ABSTRACT This article analyses the impact of the political, economic, social and epidemiological crises experienced by Finland in 1917–1919 on the population with high-frequency time series data on births. Previous research has identified environmental factors associated with significant deviations of sex ratios at birth (SRB) from the established reference value of c. 105–106 boys per 100 girls. These include material and psychological stressors as well as factors affecting the primary sex ratio via increased coital frequency. The SRB therefore has the potential to capture both positive and negative responses of a population to historical events. During the years under study, Finland experienced two revolutions and considerable social upheaval, a food crisis, a civil war followed by violent repression and a bourgeoisie restitution, and a pandemic. Using monthly birth data from 1878 to 1938, this study shows significant traces of responses to the events in 1917–1919 in reproductive statistics. In addition to the predictable fall in SRB during the worst months of the civil war, there are indications of popular jubilation via an elevated SRB particularly following the March 1917 revolution in the Russian Empire, rather than, for example, national independence later in the year. The bulk release of large numbers of prisoners following the conflict also resulted in an elevated SRB with a nine-month lag. The article demonstrates how reproductive statistics can be used to study the embodied experiences and public sentiment surrounding major events.

Social Crises, Political Conflicts, and Cultural Contradictions of Nixonland: Tracing Constitutional Crisis in the USA from Nixon to Trump

ABSTRACT With recognition of the potential to use social media to support youth experiencing suicidality and distress, it is important to understand the emotional impact of this on young counsellors working in this new terrain. Interviews were conducted with 15 volunteer counsellors working on an innovative social media-based crisis counselling service. Reflexive thematic analysis generated eight themes that captured the emotional challenges and protective emotional aspects of this form of counselling. The emotional challenges of the work included feeling overwhelmed by clients’ distress, identifying closely with clients, being unable to help, and confronting the limits of an online intervention. Protective aspects of working in this medium were seen as the ability to maintain professionalism, having the opportunity to reflect, experiencing satisfaction in helping, and finding personal enrichment. This research highlights the need to integrate appropriate support into the training and supervision of volunteers providing online crisis counselling.

The purpose of the study is to identify the consequences of the digital transformation of the mechanism of public administration in conditions of uncertainty to achieve the sustainability of the system, taking into account the influences of different cultural environments and political regimes. The development of the information society is characterized by permanent changes that are caused by the influence of various factors. Their influence turns the development of society into a series of challenges and threats, crises, the relief of which is the function of the public administration system. To recognize them, the management system must be responsive to the changing demands and expectations of society, which are becoming more individual and broadcast through social networks and digital platforms. A new reality is emerging in which, thanks to digitalization, relations between government and society are becoming subject-to-subject. What does the digital transformation of public administration bring with it: benefits or risks? What are the differences between e-government and digital government? Which digital models of political regimes are most effective in conditions of social diversity and crises? How effective are the tools of the digital state for coordinating interests? The methods used in the process of writing this article were: a comparative analysis of administrative practices of different countries in the context of digitalization, a quantitative analysis of statistics and empirical data from the WGI. The main conclusions of the study are the following: digital technologies play an important role in achieving the sustainability of management systems in times of crisis, they are used as a means of controlling behavior, affecting not only information, but also in fact. According to a number of parameters, the digital version of the authoritarian political regime proves to be more effective and stable in times of crisis, compared with the digital version of the democratic model. The theoretical significance of the study lies in identifying the correlation of the consequences of the digital transformation of the public administration system with achieving sustainability in conditions of uncertainty; in determining the influence of cultural factors and types of political regimes on the speed of implementation of digital technologies in the public administration system in order to increase their sustainability and effectiveness in digital platform societies.

Abstract This text presents an artistic research perspective that understands music as an ecology of times rather than a linear or purely formal structure. Drawing on the author’s compositional and performative practice, it explores how multiple temporalities—prehistoric, futuristic, historical, biographical, and micro-perceptual—interact within musical creation. Central to this approach is an ecological mindset that privileges relationality, feedback, and openness to non-human agencies over control, optimization, and fixed outcomes. Through examples from solo instrumental performance, live electronics, installations, DJ practice, and long-term project development, the essay examines how real-time performance, intermediate creative processes, and culturally embedded imaginaries co-constitute musical meaning. Influenced by ecology, anthropology, improvisation, trance studies, and sound system culture, the work frames music-making as a practice of rewilding perception—an embodied engagement with repetition, difference, and resonance. The text argues for an ecological art practice capable of cultivating expanded temporal awareness and responding poetically to contemporary social and environmental crises.

