Societal Concept Research Articles

Balcony of Disgrace: The Intersection of Patriarchy and Honor in Arab Societies

The paper explores the complex issue of patriarchal principles that shape the socialization of men in Arab societies, where the criterion for masculinity is deeply rooted in adherence to cultural norms. Through the lens of Nasrallah’s novel Balcony of Disgrace (2010), the study analyzes the impact of the societal concept of honor on male identity and the difficult choices faced by men in such societies. The novel highlights the oppressive nature of patriarchal societies, which link male honor with female sexuality and legitimize the murder of women to preserve man’s image. The paper argues that patriarchal oppression not only extends to women but also to men who face public criticism for not conforming to patriarchal norms. The study aims to fill the gap in the existing literature on honor killings by highlighting the crises of both male and female identities. Overall, this paper provides a critical analysis of the impact of patriarchal norms on male identity and the societal consequences of gender-based violence in Arab societies.

The paradigm concept of Javanese’ Anak Polah Bapa Kepradhah in the story of Murwakala: Lévi-Strauss structuralism

Indonesia harbors diverse oral traditions, with a particular focus on Javanese traditions. Studies on oral traditions, especially those related to geguritan (poems), stories, and songs, often lean towards aesthetic analyses. However, there remains untapped potential for exploration, such as the exploration of local cultural elements underlying the contradictions in folklore. This article aims to elucidate these contradictions and delineate the paradigmatic concept of “anak polah bapa kepradhah” within the narrative of “Murwakala.” Conducted as a descriptive-qualitative study, this research employs Lévi-Strauss structuralism as a framework for interpreting, mapping and attributing meaning to empirical paradigms embedded in societal concepts. The objective is to address the contradictions and logical patterns inherent in society. Data for this study are derived from the observation of Javanese oral traditions related to wong sukerta. These observations are then juxtaposed with the narrative of “Murwakala,” as presented in the wayang performance of the ruwatan tradition, with a specific focus on the Javanese “anak polah bapa kepradhah” concept/value. The depth of meaning is further explored through the use of tables and diagrams. From a Lévi-Straussian perspective, it can be concluded that “Murwakala” and its associated value concept serve as logical tools capable of mapping paradigms, deciphering empirical contradictions (related to family relationships and power), and representing these dynamics in the cultural products and thoughts of Javanese society, both historically and in the contemporary context.

“We never lived together either”: Couples' housing (re-) arrangements in later life

Social gerontology mainly addresses couples' housing arrangements in later life by focusing on partner's care, related adaptations in place, and changing role expectations within the couple relationship. Thereby, the resulting image does not fully represent today's diversity of couples' housing arrangements.This article considers housing arrangement and relationship orientation of older couples as entangled in social practice, providing a broader perspective on the diversity and dynamics of couples living arrangements in later life.In a qualitative study, we conducted joint in-depth interviews with ten couples from Germany aged 58 to 88 years. Couples talked about their shared biography and living together today. Data were merged with fieldnotes on housing constellations and analyzed following the documentary method.Couples co-constitute living together by using space in different ways. We found three relationship orientations of couples corresponding to practices of couples' housing arrangements: balancing physical and emotional presence by negotiating shared space, exploring presence by having a third common place, and reducing presence by separate housing. These orientation types which are linked with spatial (re-) arrangements reveal positioning to housing preferences in past relationships and point to societal concepts of coupledom as regards housing in later life. Space gives options for both being apart from and feeling close to the partner, partially at the same time.Diversity and dynamics of housing arrangements correspond to diversified and altering relationship orientations in later life. Considering couples' housing arrangements in later life as mutually constitutive broadens the options to examine the meaning of space in aging together. Moreover, this perspective can be combined with a critical approach towards stereotypical (hetero-) normative biases in research.

Food Security and Food Sovereignty: The Difference Between Surviving and Thriving.

