Social Equilibrium Research Articles

Theorizing collective leadership: Lessons from Ekpe, an indigenous African institution

ABSTRACT Significant academic effort has been expended in researching leadership. The essence has been to emphasize individualism, linearity, heroism, hierarchy, teleological thinking, and economic calculus – even when theorizing collective leadership. Yet, little is known about leadership in subaltern cultures in the global south. This study discursively explores collective leadership as practiced within a masculine indigenous African council-type governance institution known as Mgbe or Ekpe, in communities within the coastal regions of Cameroon and Nigeria. Data were generated from 20 in-depth interviews with elders of Ekpe institution, onsite observation in 42 communities, and visual interpretation of recorded imagery. Findings unveil a multi-leader construct and practice of leadership founded on communitarianism, egalitarianism, humility, and pursuit of social equilibrium. Data also reveal a process of collectiveness enacted through the becoming, being and embodying processes of member embeddedness. Collectiveness emerged as a multi-leader process of fluid role substitution and power-sharing. The study proposes a multi-leader framework to actualize collective leadership. This approach challenges the seeming inevitability of a dominant or focal leader as theorized in extant collective leadership scholarship. It further introduces recognition theory in leadership studies and identifies directions for future research.

Perspectives on Health and Health Education

This study highlights different perspectives on health education. The naturalistic/bio-medical, functionalist, post-modernist, and Marxist perspectives on health and health education were all looked at in this study. The analysis is based on both published and unpublished materials, including online sources. Desk inquiry is the method used for analyzing the literature. Based on biological function and statistical normality, the naturalistic/bio-medical perspective regards health as belonging to a medical origin. By using an organismic illustration, the functionalist perspective emphasizes protecting social equilibrium and stability in order to explain human societies and social phenomena. While pursuing health and health education, the post-modernist perspective emphasizes the multiple realities of human health and class struggle. Each perspective offers a unique lens for understanding health and health education, emphasizing the importance of considering individual and societal contexts.

Ritual networks and the structure of moral communities in Classic Maya society

Ritual plays an important integrative function in the creation, maintenance, and transformation of human society. The shared experience of ritual establishes strong bonds between individuals that defines their membership in certain social groups. However, rituals are not timeless traditions, nor do they simply restore social equilibrium. Rather, rituals are active and ongoing social processes that unite and divide across multiple social categories. This paper applies archaeological network methods to analyze the multiscalar structure of ritual traditions across Classic Maya (ca. 300–900 CE) society using hieroglyphic inscriptions from dated and provenienced monuments cataloged in the Maya Hieroglyphic Database (Looper and Macri 1991–2024). For the Classic Maya, public ritual and performance were highly charged political events where meaning and power could be negotiated, creating opportunities for identity formation and community integration. Such contexts helped establish strong moral bonds in Classic Maya society. However, we know relatively little about the specific forms and content of these ritual practices. In this study we construct ritual similarity networks from hieroglyphic inscriptions to analyze the structure and organization of these moral communities as well as the ritual relations that bound them together.

Ценообразование как условие формирования рыночной конкуренции

The article examines the limits of the freedom of market pricing and the limits of state interference in the processes of market pricing in the light of conceptual approaches to the organization of society, which can be carried out by: ensuring the social process based on public self-regulation, and ensuring social equilibrium provided by state regulation. These approaches also manifest themselves in the economic sphere, including pricing processes, such as ensuring the market process, including free pricing, and ensuring market equilibrium through state regulation of commodity prices. These principles are not mutually exclusive, however, it is the social process based on self-regulation that is basic. Public self-regulation, including in the economic sphere, including pricing, is a source of legal formation, since it is based on the coordination of the interests of participants in market relations. State regulation of the social process, which has the goal of ensuring social equilibrium, by means of various kinds of incentives, restrictions and prohibitions, is a subsidiary means of regulating social relations, which can contribute both to the achievement of consensus in society, when it is aimed at protecting the rights of the subjects of social relations, and to harm it, when it is aimed at replacing the natural social process with its own normative regulations. Government pricing should be brought within the strict framework of the law and kept to a minimum.

