Forms Of Social Life Research Articles

The Sociality of Form: Camillo Sitte's Urban Morphologies

AbstractThis article examines a text by a lesser‐known figure of fin‐de‐siècle Vienna, Camillo Sitte's Der Städtebau nach seinen künstlerischen Grundsätzen (1889), tracing the relationship between urban form and social structure in Sitte's treatise. It identifies the key points of this relationship in terms of causality: the form of public spaces can determine the form of social life; surrogacy: the throngs of the places’ inanimate inhabitants, the statues and monuments, are placeholders for the missing human gatherings; and finally displacement: the thick sociality of community life is transferred onto a heightened relationality with urban forms. Sitte's text sublimates the social; it diffuses abstract social structures—density, relationality, connection—onto the spatial morphologies of the city. Ultimately, this diffusion results in a capacious yet weakened model of sociality.

Evaluation of the Effect of Vaginal Delivery on Stress Urinary Incontinence and Bladder Neck Mobility with Transperineal Ultrasonography

Aim: Stress urinary incontinence is a common and distressing situation in females, impacting emotional and psychological well-being by interrupting sexual, physical, and social forms of life. Perineal trauma, especially at childbirth, is one of the most common contributing factors. The objective of this research is assessing the impact of vaginal delivery, a factor known to elevate the likelihood of postpartum stressxincontinence, on bladder neck mobility. This evaluation will be conducted utilizing transperinealxultrasonography, a noninvasivexand well-toleratedxdiagnostic technique. Materials and Methods: In our study, 116 patients who gave birth in our hospital between January 2020 and May 2022 were evaluated retrospectively. The presence of stress urinary incontinence and transperineal ultrasonography data of all patients were examined from the patient files. To evaluate changes in bladder neck motility, ultrasound measurements made both prenatally and postnatally were evaluated retrospectively. Results: With regard to the demographic values of the patients, a statistically significant difference was seen in terms of the presence of urinary incontinence when multiparous and primiparous patients were compared with patients in the cesarean section group (p:0.01). There was a significant difference in ΔDx, ΔDy, and M values for the cesarean delivery group as compared to both the primiparous and multiparous vaginal delivery groups (p

Культура – знак – значение: о природе и структуре культуры и знака

The article examines the concept of culture as a paradigmatic structure that defines the variety of possible forms of social life, activity, and behavior in a certain community. It examines the structure and nature of the sign and its place in culture. The author sets this concept of culture and ideas about the structure of the sign, starting from some of F. Saussure’s ideas. He accepts Saussure’s distinction between language and speech within “linguistic activity”, but in the language itself he also distinguishes two areas of existence: language as a paradigmatic structure of a single subject and language as a paradigmatic system existing at the community level. As a result, the author sees not two, but three areas of manifestation in “language activity”. He identifies similar three areas in any semiotic activity and in activity in general. At the same time, in the course of generalization in the series “linguistic activity – sign activity – activity”, the social paradigmatic aspect of these activities is also generalized from language to the sign system and culture as a whole. Since language in public form, and language in individual form, and speech have the word as a basic structural unit, then we can talk about three ontological forms (modi) of the word: in public language, in individual language, in speech. The author identifies similar three ontological modi for an arbitrary sign. Taking as a basis the binary structure of an abstract sign (the plan of expression and the plan of content associated with each other) and the idea of the three ontological modi of the sign, we obtain a triangular prism as an ontological scheme of the sign, where the nodes of the prism correspond to various aspects of the sign, three vertical edges – three ontological modi of the sign, the upper face – the plan of expression (syntax), the bottom face – the plan of content (semantics). Based on the obtained ontological scheme of the sign, the author interprets the semiotic representations of some alternative research programs

Commemoration of the Dead in the Context of Alternative Spirituality: Collective and Solitary Rituals

