Social Transition Research Articles

Aridification and Its Impacts on Terrestrial Hydrology and Ecosystems over a Comprehensive Transition Zone in China

Abstract In China, the topography, climate, ecology, hydrology, and human environment vary greatly from southeast to northwest, and a typical natural and social environmental transition zone (i.e., comprehensive transition zone) exists near the “Hu Huanyong line,” which is a famous demographic dividing line in China, known as the Hu zone. Dry and wet climate changes in the Hu zone can have a significant impact on terrestrial ecosystems and hydrological conditions, ultimately affecting human–land relations. However, there is still a lack of clear understanding of environmental changes in the context of climate change in the Hu zone. Here, a quantitative analysis of climate change and its impacts on terrestrial hydrology and ecosystems from 1951 to 2020 is presented. The results showed that there exists a significant drying trend in the Hu zone and a dramatic decrease in terrestrial water storage (TWS), indicating that the environment has become worse. Conversely, from the perspective of significant greening, the environment has improved. This contradiction is mainly due to climate change dominating the depletion of TWS, while the increase in vegetation greenness is more driven by human activities including agricultural management and ecological restoration, offsetting to some extent the negative impact of water scarcity on vegetation growth. Significance Statement The Hu zone is a transition zone between southeast and northwest China, which is a sensitive area under climate change as well as key region for coordinated development. The purpose of this study is to reveal the long-term climate change in the Hu zone and its impacts on hydrology and ecology. Our results indicate a significant drying trend in this zone over the last 70 years, which led to a substantial reduction in water storage. However, the vegetation coverage increased due to human activities. This study provides guidance for agricultural structure adjustment and ecological protection in transition zones. Future research should focus more on the assessment and risk management of dry/wet changes in climate transition areas around the world.

Developing social and school facilitators for a positive school transition through a Sport Education and Service-Learning programme

ABSTRACT Background: The transition from primary school to secondary school has negative effects on a significant part of the student body, such as a substantial decrease in self-esteem, motivation, academic performance and the risk of bullying and school dropout school. Social support and school factors are positively associated with transition success; thus, they need to be strengthened in transition programmes. In this sense, the application of pedagogical models that address affective and social domains could set a suitable framework to develop positive transition programmes. Purpose: The aim of this work was to test the impact of a programme consisting in a Service-Learning experience embedded in a Sport Education season on social and school transition facilitators within a positive school transition framework. Methods: A total of 17 teachers, 130 secondary school students (age: 15–16), and 305 primary school students (age: 11–12 years) across five established Sport Education networks participated in this study. The networks were composed of one secondary school group and between two and four primary school groups. The programme comprised between 18 and 21 physical education lessons for each secondary school group, and between 14 and 18 physical education lessons for each primary school group. The data were obtained in multiple time points through focus groups with students and primary school teachers, interviews with secondary school teachers and researchers’ field diaries. Findings: Results evidenced the development of facilitators in the social and school factors. Regarding the social factor, the programme created a positive relationship between primary school and secondary school students and increased quantity and quality of the relationship between students of the same age, as well as expectations of social support in the new stage. Within the school factor, the development of facilitators of school connectedness and a feeling of safety was verified. A shift in primary school students’ ideas and expectations about the transition was identified, which included a greater sense of security and more positive expectations. Conclusions: The Sport Education Service-Learning programme appears to be effective in developing school and social facilitators to promote positive school transition. Results suggest that Sport Education facilitates a positive and respectful relationship between equals, while Service-Learning is a highly suitable framework for relationships with older students. The long-term impact on social relationships established during programmes with a positive focus is suggested as prospective research.

The active space of sperm whale codas: inter-click information for intra-unit communication.

Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are social mega-predators who form stable matrilineal units that often associate within a larger vocal clan. Clan membership is defined by sharing a repertoire of coda types consisting of specific temporal spacings of multi-pulsed clicks. It has been hypothesized that codas communicate membership across socially segregated sympatric clans, but others propose that codas are primarily used for behavioral coordination and social cohesion within a closely spaced social unit. Here, we test these hypotheses by combining measures of ambient noise levels and coda click source levels with models of sound propagation to estimate the active space of coda communication. Coda clicks were localized off the island of Dominica with a four- or five-element 80m vertical hydrophone array, allowing us to calculate the median RMS source levels of 1598 clicks from 444 codas to be 161 dB re. 1 μPa (IQR 153-167), placing codas among the most powerful communication sounds in toothed whales. However, together with measured ambient noise levels, these source levels lead to a median active space of coda communication of ∼4 km, reflecting the maximum footprint of a single foraging sperm whale unit. We conclude that while sperm whale codas may contain information about clan affiliation, their moderate active space shows that codas are not used for long range acoustic communication between units and clans, but likely serve to mediate social cohesion and behavioral transitions in intra-unit communication.

Wychowanie religijne w pedagogice Jana Pawła II

Given the ongoing social, political and economic transitions and related threats and challenges, the need to prepare young generations for proper interpretation of the reality is indisputable. These expectations are met by the educational thought of Pope John Paul II – an unquestionable moral authority. Aim. The aim of the article is to present the concept of religious education of Pope John Paul II. Methods. The analysis of ideas by Pope John Paul II was carried out based on selected papal encyclics, exhortations, letters and speeches. Results. The presented analysis of the views on religious education of Pope John Paul II shows that they fall within the tendency of Christian personalism. The teaching of John Paul II contain beliefs about the infinite value of the man, emphasise its personal individuality, draw attention to such organization of the temporal world so that an individual living in it may develop its personality. Such development is not only the goal of a human being, but also the target of the entire social life. For where personal values, such as freedom, dignity, justice, love and peace are valued, social structures may thrive. This is possible only in the case of unity with God. And this, in turn, may be guaranteed only by religious education. Conclusion. Religious education focuses on moral requirements concerning everyone and pursuant to the Gospel, as well as Christian attitudes to life and the world: both heroic and regular, referred to as Christian or evangelic virtues. These are the grounds for care about and endeavour to, when educating in faith, clearly present the issues such as human activity for integral liberation, seek societies of increased solidarity and brotherhood, fight for justice and build peace. Religious education is about preparing Catholic children to live in contact with non-Catholics, while preserving their own Catholic identity, and at the same time, showing respect for the faith of other people. It is a full introduction into Christianity which refers to all elements of life as a Christian. Religious education requires a variety of methods adapted to mental type and age, ecclesiastical and spiritual maturity, and individual preconditions of the catechised. The period worth of attention is when a small child receives the first constituents of catechesis from the parents and the family environment, which show in simple words the good and caring Father in Heaven, to whom the child learns to raise its heart. Oryginality. The article brings new values to the concept of upbringing, which leads a person to his development in the conditions of contemporary social and civilizational reality. Keywords. Pope John Paul II; religious education; children; teenagers; Christian personalism; catechization; values

Participants' Experiences of Sex Offender Treatment: Searching for Desisting Narrative Identities.

Life-course criminology has demonstrated the importance of social relationships and life transitions to understand desistance. Yet, individuals convicted of sexual offenses seem to differ in terms of turning points, where treatment is suggested as salient to their desistance processes. Drawing on 13 teller-focused interviews with adult male incarcerated participants in a new Swedish sex offender program, this paper examines the treatment experience and the under-explored aspect of early desistance, as well as the role of society and social relations in the treatment process, through a practice-oriented lens. The thematic analysis suggests participants started developing desisting narrative identities where micro turning points in treatment contributed to offenses being explained and re-integrated into a sense of the self as an acceptable person. The process, which also enabled active responsibility, seemed to be facilitated by a holistic, person-centered treatment environment. Nonetheless, continued desistance requires adequate attention to social support and stigma management post-release.

Social classes and transition to adulthood in Spain

A research project, “Interconnected Inequalities and Family Life Courses in Spain” (INTERINEQ) headed by Andrés Castro, a researcher at the Centre for Demographic Studies (CED) offers a new look at transition to adulthood and low fertility in Spain. From a quantitative and multivariate perspective, this study identifies six social classes among people aged between 29 and 35 in Spain: one consolidated upper class, three middle classes, and two lower classes. The research shows that plans for having a family and their coming to fruition depend on these social classes and, in particular, on the relative advantages and disadvantages in the middle classes. Relative disadvantages are associated with late emancipation and couple formation, and fewer children than desired. In the lower classes, there are no delayed family formation patterns or fertility gaps.