J. Freund: interaccionismo dialéctico y equilibrio social. Precepción crítica de la sociología de Simmel y Pareto en la construcción de una filosofía social

his article explores the influence of Simmel and Pareto on the social theory of J. Freund (1921-1993). Recognized as an interpreter and promoter of the sociology of both authors in the French academic context of the last third of the past century, both play a fundamental role in the construction of his social philosophy, a central part of which is his theory of essences, developed especially in L’essence du politique (1965). However, this influence has not been yet sufficiently studied. This article proposes a preliminary approach, highlighting the presence of both authors in the definition of what I will be described here as Freundian “dialectical interactionism”, his methodological perspective for the study of dynamics and social equilibrium.

Categorizing Social Movements as Successful or Failed: Exploring the Essence Contributing to Social Dynamic Balance

Research on social movements has been continuously robust and of significant theoretical importance in the field of social studies. This paper argues that there is no definitive criterion for categorizing social movements into a binary standard of either success or failure. Social movements emerge to instigate societal or ideological transformations. By analysing various historical movements worldwide, the study finds that when social movements reach extreme positions and unleash devastating forces upon society, they often provoke counter-movements that seek to restore social equilibrium. Societal trends oscillate back and forth, much like a pendulum, and social movements function as agents that pull the pendulum towards the centre when it reaches its peak on one side. Therefore, social movements act as regulators contributing to the constant dynamic balance in society. This nuanced perspective can inform policymakers, activists, and researchers in their efforts to engage with and respond to social movements, fostering more informed and effective strategies for societal change and progress.

Disruption of 2014 Flood and the Effects on Social Equilibrium

The 2014 flood disaster had a profound impact on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, significantly disrupting the social equilibrium within flood-prone communities. This article presents a sociological analysis of the social disruptions experienced by victims in Hulu Dungun, Terengganu, highlighting how these disruptions affected the balance of social systems. Using a qualitative case study design, data were gathered through in-depth interviews and non-participant observations. Fifteen flood victims were selected through purposive sampling, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that the 2014 flood disaster caused various disruptions to the social systems, including job and income loss, changes in social routines, physical health problems, and psychological trauma, all of which disrupted the community’s social equilibrium. The study underscores that both formal and informal disaster management efforts played a pivotal role in reestablishing social equilibrium after the disaster. The results emphasize the importance of effective disaster response measures in mitigating social disruption and facilitating the long-term recovery of affected communities.

РОМАН Е.Н. ТОЛСТОЙ «ЛИДА»: ВНЕ МОРАЛИ

The article analyzes the novel «Lida» by E. N. Tolstoy, which was published in 1898 in two issues of the journal «Bulletin of Europe». Exploring the system of heroes in the novel, the author of the article consistently draws attention to the Sinyakin family, the maid Fenya, the father and son Berezensky, the sister of Prince Ozhogina and, finally, to Baroness Mühlbach and her daughter Lida – Princess Lydia Berezenskaya. An analysis of the views and value systems of all the listed characters allows us to conclude that the author of the novel builds on its pages a holistic system for revising moral and ethical norms and rules that serve as a guarantee of moral balance and social equilibrium. When making a deal with morality, each of the heroes believes that his deal is an exclusively special case that does not pose a threat to morality as such; Lida turned out to be a heroine who lives outside of morality and is not even aware of its existence. As a result, morality, which had been corrected and relegated to the background for some time, disappears completely, and a cynic who has no idea what «morality» is and why it is needed comes to the forefront of everyday life’s ups and downs – this is exactly the kind of person the main character of the novel becomes, Lida. Carrying out a revision of the views and values he inherited, A. N. Tolstoy, carrying out a revision of the views and values he inherited, will conclude that morality itself is unviable, alienation from which became the subject of artistic reflection of his sister, E. N. Tolstoy.

Factors of social equilibrium shaping and preventing violence

The continuous landscape of violence that unfolds parallel to everyday life undermines our sense of well-being, security, and trust in the effectiveness of institutions that are evidently failing to guide individuals to act and react in socially desirable ways. In the paper, the authors explore the phenomenon of violence within the framework of objectively established structures and the circumstances under which economic polarization and power polarization dominate, arguing that mass shootings represent factors that significantly influence the emergence and frequency of violence. Since moral competence is one of the key resources of society for successfully coping with adaptive demands, particularly during crises, increasing connectedness, developing moral competence, and enhancing empathy are imperatives for building a society that can consistently and effectively respond to the (moral) challenges posed by its environment. The paper aims to point towards ideas on violence prevention by affirming the importance of moral competence in preventing violence, thereby preventing moral confusion, and reducing the risk of society?s inadequate response to moral challenges.

