Personal Ideals Research Articles

Public trust and support for government technology: Survey insights about Singapore's smart city policies

The smart city concept is an increasingly popular urban policy framework, and recent advances in technologies like artificial intelligence are poised to shape this trend in unprecedented ways. As public sector investment in technology accelerates, it is prudent to consider how smart cities shape and are shaped by public trust in government – an issue about which there is a growing body of research but lingering questions. This study investigates determinants of public trust in government technology, including public awareness, government communication, personal ideals and aspirations, and personal perceptions and expectations. Data come from a 2021 survey (N = 1500) about smart cities in Singapore, a country with high developmental ambitions and sufficient resources to pursue advanced smart city programs. This study seeks to deepen scholarly and practical understandings about the mutually necessary but often diverging forces of public trust in technology and public trust in government.

Body Perceptions and Psychological Well-Being: A Review of the Impact of Social Media and Physical Measurements on Self-Esteem and Mental Health with a Focus on Body Image Satisfaction and Its Relationship with Cultural and Gender Factors.

This narrative review examines the interplay among body image perceptions, social media influence, physical measurements, and their impact on psychological well-being, focusing on the roles of cultural and gender differences and the need to understand the research methodologies employed in this field. In the age of digital proliferation, platforms like Instagram and Facebook have reshaped body image concerns, often leading to increased dissatisfaction and psychological distress due to constant exposure to idealized images and a culture of social comparison. Physical attributes such as weight, height, and BMI are scrutinized under societal standards of health and attractiveness, contributing to a spectrum of mental health issues including low self-esteem, depression, and eating disorders. This examination reveals how cultural norms and gender expectations further complicate body image perceptions, affecting individuals differently based on societal and personal ideals. It synthesizes current research and types of methods to illuminate how these factors together influence mental health and self-esteem, advocating for comprehensive interventions and policy measures aimed at mitigating body dissatisfaction and promoting a healthier, more inclusive understanding of body image. By delving into the complexities of body image satisfaction and its psychological implications, this review highlights the necessity of addressing these concerns within public health and social policy frameworks, underscoring the importance of a multifaceted approach to enhance individual and societal well-being.

“Just pee in the diaper” - a constructivist grounded theory study of moral distress enabling neglect in nursing homes

BackgroundA growing body of evidence shows that many nursing home residents’ basic care needs are neglected, and residents do not receive qualitatively good care. This neglect challenges nursing staff´s professional and personal ideals and standards for care and may contribute to moral distress. The aim of this study was to investigate how nursing staff manage being a part of a neglectful work culture, based on the research question: “How do nursing home staff manage their moral distress related to neglectful care practices?”MethodsA qualitative design was chosen, guided by Charmaz´s constructivist grounded theory. The study was based on 10 individual interviews and five focus group discussions (30 participants in total) with nursing home staff working in 17 different nursing homes in Norway.ResultsNursing staff strive to manage their moral distress related to neglectful care practices in different ways: by favouring efficiency and tolerating neglect they adapt to and accept these care practices. By disengaging emotionally and retreating physically from care they avoid confronting morally distressing situations. These approaches may temporarily mitigate the moral distress of nursing staff, whilst also creating a staff-centred and self-protecting work culture enabling neglect in nursing homes.ConclusionsOur findings represent a shift from a resident-centred to a staff-centred work culture, whereby the nursing staff use self-protecting strategies to make their workday manageable and liveable. This strongly indicates a compromise in the quality of care that enables the continuation of neglectful care practices in Norwegian nursing homes. Finding ways of breaking a downward spiralling quality of care are thus a major concern following our findings.

The Impact of (Un)Ethical Survival Mode Duality and Choices of the Educational Elite on the African Renaissance

In postcolonial Africa, education has always been perceived as pivotal for national and continental progress. For many Africans pursuing education abroad, the intent was to contribute to their countries' development upon their return. However, the anticipated positive outcomes have often not materialised. Many faced a dilemma: conform to unethical systems or resist them, leading to either self-imposed exile, pursuing brain-drain channels, or compromising with corrupt systems. Using Edward T. Hall's Cultural Context method, this study analyses novels depicting African realities. It critically explores individual duality and its impact on the African renaissance by emphasising the challenge of reconciling personal ideals and integrity with the harsh realities of political power dynamics. The struggle against corrupt systems hampers postcolonial progress, hindering education's potential for sustainable development. The study confirms that the potential of education cannot materialise as a catalyst for positive change and sustainable development in postcolonial Africa without an ethical transformation.

