Members Of Such Groups Research Articles

Ensuring the rights of victims during the investigation of crimes against life and health committed by members of youth informal groups (associations)

The article addresses specific issues regarding the protection of victims’ rights during the investigation of crimes against life and health committed by members of youth informal groups (associations). It emphasizes that modern criminology’s theoretical and applied research is focused on finding optimal methods for investigating crimes committed by members of such groups. It is highlighted that in the structure of criminal offenses committed by youth informal groups, crimes against life and health rank second, with nearly one-third involving serious and moderately severe bodily injuries. This is because group violence tends to be more brutal than individual acts, and in all criminal proceedings involving violent crimes, such offenses were committed in groups. There is a noted lack of works dedicated to protecting the rights of victims during the investigation of crimes against life and health committed by members of youth informal groups (associations). The research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that ensure the effective protection of the rights and legitimate interests of victims, analyzing legislative gaps that significantly complicate or even prevent their effective protection. The analysis of international legal principles and standards identified a set of measures that may enable a victim-centered approach in investigating this category of crimes: raising awareness and providing immediate legal, social, and medical assistance (including informing victims of their procedural rights, such as the right to protection and compensation, and access to specialized support services); ensuring physical and psychological protection of victims; employing special interrogation tactics to minimize secondary victimization (investigators should consider the age, psychological condition, health status, and location of the interrogation - whether at the victim’s home, healthcare facility, or investigator’s office); using audiovisual recordings to reduce the number of interrogations; and ensuring compensation for damages.

Social Network Use of Accounting Professionals in Accessing Professional Knowledge in Türkiye: The Case of Facebook

Social networks, defined as virtual environments where people interact with other users using the internet, were first created for a group of university students to communicate with their schoolmates. Later, these networks were used for many different purposes, such as entertainment, news, advertising, product marketing and sales, education, and access to information on various topics. Professionals also create groups on these networks, share information with their colleagues in their field, and quickly access the information they need about their profession. Many people practicing accounting are also members of such groups on social networks. This study aims to examine the use of social networks by accounting professionals to access professional information. For this purpose, the groups actively used by accounting professionals were investigated using various keywords in social networks widely used worldwide and in Türkiye. After that, it was determined that the group with the most participants was on Facebook. This group was selected in the context of case study, one of one of the qualitative research techniques, and all the posts in this page were accepted as data. The web scraping method obtained 1,328 posts made in a specific time interval. These data were analyzed by content analysis method. In conclusion, it was confirmed that social networks were used by members of the accounting profession in order to access professional knowledge rather than social interaction.

Cults, Conspiracies, and Fantasies of Knowledge

AbstractThere's a certain pleasure in fantasizing about possessing knowledge, especially possessing secret knowledge to which outsiders don't have access. Such fantasies are typically a source of innocent entertainment. However, under the right conditions, fantasies of knowledge can become epistemically dangerous, because they can generate illusions of genuine knowledge. I argue that this phenomenon helps to explain why some people join and eventually adopt the beliefs of epistemic communities who endorse seemingly bizarre, outlandish claims, such as extreme cults and online conspiracy theory groups. It can be difficult to grasp how members of such groups come to believe the theories they endorse. I argue that one route to such beliefs is via deep absorption in fantasies of knowledge, which can lead entire groups to become collectively detached from reality.

Jihad Discourse and Its Reception among Sermon Listeners in Northern Nigeria

In the past two decades, religious extremism and its consequences have assumed a wide-reaching dimension in northern Nigeria. Although this trend has been the object of many studies in recent years, many of the efforts have been spent on understanding the role of structural factors in relation to the crisis. While not downplaying the importance of structural factors to the issue, this study focuses on jihad discourse and its implications on religious extremism in the region. Using jihad sermons delivered by two prominent Sunni clerics in northern Nigeria (Shaykhs Jafar Mahmud Adam and Dahiru Usman Bauchi) as its database, the article shows that the sermons contain certain discursive strategies entangled in the religious politics of contemporary Nigeria. The research finds that in addition to preparing a manual on when and how to use violence to counter perceived religious violence from the "religious others in contemporary Nigeria," the discursive strategies in those sermons are also deemed capable of inviting their consumers to internalize violence and become potential recruits for violent religious groups, even though the speakers are not known as members of such groups.

Informed consent and algorithmic discrimination – is giving away your data the new vulnerable?