The Judge in the Islamic Balance

This academic paper delves into the intricate and multifaceted role of the judge within the context of Islamic jurisprudence. Drawing from the rich and diverse heritage of Islamic legal traditions, the study seeks to illuminate the judge's pivotal position as the embodiment of justice, ethics, and social equilibrium in Muslim-majority societies. It explores the historical evolution of Islamic jurisprudence and its relevance in contemporary legal systems, emphasizing the judge's duty to uphold Islamic law while adapting to the changing demands of modern society. In conclusion, this paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the judge's pivotal role in the Islamic legal system and its relevance in the modern world. It underscores the importance of preserving the integrity and independence of the judiciary while adapting to the evolving needs of Muslim-majority societies. Understanding the judge in the Islamic balance is essential for promoting justice, fostering social harmony, and maintaining the principles of Islamic jurisprudence in a contemporary global context.

A Critical Appraisal of The Role of Retribution in Aníkúlápó: The Movie

This study examines Aníkúlápó, a Yoruba historical movie, to elucidate cultural perspectives on retributive justice. The study is grounded in the Yoruba worldview, which frames retribution as essential for restoring cosmic and social equilibrium when moral norms are violated. The data analysis used textual analysis of Aníkúlápó’s narrative depictions of crime and punishment as insights into traditional Yoruba principles of retributive justice. The findings reveal that the movie accurately portrays customary public punishment processes in precolonial Yoruba society aimed at communal justice and harmony. Beliefs in supernatural forces dispensing divine retribution are also authentically represented. While punishments seek to deter crime and rehabilitate offenders, scholarly critiques note occasional unfairness and excess. Overall, the analysis of the movie illuminates the pivotal role of retribution in Yoruba's cultural identity and moral philosophy. The key themes in the study relate to retribution's links to cosmic balance, supernatural dimensions, and functions as deterrence and rehabilitation. By situating the analysis of Aníkúlápó within scholarship on African jurisprudence, the study elucidates Yoruba perspectives on fate, choice, proportionality, and pragmatism when responding to moral complexities and wrongdoing. This study contributes original humanistic insight into indigenous African philosophies of social harmony beyond punitive justice. This study recommends comparing diverse narratives and contemporary attitudes to enrich the understanding retribution's nuanced cultural significance.

Addressing global overconsumption: positioning the anti-consumption through communication appeals

PurposeThe study aims to analyse the possibilities of positioning the anti-consumption through different communication appeals. It analyses commercial and social marketing campaigns in the global context, with the aim to recommend communication guidelines to empower anti-consumption among different industries.Design/methodology/approachThe study conducted a qualitative content analysis of marketing communication focused on anti-consumption promotion.FindingsThe results bring a comprehensive overview of possible communication appeals of anti-consumption and prove feasibility of their implementation. The analysis of used appeals leads to recommendations for developing effective marketing communication for promoting anti-consumption.Practical implicationsThe recommendations can serve both for-profit and non-profit organization as a showcase to discover the idea of anti-consumption as communication appeals. By empowering anti-consumption, consumers could reach personal welfare and participate in social equilibrium. Also, the study brings recommendations for further research considering the evaluation of the implemented strategies.Originality/valueThe study covers a gap in published literature focusing on comprehensive analysis of existing anti-consumption marketing communication strategies and appeals and brings an overview of potential strategies for empowering anti-consumption among modern consumers.

