new cancer nanomedicines based on these rationally designed nonclassical liposomal NDDSs.

Representations of cultural diversity in music education textbooks: a critical and comparative analysis

ABSTRACT Spain is one of the European countries that attracts the most immigration, and the Valencian and Murcian regions have a large immigrant population. To our knowledge, no studies have analysed the representation of cultural diversity in visual representations of the body and musical practices in their music textbooks. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to describe the representation of cultural diversity in Spanish music textbooks from a critical and comparative perspective that analyses visual representations of the body and its interactions with the main musical processes. The results show a greater presence of students with white European features, as well as certain cultural stereotypes perpetuated by visual representation with musical instruments. Thus, although a greater variety of human types can be observed in the graphic representations of music textbooks, these take a reductionist and simplistic view of cultural diversity.

“Don’t bring race into it”: white ignorance, UK counterterrorism and the impact agenda

ABSTRACT Based on interviews with UK civil servants working on counterterrorism, this article examines how racialised and gendered organisational norms govern the production and circulation of knowledge in government departments. It further reflects on their implications for policymakers and academics seeking to introduce critical perspectives into counterterrorism policymaking. Mobilising Charles W. Mills’s concept of white ignorance, I explore how routinised practices serve to suppress knowledge about the racialised impacts of UK counterterrorism, and particularly the Prevent programme, within policymaking spaces. The article outlines eight practices that effect the suppression or delegitimisation of testimony substantiating critiques of counterterrorism policies as racist: framing accusations of racism as misunderstandings; focusing on intentions over impacts; self-silencing; limiting what counts as evidence; framing critics as emotionally-oriented; decisions concerning who participates in these policy discussions in the first place; the siloing of discussions about racism in dedicated spaces; and efforts to frame analyses of structural racism as breaking civil servants’ obligation to political neutrality. I conclude that, because the persistence of colonial counterterrorism practices is, fundamentally, not a problem of knowledge but a problem of power, it will not be solved through the kind of policy advocacy scholars are encouraged to undertake to demonstrate “research impact”.

MEDIA DEVELOPMENT IN THE LIGHT OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: AN INSIGHT IN THE PRESENT INDIAN CONTEXT

Basic principle in journalism is to focus for development for public good and to uplift the society and transform the societal healthy practices. Media in its various capacity tries to inform, educate, and entertain the mass people for the benefit of human society and that should be the motto of media cutting across country line and geographical boundary. In Indian context how media focuses in its principle in the present set up that is interesting to be seen in the light of the critical perspective of freedom of expression as envisages in our constitution. In India journalistic freedom remained a million dollar question not only in pre-independence India but remained a valid question in post independence period and in the modern scenario too. In the present context if we speculate we observe that media organization and their key functionaries are vertically divided into pro and anti against any elected government and this phenomenon is not even permanent in them. They themselves frequently changes their colour for the reasons not best known by themselves alone but mass people are more knowledgeable these days and understand the very fact for this kind of shift. Off course for some time their survival question remains a valid point too in this competitive market scenario. In such a juncture this paper would like to discuss all those critical issues in this complex and media saturated condition more specifically in the light of journalistic freedom and their challenges in the current Indian situation.

‘I produce songs for her …. In this way, I gradually know her more. The more I know her, the more I like her’: Using Collins’ model of interactive ritual chains to study the case of virtual idol fandom in China

In the last decade, virtual idols have become increasingly popular among young people in China with news reports estimating a fan-base of around 300 million and total industry revenues of over $35 billion in 2020 (Bloomberg, 2021). Despite these startling figures, there have been few empirical studies of virtual idol fandom. To address this lacuna, this paper explores the ways in which fans engage with the Chinese virtual idol Luo Tianyi and uses insights from Randall Collin’s (2004) work on Interactive Ritual Chains (IRC) to understand the relationship between digital fan practices and the generation of both emotional responses and a wider sense of solidarity Semi-structured interviews with fans, alongside digital participant observation, indicate the key role fans have to play in promoting their idol, notably when it comes to producing original content designed to raise her profile. It is these activities, in conjunction with gender differences, that are used to define hierarchies within the community, and point to the importance of adopting a more critical perspective in relation to Collins’ original work.

