Social Themes Research Articles

MAGICAL REALISM ELEMENTS IN DIANNA WYNNE JONES’ NOVEL HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE

This study offers an in-depth analysis of the elements of magical realism in Diana Wynne Jones' novel Howl's Moving Castle. The research focuses on specific instances of magical realism, examining their impact on character development, relationships, and personal growth throughout the narrative. Using Wendy B. Faris' theoretical framework of magical realism, this study aims to reveal how fantastical elements shape character interactions and influence readers’ perceptions of the genre’s unique attributes. A qualitative descriptive method is employed to identify three core elements of magical realism within Howl's Moving Castle: the irreducible element, the phenomenal world, and the disruption of time, space, and identity. These components are shown to significantly impact character dynamics and personal transformations, highlighting how magical realism blends reality with myth to explore complex human experiences and social themes. The findings provide valuable insights into the narrative techniques and thematic depth of the genre, enriching the understanding of magical realism’s role in literature.

Multimodal Sentiment Analysis for the Malay Language: New Corpus using CNN-based Framework

Sentiment analysis in the Malay language has traditionally focused on text-based data. Malay is the native language of Malaysia and other surrounding countries. While text-based sentiment analysis has shown good performance, it often lacks accuracy due to the absence of the speaker's affective state and intentions, which can lead to misinterpretations. Multimodal sentiment analysis addresses these shortcomings and has demonstrated improved performance in various prediction tasks. Unfortunately, there has been little research in this area for the Malay language, due to a lack of corpus and baseline studies. This paper introduces a new Malay Multimodal Sentiment Corpus, ‘MyMSC’, with annotations at both the multimodal and unimodal text levels. It contains 1208 segments covering political and social topics. The corpus development processes are described in detail, along with the necessary guidelines and considerations. This paper proposes a CNN-based framework with a late fusion method as the baseline model. Experiments with the proposed model demonstrate that the multimodal approach (F1 score = 0.77) outperforms the unimodal approach (F1 score = 0.68), validating the contribution of multimodality to classification performance. The differences between the two types of annotations and their impact are further elaborated. The full corpus is available at https://github.com/serenaroseaini/MyMSC .

Marketing and communication in the wine sector: the Catalan wine DO on social networks

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the social media strategies of wineries from three quality Denominations of Origin (DOs): Alella, Empordà and Priorat (Spain). It explores how digitalization has become a crucial element in contemporary marketing communication strategies and examines the presence and use of social media by these wineries.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a quantitative methodology to identify the most commonly used social media platforms among the selected DOs. Additionally, a content analysis is conducted to understand the themes these DOs use to engage with their audience. The analysis focuses on the social media presence and content strategies of the wineries within the specified DOs.FindingsThe study reveals that an increased understanding and utilization of new technologies by local citizens could enhance the digital development of these wineries. The research identifies the prevalent social media platforms used by the DOs and examines the content themes that wineries use to connect with their audience.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings emphasize the need to improve digital literacy among local communities to support the digital growth of wineries. The study also highlights the importance of understanding which social media platforms and content themes are most effective for engaging target audiences. Future research could explore the impact of specific digital strategies on business performance and consumer engagement.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the understanding of social media strategies in the wine industry, particularly within Catalan DOs, by providing insights into the use of digital tools and content themes in winery marketing.

Anthropic Actions in the Boa Vista Community, Niterói-Rj: A Critical Evaluation on Informal Occupation

Objective: to analyze the influence of antopic actions in the community of Boa Vista Niterói-RJ. Method: descriptive, observational research, carried out by an interdisciplinary team in the Community of Boa Vista, Niterói-RJ, on July 23, 2016. Results and discussion: based on the authors' interdisciplinary knowledge, referring to social and environmental themes and sanitary, they highlight the vulnerabilities of the study area in terms of human interventions created by informal occupation. In general, the Boa Vista community has a slightly urbanized infrastructure, characterized by the distribution of electricity, masonry constructions and the paving of a few streets. Attention is paid to precarious solid waste (garbage) collection and poor basic sanitation. Conclusion: It is concluded that integrated disaster risk management is necessary, with structural and non-structural actions in this community to reduce local vulnerabilities and mitigate problems found in the study area, minimizing future disasters, which can lead to the development of regular urbanization.