The ritualised commemoration of the deceased belongs to the most common forms of communication with the dead. The meaning that people ascribe to a religious commemoration ritual is determined by a concrete religious doctrine, although it can be influenced by a broader cultural tradition. However, in the context of alternative spiritual currents, there can be many possible interpretations of communication with the dead, as there is no “official” doctrine supported by established institutions. In addition, alternative spirituality is marked by the emphasis on individuality, which results in the predominance of solitary practice. Yet, in various contexts, the tension between individuality and community can be manifested in different forms of ritualised behaviour, ranging from strictly private performances to prescribed group rituals. The paper addresses different levels of individual and collective practice in the context of alternative spirituality in Slovakia, a post-socialist country with a predominantly Christian, mostly Catholic, population. It makes use of the theoretical tools of Mary Douglas’ theory relating to the connection between cosmological beliefs and particular forms of social life. Rituals and ritualised behaviour are considered in the case of the triduum of All Saints’ Eve, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day. The results of ethnographic research on spiritual circles operating in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, have shown that these holidays are perceived and practiced differently by people with different religious or spiritual affiliation. The individual interpretation and the degree of associated ritualised behaviour depend on personal background, as well as the social organisation of a circle to which a practitioner belongs.

Competition, cooperation, and parental effects in larval aggregations formed on carrion by communally breeding beetles Necrodes littoralis (Staphylinidae: Silphinae).

Aggregations of juveniles are dominant forms of social life in some insect groups. Larval societies are shaped by competitive and cooperative interactions of the larvae, in parallel with parental effects. Colonies of necrophagous larvae are excellent systems to study these relationships. Necrodes littoralis (Staphylinidae: Silphinae), a carrion beetle that colonizes cadavers of large vertebrates, forms massive juvenile aggregations. By spreading over carrion anal and oral exudates, the beetles form the feeding matrix, in which the heat is produced and by which adults presumably affect the fitness of the larvae. We predict that exploitative competition shapes the behavior of N. littoralis larvae in their aggregations. However, cooperative interactions may also operate in these systems due mainly to the benefits of collective exodigestion. Moreover, indirect parental effects (i.e., formation of the feeding matrix) probably modulate larval interactions within the aggregations. By manipulating parental effects (present/absent) and larval density (0.02-1.9 larvae/g of meat), we found a strong negative group-size effect on fitness components of N. littoralis, in colonies with parental effects over almost the entire density range, and in colonies without parental effects for densities larger than 0.5 larva/g. This was accompanied by positive group-size effects in terms of development time (it shortened with larval density) and thermogenesis (it increased with larval density). A pronounced positive group-size effect on juvenile fitness was found only in colonies without parental effects and only in the low-density range. These results support the hypothesis that larval societies of N. littoralis are shaped by exploitation competition.

On not seeing like a state: rethinking ancient Honduras (The Gordon Childe Lecture for 2023)

This article exemplifies the way that moving from perspectives on inequality to questions of the exercise of freedom can change archaeological interpretation. Using a case study from Honduras, where conventional models suggest that social evolution stagnated at the level of chiefdoms, the article draws on recent advances in theories of anarchic social organisation to rethink the data relating to occupation during the equivalent of the Maya Classic and Terminal Classic periods (c. 500–1000 ad). Settlement pattern data from northern Honduras have previously been interpreted as exemplifying heterarchy, understood as the expression of multiple overlapping hierarchies, in distinct aspects of social life. Most settlements conform to the needs of farming, with small towns that are roughly evenly spaced providing opportunities for rural populations to participate in seasonal ceremonies, ball games and possibly markets. Considering the structuring role of freedom to move, to refuse commands and to create new forms of social life enables understanding underlying dynamics that the heterarchy model was missing. It allows for an account of the growth and decline of settlements as outcomes of strategies by leading families and refusal of these by the broader population. Central to these strategies are the roles of visual media, specifically art works, through which social values were created among this politically anarchic population.

A HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDING OF HOW SCIENCE WORKS

From Socrates onwards, the Greek cultural life began to take shape, and the whole nature of philosophical and scientific thought also began to change. From the natural sciences, interest shifted towards man and his societal role. Starting with the Sophists, a critical look at the surviving myths became pivotal at the time. Even if humans are still unable to get answers to all the riddles of nature, for which, among other things, mythology offers supernatural explanations, we (as human beings) do realize that we are only human. And humans need to learn to live together in different forms of social life. The Sophists were interested in man and his place in society. Socrates used conversations and tried to help his interlocutors generate valid reasoning and knowledge. According to him, proper knowledge must arise inside the individual, which is today's constructivist approach; no one can instill knowledge in the individual from the outside. Only knowledge that comes from within is true understanding. Socrates also wanted to find a solid basis for human knowledge. He believed he had found it in human reason.

