Social Foundations Research Articles

Best Blends Forever

The University of Vermont’s (UVM) blended undergraduate early childhood education (ECE) and early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) program originated as a model to dually prepare and license future educators to teach young children with and without disabilities from birth through age 6. However, strains on the university’s budget, intersecting with the COVID-19 pandemic, led university administrators to recommend deactivating the program in 2020 and prompted program faculty to reconceptualize what the “blending” of the two fields of study could look like in the reality of contemporary contexts. The article begins by highlighting the evolving identity of UVM’s blended ECE/EI/ECSE program. Next, using a social foundations perspective, we explore several key influences that have shaped our current collaborative approach to preparing early childhood educators for inclusive environments and how our ECE and EI/ECSE programs can be officially parted, yet still be blended, in its goals to prepare all future teachers of young children for inclusive settings. It concludes with recommendations for ECE and EI/ECSE faculty who may find themselves in need of reimagining their conceptions of blended teacher preparation for inclusive early childhood settings.

Strong presidents and grand corruption scandals in the Philippines

PurposeThis paper provides evidence from the Philippines that strong presidents (termed here as hyper-presidents) have failed to address systemic corruption despite their anti-corruption rhetoric and promises.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a case study methodology to review how “strong presidents” have dealt with the problem of corruption in the Philippines and to examine their handling of grand corruption scandals. Data were collected from court decisions, congressional reports, news reports, journal articles, and other academic publications.FindingsThe paper has two major findings. First, none of the strong presidents were able to build the social and political foundations for anti-corruption reform. Second, in dealing with corruption scandals, the strong presidents observed selective persecution and particularistic concealment (cover-ups) instead of allowing the rule of law to prevail. These findings dismiss the idea of the sufficiency of strong presidents, some of whom project the possession of the political will necessary to combat corruption in the country.Originality/valueWhile the need for strong leaders has been emphasized in the anti-corruption literature, this paper argues that such leaders do not necessarily add to the political commitment needed to fight systemic corruption or even lay the political, institutional, and social foundations for reform. Strong presidents in the weak Philippine state are powerless against the institutions and culture that encourage and tolerate grand corruption.

Unlocking public infrastructures? State aid and the common European data space

EU state aid rules are part of the EU’s competition policy, a form of soft law developed to nudge states away from public investments in many areas. Rules were used to impose that market competition holds a privileged position, and that enacting social, political, or economic benefits that might stifle competition requires a complicated legal and political negotiation process between the European Commission, Member States, and private companies. Nonetheless, many strategic projects or situations in recent years led to significant state aid. The Commission utilised a variety of means to encourage both private and public investments in EU based digital infrastructure that is critical for public media services and for unified European data space. Despite EU’s balancing act between the private and public interests, business interests are dangerously capturing the development in the media data space. To grasp the social and economic contribution of publicly financed productive activities, we approach public broadcasting systems as producers of public wealth of a peculiar kind whose activities and goals are defined by their public purpose, rather than the imperatives of capital and profitmaking. Unifying data spaces with too many design decisions conceded to capitalist production runs the risk of further neglecting social foundations of member states. We argue that the desired digital transformation would be more successful if it moved towards affirmative approaches to public services and public infrastructures, recognising the historical and contemporary contribution of the production of public wealth and public media in member states.

Theoretical and Methodological Justification of the Public Danger of an Act in Criminal Law

Public danger is a fundamental category of criminal law that defines its essence and social purpose. At the same time, science has not yet developed a unified view on the nature of public danger, its place and role in the structure of criminal law knowledge and law enforcement. In particular, the following questions remain unresolved: the legal boundaries of public danger, the correlation of the principle of legality with the social foundations of criminal liability, the correlation of the concept of harm with public danger, the possibility of its objective cognition, the impact on the assessment of public danger of acts of social values and personality, determining the quality of a crime. The paper analyzes the phenomenology of social perception of public danger in the aspect of law enforcement assessments of real harm. For this purpose, dialectics is used in the categories of reality and possibility. Harm is considered as a category of reality, and public danger as a category of opportunity. At the same time, the author understands harm and public danger not in a universal, but in a legal sense. The essence of harm means an encroachment on social values and a response to it from society and the state — a moral rebuke of the act, elevating it to the degree of social threat (danger). The public danger of a crime is constructed by the legislator, therefore this property (public danger) is associated with the reality of harm and is an important and necessary criminal law construct filled with real social meaning. The modern problem, actualized by the security paradigm, is the definition of moral criteria for the validity of socially dangerous harm.