Indigenous Australian Perspectives on the Perinatal Period: Social Well-Being, Culture and Early Infant Attachments

ObjectiveAlthough social factors and culture are significant determinants of health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, little is known academically about key interpersonal and social experiences of this population during the perinatal period, or how early attachments are formed through culture. This study addressed this gap in the literature. Methods and MeasuresA reflexive thematic analysis approach was applied to the data gathered from focus groups (N = 14) held with Aboriginal (N = 7) and Torres Strait Islander (N = 7) mothers and their kinship systems. ResultsFive prominent interpersonal and social themes were identified: maternal-fetal attachment, infant-kinship attachment, caretaking roles/shared caregiving, traditional adoption, and ceremonies and rites of passage. Characteristics of maternal-fetal attachment were aligned with the construct in non-Indigenous literature. Post-utero, caretaking/shared caregiving roles such as ‘big mum/dad’ and ‘small mum/dad’ were identified. Ceremonies and rites of passage were understood to cement cultural roles within the kinship system, and the role of the maternal uncle was highlighted. A cultural obligation to help raise the child for biological mothers’ other siblings, known as ‘mums’ and ‘dads’, was identified. ConclusionDiscussion is centred around the necessity for ‘grass roots’ research from the perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and on suggestions for future research in further exploring the themes derived from this research.

Trends and Influencing Factors in Film Box Office: A Study on Chinese Domestic and International Films

At present, box office performance has become one of the critical indicators of a film's success. Both domestic and international film markets have shown steady growth; however, the box office performance of different films varies significantly. In light of this, this paper focuses on the box office development of domestic and foreign films, reviewing and analyzing the factors that influence the box office performance of many films. Additionally, a comparative analysis between domestic and foreign films is conducted. According to research findings, the primary factors affecting the box office performance of domestic films include the "mainstream" theme, storyline, realistic social topics, release timing, and multimedia promotion. In contrast, the factors influencing the box office performance of foreign films mainly involve the production company, country of origin, type of film, technological innovation, and online reputation. Based on these findings, this paper further analyzes the shortcomings that have led to the box office failures of both domestic and foreign films. Furthermore, recommendations for enhancing box office performance, applicable to all films, are proposed from four dimensions: film content, filming technology, market timing, and marketing strategies.

Social-LCA providing new insights and learnings for social responsibility—case pulp and paper industry

Abstract Purpose This paper presents the lessons learnt from testing the ORIENTING S-LCA methodology for a case product of Stora Enso, a globally operating forest industry company. The main purpose of the study was to explore what kind of additional insights and benefits the S-LCA method could provide compared to other existing social responsibility methods and approaches used by companies. Methods The paper briefly describes the applied ORIENTING S-LCA method and its application in the case study, focusing on main learnings gained and development needs identified. The S-LCA methodology proposed in ORIENTING builds upon the UNEP Guidelines for S-LCA (UNEP 2020) and the Handbook for Product Social Impact Assessment (Goedkoop et al. 2020). S-LCA methodology relies on the reference scale approach (RSA) and combines qualitative and quantitative evaluations for assessing social performance and social risk along the product’s life cycle. Social performance assessment approach was applied for company’s own processes covering several life cycle stages and the risk assessment for assessing the supply chain. Results and discussion Based on the case company’s experience, social assessments are currently conducted mainly on company or facility level. Moving towards product-based assessments could help gaining a more transparent view of products’ value chains and bring new possibilities for example to supplier specific sustainability audits. With the product-based S-LCA, the company could more easily identify, e.g., in which life cycle stage they would have most gaps on information and on which social matters, and take different stakeholders’ needs better into consideration in different life cycle stages. Areas that require further development concern especially data availability, assessment efficacy, and formulation of social topics. Conclusions The study demonstrates that the S-LCA methodology offers several benefits when addressing social sustainability issues in the pulp and paper industry. Comprehensive view over different social topics, life cycle perspective, and stakeholder identification are key elements of S-LCA that may support identifying relevant sustainability topics for the purposes of corporate sustainability reporting. Additionally, they can support defining appropriate mitigation actions that will be required for complying with the requirements related to corporate sustainability due diligence.