This paper discusses various forms and sources of algorithmic discrimination. In particular, we explore the connection between – at first glance – ‘voluntary’ sharing or selling of one’s data on the one hand and potential risks of automated decision-making based on big data and artificial intelligence on the other. We argue that the implementation of algorithm-driven profiling or decision-making mechanisms will, in many cases, disproportionately disadvantage certain vulnerable groups that are already disadvantaged by many existing datafication practices. We call into question the voluntariness of these mechanisms, especially for certain vulnerable groups, and claim that members of such groups are oftentimes more likely to give away their data. If these existing datafication practices exacerbate prior disadvantages, they ‘compound historical injustices’ (Hellman, 2018) and thereby constitute forms of morally wrong discrimination. To make matters worse, they are even more prone to further algorithmic discriminations based on the additional data collected from them.

Правовое обеспечение баланса интересов в корпоративных группах

The article examines the correlation between the interests of corporate groups and legal entities that are members of such groups. The main problem of the study is related to the establishment of a balance of interests in situations when the interests of a particular legal entity are sacrificed to the general interests of a corporate group. Using the examples of challenging corporate decisions, challenging transactions, recovering losses from the controlling person and management, the author shows the inconsistency and inflexibility of legal regulation, as well as the lack of carefully designed approaches to taking into account the group context of the economic activities of legal entities. In addition, the author examines the main legal models for providing the balance of interests in corporate groups (English, German, French). As a result, proposals are put forward to form a flexible model of the balance of interests for Russia, which is based on the idea of the need to take into account the social and economic characteristics of legal entities and corporate groups.

Combating political crimes committed by members of informal youth groups

In modern conditions of the development of public relations and political life, criminal activity in Ukraine is changing and transforming. In such transformational conditions, the commission of political crimes by members of informal youth groups is becoming more widespread. Given the above, the need to analyze political crimes committed by members of informal youth groups, methods, and means of combating such crimes, including foreign positive experience, becomes especially relevant. The work aims to analyze the means and methods of combating political crimes committed by members of such groups. The object of the research is the fight against political crimes committed by members of informal youth groups. The subject of the study is the social relations that arise, change, and end during the fight against political crimes committed by members of these groups. The research methodology is a set of different scientific methods, including observation, analysis, synthesis, extrapolation, generalization, comparison, dialectical method. The empirical basis of the study was the materials of the investigation of crimes committed by members of informal youth groups. As a result of the study, some issues of combating political crimes committed by members of informal youth groups were considered. Three main reasons for the participation of informal youth groups in political confrontations are highlighted, and certain issues of investigation of this type of criminal activity are considered.

Aesthetics in Identity Politics: Cumulative Aesthetics, Emplotment, and Empathy

Contemporary identity politics, politics based on affiliation with a particular societal group in contradistinction from one or more others, typically becomes galvanized in response to a sense that those so affiliated have been marginalized or harmed. Art and aesthetic gestures utilized in contexts of identity politics serve a number of roles, among them drawing attention to the marginalization or harm to specific groups, consolidating those who share a particular political identity, and promoting empathy for members of such groups’ members. Another aesthetic strategy frequently utilized in efforts to promote social justice toward particular groups is the use of cumulative aesthetics, in which the amassing of instances is used to achieve an impact. Because so often aimed at rectifying arrangements that are perceived as unjust, groups that advocate on behalf of those who share their political identity tend to be energized in reaction to circumstances. There is a danger of their becoming too simplistic in their own perceptions, dividing the world into friends and enemies. The “Me Too” movement in the United States is taken as an example of a well-intended campaign that can encourage oversimplified analyses that potentially damage its effectiveness in achieving its own ends. This is particularly ironic because simplistic binaries are often at work in what causes marginalization or harm to such groups in the first place. Aesthetics can be utilized to inflame binary oppositions. It can also complicate perspectives in ways that lead to a lessening of reactive political responses and greater rapport across the boundaries separating one group from another. This can happen, for example, when art heightens perception but resists the danger of reinforcing preestablished binaries. Such art has the potential to assist efforts toward social justice by enabling greater sensitivity toward members of groups one does not consider one’s “own”. The Zhuangzi is taken as an example of a work that might do this, despite the apolitical concerns of its author. Article received: May 20, 2020; Article accepted: June 30, 2020; Published online: September 15, 2020; Original scholarly paper