Drought cascade lag time estimation across Africa based on remote sensing of hydrological cycle components

Droughts in Africa have a disproportionate detrimental influence on food security, water supply, social equilibrium and the economy compared to other regions in the World. Crop growth is principally rain-fed with highly seasonal rainfall regimes over most of the Continent. Hydraulic infrastructure and harvest storage are scarce. Drought is primarily initiated by a lack of precipitation, and it spreads slowly to soil moisture, vegetation, streamflow, and groundwater, affecting the entirety hydrological processes across the landscape. This is called drought propagation and it is often characterized within a cascade framework linking the different types of droughts in sequence. In this study we perform continental-scale analysis of the drought cascade over the African Continent using remote sensing data from multiple sources. We examine the spatio-temporal variation of drought types. The drought cascade elements include precipitation, normalized difference vegetation index, total water storage, and surface soil moisture. Drought characteristics and the propagation time lag between different drought types are assessed over Africa. Time series analyses are conducted on the drought indices in order to estimate the behavior of each type of drought across twenty-three basins. Consistent propagation behavior is observed at continental and basin scales. The drought cascade begins with persistent precipitation deficit and translates instantaneously to soil moisture deficit, after one month to vegetation and after two months to total water storage of the hydrological system.

Method of action in the case of a public disturbance in public spaces

Since the beginning of the first forms of human coexistence, the need for order and safety has undoubtedly become imperative. During the development of the state, the idea of public order was outlined in different ways, but it was always accompanied by the police law of the state. Until now, the consolidation of the state has relied on the maintenance of order and public safety. This concept is reflected in the state's focus on protecting social rights, life and integrity of citizens, compliance with established rules and other accepted values. Thanks to the authorities to which the state resorted, the priority of ensuring public order became satisfied, through the activities of preventing and countering antisocial phenomena. The complete realization of social equilibrium is disturbed by facts against which the forces must fix measures. Thus, the local police, one of the current institutions used by the state, constantly struggles with circumstances in which the action of law enforcement is required to restore peace. Whether acting alone or cooperating with other public safety maintenance forces, such as: the gendarmerie, the Romanian police, the courts, the local police respects a set of specific principles and rules that guide its activity in different fields. So, the duties of a policeman are reflected in the sectors of public order and peace, environmental protection, traffic on public roads, commercial activity, records of persons and other legally regulated areas. I believe that, for each area of activity, the police officer must follow a series of rules that protect him from errors in the intervention. The indispensability of knowing how to act in certain situations is determined by the fact that the legal provisions that illustrate the rights and obligations of the police officer do not subject to rules the difficulties regarding the procedures for intervention, behavior and reaction to incidents. The police force performs its service in the field, in particular, making direct contact with the population, and in this way it becomes the first frontier of confrontation with criminals. Therefore, the performance of a professional service is closely related to the manner in which a police officer acts in the interest of the community.

A Contextual-Ethnographic Study of Nzema Proverbs Related to Some ‘Medical Conditions’

Proverbs are terse but ‘condensed’ expressions which contain moral lessons. In every culture, proverbs form part of the nuggets of popular wisdom, expressed in the form of wise sayings (Maledo 2015). Among the Nzema of Ghana, proverbs permeate almost all communicative encounters. They are ‘injected’ into discourses to motivate people to behave well, and to repudiate vices in the society. This paper discusses the didactics and communicative values of Nzema proverbs related to health conditions (and impairments) such as blindness, deafness, leprosy, hunchback, goitre, hernia, rickets and migraine. Using primary data recorded during arbitration proceedings among the Nzema, the paper examines the advisory role of the proverbs. The findings demonstrate that many virtues are concealed in Nzema proverbs that incorporate certain medical conditions, which paradoxically are not about the mere experiences of such conditions; rather, the deeper meanings highlight the essence of hospitality, contentment, patience, hard-work, and genuine love among others. The paper has also shown that the Nzema employ such proverbs in appropriate discourse contexts to rebuke deviants, and to redirect the paths of members of the society. It is argued that the advisory messages entrenched in this category of proverbs largely promote ethical standards and help maintain social equilibrium and solidarity. The paper engages Hymes’ Ethnography of Communication model in the data analysis.

Stackelberg Social Equilibrium in Water Markets

Market power in water markets can be modeled as simultaneous quantity competition on a river structure and analyzed by applying social equilibrium. In an example of a duopoly water market, we argue that the lack of backward induction logic implies that the upstream supplier foregoes profitable strategic manipulation of water to the downstream supplier. To incorporate backward induction, we propose the Stackelberg social equilibrium concept. We prove the existence of Stackelberg social equilibrium in duopoly water markets with an upstream–downstream river structure and derive it in the example of a duopoly market.

