Social Concern Research Articles

“Running counter to what contemporaries valued”—The intellectual shift of Liu Boming of the May Fourth period

“May Fourth” was a historical period of transitions, from individualism to socialism, and from “new youth” to “progressive youth.” Instructors and students at Peking University were leaders of these trends. In contrast with Peking University, Liu Boming 劉伯明, a leader at Nanjing Higher Normal School-National Southeastern University, experienced an intellectual shift “running counter to what contemporaries valued.” Soon after the May Fourth incident, Liu Boming supported and guided his students to establish social consciousness and concern for social affairs; however, starting in 1920, sensitive to the unexpected changes taking place among students and within intellectual circles, Liu Boming turned toward advocacy of spiritual development, focusing on creating a simple, reserved academic atmosphere at Nanjing Higher Normal School-National Southeastern University. Although Liu Boming’s ideas and practices could not change the direction in which trends were moving in that period, they represented another side of May Fourth, reflecting the complexity of society and culture during the May Fourth period.

Las estrellas de Orión

A pregnant woman enters a grocery store in the middle of the pandemic. She bears the weight of work, familial drama, and the future. Her experiences highlight the obstacles employed women face in the United States and the lack of social concern and support for expecting mothers.

Societal insights in risk communication planning – a structured approach

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) receives hundreds of requests for scientific risk assessments each year and publishes on average over 500 scientific outputs annually. To optimise the planning for its risk communications, the authors developed a two-phase approach for assessing incoming requests that follows the first two stages of the IRGC’s Risk Governance Framework―Pre-Assessment (Screening) and Appraisal (Risk Perceptions and Social Concerns Assessment)―and is driven by use of social insights, analytics, and professional knowledge. During the Pre-Assessment phase requests from risk managers are pre-screened and filtered then processed using a checklist divided into sections on the characteristics of risks, knowledge/awareness of them, and the institutional and market context. A decision tree was developed to manage the combinations of factors needed to trigger preparation for future risk communications options. Use of the approach was implemented and refined at EFSA from 2019 to 2021. During the Appraisal phase, societal insights from social research, media analysis and social media listening are compiled to i) map the elements to consider for risk communication and ii) identify the overall sensitivity of the subject matter, taking into account concerns, expectations and risk perceptions. These assessments of risk perception and societal concerns have been developed for sensitive topics and potentially emerging issues with the aim of identifying risks that share similar characterises, in terms of level of knowledge and risk perception. These two stages provide mechanisms to identify topics and clusters of topics of interest for risk communication and to drive the subsequent development of communication objectives and strategies. This is expected to inform the eventual development of standardised communication responses on topics within specific clusters.

Blockchain: Research and Application

Blockchain has been invented for years and it gradually become the most important technique in nowadays’ internet era. Blockchain technology has been widely used in various fields, such as finance, trading, logistics, currency, etc. This paper explains and demonstrates the main algorithm and application of the blockchain. Until now, the primary applications of blockchain are mainly focus on the digital currency such as ETH. The value of blockchain, however, is not limited by only the digital currency but all the aspect within the internet. For instance, based on these years’ social concern, the pandemic of COVID-19 is the most worried problem. The application of this paper concentrates on the connection between COVID-19 and blockchain. By relating the technique of blockchain, the security and data tracing of medical supplies have been insured. Moreover, the personal information security is maintained during the process of doing the covid-test and the trajectory of activity.

Short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins in fish from an anthropized south-western Atlantic estuary, Bahía Blanca, Argentina