Autism identification across ethnic groups: a narrative review

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to review autism identification across different ethnic groups. Diagnosis of autism may be missed or delayed in certain ethnic groups, leading to such groups being underserved relative to their needs. This can result in members of such groups being effectively denied essential avenues of support that can substantially improve the quality of life of autistic persons as well as those whom care for them.Design/methodology/approachA literature search for articles reporting autism identification across ethnic groups was undertaken. Data are compared, with a special focus on possible explanations for any inter-group variation.FindingsAutism identification appears to be generally lower in minority ethnic groups relative to the majority population. Individuals presenting with autism from minority groups appear to have more severe forms of the condition.Originality/valueThere are a multitude of potential explanations for inter-ethnicity variation in autism identification, including health care-related factors, broader environmental influences, cultural factors and possible biological differences. Implications for clinical practice and public health include a need to look at means of ensuring equitable access to relevant autism diagnostic and support services across ethnic groups. Further work is required to better understand the belief systems that operate within specific ethnic groups, how this may potentially impact upon autism identification and measures to address the concerns of such groups.

Dyad of Children's Health Camp N: Experience of Sociological Research

The article contains results of sociological research of the interactions between pairs of counsellors at youth health camps. Research was conducted in two stages. During the first stage, an expert survey aimed at identifying the principles and rules for selection of counsellors at health camps and their formation into pairs, had been conducted youth. During the second stage research was carried out directly in the youth health camp N. The main area of focus was to study interactions (cooperation) in pairs of counsellors, as successful functioning of the youth health camp largely depends on them. The article contains materials from observations that were made during the second camp shift session, these materials are combined in a table. An artificially formed dyad simultaneously represents both small and secondary groups. Relationships between members of such groups are constantly changing. The dynamics of the development of interactions within the dyad is presented in a table form. A four concept approach (leadership, distribution of responsibilities, addition, sympathy), which contributes to the successful functioning of the dyad, is proposed. The main hypothesis of the study suggested the presence of correlation between the relations status in pairs of counsellors and the success of its work in accordance with the youth health camp’s goals and objectives. Results of the research demonstrate that the hypothesis proves to be correct in most cases.

The metaphysical meaning of right force

Introduction. Right force is known as the antipode of force law. Meanwhile, the practice of relations between states and within states - between the state and its citizens, and between citizens themselves, is often replete with examples of the use of law rather than force of law (rules of law). Such vitality of the right of force gives grounds to speak of the existence of metaphysical grounds for its revival in social relations. The aim of the article. This article is dedicated to finding these reasons. Results. Philosophical science differentiates metaphysics into general and particular. The first examines all things (objectively existing), the second examines the reasons for existing. It is from the point of view of causality that the power of right phenomenon is to be considered. A retrospective analysis of the first written legal sources testifies to the fixation of the right of power in these sources by the representatives of the most powerful social groups. From this it follows that inequality arises as a result of the presence of advantages in the most able members of such groups. And we call these advantages a force that has the potential to be used by the bearers of that power. Thus, the power is understood to have any advantages in individuals who enter into communication with each other, and in the case of legal relations between them (involves the emergence of mutual rights and obligations) - the force acquires its metaphysical status - the right of force in the form the corresponding authority of the stronger side is relatively weaker. The question is: in the majority of cases, whether the exercise of the right of power by a more powerful party has been decided in favor of such a party. Slave right, serfdom - a vivid confirmation of that. Only with the first bourgeois revolutions and the introduction of the law of formal equality, the right to inequality as the official fixation of the right of power disappeared from the historical arena. But the right of force ceased to exist with the introduction of the right of formal equality. It lost its institutional forms in the form of fixation of the status of slaves, other groups of "dependent" in the first legal acts of antiquity, guilds and other restrictions of the medieval era, etc. Instead, it has taken other forms - economic, political, organizational, and so on. In other words, the power of law has become a veiled form today, where representatives of these circles exercise their power indirectly, hiding behind the “fig” piece of popular slogans of democracy, equality, and solidarity among the general public. The foregoing may suggest that the right to power is a negative factor in the development of human civilization, which every means must counteract. In the case of the open exercise of the right of force in the form of aggression, crime or other forms of abuse of the right of force, it really must be recognized as a deconstructive force that damages the normal development of the social organism. In the absence of a sign of abuse of the right force, the latter should be considered as a means of "pulling" to its level of the weaker party, which is in relations with representatives of such force. There is nothing accidental in nature, including social, and therefore the right of force should be regarded as an integral attribute of its development. We must combat the abuse of the right of power, not its overcoming, which we regard as having any advantages in various spheres of human activity. Conclusions. Based on the above, the following areas of study are promising: political and legal mechanisms for counteracting institutional manifestations of abuse of the right of force, axiological problems of self-limitation of the right of force.