Distant Country, Paradise, Wilderness, or Mysterious World: The Changing Image of the South Sea (Nan’yō) Islands in Japanese Science Fiction

For Japan, “Nan’yō” is a geographical concept as well as a historical and cultural one. Taking the mid-Meiji period, post-World War I and II periods, and the beginning of the 21st century as its nodes, this paper examines various texts and compares the historical background of the South Sea Islands as imagined in Japanese science fiction, with a focus on both literature and films. The works of the four periods, through a distant view, close view, reconstruction and retrospection of the South Sea Islands, respectively, portray “Nan’yō” as a distant country for ambitious expansion; an earthly paradise of colonial ideals; a dangerous and exotic foreign land; and a mysterious world overrun with primitive civilization, with the aborigines are portrayed as ignorant and backward, and sometimes even being cast as unfamiliar and potentially threatening Others. Unlike the typical (anti-)utopian narrative, the Japanese “Nan’yō fantasy” is based on the political discourse model of civilization-backwardness, in which the differing attitudes towards the natural environment and primitive tribes reflect Japan’s ambivalence in defining its self-positioning within the cultural crossroads of the East and the West. This portrayal of Nan’yō is a product of the close interconnection between the mass media and the spirit of the times: a reflection of personal ideals and national destiny, as well as a collective vision interacting with social reality.

The Subversion of “Journey to the West”—“The Legend of Wukong” and the Rewritten of “Journey to the West”

Adapted from the literary classic “Journey to the West”, the author of the online novel “Legend of Wukong” places the expression of the spirit of “Journey to the West” on the growth of individual characters and the pursuit of ideals. He unfolds the narrative with defamiliarization, adds contemporary elements of the worldview and outlook on life, changes the characters, language, narrative and other aspects of the novel, and expresses the awakening of individual consciousness and the destruction of personal ideals from the characters’ acts of resistance, subverts the original concept of “Journey to the West”, and reflects the humanistic connotation of the spirit of “Journey to the West” in the new era.

A Qualitative Study of Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Political Participation

This studies examines the influence of social media on political participation by exploring the stories, perceptions, and behaviors of people. Through thematic evaluation of consciousness organization discussions and interviews, regarding 10 members (5 men and 5 girls), key findings emerge. Firstly, social media serves as a extensive supply of political statistics, allowing people to access diverse perspectives, information articles, and actualtime updates on political occasions. Secondly, social media systems facilitate political discussion and dialogue, allowing individuals to specific their critiques, engage with various viewpoints, and mission their personal ideals. Thirdly, social media performs a crucial function in political mobilization, empowering people to endorse for causes, improve awareness, and arrange campaigns. Additionally, social media complements individuals' feel of political efficacy, fostering their perception in their ability to make a distinction within the political sphere. Lastly, the examine highlights the relationship among social media engagement and offline political participation, with social media frequently serving as a catalyst for people' involvement in political activities. These findings emphasize the capability of social media as a tool for political engagement, information dissemination, and mobilization, however additionally spotlight challenges related to incorrect information. The implications of those findings advise the need for media literacy training, strategic use of social media by using policymakers and political actors, and efforts to sell knowledgeable and inclusive political engagement in the digital age.

Ethnic Personality in the Context of Traditional Ossetian Culture

The article is a historical and ethnological analysis of the ethnocultural phenomenon “ethnic personality”, which is important, but still remains without due attention of ethnologists, and continues the author’s research on this issue based on the material of the Ossetian ethnos. On the basis of ethnographic sources and using a historical and retrospective approach, personal ideals are investigated, the determinants of the formation of their basic qualities and characteristics of the Ossetian ethnic group in the traditional period are revealed. The research is aimed at a substantive analysis of those criteria of the phenomenon of “ethnic personality”, which, being characteristic of traditional society, to one degree or another have retained their relevance for modern young Ossetians. They were identified in advance through a survey conducted by the author among students. In particular, the high importance of communication programs related to the inter-age hierarchy and male subculture was revealed. They became the subject of the analysis of this study. The ethnic personality is considered as the main representative of the traditional “Ossetian order” - a very significant component of the intangible cultural heritage of this people. The study of which is extremely important for the search for the most relevant, viable forms of folk culture. Forms that are not only preserved in the modernization processes of Ossetian ethnoculture, but also do not lose their sufficiently powerful identification resources. The author comes to the conclusion that by studying the essence of the phenomenon of “ethnic personality” by broad scientific means, researchers get a unique opportunity for more accurate ethnic forecasting, which is extremely important in a multi-ethnic state. Including in the light of the prospects for the formation of an all-Russian identity.