Previous research in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities has documented high prevalence of food insecurity. Yet many AI/AN scholars and communities have expressed concerns that the dominant societal conceptions of food security are not reflective of the teachings, priorities, and values of AI/AN communities. Food security initiatives often focus on access to food and, at times, nutrition but little consideration is given to cultural foods, the spirituality carried through foods, and whether the food was stewarded in a way that promotes well-being not just for humans but also for plants, animals, land, and water. Despite the concerns of AI/AN communities that their needs are not centered in dominant societal food conceptualizations and food security programming, the food sovereignty efforts of AI/AN communities have captured national attention as a solution to modern food system inequities. Indigenous Food Sovereignty (IFS) is a holistic approach to food that incorporates values of relationality, reciprocity, and relationships. Fundamental differences exist between food security and food sovereignty, yet dominant society often reduces IFS as a solution to food security, rather than an entirely different food system that is predicated on values that contrast with that of dominant society. Despite calls to decolonize the definition and measurement of food security, we explore whether fixing the concept of food security is a worthy endeavor or whether efforts would be better spent supporting the resurgence and revitalization of AI/AN food values, food knowledge, and community food sovereignty initiatives.

Unpacking Films That Educate: Insta-Explorations of Religion and Society in South Asian and World Cinema

With the increased availability of streaming services and access to international content a feature of today’s media consumption, can social media be used to explore the potential of global cinema to inform audiences about religion and society? As a media form, movies play a role in educating as well as entertaining society at large; narrative arcs from Bollywood, Hollywood, and beyond inform audiences about contemporary religious concepts. This research makes use of a practice-based journalistic methodology to explore the educative role movies can play in informing audiences about religious and societal concepts; the researcher produces a creative artefact appropriate for the discipline of journalism (in this instance, a social-media-based curated collection of movie reviews), with a contribution to the wider knowledge that is contextualised by this study. Using a deductive approach, the researcher narrows down an initial list of films, from a global selection of cinematic output, that covers religious and societal themes through a range of lenses (such as characters’ well-being, trauma, religious practice, and cultural values). The concepts and ideologies explored through this study and the construction of a social-media-based movie database suggest that cinema can play an active role in informing audiences about religion and society, instead of merely entertaining across cultures. The concepts and ideologies explored in this paper, through the construction of a social-media-based movie database, show that religious and societal issues in movies can be an important aspect of the lives of millions in the cinema-going audience.

The effects of Demand-side policy on firm innovation: The Mediating role of R&D activities

Today, innovation is seen as the engine of economic growth. As a result, governments foster innovation activities in both the public and private sectors by using policy tools such as measures, regulations, and incentives. There are two main approaches in government innovation policy: supply-side policy and demand-side policy. Supply-side policy instruments primarily stimulate technological development and diffuse innovation capabilities. On the other hand, demand-side policy supports specific demand and minimizes technological and trade uncertainty at all stages of production. Moreover, a demand-driven procurement policy is one of the main drivers of high-tech industries. At the same time, in line with the growing importance of the knowledge economy and societal concepts, knowledge or technology has become the major determinant of innovation. In this way, companies are encouraged to undertake research and development activities in order to create innovation and advance their technologies. Moreover, the government’s support for investing in research and development (R&D) activities has become an effective solution for the firm’s innovation outputs. These R&D activities are of particular importance in transition and catch-up economies such as the Czech Republic. Therefore, this article aims to analyze the impact of demand-driven policy on business innovation through R&D activities in the Czech Republic. Data from the Community Innovation Survey and partial least squares structural equation modelling are used to achieve the purpose of this article. Our findings show that demand-driven policy (procurement for innovation) significantly and positively affects firm product and process innovation through R&D activities. The findings of our research also have practical implications for firms and policymakers in the Czech Republic. These results could also apply to Central and Eastern Europe, where we can observe similar characteristics of firms, for instance, because of their innovation performance.

The cognitive tenacity of self-directed ageism.

Ageism refers to prejudice or discrimination based on a person's age. When ageism is directed at older people, it is unique in two ways: it is socially condoned in a manner that other types of prejudice are not, and the animus is eventually self-directed. Of central interest here is why ageism becomes self-directed in late adulthood, despite its potentially harmful personal costs. We present a cognitive model in which negative ageist beliefs become increasingly accessible and difficult to eliminate owing to broader developmental shifts in mentation. Given that these effects are contingent on our social environment, systemic changes in societal conceptions of age and aging are needed if we are to reduce vulnerability to self-directed ageism.

