Public Life Research Articles

Трансформация государственно-правовых явлений как вид социальных изменений

Purpose. The study of the process of transformation of state-legal phenomena, as phenomena that exist and develop in accordance with the patterns inherent in the entire system of public relations. The task was to identify the reasons for the need to transform some state-legal phenomena, as well as the forms in which this process can take place. Methodology: as a system of methods, the application of which was justified by the provisions and conclusions contained in the article, formal legal; logical methods and the method of systematic analysis of legal phenomena were used. Conclusions. The authors, on the one hand, highlight stability and sustainability as integral characteristics of the state and law, and on the other hand, emphasize the fact that in this area of public relations there is a constant development, transformation of its substantial part. The characteristic of transformation is given in relation to the peculiarities of a number of state-legal relations. The place of transformation in the system of social changes is shown, the peculiarities of the transformation of definitions, legal structures and the content of state legal institutions are highlighted. Scientific and practical relevance. The interrelation of the process of development of state-legal phenomena with the processes taking place in public life in general is shown.

Общественно-политические установки молодого поколения дагестанцев: через призму исламского вероучения (по результатам социологического опроса)

At the initial stage of the religious revival, the activity of confessional institutions was somewhat passive, but now it is being intensified, which is expressed in the expansion of the space of influence of religious figures, the orientation of the population to simultaneously receive religious and secular education, and the introduction of a large layer of the population with religious knowledge. The article puts forward the hypothesis about the increasing role of traditional faiths and religious institutions in the social processes of modern Russian society. Consequently, the study of the religious component, in this context of the Islamic factor, from the standpoint of forecasting and assessing its role in modern Dagestan society, acquires special significance, because it will allow us to outline the trajectory of development of state-confessional relations, develop effective religious policies and provisions that do not violate the secular nature of the state devices of Russia. The perception and assessment of Islamic teachings in the socio-political life of the republic by the younger generation of Dagestanis is analyzed. The analysis shows the dominance in the mass consciousness of Dagestan youth that the position on the state structure is based on Islamic teachings; the author assumes that the younger generation lacks the understanding of the essence and specifics of government based on Muslim postulates. The surveyed Dagestan youth are consistent in their positions and in resolving controversial issues in a variety of social spheres (economic activity, land dispute between owners, family conflict, domestic violence, etc.), according to the Sharia court, which has acquired greater authority in everyday life population of Dagestan. In the mass consciousness of the younger generation of the republic, there is a priority of Muslim teaching and the designation of its special status, which is a destructive phenomenon, because it can create religious intolerance and destabilize Dagestan society. The younger generation of Dagestanis associates the function of religious teaching in public life with the dissemination of the fundamentals of religion and religious morality, spiritual and moral education and charity.

Особенности восприятия поколением Z эволюции молодежной политики в современной России

The article presents results of the study of characteristics of the attitude of generation Z to state youth policy in modern Russia. Based on the analysis of various interpretations of generation Z, presented in domestic social science, it was concluded that it is possible to talk about its uniform characteristics only with a large degree of convention, taking into account the commonality of ubiquitous Internet communications that influence formation of the worldview and lifestyle of young people. The empirical basis of the article consists of materials from focus groups and online surveys of young people (2021 n = 519; 2022 n = 2021; 2023 n = 852) conducted by the faculty of Political Science Department, Saratov State University, under the leadership of the author. Based on these materials, it was proved that there are no uniform typological characteristics of modern Russian youth, which is heterogeneous and continues to differ not only in age and gender criteria, but also in ideological and sociocultural grounds, ideological preferences, place of residence, level of education and financial situation. In general, the study showed that, despite the presence of positive trends in the perception of state youth policy in modern Russia in the last two years (as well as other areas of state policy in various spheres of public life), the most important fact is that the share of opposition-minded among young people remains at a fairly high level (about a third of respondents). The greatest political motivation for opposition is inherent in young supporters of liberalism. Socio-economic motivation is more characteristic of supporters of “left” ideologies.

