Agents Of Social Change Research Articles

Sustaining the sisterhood: Soul Sisters Pakistan (SSP)

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes of this case study are to understand and apply the PESTLE framework with a special focus on sociocultural nuances of a conservative society, appreciate the role of innovation and effective leadership in the success of entrepreneurial ventures, understand the bricolage theory to critically evaluate the role of entrepreneurs as agents of social change and develop monetization strategies for digital start-ups and recommend strategies that would help social enterprises to strike the right balance between their social aspirations and commercial goals. Case overview/synopsis In March 2020, Kanwal Ahmed, founder of the much-lauded Facebook group Soul Sisters Pakistan (SSP), was posed with a critical situation. SSP’s first face-to-face member meetup, which had been hyped up by Pakistanis residing in Canada for months, had to be called off due to the advent of COVID-19. What worried Ahmed was not just the immediate impact of the postponement; rather, she was more concerned about how her social enterprise would sustain in the longer run. The new normal had changed the way businesses operated; tried and tested revenue generation strategies of SSP would neither be feasible in a COVID-stricken world nor reap the same results. Ahmed knew that her social enterprise could have a far-reaching impact in a pandemic-stricken world. However, she was unsure about how to monetize her business model so as to ensure steady revenue generation streams that would keep the enterprise afloat. Ahmed knew that the clock was ticking, and she had to act quickly and think of ways to ensure SSP’s long-term sustenance. Complexity academic level This case study is suitable for undergraduate students enrolled in courses of entrepreneurship and strategy. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Happiness: Exploring Relationship with Empathic Sense, Altruistic Behaviour, Social Responsibility, and Interpersonal Relationship

An unhealthy personality makes students vulnerable to depression due to a lack of happiness. This research aims to analyze the relationship between altruistic behavior, empathy, social responsibility, interpersonal relationships, and happiness. The types of research used are surveys, cross-sectional, and correlational studies. A total of 149 students were selected through random-stratified sampling from high school students. Students fill out research instruments via Google Forms. The data obtained were analyzed using multivariate analysis with Smart-PLS software. The research results show a significant relationship between altruistic behavior, empathy, social responsibility, and interpersonal relationships on happiness. Happy individuals demonstrate more cooperative behavior and are more satisfied as students. Thus, happiness is one of the essential positive feelings and is vital in explaining overall life satisfaction and the degree of enjoyable quality of life for each individual. Positive affect dominates more than negative affect. Students must have these shifting skills as prospective young intellectuals who, in the future, will become agents of social control and agents of social change.

The Construction of Women as Agents of Social Change and the Defense of Indonesian Independence in the Novel Burung-Burung Manyar: Literary Criticism of Postcolonial Feminism

This study aims to dismantle the construction of women as agents of social change and defense of Indonesian independence in the novel Burung-Burung Manyar. This research uses qualitative type research which prioritizes data quality compared to the large amount of data. The material object of this research is Y.B. Mangunwijaya. The formal object of this research is the narrative structure in the novel Burung-Burung Manyar, the image of women in the novel, the novel's quotations, and the theory of feminism. The research data is a novel narrative system that shows research reinforcement quotes, the image of women in the novel, feminist theory and various information that is appropriate to the research topic. Data collection techniques are carried out by reading and recording the information needed in the research. The data interpretation technique was carried out by reading a series of narrative systems in the novel Burung-Burung Manyar in order to find the quotations needed to dismantle the construction of women as agents of social change and defense of Indonesian independence and then linked or analyzed using feminist theory. The results of this study are that in terms of creating and maintaining the nation, women have a sizeable contribution or contribution. This contribution is not only in the form of physical contributions but also non-physical ones. In addition, the contributions made by women are in the form of material and non-material contributions. Second, there are two factors behind women's contribution in fighting for and defending independence, namely: (1) the spirit of nationalism, (2) love of the motherland. Keywords: Women, Defense of Independence, Feminism