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are synthetic organic compounds of growing environmental and social concern. Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) were listed under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in 2017. Further, in 2021, medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) were proposed to be listed as POPs. We investigated SCCP and MCCP amounts and homolog profiles in four wild fish species from Bahía Blanca Estuary, a South Atlantic Ocean coastal habitat in Argentina. SCCPs and MCCPs were detected in 41% and 36% of the samples, respectively. SCCP amounts ranged from <12 to 29 ng g−1 wet weight and <750–5887 ng g−1 lipid weight, whereas MCCP amounts ranged from <7 to 19 ng g−1 wet weight and <440–2848 ng g−1 lipid weight. Amounts were equivalent to those found in fish from the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans and from some North American and Tibetan Plateau lakes. We performed a human health risk assessment and found no direct risks to human health for SCCP or MCCP ingestion, according to present knowledge. Regarding their environmental behavior, no significant differences were observed among SCCP amounts, sampling locations, species, sizes, lipid content, and age of the specimens. However, there were significant differences in MCCP amounts across species, which could be attributed to fish size and feeding habits. Homolog profiles in all fish were dominated by the medium-chlorinated (Cl6 and Cl7) CPs and shorter chain length CPs were the most abundant, with C10Cl6 (12.8%) and C11Cl6 (10.1%) being the predominant SCCPs and C14Cl6 (19.2%) and C14Cl7 (12.4%) the predominant MCCPs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the presence of CPs in the environment in Argentina and the South Atlantic Ocean. CP occurrence in the environment, particularly in the food chain, promotes the need for further research on their occurrence and behavior, and the impact of CPs in marine ecosystems in Argentina.

Application of robotic lower limb orthosis for people with lower limb dysfunction

Due to the aging of the population or diseases, the number of patients with lower limb disorders has increased, causing social concern. Scholars have designed and developed advanced robotic lower limb orthoses, which can guide patients to perform reasonable rehabilitation training with correct limb postures, enhance their daily life participation and quality of life, and help them recover quickly. In recent years, a large number of new and advanced orthopedic equipment have been developed, which require a systematic summary analysis and comparison. This article reviewed typical newly developed, robotic lower limb orthoses and their use effects, as well as the advanced theories and technologies for their applications, and systematically discussed the problems in the research, design, testing, use, and popularization of robotic lower limb orthoses, and predicted their development direction in the future research and design, to enhance the reliability, convenience, and protection functions of orthotic equipment, make its functions closer to life, and give full play to the initiative of patients in the process of rehabilitation training, and reduce costs. Robotic lower limb orthoses is poised for even greater success and development in the future.

Results of Using Optical Simulators “Zenitsa” for the Treatment of Myopia in School Settings

Introduction. Acquired myopia (AM) is currently a growing medical and social concern as it is associated with a steadily increasing number of myopic students, early onset of its development, rapid progression and further complications. The main cause of AM is considered to be the depletion of the visual system adaptive capabilities because of too much near vision. According to the adaptation theory, it is necessary to create a high stable level of adaptive reserves of the visual system in order to normalize the process of refractive development in AM. Treatment methods of AM aimed to increase the efficacy and adaptive capabilities of eyes include optical reflex exercises. These exercises in particular using Zenitsa optical simulators compare favorably with other methods due to their physiological and pathogenetic orientation of the action mechanisms.Purpose. To study the features of using optical simulators “Zenitsa” for the treatment of acquired myopia in school settings and the dynamics of myopic process course.Material and methods. The group of 25 elementary students (50 eyes, the average age was 9.05 ± 0.72 years) with mild myopia was identified by random sampling. The study was conducted from November to December 2021. 95% of children had asthenopic complaints and 85% of students had a hereditary predisposition to it. The examination included questionnaire, visiometry, skiascopy, ophthalmoscopy, a measure of subjective refraction and relative accommodation reserves, a study of binocular stability of visual perception to hypermetropic retinal defocus. The course of treatment included 10 sessions that were carried out in school settings. We used seven simulators “Zenitsa” each of different optical strength.Results. After the treatment with the use of optical simulators, visual acuity improved on average from 0.58 to 0.67 (P &lt; 0.01). Subjective refraction decreased from (-)1.48 ± 1.1 to 1.28 ± 1.08 D, by an average of 0.20 D (P &lt; 0.01). Relative accommodation reserves increased from 2.33 ± 0.84 to 3.17 ± 1.07 D, by an average of 0.84 D (P &lt; 0.01). Binocular stability of visual perception increased by an average of 1.5 D that is 15% of the initial level. The value of visual resolution increased by an average of 7.2%.Conclusion. The use of optical simulator “Zenitsa” sets significantly improves the performance of accommodation and vergence and increases the level of visual system adaptive capabilities in whole.