Body Consciousness in the Healthcare Environment

Like the human mind, the human body is the medium by which we represent ourselves, whether we are patients or healthcare providers. This paper concerns the significance of understanding the existential phenomenological side of a patient’s body within healthcare. To care for a patient’s body, one needs to be aware of how the body appears to itself, to others, and in a lager environmental reality. We think and feel and observe the world with our body, especially with the brain and nervous system, but also with other dimensions of the body manifesting itself as a somatic tonus. The healthcare providers’ body does not only represent a profession, but also who they are as a person and what kind of environment they are affected by. The same applies to the patients' body. As a tool for experiencing, a tool inseparable from our very being, our physical body functions as a surface open to and in contact with the healthcare environment that surrounds it. In the modern healthcare regime, the human body is nearly always visible and under constant surveillance. In the environment of control and visibility bodies become psychologized and normalized to fit into sociocultural demands of economic adaption, social participation, and communication, which in certain situations seem hostile to the ideology of care, freedom, and humanity. We should realize that all our ethical concepts and norms, even the very notion of humanity that underwrites them, depend on social forms of life involving the ways we experience our bodies in different medical and sociocultural situations.

Perkembangan Komunikasi Islam Di Era Moderen

Many innovations occur as a result of the growth of an increasingly evolved and evolving age that transitions from traditional to contemporary times, one of which is the development of Islamic communication. Individuals in society, as well as all parts of culture and social systems, experience social change as a social process in which all levels of community life leave patterns of life, culture, and social systems behind and subsequently adapt. or new social forms of life, culture, and systems. Islamic communication in social transformation must lead to the resolution of real-world issues. Islam, being a kaffah religion, governs all human activity, including communication. Because the lenses used in this work for communication science are Islam, the purpose of the study of communication science, how to gain it, construct it, and its advantages, also employs the teaching approach included in Islam.

Biopolitics of the Zombie Corpses: Collectivity, Contagion, and Alterity

Inasmuch as the society is considered as a body today, social problems should be defined accordingly, as problems of hygiene and cleanliness. In this regard, various representations of zombie corpses in zombie movies can be conceived as concrete examples of threat and a perception of disease. In this article, I claim that the zombie figures in cinema bear a positive potential for the social life of humanity, and I will define this potential as a new opportunity for meeting the absolute alterity. Within this context, I analyse 28 Weeks Later and The World War Z and The Girl with All the Gifts to put forth the idea that what enables emancipation of humanity is contagion and alterity. Rather than destroying the capitalist rationalization without offering any alternatives, zombie corpses enounce the birth of a new form of social life as analysed through Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Microbial management as a driver of parental care and family aggregations in carrion feeding insects

Social behaviors and lifestyles have evolved as successful strategies to cope with adverse and challenging living conditions, often by manipulating the immediate environment. These manipulations can extend to the surrounding microbiome, both in terms of combating harmful agents such as pathogens but also by facilitating the growth of beneficial microbes. In contrast to the largely antagonistic role traditionally assigned to microbes in social systems, these host–microbe interactions are receiving increasing attention as potential facilitators of social evolution. Here, we explore this perspective using Nicrophorus burying beetles, a group of insect carrion breeders which offer insights into the evolutionary interactions between sociality and microbial mutualists in a relatively simple family model. Recent studies have demonstrated the constant microbial challenges faced by Nicrophorus nurseries and the costly consequences they entail. Here, we provide an overview of these challenges and then explore the role of microbial mutualists in this social endeavor, focusing on the advantages they confer in terms of development and immunity. Additionally, we discuss how these mutualistic associations may select for committed parental care and more obligate forms of social life by promoting prolonged social associations through vertical transmission. Our review highlights the hypothesis that microbial mutualists not only provide immediate benefits but may also encourage social interactions in their hosts. However, the occurrence, degree, and underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon remain largely theoretical, as do the evolutionary feedbacks on microbes. Empirical evidence in this area is currently limited, emphasizing the need for further research. Nicrophorus burying beetles represent an ideal system to investigate the interplay between microbial mutualists and social evolution, offering a promising avenue for future studies. Overall, this review underscores the importance of understanding the complex interactions between microbial mutualists and social behaviors in challenging environments, and beyond.