Addressing the Community Resource and Social Service Needs of Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of Home Visiting Staff and Clients in Georgia.

Home visiting programs provide support services to families and their children to promote positive health outcomes. This study sought to describe strategies employed by home visiting programs during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic to address the community resource and social service needs of home visiting clients in Georgia. We conducted a mixed methods study between December 2020 and April 2021 using online surveys and key informant interviews of home visiting staff and clients from 21 program sites. Structured content analysis was conducted of the triangulated data to elicit thematic findings. Due to the pandemic-induced economic conditions, clients expressed increased demand for housing, employment, and childcare support services. Staff experienced challenges with client referrals to these services because of interruptions in social service availability and transitions to virtual services. In response to these challenges, home visiting programs strengthened existing community partnerships and created new collaborations with local agencies to fill any gaps in services. Home visiting programs in Georgia provided critical linkages to community resources for families during the early phase of the pandemic. Preserving this essential home visiting service in future national emergencies will require improved coordination of community resources and social services.

(Post)Yugoslavian Music Press in Transition

The development of the Internet and digital technologies has influenced the ever- greater migrations of printed content to the digital sphere (blogs, online media, Internet portals, social networks), which has also brought with itself changes in readers’ habits and in the concept and format of texts as wells. Music press is no exception in that respect. In the context of South European states, these processes coincide with the period of political, social, cultural and economic transition, giving rise to the development of numerous regional and local specific forms of popular culture. The existence of the SFRY as a shared state enabled the creation of an authentic cultural space, which continued to develop even after its disintegration. This paper endeavors to shed light on one segment of that local authenticity through an analysis of music press. The aim the authors of this paper aspire to achieve is the presentation of the development path of the printed media in the first place inthe Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, then in Serbia, as well as the reconstructions of the modality of the transformation of this media in the transition period from an anthropological perspective. The wish is to identify the perception and significance of music as a local culturalphenomenon through the qualitative analysis of the archival material and the available Internet sources as well, then to trace the cultural changes that have been going on over time as a result of global and local social and cultural turmoil. We do not refer to press only as the medium which has an informative role, but rather as the medium that reflects the local community’s attitudes, simultaneously constructing narratives on popular culture that are incorporated in our everyday life.

СУБЪЕКТНО-БЫТИЙНЫЙ ПОДХОД В ИССЛЕДОВАНИИ ЛИЧНОСТИ: МЕТОДОЛОГИЯ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ РАЗВИТИЯ

The paper presents an analysis of the historical development of the subjective-existential approach to personality at Kuban State University. This review examines the most influential psychological concepts and theories that shaped the emergence and evolution of the subjective-existential approach within the broader field of subjective approach, over more than the past 50 years. It specifically focuses on the contribution of the Department of Personality Psychology and General Psychology at Kuban State University. It highlights the significant contributions of Soviet scholars, including B. G. Ananyev, S. L. Rubinstein, A. N. Leontiev, A. V. Brushlinsky, L. I. Antsyferova, and K. A. Abulkhanova, and of those who today determine the design of the subjective approach (V. V. Znakov, E. A. Sergienko, N. E. Kharlamenkova). The subjective approach has exerted a powerful influence upon the development of contemporary methodological discourse, particularly in the creation of a structural-dynamic model of personality as a subject of being/existence. The paper outlines the main theoretical and methodological provisions of the subjective-existential approach, which provides a panoramic vision of the studied reality and an interpretation of human psychological phenomenology from an axiological and existential perspective. The approach is based on the concepts of subjectivity, the unity of the individual and their being, and the individual's striving towards authenticity of being. It is proposed that the primary function of man is to be a subject of diverse existential domains, in which he asserts himself as a personality through the reorganization of these domains. The practical implementation of the subjective-existential approach to personality is exemplified by the investigations of researchers at Kuban State University. Their work concretizes and develops some ideas of the psychology of the subject and harmoniously integrates explanatory constructs and novel theoretical models within the humanistic traditions of psychological science. The potential of the subjective-existential approach to elucidate the procedural nature of diverse phenomenology is illustrated. The efficacy of this approach for addressing a number of fundamental problems in psychological science and acute social issues of our time, which are inextricably linked to global challenges of our time - bifurcation processes and social transitivity - is substantiated.

