Individual Concepts Research Articles

Effect of Individuals Task Conflict on Employees Creativity in Private Medical Hospitals of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan

As the concept of individuals’ task conflict was a buzzing topic in field of management sciences and has been considered as an integral part of the organization while recent studies have shown that its crucial for creativity of employees’. Therefore, the aim of this research study is to determine the effect of individual task conflict on employees’ creativity in private hospitals of Nangarhar, Afghanistan. The data has collected from a sample who selected from rest of population with a stratified random sampling technique with adopted questionnaires. For determining the effect of individuals’ task conflict on employees’ creativity the statistical analysis descriptive statistics, correlation matrix and regression analysis have been used and pointed out that; there is strong and positive association between individual task conflict and employees’ creativity. Besides, regression analysis has shown that employees’ creativity is dependent on having a task relevant conflict. On the other hand, can said that; individual task conflict has effect on employees’ creativity. The details based on data has shown that; there is 0.731 or 73.1% association between individual task conflict and employees’ creativity with having 0.01 significant value. Furthermore, the beta value of regression analysis declared that 1% consideration on individual task conflict could positively increase the employees’ creativity 0.738 times with 0.01 significant level. Conclusively, the task conflict is one of key indicators for better employees’ creativity, and The findings of current study were same with past studies conducted by various authors in different times and areas (Lu, Zhou & Leung, 2009; Khan et al., 2020; Pelled, Eisenhardt, & Xin, 1999; Mumford & Gustafson, 1988; De Dreu, 2006; Farh et al., 2010; Xie et al., 2014).

Becoming authentic: A social conception of the self

Abstract Two approaches to authenticity have gained currency in the recent analytic philosophical literature. The first takes authenticity to be a property of how people act (authentic agency). The second takes it to be a property of who people are (authentic self). This paper motivates both views, then argues that there is a dependency between the two: the exercise of authentic agency depends on the possession of an authentic self, while the possession of an authentic self relies on the prior exercise of authentic agency. On a particular, individualist conception of the self, this leads to a paradox. This paradox is resolved if one instead adopts a social conception of the self, according to which the self is partially ontologically constituted by other agents (a ‘we’, rather than an ‘I’).

Changes in life satisfaction over six years in the general population: A longitudinal study with the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS).

Satisfaction with life is a key concept for most individuals. The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) for measuring general life satisfaction has been widely analyzed in terms of cross-sectional associations. However, the knowledge about long-term changes in life satisfaction and the associations between such changes and changes in other variables of physical and mental health is limited. A community-based representative sample of the general population has been examined twice with a time interval of six years (n = 4,999), using the SWLS and several other scales. Over the six years, the mean SWLS score of the total sample remained nearly unchanged (M = 27.0, SD = 5.2, both at t1 and at t2). The test-retest correlation was rtt = 0.66 for the total sample, and there were only marginal differences in temporal stability between male and female respondents. Changes in the SWLS over the six years were correlated with changes in optimism (r = 0.23), mental health (r = 0.26), social functioning (r = 0.22), perceived social support (r = 0.21), anxiety (r = -0.30), and physical complaints (r = -0.18). These change score correlations were lower than the corresponding coefficients under the cross-sectional perspective. Measurement invariance across sex, age, and time was established. The SWLS proved to be an appropriate tool for assessing changes in life satisfaction, and correlations between change scores of life satisfaction and health-related variables complement the knowledge about these associations from a cross-sectional perspective.

Anti-Black Racism in Bioethics: A Path to Health Equity

The concept of racism as a social phenomenon can be summarized in three conceptions: individualist, institutional, and structural. The individualist conception treats racism as a social pathology of individual or collective character. The institutional conception views it as a malfunction of institutions that confer disadvantages to black people, and therefore, correction mechanisms are based on affirmative actions to recover the representation of racial minorities.