Willingness to practice medicine and related influential factors among medical undergraduates during COVID-19: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundAs the medical undergraduates constitute the future workforce in China, their career preferences hold a significant bearing on the quality of healthcare services, particularly in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to understand the current state of the willingness to practice medicine among medical undergraduates and to analyze the related influential factors.MethodsDuring the COVID-19 epidemic, we conducted a cross-sectional survey via an online platform from February 15, 2022, to May 31, 2022, to collect participants’ demographic information, psychology, and factors influencing their career choices. The general self-efficacy scale (GSES) was used to evaluate medical students’ perceptions of their self-efficacy. Futhermore, we conducted multivariate logistic regression analyses to explore the influencing factors of medical undergraduates’ willingness to pursure a caree in medicine.ResultsA total of 2348 valid questionnaires were included, and 1573 (66.99%) were willing to practice medicine for medical undergraduates after graduation. The mean GESE scores in the willingness group (2.87 ± 0.54) were significantly higher than those of the unwillingness group (2.73 ± 0.49). The multiple logistic regression showed that several factors were positively associated with willingness to practice medicine as a career, including students’ GSES score (OR = 1.87), current major, household income, personal ideals (OR = 1.97), family support (OR = 1.44), high income (OR = 1.77), and social respect (OR = 2.19). Compared with those who were very afraid of COVID-19, students who did not express any fear towards the COVID-19 pandemic had a higher preference for choosing the medical profession as a career. Conversely, students thinking of high tension in the doctor-patient relationship, heavy workload, and long training were less likely to choose medical work after graduation.ConclusionsThe study highlights a noteworthy prevalence of medical undergraduates who expressed their willingness to pursue medicine as a career post-graduation. Several factors, including but not limited to current major, household income, psychological factors, personal preferences, and career needs or preferences, were significantly associated with this willingness. Moreover, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students’ career choices cannot be overlooked.

Minding the Gaps in Managers’ Self-Realisation: The Values-Based Leadership Discourse of a Diaconal Organisation

Work is an important source of meaning for managers in modern organisations. This article explores a leadership discourse in a diaconal organisation and aims at analysing managers’ notions of self-realisation. Based on a case study of a Norwegian diaconal hospital, the article answers the following research question: What characterises managers’ self-realisation within the leadership discourse in a diaconal organisation? The findings foreground how managers emphasise individuation through pro-social values, draw on the hospital’s distinct leadership discourse when addressing dilemmas and connect values to core work. However, the managers are also marked by individualisation in that they adopt elements from a generic leadership discourse, where managerial work is a means to launch their own potential, express personal ideals and foster individual development. The article discusses how self-realisation in this diaconal organisation primarily emerges as individuation rather than individualisation, which is prominent in generic leadership discourses. These two categories of self-realisation intersect within the hospital’s predominant values-based leadership discourse.

Personal ideals and the ideal of rational agency1

AbstractAll of us have personal ideals. We are committed to being good (enough) friends, parents, neighbors, teachers, citizens, human beings, and more. In this paper, I examine the thick and thin aspects of these ideals: (i) their substance (to internalize an ideal is to endorse a particular way of being) and (ii) their accountability to reason (to internalize an ideal is to assume that this is really a good way to be). In considering how these two aspects interact in the ideal of rational agency, I address two philosophical debates that are generally conducted in isolation of each other: (i) debates over the anti‐ideal of normative “fetishism” and (ii) debates over whether acting for a reason is acting “under the guise of the good.” In the final two sections of the paper, I further explore the relations among the thick and the thin. I note the role that coherence constraints play in the process whereby our ideals gain determinacy. At the same time, I argue, our ideals constrain the possibility and desirability of coherence. This has implications for a third debate: the debate over the possibility of moral dilemmas.

Attraction and Decision in Choosing a Spouse

The choice of ones partner plays an important role on the functionality of the couple, on the degree of cohesion and on the chances of stability. Theoretically, the choice of the conjugal partner in the contemporary space is a free one, not conditioned by families, material transactions or other types of strategies, that exclude the will of the partners. However, a series of cultural elements assimilated by individuals in their social environments consistently mark their influence in this selection process. Today, the most common criterion regarding the selection of the conjugal partner is that related to homogamy, therefore, the free choice must be understood as a composition with different weights, built from cultural assimilations from the community where the conjugal partner became socialized him and which holds subjective elements specific to personal ideals.
 However, the contemporary space offers the premise of a rethinking of the homogamic principle, its borders being resized and, at the same time, reassembled in a much freer manner. If once upon a time, spatial and cultural proximity influenced the decisions of choosing a spouse, today, virtual space offers the individual the possibility of constructing criteria with a triple advantage: the possibility of choice, independent of the general norm of the cultural community, the unlimited expansion of proximity, the cancellation or reduction of the reference of the community censorship. Today, individuals no longer reproduce the marital functionality learned in their families of origin. Young people build new relationships that correspond to personal ideals and this type of new attitudes increasingly stimulate relational individualism and, by extension, another type of society, that will reduce to a minimum the old claims of social conformity.

