Social Causes Research Articles

Strategies for Teaching Written Language to Students with Attention Deficits

The issue of including students with attention deficits in the educational process is a highly relevant pedagogical challenge due to the high prevalence of these disorders. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common condition, but attention deficits can also arise from social causes, such as experiencing psychologically traumatic situations like war. This article presents key strategies for improving written language skills in students with attention deficits of various etiologies and comorbid disorders to facilitate their inclusion in the educational process. Additionally, presented are the results of a two-stage study confirming the practical effectiveness of these strategies.

Dissociation and Loss: a Challenge for Sustainable and Inclusive Conservation

ABSTRACT The agents of deterioration (AoD) offer a structured categorization of hazards to collections: they are a basis for risk-informed preservation management. In drawing up the AoD their creators were not ignorant of wider societal issues of concern to conservators, but they envisaged them to be part of a broader institutional activity located beyond the scope of preventive conservation. Within conservation, there have been discussions about additional agents: social, cultural, or political causes of loss. Their continued exclusion from the AoD may mistakenly be interpreted as a lack of consideration of such concerns. There are reasons to limit the scope of an institution’s preventive conservation system but not everyone agrees that those reasons are sufficient to justify this limitation. This paper is a discussion and disagreement by two authors. Henderson argues that dissociation should capture any loss of meaning resulting from any aspect of conservation practice, including cleaning, documentation, failure to respect beliefs, etc. She argues that dissociation from context may stop preventive conservators from identifying and respecting optimal traditional sustainable methods and techniques. Waller argues that the threat of losing context information about collection items should be managed as part of the wider cultural heritage institution’s role and resolved through its engagement with the community. He acknowledges that preventive conservation can contribute to understanding and mitigating this form of loss, but advocates that primary responsibility must be situated at a higher level than the preventive conservation remit.

Infant mortality and social causality: Lessons from the history of Britain's public health movement, c. 1834-1914.

What are the historical conditions under which a sociologically informed understanding of health inequality can emerge in the public sphere? We seek to address this question through the lens of a strategically chosen historical puzzle-the stubborn persistence of and salient variation in high infant mortality rates across British industrial towns at the dawn of the previous century-as analysed by Arthur Newsholme, the Medical Officer of the Local Government Board. In doing so, we retrace the historical processes through which the evolving public health movement gradually helped crystallise a scientific understanding of the social causes of excess mortality. We map the dominant ideology of the public sphere at the time, chart the shifting roles of the state, and retrace the historical origins and emergence of 'public health' as a distinctive category of state policy and public discourse. We situate the public health movement in this historical configuration and identify the cracks in the existing ideological and administrative edifice through which this movement was able to articulate a novel approach to population health-one that spotlights the political economy of social inequality. We relate this historical sequence to the rise of industrial capitalism, the social fractures that it spawned, and the organised counter-movements that it necessitated.

Building An Abolition Movement for International Criminal Law?

Abstract International criminal law is a carceral system, which responds to mass atrocities by holding some individuals criminally responsible for these events and then, generally, imprisoning those individuals. I ask what alternative responses might be envisaged, and if we can build a carceral abolitionist movement for international criminal law. Such a movement would refuse imprisonment and policing as the main responses to mass atrocity, and instead would seek to understand the social causes and conditions that cause such mass atrocity, and also how (and why) criminal law has become the preeminent ‘legitimate hand of justice’. In this article, I attempt to bring into conversation two particular intellectual movements: the collective scholarship and praxis of domestic carceral abolition movements; and those critical scholars of international criminal law who have already set out some of the limits and possibilities of the field. I set out the structural conditions of international criminal law, particularly its ideological grounding in neoliberalism and its relationships to race, global capital and colonialism and imperialism, which result in a legal system that criminalizes some and exonerates others. I then particularly examine some tools that already exist for building an abolition movement for international criminal law. These include the defence of duress, transformative reparations and the role of defence lawyers. These tools are admittedly part of the carceral system, and therefore cannot be the key to an abolition movement for international criminal law. However, they may assist us in the short or medium term as we imagine and work towards a better world without the need for a carceral system of international criminal law that relies on police and prisons.