Unveiling the Cultural and Entrepreneurial Potential of Música Popular Brasileira

Música popular Brasileira (MPB) is a genre of Brazilian music that emerged in the mid-1960s. It is characterized by its eclectic mix of samba, bossa nova, tropicalia, rock, pop, electronic, and samba-pop incorporating elements from African, European, and indigenous Brazilian music traditions. MPB is known for its rich lyrical content, which often addresses social, political, and cultural themes, and its innovative fusion of traditional and contemporary musical styles. This paper explores the allure and entrepreneurial prospects of MPB in the global music sphere. Through qualitative analysis of insights from industry experts Beatriz Malnic, Bruno Miranda, and Derris Lee, it delves into MPB's distinctive elements, its global influence, and strategies for enhancing its commercial success. Despite barriers, MPB's diversity, rhythmic appeal, and genre fusion captivate audiences globally. The paper advocates for collaborative partnerships with educational institutions, language-inclusive promotion, and digital engagement to expand MPB's reach. Embracing MPB's cultural legacy and entrepreneurial ethos can deepen connections with audiences and enrich the global music landscape with Brazil's musical treasures.

Immunosuppressive medication adherence and affecting factors in solid organ transplantation patients: a mixed-methods study

Objectives: Transplantation is a form of treatment that requires long-term pharmacotherapy. After transplantation, patients may have difficulty adapting to medication use for various reasons, and this may result in rejection. The aim of this study is to determine participants’ medication compliance and the factors affecting it. Methods: The research was conducted with a sequential explanatory mixed method. In the study, quantitative data were collected using the Turkish Immunosuppressive Medication Adherence Scale, and qualitative data were collected using the In-Depth Individual Interview Guide. Quantitative data were analyzed using statistical methods, and qualitative data were examined according to Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis framework. Results: In this study, 62.3% of the participants were male, 37.0% were 50 years old and over, 71.3% lived with their spouse, 54.0% had primary and secondary school education, and 42.0% could not work due to their current health condition. From a clinical perspective, it was determined that 78% of the transplants were kidney transplants, and 41.3% were more than 4 years after transplantation. 74.3% of the transplants were from living donors. The mean score of the immunosuppressive medication compliance scale was determined to be 40.91±4.09. In the qualitative data analysis of the study, factors affecting medication adherence were examined and the themes of "individual factors", "complexity of the regimen" and "social support resources" were obtained. The sub-themes of the individual factors theme are reluctance, hopelessness and addiction; Sub-themes of the complexity of the regimen theme are drug side effects and polypharmacy; The sub-themes of the social support resources theme are loneliness and family pressure. Conclusions: The factors influencing medication adherence among organ transplant recipients have been investigated, revealing that adherence levels vary significantly depending on various factors. These findings underscore the importance of tailored care strategies and individualized support approaches.

Rendering smallholders social: Taking a social relations approach to understanding the persistence of smallholders in the rural Global South

Drawing on 36 studies in 19 countries and three continents, conducted over forty years, this paper revisits the question of how and why smallholders – and smallholdings – persist in the Global South even under conditions of rapid social and economic transformation. The paper argues that a significant part of the answer to this question can be found by taking a social relational approach: by ‘rendering’ the smallholder social. We identify five social themes that have resonance notwithstanding very different historical inheritances, environmental conditions, political contexts, and economic and developmental situations. Smallholder households feed a significant population of the world, educate the next generation, care for the sick and support those in need, cushion workers when economies contract and jobs evaporate, create communities, underpin national growth, and manage the land. Bringing these roles and qualities into view makes clear that smallholders, far from being relict survivors are critical actors in contemporary rural and urban transformations.

Measuring business impacts on the sustainability of European-listed firms

The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) themes assume a central position in the foundation of business strategies and risk management for both private managers and financial institutions. Measuring the sustainability commitment of listed companies is required by regulators and Monetary Authorities and plays a pivotal role in the selection process for asset management companies. ESG ratings are used to assess the company’s commitment to sustainability. This paper explores how a firm business, measured by balance sheet data, influences the ESG rating. In particular, we focus on Europe, which countries first paved the way for the sustainable transformation of the economy through various policies and initiatives. We employ a Machine Learning approach to discern the non-linear relationships between ESG ratings and corporate data aiming to identify the prime factors influencing the ESG ratings. We can assess potential country or business sector-based discrepancies by selecting a sample containing firms listed on the major European indices (AEX, BEL, CAC, DAX, FTSE, FTSE-MIB, IBEX, OMX). We find that the firm size, measured by total assets, and the carbon intensity are the variables that most influence the ESG rating in countries where the economic sectors rely mainly on the business cycle and economic conditions. For companies operating in the technology, financials, and industrial sectors, the main ESG driver is the asset turnover ratio, which is a measure of the efficiency with which a company generates revenues, and the EBIT to revenue, which is a measure of the operating margin asset turnover and the Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) to revenue ratio. We discover diverse factors affecting ESG ratings across various European countries, highlighting the impact of each nation’s policy on ESG commitment.