Perception of public opinion on global warming and the role of opinion deviance

People tend to perceive their own opinions to be especially prevalent among others, especially among members of their ingroups. This paper proposes that this process operates differently in groups with prominent figures who take public stances on issues (opinion cues) that suggest what group members do or should think when some members of such groups are opinion deviant, meaning that their own opinions differ from their group's opinion cues. Two studies of Democrats', Republicans', and Independents' perceptions of others' views on global warming in two national surveys of probability samples of American adults (N = 804 in 2012, and N = 1000 in 2018) showed that whereas partisans whose own beliefs aligned with the opinion cues of their political party perceived their own beliefs to be more prevalent among members of their own party and perceived the opposite belief to be more prevalent among members of the other party, opinion deviants (e.g., Republicans who believe that global warming has been happening) did not. Furthermore, aligned partisans perceived a larger partisan gap than opinion deviants. This research illuminates a new way in which group membership affects perceptions of public opinion on environmental issues and suggests novel strategies for climate change communication.

Asian American Fraternity Hazing: An Analysis of Community-Level Factors

When Asian-Americans began entering college during the early twentieth-century, they faced institutional barriers to full participation in college life. They were denied on-campus housing, access to scholarship funds, and entrance into fraternal organizations, which included written exclusionary policies prohibiting any nonwhite and non-Christian membership. Faced with these exclusions, Asian American men and women founded their own fraternal organizations as spaces to provide social support, camaraderie, resources, and ties to the broader ethnic community. From 1916 through 1970, eleven Asian American fraternities and sororities were established. These organizations were mainly Chinese American or Japanese American organizations, reflecting the demographics of Asian college students at the time. While these organizations provided much needed relief from the marginalization they felt on their campuses, they often did not receive the full rights and privileges as other college fraternal organizations. Currently, exclusionary race-based policies no longer exist among collegiate fraternal organizations. However, even at universities with relatively large Asian American student enrollment, Asian American students continue to be underrepresented in historically white Greek-letter organizations. Where members of such groups, Asian Americans are often relegated to less prestigious chapters and experience racial stereotyping by other members. Studies have examined the perceptions of campus inclusion by Asian American fraternity and sorority members. Contemporary research on college student involvement finds that two percent of Asian American college students join Asian American sororities or fraternities. While prior research pointed to the role of Asian American sororities for identity-making, research shows that Asian American men join fraternities as a way to combat stereotypes about them as nerdy or socially and athletically inferior to other men. Nonetheless, within these organizations, hazing can be seen as a form of hyper-masculinity. A concomitant effect is a form of hazing that may be peculiarly, physically violent. Hazing, like any other type of human problem, has its roots in many different areas and at many different levels. In this article, the authors specifically focus on hazing within Asian American fraternities as one example of hazing that arises in a range of organizational contexts.

Group Privacy in Times of Big Data. A Literature Review

Abstract New technologies pose new challenges on the protection of privacy and they stimulate new debates on the scope of privacy. Such debates usually concern the individuals’ right to control the flow of his or her personal information. The article however discusses new challenges posed by new technologies in terms of their impact on groups and their privacy. Two main challenges are being identified in this regard, both having to do with the formation of groups through the involvement of algorithms and the lack of civil awareness regarding the consequences of this involvement. On the one hand, there is the phenomenon of groups being created on the basis of big data without the members of such groups being aware of having been assigned and being treated as part of a certain group. Here, the challenge concerns the limits of personal law, manifesting with the disability of individuals to address possible violations of their right to privacy since they are not aware of them. On the other hand, commercially driven Websites influence the way in which groups form, grow and communicate when doing this online and they do this in such subtle way, that members oftentimes do not take into account this influence. This is why one could speak of a kind of domination here, which calls for legal regulation. The article presents different approaches addressing and dealing with those two challenges, discussing their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, a conclusion gathers the insights reached by the different approaches discussed and reflects on future challenges for further research on group privacy in times of big data.

Self-help Group Participation & Women Artisans of Shantiniketan Leather Cluster, West Bengal: An Empirical Analysis

Micro-finance refers to small savings, credit and insurance services. These services are extended to socially and economically disadvantaged segments of society. The women artisans from Shantiniketan leather cluster, who have a long tradition of manufacturing leather bags and other accessories, have changed their lives and their socio-living condition in many aspects, by adopting the ways of self-help group formation under different coordinating agencies (specially the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) since 1992). These self-help groups have been extended soft loans of various natures; through the respective coordinating agencies. These initiatives have added different and new positive dimensions in respect to the lives of members of such groups. This structured and questionnaire based feedback empirical study, attempts to evaluate the level of positive changes that occurred in the lives of under-privileged rural women artisans, engaged in leather craftsmanship under several self-help groups, coordinated by different NGOs at the grass-root level.