Nuancing Networks: On the Individuation of Doxa in Online Communities

The author draws on Gilbert Simondon’s concept of individuation to theorize “doxastic individuation” as a process of doxa formation in online communities. Doxastic individuation involves the resolution of tensions in the network’s experiences, emotions and values, culminating in multifaceted doxa that render users compatible and promote interchange. The author’s theorization is accompanied by analyses of a populous online community on a major social media platform (AskReddit) and a niche music forum (I Hate Music). At heart, this essay encourages rhetoricians to reassess how doxa form in social media contexts and consider users’ responsible, relational participation in networked doxa.

BRCA Gene Mutation Testing in Ovarian Cancer Patients and Its Impact on Targeted Therapy

Ovarian cancer is a highly fatal gynecological malignancy, with its early symptoms being subtle, resulting in most patients being diagnosed at an advanced stage. Studies have shown that BRCA gene mutations hold significant clinical importance in ovarian cancer patients. Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are not only closely linked to the onset of ovarian cancer but also play a crucial role in its progression and treatment. The advancement of gene sequencing technology has provided more efficient and accurate methods for detecting BRCA mutations, particularly with the application of next-generation sequencing (NGS), which has greatly improved both detection rates and accuracy. In the field of targeted therapy, PARP inhibitors, as a novel treatment strategy, have been widely applied to ovarian cancer patients with BRCA mutations. These inhibitors work by suppressing the DNA repair pathway, inducing apoptosis in cancer cells, thereby significantly extending patient survival. However, resistance to PARP inhibitors in some patients remains a key challenge in current research. With the deepening of individualized treatment concepts, BRCA mutation testing not only assists doctors in assessing patient sensitivity to PARP inhibitors but also provides critical insights for developing personalized treatment plans. This paper reviews the clinical applications of BRCA gene mutations in ovarian cancer, explores gene testing technologies and their impact on targeted therapy, and emphasizes the analysis of the mechanisms and resistance issues associated with PARP inhibitors, aiming to provide theoretical support for precision medicine in ovarian cancer patients.

A Large Polyphonic Cycle in the Piano Works of Ukrainian Composers of the Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Centuries: The Issue of Integrity

The relevance of this topic is related to the need to comprehend the processes of revival of the genre of the large polyphonic cycle in the musical art of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, where it acquires a high conceptual capacity. Its main direction of development, while preserving the compositional framework and semantic invariant of the structure, is defined as individualization through innovation, which finds expression in individual author's concepts of cycles. The research is aimed at studying the specifics of the compositional and dramaturgical integrity of a large polyphonic cycle, maximizing the coverage of the internal processes of its formation at different levels. The concept of a large polyphonic cycle, which is revealed as a compositional and dramatic integrity, is considered on the basis of piano works by Ukrainian composers of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries (Vsevolod Zaderatsky, Alemdar Karamanov, Valentyn Bibik, Ihor Pyaskovsky, and Boryslav Stronko).

Patterns of Social Connection Among Older Adults in England

Issues related to social connection are increasingly recognized as a global public health priority. However, there is a lack of a holistic understanding of social connection and its health impacts given that most empirical research focuses on a single or few individual concepts of social connection. To explore patterns of social connection and their associations with health and well-being outcomes. This cohort study included participants aged 50 years and older from the fourth wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (2008-2009). Machine learning cluster analysis and regression analysis were used. The analyses were performed from January to July 2024. Social connection clusters informed by the cluster analysis. This study considered outcomes related to mental health (depression), hedonic (life satisfaction, pleasure) and eudaimonic (self-realization) well-being, general health (self-reported health), and health behavior (moderate or vigorous physical activity). Key confounders, identified using directed acyclic graphs, including age, sex, ethnicity, education, social class, and wealth, were controlled for. Among 7706 participants aged 50 years and older (mean [SD] age, 64.7 [9.6] years; 4248 [55.1%] female; 7536 [97.8%] White), 5 clusters were identified, including disconnected (974 [12.6%]), gapped structure/poor function (1109 [14.4%]), gapped structure/high function (1582 [20.5%]), poor function/mixed quality (1501 [19.5%]), and highly connected (2540 [33.0%]). All clusters had poorer outcomes compared with the highly connected cluster (eg, depression among individuals in disconnected vs highly connected clusters: odds ratio [OR], 2.73; 95% CI, 2.24 to 3.33), many of which persisted after controlling for baseline outcome (eg, depression among individuals in disconnected vs highly connected clusters: OR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.57 to 2.43). The difference was smallest between the highly connected and gapped structure/high function clusters across most outcomes (eg, depression among individuals in gapped structure/high function vs highly connected: OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.10-1.64; after controlling for baseline outcome: OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.03-1.59). This cohort study highlights the importance of considering multidimensional measures of social connection and understanding the nuance of its heterogenous patterns. Understanding the typologies of social connection has substantial implications for exploring modifiable risk factors for social disconnection and for understanding the mechanisms linking social connection to health-related outcomes.