Public perception is a central determinant of political legitimacy, national stability and policy effectiveness. In Malaysia, the period from 2018 to 2022 witnessed unprecedented political turnover, multi-layered crises and contentious identity debates, resulting in highly volatile public assessments of national direction and leadership performance. This study analyzes the evolution of Malaysian public sentiment across five prime ministerial administrations—Najib Razak, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin Yassin, Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Anwar Ibrahim—using a convergent mixed-methods design that integrates time-series opinion poll data, economic indicators, media discourse and qualitative analysis of major political and social events. Guided by an integrated theoretical framework combining Agenda-Setting Theory, Political Trust Theory, Social Identity Theory and Crisis Management Theory, the findings demonstrate that public perception is shaped by (1) issue salience generated through hybrid media ecosystems; (2) shifting evaluations of governmental integrity, competence and legitimacy; (3) identity-based contestation surrounding ethnic and religious narratives; and (4) the government’s effectiveness in managing overlapping crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruptions and climate-related disasters. Empirically, the article shows that Malaysians increasingly evaluate governments through a layered logic that combines communal identity, perceived procedural legitimacy and performance-based crisis delivery. The study validates core propositions within these theories but highlights the need to refine them for multi-crisis, hybrid media and identity–performance contexts. It proposes an integrated identity–performance model of public evaluation in hybrid regimes and contributes a contextually grounded framework for understanding how citizens in Malaysia and similar systems assess political authority under conditions of volatility. This research provides a comprehensive model explaining how Malaysians evaluate government performance and offers policy insights for strengthening institutional trust, crisis governance and societal cohesion.

ABSTRACT This paper proposes re-reading Tawney’s The Acquisitive Society as a contribution to economic philosophy that contains important arguments on topics such as markets, workplace democracy, and the ‘greening’ of economic institutions. Central to Tawney’s account is his notion of ‘social functions’ towards which economic activity should be oriented, away from an unconditional understanding of property rights and especially “functionless property”. A ‘functional society’, Tawney argues, would create opportunities for meaningful work and social recognition for all workers. To organize work around the fulfilment of social functions, he recommends governance structures in which both workers and other stakeholders, e.g. customers, have a voice, and in which transparency and public oversight are key. From a contemporary perspective, Tawney’s account may require some updates, for example, with regard to the democratic determination of ‘social functions’ in a pluralistic society. Such updates, however, are possible, and make Tawney an interesting interlocutor for those trying to rethink our economic system in the face of the current social and ecological crises, especially in three respects: the discussion about the ‘asset economy’, the debate over ‘green growth’ versus ‘post growth’, and the call for a greater reflexivity of institutions.

ABSTRACT Periods of social and economic crisis offer critical opportunities for journalists to interrogate gender inequalities, specifically the gender stereotypes and norms informing and perpetuating them. The COVID-19 pandemic is an example of this when gender inequalities were aggravated due to health, socio-economic, cultural, factors and emergency regulations in place. This exploratory study adopts a qualitative approach to analyse representations of women in mainstream media in Ireland during this time. Harnessing theoretical and methodological tools from Frame Analysis [Goffman, E. (1974). Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. Vancouver: Harvard University Press] and Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis [Lazar, M. M. 2007. “Feminist critical discourse analysis: Articulating a feminist discourse praxis.” Critical Discourse Studies 4 (2): 141–164], discourses on key social actors and issues are examined along with the strategies and linguistic devices employed to construct them. Findings suggest that while a range of frames can be traced in the corpus which highlight women’s vulnerabilities, a frame focused on women’s health, specifically on experiences with maternity and related issues and services, was predominant, reinforcing the traditional association of women with the domestic sphere. However, the range of linguistic tools, sources and statistics employed demonstrates critical nuances among the newspapers studied, reflecting their different ideological positions. Overall, while inequalities faced by women during this period were acknowledged, gender stereotypes and norms were ultimately sustained rather than challenged.