Changing Ethnic and Racial Diversity in the United States: A Review Essay

Changing Ethnic and Racial Diversity in the United States: A Review Essay

House price increases and higher density housing occupation: the response of non-white households in London, 2001–2011

London's housing prices have increased over recent decades at a much faster rate than incomes creating financial and quality-of-life problems for many of its inhabitants. This increase has occurred during a period of population growth, much of it of immigrant lower income individuals, families and households, and their descendants who are members of London's burgeoning ethnic minority populations. This paper explores whether members of such groups have suffered disproportionately from those problems and have had to respond by changing their patterns of housing consumption. It concludes that densification, whereby housing is occupied at higher densities, has been a common response to the problems, but that it has been experienced more than elsewhere in neighbourhoods where members of the ethnic minority groups are concentrated.

Umbrellas, Wheels and Bumps on the Head: A Proposed Solution to the Uṣṇīṣa Mystery

By the early centuries CE, Buddhism had acquired various divine entities: bodhisattvas, mahāsattvas, and cosmic Buddhas with their own supramundane paradises. One popular set of bodhisattvas all had names which included the word uṣṇīṣa – the cranial protrusion said to be a characteristic of all Buddhas. These “Uṣṇīṣa-deities” were usually listed or depicted in groupings of eight (Skt., aṣtoṣṇīṣa) but the constituent members of such groups varied widely. Bhattacharyya observed that, despite their names, these deities had no discernible connection to crown-bumps. Their actual significance remains unexplained. This paper presents evidence supporting the view that the tantric Buddhist sacrament, amṛita, was adopted from a pre-Buddhist tradition of psychoactive mushroom use and that the particular mushroom species used have a “crown-bump”. It is proposed that the Uṣṇīṣa bodhisattvas may be best understood in the context of the fungal sources of amṛita, Vajrayāna’s psychedelic sacrament.

Trans-border ethnic solidarity and citizenship conflicts in some West and Central African states

This paper is a study of the phenomenon of trans-border ethnic relations and its impact on national integration and citizenship in the countries of West and Central Africa where trans-border ethnic groups exist. Despite the existence of many such groups in these regions, and the numerous problems associated with the continued relations among these groups across their countries of abode, the phenomenon has not been seriously studied, especially as it concerns the identification of members of such groups and how they are viewed by members of other ethnic groups, as citizens of one country or the other. This paper notes that trans-border ethnic solidarity ordinarily presents the relevant African states with two possibilities, namely: enormous benefits accruing from regional integration and cooperation among states harbouring fractions of trans-border ethnic groups; or, debilitating conflicts within and between these states. It is the reality of the latter possibility that this paper examines. The states and the international system are often incapable of containing this phenomenon of trans-border ethnic solidarity and usually respond in hostile ways, ultimately manifesting in citizenship problems. The study shows, however, that what is needed is not conflict but cooperation – within and between states having fractions of a trans-border ethnic group, and within the international system, for the enhancement of national citizenship and development in West and Central Africa.

Voice discrimination in four primates

One accepted function of vocalisations is to convey information about the signaller, such as its age–sex class, motivation, or relationship with the recipient. Yet, in natural habitats individuals not only interact with conspecifics but also with members of other species. This is well documented for African forest monkeys, which form semi-permanent mixed-species groups that can persist for decades. Although members of such groups interact with each other on a daily basis, both physically and vocally, it is currently unknown whether they can discriminate familiar and unfamiliar voices of heterospecific group members. We addressed this question with playbacks on monkey species known to form polyspecific associations in the wild: red-capped mangabeys, Campbell's monkeys and Guereza colobus monkeys. We tested subjects’ discrimination abilities of contact calls of familiar and unfamiliar female De Brazza monkeys. When pooling all species, subjects looked more often towards the speaker when hearing contact calls of unfamiliar than familiar callers. When testing De Brazza monkeys with their own calls, we found the same effect with the longest gaze durations after hearing unfamiliar voices. This suggests that primates can discriminate, not only between familiar and unfamiliar voices of conspecifics, but also between familiar and unfamiliar voices of heterospecifics living within a close proximity.