Social Consciousness Research Articles

“The Girl Next Door”: A Semantic Lyrical Analysis of Zahara’s Songs “Destiny” and “Rise Again”

This article applies semantic lyrical evaluation to two songs by the South African singer and songwriter, Bulelwa Mkutukana, popularly known as Zahara. The choice of these two songs is driven by her significant contributions to popular music, particularly in the arena of Afro-soul and contemporary African music. Her distinctive voice, heartfelt lyrics, and synthesis of various musical stylistics earned her widespread acclaim both in South Africa and globally. On the one hand, the global village continues to downplay South African music, claiming that it is too customised and culturally imbued. This article argues that song lyrics, like poetry, embrace ambiguous and polysemic meanings that may not be effortlessly conceptualised by those outside the arena of language and music. This means that the sense-making process requires linguistic theoretical techniques to enact context-specific meanings. To address this need, this article applies semantics as a theoretical framework. The principal findings and discussions indicate how Zahara uses language to articulate some of the social challenges that may contribute to the urgency of social change, transformation, consciousness, and cohesion, such as empowerment and motivation. By the same token, this article underlines how language and music share fundamental elements, both relying on rhythm, pitch, and structure, yet serving distinct communicative purposes. Language conveys meaning through words, phrases, and sentences, while music expresses emotions and aesthetics through sound and melody. Thus, the intersection of linguistic and musical subtleties in song underscores a unique synergy where the emotional reverberation of music enhances the communicative power of language.

The Unwanted Paradoxes Of the Right to Be Forgotten

The dynamic development of digital and informational technologies raises the issue of proper and effective protection of human privacy, which, in turn, is gradually turning from a real fundamental right into a kind of illusion. Just a piece of information about an individual distributed on the Internet may leave its negative and often indelible mark on the life and reputation of the addressee of such information, regardless of the legality and reliability of such information. And even if such information is subsequently recognized as false and/or vicious and even removed from public access, the addressee of the information will still be associated with such information in the social consciousness. In this regard, each person is at risk on the Internet, where anyone can potentially become the victim of a single publication or a post of an Internet user. In this context the emergence of the phenomenon of the right to be forgotten in European legal reality may be considered as a step forward in the question of human privacy protection in the digital age. However, this right is not without drawbacks. The most significant of these drawbacks will be analyzed in this paper, such as the practical difficulties of thoroughly exercising this right and the difficulties posed by new technological developments.

플랫폼은 인지자본주의를 어떻게 강화하는가

“The human condition in the age of artificial intelligence” analyzes artificial intelligence from the perspective of a combination of data and artificial intelligence in terms of the connection between cybernetics and cognitive capitalism. The human condition in the age of artificial intelligence] discusses cognitive capitalism, focusing on the keywords of mechanical subjugation and social subordination and the cyclical causal relationship between individuation and disintegration occurring in the digital environment. Cognitive capitalism and the way it develops based on its critical perspective helps to form a critical perspective on the impact of artificial intelligence on human existence and life. In this paper, “The human condition in the age of artificial intelligence” is centered on the three keywords of cognitive capitalism, platform, and divided entity, and the way to recognize the essence of the AI era and the mechanism of artificial intelligence, as well as the human perception and understanding of it. Discuss how to respond.
 Cybernetics, which presented the basis for independent automated machines that adapt to environmental changes through automation and feedback, evolved in the form of artificial intelligence and shifted control initiative between humans and machines from humans to machines. The daily use of the Internet and smartphones and the development of artificial intelligence inevitably speed up the inter-transformation between data, information and knowledge and promote automation of the transition. Platforms have become the backbone of cognitive capitalism, which sees information and knowledge as a source of new wealth. In industrial capitalism, if factories that produce products were the main foundation of the economy, in cognitive capitalism, platforms take their place, establishing a system in which most of the labor of workers is also performed through platforms. The foundation of cognitive capitalism is a mechanism built by platforms, big data generated through platforms, and algorithms that combine big data into meaningful information to transform it into concrete profits.
 The platform seeks coexistence with state power by accommodating access by state devices for specific purposes. The ruling system built on the basis of a mixture of mechanical subjugation and social submission causes people's class consciousness or critical social consciousness to change into other forms. It is not the confrontation or contradiction between capital and labor as before, but takes the form of subjectivity combined with consumer consciousness formed in the life world. The platform automates individual thoughts and actions while repeating divisionalization, which reduces individual actions to numerical values, and fragmentation, which returns the data set of divided figures back to the individual.
 The reason why platform companies can grow with high profits lies in the accumulation of various contents produced and shared through voluntary participation and interaction of individuals and the data generated in this process, but platform companies conceal this as much as possible. It is because the platform plays the role of ‘platform rent price’ that it can build a dual accumulation system that receives unlimited data on the results of users’ activities while maximizing their own profits by minimizing responsibility for workers. A platform company is a digital landlord that realizes a dual accumulation system that accumulates both rent profits through land capital and profits using industrial capital. In the end, cognitive capitalism as platform capitalism is maintained through the dual accumulation system of platform rent price. Therefore, a more specific discussion is needed on how to activate the will of individuals to escape from the platform and attempt to recover from a divided body to a substantial body.