Applying Bourdieu’s Theory to Public Perceptions of Water Scarcity during El Niño: A Case Study of Santa Marta, Colombia

This study investigated the sociological dimensions informing public perceptions of water scarcity during the El Niño drought period in Colombia. We conducted this study in Santa Marta, Colombia, and surveyed 405 urban and rural residents to understand their perceptions of water scarcity, management, and the impacts of the El Niño phenomenon. The survey used a Likert scale to measure responses and employed a multivariate analysis of variance to analyze the data while considering factors such as location (urban versus rural) and gender. The study results indicated that urban residents often experience an irregular water supply all year, whereas most rural respondents noted a more consistent availability of water. The perception of water scarcity also differed notably between urban and rural areas due to their different historical and cultural experiences (habitus). Urban respondents mostly recognized the presence of water, while rural perspectives were less conclusive, likely influenced by their direct access to natural water sources. Participants across various demographics consistently reported that poor management by local, regional, and national governments contributes to the water scarcity crisis, highlighting the importance of improving communication about climate events like El Niño and water management to increase community engagement in public policies. Our research suggests that better understanding the social foundations of such perceptions using Bourdieu’s concepts of social fields, habitus, and capital forms can significantly enhance water management strategies.

Child leader standing on a precipice: a case study of NextGenInnov8

Learning outcomes After completion of the case study, students will be able to identify the traits required in child leadership and the ability to apply “The Whole Leadership Framework” child leadership model today, identify and discover opportunities to promote child leadership and analyse its sustainable impact and analyse how innovation clubbed with sustainability will create a competitive advantage with special reference to the innovative ultraviolet-C light sterilisation Suraksha Box. Case overview/synopsis Aditya Pachpande was a child prodigy of India, who had stunned the world with his trailblazing attitude ever since the tender age of 12. Aditya’s father, Sandeep Pachpande, a Harvard alumnus, wondered – “My son is ahead of his time. Would institutions ever acknowledge my innovative boy as a child leader? Will my child become a teen chief executive officer (CEO)? Will he ever get accepted?” Aditya leads by example as a student, changemaker, edupreneur, innovator and keynote speaker. He thinks, “Age is just a number”, but has had to shout out loud to be heard. With the nickname “Lecture man” given by his teachers and peers, he went on to contribute in endorsing skill-based experiential and discovery-based teaching-learning that addresses real-world issues and sustainable development goals. A CEO at the age of 11 years, he co-founded NextGenInnov8 Global Solutions Private Limited and NextGenInnov8 Social Foundation. Although achieving these milestones, he had to manoeuvre through several curve balls hurled at him by the system. Not the one to ever compromise on ethics, values and purpose, today he was at the crossroads – whether he should choose social change over-commercialisation of his business, simplicity and minimalism over product perfection, crowdfunding over loans or angel investors, manufacture in China or make in India just to name a few. The unstoppable Aditya, aspiring for acceptance, dreamt that someday, these policymakers and businesses would acknowledge child innovators and not write them off just because they were adolescents. Aditya, standing on a precipice, dreamt along. Complexity academic level This case has been particularly focused on postgraduate-early stage-level students pursuing business or entrepreneurial education-related programs. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Safe and just housing for all–Towards establishing a sustainable consumption corridor for housing

This paper introduces a sustainable consumption corridor (SCC) framework designed to define a ‘safe’ and ‘just’ space for housing provisioning, integrating social equity with ecological sustainability in the housing sector. It proposes a comprehensive set of ecological ceilings and social foundations, providing actionable threshold indicators for measuring and guiding sustainable housing practices. Through the SCC, this work addresses the pressing socio-ecological challenges the housing sector faces, especially the need to balance housing expansion with environmental limits. In doing so, this work provides a platform to discuss the consumption-based versus absolute limits for social and ecological thresholds, the need to integrate social and environmental thresholds, and the need to model the provisioning system dynamics which in turn influence the social and environmental performance of housing provisioning systems. This provisioning includes both the physical and political economic factors which influence these outcomes. The study sets the stage for future empirical research and the refinement of indicators that can be adapted across different contexts to ensure relevance and applicability. The ultimate aim promote policies to reconfigure housing provisioning systems to meet human needs within the planetary boundaries.