Agents of social change in the institutional field of medicine

The pragmatic goal of this article is to study agent activity aimed at changes in the medical institutional field, under conditions of high social instability. The implementation of the empirical part of аrticle required an adequate methodological and conceptual approach, on the basis of which it could be designed and implemented. As a general methodological platform, the author chose the paradigm of complexity, which builds its methodological proposals on the assumption that large complex nonlinear systems change according to laws that are fundamentally different from those by which simple linear system formations function. Society refers precisely to such complex system objects, and therefore the appeal to such a methodological basis is adequate and fruitful. The work offers the author’s view on the processes of social changes, which are conceptualized as the process of changing the social order. The latter, in turn, is considered as a set of all the practices of social interactions that are currently present in society. The key point in this concept is the statement about the presence of two fundamentally different mechanisms of social change — organizational and self-organizational. It is emphasized that high social instability increases the weight of the self-organizing component of changes, which can fade into the background in relatively stable periods. Applying this theoretical framework to the processes in the institutional field of medicine, we get a model of relevant changes, where both organizational (formal rules of the game, laws, government regulations) and self-organization (informal, spontaneously formed rules of everyday interactions in this institutional field) are equally important. Both of these mechanisms have their conductors-agents, through whom they are implemented. The issue of consistency and balance between these different rules of the game is key for institutional management. At the empirical level, the work examines in detail the agentic actions of U. Suprun in the process of her attempts to reform domestic medicine during 2016-2019 (organizational mechanisms), as well as the agentic activity of volunteers from the "Svoi" Foundation, which is headed by Lesia Lytvynova (self-organizational mechanisms). All the features of these two processes of change, their fundamental difference and the complexities that arise in the process of their coordination are shown. The need to build managerial strategies that take these circumstances into account is emphasized.

A Virtual COVID-19 Youth Ambassador Program: The UI Health CHAMPIONS Experience.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to exacerbate socioeconomic and educational hardships rooted in systemic inequities for youth across the United States. (Virtual) youth resilience and health promotion efforts are viable mechanisms to address these hardships in the context of a double pandemic: COVID-19 and structural racism. Health professions training programs hold a unique opportunity to incorporate COVID-19 health education to train and empower youth to become community health ambassadors. Grounded on a Grow-Your-Own (GYO) approach, UI Health CHAMPIONS spearheaded the development of the COVID-19 Youth Ambassador Program (COVID-19 YAP), a virtual multistage and multipartner effort. Its mission is to equip youth with knowledge, perspective, and tools to have empathetic, informative conversations within their networks about COVID-19. Via e-learning, modules cover viruses and the immune system; vaccine development; health disparities/equity; and health advocacy. Participants are introduced to Human-Centered Design Thinking to guide the development of advocacy projects. COVID-19 YAP's uniqueness lies in the team of program coordinators consisting of (pre-)health professional student workers with a desire to engage in health equity efforts and community health ambassadorship. Freirean principles are applied across program design and delivery; Dialogical Education encourages the educator to become the student and the student to become an educator. This co-learning process empowers students and educators to become agents of social change. COVID-19 YAP can serve as a collaborative effort addressing a public health priority, contributing toward digital health equity, and creating community resilience while encouraging youth to pursue a health profession and become community health advocates.

Addressing SDG16.2: Eliminating violence towards children – An applied theatre approach

We offer a case study of a long-running Aotearoa New Zealand-based applied theatre programme, Everyday Theatre. As both academics and Everyday Theatre practitioners, we explore how the programme addresses the aspirations of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.2, which is centred on eliminating violence towards children. Our reflections are informed by the qualitative data collected in our ongoing discussions as facilitators, our reflective journals, teacher evaluations of the programme, and a series of collaborative research workshops. We investigate the role and place of the drama conventions of teacher-in-role, pre-text, aesthetics, and framing. They are potent constituents of participatory theatre practice that can provoke both students and teachers to collaboratively conceptualise themselves and each other as active, responsible, critical, and empathetic agents for social change. These explorations throw light on how applied theatre practice can form small but significant contributions to engendering opportunities for students and teachers to consider how they could change their own future narratives, creating more socially cohesive local communities, and, in this way, addressing SDG 16.2. Cover image: photo by WOKANDAPIX on Pixabay

INFLUENCE OF FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE AND RELIGIOSITY TOWARDS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT BEHAVIOR WITH FINANCIAL ATTITUDE AS A MODERATION VARIABLE