Evaluation of a codesigned group cognitive–behavioural therapy intervention for trans young people (TAG TEAM): protocol for a feasibility trial and a subsequent pilot RCT

IntroductionTrans young people are at a higher risk of mental health difficulties such as depression, anxiety and suicidality than their cisgender peers, due in part to their experiences of minority...

Review of Unsettling Matter, Gaining Ground

Tucked within the surprisingly earnest postmodern halls of the Heinz Architectural Center in the Carnegie Museum of Art, Unsettling Matter, Gaining Ground offers a visceral portrait of extractivism. Cocurators Ala Tannir and Theodossis Issaias display a variety of media that engage mourning, loss, and action in times of climate and social transition. Anchoring seven new commissions alongside seven historical artworks from the Museum’s collection, the curators build the scaffold for an institutional critique without getting mired in the details.

From Heroic to Romantic: Reynolds’s Captain the Honourable Augustus Keppel (1753) and its Legacy

Joshua Reynolds’s second portrait of Augustus Keppel (1752-53) – which masterfully blended portrait and history painting, as well as heroic and pre-Romantic mood – contributed to the construction of a semantically fluid pictorial identity, a type of dominant masculinity that could assume a multiplicity of roles, not only in the context of Britain’s imperial expansion, but also in an age of social and intellectual transition. This paper examines its influence on naval portraiture, focusing on John Hamilton Mortimer’s group portrait of Captain James Cook, Sir Joseph Banks, Lord Sandwich, Dr Daniel Solander and Dr John Hawkesworth (1771) as well as depictions of Horatio Nelson. Further transformations of the paradigm are analyzed, with an emphasis on its ability to depict new types of national celebrities in its Romantic adaptations, as suggested by portraits of Lord Byron, to conclude with John Everett Millais’s ultimate revisitation of the iconography of the naval portrait in his 1874 North-West Passage.

(Systemic) Design for Sustainable Territorial Transition: A Literature Review of State of the Art

Sustainable territorial development is one of the crucial elements of most governmental strategies and action plans at the international level, which have to adapt to the local context in which they are implemented. In its different scales of application, the discipline of Design is increasingly called upon, permeating skills and tools within policy and governmental contexts that contribute to the definition of strategies to address complex problems. This paper presents a systematic literature review to map the specific declinations of the design field, with a closer look at the disciplinary areas close to Systemic Design methodologies, which are most involved in this field of research. The emerging tools and methods aim to support decision-makers or stakeholders in a necessary social, economic, and environmental transition process.

Effectiveness of a Competency-based Foundation Course in Enriching Medical Education: Insights from First year MBBS Students

Background: The medical profession requires extensive knowledge and skills, making it a demanding and challenging profession. To help 1st-year medical students from diverse cultural and social backgrounds transition from a highly protected school environment to a professional course, a 1-month orientation program has been introduced by the National Medical Council in India. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the feedback of 1st-year medical students on the competency-based medical education foundation course. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 525 1st-year MBBS students from the 2022 to 2023 batch in various medical colleges across different states. A predesigned, structured, and validated questionnaire was used to obtain feedback from students on a 5-point Likert scale. Results: The feedback of 525 students was obtained and analyzed. The majority of students in all states reported 75%–100% orientation on the role of doctors in society, family practice, and national health policies. Basic life support skills were highly appreciated by most students (>55%) in all states. Computer skills were also found to be useful by the majority of students (61%). Most students (100%) reported sensitization and awareness of medical ethics and the availability of student support systems after attending the course. Field visits were rated as extremely useful, and the majority of students (52.9%) had exposure to sports and extracurricular activities. Conclusion: The foundation course aims to develop the necessary skills and leadership qualities that are essential for the overall development of an individual and an efficient doctor. Majority of the students rated the foundation course as very useful, indicating it to be a useful teaching program aiding in a smooth transition and adaptation to the various challenges throughout their professional course.