Embracing the inclusion of societal concepts in biology improves student understanding

Understanding the relationship between science and society is included as a core competency for biology students in the United States. However, traditional undergraduate biology instruction emphasizes scientific practice and generally avoids potentially controversial issues at the intersection of science and society, such as representation in STEM, historical unethical research experiments, biology of sex and gender, and environmental justice. As calls grow to highlight this core competency, it is critical we investigate the impact of including these topics in undergraduate biology education. Here, we implemented a semester-long ideological awareness curriculum that emphasized biases, stereotypes, and assumptions that have shaped historical and contemporary science. We taught this curriculum to one section of a non-majors introductory biology course and compared the outcomes to a section of the same course taught using traditional biology content (hereafter the ‘traditional’ section) that did not emphasize societal topics. Both sections of students created concept maps for their final exam, which we coded for ‘society’ and ‘biology’ content. We then assessed (1) the amount of societal content included in the concept maps, and (2) which societal topics were mentioned in each section. We found that students in the ideologically aware section included more societal content in their concept maps than the students in the traditional section. Students exposed to the ideological awareness modules often mentioned the topics covered in those modules, whereas students in the traditional section most commonly mentioned faulty scientific information such as pseudoscience or non-credible research, which was emphasized in the first chapter of the required text-book for both sections. Our results show students who were not engaged in activities about ideological awareness in biology had fewer notions of how society impacts science at the end of the semester. These findings highlight the importance of intentionally teaching students the bidirectional impacts of science and society.

A Chance at the Arts: Assessment of NYC Department of Education’s ArtsCount as a Violation of Title VI Implementing Regulation

A Chance at the Arts: Assessment of NYC Department of Education’s ArtsCount as a Violation of Title VI Implementing Regulation

Employment-at-Will: Too Simple for a Complex World

For Professor Epstein, the distinctively American rule of employment-at-will (“EAW”) in its original, harsh form—which allowed either party to terminate employment at any time for good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all—is an exemplar of “simple rules for a complex world.” This Essay will reflect on a few ways in which EAW, plain and simple, is too simple for our complex world—too simple in light of the complexities of labor markets and of human and organizational behavior, and too simple in light of evolving societal conceptions of justice. As things now stand, given the legal complexity that has been layered atop the EAW rule in this complex world, the “just cause” rival of EAW would bring greater simplicity along with its primary virtues of fairness, economic security, and dignity for workers.

P4 Medicine for Heterogeneity of Dry Eye: A Mobile Health-based Digital Cohort Study

During the 5th Science, Technology, and Innovation Basic Plan, the Japanese government proposed a novel societal concept -Society 5.0- that promoted a healthcare system characterized by its capability to provide unintrusive, predictive, longitudinal care through the integration of cyber and physical space. The role of Society 5.0 in managing our quality of vision will become more important in the modern digitalized and aging society, both of which are known risk factors for developing dry eye. Dry eye is the most common ocular surface disease encountered in Japan with symptoms including increased dryness, eye discomfort, and decreased visual acuity. Owing to its complexity, implementation of P4 (predictive, preventive, personalized, participatory) medicine in managing dry eye requires a comprehensive understanding of its pathology, as well as a strategy to visualize and stratify its risk factors. Using DryEyeRhythm®, a mobile health (mHealth) smartphone software (app), we established a route to collect holistic medical big data on dry eye, such as the subjective symptoms and lifestyle data for each individual. The studies to date aided in determining the risk factors for severe dry eye, the association between major depressive disorder and dry eye exacerbation, eye drop treatment adherence, app-based stratification algorithms based on symptomology, blink detection biosensoring as a dry eye-related digital phenotype, and effectiveness of app-based dry eye diagnosis support compared to traditional methods. These results contribute to elucidating disease pathophysiology and promoting preventive and effective measures to counteract dry eye through mHealth.

Apes Unlike Us: Human-Ingroup Protection Against Encroaching Simianity in UK Newspapers

Abstract We often pigeonhole our surroundings into dualistic categories. This capacity to function as reductionists may help us problem-solve when pressed in terms of survival or reproduction. Alternatively, binary categories may be reflective of certain socioecological conditions, and thus social constructs. This study explores classifications of nonhuman primate taxonomy via the coding of human–primate boundary categorizations during 16 years of UK newspaper reporting (1995–2010) to explore whether societal concepts of simianity reflect sociopolitical events – in other words, cultural influence resulting in ingroup boundary enforcement, with less inclusionality under more turbulent scenarios. The results indicate that societal shakiness accounts for the minimization of “human” ingroups at the expense of other primates. Human–primate infrahumanization possibly reflects a cognitive adaptation towards outgroup-directed dichotomous thinking in stress states. That said, the fluidity of the results in the context of societal change also suggests cultural influence on categorical dichotomous sets often accepted as “natural.”