Natural Law, Common Law, and the Problem of Historicism in American Public Life and Education

Natural Law, Common Law, and the Problem of Historicism in American Public Life and Education

WHAT ARE “TEMPORALITIES” IN HISTORY?

ABSTRACTThe question of which “temporalities” underpinned historical processes in the past has increasingly become the focus of historical interest in recent years. In his brilliantly written study of Prussian history, Time and Power: Visions of History in German Politics, from the Thirty Years’ War to the Third Reich, Christopher Clark attempts to answer this question by turning to four Prussian statesmen and politicians who each followed different temporalities in their private and public lives. The benefit of his study lies not least in a better understanding of the concept of “temporality” and its significance for historical processes.

Особенности реализации социальных проектов в Донецкой Народной Республике: сущность проблематики и специфика формирования категориального аппарата

The quality of life of the population is a multifaceted indicator of the level of development of any state. The foundation of modern society is comprised of four spheres of public life: economic, social, political and spiritual. Each of these spheres has its own constituent elements that determine the tasks of state regulation. The state's management of the quality of life of the population is carried out through the use of appropriate tools, namely the implementation of certain policies and the guarantee of compliance with life support standards in designated areas. The improvement of the quality of life of the population depends on the coordinated work of the mechanism for implementing a set of certain tools in all of the listed spheres of society, which are interconnected, complement each other and ensure mutual functioning. The modern understanding of quality of life encompasses not only the provision of material goods but also the possibility of free expression in society. This should be considered when implementing social projects aimed at improving quality of life. The article hypothesises that the solution to a number of problems of social and spatial development of new constituent entities of the Russian Federation is possible through the organisation of a business incubator for social projects. In order for a business incubator to function effectively, it must be able to fulfil additional functions that are not typical for it. These include the generation of ideas and the design of business models for their implementation, taking into account the specific political and economic circumstances of the region in question, as well as the low level of entrepreneurial activity in the social sphere of the Donetsk People's Republic.

Encoder-Decoder Transformers for Textual Summaries on Social Media Content

Social media has a leading role to our lives due to radical upgrade of internet and smart technology. It is the primary way of informing, advertising, exchanging opinions and expressing feelings. Posts and comments under each post shape public opinion on different but important issues making social media’s role in public life crucial. It has been observed that people's opinions expressed through social networks are more direct and representative than those expressed in face-to-face communication. Data shared on social media is a cornerstone of research because patterns of social behavior can be extracted that can be used for government, social, and business decisions. When an event breaks out, social networks are flooded with posts and comments, which are almost impossible for someone to read all of them. A system that would generate summarization of social media contents is necessary. Recent years have shown that abstract summarization combined with transfer learning and transformers has achieved excellent results in the field of text summarization, producing more human-like summaries. In this paper, a presentation of text summarization methods is first presented, as well as a review of text summarization systems. Finally, a system based on the pre-trained T5 model is described to generate summaries from user comments on social media.

How do young men narrate the redemption story of a sexual assault perpetrator?

ABSTRACT Background: Little is known about how young men who have committed sexual assault might acknowledge wrongdoing and eventually change and make amends. There are practical barriers to seeking the real redemption stories of perpetrators. Objective: To explore hypothetical pathways to young men’s accountability-taking and amends (i.e. redemption) after perpetration of sexual assault. Method: In a pre-registered, qualitative story completion study, we presented heterosexual, cisgender college men (N = 54) with a date-based sexual assault story written by a fictional male perpetrator. Participants were prompted to complete the story so that the protagonist, who initially denies wrongdoing, eventually changes and becomes a violence prevention advocate. Results: A thematic analysis of the redemption stories revealed that this study’s speculative task was a challenging one. Half of the stories did not provide an explanation for how the perpetrator was able to acknowledge wrongdoing. Overall, individualistic themes (e.g. he introspected) were more common than relational, community, or societal facilitators of redemption. Conclusions: Without infrastructure for accountability-taking and repair, or narrative exemplars to draw from in public life, it is difficult to envision redemption from violence. Rare gender-based, structurally attuned analyses of sexual violence in the stories point the way towards a more transformative vision of redemption.