A Political Ecology of Food Security in La Guajira, Colombia

Inspired by my experiences while studying abroad in Colombia, in this paper I seek to explain the environmental, social, and political causes of widespread food insecurity in the Colombian department of La Guajira, a rural, isolated desert region with a high percentage of indigenous peoples. I first perform a literature review of geographic research on food security in peripheral regions, followed by a comprehensive case study analysis of La Guajira, drawing together sources from a variety of disciplines, in English and Spanish, in order to provide a new perspective on the region’s crisis through a multiscalar political ecology lens specifically focused on human-environment interactions, marginalization, social difference, and discourses. I find that from racialized frontier capitalism in the early 1900s to contemporary neoliberal extractivism, decades of attempts to integrate the region into national and global economic markets have weakened traditional food systems and substantially increased food insecurity. More broadly, I explore how food security, local agency in food systems, and environmental sustainability can be increased by rethinking our conventional ideas of “development,” “progress,” and “isolation.”

Discourse Fluctuation of “Chinese Aerospace” in the Mainstream Media

Drawing upon the principles of Critical Discourse Analysis and Usage Fluctuation Analysis, this study investigated the discourse fluctuation of “Chinese aerospace” in the mainstream media of China, the US, the UK, and Russia, covering the initiating, consistent, transient and terminating collocates within the discourse; and also examines the diachronic change of their semantic similarity. It is further explained with an in-depth investigation of the ideology and social causes behind. Results show that Chinese and Russian media’s attention to Chinese aerospace is on the rise, constructing an image of China as a strong nation leading in innovative aerospace technology; while British and American media’s attention fluctuates considerably, conveying an ambitious image. This study offers a new perspective for the discourse analysis of news reports and contributes to the discursive construction of “Chinese aerospace”.

Trends of fear and anger on YouTube during the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has been the most widespread and threatening health crisis experienced by the Korean society. Faced with an unprecedented threat to survival, society has been gripped by social fear and anger, questioning the culpability of this pandemic. This study explored the correlation between social cognitions and negative emotions and their changes in response to the severe events stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.MethodsThe analysis was based on a cognitive-emotional model that links fear and anger to the social causes that trigger them and used discursive content from comments posted on YouTube’s COVID-19-related videos. A total of 182,915 comments from 1,200 videos were collected between January and December 2020. We performed data analyses and visualizations using R, Netminer 4.0, and Gephi software and calculated Pearson’s correlation coefficients between emotions.ResultsYouTube videos were analyzed for keywords indicating cognitive assessments of major events related to COVID-19 and keywords indicating negative emotions. Eight topics were identified through topic modeling: causes and risks, perceptions of China, media and information, infection prevention rules, economic activity, school and infection, political leaders, and religion, politics, and infection. The correlation coefficient between fear and anger was 0.462 (p < .001), indicating a moderate linear relationship between the two emotions. Fear was the highest from January to March in the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak, while anger occurred before and after the outbreak, with fluctuations in both emotions during this period.ConclusionsThis study confirmed that social cognitions and negative emotions are intertwined in response to major events related to the COVID-19 pandemic, with each emotion varying individually rather than being ambiguously mixed. These findings could aid in developing social cognition-emotion-based public health strategies through education and communication during future pandemic outbreaks.