The Dark Triad and Trait Emotional Intelligence as Predictors of Problematic Social Media use and Engagement: The Mediating Role of the Fear of Missing Out.

Problematic social media use is becoming a significant social and clinical concern, and there is growing research interest in the psychological factors involved, such as personality predispositions and the fear of missing out (FOMO). The present study investigated both the dark triad (DT, namely, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) and trait emotion intelligence (trait EI) in relation to the problematic use of technology and social media engagement and the mediating role of FOMO. A total of 788 people between 18 and 35 years old (M = 24.22; SD = 3.91; 75% women) were surveyed. The results showed that social media engagement was positively related to problematic social media use and negatively related to trait EI. In addition, problematic social media use was positively related to DT and negatively related to trait EI. Fear of missing out was positively related to social media engagement, problematic social media use, and DT, and negatively related to trait EI. Fear of missing out had a mediating effect on the relationship between personality dimensions, problematic social media use, and social media engagement. The extent to which personality traits may underpin problematic use of social media and the practical implications of the findings are discussed.

PERELEK CULTURE: A SHARING EFFORT IN KUTA VILLAGE

Perelek is one of the residents' efforts to show their existence by preserving this culture in social life in society. The method used is Literature Study; in collecting research data, the authors collect and analyze various sources through journals, books, and previous research, which are still related to the topic of discussion in this journal article. The results of this study indicate that the Kuta Indigenous Village Community still preserves the Beas Perelek by collecting one spoon of rice per day from each resident, who is collectively by the wife of the head of the local RT. This "perelek" also represents the generous side of every individual in that environment. On the other hand, this "perelek" shows the side of togetherness and solidarity among the people. The main goal with the existence of Perelek is to increase community participation in social responsibility and concern that needs to be included amid today's developments. Therefore, the existence and resilience of the perelek culture that still exists in the Kuta Traditional Village is a particular form of inter-community concern. The principles held by the local community have enabled this "perelek" culture to survive even amid the development of the globalization era.

Egocentric anchoring-and-adjustment underlies social inferences about known others varying in similarity and familiarity.

How do people infer the content of another person's mind? One documented strategy-at least when inferring the minds of strangers-entails anchoring on the content of one's own mind and serially adjusting away from this egocentric anchor. Yet, many social inferences concern known others in existing social relationships. In eight experiments with four sets of stimuli, we tested whether an egocentric anchoring-and-adjustment mechanism underlies social inferences about known targets, and whether it varies based on the target's similarity and familiarity to oneself. In Experiments 1-7, participants (Ntotal = 4,790) rated themselves and a known target on various characteristics (e.g., preferences, habits, traits), and response times for the target ratings were recorded. An integrative data analysis revealed that, consistent with egocentric anchoring-and-adjustment, the more discrepant the target ratings were from participants' self ratings, the longer participants took to provide target ratings. Importantly, this pattern of anchoring-and-adjustment was stronger for similar (vs. dissimilar) and familiar (vs. unfamiliar) targets, but it emerged in all experimental conditions. Experiment 8 (N = 549) suggested that these results were unlikely to be explained solely by a memory search process. We discuss implications for anchoring-and-adjustment as a mechanism underlying social inferences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Financial knowledge of pre-university students: Effects of age and gender

Financial education is a constant social concern since it is essential to improve the well-being of individuals and society in general. Wrong financial decisions can have serious consequences that lead to serious economic and even social problems. Therefore, an adequate financial base is necessary and must be instilled from an early age. This work aims to identify the potential effects of two demographic variables, age and gender, on acquiring financial knowledge, delving into the potential moderating interrelationships between them. Applying a set of multi-level (mixed-effects) regression models to a sample of 9917 pre-university students from 175 high schools in Andalusia, our results show that: age and gender are significantly related to the acquisition of financial knowledge of pre-university students. Moreover, gender plays a moderating role in the relationship between age and the acquisition of financial knowledge of pre-university students. This study has practical implications for teachers, students, heads of educational centres and those responsible for educational plans because this paper's results help to better understand the key factors of financial education at a pre-college stage as it identifies significant differences in both age and gender. Policymakers responsible for educational plans are provided with the necessary evidence to propose adapting specific actions to the different student profiles. By doing so, they may design measures to make citizens' financial inclusion possible, resulting in greater welfare for society.