СТУДЕНТТЕР ҮЧҮН САБАКТАН ТЫШКАРКЫ ИШ-ЧАРАЛАРДЫ УЮШТУРУУ АРКЫЛУУ СОЦИАЛДЫК КОМПЕТЕНЦИЯЛАРЫН КАЛЫПТАНДЫРУУ

Currently, the importance of extracurricular activities in the educational process of students is considered great. Various types of activities create conditions for the comprehensive development of students and active participation in public life. This article discusses the benefits of their extracurricular activities and describes in detail the formation of students’ social competencies using examples. Activities that require leadership develop students’ organizational and leadership skills. In the future, they can become successful leaders in their social and professional lives. Overcoming challenges in activities and learning from failures increases students’ resilience and psychological stability. This prepares them for various life challenges. And sports activities improve students’ physical fitness and strengthen their health. This improves their overall quality of life and develops healthy habits.

Collaborating in future states—Contextual instability, paradigmatic remaking, and public policy

AbstractCollaboration is ubiquitous in public policy life, with its presence and profile determined by prevailing governance conditions. Commitments to globalisation and marketisation in the latter part of the 20th century marked the onset of an era defined by collaboration, between and across tiers and spheres of government, with non‐state actors, and through market and network instruments. Current contextual instability poses questions for dominant public policy paradigms and the existing collaborative settlement. This article explores the challenges presented in the current moment and how policymakers and scholars might navigate them. It focuses on how ideas about economics and security shape public policy, illustrating the paradigm‐shifting impact of economism and securitisation. It argues for the replacement of economism and securitisation by sustainability, sovereignty, and justice and demonstrates the latter's engagement with economics and security and their accounting for what have hitherto been ‘subaltern voices’ in public policy. It discusses the implications for collaboration in relation to future collective action problems, more diverse and disconnected ‘publics’, and a more congested and lower trust policy environment. It highlights the need for collaborative plasticity and pluralistic agency.Points for practitioners Public policymaking is shaped by dominant ideas about economics and security; ideas that become ‘taken for granted’ in policy practice. The prevailing ideas of economism and securitisation are being challenged by contextual changes, globally, regionally, and nationally. This creates space for new ideas to shape future public policy. Ideas of sustainability, sovereignty, and justice offer an alternative framework for public policymaking. These ideas can engage productively with economics and security, and they are also inclusive of a wider variety of ‘voices’ particularly those previously marginalised. Collaboration will remain integral to the success of public policy. However, it will need to adapt to new circumstances. This will include defining new purposes, reassessing its appropriateness, reshaping collaborative scope, scale, and form, and refining collaborative activities. A paradigmatic shift in public policy that highlights sustainability, sovereignty, and justice will require the active involvement of a plurality of actors enabled to contribute new knowledge and contest the status quo.

Consulting citizens: Addressing the deficits in participatory democracy

‘Democracy’ is a pliable, and much abused concept, yet constitutional law cannot do without it. It is usually linked to the equally flexible notions of rule of law and constitutionalism. Due to many changes in public life around the world, entrenched ideas of governmental propriety, including being democratic, are undergoing a ‘loss of meaning’. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 explicitly requires democracy to be participatory. Despite various official efforts to formulate the modalities of public consultation and an established routine of public hearings and calls for comment on draft legislation and policies, it has not developed beyond a ‘box-ticking’ exercise, sometimes amounting to outright abuse. As a corrective to the shortcomings of standard electoral democracy a novel approach to the involvement of the citizenry in contentious decision-making has emerged in many parts of the democratic world. It takes the form of citizens’ assemblies composed to achieve descriptive representation rooted in an age-old method of randomised selection, known as ‘sortition’. To employ these mechanisms to realise genuine participatory democracy would require surmounting the difficulties presented by the complexity of South African society. Modern technology and advances in sortition methodology hold promises of overcoming the difficulties, but it would also require a political sea change.