"Good" Mother Versus "Bad" Mother: How Societal Conceptions of Motherhood in Canada and Ukraine Impact a Mother's Access to Opportunities

"Good" Mother Versus "Bad" Mother: How Societal Conceptions of Motherhood in Canada and Ukraine Impact a Mother's Access to Opportunities

Analysis of digital indicators of the convergence of behavioral and informational trends of society management in the framework of the societal concept of influencer marketing

The article is devoted to the analysis of features, factors and indicators of behavioral and informational tendencies within the societal concept of influencer marketing in the conditions of digitalization of society. The problem of methodological substantiation of adaptive choice of tools of influence and identifiers of consumer attitudes from the point of view of globalization is considered. It is proved, that since modern concepts of marketing management are based on societal principles, influencer marketing should exist in the rhetoric of social and ethical interests of society. It was found that the indicator of these interests could be social events that reflect real social values. One of these events, which was conducted on the Reddit platform as a social experiment called "r/place", was analyzed. The analysis of the experiment revealed behavioral and informational trends that could be used to build a marketing strategy of influence in the context of the societal concept of marketing management. Based on behavioral factors, a model of brand influence on society and the societal system as a whole is built, information objects with the potential of influencers are identified.

Evaluation of banking performance according to Islamic standards compared to conventional banks

The evaluation of banking performance is a holistic continuous activity that reflects the success of banks and their ability to support the public administration in performing its basic functions successfully. Perhaps the evaluation of banking performance according to Islamic standards in comparison with traditional banks stems from an economic, financial and non-financial developmental societal concept characterized by flexibility and connection with reality. It is directed towards economic and social responsibility through the use of distinct tools in mobilizing local and foreign savings and contributing to the financing of investments that represent the backbone of economic activity and play an active role in meeting the requirements of contemporary life for individuals and institutions. When banks depart from the criteria for evaluating sound performance, banking functions become a cause of turmoil and possibly comprehensive crises.

Capturing the value of vaccination within health technology assessment and health economics: Literature review and novel conceptual framework

BackgroundVaccination provides significant health gains to individuals and society and can potentially improve health equity, healthcare systems and national economies. Policy decisions, however, are rarely informed by comprehensive economic evaluations (EE) including vaccination’s wide-ranging value. The objective of this analysis was to focus on health technology assessment systems to identify relevant value concepts in order to improve current EE of non-pandemic vaccines. MethodsFollowing a literature review, a novel Value of Vaccination (VoV) framework was developed with experts in vaccine EE from developed countries with established health technology assessment systems. ResultsForty-four studies presenting value frameworks or concepts applicable to vaccination were included. Eighteen unique value concepts relevant to EE were identified and defined. These were categorised within the VoV framework using three dimensions, moving from a narrow payer perspective to a more expansive and societal perspective. The dimensions were: (I) conventional payer perspective concepts (e.g., health gains in vaccinees, direct medical costs); (II) conventional societal perspective concepts (e.g., indirect health/economic gains to caregivers/households, productivity in vaccinees); and (III) novel societal concepts (e.g., financial risk protection, peace of mind, societal health gains, healthcare systems security, political stability, social equity and macroeconomic gains). While good quality evidence and methods are available to support concepts in Dimensions I and II, further work is needed to generate the required evidence for vaccination impact on Dimension III concepts. ConclusionsThe devastating effect on nations of the COVID-19 pandemic has helped to highlight the potential far-reaching benefits that many vaccination programmes can offer. This VoV framework is particularly relevant to policy decisions considering EE, and the potential future expansion of non-pandemic vaccination value considerations. The framework helps to understand and compare current value considerations across countries and payer versus societal perspectives. It provides decision-makers with a transparent and logical path to broaden consideration of VoV in EE.

Capturing the value of vaccination within health technology assessment and health economics: Country analysis and priority value concepts