Acquired Knowledge that Support Entrepreneurs: Implications for Entrepreneurial Emotion and Learning

In the field of entrepreneurial learning, a major focus has been on understanding learning tasks, i.e., the knowledge required for entrepreneurial activity. However, to date, research has solely focused on opportunity information and concrete know-how related to technology and management, and has not analyzed the mindsets and psychological foundations that guide decision-making as learning objects. To fill this gap, we asked what knowledge entrepreneurs gain and conducted a comprehensive and exploratory analysis of archival interviews of 96 Japanese entrepreneurs. As a result, we discovered a fourth category that could not be classified into the previous three categories: opportunity information, capability, and schema. We named it way of being, meaning the personal ideals of being when working on businesses. This finding suggests that entrepreneurs navigate their emotional journey depending on what they learn from their experiences and the teaching of others. This study is novel as it examines the impact of knowledge and information acquisition activities on entrepreneurs’ emotions. We also showed that entrepreneurs can be categorized into three types: strategic, cognitive, and emotional, based on the learning content they focus on.

The drama of contemporary dance in Latvia and the dance performance Out

Abstract Based on Henrik Ibsen’s famous drama Brand, Olga Žitluhina’s dance performance Out (Ārā, 2013) presents certain parallels with the choreographer’s artistic and pedagogic strategies and the development of contemporary dance in Latvia. First, both Ibsen’s play (often also defined as a tragedy) and Žitluhina’s pedagogic activities trace the pursuit of personal ideals as a journey of overcoming mistakes and physical and mental challenges. Second, just as the tragic protagonist of Brand and Out can see beyond what ordinary people can see to predict and envision the future, Žitluhina has a vision of contemporary dance in Latvia and has worked tirelessly since the mid-1990s to develop this genre from scratch. She has contributed to dance with many major initiatives: establishing a professional dance association; producing dozens of dance performances; leading the artistic direction of the international contemporary dance festival Time to Dance; and creating a study programme at the Latvian Academy of Culture dedicated entirely to contemporary dance. This creative process has always been accompanied by funding difficulties, organizational problems and negative attitudes towards Žitluhina, her personality and her uncompromising artistic stance. Inspired by Olga Žitluhina’s dance performance Out, this article explores her contributions as choreographer and teacher to the development of contemporary dance and art in Latvia.

Mind, Value, and Cosmos: On the Relational Nature of Ultimacy

Mind, Value, and Cosmos: On the Relational Nature of Ultimacy

Privacy in Practice: Library Public Services and the Intersection of Personal Ideals

Anonymity. Confidentiality. Privacy. These similar, yet distinct, concepts require nuance in a setting that is both public and highly personal. Your public library is just that: yours but also public. How do these concepts and the way individuals value them personally become reconciled within the library, a public institution that both safeguards and shares information? How do the privacy rights of adults and children, guardians and intimate partners, intersect and diverge at the library?

Evaluations of Black and White Female Genitalia by Labiaplasty Status: A Pre-Registered Contextualization, Replication, and Extension of Findings on Labial Perceptions

ABSTRACT Labiaplasty is an increasingly common form of cosmetic surgery involving the removal of portions of the labia minora to achieve a smaller, more symmetrical labial appearance. Labiaplasty is inextricably linked to the colonial medicalization of Black women’s labia, necessitating examination of labiaplasty and race in concert. Participants (N = 4351, M age = 26.58; SD age = 8.89) were shown 12 randomized images of White and Black female genitalia – unaware that they were “before and after” images of labiaplasty procedures – and evaluated them on their alignment with societal ideals, personal ideals, perceived normalcy, and disgustingness. As hypothesized, postoperative labia were rated as more normal, more societally ideal, and more personally ideal than their preoperative counterparts; preoperative labia were rated as more disgusting than postoperative labia. Preoperative Black labia were perceived as more normal, more societally ideal, and more personally ideal, as well as less disgusting, than preoperative White labia. Postoperative White labia were perceived as more normal, more societally and personally ideal, and less disgusting than postoperative Black labia. Gender trends were inconclusive. Our findings point to the need for greater examination of how White bodily ideals shape evaluations of bodies, and for greater historical contextualization in research on labiaplasty.

