Social Activities Research Articles

Riding out the Storm: How State-Owned Enterprises in China Fought the COVID Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted economic and social activities worldwide, exposing and exacerbating inherent flaws in the capitalist system. The pandemic’s devastating impact highlights the need for the state and its institutional agencies to actively intervene in public health crises and mitigate the economic damage they cause. This article situates the effectiveness and contribution of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the context of the COVID crisis in China. It first examines how SOEs successfully mobilized their productive capacity at the beginning of the pandemic. Using empirical evidence from publicly listed companies, we then demonstrate how SOEs engaged in countercyclical investment when private investment collapsed. The evidence suggests that SOEs served as a crucial instrument in strengthening social and economic stability, which helped China ride out the COVID storm. We conclude that SOEs are vital for achieving stable social and economic performance in a neoliberal global economy. JEL Classification: E11, O47, P31

Facilitators and barriers to perform physical activity in patients post-heart transplantation: a qualitative study.

Most patients experience barriers for becoming physical active post-heart transplantation. Therefore, identifying barriers and facilitators can help healthcare professionals in developing physical activity programs. This study aimed to explore the physical activity experiences, perceived barriers, and facilitators to perform physical activity of patients' post-heart transplantation. A qualitative study was carried out using in-depth semi-structured interviews on 24 patients post-heart transplantation from October to December 2022. The data were analyzed using an inductive strategy for finding emerging themes. NVivo 12.0 software was used to analyze the data. The physical activity experiences included that (1) patients felt that they had to adapt to a new situation after the heart transplantation, (2) walking was a popular physical activity preferably outdoors, (3) participants preferred to perform physical activity regularly with others, and (4) they felt better since they perform physical activity. The facilitators were: (1) Desire to live; (2) Experiencing physical benefits; (3) Being physically active with others; (4) Use of mobility assistive devices resources. The barriers were: (1) Feeling not being able to perform former physical activity; (2) Complications and experiencing symptoms post-heart transplantation; (3) Unfavourable climate. Patients post-heart transplantation have various facilitators influencing their post-transplant experience to perform physical activity. Key facilitators include the desire to live, physical benefits, social activity, and external support. Yet, they also face barriers like lost abilities, post-transplant complications, and environmental challenges.

Evaluation of Lifestyle for Women with Breast Cancer

Introduction: Breast cancer is a significant global health concern, affecting millions of women worldwide. While advancements in diagnosis and treatment have improved survival rates, the impact of this disease extends beyond physical health. It also significantly influences a woman's lifestyle and overall well-being. Objectives: The current study intends to analyze the lifestyle of breast cancer patients who are receiving therapy or are being followed up at the Oncology Teaching Hospital in Medical City, Baghdad, Iraq. Method: The present study uses a descriptive design with an application of an evaluation approach. A convenience sample of 100 women with breast cancer was selected from the Teaching Oncology Hospital at the Medical City in Baghdad City, Iraq. The study's objectives are served by a questionnaire. Physical, role, emotional, cognitive, and social functioning are its five functional domains. These domains are evaluated as low, moderate and high. Each study participant received a questionnaire explaining how to complete it, along with a form requesting their approval to remain anonymous. They also had the opportunity to leave the study at any time without being provided an explanation. A panel of (10) experts determines the questionnaire's content validity, and its internal consistency reliability is calculated via the split-half method with a Cronbach’s alpha correlation coefficient of (r=0.92). Data are collected using the study questionnaire, and they are then analyzed via a descriptive statistical data analysis approach on the basis of frequency and percentage. Results: The study revealed that the majority of these women experienced sleep issues, but most of them experienced problems with body weight gain (70%), social and community activity (70%), sexuality (60%), stress (60%), diet (56%), physical activity (50%) and smoking (45%), and some of them took birth control pills and used hormone replacement therapy (43%). Conclusion: This study revealed that women with breast cancer have experienced a variety of lifestyle domain-associated problems. These problems are clearly manifested in the results of this study.

Influence of social media and the digital environment on international migration of health workforce from low- and middle-income countries post COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review protocol

IntroductionMigration of the health workforce from low- and middle-income countries (LMCIs) is increasingly becoming a phenomenon of interest within migration governance systems. The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated health workforce shortages that...