Review: Cognitive Linguistics: Textbook for Universities / S.M. Kolesnikova, E.V. Altabaeva, A.T. Gryaznova; ed. by S.M. Kolesnikova. — Moscow: Yurite, 2022–2023. — 192 p

Modern cognitive linguistics is becoming a basic philological discipline, allowing students to understand the relationship between language and human thinking, to explain the linguistic picture of the world and its role in the formation of social consciousness. The new generation textbook “Cognitive Linguistics” edited by S.M. Kolesnikova reveals the most important concepts and terms of cognitive linguistics and shows the algorithms of analyzing the conceptosphere and its interpretation. The textbook consists of three thematic parts, consistently revealing the theoretical material, giving an idea of the basic directions of cognitive linguistics and algorithms of analyzing the concepts of natural language and artistic discourse. In addition to the theory of the issue, the textbook contains extensive reference material and bibliography, which helps undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students in writing research papers.

Формирование нового экономического сознания в современном российском обществе

The article examines the phenomenon of the new economic consciousness formation in the modern conditions of Russia’s existence. The terminological representation of this concept in economic science is analyzed. The paper reveals the features of the emergence of a new Russian consciousness in the context of the continuing impact on the economy of our country of multilevel international sanctions imposed by Western countries. Available economic science methods and theoretical approaches to the interpretation and understanding of economic consciousness are analyzed. The forms of new economic consciousness, the principles that affect its ideological limitations, as well as the importance in social life within the framework of various social interactions are studied. The peculiarities of practical representations of new economic consciousness in line with the rapidly changing situation in the national economy of modern Russia are revealed. The work interprets the significance of global economic processes that affect the transformation of human and social consciousness in terms of sanctions influence on the modern Russian economy.

Using unofficial media, less trusting of Chinese polity?-An analysis based on the moderated mediation effect.

Enhancing political trust is an important manifestation of China's ability to modernisation national governance in the media age. In the context where unofficial media has a crowding-out effect on official media, building political trust effectively becomes an important foundation for promoting the construction of a national governance system. This study employs the 2015 survey data on social consciousness of netizens and constructs a moderated mediation model using the bootstrap method, with subjective well-being as the intermediary variable and official media use as the moderating variable, to empirically explore the influence of unofficial media use on political trust and its underlying mechanism. The results reveal that unofficial media use significantly and steadily deconstructing political trust. In terms of the mechanism of transmission, subjective well-being is an important channel used by unofficial media use to deconstruct political trust, official media has a positive moderating role in the impact pathway of subjective well-being on political trust. Further research finds that unofficial media use has a stronger impact on trust in the central government, court, and police, compared to trust in township governments. Weibo or online communities and overseas media can deconstruct political trust, however, gossip or chatting with friends can construct political trust. In general, this study provides theoretical basis and empirical experience for how to enhance government trust and ultimately promote the construction of national governance system, given the increasing influence of unofficial media. Meanwhile, the research results also provide some reference value for countries with similar backgrounds to China.