Finiq rebirth through digital transformation and “digital nomads”

The topic of shrinking cities is multifaceted and affects cities, regions of cities, or entire metropolitan areas that have seen a rapid decline in their economic and social foundations. Therefore, urban shrinking is frequently a problem for metropolitan regions on a large scale and necessitates that policymakers rethink conventional regional government models. Also, Albania's population overall decreased yearly. This problem is very known in the case of Finiq municipality, which is part of Vlora city. Most of the settlements that are part of the municipality of Finiq present a social framework consisting of a shrinking and always aging population. For various reasons, mainly economic, unemployment and lack of services, the young population of these areas has mostly migrated to Greece. In order to restructure rural areas in response to shrinkage, information and communication technology (ICT), digitaliza- tion, and knowledge intensive activities are essential. It is important to understand the differ- ent aspects of the digital revolution, since the situation is evolving into a new normal where "digital" is not only a response to an emergency but also an ongoing investment against risk. Studies has shown that digital nomads often prefer settlements outside urban areas so they can be a significant contributor to the recovery of the economy in Finiq, which largely depends on ICT infrastructure level of municipality. A lot of researches for digital nomads concluded that digital nomads could be crucial in promoting entrepreneurship and the development of technology clusters all over the world. So, the research question is: how can digital nomads be developed as a new market segment in Finiq and how can digital nomads be utilized in the local digital ecosystem? This study focuses on digital nomads as an emerging market group and the possible knowledge transfer function they might play in the local digital environment.

Impacts of a Summer Transition Program on Kindergarten Readiness for Children from Disadvantaged Backgrounds

ABSTRACT Kindergarten transition programs support successful school transitions for families and may reduce disparities in academic readiness upon school entry. Yet, access and participation in high-quality summer transition programs are lower among children from disadvantaged backgrounds. This study examined the impact of a summer kindergarten transition program on children’s readiness in language and literacy, mathematical thinking, and social foundations and the strength of their home-school relationships. Assessment scores of 416 kindergartners within 30 classrooms in 28 elementary schools in one southeastern state were analyzed. Children who participated demonstrated significantly more readiness in their language and literacy, mathematical thinking, and social foundation skills compared with children who were eligible but did not participate in the program. Further, children who participated in the program had significantly stronger home-school relationships compared to children who were eligible but did not participate and those who were not eligible to participate in the program. The findings provide preliminary evidence that summer transition programs are an equitable strategy to reduce achievement gaps upon kindergarten entry. School administrators should consider implementing summer transition programs to support academic readiness and develop strong home-school relationships in communities with a high population of children who are at risk for later school difficulties.

The Budding Neuroscience of Ant Social Behavior.

Ant physiology has been fashioned by 100 million years of social evolution. Ants perform many sophisticated social and collective behaviors yet possess nervous systems similar in schematic and scale to that of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, a popular solitary model organism. Ants are thus attractive complementary subjects to investigate adaptations pertaining to complex social behaviors that are absent in flies. Despite research interest in ant behavior and the neurobiological foundations of sociality more broadly, our understanding of the ant nervous system is incomplete. Recent technical advances have enabled cutting-edge investigations of the nervous system in a fashion that is less dependent on model choice, opening the door for mechanistic social insect neuroscience. In this review, we revisit important aspects of what is known about the ant nervous system and behavior, and we look forward to how functional circuit neuroscience in ants will help us understand what distinguishes solitary animals from highly social ones.