Exploring the effectiveness of youth outreach programmes: the case of Singapore

ABSTRACT In recent decades, some governments have sought greater youth participation in government and public life. This study examines Singapore’s efforts to foster youth participation in government-led community service projects, public conversations, and opportunities for citizen feedback. Using a mixed-methods design that combines a survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, we explore the effectiveness of these government outreach programmes in the eyes of youth themselves, and whether they meet the government’s goal of promoting the active and engaged participation of young Singaporeans over the long term. We find that while local youth value the opportunity to participate meaningfully in governance, they also critique the government-led youth participation initiatives as top-down, choreographed, and inauthentic, saying that the views expressed therein do not sufficiently represent youth in Singapore. They also suggest feasible strategies to achieve genuine, inclusive youth participation in the public decision-making process.

The Development of Reservation Policies Under Article 15 of the Indian Constitution and Social Justice in India

This article examines the evolution and impact of reservation policies under Article 15 of the Indian Constitution and their role in advancing social justice in India. The historical context of inequality in India, rooted in the varna and caste systems, has profoundly influenced contemporary constitutional provisions. Article 14 guarantees equality before the law, while Article 15 prohibits discrimination on grounds such as religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. Article 15(1) and 15(2) collectively aim to eliminate discriminatory practices in public life and access to public places. Article 15(3) allows for special provisions for women and children, and Article 15(4) provides a constitutional basis for affirmative action to benefit socially and educationally backward classes, Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs). Recent amendments, including Article 15(5) and the 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act introducing Article 15(6), expand reservations to private educational institutions and reinforcing caste identities, socio-economic disparities within reserved categories, and the balance between affirmative action and meritocracy persist. The researcher has emphases the reservation policies aim to enhance social equity and opportunities for marginalized communities, their effectiveness is complex and influenced by ongoing socio-economic factors. The role of the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, remains pivotal in interpreting and implementing these provisions to ensure true equality and social justice.

The dialogue of theology and law in russian science and education

Theology in Russian education is increasingly strengthening its position, claiming interdisciplinary status. Such areas as theological anthropology, theological psychology, legal and political theology, etc. are being developed. The spread of theology in secular universities of the country faces a number of difficulties related to the specifics of integrating secular and religious education and science. A special point of intersection is the dialogue of law and theology on the basis of secular universities. The author of the article analyzes the possibility and relevance at the present stage of the transition from the historical dialogue of these two main regulators of public life and types of knowledge to the development and implementation of specific educational programs for training lawyers and jurists based not only on legal but also theological knowledge, taking into account the current political and legal situation in Russia and the world. It is especially important to take into account the specifics of the Russian Orthodox culture with its rich experience of spiritual and educational practice and positive foreign experience of integrating theology and law in the educational system.

Research and application of rough set attribute reduction algorithm based on genetic algorithm in pipeline network

Abstract Explosion accidents often occur in urban underground pipeline network systems, which has caused safety issues in public life and industrial production. GIS technology can visually manage pipeline equipment and solve the problem of valve closure analysis in the event of current accidents, avoiding the escalation of the situation, but it cannot make predictions. Attribute reduction is one of the core contents of rough set theory and is an NP-hard problem. This article proposes a custom attribute reduction algorithm based on an algorithm and uses the algorithm in the historical burst pipeline dataset of the water supply pipeline industry. The results have shown that this method combined with a decision tree can make predictions before water pipe leakage. The algorithm provides the best result of attribute reduction for decision tree methods, which will improve the speed and accuracy of decision-making.