The Scope of the Concept of Poetry in Afghanistan

The poetry of stability in Afghanistan, like the poetry of stability in other countries of the world, has a conceptual richness that has not yet been dealt with in its wide angles, and in the opinion of the author, it is considered necessary that its conceptual foundation be broken and explained. Afghanistan is a country that has been affected by accidents for a long time, and the mastery of its people in front of the eyes of the aggressors has become famous in the world, which should not be ignored. On the other hand, there is no doubt that such a struggle has played a prominent role in contemporary Persian poetry, and it is necessary to examine the existence and conceptual structures of the poetry of stability in Afghanistan because the poetry of stability in Afghanistan was able to show the main identity with social awareness and consciousness. To show the people of Afghanistan in different political and social scenes to the world, various political events, especially the invasion of the Russians into Afghanistan as the biggest event in the contemporary history of Afghanistan and the world, added to the social tensions in Afghanistan and the resulting consequences caused many political, social and cultural crises that these factors caused so that the religious feelings and emotions, patriotism and freedom that were created, will open a new perspective for the artists and poets of our country. From this point of view, the current research is based on the thematic dimension and has paid attention to the conceptual aspects of sustainable poetry in Afghanistan.

Legal foundations of the organization as a process and function in the state administration system

The article defines that state management determines the management of society in order to realize legal and social goals. It is shown that the goals of state administration are formed by the political system and implemented by the state mechanism. It is determined that public administration is a purposeful organizational and regulatory influence of the state on the condition of development of social processes, consciousness, behaviours and activities of citizens with the aim of achieving the goals and implementation of the functions of the state, reflected in the Constitution and legislative acts.It is emphasized that the newly created system of state administration has not yet got rid of the past; it functions according to outdated management traditions, does not correspond to Ukraine’s strategic course for European integration and European principles of governance, is ineffective, generates a shadow economy and corruption. It is internally contradictory, excessively centralized, closed off from society and, for the most part, does not satisfy the needs of the citizens of Ukraine.The article identifies specific features of state administration that allow a better understanding of its content and essence.It is shown that the construction of the organizational structure of state administration is represented by the placement and interaction of its elements, vertical and horizontal connections. The form of connections is formed under the influence of both external and internal objective and subjective conditions and factors, namely: the constitutionally determined form of the state; constitutionally defined functions of the state, as well as the goals and functions of state administration; democracy and style of public administration; state policy; condition and placement of management facilities; competence of management personnel; provision of information of state administration.Organizational forms of implementation of the organizational function of state administration are one of the forms of management activity of state authorities, local self-government bodies, their officials. They are mandatory components of state management activities, as they determine how management decisions should be made, adopted for the organization of the system of state management.

Merdeka Belajar Penerapan Ajaran Ki Hajar Dewantara “Merdeka Belajar” Dalam Pembelajaran IPA Sekolah Dasar

Elementary science learning is intended to provide direct experience in developing students' abilities so that they can explore and understand the natural surroundings scientifically. Freedom to learn means that educators and their students have the freedom to innovate, the freedom to learn independently and creatively. This study aims to describe the application of independent learning according to the teachings of Ki Hajar Dewantara in elementary science learning and the constraints of implementing independent learning in science learning at SDN 1 Sidogede, Prembun District. This type of research is descriptive qualitative research with a case study research strategy. Data collection techniques in this study are observation, interviews and documentation. The data analysis technique used is source triangulation and method triangulation which includes data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions/verification. The results of this study indicate that SDN 1 Sidogede will carry out learning based on three indicators from the Teachings of Ki Hajar Dewantara, namely students are comfortable in the learning process, students have a high social conscience and students are independent or free in determining the talents and interests they like. The obstacles are that when learning takes place it cannot run optimally because of signal constraints, students are shy and insecure, low grade students are less able to concentrate like upper classes, and limited funds to bring in trainers who can help students develop their talents and interests.