“It’s the Only World We’ve Got.” Children’s Responses to Chris Jordan’s Images about SDG 14: Life Below Water

Abstract Broad and complex ideas about sustainability can be communicated through the Arts. Australian curriculum documents support the integration of Arts education with education for sustainability. Responding to artworks as a viewer is a key aspect of Arts education in Australian schools. Chris Jordan is a US artist whose online media galleries communicate ideas about environmental and social justice themes. This paper reports interview data from a larger project exploring children’s responses to Chris Jordan’s artworks. Conversations were held with 28 children aged between 4 and 12 as they navigated Jordan’s website to explore the images they encountered. Data relating to SDG14: Life below water were selected for the specific focus of this paper. Thematic analysis of the data revealed five themes: connections to prior experience and knowledge, links with local contexts and places, emotional engagement with the images, solutions and action-taking and ideas related to post-humanism and the human-nature binary. These findings endorse the power of Arts-based experiences for enhancing education for sustainability in primary schools and early childhood contexts.

Re-envisioning corporate social responsibility education from a multicultural perspective: From pyramid to hourglass

While contemporary capitalist society is stimulating corporate social responsibility (CSR) and related themes such as sustainability, with the UN SDGs and ESG as dominant narratives, educators have voiced concerns about the actual issue of how to integrate these emerging phenomena into management education. This study adopted a sequential explanatory design using responses collected from international business school students in Asia over a 6-year period to examine this gap. Their perceptions were analyzed by matching them against Carroll's four-part definitional framework, the pyramid of CSR, to gauge the degree to which CSR theories are received by students. The results revealed that the majority of Asian students understand CSR differently from the mantra “CSR is about responsible business”. Depending on the context, Carroll's CSR pyramid is negatively perceived by students in Asia as many are aware that CSR is a culturally hypersensitive subject. The study proposes three recommendations for developing inclusive CSR education in multicultural settings: 1) emphasizing the “changing” role of business in the world and contemporary capitalism; 2) emphasizing the necessity of blending Western CSR theories with sustainable development issues in other nations; and 3) adding more details about cultural sensitivity in our use of CSR.

Illness as Metaphor in Contemporary Autobiographies: A Theoretical and Methodological Study

This research article explores the use of illness as a metaphor in contemporary autobiographies, focusing on two key texts: The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggs and The Unwinding of the Miracle: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Everything That Comes After by Julie Yip-Williams. Using Susan Sontag’s theoretical framework from Illness as Metaphor, this paper investigates how these memoirs use illness not only as a literal experience but also as a symbolic representation of broader existential, social, and philosophical themes. By applying narrative analysis as the primary research methodology, the article examines how the metaphor of illness shapes these autobiographical narratives, reflecting on identity, mortality, and the human condition.

ПУНКТУАЦИОННАЯ СИСТЕМА ЯЗЫКА И ЕЕ СОСТАВЛЯЮЩИЕ: АНГЛИЙСКАЯ И КЫРГЫЗСКАЯ ПУНКТУАЦИЯ В ПОСТРОЕНИИ ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОГО ДИСКУРСА

This article describes the role of the punctuation system of language and its components, the formation of punctuation as the development of written communication, English and Kyrgyz punctuation in developing the literary discourse, as well as examples of literary and artistic discourse. Ten basic and generally accepted punctuation marks are considered using the example of literary discourses in the English and Kyrgyz languages. Discourse is defined as a coherent text that has ontological and epistemological properties. Here, an analysis of literary and artistic discourse is carried out; in general, the influence of English and Kyrgyz punctuation on the formation of literary artistic discourse is studied. For linguistic comparison, artistic discourses of a similar extra-linguistic event with a similar social and everyday theme in both compared languages are involved. In general, the ontological and epistemological functions of punctuation marks are applicable. The syntactic, semantic and intonation functions act as the main function and in the updated additional function. As a result, the dual functioning contributes to the establishment of discursive artistic meaning and its theme.

ESG Disclosures in the Private Equity Industry

ABSTRACTThis paper offers the first systematic evidence on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures provided by a large global sample of private equity (PE) firms. Using historical websites from 2000 to 2022, we develop and validate a novel dictionary‐based measure of voluntary PE firm ESG disclosures. Descriptive statistics reveal an increasing time trend in these disclosures, with social topics becoming as important as environmental topics recently. Multivariate analyses show that the demand for ESG information from fund investors is a significant determinant of PE firms’ ESG disclosures. Leveraging data on PE firms’ portfolio companies, we document that more PE firm ESG disclosures are associated with better ESG outcomes at the portfolio company level, suggesting that voluntary ESG disclosures align with real actions for the average PE firm.