Sufisim in Doris Lessing's The Four Gated City

This paper studies Sufism and its relevance in “The Four-Gated City” written by Doris Lessing. Sufism is an esoteric movement and regarded as the backbone of all religious systems. The study examines how Sufi thought permeates the thematic structure in spiritual and philosophical aspects in the novel. It seeks to examine how Sufi elements are imbedded in the novel, especially in terms of the characters psychology and their spiritual progression, and how Sufism provides a fine contrast to the narratives, alluding to the Western themes of rationality, individuality, and materialist perspectives, making this comparative in nature as well. And what is the function of mysticism within the context of Lessing's progression of her critique of modernity and her portrayal of the nature of being human?. To answer these questions, the research examines the nature of the incorporation of Sufi ideas like the wahdat al-wujud and the journey of the soul in the novel. It studies the characters journeyed in their experiences and how do the songs reflect the Sufi stages of spiritual development. Using Sufism to Critique Western Rationalism and Materialism. The methodology is a close reading of the novel, finding Sufi themes, symbols, and metaphors. A Sufi perspective with special focus on the representation of spiritual progress and awakening is the theoretical framework of the study. Finally, the comparative method employed in this study draws parallels not just between the visualization of the spiritual ascent in the Shikasta, but also in the Sufi classics of Rumi and Ibn Arabi. This research rests on the theoretical foundations of Sufi mysticism and comparative lit-examples drawn from the works of Idries Shah and others who presented Sufi-themed scholars to the West. Using postmodern literary theory, the book considers how Lessing subverts linear narratives through mystical beginnings, which is contrary to Western conceptions of progress and individuality. These are examples from the study’s results which suggest that the principles of the Sufi doctrine function as the fictional and philosophical basis placed at the centre of the novel’s exploration of human potential as a means for social change. Through Sufism, Lessing provides a glimpse of mute-bodied existence, spiritual enlightenment, and unity consciousness beyond the confines of a self-referencing mind. In the mystical experiences of its protagonists, there is a critique of the alienation in the modern world, an idea that true progress is in finding the inner self spiritually, not materially.

Понятие мотивации труда в зеркале междисциплинарного анализа

The scientific article is devoted to the interdisciplinary analysis of the concept of “labor motivation”. With a par-ticular emphasis on the interpretations of this concept contained in works and publications of representatives of the humanities and social sciences. The existing definitions of labor motivation are considered within the framework of four basic approaches (economic, sociological, psychological, philosophical), individual concepts of definitions (or their totality) are identified in them, which determine the currently existing scientific approach-es to the interpretation of motivation (process, factor, functional, systemic, categorical, etc.). The author, taking into account the objective multifactorial and polyaspect nature of labor motivation as a socio-economic catego-ry, advocates the use of the so-called “synthesized” approach, in which the presence of an axiological ap-proach based on the basic category of “value” is advisable as a mandatory component.