MULTICULTURAL BASES OF STUDENTS CIVIC IDENTITY FORMATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

The article substantiates the main priority and innovative ideas of this problem in theory and practice, examines the semantic meaning of the concepts of "multicultural education", "multicultural upbringing", "civic identity", "tolerance", and identifies effective forms and interactive methods of education and training with school and university students in the context of reforming the education system. Three levels of multicultural education are highlighted, including ethnic, civic and global (planetary). It is noted that multicultural education synthesizes knowledge about culture, which is the property of the civilized world, about ethnic culture, about national culture as a product of historical mutual enrichment and interpenetration of ethnic cultures. It is emphasized that the very concept of "multicultural education" is inextricably linked with the concept of "civic identity" in the meaning that the latter as a form of social life of a person encompasses "the feeling of being a part of society and the desire to be an active member of it in the present and future. The author characterizes the technology of education of the culture of personal self-affirmation, which actualizes the multicultural focus, active civic position of the student's personality. The described innovative program on English language teaching methods developed by the British Council in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine within the framework of the project "New Generation School Teacher" focuses on the formation of students' professional and pedagogical competences of future teachers, the development of critical thinking, initiative, creativity, independent thinking, and active citizenship in the socio-cultural reality. The author summarizes that the analysis of domestic and foreign experience makes it possible to comprehensively study the problems of civic identity and tolerance in the context of multiculturalism of the modern educational space. Therefore, it is undoubtedly especially valuable to clearly define and substantiate a conceptually oriented perspective which would contribute to the development of active civic position of pupils and student youth, the formation of national consciousness, the formation of high moral feelings and habits, would ensure the creation of a positive system of pupils' and students' attitudes towards reality, and establish tolerant intercultural relations in various activities. Key words: multicultural education, multicultural upbringing, tolerance, intercultural communication, civic identity, culture of personal self-affirmation, interactive methods, personality-oriented approach.

Frail hope and new frontiers

This guest editorial takes as its starting point the 2021 guest editorial in ANTHROPOLOGY TODAY on the anthropology of blockchain written by Kosmarski and Gordiychuk, in which they discussed the possibilities of blockchain in terms of a ‘frail hope of novel, weird, grassroots, decentralized forms of social life’. They also argued that blockchain brought us to ‘new frontiers’ in politics, economics, capital, votes and subjective feelings. Two years later, in this 2023 guest editorial, the authors take stock of where blockchain technology stands concerning these ‘frail hopes’ and ‘new frontiers’. They distinguish between three articulations of blockchain imaginaries: blockchain‐as‐discourse, blockchain‐as‐sociotechnical assemblage and blockchain‐as‐spectacle. Then, they explore what blockchain means for capital, and whether we are headed towards mass adoption of blockchain technology, concluding that, for now, they see primarily institutional adoption. The authors also discern parallel institutional structures, with traditional finance on one side and blockchain‐enabled crypto finance on the other, and they examine the regulated future of crypto assets.