The cultural construction of cellular agriculture food: through the lens of the whole-parts framework for meat

This essay presents a critical perspective on the nature of what is referred to as “cultured meat” in the public sphere by revisiting the concept of meat in cultural practice. We propose a perspective that focuses on and further investigates whether cultured meat is meat, examining the interaction between the emergence of cellular agriculture technologies and cultural practices. First, we review the production processes of cellular agriculture for meat, comparing this to the processes used to produce conventional meat. Second, we discuss how meat has been embedded in cultural practices, focusing on meat-related activities, and propose that a whole-parts relationship is critical for constructing the meaning of meat in cultural contexts. Third, several key issues raised in the social debate on cultured meat are addressed within the whole-parts framework. Cultured meat requires a complete bottom-up process in producing objects, indicating that the concept of cultured meat is not necessarily aligned with the concept of existing meat, as previously suggested from the perspective of producing conventional meat. In this perspective, we proceed to further investigation the meaning of meat in cultural constructions, wherein the relationship between the whole body and meat as a part of it is important. Thus, cultured meat can be considered a nonmeat under the whole-parts framework for meat. This insight can provisionally and speculatively update some of the ethical, legal, and social issues of cultured meat as well as products based on cellular agriculture technologies.

Analysis of Alison Moore’s The Lighthouse from the Perspective of Ethical Literary Criticism

The Lighthouse is an excellent contemporary novel that tells the family tragedies of two generations which involve numerous individuals and families. After being shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize, it has been noticed by many researchers and scholars from home and abroad. Starting from the perspective of ethical literary criticism, this paper intends to have a detailed analysis of the ethical issues existing in The Lighthouse through the method of close reading. This paper also attempts to have an insight into the moral and ethical problems in modern families, or the problems between contemporary people, trying to analyze the main characters’ self-developments of morality and the author’s ethical values from the discussion of the main characters’ ethical choices, the construction of ethical identities and the human and human relationship in this novel.

Transnational Health and Self-care Experiences of Japanese Women who have taken Oral Contraceptives in South Korea, including Over-the-counter Access: Insights from Semi-structured Interviews

AbstractIn an increasingly globalized world, the accessibility of healthcare and medication has expanded beyond local healthcare systems and national borders. This study aims to investigate the transnational health and self-care experiences of 11 Japanese women who have resided in South Korea for a minimum of six months and have utilized oral contraceptives, including those that were acquired over-the-counter (OTC). Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and analyzed by utilizing the NVivo software. The analysis yielded three significant thematic categories, namely (1) experiences and perceptions of obtaining and utilizing contraceptive pills, including OTC access; (2) individual and social perceptions of pills and their accessibility in Japan, insights from actual users; and (3) enhancing pill accessibility, transnational health and self-care experiences and perspectives. Participants acknowledged that oral contraceptives are a global product and experienced communication challenges with healthcare providers as a result of differing understandings of these medications. Additionally, this study identified transnational strategies, such as purchasing an adequate supply of pills just before departure and seeking pills from local families or acquaintances. This study not only highlights the implications of clinical care for transnational patients but also underscores their critical global perspectives on access to oral contraceptives. Furthermore, it proposes two models for improving accessibility within the Japanese healthcare system, even in prescription-only contexts, by introducing OTC options.

Nanosafety: a Perspective on Nano-Bio Interactions.

Engineered nanomaterials offer numerous benefits to society ranging from environmental remediation to biomedical applications such as drug or vaccine delivery as well as clean and cost-effective energy production and storage, and the promise of a more sustainable way of life. However, as nanomaterials of increasing sophistication enter the market, close attention to potential adverse effects on human health and the environment is needed. Here a critical perspective on nanotoxicological research is provided; the authors argue that it is time to leverage the knowledge regarding the biological interactions of nanomaterials to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the human health and environmental impacts of these materials. Moreover, it is posited that nanomaterials behave like biological entities and that they should be regulated as such.