Reflection of local cultural tradition in oral childhood memories (based on the speech of speakers of Kuban subdialects)

The article examines the functional potential, subject matter, content, and linguistic specific features of oral stories-memories of native speakers of Kuban subdialects of their childhood years (the 30, 40, 50, 60, 70s of the twentieth century). The main corpus of texts was collected through the field method within the framework of dialectological expeditions (2005–2023). Textual analysis, thematic classification, and linguistic commentary on linguistic facts were used to analyse the language material. The study shows that the subject matter and content of old Kuban residents’ oral childhood memories reflect the local cultural tradition, which, while organically fitting into the national cultural context, has peculiarities determined by the specific features of the region as a Cossack land. We describe recurring plots which appear due to life circumstances common to this dialect community. The research has also established the functional potential of childhood memories in terms of identifying conceptual meanings of individual concepts. It is demonstrated that the Kuban dialect is an important component of the local cultural tradition. The storytellers learnt it in the childhood, and it remains a natural means of communication for most of them. The analysis of the linguistic features of the memories shows a consistent manifestation of dialectal features at all linguistic levels, which enables us to recognise the informants’ stories about their childhood as one of the effective ways of preserving the dialect. The conclusion notes the scientific potential of oral memories of childhood as valuable materials for multidimensional analysis of the childhood phenomenon, as well as for studying such a unique phenomenon as linguistic genetic memory which preserves dialect not only in space but also in time. Additionally, the article focuses on the didactic potential of the analysed texts. Familiarisation with such materials during Russian language, history, and library lessons, as well as homeroom periods will contribute to strengthening generational continuity. Moreover, it will enhance ethnic identity formation and involvement in the family history of people whose destinies shape the history of the country and the nation.

Clinicians’ experiences of obtaining informed consent for research and treatment: a nested qualitative study from Pakistan

BackgroundInformed consent is considered to be the standard method for respecting the autonomy of individual participants in research and practices and is thought to be based on several conditions: (1) providing information on the purpose of the research or a specific treatment, what it will entail, (2) the participants being mentally competent to understand the information and weigh it in the balance, and (3) the participants to be free from coercion. While there are studies of informed consent in other countries, especially Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs), this study explored the experiences of clinicians regarding the process of obtaining informed consent to participate in a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) in particular and treatment in general in healthcare settings, both general and mental health, specifically focusing on the tension between individualistic concept of autonomy and collectivist values in cultures such as Pakistan.MethodsQualitative interviews with 20 clinicians from healthcare settings in Pakistan who also served as recruiters in a suicide prevention RCT in Pakistan. The interviews were guided by semi-structured topic guide. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim.ResultsThe interviews revealed that shared decision making was more morally important than individual autonomy, the role of the family played a dominant part in the consent-taking procedure, the decision of the elder and/or family patriarch took prominence, and that clinician-researchers encountered significant challenges in consent process in Pakistan, while recruiting patients into the trial as well as during routine treatment processes in healthcare settings. Four distinct themes emerged which were (1) Family deciding for patients, (2) Benefits of involving family in consent process, (3) Gender disparity in consent process, (4) Challenges experienced by clinician-researchers during consent process in Pakistan.ConclusionsThe concept of consent is generally considered important in many cultures, however, there are two strands of understanding. There seems to be consensus that participant agreement is necessary to protect the participant but with regards to autonomy there are significant cultural differences whether it is the right for autonomy of the individual (individualistic concept) or family, community, or expert authority in other cultures. In Pakistan clinician-researchers sometimes preferred one approach and sometimes the other as they appreciated the interests of the patient to be.