Language Maintenance and Shift in Multilingual Ecologies: A Case Study of Ethnic Minorities in Yunnan

This study aims to address the phenomenon of language maintenance and shift in multilingual ecologies, specifically the ethnic minority communities of Yunnan province in China. The case study focuses on language ecological issues, i.e., language use, language shift, and language preservation, which resulted from language contact and cultural contact between the dominant Chinese communities and the inferior minorities across the region of Yunnan. The smaller language groups have been overlooked in favour of the larger competing languages in previous research concerning linguistic dynamics in Yunnan. By analyzing and evaluating at language competency levels, usage patterns, and skill sets among speakers from the Chinese communities, this paper seeks to restate this omission. Through the integration of language ecology approaches, the survey on everyday use of language, attitudes and transition from questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively pertaining to the impact of evolving sociodemographic factors on language retention and change in the context of Chinese communities. In this study, data regarding linguistic habits were gathered by a questionnaire survey, skill levels, and repertoires within these communities. As part of the research approach, sociolinguistic background data, language repertoires, language usage patterns, and attitudes toward various languages were all examined. The study utilized qualitative data that was collected through semi-structured interviews through the Zoom online platform and direct observations. The research illustrated the dynamic relationship between individual agency and social cause that shapes language attitudes and behaviors of different actors. It is hoped that the research findings contribute to the understanding of linguistic diversity in China, particularly in contemporary multilingual settings which may serve as concrete evidence for policymakers to revitalize ehnic minority languages. The research implies that language change on the formation of individual, group and collective identity, social cohesion within a community, and cultural heritage preservation.

ANALYSIS OF THE LEVEL OF OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES

Problem statement. The task of the research is evaluation the dynamics of changes in the level of injuries at work depending on the main causes of the accident. Technical, organizational, psychophysiological, technogenic, social, natural and environmental causes are closely interrelated and have a significant impact on the number of victims of accidents at the industrial plants, as well as on the number of victims of accidents with fatal consequences. The purpose of the article. The assessment of changes in industrial injuries at Ukrainian enterprises during 2010−2022. The establishing connection between social and industrial factors affecting the rate of industrial accidents. The creation of correlation-regression models for statistical evaluation and analysis of the influence of factor variables on the results of injury. Methodology. The use of descriptive statistics for the analysis of the dynamics of changes in the level of industrial injuries. Carrying out a correlation analysis to establish the density of connection between factor variables and resulting features. The use of regression-variance analysis to obtain coefficients of regression mathematical models and statistical indicators that explain the probability of significance of these coefficients. Calculation of the value of the relative error of the calculation data obtained according to mathematical models to confirm their adequacy. Scientific novelty. Multiple correlation-regression models have been developed that take into account the main causes of the accident as factor variables affecting the injury rate and the rate of fatal accidents. Practical significance. Mathematical models make estimate the impact of the main causes of accidents on the level of industrial injuries. The implementation of improved methods and means of safe activity at work is an important tool for correcting the cause-and-effect relationships of industrial injuries. Conclusions. The correlation-regression models were created to analyze the level of industrial injuries in Ukraine. The numerical calculations were carried out according to these models. The average values of the relative errors of the calculated data are 1.55 % and 6.08 %, which indicates the adequacy of the developed models.

The prospect of social medicine in South Africa

The term “médecine sociale” (social medicine in English) was first coined in 1848 during the French Revolution by Dr. Jules Guérin. It is a branch of medicine that focuses on the impact of social and economic conditions on health, disease, and the practice of medicine, with the intention of creating a healthier society. It is an interdisciplinary program between medicine and social sciences, expected to equip medicine with the knowledge and skills needed for analyzing the social causes of health and illness, akin to how the alliance between medicine and laboratory sciences provided insights into the biological, chemical, and physical bases of diseases. Social medicine is also interconnected with social determinants of health. While social determinants of health specifically target social and environmental conditions that affect health, social medicine has a broader scope, encompassing the entire social context of health, including societal structures and cultural factors. In the post-apartheid era, social medicine could play an important role in transforming the healthcare system to ensure equity and inclusivity, leading to improved health outcomes. This would require re-engineering the education of health professionals in South Africa at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as practiced in many parts of the world. This will assist South Africa in joining the global movement of social medicine for the promotion of human rights and social justice in medicine, and a better understanding of the impact of social factors on the aetiology and management of medical disorders in the 21st century.