High‐Entropy Perovskite Oxides Integrating Sunlight‐Driven Photochromic and Upconversion Manipulation for Power‐Independent Intrusion Detection Monitoring

AbstractThe security monitoring of valuables is a crucial concern to ensure the stable development of human social business activities, scientific research, production, and daily life. The implementation of security precautions has traditionally involved the mere placement of items in safes. However, the formidable task of ascertaining whether valuables have been compromised during storage remains a significant challenge. Photochromic materials are important intelligent substances that can be employed as a potential candidates for security monitoring. However, previous studies have predominantly focused on achieving prominent photochromism by utilizing specific light sources such as ultraviolet, laser, and X‐ray radiation. In light of these existing challenges, a design strategy engaging high entropy is proposed to improve the photochromic performance. By selecting a diverse range of volatile metal elements, the A‐site high entropy is realized within the ABO3 perovskite structure, enabling the construction of various defects. This results in the successful realization of the material's sensitive response to sunlight, thereby validating the feasibility of the photochromism boosted by a high entropy strategy. The developed photochromic materials for intrusion indication demonstrate the capability to operate autonomously, making it a crucial component in high‐level security monitoring systems and presenting a novel approach toward enhancing security protection in traditional domains.

Chronicity, Women’s Suffering, and Prayer: a Budding Prayer Group’s Response to Chronic Developmental Crises in Zimbabwe

Abstract This paper uses textual analysis of an audio note that circulated on WhatsApp in 2018 presenting the founder of a rapidly growing predominantly women-only Zimbabwean prayer group. The audio note’s content is taken as an emergent ethnography exposing emic views of women’s lived realities. The analysis uses notions of ‘chronicity’, (Vigh 2008, 10–15) and ‘women’s suffering’ (Cole 2012, 384–6) to ground the audio note’s content in Zimbabwe’s prolonged socioeconomic and political crises. Chronic crises produce unique social actions (Vigh 2008), such as popular religious practices and theologies (Miller-McLemore 2018). The group prefers do-it-yourself (DIY) prayers which demand constant environmental and self-assessment, and comparing with peers. The group’s construction of women’s suffering as anathema to ideal Pentecostal personhoods discussed in four themes discernible from the audio note is revealing (Harnisch 2000). Techniques of DIY prayers echo the feminist notion that ‘the personal is political’. Thus, the group potentially contributes to gender transformation.

From argumentation to real-world action: a way to realize scientific literacy

ABSTRACT While current science teaching aims to cultivate students’ argumentation abilities on socioscientific issues, engaging them in social actions on these issues contributes to the realisation of the goal of science education. Consequently, instructing students toward action in the social milieu and helping them comprehend actions that ought to be taken afterward allows for an understanding of how science teaching benefits the world. This qualitative study implements issue-based and action-oriented instruction in a junior high school science curriculum with 66 ninth-graders participating. The quality of their argumentation was recorded during the solar cell utilisation argumentation activity, and three years later, 31 of them reported taking subsequent actions. The results show an enhanced effect on students’ argumentation quality. Most actions students reported are attributed to personal and participatory categories with a few critical actions focusing on fundamental changes. Also of note, a high proportion of students with high-level argumentation quality understood but failed to take any action to solve confronting problems. Therefore, in addition to stressing argumentation ability as a crucial part of cultivating scientific literacy, it is rather important to awaken students consciousness of the existence of social problems and to conduct small-scale actions with collective visions and strategies.

Организация наставничества при реализации программы «Орлята России»

The article presents the results of the discussion of the problem of development of children’s movement in the context of the all-Russian program “Orlyata Rossii”, which took place within the framework of the All-Russian scientific and practical conference “Development of children’s movement in modern Russia” on May 29, 2024. Teachers of the A.I. Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, representatives of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the All-Russian Children’s Center “Orlyonok” exchanged experience in implementing the program for primary school students “Orlyata Rossii”, as well as organizing mentoring with younger students to develop their social activity. The most significant areas of work of the conference sectional platforms are highlighted, a discussion format for the discussion on the organization of mentoring and work with students of psychological and pedagogical classes is considered and proposed.

Advanced resistance exercise combined with aerobic rehabilitation training on cardiopulmonary function

Chronic diseases are the number one killer in the world today, and the most common cause of chronic diseases is lack of exercise. Research on the application of artificial intelligence technology in the medical field can shorten the distance between clinical best practice and practical application, and promote the standardized management of clinicians according to specifications. In this paper, three different exercise methods, continuous aerobic, anaerobic, and control, were used to conduct a 12-week study. This paper discussed the effects of three different forms of exercise on the body shape, body composition, and metabolism of patients with chronic diseases, and discussed the intervention effects of the same exercise mode in different periods (0–6 weeks, 6–12 weeks), to provide a theoretical basis for more effective and targeted choice of exercise intervention programs. Through training load, training frequency, training sequence, training interval, and other factors, a training plan can be designed. To avoid mistakes, experts often try to do some items that are prone to mistakes, especially lung function measurement. The scores of self-care, extraction, standing, occupation/housework, social activities, and total scores were significantly lower than those before intervention (P < 0.01). Advanced resistance kinetic energy can significantly improve the exercise and cardiopulmonary function of patients with various types of chronic diseases. Advanced resistance kinetic energy can significantly promote the strength and explosive force of the shoulder, waist, and back muscles in chronic patients, and can significantly promote the muscle adaptability of the shoulder, waist, and back muscles in chronic patients.