Critiquing Musical Ineffabilism: Rereading Kant’s “Analytic of the Beautiful”

Mapping out several interpretations of free play in Immanuel Kant’s Third Critique helps parse the argument that “music is ineffable.” Although the argument is an old one, recent scholarship by Carolyn Abbate, Michael Gallope, and others has helped the idea of music’s ineffability resurface in recent years as a special, dialectical property of music’s sonic presence that perpetually defers statements about music’s meaning. However, the polysemy that results from this deferral is anchored, by the claim that “music is ineffable,” in the ontology of a preconceived notion of what “music” is. Examining the conceptuality of free play in Kant’s “Analytic of the Beautiful” helps shift the crux of music’s meaningful plurality away from the ontology of “music” to language—which delimits aesthetic experience as “music” and makes it available for contemplation. The ineffabilist arguments that musical experience precludes or overwhelms language accord with the interpretations of free play that Paul Guyer has called “precognitive” and “multicognitive.” In contrast, Guyer proposes his own “metacognitive” interpretation, which requires an aesthetic stimulus to be grasped with a concept before any cognition can take place. By linking the beautiful to both the subjectively agreeable and the objectively good, Kant’s “Analytic” endows every person with the capacity to experience beauty individually. As a result, the judgment of something as beautiful depends, not on universal criteria, but on a “sense in common” (Gemeinsinn), which Gilles Deleuze described as knowledge’s precondition of communicability. Kant’s principle of common sense is what empowers discourse to communicate a shared idea of beauty by continually brokering agreement among a diversity of personal ideals. The insight that knowledge of an aesthetic experience is always framed with a concept, whose meaning is only ever tentatively agreed upon, preserves and democratizes the meaningfulness of “music” by attaching it to an idea admitting of many ideals, free from ineffability’s strong ontological claim.

Caught between ideals and reality: Phenomenological-hermeneutic study of healthcare providers’ experiences while interacting with mechanically ventilated patients

ABSTRACT This study aimed to explore healthcare providers’ experiences of their communication and interaction with conscious patients on mechanical ventilation in intensive care. Nurses, physicians, and physiotherapists were interviewed after they had been video recorded in naturally occurring interactions with patients. The interviews were analyzed using a phenomenological-hermeneutical approach. Three themes were identified: The willingness to engage and understand the mechanically ventilated patient, the potential risk of neglecting the patient in the encounters, and provider interdependence as the core of intensive care. The themes elicited how providers handled the dissonance between their own personal ideals of care and their real-world encounters with patients and other professionals. The healthcare providers were aware of how easily patients could be neglected while being non-vocal, and therefore invested time and effort communicating with the patients. Based on their personal ideals of patient participation and autonomy, it was difficult to perform procedures, such as weaning off the ventilator or mobilization, to which the patient was opposed. Interprofessional collaboration was valued by the providers in such situations. The study revealed that providers need to consider the communication barriers that exist on the individual and team levels when interacting with patients on mechanical ventilation.

Poetics and Politics The Use of Poetry as War Propaganda during the World Wars

This paper aims to critically analyseand discuss the use of poetry as war propaganda during World War I and World War IIconsideringthe distinct cases of Rupert Brooke’s “The Soldier”, Thomas Hardy’s “Men who March Away”, and Ezra Pound’s “Canto 46”, which was read by the author himself during one of his Radio Rome broadcasts in 1942. While Brooke, similarly to other young soldiers who saw in the war a chance of fulfilling their patriotic duty and achieving glory, wrote verses clearly marked by his personal idealism, ThomasHardy had manyof his war poems commissioned by the British government in the context of a national propaganda effort in which he might have agreed to participate moved by his initial optimism regarding the war. Decades later, Ezra Pound, a fierce supporter of the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, would dedicate a great part of his works The Cantos to the spreading of fascist, antisemitic, and pro-Axis ideas during World War II, the most notorious case within this effort being the readingof “Canto 46”, which contains explicit antisemitic and anti-American references, during a broadcast for Radio Rome. These propagandistic campaigns, first during World War I then later during World War II, would contribute to the spreading and reinforcing of nationalist tendencies on bothsides, with poetics (not for the first time in the history of Literature) turning into an ally of politics.