Indonesia is one of the countries with a primarily small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) based economy. Cooperatives are a vital component of Indonesia's economic landscape, and their development is not limited to conventional cooperatives initiated by the community. It also extends to cooperative groups associated with Islamic boarding schools. These boarding schools serve not only as religious and social education institutions but also as agents of societal development and social change. Despite their potential for economic empowerment, the progress of cooperative boarding schools tends to be slower compared to conventional cooperatives. This research aims to examine the influence of financial knowledge and religiosity on financial management behavior, with financial attitude as a moderating variable. The study employs a quantitative approach and targets Kopontren administrators in the Regency of Blitar, using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) tests and the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method. The research findings indicate that financial attitude and religiosity have an impact, with financial attitude serving as a moderator in the relationship between financial knowledge and financial management behavior. However, religiosity does not have a significant influence on financial management behavior. The results of this research are expected to provide a foundation for developing a model of financial management behavior for Kopontren administrators and government initiatives aimed at empowering Kopontren institutions.

Challenging the growth-prosperity Nexus: Redefining undergraduate economics education for the Anthropocene

This paper proposes a conceptual framework to guide the transformation of undergraduate economics education, anchored in integrated human flourishing and ecological sustainability. The framework moves beyond the dominant focus on utility and profit maximization to encompass holistic goals of universal human development, social equity, and ecological sustainability within planetary boundaries. It outlines current economic problems and links them to key competencies critical to addressing these issues. Accordingly, educational themes and corresponding anchor topics are developed that align with the key competencies to equip students with pluralistic, transdisciplinary perspectives and solution-oriented skills for catalyzing a just economy that sustains the web of life. The framework is based on the multidimensional concept of prosperity and includes three interrelated dimensions: ecological sustainability, social inclusion and equality, and quality of life. To implement this framework, guiding principles and targeted learning outcomes for economics are defined that emphasize systems thinking, personal development, transdisciplinarity, and collective agency for transformative change. The goal is to provide a coherent structure to transform undergraduate economics education and empower students to become agents of social change who can critique and reorient the current economic system towards justice and ecological stewardship.

Dakwah Communication Student in the Community of Lubuk Kepayang Village, West Merapi, Lahat District

This research aims to explain the process of implementing da'wah communication by Raden Fatah Palembang State University (UIN) students to the people of Lubuk Kepayang village, West Merapi sub-district, Lahat regency. Research was carried out on Real Work Lecture (Kukerta/KKN) students who had previously been given in-depth training on the concept of da'wah communication in the Lubuk Kepayang village community. In this research, researchers used descriptive qualitative methods, namely creating narratives and describing phenomena that occurred during the research. Researchers found that the concept of da'wah communication can be applied in everyday life in society. Students can maximize their role as agents of social change by providing them with religious knowledge (da'wah material) before entering society. The results of the research show that the da'wah communication implemented by students in a disciplined manner received a positive response from the community. Da'wah messages can be happily received by people in various circles.

B - 27 Philadelphia Neuropsychology Society's Equity Forum: Efforts to Address Local Level Needs for Equity in Neuropsychology.

While there are growing national advocacy efforts to advance equity in neuropsychology, fewer initiatives exist at local and regional levels. The Philadelphia Neuropsychology Society's (PNS) Equity Forum was created to provide diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related support, advocacy, and resources to local trainees, professionals, and communities. We describe the Forum's efforts to promote policies, educate, and offer support at a local level. We conducted an archival review of activities of the PNS Equity Forum from January 2021 to April 2023, including a PNS needs assessment survey (NAS), the southeastern PA Regional Community Health Needs Assessment (rCHNA), electronic correspondence, and website traffic. Results identified the need to increase access to resources for 1) culturally responsive research, 2) bilingual providers, 3) low-cost care, and 4) brain health education for the local public. In response, the Forum implemented the following initiatives: monthly ce seminars and journal club, quarterly newsletter, and a resource repository for culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse communities in the Philadelphia region. The Forum provided DEI-related education to monthly PNS speakers and created safe discussion spaces after national tragedies. The PNS Forum website page saw a 114% increase in views, the list of bilingual and culturally-aware providers received 25% more views, and the quarterly newsletter saw a 100% increase in views in the last month. Neuropsychologists can serve as social change agents in local and regional neuropsychology organizations, and create transformational spaces for accessible, equitable, and sustainable neuropsychology practices and training environments.