Kryzys konstytucyjny a tranzycja społeczna

The subject of this article is constitutional crisis. It accompanies social changes and transition. These problems are analyzed from the point of view of the transformations of the law and the political system. The stages of development of law presented by Philippe Nonet and Philip Selznick (repressive, autonomous, responsive law) constitute the basis for discussing the transformations of 1989 and subsequent political changes in the Republic of Poland. Since modern times, constitutional acts have determined the entire social and legal order of the state. They codify all changes that are both evolutionary and revolutionary. When discussing the problem of the constitutional crisis, reference was made to the concept of J.M. Balkin and S. Levinson. Using the example of the socio-political situation of the United States of America, the phenomenon of constitutional crisis and the stage preceding it called "constitutional rot" were discussed. The American exemplification is the starting point for the analysis of the ongoing transition in the Republic of Poland.

Disclosure of Social and Human Capital in the Report on Sustainable Development of Agricultural Enterprises

The study aims to acquaint the scientific and professional community with the Sustainability Reporting Platform, which is the basis for preparing the ESGI report (Sustainable Development and Investment Report). This article describes standardized forms and indicators for measuring, preparing and disclosing human and social capital information because this component of agricultural production is the most sensitive and uncontrolled during the period of martial law. The Sustainability Reporting Platform includes three components: ESGI report, webinars (videos, materials) and publications (scientific articles, presentations). The ESGI report consists of standardized reporting forms and survey questionnaires. Standardized forms enable comparisons of sustainability indicators among different economic entities that helps to adjust their business strategies and goals. The survey questionnaires provide each economic entity with the opportunity of in-depth self-assessment of sustainable practices and define their sustainability goals by 2030. One of the main provisions of the ESGI report is consideration of the size of an enterprise (micro, small, medium, large). In particular, regarding social and human capital, additional information is not required to be disclosed if all employees of an enterprise receive adequate salaries and are covered by social protection (sickness leave, social leave, disability benefits). For comprehensive measurement and presentation of social aspects of the enterprise's economic activity, the authors proposed 10 indicators: 1) material social risks and opportunities; 2) social risks and transition opportunities; 3) social risks of martial law; 4) diversity of human capital; 5) work-life balance; 6) employment dynamics; 7) adequate salary; 8) education and career development; 9) occupational health, safety and hygiene; 10) freedom of collective bargaining and social dialogue. Reference levels have been introduced for each indicator. The resulting matrices allow to convert the actual data into points and to draw the diagram that visualizes the measurement results. Webinars for agribusinesses interested in updates of the information about sustainability measurement and reporting represents a promising direction for further development of the Sustainability Reporting Platform. Another important direction is the improvement of the ESGI report by introducing more accurate indicative assessment levels based on the data received from the Platform users.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ СУБЪЕКТИВНОГО БЛАГОПОЛУЧИЯ И ОСМЫСЛЕННОСТИ ЖИЗНИ У ЖЕНЩИН В СИТУАЦИИ СОЦИАЛЬНОЙ ТРАНЗИТИВНОСТИ

The relevance of the study is set by large-scale crisis changes of a global nature, occurring one after another without periods of stability and calm, which places increased demands on the psychological stability of a modern person and poses new challenges to scientists of various fields. The purpose of the study is an empirical research in the features of subjective well-being and meaning-life orientations, as well as their interrelationships during periods of mild and severe social transitivity in women who evaluate it differently. The study involved 426 women (N = 426) living in different cities of Russia. Data collection was carried out in three stages: the first – from May to June 2022, the second – from September to November 2022, the third – from May to June 2023. It is established that the connections of subjective well-being with meaning-life orientations are most numerous and expressed in those who subjectively assess the current situation as a crisis. In addition, it turned out that for women who do not consider the current situation subjectively crisis, subjective well-being did not significantly change during the transition from soft transitivity to hard and vice versa. The obtained results demonstrate the importance of a subjective attitude to the changes taking place in order to maintain subjective well-being, and also prove that the meaningfulness of life is the most important resource in a situation of global change.