La materia de desarrollo sustentable como factor de concientización ambiental en alumnos de licenciatura de la Unidad Académica de Negocios de la Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa

We are currently facing a growing problem in the environment in which we live and develop ourselves, and doing a review of the before and after the generations of students of the Licenciatura en Relaciones Comerciales Internacionales (LRCI) which have studied the subject of sustainable development, this document intends to measure the impact that it has for students as a factor of environmental awareness, which is measured divided into two moments, in the 3rd semester which is the beginning of the subject, and the other at the end of this, which is the 5th semester. In this case, the factor of environmental awareness in undergraduate students has found environmental education as a solution, which has been a reference for environmental awareness (Rengifo, Acevedo, Aldana, &amp; Calvo, 2007), that has been valued with an instrument of 50 items on the factors of individual concern, social concern, trust, and criterion, where it was found that after studying said subject, a significant environmental awareness is not acquired. Guaranteeing that future generations can satisfy their own needs, is the responsibility of present generations, there are many actors to whom this work corresponds, but undoubtedly, it is within the universities where the foundations must be laid to promote a culture of environmental awareness in students, which will allow them to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to address current and future environmental challenges, and acquire the foundations to develop innovative and sustainable solutions for environmental problems. In this sense, in the in the Bachelor's Degree in International Business Relations (LRCI)Licenciatura en Relaciones Comerciales Internacionales (LRCI) the subject of sustainable development is taught, for which a review was carried out before and after the generations of students have studied it, with the objective of measuring in which level impacts the subject of sustainable development, in the change of environmental awareness of the students of the degree in International Business Relations Relaciones Comerciales Internacionales from UANEG dependent on the Autonomous University of Sinaloa on the Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa; the foregoing in accordance with objective 12, responsible production and consumption, of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), of the United Nations. (UN). The type of research developed was non-experimental, quantitative, cross-sectional and exploratory, the instrument used was a 50-item questionnaire, which was previously applied at the Autonomous University of Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, being modified for its application in Mexico. The instrument integrates factors such as individual concern, social concern, trust and criteria, which are processed to identify how taking the sustainable development course contributes to the environmental awareness of students; The findings show that after taking the subject of sustainable development in the third semester, the students do not manage to acquire a significant environmental awareness in the fifth semester.

THE IMPLICATION OF TOLERANCE VALUE IN CHARACTER EDUCATION OF MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITY IN KAMPONG JAWA DENPASAR-BALI

Cultural diversity in a multicultural society owned by Indonesia does not escape the values of tolerance. The application of the value of tolerance not only respects and respects differences in beliefs, customs, cultures, languages, etc., but must also be balanced with an open and airy attitude in order to create a sense of security and comfort to others by showing diversity in attitude, customs, culture, and religion. Each multicultural society has its own character education, just like the multicultural community in Kampung Jawa Denpasar-Bali. Character education will be stronger if there are implications of the value of tolerance for character education. This study aims to describe the early history of the establishment of this Javanese village so that it can exist until now, what values of tolerance are applied in the life of a multicultural society so that it can live in harmony side by side, and the relationship of the value of tolerance in the character education of multicultual communities in Kampung Jawa Denpasar-Bali. This research uses qualitative methods with a phenomenological approach. From this research, it can be concluded that there are implications for the value of tolerance for multicultural community character education in Kampung Jawa Denpasar-Bali, namely making it a society that has a sense of harmony between religious people, has a sense of social concern between religious people, and mutual respect and mutual respect between religious people.&#x0D; &#x0D;