Dysfunctions of Relations to the Social Environment in the Context of Social Reintegration Disorders of Persons Released from Places of Deprivation of Liberty

Social environment is essential for social reintegration of convicts. At the same time, legal psychology lacks explanations of social psychological aspects of reintegration, the function of relationships . This study provides empirical data to make up for the lack of this information. The purpose of the research is to study the role of relations to social environment in the violation of reintegration of persons subjected to administrative supervision. The method of data collection is a survey. The functions of relationships to social environment in supervised persons, as well as personal, interpersonal and social causes of reintegration disorders are studied. The data are processed by the procedures of descriptive statistics, differences are identified by the Kruskall-Wallis criterion, and the functions of relationships are assessed by regression analysis (GLM mediation models). The study sample consists of 695 people, 260 of whom are classified as persons with law-abiding behavior (mean age — 32 .3 years, SD = 9.3 years; men — 77 %). The remaining part is made up of persons under administrative supervision, of whom 243 persons are under administrative supervision. — convicted for a single intentional crime (cf. age — 34,5 years, SD = 9,54 years; males — 77 %); 192 persons convicted more than once, including recidivism (cf. age — 40,2 years, SD = 9,35 years; males — 83,2 %). The results indicate that functional characteristics of attitudes to social environment are indicators of interpersonal and social causes of violation of reintegration of supervised persons into society. New information about the functional of relations to social environment was obtained, their influence on overcoming difficulties and problems related to reintegration was revealed.

Health Problems Faced by Elderly and Services Offered by Old Age Home/Aafiat, Lahore, Social Welfare Department, Punjab

The demand for increased physical as well as psychological healthcare facilities is driving up concerns about an ageing population, especially in resource-constrained countries. Older adults in Pakistan experience insecurity due to a number of social and economic causes. In such situations, when conventional family care is unavailable or the elderly lack resources like housing, old age homes offer services to the elderly. The present quantitative study aimed to ascertain the demographic profile of the elderly population residing in an old age home or Aafiat, investigate the factors that contribute to their residence in an old age home, examine the physical and mental health challenges experienced by those receiving residential care, and find out the elderly population's satisfaction level with the services provided by the old age home. However, this article merely addressed the issues with older people's physical and mental health and how satisfied they were with the services and facilities the old age home offered. It was a cross-sectional study, and in order to gather data, interviews were conducted with each of the 25 inmates who were present at the Lahore old age home/Aafiat. According to the findings, the majority of respondents expressed high satisfaction with the level of services received; however, the data revealed that the elderly in the old age home experienced several challenges linked to their physical and mental health.

Recognising the social causes of student underperformance in medical education: a scoping review

The social aspects of underperformance in medical education can be perceived as an uncomfortable topic in some contexts. Vaughn’s [1]evergreen description of underperformance: the state where a student’s academic performance is significantly below that which isexpected of them – because of a ‘specific affective, cognitive, structural, or interpersonal difficulty’ was used in this study. With up to15% of medical students experiencing significant difficulties during medical training [2], the session mandate is to explore social causes of underperformance towards best practice approaches for student’s support, discomfort notwithstanding. A scoping review was conducted using the JBI framework [3] to explore social issues surrounding medical student underperformance. A PubMed search using ‘medical underperformance’ and ‘remediation’ was used as an expansive template to find papers that described key concepts. Forty-six papers were identified and in papers that the titles dealt with the topic, 20 full texts were reviewed. Framework analysis [4] was used to identify themes from key papers. A key social reason for medical students’ underperformance was cultural clashes. An evidence-based process of management can be used to deduce root causes of underperformance and assist the affected student back on track with their self-regulated learning. Aims• Critically analyse the social difficulties faced by underperformingstudents.• Practice the creation of evidence-based tailored remediation plans. Engagement: I intend to use a case study and questions to engage attendees.