Role of social workers vs. farmers training in the context of Nepal

Social work is widely considered one of the noblest professions which allow people to make significant changes to the society and is a worthy profession from humanitarian perspective. These individuals and groups have made significant impact across different areas but there are still many areas where social workers need to intervene in a more intensive as well as extensive way. Social service is one of the cornerstone and essential need of in the modern times to implement reforms, carry out utilitarian procedures and empower millions of marginalized groups and make them resourceful enough not just only manage their own lives but also to empower others and maintain the cycle of empowerment.
 Social workers can mediate in the agricultural process on two crucial levels- first it can familiarize the local people with the new technologies, available subsidies and facilities either by the state or by institutions and organizations, secondly, it can use the firsthand knowledge of the condition of the farmers to understand the need of the hour and convey the same to the policy makers. We have seen how many farmer’s agitations and movements have been successfully organized in our country on a large scale, but still two major lacunae in this whole process has limited the impact of these movements on a much greater scale- one, there is a dearth of larger social consciousness among the masses regarding the problem of farmers in general and these movements in specific. Social workers need to take this burden on their heads so as to ensure that not only the information is disseminated smoothly and effectively but also a larger audience can be built who not only can be aware of the condition of farmers but can also empathize with it, thus providing the base of mobilization of these groups for future causes.

The Impact of Social Media News Consumption on Online Political Expression in China: The Role of Netizens’ Political Orientation

ABSTRACT Political ideology and political trust are key factors that affect people’s political expression. With the development of the internet, social media is at the forefront of China’s mainstream ideological dissemination, and social media users are becoming the dominant force in various online public opinion and political expression venues. This study examines whether Chinese netizens’ trust in the government and their political ideology impact the relationship between their social media news consumption and their online political expression. By analyzing data from the 2018 Netizens’ Social Consciousness in China Survey (N = 5,415), we found that social media news consumption is positively associated with people’s online political expression, and Chinese netizens’ trust in government mediates this relationship. Additionally, netizens’ political ideology moderates the relationship between social media news consumption and online political expression. This paper explains the effects of social media news consumption on netizens’ online expression through their political orientation.

REVIEW ON THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF ACCOUNTING PRACTICES IN ENHANCING SUSTAINABILITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION MANAGEMENT

Sustainability has emerged as a critical factor in higher education management, with institutions striving to incorporate environmentally responsible practices and social consciousness into their operations. Accounting practices play a vital role in supporting and measuring the success of sustainability initiatives in these institutions. This research paper aims to review the role and impact of accounting practices in enhancing sustainability in higher education management. The study begins with a comprehensive literature review, examining the relationship between sustainability and accounting practices in educational institutions. It explores financial, managerial, and environmental accounting tools to promote sustainability. Case studies and examples of successful sustainability initiatives are presented to highlight effective practices. The paper also identifies challenges and barriers faced while implementing sustainable accounting practices. Finally, it provides best practices and recommendations, offering policy insights for higher education institutions seeking to enhance sustainability through accounting. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the interplay between accounting practices and sustainability in higher education. It offers valuable insights for institutional leaders and policymakers seeking positive change.

ИДЕИ К.Д. УШИНСКОГО - ВЕКТОР РАЗВИТИЯ СОВРЕМЕННОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

The paper considers ideas developed by Konstantin D. Ushinsky’s and argues their relevance for modern-day education and pedagogy. Issues analyzed in the paper include the meaning behind education and upbringing as well as their correlation, ways of shaping social and pedagogical consciousness, interrelation between theory and practice of education, pedagogy as an art, the folk principle, the anthropological principle, the nature conformity principle, the role of labor, and didactic ideas.