Reshaping Societies: The Vital Role of Sociological Studies amid Globalization

The swift and profound societal changes triggered by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic have necessitated rapid adaptations in individual behaviors within daily life routines. This study addresses the vital role of sociological studies in reshaping societies amid globalization within the New Normal Era. Employing a sociological lens grounded in Talcott Parsons’ functionalism theory, this study employs a meticulous and rigorous descriptive qualitative research design. This study investigation draws upon an extensive and systematic collection of diverse bibliographic sources, encompassing previous scholarly research that sheds light on behavioral shifts before and after the pandemic, alongside credible information from mainstream media outlets. The intricate dynamics of societal metamorphosis during the New Normal epoch are intricately intertwined with the inherent complexities of the prevailing social system, actively grappling with the diverse and enduring aftermath of the coronavirus. Notably, Parsons’ AGIL framework emerges as pivotal in facilitating the establishment of a fresh and adaptive social equilibrium. The realization of the New Normal paradigm hinges on the ethical evaluation and calibration of precisely defined indicators, fostering seamless collaboration and integration among diverse community constituents. Ultimately, this study underscores sociological studies’ indispensable and central role in deeply understanding, critically analyzing, and effectively reshaping societies amidst the profound and multifaceted challenges posed by globalization and the transformative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

STUDY OF COMMUNITY SATISFACTION WITH CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) PROGRAMS PT. SOCFINDO KEBUN SEUNAGAN NAGAN RAYA DISTRICT

Corporate Social Responsibilityor CSR is one of the most popular efforts to gain public trust in the company. This is a form of social equilibrium between the company and the surrounding community, so information on the satisfaction of the community around the company regarding the CR carried out needs to be known for further improvement of CSR programs. This research was conducted to determine the level of community satisfaction with the CSR program carried out by the oil palm plantation company PT. Socfindo plantation Seunagan – Aceh. The results of the study show that the CSR program has not provided satisfaction for the communities around the plantations. Attributes of the process of capturing citizens' aspirations at the beginning of the program had the highest level of satisfaction, while attributes of capital assistance provided by companies to entrepreneurs gave the lowest satisfaction. In connection with CSR as a corporate concern program for the surrounding community, PT. Socfindo Seunagan Plantation needs to involve the local community as a stakeholder in the planning and implementation of CSR, while still taking into account the priority needs of the surrounding community.

Enhancing Productive Zakat Programs in Light of Maqāṣid Syarī’ah: Chance and Challenge in Contemporary Aceh

Abstract: Introduction: As the main pillar of Islam, zakat is still convinced being an effective instrument in order to realize poverty alleviation and social equilibrium. Background Problems: This article discusses about implementation, challenge and moment that could be seized by Baitul Mal as an independent institution, to compile and distribute zakat in Aceh, after a broader jurisdiction that it has, to reduce poverty. However, the reality in Aceh currently shows that the poverty is still becoming the main broadly challenged social problems that faced. Research Method: This study is a qualitative one using semi-structured interviews with purposive sampling to stakeholders who are directly engaged in zakat management in Baitul Mal Aceh and other parties like academician and practician, as well as observation and documentation. Finding/Results: The finding of this research shows that as an independent board in Aceh province, Baitul Mal Aceh has a big chance and broader authority to maintain, manage and develop zakat based on Islamic sharia law in Aceh, although it has also many obstacles to realize it. This article suggests and proposes maqāṣid syarī’ah should be the parameter of any zakat programs conducted. By using maqāṣid syarī’ah, hopefully it could be the parameter of innovating and conducting any productive zakat programs for realizing a more welfare and beneficial (mashlahat) purposes.

Doing Ethnographic Research in the Fiji Islands: Research Method and Research Ethics Issues

The aim of this article is to consider research method and research ethics issues in the unique location of the Fiji Islands. After arguing that Eurocentric, Anglo-American ethics clearance processes, embedded into Global North Universities, are culturally inappropriate, in the Fiji setting, I go on to imagine alternative ethics clearance questions that pick up on and reflect adequately Fiji’s social and economic context. I discuss and explore why traversing relationships, relationships that traverse time and space through giving, receiving, obligation, reimbursement, and forgiveness, often emerge in the Fiji context, and how they can be a local, social equilibrium that benefits both parties. My own research on Fiji soccer history is used to provide illustrations and anecdotes throughout the article.