The Dead Don’t Die: Genre, Parody, and the Failure of the American Zombie as an Agent of Social Change

ABSTRACT Jim Jarmusch’s 2019 zombie flick The Dead Don’t Die uses comedy to both critique the zombie genre and confront the many horrors of twenty-first century life. Zombies are symbols for human anxieties, whether those are anxieties about “otherness,” anxieties about nuclear annihilation, anxieties about mindless overconsumption, or anxieties about environmental catastrophe. The Dead Don’t Die explores all of these anxieties, focusing on the fear of environmental catastrophe. The zombies in The Dead Don’t Die rise from their graves because polar fracking has caused the earth’s axis to shift, reanimating the dead. In its critique of the zombie genre, the film asks whether the zombie film’s history of political and social commentary is still (or ever has been) effective in creating social change. Ultimately, The Dead Don’t Die is concerned with the failure of the zombie to produce lasting change and what that means for a world still plagued by greater horrors than the undead.

Eksistensi Filsafat Seni pada Era Disrupsi

The era of disruption brings fundamental changes in the art world, presenting challenges and opportunities that require deep philosophical understanding. This research aims to explore the existence of art philosophy in the era of disruption, discussing the transformation of art identity, the dynamics of the relationship between art and technology, ethical considerations in digital art, the role of art as an agent of social change, and the shifting paradigm of the art economy. The results of this research provide an in-depth look at the complexities of contemporary art in the face of cultural, technological, and social change. The practical and philosophical implications of the existence of art philosophy are outlined, providing a foundation for artists, researchers, and art lovers to understand and permeate the dynamics of art in this time of disruption. This research also identifies future research directions to deepen the understanding of the role of philosophy of art in facing challenges and innovations in the evolving art world.

Humanising Pedagogy in Mathematics Education at South African Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges: Influence on TVET Teaching and Learning

This study examines the implementation of a humanising pedagogy in teaching mathematics at a TVET college in South Africa. Despite the country's transition to democracy, disempowerment and dehumanisation persist within the education system, particularly affecting learners from previously disadvantaged backgrounds. Mostly, TVET mathematics classrooms are neither humanised as mathematics is taught in isolation with social issues nor linked to students’ lived experiences. Student engagement is minimal as the classroom environment is a banking zone model. The study explores how a humanising pedagogy, based on critical pedagogy principles, can address these challenges. A humanised pedagogy has been explored through workshops and lesson presentations that were based on humanising pedagogy. Findings reveal that the adoption of a humanising pedagogy enhanced student engagement as the teaching strategies were engaging and student centred. Students were actively involved; mathematics was linked to students’ lived experiences. Additionally, the adoption of a humanising pedagogy helped students and teachers to see the relationship between the content and real life and how they can use mathematics to address social problems. The study highlights the need to humanise mathematics teaching and calls for educators to become agents of social change. Embracing a humanising pedagogy can foster a more inclusive, responsive, and equitable education system.

The Vital Role of Pancasila Values in Building National Character Through Civics Education

This paper inquires to look at the vital role of Pancasila values in building the nation's character of students through civic education. This research was conducted to see how far the role of Pancasila values as part of the Citizenship Education subject, apart from being a national ideology, is also a nation's view of life that can shape the nation’s character in students at school. This research used a qualitative and quantitative approach with a population of 21 high schools in Purwakarta with a sample of 5 schools as a sample. From this research, it was found that the Pancasila values contained in the first to the fifth precepts in the Civics Education subject are expected to be a guide for students in everyday life, both inside the classroom and outside the classroom, in the family, in the community, even in the life of the nation and state. As agents of social change, students must still be able to see the meaning of Pancasila's position as the basic foundation, which is the core of Civics learning, so that Pancasila's values can still be a guide in people's lives Pancasila and able to shape the character of the nation.

הפרות סדר: רחל פומרנץ כסוכנת שינוי בספרות החרדית הישראלית

The ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) writer Prof. Malka Schaps, who writes under the pseudonym Rachel Pomerantz, has a unique biography that positions her as an agent of social change in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox society. This article offers a reading of three of Schaps' novels: A Time to Rend, A Time to Sew (1997), Cactus Blossoms (1999), and Wildflower (2004), in light of Alicia Ostriker’s term ‘stealing the language,’ which describes ways in which women have ‘re-appropriated’ the language of the patriarchy and invaded the sanctuaries of male discourse. Uncovered here are the novels’ violations of accepted ideological norms in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox society, though they are not identified as critical texts, but rather as the stories of young Jewish-American women who ‘return’ to traditional Jewish practice by becoming baalot teshuva. My argument here is that even though Schaps' texts are conservatively grounded in the writing conventions of ultra-Orthodox literature, they undermine the accepted ethos with a discourse that is simultaneously conservative and subversive.