BackgroundA value of vaccination framework for economic evaluation (EE) identified unique value concepts for the broad benefits vaccination provides to individuals, society, healthcare systems and national economies. The objectives of this paper were to work with experts in developed countries to objectively identify three priority concepts to extend current EE. MethodsThe previously developed classification of value concepts in vaccination distinguished 18 concepts, categorised as conventional payer and societal perspective concepts and novel broader societal concepts. Their inclusion in current EE guidelines was assessed. Experts identified eight criteria relevant to decision-making and measurement feasibility, which were weighted and used to score each concept. The relative ranking of concepts by importance and the gaps in guidelines were used to identify three priority concepts on which to focus immediate efforts to extend EE. ResultsThe EE guidelines review highlighted differences across countries and between guidelines and practice. Conventional payer perspective concepts (e.g., individual and societal health gains and medical costs) were generally included, while gaps were evident for conventional societal perspective concepts (e.g., family/caregiver health and economic gains). Few novel broader societal benefits were considered, and only in ad hoc cases. The top-three concepts for near-term consideration: macroeconomic gains (e.g., benefiting the economy, tourism), social equity and ethics (e.g., equal distribution of health outcomes, reduced health/financial equity gaps) and health systems strengthening, resilience and security (e.g., efficiency gains, reduced disruption, increased capacity). ConclusionsGaps, inconsistencies and limited assessment of vaccination value in EE can lead to differences in policy and vaccination access. The three priority concepts identified provide a feasible approach for capturing VoV more broadly in the near-term. Robust methods for measuring and valuing these concepts in future assessments will help strengthen the evidence used to inform decisions, improving access to vaccines that are demonstrably good value for money from society’s point of view.

ANALYZING THE USES OF SOCIETAL MARKETING CONCEPT OF BANK: A STUDY ON A PRIVATE BANK

In the era of globalization, every company is changing their marketing policy due to gradually increasing competitors in the existing market where social marketing is changing and maintaining the behavior of people a society. Nowadays social marketing is not a new concept in Bangladesh, especially in the banking sector. The main objective of this study is to analyze the uses of the societal marketing concept of a private Bank Limited. In this study, the quantitative and qualitative method is followed by the authors. To identify the social marketing concept qualitative and quantitative method is used in this study. A non-probability convenience sampling method has been used for the study purpose. In this study, the targeted population was executives and customers of a private Bank Limited, Jhumjhumpur Branch, Jashore. Both primary and secondary data have been used in this study where primary data was collected from the survey questionnaire and the secondary was collected from different journals, newspapers, books, websites of banks, etc. For the study purpose, 100 sample sizes were taken and the researchers have used the Five-point Likert scale technique as sample scaling where 5=Strongly Disagree, 4=Disagree, 3=Neutral, 2=Agree, 1=Strongly Agree. From the study, the authors suggested that the use of societal marketing is profitable for the marketer because it can easily grasp customers’ attention.

Exploring local land use conflicts through successive planning decisions: a dynamic approach and theory-driven typology of potentially conflicting planning decisions

With immensely growing pressure on land and its scarcity, conflicting societal expectations concerning land use increasingly result in land use conflicts (LUCs). In this paper, we explore local LUCs, which we define as the complex situations, where fragmented planning policies encounter place-based societal conceptions and perceptions of site-specific developmental priorities. The paper adopts a dynamic approach and introduces a theory-driven typology of potentially conflicting planning decisions. The typology is employed as an analytic framework to reveal the open-ended successive planning decisions that lead to complex local LUCs. Two case studies from Central Europe are explored to narrate the evolutionary complexity of LUCs. Our results show that local LUCs emerged as the past planning decisions lined-up into a sequence creating lock-in situations, where different planning policies can be hardly reconciled. Finally, we discuss applicability, transferability and limits of the proposed typology as an analytic framework advancing management of planning conflicts.

"It was in Control of Me": Notions of Addiction and Online Child Sexual Exploitation Material Offending.

This paper focuses on notions of "addiction" among users of online child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) through a comparative analysis of two qualitative studies. The first is a 17-month anthropological ethnography (participant observation, interviews, and focus groups) in UK group programs for CSEM users, and the second is based on interviews with individuals in sexual offense treatment units of a US prison. We thematically analyze the narratives of 103 CSEM users at different timepoints and settings from pre-trial to incarceration. Those citing "addiction" focused on three areas. First was pornography progression. Second were perceived indicators of "addiction" and alignment/analogy to other addictions, including ideas about losing control; ignoring detrimental consequences and continuing; physiological signs similar to withdrawal; likening to substances; and progression from "softer" to "harder" material. Third, less common was rejecting the "addiction" label, citing choice and responsibility. We situate these results within debates and literature regarding pornography and Internet "addiction"; implications of the label; societal conceptions of sexual offending; harms of CSEM; and treatment/prevention considerations. Lastly, highlighting the merit of interdisciplinary comparative qualitative analysis, we demonstrate similarities in narratives despite differences in location, timeframe, setting, conviction status, intervention programming, and research methods.