Modern Forms and Practices of the Civil Society Self-Organization in the Czech Republic

The aim of this article is to study the peculiarities and specifics of Czech civil society. The initial situation and institutional conditions of the social self-organization are analyzed, along with specific examples of representing social interests and other forms of participation, as well as the ideas of state policy and civil society that fuel civic activism or protests. The author emphasizes that today the Czech Republic has a fairly diverse and extensive network of organized civil society, particularly in the ecological and social spheres. The system of political parties and a certain form of legal and financial regulation have not always contributed to the development of civic initiatives. Trade unions benefit from the opportunity to participate in state politics and its institutions. For Czechs, it is characteristic to express collective interests and outside the parliament – informally through demonstrations, petitions, and initiatives directed towards post-materialistic orientations. Civic initiatives address issues concerning Roma and other minorities, aid refugees, and resolve matters in which the state takes a restrictive position, although it is supported by broad segments of the Czech society. Similar patterns can be observed in protests and demands for political reforms. Czechs are seeking alternatives to existing parties that rely on civil society. The author emphasizes that among the numerous civil society organizations, there are influential ones, but the level of participation of Czechs in them is low. There have been frequent expressions of dissatisfaction with the form of social life and significant reservations towards the “party elite” in society. To some extent, this also applies to associations closely related to politics.

Творческая активность студентов: возможности смешанной модели консорциума

In the modern world almost any professional field requires specialists who possess innovative thinking skills, who can solve non-standard tasks, who can take a fresh look at their usual activities and offer breakthrough solutions. Such specialists are especially important in the face of serious challenges of globalization, such as a pandemic. Thus, one of the important tasks of education is development of a creative, active, independent personality, ready to new forms of social life, capable of transforming reality, aimed at self-development. The purpose of the study is to develop and test a mixed model of a consortium for development of students' creative activity. The main method of study was the formative experiment. We have also used diagnostic tools taking into account the components, criteria and indicators of development of students' creativity. One hundred sixty-seven people took part in the experiment, of which 87 were students of Kazan Federal University, 80 people were students of Vyatka State University. The result of the article is the mixed consortium model for development of students' creative activity, which allows teachers to use active learning strategies and include students in progressively more complex educational online activities that ensure development of learning motivation, creativity and creative skills.

У ПОШУКАХ ПІДСТАВ СОЦІАЛЬНОГО В ЕПОХУ ПІЗНЬОГО МОДЕРНУ ТА ПОСТМОДЕРНУ: РАДИКАЛІЗАЦІЯ РЕФЛЕКСИВНОСТІ Е. ГІДЕНСОМ ТА АБСОЛЮТИЗАЦІЯ УЯВНОГО К. КАСТОРІАДІСОМ

Completion of modern generates a question, that, actually, is reality and whether it is possible in general according to her theoretical description. In a background it there is various postmodern reinterpretations of social – from a statement about disappearance of social to his rescue through radical rethinking. Anthony Giddens belongs to the philosophers that try to "prolong" the lives of modern through his radical rethinking in the epoch of globalization. And a philosopher does it through the radicalization of one of the basic foundations of modernity – through radicalization of reflection, that is investigated in the article. The dynamism of social life destabilizes an everyday life that already is not provided in a complete measure by the mechanisms of tradition but needs, in the opinion of philosophers, an all greater reflection. Giddens's postmodernism is the globalists of risks, uncertainty, the end of the direct power of traditions, and radical reflection that outpoured into the reflexive proactivity of the self and needs an articulated and conceptually defined imagined in Castoriadis. Cornelius Castoriadis reacts somewhat differently to the realities of a rapidly changing world. Dissociating himself from the functionalist mainstream of social theory, from the tradition of "interpretive sociology", trying to conceptualize the dynamic environment as it is, which constantly generates various forms of social life, the philosopher problematizes and absolutizes the concept of the imaginary, which keeps the rational in itself in a primordial and infinite indistinctness. The social concept of Cornelius Castoriadis involves the criticism of "naive realism" in the perception of social life, the separation from the "functional-economic" view as an exemplary embodiment of "real-rational" thinking and the identification of the symbolic component of social "things" and the understanding of institutions as functional and symbolic networks. So, if the dynamism of postmodern social life prompts Giddens to radicalize reflection, then the loss of stability and intelligibility leads Castoriadis to thematize the imaginary, virtual dimension of social life, to develop a metaphorical ontology of the "magma" of social imaginary meanings.

Placebos and Metaphors.