Politics of Being Loving, Vulnerable, and Present

As feminist faculty we assess our use of testimonios by employing testimonio to share our experiences and Chicana feminist pedagogy praxis, which challenge the structure of the traditional canon and offer alternative classroom practices. As Chicana feminist faculty we appraise the use of testimonios as feminist pedagogy to contest the structure of the conventional canon and fashion and provide alternative classroom practices. We explore how we view our courses as a medium through which students’ lives can be transformed, inspiring them to become active thinkers and active citizens, to participate in the life of the university, and most important, to become agents for social change. As faculty from different disciplines and generations, we examine the use of testimonio in our Chicana/o studies classes by centering the voices and stories of girls, women, and immigrants in a variety of fields, in particular psychology and public health. The stories shared challenge their invisibility, invalidation, and marginalization in academia and in an array of fields. Their testimonios expose brutality, disrupt silencing, and build solidarity among mujeres.

Can public food procurement drive agroecological transitions? Pathways and barriers to sustainable food procurement in higher education institutions in Spain

ABSTRACT Public procurement can help drive a transition to a more sustainable food system based on local agroecological production. In countries with large public education systems, school and university canteen services can play a significant role by virtue of their enormous centralized purchasing power. In this study, we investigate the potential and feasibility of implementing an enduring transformation to a sustainable food procurement model in public higher education institutions based on agroecological principles for the case of Spain. To address our research questions, we employed participatory workshops and a questionnaire survey (1,058 respondents) to analyze perceptions and priorities around sustainable food practices on campus of the university community across three Spanish public universities. Workshop participants proposed and prioritized interventions aimed at improving the sustainability of on-campus food services. Some recommendations for action for policy makers are detailed in the Discussion section, as key actors in this process. Pathways toward a future transition to more sustainable practices included the importance of food services to the university community, the high level of understanding of food system impacts and demand for change from consumers on university campuses, the universities’ commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the potential of university networks as a powerful agent of social change and social innovation.

Pengembangan Budaya dan Iklim Kampus yang Sehat Melalui Kegiatan Kemanusian

By engaging in humanitarian activities through blood donation, campuses can serve as positive agents of social change and make significant contributions to society. In addition to assisting those in need of blood, the involvement of campuses in blood donation activities can also build their reputation as institutions that care and are responsible for the general welfare. Sukma College of Management (STIM) has established partnerships with humanitarian institutions or organizations such as the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) that are involved in blood donation activities. Through this collaboration, campuses can make even greater contributions to helping the community and act as agents of change on a broader scale.

Understanding Privilege and Engaging in Activism

In order to best serve clients and be effective “social change agents,” social workers must unpack their own privilege, learn about injustice, and work to dismantle interconnected systems of oppression. One way to do so is through engagement in social activism. This cross-sectional study examined intersectional demographic identities and knowledge of racial and heterosexual privilege as related to participation in political and social activism among a sample of 310 MSW students. Knowledge of heterosexual privilege was positively associated with engagement in political and social activism. People who identified as bisexual, gay, lesbian, or queer, as well as macro-focused students, reported significantly more activism engagement. A statistically significant difference was found in activism according to an intersectional race and gender variable and a race and sexual orientation variable as well. The study highlights the importance of including a critical approach to social work education that centers discussions about systems of power as oppressive forces that impact marginalized people and communities. MSW curricula must encourage engagement in advocacy and understanding of privilege for clinical and macro students alike.

Media Coverage of Intimate Partner Violence Incidents in Russia Amid the Conservative Turn

In the literature, the period 2017–2018 has been identified as a time when feminist discourse emerged in the Russian media, with the topic of domestic violence (DV) as one of the main sub-discourses. This suggests that mainstream media can act as an agent of positive social change in relation to gender issues, even amid a broader ‘conservative turn’. This study interrogates this argument by examining changes in representations of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Russian media during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when increased attention was given to the global ‘shadow pandemic’ of violence in the home.