Prasmingas darbas, postdarbas ir šiuolaikinis aristotelizmas

The paper explores the relation between a contemporary Aristotelian conception of human flourishing and two critical perspectives on work. The meaningful work perspective inquires what kind of work would be meaningful, by arguing that meaningful work is essential for human flourishing. The post-work perspective argues that good life lies outside work and workplaces and calls to eliminate work as much as possible. The paper suggests that it is possible to acknowledge the insights of both perspectives via contemporary Aristotelian notions of practice and human flourishing. The notion of practice incorporates the conception of meaningful work, yet it applies to nonwork activities as well. Conceptualization of human well-being via the notion of practice also responds to the post-work challenge of conceiving human flourishing without prioritizing work over other meaningful activities. In this way, a contemporary Aristotelian conception of human flourishing supports both the need for better work and less work.

The Public Role of Italian Sociology: Among Institutions, Universities and Social Engagement

AbstractSociology has played an important role in Italy, although its centrality in public debate has fluctuated, and it has been supported or opposed by political power at different historical moments. Contemporary Italian sociology has developed since the 1950s and has been influenced in various ways by European and American sociological theories. Sociology has played an important role in Italian public debate and has offered a critical and scientific perspective on the country’s social reality. However, this role should be understood in the context of the different stages of development that have accompanied the academic growth of the discipline and the presence of sociologists in ‘policy making’ processes. In the latter sense, Italian sociology has played an important role in the formation of public policies, as it offers a scientific analysis of social problems and proposes solutions based on empirical research. Within this framework, the training processes also need to be situated within what has been defined—albeit with conceptual ambiguity—as ‘professional sociology’, which involves important figures such as social workers, psychologists, and health workers. However, sociology has also played an important political role both in supporting the actions of policy makers and in analysing the contradictions of the capitalist system. This article also analyses the emergence of a ‘transformative’ positional sociology alongside the traditional public sociology. The goal of this transformative approach is to counteract the public role of Italian sociology, which seems to have lost its critical-explanatory vocation without ever having truly acquired a propositional function in the social context.

Business Institutes and Corporate Social Responsibility in Brazil: Balancing Between Control and Incompleteness

Objective: Provide a critical perspective on CSR in Brazil, focusing on business institutes' involvement with CSR, which could lead to an assimilation that adapts it to meet exclusively business interests.   Theoretical Framework: A literature review focused on the main conceptual debate on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), emphasising the normative approach of Stakeholder Theory.   Method: A qualitative analysis of the literature, data from public sources on civil society organisations, and the websites of leading business institutes involved with CSR in Brazil was chosen, comparing it to the information on institute websites.   Results and Discussion: The leading institutes operate in a segmented and organised way, have large companies among their members, represent a significant volume of investments in the socio-environmental area and present their vision of corporate behaviour. This suggests a search for institutional leadership and reinforces the idea of consolidating CSR in Brazil through corporate resources.   Research Implications: This research's practical and theoretical implications provide insights into how the results can influence business and academic studies about CSR. These implications could encompass business management, sociology, public policies, and project financing for all involved in thinking and practising business behaviour in society.   Originality/Value: It contributes to the debate on CSR by demonstrating that its lack of consensus allows the business world, through its institutes, to shape it to its interests, limiting its potential reach. It is a critical perspective that suggests that business institutes create the conditions for discursive leadership that can lead to selective corporate responsibility practices in society.