An Investigation on the Relationship Between Social Appearance Concerns and Body Perceptions of Weightlifting Athletes at National Team Level

This study examined the relationship between social appearance anxiety and body perception of national team weightlifting athletes (n=104; 58 males, 46 females) who had extensive weight training experience. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22, including descriptive and inferential statistics such as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Independent T test, and Pearson correlation. The Social Appearance Anxiety Scale and Body Perception Scale were used to measure individuals' social appearance anxiety and body perception, respectively. The results indicated that there were no significant differences in body perception and social appearance anxiety scores based on gender, educational or marital status (p&amp;gt;0.05). However, a highly significant negative correlation was found between body perception and social appearance anxiety (p=0.0001). Additionally, there were no significant differences in body perception and social appearance anxiety scores according to age groups (p&amp;gt;0.05). Overall, the study revealed that weightlifters had a good body perception and low social appearance anxiety. Furthermore, as body perception levels increased, social appearance anxiety decreased.

AN APPROACH TO THE PERCEPTIONS OF SPANISH CONSUMERS ON FOOD SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH THE USE OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES

Increasing social concern regarding the environmental impact caused by the growth of the world’s population and the need to produce food has led to terms such as sustainability and sustainable food production and consumption to become a current subject of discussion. However, consumers are yet not fully familiar with the concept of sustainability and what it actually entails. This paper uses projective techniques as the ideal methodology to overcome these limitations and analyse the meaning of sustainability for Spanish consumers. Results show that consumers associate sustainability with the environment, although when it is referred to food, other concepts such as local/proximity food and responsible consumption also emerge. Also, while consumers find a clear association between sustainability and organic production, this is not so clear when health is also involved. Finally, respondents’ lifestyles served us as a basis to identify three consumer groups with notable differences in terms of their perception of sustainability. These results point to the need for policies that promote sustainable food production and its awareness by consumers to help mitigate environmental degradation

Travel route planning method to avoid epidemic hot-spots in the post-epidemic era

The Chinese government adhered to the “dynamic clearance” epidemic prevention strategy from August 2021 to December 7, 2022, during the post-epidemic era (this study started in March 2022 and ended in September 2022). People are gradually resuming their daily routines, and demand for travel is rising again. Nonetheless, the epidemic occasionally breaks out on a smaller scale, causing social concern. As a social reaction, the essential issue is how to avoid COVID-19 hot-spots effectively by offering secure travel options for local residents who tend to travel privately. Two travel route planning models are proposed to avoid COVID-19 hot-spots based on the invalid road sections which are affected by epidemic. Specifically, the static model aims at generating the shortest travel distance after detours, with the constraint of avoiding COVID-19 hot-spots; the dynamic model takes real-time data into account, which includes epidemic risk levels, road grades, and real-time traffic information on road selection. Shenzhen, China, is illustrated as an example of the research area in this paper. To assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the suggested approaches, data regarding the road network, the prevalence of epidemics, and traffic congestion are collected. The experimental results demonstrate that 1) the proposed two route planning models can effectively bypass areas with high levels of epidemic risk. 2) The static route planning model increases the travel distance by 12.24% and 13.03%, while the dynamic route planning model increases the travel distance by 24.33% and 27.69% compared with the conventional shortest route, given the same origin and destination and the same impact radii of the COVID-19 hot-spots (300 and 500 m respectively). When taking detour routes to avoid COVID-19 hot-spots, the average increase in trip distance does not surpass 50%, which is acceptable psychologically for travelers. 3) The static travel route planning model is suitable for the severe epidemic situation for it can strictly avoid the epidemic hot-spots; The dynamic travel route planning model is applicable to the situation where the epidemic situation is relatively mild. Ultimately, the route planning models can be utilized to develop a framework to provide travelers with detour options, which would make a practical difference to ensure travelers’ safety during traveling and contribute to preventing the spread of the epidemic.