ДО ПИТАННЯ ЩОДО ВРАХУВАННЯ СОЦІАЛЬНО-ПСИХОЛОГІЧНИХ ОСОБЛИВОСТЕЙ ОСІБ, ЯКІ ОБВИНУВАЧУЮТЬСЯ В КОЛАБОРАЦІЙНІЙ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ АБО Є ЗАСУДЖЕНИМИ ЗА ТАКІ ЗЛОЧИНИ

The upward trend in the number of persons subject to court orders to draw up a pre-trial report against persons accused of committing criminal offenses against the foundations of national security of Ukraine, as well as the convictions of such persons, prompts research into the social and psychological causes of such crimes and the development of probation programs to influence such persons socially and educationally. The purpose of the article is to define and study the general theoretical and practical aspects of the work of probation authorities with persons accused of collaboration or convicted of such crimes through the prism of social and educational measures. Research methodology is based on modern scientific approaches to the development of thinking, assessment of psychological actions of the individual, active cognition and assessment of the impact on behavioral change of individuals of different psychotypes. Results of the study. The reasons for the collaboration activities of persons against whom charges of criminal offenses against the foundations of national security of our country have been made are highlighted. The author characterizes the typology of behavioral profiles in accordance with the combination of traits-indicators of collaborators, certain socio-psychological signs of behavior of collaborators, and also identifies individual differences of collaborators and their behavioral profile. Conclusions. The study proves the need for further in-depth study of the behavioral patterns of collaborators, as well as their involvement in socially important processes through certain probationary actions and programs. Key words: collaborationism, collaboration activity, behavioral profile of a collaborator, probation program, training, risk assessment.

On the issue of qualitative assessment of level of population commitment to vaccination

This article presents analysis of results of quantitative study "Level of Commitment to Vaccination" based on author's original methodology of survey. The main medical and social causes of decreasing of level of population commitment to vaccination are explained. The purpose of the study is to quantitatively assess commitment to vaccination, to establish both dependence of level of commitment on risk factors of population refusal to be vaccinated and medical and social causes of this phenomenon. Materials and methods. In April-June 2023, sociological survey of respondents (n=300) aged from 19 to 75 years using the author's methodology was implemented. The statistical processing of materials was carried out using statistical software SPSS Statistics 23.0 using correlation analysis and descriptive statistics. The results and discussion. Using correlation analysis (according r-Spearman), dependence of level of commitment on number of medical and social factors was established. The readiness to vaccination depends on degree of trust to medicine. The accessibility of information about National Vaccination Calendar, vaccination scheme and vaccine effectiveness directly impact decision to be vaccinated. Conclusion. The development of complex of measures (technologies) improving population literacy through organization of informational and educational environment will reduce the number of unjustified refusals and increase level of population commitment to vaccination in general.

Crowdfunding for Social Impact using Blockchain

Abstract: In the realm of philanthropy and social impact, crowdfunding has emerged as a powerful tool for mobilizing resources towards meaningful causes. This project investigates the fusion of crowdfunding into technology that uses blockchain to engender a platform for social giving which is transparent and efficient. The system enables users to donate funds securely using Ethereum cryptocurrency through the MetaMask wallet, ensuring transparency and traceability of transactions. At its core, the project leverages Solidity smart contracts deployed on the Sepolia network via Alchemy to manage donation campaigns. Next.js is employed to develop an intuitive user interface that simplifies the donation process. Each campaign on the platform represents a social cause, and donors can contribute directly to these campaigns. One of the characteristics of blockchain, decentralization makes sure that donations are transferred in a secure manner to the intended recipients or campaign creators, reducing intermediary costs and enhancing trust. The system promotes accountability by providing donors visibility into how their contributions are utilized. By utilizing blockchain technology, this project not only streamlines the donation process but also addresses concerns around transparency and accountability in traditional philanthropy. It empowers individuals to support causes they care about directly, fostering a more inclusive and impactful approach to social giving. This abstract aims to elucidate the essence of the project in a clear and accessible manner, inviting readers of all backgrounds to understand and appreciate the innovative intersection of blockchain and social impact crowdfunding.