The Comparison of Stock Price Before and After Pandemic to Identify The Health of Sector Company

At the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in Indonesia, almost all activities in this country weredisrupted and economic activity was no exception. Indonesia's current economic growth is down2.07% in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic which has caused it to be reduced to a low and middleincome country. Based on the gross domestic product (GDP), most sectors of the Indonesian economyexperienced a decline in growth in 2020. Only 5 economic sectors showed positive growth. The sectorwith the largest positive growth was the health services sector and social activities, which amountedto 11.60%. This growth affects the stock price of health sector companies. Grounded on the IDXIndustry category (IDXHEALTH) from 2018-2022, there was an increase of 41.28%. The HealthSector which continues to grow is driven by the payment of Covid- 19 incentives. This study wasconducted to identify the Difference in Stock prices of Health Sector Companies before and afterCovid- 19 with the supposition that the Covid- 19 pandemic occurred in March 2020 by observingstock price fluctuations two years before and after the Covid- 19 Pandemic. Based on the PairedSample T-test, the stock prices of 3 companies from 6 companies have significant differences in thespecified sample period, namely DVLA, PRDA, and MERK companies where the stock prices ofDVLA and PRDA have increased. In addition, PRDA's stock price has the largest stock price amongother health sector companies, meaning that PRDA companies have good performance.

The Role of Social Media Engagement in Customer Service: A Study on the Brazilian Financial Sector

This article investigates the importance of social media in customer service and relationships, causing engagement with the brand. For this, this research's corpus delimited the actions on social media of the five largest banks in Brazil in terms of customer volume. The data were collected and analyzed in two moments: first, through a structured questionnaire to test the use and importance of social media in the service and relationship of banks; second, through the collection of interaction and conversation data on the social media of each bank studied. The quantitative and descriptive research uses correlation and engagement analysis based on social media metrics. The results indicate the banks' different strategies to provoke engagement and relationship with their consumer audiences in each media, but the data reveal low engagement. However, consumers pointed out social media's relevance in seeking services and relationships with their banks, citing the convenience, speed, and accessibility it provides. The study concludes that consumers value banks' social media, especially looking for customer service and relationships. In contrast, interaction and conversation data showed that banks have a routine of working in this category, combining others with their products' promotion and sponsorships and events. However, it became clear that the engagement that the banks' social media actions generate is minimal, in proportion to the volume of their followers.

Social media adoption and utilization by Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residency programs and implications for remote resident recruitment.

We aim to investigate the association of Instagram and Twitter (rebranded X) adoption by Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) residencies with the number of National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) applications received in the 2020-2021 application cycle. Among 88 PM&R residency programs, 67 (77%) had Instagram accounts, 45 (51%) had Twitter accounts, and 41 (47%) had both. Forty (60%) Instagram accounts and 19 (42%) Twitter accounts were opened during the 2020-2021 application cycle, correlating with the introduction of virtual interviews and the COVID-19 pandemic. Residency programs with active Instagram or Twitter accounts had more NRMP applications (F(2,85) = 7.49, P = 0.001). Simple main effects analysis showed that programs with an Instagram account (P = 0.03) or a Twitter account (P = 0.03) received more residency applications. In multivariate linear regression analysis including presence of an Instagram account, program size, program setting, and program region, the presence of a Twitter account (coefficient 37.3, P = 0.04, 95% CI 1.71-72.96) and ≥ 16 residents in the residency program (coefficient 77.9, P < 0.001, 95% CI 44.43-111.31) were positively correlated with the number of residency applications. In conclusion, residency programs that were larger and adopted Twitter had more applicants in 2020-2021. Future research is needed to determine how social media activity impacts residency applicant decision-making.

Aspects of Quality of Life: Single vs. Mated People.

Not having an intimate partner constitutes a common state in contemporary post-industrial societies. The current research aimed to address the question of whether single people score higher than mated people in various dimensions of quality of life. For this purpose, we employed quantitative research methods, measuring different aspects of quality of life that we treated as the dependent variables, with relationship status as the independent variable. In a sample of 1929 participants from Greece and Turkey, we found that relationship status was not significantly associated with physical health, relationships with friends and family, self-development, independence, recreation, or participation in social and communal activities. On the other hand, it was significantly associated with material goods, disposable income, social support, sexual satisfaction, and having children, with mated people scoring higher than single people. Despite using different methodologies for data collection, similar results were obtained in the two cultural contexts.