Analysis of Financial Market Efficiency

This comprehensive study delves into the intricacies of financial market efficiency, anchored around the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) as postulated by Eugene Fama. It scrutinizes the hypothesis across its weak, semi-strong, and strong forms, incorporating a broad spectrum of empirical evidence and theoretical discourse. In light of recent advancements in technology and the increasing complexity of global financial markets, this paper also explores the impact of high-frequency trading, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology on market efficiency. Through a meticulous examination of both supportive and critical perspectives on the EMH, the analysis extends to consider the implications of market efficiency on investment strategies, portfolio management, and regulatory frameworks. By juxtaposing traditional financial theories with contemporary market phenomena, this study seeks to offer a nuanced understanding of the dynamic interplay between market efficiency, technological innovation, and investor behavior. The ultimate objective is to provide a balanced viewpoint that acknowledges the merits of the EMH while also recognizing the evolving challenges and opportunities within global financial markets.

Vulnerability and Constructed Precarity in the Canadian Housing Regime

ABSTRACT This article brings together feminist and critical theoretical perspectives on vulnerability to critique normative framing of vulnerability in housing. Vulnerability is often positioned as the problem affordable housing policies and programmes are designed to address). Feminist conceptions of vulnerability, by contrast, consider vulnerability as a universal condition. From a feminist perspective, I explicate the ways in which the Canadian housing regime constructs precarity in three ways: a reliance on precarious employment, positioning vulnerability as an inherent characteristic of populations, and finally through an imagined separation between nonmarket housing and (transnational) market practices. I suggest feminist conceptions of vulnerability offer a potent way forward to rethink the housing system. This recognition of shared vulnerability that is differentially felt might turn us away from targeted and population-specific interventions and instead direct attention to the housing regime itself.

Reframing a community in crisis: an Intersectional discourse analysis of media responses to state of emergency declarations in Attawapiskat

ABSTRACT During the height of the Idle No More movement over the winter of 2012–2013, then Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence undertook a ceremonial fast, widely framed by the mainstream Canadian media as a hunger strike. This event responded to a housing related State of Emergency declaration in her community. During the cold Canadian winter, for six-weeks Chief Spence survived on medicinal fish broth and tea while catalyzing unprecedented social mobilization. Her actions sparked dialogue about the failures of the Canadian government and the general public to understand and uphold treaty relations. From an interpretive critical policy studies perspective, this paper presents an intersectional discourse analysis of mainstream coverage of her community and highlights themes of crisis, accountability and blame. In doing so, this paper seeks to interrupt these hegemonic frames with an account alternative counterstories grounded in community voices. Drawing upon interpretive policy analysis this paper argues that these predominant frames misrepresented Spence’s core request: a revitalized dialogue about treaty relations. Spence’s story and the voices of community-members speak back to and intervene upon the colonial status quo in Canada. This paper presents some insights and lessons learned for critical policy studies based on counterstories articulated in a community-engaged mixed media storytelling research project entitled Reimagining Attawapiskat.

The Use of Turning Points in Understanding Homelessness Transitions: A Critical Social Psychological Perspective

ABSTRACT We argue for use of the narrative concept of the “turning point” in homelessness research from a critical social psychology perspective. BackgroundTurning points are often understood as rifts in the life course followed by significant change in direction. However, within narrative theory they are not events but subjectively significant features of the person’s life-story. The turning point as narrative toolThe analysis identified how turning points were deployed by participants in a study of homelessness experiences. Participants used the turning point in constructing themselves as agentic, reformed individuals who had gained insight. However, this did not necessarily bring positive life changes. Data extracts are used to illustrate the power of adopting a constructivist, narrative theoretical orientation in understanding turning points in accounts of homelessness. Implications for practiceViewing turning points in this way may help us understand how best to provide support for people without housing.

Block Chain Based Agri-Food Traceability with SHA-256 Algorithm

Block chain technology has emerged as a promising solution for enhancing transparency and efficiency in various industries, including agriculture and food supply chains. This article examines the influence of block chain technology on agriculture, explores ongoing projects and initiatives, and assesses its potential implications, obstacles, and promises. Despite its potential to revolutionize the food supply chain by enabling transparent transactions among dispersed and untrustworthy parties without intermediaries like banks, several challenges hinder its widespread adoption. These challenges encompass technological limitations, educational gaps, and regulatory hurdles. This study provides insights into the current state of blockchain adoption in agriculture and offers critical perspectives on project maturity.