Domestic Violence Experienced by Women: Construction and Validation of a Measurement Method

Domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence, constitutes a major social scourge recorded in virtually every country in the world. Despite the fact that previous studies investigating this societal phenomenon have evaluated it from various perspectives, little is known about how it is experienced by victims. However, the lack of knowledge of this experience prevents us from understanding that despite the fact that they are involved in relationships marked by violence, many women do not leave them, thus putting their physical and psychological health at risk. To help fill this gap, this research constructs and validates a new scale specific to experienced domestic violence. After formulating and verifying its items, a validation study was conducted with a sample of 406 female participants, aged between 18 and 61 years (M=29.63; SD=8,688). Factor analyses report that this measure has a one-dimensional factor structure with 12 items. The reliability indices are satisfactory (α=.95). The same goes for convergent, discriminant and predictive validity. The scale of experienced domestic violence has a general scope which will allow researchers to carry out an in depth investigation into the psychological, social, economic and political causes and consequences of experienced domestic violence with a view, in particular, to considering interventions for the recovery of the victims.

Social media influencers helping the world? uncovering their advantages and tipping factors in cause-related marketing

While social media influencers have manifested their convertible marketing value in sponsorship deals, brands and non-profits have also been experimenting with them to promote social causes. Whether and how influencers’ traits that contribute to their commercial success also translate to cause-related marketing is yet understudied. This research investigates the specific traits and factors that help to explain influencers’ strengths in cause-related marketing through a qualitative approach via conducting in-depth interviews. Drawing on source credibility, parasocial relation, and congruence effect, this research identified several factors that potentially contribute to followers’ receptivity toward prosocial behaviors promoted by influencers, including source credibility, parasocial relation with followers, followers’ wishful identification, and different levels of congruence (influencer-cause fit, follower-cause fit, and consistency among causes). We further explore how followers perceive influencers’ promotion of prosocial behaviors from a marketing perspective. This research contributes to our understanding of the advantages of influencers in cause-related marketing, and advance knowledge on source credibility and congruence theory in the context of influencer marketing.

Uncovering identity threat and response processes involving digital media (ITARP-DM)

With the rising use of digital media, people, groups, and organizations are increasingly experiencing and responding to identity threats. We conducted an inductive, multiple-methods study to examine 50 viral stories on identity threat and response processes involving digital media (ITARP-DM). We uncovered three distinct ITARP-DM processes, which suggests that unique approaches are needed to deal with them. Although physical threats are more visible, threats to identity that are only words can still manifest in physiological consequences. When an ITARP-DM social justice cause affects a large group, it is more likely to spill over to offline protests and riots.

Virtual Voices for Sustainable Values: Exploring Content Themes and Advocacy Strategies in the Sustainability Promotion of Virtual Influencers

As the concept of sustainability has gained significant attention in recent years as a critical response to escalating environmental challenges and societal shifts, the influence of virtual influencers in promoting sustainability has become a focal point of inquiry. The purpose of this research is to explore the prevalent content themes utilised by virtual influencers to promote sustainability and examine the communication and advocacy strategies they employed in conveying messages related to social and environmental causes. With a qualitative approach and content analysis methodology, the study selects four virtual influencers known for advocating sustainability and analyses a dataset of 137 Instagram posts spanning two years (2022, 2023). Findings indicate that virtual influencers actively engage in advocating for wildlife and nature conservation as the most popular theme, with two distinct communication strategies identified: raising awareness by problematising threats to wildlife and showcasing the beauty of nature and conservation efforts. Additionally, the research uncovers specific tactics employed by virtual influencers, including storytelling, visual content, interactive questions, and inspiring statements, to effectively communicate and advocate for sustainability. This research contributes valuable insights to the dynamic landscape of virtual influencers’ sustainability promotion efforts on social media.