Social Skills Training For Future Leaders: Nurturing Social Awareness Through Kampus Mengajar Program

Introduction/Main Objectives: This paper examines the Kampus Mengajar (KM) program, a government initiative aimed at addressing learning loss among primary students in Indonesia due to the COVID-19 pandemic while enhancing the soft skills of college students by giving them teaching experience in schools. Background Problems: The issues investigated in this study are how Kampus Mengajar facilitates the development of social awareness and social responsibility among its participants and its relation to leadership potential. Novelty: This paper analyses the Kampus Mengajar program, its impact on developing social awareness and social responsibility, and its correlation with leadership potential among its participants. While the previous batch focused on its impact in addressing learning loss, more research needs to be done on its potential to enhance socioemotional skills. Research Methods: The research method used in this paper is a qualitative analysis of survey data as primary data and a monitoring report as secondary. The data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify keys related to social awareness and social responsibility themes. Finding/Results: The empirical findings suggest that while Kampus Mengajar does facilitate the development of social awareness among its participants, it may not necessarily facilitate social responsibility. Conclusion: The study concludes that Kampus Mengajar facilitates the development of social awareness among its participants but may need to be supplemented with additional interventions to enhance social responsibility. This study has also indicated that implementing socio-emotional learning at schools, which facilitates social awareness, has increased participants' leadership potential.

Examining Structures and Practices of Affinity Group Development in Teacher Education: A Mixed Methods Sequential Explanatory Approach

For many educators, transitioning from teacher to scholar is a journey wrought with identity-laden challenges, as students must merge an already developed professional identity with an academic researcher identity. Thus, we examined how the structures and practices of cohorts enabled or constrained affinity identity development in teacher education doctoral students from 2008-2012. Through our mixed method design, the four professional, collaborative, institutional and social themes emerged as the most important aspects for our participants (n=16). Our 2011 cohort participants most readily identified as an established cohort, and upon closer examination, they, unlike the others, had structures and practices put forth in the beginning of their doctoral program that emphasized the four emerging themes. Our findings have a meaningful impact on the support that is received and scholarly development that occurs for doctoral students.

Social and Psychological Effects of Tennis on Disabled Individuals

Disability has traditionally been mainly conceptualized individually or medically. In a social perspective disability can be identified as a 'disadvantage or limitation of activity' caused by a contemporary social organization that takes little or no account of persons with physical disabilities and excludes them from participation in social activities. This study focuses on the effects of sports, specifically tennis, on disabled individuals. In this respect, the research purposes to examine the social and psychological impacts of tennis on disabled individuals. The phenomenology technique, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. 17 wheelchair tennis players, 10 men and 7 women, who played in the International Wheelchair tennis tournaments held in Antalya between 16 November and 5 December 2023, participated in the research. The data obtained from the interviews were analyzed using the thematic analysis. The data obtained from the study were themed under the umbrella of life routine, social and psychological impact, with the coding made as a result of the interviews. Under the theme of life routine, it was seen that issues such as personal development, sense of accomplishment, getting life in order, holding on to life, accepting disability, and health literacy were emphasized. Socialization, social support, commitment, new friendships, and communication skills stand out as values coded under the social impact theme. Self-confidence, happiness, coping with pressure and stress, controlling emotions, focusing, and feeling valuable are the subheadings of the psychological impact theme.

Research on the Impact of Social Media Marketing of Films on Consumer Behaviour

Before and at the early stage of a movies release, a successful movie marketing strategy will have a great attraction and influence on the target audience. The trailer is a marketing tool used before the official release of a movie, and its main function is to market and publicize the movie to a general audience, as well as be an effective tool for the audience to understand the movie. And topic marketing is to position the content of the movie through emotional value, social topics, potential consumer experiences, and so on, to build consumer awareness of the movie. Effective marketing promotion can increase the conversion rate of the audience want to see by influencing consumer decision-making behavior. Therefore, this paper explores the impact of two social media marketing methods (trailer marketing and topic marketing) on consumer decision-making behavior on Weibo and Douyin from the perspective of the audiences want to see conversion rate. This will provide a useful reference for movie producers to carry out effective marketing promotions.