Health Technology Assessment in China’s Health Care Sector: Development and Applications

ABSTRACT China’s health system is facing severe challenges from social transition and the double burden of population aging and non-communicable diseases. Addressing the tension between the public’s increasing demand for health services and the limited availability of medical resources has become a critical issue for health care policymakers and medical insurance fund administrators. In promoting its medical insurance system reform, China is actively developing health technology assessment (HTA) with principles and applications adapted to the Chinese context. This study aims to analyze the evolution of HTA in China with a focus on context, actors, process, content, and challenges encountered through applying a modified verson of Walt and Gilson’s policy triangle framework. Currently, HTA plays an indispensable part in the reform of China’s health care and medical insurance system, especially in the formulation and adjustment of the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL). While HTA is increasingly used in China, there remain challenges, such as the slow development of HTA related disciplines, lack of an independent national HTA authority, and limited scope in the use of HTA. Despite the identified challenges, HTA has the potential to support a wide range of applications in China’s health care sector, building on the progress achieved over the last three decades.

사회변동과 입헌주의

Revolutionary social changes have led to reformations in the constitutional system of countries in human history. In this sense, Constitutionalism has had a direct impact not only on the countries and their people, but also on the lives of the mankind as a whole. Constitutionalism in the modern sense, a concept that is based on a society in which people are the masters of their own and that guarantees human freedom and rights, originates from the American Revolution of 1787 and the French Revolution of 1789. The bourgeois revolution brought about a fundamental social transition from monarchical sovereignty dominated by absolute monarchies to popular sovereignty. Modern constitutionalism has gone through many kinds of “challenges and responses”. Firstly, the industrial revolution of the 19th century led to the Proletarian Revolution. In the 20th century, after World War I, the world was split into people's democracy and liberal democracy. After World War II, the world was divided even more sharply. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, however, communist people's democracy virtually came to an end. In the early 21st century, as the 9/11 terrorist attacks made a new inflection point, the traditional legal system and legal theory also brought about fundamental changes. In addition, with the progress of the intelligent information society, drastic changes are coming to human life.
 The Constitutionalism which is resulted from gradual social reform in Britain and radical social reform in the United States and France, has been the model one for other countries in the world. Yet, the establishment of Constitutionalism is still far away in the Middle East and Africa. Constitutionalism in Latin America also remains unstable. Constitutionalism in Asia is entering a stable stage in many countries. The discussion on whether globalization of Constitutionalism, “Global Constitutionalism”, is feasible, will be enabled only by considering both the current situation of the human world and the present status of individual Constitutionalism in each country simultaneously. As each country is developing its own Constitutionalism, global Constitutionalism must substantially guarantee the freedom and rights of each members of people based on popular sovereignty. Since the actual meaning of Constitutionalism very diverse in each country and the essence of Constitutionalism, in some country, could be seriously distorted, Global Constitutionalism is still far away and its implementation is also unclear.
 Unlike the nature of revolution, Constitutionalism is an ideology that is established on the continuity of history. People should internalize constitutional values for the success of Constitutionalism. It is time to develop a theory based both on a general understanding of foreign constitutional theories and on the norms and reality of Korean Constitution. In other words, while being based on modern natural law theory that is the common value of the modern constitution, it must be based on legal existentialism which recognizes and adapts to the existential legal norms and legal realities that are unfolding in Korea. By doing so, a theory of balance can be established in the understanding and practice of constitutional law through the harmonious development of legal ideology and legal stability that are sought to be established in the contemporary era. Only when the Constitution, the country's basic law and highest law, is implemented in the country and breathes with the people, does the Constitution become the “people's charter for life.” At that time, the Constitutionalism of a democratic rule of law based on popular sovereignty can open the way for the rule of law to take root in the lives of the people.

Буриад хурим дахь хадамд мордох басганы ёслол, үйлийн антропологийн судалгаа

In Buryat wedding, the ceremony of basgan’s (bride’s) leaving to in-law is a ritual complex that takes place in three steps: the beginning – visiting relatives, the peak – basgan’s great celebration and the end – basgan’s leaving. In this case, theory of social transition ceremony from Van Gennep will be considered and applied. As the reflection of the Buryat social culture, the ceremony of basgan’s leaving has a unique meaning and expressive behavior. In this report, in addition to analyzing the process mentioned above, I clarified the meaning of this ceremony and the its features, roles, and importance by comparing the nomadic cultural Buryat basgan’s leaving ceremony and farming cultural Tujaa bride’s leaving ceremony, according to the theory of Franz Baos.