Context: In moments of social crisis, adults may wonder what to say to the young children in their care. Yet children are often already making meaning of and taking action on their worlds. In this qualitative case study of a virtual writing and art workshop, we sought to listen to young children’s play and composing about the COVID-19 pandemic and intersecting crises. Research Question: Drawing on critical childhood studies and Bakhtin’s carnival, we asked: How do young children in a virtual art/writing workshop use compositional play to make meaning of the pandemic and other intersecting social crises? And through their compositional play, how do these young children take action on and speak back to the crises unfolding around them? Research Design: We present findings from a broader qualitative case study focused on how young children and their families processed the pandemic and intersecting social crises within a virtual writing/art workshop. Between June and December 2020, we designed, facilitated, and documented a series of four-part virtual writing/art workshops for young children and their families. Data generation included: (1) video-recorded participant observation of workshop sessions, including simultaneous breakout groups, and (2) artifact collection (i.e., photographs of writing/art, chat transcripts). We engaged in cycles of qualitative coding, analyzing what children made alongside our annotations, before connecting our coding scheme to literature and theory to construct themes. Conclusions: We found that young children (1) “decrowned” the virus, narrating care amid crisis; (2) confronted the “unspeakable,” disrupting notions of appropriateness; and (3) played with masks through parody, while simultaneously critiquing and “unmasking” adults’ pandemic rituals. We offer a discussion and implications for early childhood educators and researchers, reinforcing the role of play in children’s composing and recognizing even children’s most indiscernible expressions as meaningful, especially in moments of crisis.

This paper examines Cultural Studies from a historical perspective, emphasizing its role as an intellectual project that emerges from social crises and structural antagonisms. Spanning its development from the 1960s to the contemporary period (1990–2025), the paper shows that neoliberal capitalism is not merely an economic project, but one that has also permeated education, healthcare, religion, art, and everyday life, forming circuits of commodification and capital accumulation. In response to discourses on global ecological crisis, Cultural Studies is framed not as a passive academic discipline, but as an interdisciplinary practice that thrives on contradiction, understanding “apocalypse” not as a singular event but as a historical, simultaneous, and rhizomatic condition that shapes human experience in the era of globalization and platform capitalism. Introducing “transapocalyptic” as a term for a comprehensive crisis produced by neoliberalism’s penetration into all spheres of life, this paper rejects the notion of a “post-apocalypse” by positioning it as a utopia construct. Accordingly, Cultural Studies functions as a tool for reflection and critique that enables survival amid contemporary social, ecological, and symbolic crises while reminding us that the journey toward a fully emancipatory order is always “not yet”, for beyond utopia, a truly “post-apocalyptic” world does not exist.

This study examines the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of public relations and the role of this technology in the digital transformation of the discipline. Advances in technology have fundamentally transformed public relations processes, methods, and communication tools, enabling the adoption of data-driven and measurable communication approaches. AI facilitates practitioners in data collection, analysis, content creation, social media management, campaign planning, sentiment analysis, and crisis management. The study discusses the functions, application areas, and benefits of AI-based tools commonly used in public relations. The findings indicate that AI enhances the effectiveness of public relations practices and reshapes strategic decision-making processes. The comparative analysis conducted within the scope of this research demonstrates that AI-supported tools enhance time and cost efficiency in PR activities, rationalize decision-making processes, and enable objective measurement of communication performance. However limitations and risks such as data privacy, misinformation, and ethical responsibilities should also be considered. The study emphasizes that AI, beyond being a technological tool, profoundly transforms communication processes and professional practices in public relations.

With the acceleration of digitalization, Chinas elderly population faces a severe challenge of the digital divide. This paper adopts case studies and bibliometric analysis methods, selects two typical cases of health code verification and QR code payment, and deeply analyzes the survival dilemmas faced by the elderly in the digital age in different social scenarios. The study found that the dilemma in the health code verification case mainly stems from the deprivation of rights caused by the lack of mandatory policies and technical adaptability; while the dilemma in the QR code payment case comes from the social exclusion caused by insufficient social support and trust crisis. Based on this, this paper proposes a two-dimensional analytical framework for the digital divide. From a comparative perspective between China and other countries, it proposes to build a digital social governance strategy of tiered inclusion, emphasizing inclusive innovation and intergenerational support. The aim is to provide theoretical reference and practical pathways for reducing digital inequality in an aging society.