Research on the brand design and cultural tourism development of Chinese minority festivals from the perspective of ritual theory

Under the background of the current national unity and the integration of culture and tourism, this paper deeply explores the development dilemma of ethnic minority festival activities, reveals the dynamic relationship between ethnic minority festival activities and social structure, and then identifies the root causes of its development dilemma, and seeks to promote its contemporary inheritance and development through brand design. Using literature analysis and theoretical analysis, this paper systematically combs the historical evolution, current situation and challenges of ethnic minority festival activities. Especially in the perspective of ritual theory, in-depth analysis of the cultural connotation and social function of national festivals, as well as its adaptation and change in contemporary social changes. The study found that due to the changes in the social structure, the fracture of cultural heritage and the intensification of external competition, the current ethnic minority festival activities are facing problems such as insufficient inheritance, low popularity and weakening of festival activities. By creating a festival brand with local characteristics and cultural connotation, it can stimulate national pride and cultural identity, promote the integration and development of national unity and cultural tourism industry, reconstruct the social foundation of ethnic festival activities, and enhance their cultural value and market influence. Therefore, we should actively explore and practice the application of brand design in ethnic minority festivals, and make positive contributions to the protection and inheritance of traditional culture of ethnic minorities.

Pengenalan Multimedia Komputer untuk Pembuatan Sabun Cuci Cair

The AL Islam Orphanage or TAYP FAMIYA (Al-Islam Foundation Orphanage for the Poor Orphans) is an orphanage for boys and girls located in the Tambak Bayan area, Depok. This orphanage also functions as a social foundation. Apart from the education provided by the orphanage, it also provides skills to provide provisions for later life. These include making liquid soap and making videos. In this article, an Introduction to Computer Multimedia is introduced to create video tutorials. In compiling computer multimedia, images, text, audio are needed which will ultimately be composed of video tutorials. The data used here is photo, video shooting about the process of making liquid soap, for editing the data that has been input using a video editor from Windows. The result of the training is a simple video of the process of making liquid soap.

Methodological approaches to the functioning of the passenger transportation market: Airline, road and railway segments

Passenger transportation plays a critical role in ensuring efficient functioning of the economy, as it provides labour mobility, access to markets, cultural, and social services, and promotes the development of international tourism and social integration. Thus, the purpose of the research was to analyse methodological foundations of the functioning of the passenger transportation market and to assess the war impact on the condition and development of air, bus, and rail passenger transportation. With the help of the bibliographic method, key scientific papers have been analysed in the article to study the theoretical foundation and identify problematic issues, calling for improvement and development. Using the generalisation method, leading organisations, ensuring the functioning of the passenger transportation market, have been identified and summarised, and the general principles of its functioning have been formulated. Using comparative and grouping methods, methodological approaches to air, bus, and rail passenger transportation in the context of economic, regulatory, technological, ecological, and social foundations have been proposed. The necessary prerequisites for the effective functioning of the passenger transportation market have been determined by grouping the most significant aspects, such as liberalisation and competition, state regulation and standardisation, investments and innovations, as well as effective cooperation between stakeholders in the field of passenger transportation. Using tabular and graphical methods, the war impact on air, bus, and rail passenger transportation has been considered through the lens of the caused damage, the amount of destruction, and the necessary restoration and reduction of passenger traffic. The peculiarities of enterprise operation in wartime have been identified with the emphasis on strategically important features of functioning and development, and patterns in passenger transportation have been revealed with the help of the content analysis method. The results of the research can be useful for specialists in the field of passenger transportation and tourism when analysing the passenger transportation market, forming strategies, and considering development trends

The Implementation of Waqf Law within the Framework of Indonesia's Legal State: An Analysis of Pancasila Values