Statutory Concepts of the Mechanism of Regulating Property Turnover Relations

Introduction: the scientific paper aims to analyze the conditions for the formation of the statutory concept of the mechanism of the civil regulation of property (civil) turnover relations. The relevance of the topic is related to the specifics of property turnover relations, which determines the individual (for specific participants in legal relations) statutory concept of regulating and the need to determine the conditions for the formation of the statutory concept for regulating relations within the framework of property turnover. Methods: as a part of the study, a comparative law method was used, which made it possible to identify differences in violations when using the image of a citizen; a systematic approach; a formal logical research method. Results: the analysis of the current legislation of the Russian Federation has been carried out, and the conditions associated with the formation of the statutory concept of the mechanism of the civil regulation of relations in the field of property turnover have been determined. Conclusions: it is determined that the basic statutory concept of the civil mechanism is formed taking into account the objectives of the activities of the participants in the turnover and can be supplemented depending on the circumstances. Such a statutory concept legally ensures the satisfaction of private interests. In case of violation of interests, the protective means of the mechanism of the civil regulation are used, which “help” to restore the property status of the injured party.

Keystone niche individuals: some are more unequal than others

Conspecific individuals often diverge in their foraging decisions. Indeed, across diverse taxa, generalist populations contain both generalist and specialist individuals. This intraspecific niche variation allows some individuals to contribute disproportionately to their population’s niche. Here, we present the concept of keystone niche individuals and why it matters for ecologists.

DISCOURSE FACTORS AND AESTHETIC DEMANDS TOWARDS VERSE THROUGH THE SPIRIT OF INDIVIDUALISM IN NEW UZBEK POETRY

The given scientific article aims to reveal and study in detail the factors of discourse, as well as the aesthetic requirements for the genre of poetry through the manifestation of the concept of individualism in new Uzbek poetry. This scientific research also considers the factors that motivated the content renewal of new Uzbek poetry. The reasons for the echo of changes in social life in literature and the emergence of new Uzbek poetry are explained in detail.

The historical transformation of individual concepts into populational ones: an explanatory shift in the gestation of the modern synthesis.

In this paper, I will conduct three interrelated analyses. First, I will develop an analysis of various concepts in the history of biology that used to refer to individual-level phenomena but were then reinterpreted by the Modern Synthesis in terms of populations. Second, a similar situation can be found in contemporary evolutionary theory. While different approaches reflect on the causal role of developing organisms in evolution, proponents of the Modern Synthesis refrain from any substantial change by reinterpreting and explaining individual-level phenomena from a population perspective. Finally, I will approach these historical and contemporary debates by arguing for the statistical reading of natural selection, which holds that explanations by natural selection are statistical. My main conclusion is that the historical conceptual reinterpretations belong to a new explanatory strategy developed by the Modern Synthesis based on population thinking. Adopting the statistical point of view has three advantages for the issues discussed in this paper. First, understanding historical conceptual change as part of an explanatory shift fits with the emergence of population biology as a discipline that employs statistical methods. Second, concerning current debates in evolutionary biology, the statisticalist reading can validate the goal of both sides of the dispute. It ascribes an invaluable role to the population statistical explanation of the MS and also commends the study of developmental and organismal causes of adaptive evolution. Finally, the division of explanatory roles in evolutionary biology, embarrassed by statisticalism, can be related to the different interpretations that important biological concepts have undergone throughout history and contemporary biology, i.e., that the division of explanatory roles allows for a division of conceptual interpretations.

The concept map as a tool for analyzing museum objects

AbstractThis paper discusses using the concept map to study museum objects. The tool's original purpose, which was created in the 1970s by Joseph Novak, was to graphically represent the construction of knowledge of scientific topics by learners, particularly children. Concept maps start from the premise that new knowledge is always built on previous knowledge and allow the representation, organization, and relationship between concepts, which are seen as the primary elements of knowledge. Novak recognized that its potential is insufficiently explored and encouraged its application in different disciplines and fields that deal with concepts and their relationships. This incentive led the Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) to adopt the concept map on an experimental basis to analyze objects in its collection. At first, the tool sought to emphasize the conceptual potential of museum objects and shed more light on their trajectory in time and space and the numerous possible connections with events, institutions, concepts, people, and other objects. In the initial experimental phase, the maps were included in papers presented at academic events and discussed with professionals dedicated to science and technology collections and other specialists in Museology and Information Science. In the second stage, maps began to be produced in greater numbers and on demand, focusing on objects selected for a temporary exhibition. Based on the assumption that museum objects are both unique and representative of a class of objects that share the same name and function, the maps constructed were based on Ingetraut Dahlberg's Theory of Concept, which distinguishes between general and individual objects and concepts.