Population aging has become a significant challenge facing the world in the 21st century. China is expected to enter a super-aged society by 2035. This will pose immense challenges to society, such as in healthcare, elder care, and labor force issues, where traditional solutions are no longer sufficient to meet the deepening trend of aging. Smart elderly care technology offers a new solution to address this aging issue. This paper examines the specific situations and practical cases of China, Singapore, and Japan, exploring the multifaceted applications of smart elderly care in the pursuit of healthy aging. This article will integrate the policies of the three countries to create a systematic response plan addressing the challenges of aging. However, at present, intelligent elderly care still faces various issues, including fiscal pressures, significant urban-rural disparities, uneven acceptance levels, and unresolved safety concerns. In the future, the government must enhance policy development, innovate new technologies, and integrate technology into cultural and institutional aspects to promote personalized, low-cost, highly accepted, and safe intelligent elderly care services.

In contemporary society, new social movements with a cultural focus have emerged, addressing themes such as sexuality, information, ecology, and gender equality. These movements represent a novel form of protest, distinct from the revolutionary and conflict-driven tendencies of traditional movements. For these new social movements to become effective agents of societal transformation, collaboration is essential, along with the support of the “Soggetto,” which represents individuals upheld by rights and institutions. Advocating human rights can be a powerful strategy if it serves as a framework to restore meaning in society, countering the persistent socio-cultural drift that enforces standardized and homogenized roles. This approach, coupled with an understanding of complex interdependence, can help mitigate the effects of disintegrative imperialism and address social crises.

Objectives The aim of this article is to present the concept of building state resilience in the social dimension, with an emphasis on the role of communities and institutions in crisis management processes. The authors analyze how the modern approach to public security incorporates society’s capacity for adaptation, recovery, and cooperation in crisis situations. The is aims to identify key factors supporting the development of social resilience, particularly in the context of Poland's security policy. Material and methods The article is baased on analysis and qualitative methods, integrating various theoretical and practical approaches in crisis management and resilience theory. It also applies theoretical comparison concerning concepts such as social capital theory, constructivism, resilience theory, and crisis management theory. Strategic documents and legal acts are also analyzed. Results State social resilience depends both on institutional actions and civic engagement. A crucial factor is the integration of social initiatives with the crisis management system and support for citizen involvement in crisis planning and response. Civic education also plays an important role, enhancing social awareness and readiness to act in emergency situation. Conclusions Security policies aimed at building resilient societies should focus on effective crisis management systems, critical infrastructure protection, and civil defense mechanisms that support, rather than replace, individual citizen responsibility. Accordingly, these efforts must go beyond traditional military, legal, or diplomatic tools and extend into education and training systems. Through this, it becomes possible to reshape public awareness and even redefine national identity in terms of how security is perceived and enacted.

Training technologies have become an increasingly important component of contemporary social work practice, particularly in societies experiencing prolonged social crises, armed conflict, forced displacement, and systemic transformations. In Ukraine, the full-scale war has significantly intensified social challenges, creating new demands for effective, flexible, and practice-oriented methods of professional intervention. This article provides a theoretical overview of training technologies in social work, focusing on their conceptual foundations, classification, and relevance to the current needs of Ukrainian society. The paper examines training technologies as a distinct form of professional activity in social work, differentiating them from psychoeducational and therapeutic interventions. Particular attention is given to experiential learning as a methodological basis for training approaches, emphasizing active participation, reflection, and skills acquisition. The article proposes a structured classification of training technologies, including skills-based, psychoeducational, resilience-oriented and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) trainings, as well as community-based and participatory formats. Special consideration is given to the application of training technologies in the context of war-related challenges, including work with veterans, internally displaced persons, local communities, and social service professionals facing high levels of stress and burnout. The advantages and limitations of training technologies in social work are analyzed, highlighting their preventive potential, adaptability, and resource-efficiency, alongside methodological and ethical constraints. The article concludes that training technologies represent a crucial tool for strengthening professional competence, community resilience, and psychosocial well-being in contemporary Ukrainian social work practice.