Turismo na Montanha de Texcoco: Um olhar desde as Resistências Descoloniais

This manuscript seeks to test the concept of decolonial tourism from the hybridization of genres that are woven between theory and empirical evidence. For this, a solid abstract reflection on the decolonial approach is used and it is developed from a paradoxical nuance with the tourist activity, with the objective of identifying the influence of alternative visions of the world and sentiments regarding other forms of tourism. It is possible to affirm the emergence of alternative tourist proposals, founded based on a critical and social conscience, anchored to solidarity economic models and with new intersections between nature and culture, which could constitute an emerging paradigm on new ways of taking advantage of free time and more specifically to do tourism. Aspect that became evident in the face of the forms of proximity displacement that benefited from the Covid-19 pandemic. Through exploratory research of an inductive nature, the empirical experience of three groups was recovered, which served as a point of reference to go back and forth between theory and reality, for the conformation of this essay. It is concluded that these new ways of doing tourism are based on a biocentric perspective, related to ancestral knowledge transmitted intergenerationally and carved in the interface between nature and culture. It is argued that these trends could define new ways of conceiving tourism in the 21st century.

Pre-loved or hatred? Consumers’ perception of value towards second-hand fashion consumption in Sri Lanka

Purpose The fashion industry has been accused of being the second largest environmental polluter in the world. Millions of tons of post-consumer waste are dumped in landfills and garbage disposal sites each year. However, environmental concerns are emerging as a mainstream issue among modern-day consumers. This critical problem has prompted fashion retailers and brands to embrace sustainable practices to address consumers’ environmental concerns by reducing pollution. Given this background, this research aims to understand consumer’s perceptions of value towards second-hand fashion consumption in the context of Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study uses a qualitative approach to understand consumers’ perceptions of value towards second-hand fashion consumption. Findings This research uses the theoretical model of the means-end chain model and shows five consumer’s values of second-hand consumers: price-consciousness, consciousness on emotional bonds, comfortability consciousness, quality and brand consciousness and social and environmental consciousness. Furthermore, the authors show non-second-hand fashion consumers’ values as social status consciousness, hygienic consciousness, comfortability consciousness, quality and brand consciousness and self-expressive consciousness. Originality/value This research sheds some light on the emerging knowledge of second-hand consumption. This research further points out certain practical implications by drawing attention to a few opportunities and challenges associated with the second-hand fashion business within the Sri Lankan fashion retail sector, in particular when launching new fashion brands catering to second-hand fashion consumers.

Nawab Bahadur Yar Jang: A Catalyst in the Formation of Pakistan

Nawab Bahadur Yar Jang was a prominent leader in the freedom movement in the State of Hyderabad, playing a significant role in the socio-political activities of his time. He is remembered for his inspiring speeches, delivered with fiery oratory skills in Urdu, that captured the attention of millions of people at the local and national level. During his 39 years of service to the nation from 1905–1944, he formed socio-political organizations to safeguard the interests of his community, including the State Muslim League, which protected the political rights of Muslims in the state of Hyderabad. Jang not only projected the demands of Muslims through this organization, but also played a pivotal role in carrying the message of the Muslim League to other states. Jang's dynamic role in generating political awakening and uniting the States Muslims under the platform of the Muslim League was crucial in cultivating social and political consciousness, which paved the way for the creation of Pakistan. This paper focuses on his invaluable services in cultivating the social and political consciousness of States Muslims, bringing success to the Muslim League in the Northwest Front. As far as the methodology of the present study is concerned, it is based on quantitative historical-descriptive approach. Various sources have been consulted for the present study including primary and secondary sources.

THE INFLUENCE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION ON DIMENSIONS OF WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT: EVIDENCE FROM KERALA STATE, INDIA, AND CHITTAGONG DIVISION, BANGLADESH

ABSTRACT This paper measures the impact of financial inclusion on women’s empowerment in Kerala State, India, and Chittagong, Division, Bangladesh. We define financial inclusion as the provision of savings accounts to the unbanked population. We found that women in Kerala participated fully with men in large purchase decisions in the post-financial inclusion period. Participation by all family members in household finance decisions increased in Chittagong, following the ownership of savings accounts by women. Mean differences showed increased participation by women in purchases of clothing, fuel, education, medical expenses, food, loan repayment, social and religious expenses, savings accumulation, furniture, and livestock purchases. Financial inclusion increased savings in both locations. Financial inclusion increased income, social consciousness, and psychological empowerment, respectively, in Kerala. Keywords women’s empowerment, financial inclusion, savings, Kerala, Chittagong