This study aims to explore the preservation of waqf in Indonesia, which plays a crucial role in supporting social welfare and community development, while considering Pancasila as the state ideology. The research seeks to analyze how Islamic legal principles are integrated into waqf preservation in relation to Pancasila values and to understand the interaction between these two value systems within the national legal framework. The study employs a qualitative analysis method with a literature review approach. Data is gathered through an examination of relevant laws and government regulations, as well as fatwas and guidelines concerning waqf and pancasila. The analysis focuses on evaluating the connection between Islamic principles related to waqf preservation and the implementation of Pancasila values within the Indonesian legal system. The research aims to identify and explain the relationship between Islamic legal principles regarding waqf and Pancasila values and to assess how Pancasila values support and enhance the preservation of waqf in Indonesia. The findings reveal that Pancasila values, particularly the principles of social justice and humanity, align with Islamic principles in the preservation of waqf. Pancasila serves as an ethical framework that supports fair and transparent waqf implementation, ensuring that waqf not only complies with Islamic law but also contributes to sustainable social welfare. The study also identifies that integrating Islamic principles with Pancasila values in waqf management can improve the effectiveness of waqf preservation and strengthen the legal and social foundation in Indonesia.

Multiscale Functional Connectivity analysis of episodic memory reconstruction

Our ability to share memories constitutes a social foundation of our world. When exposed to another person's memory, individuals can mentally reconstruct the events described, even if they were not present during the related events. However, the extent to which the neuronal connectivity patterns elicited by the mental reconstruction of an event mirror those present in the brains of individuals who experienced the original event remains unclear. Through two independent fMRI experiments, we explore the Functional Connectivity (FC) patterns at different timescales associated with these cognitive processes using the innovative Multiscale Functional Connectivity (MFC) technique. This study aims to shed light on how our brains construct mental representations of scenes in a movie compared to the verbal transmission of the same scenes. Our results demonstrated that the Default Mode Network (DMN) plays a crucial role in these experiments and exhibits unique FC patterns across different timescales, yet remarkably consistent among participants. In addition, we found significant connectivity patterns within the temporal cortex, including significant contributions of the temporal pole and the fusiform gyrus, which exhibited a pivotal role in cooperation with the DMN in both experiments.

THRIVING IN THE SWEET SPOT: EXPLORING THE DOUGHNUT ECONOMY MODEL OF MALAYSIA, THE PHILIPPINES, AND VIET NAM THROUGH THE SUWI ANALYSIS (2010-2019)

Objective: The objective of this research is to evaluate whether Malaysia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam are within the doughnut economy from 2010 to 2019 using the sustainability window approach and to compare their levels of development. Theoretical Framework: This study is based on the Doughnut Economics Framework by Kate Raworth. This study explores literature that shows the relationship between economic well-being, social well-being, and environmental well-being. Method: The methodology used in evaluating these countries’ adherence to environmental and social well-being criteria is the Sustainable Window Analysis by quantifying the maximum and minimum economic development required for social and environmental sustainability by integrating socio-economic and environmental indicators to assess compliance with Doughnut Economics' social foundations and planetary boundaries. Results and Discussion: Results indicate that Malaysia achieved the sustainable window for all indicators except for healthy life and greenhouse gases. Viet Nam failed regarding healthy life, biodiversity, and clean energy. The Philippines failed in all environmental well-being indicators except for land use. Research Implications: These findings apply to policy-making by targeting areas that could not meet the sustainable window. It also reveals the applicability of the Doughnut Model to developing countries in ASEAN. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by filling literature gaps by providing significant results to future researchers planning to conduct future research in line with sustainable development and Doughnut Economics of a particular country of their choice.

THE MOROCCAN CRISES (1905-1911) AND THE POLICIES IMPLEMENTED BY THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE DURING THE CRISES

In the quarter of a century before the First World War, there were numerous economic and political developments that shaped the Allied and Entente blocs. The Moroccan crisis holds a decisive place within these developments. The struggle of the Western Powers to share Morocco at the beginning of the 20th century was at the center of the crisis. The unequal bilateral relations developed between the Ottoman Empire and the Western Powers during the process of opening up to capitalism influenced the foreign policy as well as the economic policies of the state. In this study, the economic, political and social foundations of the policies followed by the Ottoman Empire during the crisis in Morocco, which was both its neighbor in terms of its domination area and its ideological rival in the Islamic world, are discussed using primary sources. In this context, the aim of the study is to reveal whether the Ottoman Empire, depending on its perception of threat, tried to implement a set of reactive, preventive, and supportive policies towards Morocco in terms of military, political, or economic aspects. The findings of the study show that the policies implemented are carried out on a political and military basis and through indirect channels. As a matter of fact, the Ottoman Empire's approach to the Moroccan crises was shaped by Pan-Islamist policies under the influence of Germany, the preservation of its sovereign rights in North Africa, the protection of its subjects in the region, and the question of nationality and the repercussions of the Franco-German rivalry in Morocco on the Ottoman country.