Abstract Cairene Sufis ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Šaʿrānī (d. 973/1565) and his master ʿAlī l-Ḫawwāṣ (d. 939/1532) formulated an original mystical-legal theory that linked the existence of the religious obligation ( taklīf) as well as the origins of Islamic law to the myth of Adam’s Fall. Expressed in the form of a fatwā , the theory synthesized numerous Islamic legal, theological, and Sufi sources, including the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity ( Rasāʾil Iḫwān al-Ṣafāʾ ), which is widely regarded as the first Islamic philosophical encyclopedia. This article sheds light on the remarkable parallels between the Epistles and the Sufi theory, demonstrating that al-Ḫawwāṣ and his disciple utilized the Epistlesʾ ideas to articulate their teaching on Islamic law, the human deficiency, and self-reform, and to reinforce the spiritual authority of the local Sufi šayḫs . The convergence of social crisis and eschatological expectations during the times of the Brethren in the fourth/tenth century and the Cairene Sufis in the tenth/sixteenth century brought forth the enduring relevance of the Epistle ’s Adamic narratives in the late medieval period. This article delves into the Sufisʾ engagement with the Epistles within the wider scope of how the contentious works of the Brethren were received among Ottoman mystics and jurists in Cairo.

Set against the backdrop of racial segregation in the United States during the 1960s, the film Green Book depicts the social contradictions and identity crises arising from racial discrimination through the story of black pianist Shirley and white driver Tony's southern tour. From a postcolonialism perspective, this pa-per analyzed the underlying power relations and white-savior narrative in the film, revealing how its utopian ending conceals the structural racial inequality. The study finds that the film's portrayal of racial reconciliation at the end is a romanticized fantasy. Shirley's participation in Tony's family Christmas reunion comes at the cost of sacrificing his black identity. Furthermore, Shirley's elite status cannot represent the true circumstances of the broader Black community, and his personal success actually weakens the critics of systemic oppression to colored people. Though Green Book is themed around anti-racism, it is con-strained by Hollywood narrative conventions and fails to confront the com-plexity of racial issues. True anti-discrimination works must transcend the framework of individual friendship, bring the essence of power relations to light and inspire audiences to reflect on realworld issues. Eliminating racism requires sustained global efforts, not merely the illusory reconciliation portrayed in the movies.

Mining schemes are often promised to bring prosperity and progress, but on the other hand, mining activities that encroach on most of Indonesia's landscape cause environmental pollution, ecological degradation, and social crises that worsen Indonesia's condition. This study analyzes public responses to nickel mining in Raja Ampat through netizen comments on the Kompas.com YouTube platform. This research uses exploratory computational content analysis (CATA) with Voyant tools. The data comes from comments on 58 Kompas.com YouTube videos with titles related to "Raja Ampat Nickel Mining." Data scraping was performed using JavaScript on June 28 2025, yielding 8,422 comments. This study presents netizen discussions through Word Cloud, Corpus Collocates, co-occurrence, and KWIC analysis. The results of the study reveal that the most frequently appearing corpus in this issue is about environmental damage and its impact on local communities. Through computational content analysis, words such as "nature," "people," and "destroy" describe netizens' concerns about the consequences of nickel mining in ecologically valuable areas such as Raja Ampat. Future researchers may consider several things, such as expanding the data collected from other social media platforms to enrich the data and understanding of public opinion on this issue in the digital space. Subsequent researchers could also conduct qualitative research, such as interviews. with relevant parties, to provide in-depth information on mining issues. Future research could focus on similar issues in other regions facing problems related to mining and sustainability.

ABSTRACT The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is one of several federal programs supporting charitable food agencies, providing additional food for distribution during disruptions to commercial donations. We examine TEFAP’s use before and during the most acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (2018–2022) when supply disruptions and volunteer shortages were common. TEFAP foods played the largest role in meeting increased demand, though the distribution capacity of counties varied during this time. Our findings underscore the vital role of federal support for private food assistance during social crises and the need to increase equity in agency access to these programs.