Murmurs of Presence in Objects of Absence

This article takes two artifacts belonging to two people the author met in the course of many decades of research in and on Palestine—a British Mandate-era identity card and a set of framed photographs of a Palestinian village destroyed in the Nakba (catastrophe) of 1948—as central objects of consideration in reflecting on how objects of absence incorporate historical and personal loss as well as continuing presence. The use of the term “objects of absence” to describe these materials points to how they are more than repositories of memory. They record, preserve, and animate forms of life that appear lost. Rather than being noisy eruptions into public life, their volume is more of a murmur. Their collective impact is in their repeated presence rather than their spectacular pronouncements. Palestinians preserve these objects for themselves, for their children and following generations, for their community, and for their nation. The work of these objects is thus personal and political, individual and collective. They help people locate themselves in the world, maintaining some continuity despite the devastation of the Nakba.

Regulatory Framework Governing the Right to Information in the United Arab Emirates: An Analytical Examination

The right to access information empowers citizens to gather knowledge about events and issues, shaping their opinions and participation in public life. Globally, there is a push to recognize this vital right for its role in promoting democratic governance and protecting human rights, with countries varying in how they legally ensure it.This research aims to examine the issue of the right to information in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) across three dimensions. Firstly, we explore the requirements and restrictions associated with this right. Secondly, we delve into the limitations imposed on the freedom to obtain information. Lastly, we discuss the conditions essential for exercising this right.The analytical method was employed to scrutinize various texts addressing the right to access information in the UAE, providing insights into the research problem. The study yielded several results, highlighting a crucial finding: The necessity of amending the guideline to distinguish between ordinary and exceptional circumstances, both when submitting a request for information and in terms of the impact of exceptional circumstances on this right and the amount of information to be disclosed by the administration.

Limits to asset manager adaptation

AbstractIn Our Lives in Their Portfolios, Brett Christophers provides an account of the rise of ‘asset manager society’ – a world in which the infrastructures of public life are converted from public to private ownership. Here I use Christophers’ analysis to comment on growing calls for asset manager investment in climate adaptation. The asset manager business model requires ever-escalating returns, a poor fit with the now unavoidable losses that climate change promises to bring.

The Popular Culture and General Elections in Republic of Indonesia

Political marketing for power often uses popular culture to achieve it. Popular culture, which prioritises packaging over substance, is becoming increasingly thinner and thinner, especially when other passengers are infiltrated into its fragile body. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the practice of popular culture in politics whose ultimate goal is the attainment of power. The fragility opens up wide opportunities for the accommodation of other interests, which are always present in public life. Popular culture itself is already poor in substance, will become even more banal with relations with other fields. So the relationship between popular culture and politics falls into the "ideology" of inevitability. A multifaceted reading of politics and popular culture allows for other findings, but in this study we see that humans instinctively have the desire for power, he is anxious if it is not achieved. Sublimation is done so that anxiety can still be done, so that the desire for power is released. Popular culture provides space for that.

RESPONSIVENESS AS A DEFINING PRINCIPLE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN THE MODERN CONDITIONS OF STATE-BUILDING

The article deals with responsiveness as a defining principle of public administration in the modern conditions of state-building in Ukraine. The author emphasizes the need to study responsiveness as a methodological tool for analyzing modern public administration. Responsiveness is defined as receptivity to the opinions, complaints and suggestions of users of management services by introducing and implementing changes in the organizational structure, culture and model of management services. Responsiveness is also the ability of the institutional management system to respond promptly to the challenges of the social environment, to the demands of internal and external influential policy actors. It is proved that the democratization of all processes of public life depends crucially on the effectiveness of the dialogue between the state and society, which is specified primarily as the relationship between people and authorities. This is where the question of whether and to what extent the government hears the voice of the people becomes most acute. The authors identify certain features of the responsiveness of the public administration system in Ukraine in the form of a set of contradictions and problems of social development. The authors emphasize that ensuring the principle of responsiveness requires harmonization of domestic reforms with world and European events and taking into account current global trends. The analysis suggests that responsive governance creates a reservoir of goodwill that is formed through support, and this reservoir facilitates the adoption of difficult and sometimes unpredictable decisions. The reservoir of goodwill creates space for responsible decision-making and constructive cooperation at different levels of government, as citizens who are satisfied with the political system are more likely to accept that government sometimes has to make decisions based on long-term responsibility rather than short-term reactions.