The Influence of the Social Environment on the Social Care Character of Class XI Students of SMK PGRI Pekanbaru

This research is motivated by a low sense of social concern among adolescents and even adults. This study aims to find out whether there is an influence of the social environment on the social care character of class XI students of SMK PGRI Pekanbaru which was carried out at SMK PGRI Pekanbaru, Riau. This study used the Quantitative Descriptive method, where the data collection instrument used was in the form of a questionnaire/questionnaire which had 24 statements distributed to 45 respondents. Based on the calculation results, Fcount (32.906) ˃ Ftable (4.07) is obtained which means that Ha is accepted. Based on the results of the analysis, a simple linear regression equation was obtained, namely Y = 16.507 + 0.492X, meaning that if the social environment (X) increases by 1, then the social care character (Y) increases by 0.492. So that it can be inferred from the results of the F test, there is an influence between the variable X on the variable Y, which means receiving Ha, namely: There is an Influence of the Social Environment on the Social Care Character of Class XI Students of SMK PGRI Pekanbaru.

Literary therapy based on positive psychology impact on college students’ happiness

ABSTRACT The psychological problems of college students are the focus of social concern since they are a group about to set foot in society. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of positive psychology-based literary therapy on college students’ happiness. This study adopts a mixed method. Participants did a Subject Well-Being (SWB) questionnaire. Participants were divided into two groups. There are three ways to classify. The first is based on the frequency of keeping a diary, the second is based on gender, and the third is based on grade. Independent sample T-test and likelihood ratio test were used to compare and analyze the experimental group and control group. Some interviews were also conducted in this study. The results of this study are that literary therapy based on positive psychology is effective in improving the happiness of college students. This provides a new way for solving college students’ psychological problems.

Timosaponin AIII attenuates precocious puberty in mice through downregulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.

Precocious puberty (PP) has increasingly become a social concern. This study aimed to investigate the effect of timosaponin AIII (TAIII) on the precocious puberty and its possible mechanisms in mice. Four groups of mice consisting of controls that received saline or TAIII, a model that received leptin to induce precocious puberty (PP), and leptin+TAIII (the leptin model treated with TAIII) were used to determine the effect of TAIII on PP. Pathological and cytological examinations were conducted to investigate the signs and onset of PP and the development of reproductive organs. The level of serum luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and estradiol (E2) were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of genes related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPGA) was assessed using qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Bone mineral density (BMD) was determined using high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography. In mice treated with leptin, earlier vaginal opening and estrus were observed, as well as the increased ovarian and uterine weight, total uterine cross-sectional size, number of corpora lutea, and elevated serum sex hormone levels and HPGA expression. On the other hand, TAIII treatment delayed the vaginal opening and vaginal estrus to 32.1 and 37.5 days after birth, and delayed the development of reproductive organs, leading to significantly smaller uterus and ovary size, less corpora lutea and low BMD (P<0.05). In addition, the serum levels of LH, FSH and E2 were significantly reduced (P<0.05) and so was the expression of HPGA and leptin genes (P<0.05). Our experimental data demonstrated that TAIII has activity against leptin-induced PP activity and may attenuate PP by reducing reproductive hormones and deactivating the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis through downregulating leptin expression.

Environmental corporate social responsibility, R&D and disclosure of “green” innovation knowledge

The literature on the environment has analyzed how firms carry out R&D to reduce their pollutant emissions, assuming that they maximize profits. However, empirical evidence shows that firms are increasingly concerned about Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (ECSR). Following that evidence, we consider that the objective function of firms incorporates the environmental damage they generate as part of their social concern. We find that how firms perform environmental R&D depends crucially on the degree to which they care about ECSR. If that degree is low enough, firms agree to set up an Environmental Research Joint Venture (ERJV) under which they coordinate their R&D investments and fully share their technological knowledge. This is the result obtained when firms maximize profits. If the degree is high enough, firms enter into an ERJV in which each fully shares its technological expertise but they do not coordinate their R&D investments. Finally, if the degree is intermediate, firms neither set up an ERJV nor disclose information. Social welfare is the highest and environmental damage the lowest if firms form an ERJV and coordinate their R&D investments. Therefore, the way in which firms organize their R&D activities is not always the most socially preferable.