К вопросу о прошлом как основе регламентации настоящего и эталоне будущего: «мобилизация Средневековья» в современном российском общественном сознании

The article is a homage to the outstanding philosopher and political analyst V.P. Makarenko, timed to coincide with his two anniversaries – the “questionnaire” (eightieth birthday) and the creative one – the half-century anniversary of the hero of the day’s research in the field of “Weberian studies”. Nominated by V.P. Makarenko’s interpretation of the sociological concept of Max Weber as a “special case of pseudo-historicism” – a form of conscious (“ideological”) traditionalism that arises in a situation of total collapse of social foundations, the author proposes to use as an analytical framework for understanding such a modern (including Russian) phenomenon, as “retrotopia”, which most clearly appears in the form of “medievalism” – a utilitarian reception of the ideological heritage of the Middle Ages in relation to the needs of current politics, ideology and culture. From the author’s point of view, medievalism, in the Russian version of which Byzantine images and motifs clearly predominate, is by no means an invention of our time: in fact, it is a secondary form of reception of the ideological heritage of the Middle Ages, characteristic of the 19th century. Thus, modern Russian medievalism in a broader sense represents one of the manifestations of the basic cultural metaplot of the “lost paradise” – nostalgia for the century traditionally considered the “golden age of Russian culture” and the pinnacle of imperial power.

Socialism and non-domination: a relational egalitarian approach

ABSTRACT In recent literature on the philosophical foundations of socialism a growing number of theorists have endorsed the claim that freedom as non-domination is a fundamental normative commitment undergirding socialist politics. On this sort of view, a broad range of traditional socialist claims can be explained and justified by reference to freedom as non-domination. In this paper, I argue that even if these theorists are right that opposition to domination is a core socialist normative commitment, it is not clear that that opposition is best understood in terms of a commitment to a particular conception of freedom. Instead, socialist opposition to domination can be more fruitfully understood as flowing from a commitment to a relational conception of equality, according to which relationships with a substantially egalitarian character have a special value. I argue, first, that a relational egalitarian construal of socialist opposition to domination can retain all of the benefits of the freedom as non-domination construal, and, secondly, that a relational egalitarian account will have benefits that a freedom as non-domination approach will lack. I conclude that there are still significant benefits to retaining a place for equality in our considered account of the normative foundations of socialism.

National assessment of regional sustainability across the United States

Industrial agriculture, climate change, biodiversity loss, global conflict, and increasing inequality undermine the life-supporting services provided by our planet. Recently, the global community has started developing frameworks aimed at averting a climate catastrophe. Global agreements are undoubtedly instrumental in providing humanity with a roadmap for sustainable transformation, but policies to affect national and regional change are needed. Here, we argue that regional sustainable transformation is an actionable way to work toward global sustainability. We used the Doughnut Model (DM) and compiled a database of 8 ecological ceiling metrics and 12 social foundation metrics to assess regional sustainability across 32 metro areas and 180 counties in the United States representing roughly 35% of the US population. Using targeted keywords, we reviewed county-level websites to assess to what extent urban and rural counties collaborate on regional sustainable transformation. Finally, we provide two case studies of regional sustainable transformation across urban and rural regions. We found that generally urban areas had lower social foundation deficits (6 of 12 metrics) and higher ecological ceiling overshoot (3 of 8 metrics) compared to rural areas. We also found low levels (16 out of 180 counties) of cross county collaboration between urban and rural counties for sustainability transformation. Disparities across and between urban and rural areas highlight the potential for cross county collaborative programming to increase regional sustainability. We end with a call for increased collaboration between private and public sectors focused on sustainable transformation and increased cross-county collaboration between urban and rural areas.