Poryadok, paradigma i politika estetiki: reforma odezhdy v period nepa (1921–1928)

Based on the combing and analysis of historical documents and newspaper images, this paper examines the early Soviet social costume style in the New Economic Policy (NEP) period, and the reasons for its transformation from the perspective of social history of art. The research shows that the dress reform during the NEP period of the Soviet Union experienced multiple model stages such as the paradigm shift from “simple imitation” to “self-construction”, and the discourse integration of “modern” and “national”. At the same time, the aesthetic discourse of socialist fashion, as the politics of aesthetics in daily life, become the mythic metaphor of socialist utopia in the process of constructing national ideology, social and cultural concepts and citizenship consciousness.

Review: Horror Film and Otherness, by Adam Lowenstein

Book Review| June 01 2023 Review: Horror Film and Otherness, by Adam Lowenstein Horror Film and Otherness, by Adam Lowenstein M. Sellers Johnson M. Sellers Johnson M. SELLERS JOHNSON serves as Citation Ethics editor for Film Matters. His published work has appeared in Film-Philosophy, The Philosophical Quarterly, and the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar BOOK DATA Adam Lowenstein, Horror Film and Otherness. New York: Columbia University Press, 2022. $140.00 cloth; $35 paper; $34.99 e-book. 248 pages. Film Quarterly (2023) 76 (4): 105–106. https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2023.76.4.105 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation M. Sellers Johnson; Review: Horror Film and Otherness, by Adam Lowenstein. Film Quarterly 1 June 2023; 76 (4): 105–106. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2023.76.4.105 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentFilm Quarterly Search BOOK DATA Adam Lowenstein, Horror Film and Otherness. New York: Columbia University Press, 2022. $140.00 cloth; $35 paper; $34.99 e-book. 248 pages. In Horror Film and Otherness, Adam Lowenstein situates the impetus for the book in the social context of contemporary Pittsburgh in the wake of the shooting massacre that occurred at the Tree of Life synagogue in November 2018 and the death of local horror auteur George Romero the previous year. Lowenstein asks, “What happens when horror comes home?” He proposes that horror films may be a surprisingly profound avenue for addressing and reconciling the social horrors of the real world (1). In fact, fictional horror narratives and their historical contexts can function as a catalyst in rousing social consciousness. Lowenstein challenges the binary self/other distinctions typical of conventional conceptualizations of horror, arguing that the genre instead affords an experience of “transformative otherness.” Throughout this text, Lowenstein... You do not currently have access to this content.

Art as Pedagogy: A Multiple Case Study of Participatory Socially Engaged Art

Abstract In recent decades, contemporary art practices have expanded into social processes as art, and even to educational experiments. Artists create participatory projects combining art with educational activities and goals. Despite the prevalence of these art works, contemporary art literature continues to focus primarily on the artist, thereby displacing the experiences of participants. Hence, from the stance of an art educator, I carried out qualitative multiple case studies to examine the learning experiences of the participants as well as the pedagogical frameworks of the artists. On-site observations and individual interviews were carried out with the artists, core group members who directly collaborated with the artists, and public audience members of three participatory, socially engaged art works. Through a cross-case thematic analysis, the findings demonstrate the value of intrinsically motivated learning enabled by a learning approach grounded in (art)making. In these works, a critical social consciousness was promoted among the participants by means of an enhanced social imagination provoked by the interplay between political content and artistic means. Essentially, the art works examined in this study serve as models of transdisciplinary art for learning and teaching social justice issues and civic engagement. Moreover, the results of this study encourage collaboration between artists and educators, as artists’ approaches diversify pedagogy and, conversely, educators play a critical role in enhancing the learning experience of participants.