Rebranding God: The Jewish Revival Movement between Homeland and Diaspora

Against the gloomy forecast of “The Vanishing Diaspora”, the end of the second millennium saw the global emergence of a dazzling array of Jewish cultural initiatives, institutional modalities, and individual practices. These “Jewish Revival” and “Jewish Renewal” projects are led by Jewish NGOs and philanthropic organizations, the Orthodox Teshuva (return to the fold) movement and its well-known emissary Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidism, and alternative cultural initiatives that promote what can be termed “lifestyle Judaism”. This range between institutionalized revival movements and ephemeral event-driven projects circumscribes a diverse space of creative agency. Indeed, the trope of a “Jewish Renaissance” has become both a descriptive category of an increasingly popular and scholarly discourse across the globe, and a prescriptive model for social action. This article explores the global transformations of contemporary Jewishness, which give renewed meaning to identity, tradition, and politics in our post-secular world in two different sociopolitical contexts. Drawing on long-term ethnographic research, we interrogate the relations between “diaspora” and “homeland” by analyzing two case studies: the Jewish revival movement in Budapest, Hungary, and the Jewish renewal initiatives in Israel. While the first instantiates a diasporic movement anchored in a post-denominational and post-secular attempt to reclaim Jewish tradition for a new generation of Jew-llennials (Millennial Jews), the second group operates against the Orthodox hegemony of the institutional Rabbinate by revisiting religious ritual and textual study. By proposing new cultural repertoires, these movements highlight the dialectic exchange between center and periphery. The ethnography of religious revival decenters the Israeli Orthodoxy as “the homeland” and positions the diaspora at the core of a network of cultural creativity and renewal, while remaining in constant dialog with Israel and other diasporic communities.

Transforming rehabilitation: A narrative review on reversible knee flexor contracture assistive devices

Abstract: Joint contracture, marked by restricted joint movement due to connective tissue and muscle shortening, is a common complication in chronic musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis, osteonecrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, healed septic joint, and postsurgical complications. This limitation adversely impacts joint mobility and flexibility, increasing the likelihood of physical constraints. Contractures elevate the risk of impaired self-care, limited physical mobility, and hindered social activities, emphasizing the critical need to manage such contractures. The study aims to find the most appropriate, effective, user-friendly mechanical device to treat reversible knee flexor contracture. Method of a literature review was conducted utilizing PubMed, Google Scholar, and the physiotherapy evidence database (PEDro) up to April 2023. The inclusion criteria comprised studies related to flexion contracture (FC), written in English languages were included. The literature searched using the terms “flexion contracture, hamstring contracture, knee flexor contracture, burn contracture, knee joint hypomobility, and devices for flexion contracture.” Result after applying the selection criteria, the initial screening of literature gives 35,400 results on Google Scholar, PubMed, and PEDro. Subsequently, 128 articles underwent screening based on abstract and full-text availability in the English language. Following this, seven articles were selected and thoroughly reviewed, which included randomized control trials, systematic reviews, and exploratory studies. The study concluded the use of conventional physiotherapy interventions, coupled with assistive devices, diminishes the burden on physiotherapists and provides effective improvements to patients with FCs.

Coastal communities' perceptions on coastal erosion and the protective role of seagrass meadows in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Seagrasses are recognized as a nature-based solution for mitigating coastal erosion. However, knowledge on coastal community perceptions regarding coastal erosion causes, impacts, potential mitigation, and the protective role of seagrass meadows is limited in Tanzania. Using stratified random sampling, 323 resident fishers from the Kinondoni and Kigamboni coastal municipalities of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, were selected to participate in a questionnaire survey to understanding their perceptions of coastal erosion impacts and the protective role of seagrass meadows. Further insights were obtained through key informant interviews with village leaders, elders, and BMU leaders, as well as through nominal group technique involving various beach user groups, and non-participant observation. The study found that coastal communities are highly aware of the causes, impacts, and mitigation measures of coastal erosion, with a notable 85.1 % of survey respondents identifying increased wave energy as the main cause. Nominal group technique revealed various categories affected by erosion, including social activities, properties, sacred sites, livelihood stability, and future development opportunities. The key functions of seagrass meadows as perceived by respondents, including enhancing the natural beauty of coastal waters (97.8 %), supporting fisheries (94.4 %), and providing coastal protection (87.0 %), which ranked third. Destructive fishing was identified as the primary cause of seagrass degradation, notably more severe in Kinondoni. Based on the findings, this study recommends regular awareness campaigns on seagrass preservation. Policymakers should integrate seagrass preservation into broader coastal management plans, promote sustainable fishing, and engage communities to ensure the long-term protection of seagrass meadows as nature-based coastal protection solution.