Gender precedes sex: Epistemological considerations for occupational science from a materialist feminist perspective

ABSTRACT The cognitive tools humans use to perceive and name reality are social constructs that necessitate critical examination. ‘Gender’ and ‘sex’ are socially constructed categories used in daily life and in relation to occupations, that warrant scrutiny, as traditional explanations for gender differences based on biology fail to account for the social processes that construct gendered groups. Questioning the naturalness of these categories is essential for understanding how they shape individual capabilities and social norms around occupations. This discussion paper adopts a materialist feminist standpoint to problematize the concepts of gender and sex. Rejecting biological essentialism, we argue that social organization precedes and constructs the significance of sex categories. By reconceptualizing both gender and sex as socially constructed, our analysis challenges notions of gender as culture applied to a pre-existing biological sex. Occupational literature makes use of these categories to explore gender-related issues. It mainly focuses on gender identity through an interactional orientation that, nevertheless, preserves an individual conception. Social categories are also used to illustrate inequalities and contextual factors related to gender; an essential usage that remains at risk of reifying such categories as pre-existing groups. The use of gender as a social system of hierarchical bi-categorization, as we propose, is not present in occupational literature. This materialist feminist analysis underscores the importance of questioning entrenched biological determinism of sex, on which rests gender as identity. In highlighting the social construction of categories, occupational science can contribute to a deeper understanding of occupation within, and in the challenge of, oppressive systems.

Consumer behavioural model and the mediating role of branding concept on consumer willingness to purchase electronics products

This study ascertained the impact of the consumer behavioural model and the mediating role of the branding concept on consumer willingness to purchase a Samsung family brand in South Africa. This objective is motivated by the highly competitive and dynamic nature of the electronics market, where various factors influence consumers in their decision-making processes. Consequently, additional conceptual variables may also affect consumers' willingness to purchase a Samsung family brand. To achieve the study's objective, a quantitative research method was employed, involving data collection from 150 students at a university in Mthatha. Inferential statistical analysis was conducted through structural equation modelling to elucidate the relationships between variables, utilising SmartPLS and SPSS software as analytical tools. The findings of this study revealed a positive and significant impact of individual factors and branding concepts on consumer willingness to purchase the Samsung family brand. In contrast, social factors and the purchase situation exhibited a positive impact but were deemed insignificant regarding consumer willingness to purchase the brand. Therefore, it is established that, in addition to the positive impact of the consumer behavioural model on consumer willingness to purchase a Samsung family brand, the branding concept also plays a mediating role in this willingness. This study recommends that dealers and marketers of the Samsung family brand place greater emphasis on consumer-valued aspects of both social factors and the purchasing situation, with a particular focus on individual factors and the branding concept, to attract more consumers, particularly rural university students in South Africa.

The Concept of Individuality in Ujamaa: Hermeneutical Historical and Phenomenological Aspects of Politics in Tanzania

The phenomena of politics in Tanzania show tension in individual’s freedom of speech as the product of human rationality. This study attempts to display the indispensability of historical influence of the concept of individuality in Ujamaa in the present political realm despite the fact that there is denial of the existence and influence of Ujamaa in the current politics. The hermeneutical method of the source material has been used with a systematic description of ideas in Ujamaa in the past and its interpretation and implication in the present and future. The findings show that the anthropological values in Ujamaa were over shadowed by authoritative elements in the past and so do in the current situation the condition which hinders the individual freedom of unity in diversity in the political realm, the idea which is crucial in the global and digital nation.