The objective of this essay is to develop the argument that placebos are a species of metaphor and to demonstrate that an analysis of the figurative trope can help us elucidate the power of the placebo response. The cognitive and embodied responses to both metaphors and placebos stem from the transfer of meaning between two domains, each with rich allusive properties that in turn depend on highly ramified and interconnected neural webs. Metaphors and placebos require an appropriate cultural backdrop for their linguistic and cognitive work and are dependent on shared social forms of life. More specifically, metaphors rely on an intersubjective connection and imply that a relational entanglement between doctor and patient is necessary to the effect of placebos in the clinical setting.

Негосударственные формы права

In the conditions of permanent globalization and the steady formation of democratic trends in the development of the state and society, state law as a fundamental form of law has adopted a certain vector of displacement towards the cession of the «leading place» to non-state forms of law, such as individual and group law, as well as civil society law. The study of forms of law through the prism of theory and practice is conditioned by the development of democratic institutions of civil society, increasing the "self-governance" of citizens, increasing the importance of localized forms of social life; international consolidation and de facto recognition of the importance of individual rights and freedoms of citizens as fundamental values of public and state life and, finally, the accompanying consolidation of the ideas of humanism and democracy. The analysis of this phenomenon in the framework of a scientific article reveals both positive and negative aspects inherent in each of the forms of law, the author assesses their viability and prospects for development today.

The categorical dichotomy Gemeinschaft/Gesellschaft in sociological classics: Tonnies - Weber - Freyer - Parsons

The article considers the history of the conceptual pair Gemeinschaft/Gesellschaft (community/society) used by classics of sociology to explain the fundamental difference of modern society from the previous forms of social life. The author emphasizes the popularity of these categories as identifying the temporally successive types of sociality: Gemeinschaft refers to the original form of traditional organic community, and Gesellschaft - to the mass urbanized society of the modern age. The article shows the structural relationship between the early sociological concepts and the philosophy of modern history as an analytical (self)description of modern societies. The article reconstructs the development of Ferdinand Tönnies’ views, who introduced the pair Gemeinschaft/Gesellschaft as an analytical tool for social theory and challenged the opposition of these two types of social integration by emphasizing their presence in every social interaction. The author briefly outlines Max Weber’s perception of this conceptual pair in the form of Vergemeinschaftung/Vergesellschaftung social relations as ideally-typically value-oriented and instrumentally rational. The article explains the drastic politicization of the Gemeinschaft semantics in inter-war Germany - the term became a marker of the social-political polarization. Then the author focuses on the differentiated theory of Gemeinschaft developed in Hans Freyer’s sociology and on the Nazis’ attempt to make this term a basis of their theory of homogeneous society. The article considers the reception of Tönnies’ categories in American sociology, especially by Talcott Parsons, and highlights his contribution to the theory of socialization and integration of large societies with small solidarity groups. The last part of the article emphasizes the significance of the conceptual pair for the theory of late modernity - its structure of social action consists of elements of both community and society.

Application critical social theory in investigating nursing competency in context of Vietnam

Background: Competency of nurses is a critical component that drives the quality of healthcare. Investigation of required competencies among nurses in particular context is essential to foster nursing services. Objectives: The aim of this article is to share the researcher’s experiences and give out explanations of the application of the Critical Social Theory through investigating nursing competency in context of Vietnam. Methods: An ethnography approach with data collection methods of participant-observations, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions was conducted. Critical Social Theory was applied as theoretical foundation in order to gain deeply and fully understanding competencies of nurses. Results: It’s shown that using the Critical Social Theory as a theoretical foundation to investigate nursing competency in Vietnam context is applicable. This Theory is a school of thought whose primary goal is to improve the human condition. The theory focuses on general theoretical problems, as well as specific studies of concrete problems of contemporary social organization. The tactic focused on breaking with traditional hypothetical deductive methods, which are oriented towards the preservation and gradual reformation of the status quo. Its intention is to be a radically different approach which would consider the human construction of social forms of life and the possibility of their recreation. By applying the theory, it allows the researcher to explore and deeply understand what nurses think and act. Conclusion: To hear all nurses’ voices and smell the meaning of their behave in order to gain a rich and fully understanding of competencies of nurses, the Critical Social Theory is a suitable choice.