Determinants of the functionality of cost accounting systems in social welfare organizations: Exploratory study using cluster analysis

This paper presents a quantitative exploration of the functionality of cost accounting systems and their determinants in social welfare organizations. We conducted a questionnaire survey of managers of social welfare organizations running special nursing homes for the elderly and conducted a cluster analysis based on the data collected. The questionnaire was created based on the scales used in previous studies, with some new scales developed. For data analysis, the statistical analysis environment R was used. The clValid package of R was used to assess the validity of the cluster analysis. Based on the results of the analysis in this paper, it is expected that social welfare organizations that pursue cost leadership strategies and have a strong public interest orientation will benefit greatly by being able to utilize a highly functional cost accounting system. Such organizations will be able to improve their business efficiency by utilizing cost information, and their social contribution activities based on the resulting resources will truly be a contribution to public welfare. The findings from this study are of practical significance because they can be used by business managers of social welfare organizations to review the functionality of their cost accounting systems. We also focus on the degree to which nonprofit organizations focus on social contribution activities (in this paper, we call this public interest orientation). The public interest orientation of an organization is thought to affect the functionality of the cost accounting system in the same way as the organization’s strategy, but there has not been enough quantitative research on this point. By focusing on the public interest orientation of social welfare organizations, this study contributes to deepening our knowledge in this area.

Semiotic packaging of teacher talk for affective recyclings: A usage-based approach to children's construction development

This study examines how iconically designed teacher talk facilitates preschool novice L2 learners' construction development through playful interactions. It combines two approaches: ethnomethodological conversation analysis and usage-based linguistics. The conversational data were retrieved from teacher-children interactions filmed at an all-English school in Japan. The microanalysis of 945-min classroom interactions illustrated that when a part of teacher talk was packaged with iconic semiotic resources, such as gestures, situated meanings, tones of voice, and affective stances, it became accessible L2 resources for the children to learn and recycle in their subsequent utterances. Simultaneously, the analysis also revealed the pragmatic mechanism of teachers' assignment of interactional responsibility, inviting children to perform language learning of target constructions through recyclings. The recycled part of the teacher talk indicated the children's microgenetic usage-based language learning as they modified and developed L2 constructions to accomplish certain social actions—sanction of a deviated action, attention-getting, and storytelling in situ. This study indicates that language learning opportunities can be integrated into children's processes of achieving specific social actions, and language learning performance can be invited as an appropriate practice in situ by certain teacher talk designs.

What is the Impact of Economic Welfare on Social Responsibility Disclosure in Indonesian Manufacturing Companies?

This research was conducted to prove that the economic welfare of the community is related to and has an influence on the existence of corporate social responsibility activities. The findings in this study assume the existence of the Covid-19 as a period that has an impact on the global crisis. The effects of the global crisis caused companies to experience a decline in net sales, and policies on corporate social activities changed. This study tries to link the variables of public ownership and net sales of companies to disclosure of social responsibility and the economic welfare of the community. The sampling design in this study uses a list of manufacture companies included in the Kompas 100 index list for two consecutive years, namely 2020 and 2021, which is the period when the health crisis in Indonesia began. The results of this study are that the variables of public ownership structure and net sales index have a significant relationship with social responsibility disclosure. However, the disclosure of social responsibility is not significant to economic welfare. Public ownership brings the company more attention from the surrounding community. Meanwhile, sales growth is used as a company measure to satisfy company owners and benefit the community. With company policies that benefit the community, supporting the government improves economic welfare. Keywords: CSR disclosure, public ownership, net sales, economic well-being

Socio-Demographic Factors Affecting Women’s Activity in Society

The socio-demographic factors influencing the activity of women in the society, as well as the causes of negative consequences such as anxiety, increase in conflict, decrease in emotional stability and initiative, decrease in social activity, deterioration of the indicator of social-psychological characteristics of a person are considered in the article. At the same time, in the results of the research conducted by the author, the differentiation of indicators of social activity is presented. Any changes that take place in the society cause women to lose their almost achieved achievements, as well as cause a sharp decline in their social status. It is known that in the process of forming a person as a person, he enters into many social relationships, at the same time; he performs a number of socio-psychological roles.