Transitional Societies Research Articles

Intergenerational changes in body height, body mass, and body mass index in an understudied population.

Objectives: Secular trends in body height have been proved indicative of socio-economic development of a country or a region, as well as of childhood and adolescent (mal)nutrition. Being taller has been associated with enhanced longevity, with several body height related factors involved. While basic anthropometric measurements, including body height, have long been performed in developed societies, primarily in men and children, far less data are available for adults and women in particular. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to collect basic anthropometric data related to the assessment of nutritional status of adult population, both men and women, to establish normative anthropometric data, and provide intergenerational analysis for height, body mass, and body mass index (BMI) of adults of both genders. Subjects and methods: Body height and body mass data of the participating 845 volunteers were collected from March 2017 to April 2018 by trained interviewers during home visits. BMI and gender-related percentile values were calculated, and percentile curves constructed. The protocol of the study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Republic of Slovenia. Results: Eleven weighted percentile values (3, 5, 10, 15, 25, 50, 75, 85, 90, 95, and 97) for body height, body mass, and BMI are presented, as are the non-weighted percentile curves for these parameters for both, adult men and women. Secular trends and age-related height loss of the reported parameters are being discussed. Conclusion: The reported percentile values provide an insight into the secular trend of body height, mass, and BMI of an understudied population, i.e. adults of both genders in a transitional society. As such, they can be useful to researchers, ergonomic professionals, health programme coordinators, and policy makers.

Viewpoint: Two more lamps. Augmenting urban planning for biodiversity

Parris et al.'s seven lamps (principles) of planning for biodiversity in the city (2018) provides a framework for achieving two objectives. Firstly, to alter the normative basis on which urban planning is predicated by integrating a concern for nonhuman inhabitants. Secondly, it argues for the greater enrolment of ecologists and the field of ecology within environmental planning. It seeks to encourage a paradigm-shift to reorient society on a more sustainable path by demonstrating that planning for more-than-human cities does not require a conceptual leap, rather it resonates with extant planning concerns. It thus takes a pragmatic approach to radical change. However, I argue that this framework as originally stated insufficiently considers the diversity of society or the field of ecology and entails an anthropocentric worldview. This undermines the lamps framework's radical agenda. I argue that this issue could be ameliorated by developing two further principles, Justice and Contact. Integrating these concerns into the lamps framework will strengthen its ability to contribute to efforts to transition society into a sustainable state.

Growth in Infancy and Childhood and Age at Menarche in Five Low- or Middle-Income Countries: Consortium of Health Orientated Research in Transitional Societies (COHORTS)

BackgroundEarlier age at menarche is associated with behavioral and noncommunicable disease risks. The influence of birth weight (BW) (intrauterine) and postnatal growth on age at menarche is not well studied in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). ObjectiveTherefore, we investigated these associations in 5 LMIC birth cohorts. MethodsWe analyzed data from Brazil, Guatemala, India, the Philippines, and South Africa (n = 3983). We derived stunting (< −2 SD scores) at 24 mo using the WHO child growth standards. We generated interaction terms with categorized BW and conditional weight (lighter < 0 or heavier ≥ 0), and height (shorter < 0 or taller ≥ 0) z-scores. We categorized early-, modal-, and late-onset menarche and used multilevel ordinal regression. We used multilevel linear regression on continuous age at menarche. ResultsMean age at menarche was 12.8 y (95% CI: 12.7 12.9). BW was not associated with age at menarche. Conditional height at 24 mo and mid-childhood (OR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.27, 1.44 and 1.32; 1.25, 1.41, respectively) and conditional weight at 24 mo and mid-childhood (OR: 1.15; 1.08, 1.22 and 1.18; 1.11, 1.25, respectively) were associated with increased likelihood of early-onset menarche. Being heavier at birth and taller at 24 mo was associated with a 4-mo (95% CI: 0.8, 7.6) earlier age at menarche than being lighter at birth and shorter at 24 mo. Being heavier at birth but lighter in mid-childhood was associated with a 3-mo (95% CI: 0.8, 4.8) later age at menarche than being lighter at birth and mid-childhood. Age at menarche was 7 mo later in stunted than nonstunted girls. ConclusionAge at menarche is inversely related to relative weight gain but also to rapid linear growth among those born shorter but remained stunted, and those born taller and grew excessively. These findings do not deter the global health goal to reduce growth faltering but emphasize the potential adverse effects of an obesogenic environment on adolescent development.

Thinking through ethnographies: Making sense of societies in transition

SummaryHow can one conceptualize change in societies? What do ethnographies reveal about societies in transition? In elucidating what societal changes entail, this article discusses ethnographies that focus on “societies in transition.” An ethnography that deals with changes in and of society also analyzes people's experiences in a rapidly changing society. In addition to giving analytical perspectives on a region—in this case, gendered ideas and practices in Bangladesh—such ethnographies may guide us to opening new social realities. Hence, ethnographies can reveal the potentialities and temporalities of social systems. Additionally, containing the possibilities of an otherwise within itself, ethnographies reflect critiques of established concepts. Thus, one gets glimpses of the continual becoming of the social rather than seeing it as a bounded system.

Взаимосвязь восприятия эмоционально значимых событий своей жизни и базисных убеждений личности студенческой молодежью в период транзитивных изменений

&lt;p&gt;The work is aimed to study the features of the identified emotionally significant events in lives by students in the modern transitive Russian society. The results of an empirical study conducted on Russian students in the period November-December 2022 are presented. The study (N=176) involved respondents aged 19 to 22 years (M=19,9; SD=0,47), citizens of the Russian Federation, students of Moscow universities, of which 79% were girls and 21% were boys. We used a scale of world assumptions of the individual and a questionnaire about emotionally significant events that occurred in a person's life over the past year. The most frequently named categories of events were identified: the spheres of entertainment and leisure, educational and professional activities, and romantic relationships. The results obtained made it possible to highlight the significant basic beliefs of the individual &amp;ndash; "positive self-image", "belief in luck" and "belief in control". The nature of the relationship between the basic beliefs of the individual and the identified emotionally significant events is determined. Gender differences in the nature of these emotionally significant events are described.&lt;/p&gt;

Забезпечення принципу права на захист в Україні

The principle of the right to protection is crucial for upholding human rights, promoting social justice, and strengthening the rule of law in Ukraine. This article highlights the relevance of researching and addressing the challenges and opportunities in ensuring this right in Ukraine. It examines the country's political, social, and legal transformations, conflicts, and aspirations for European integration. The article explores Ukraine's legal framework, measures taken, and progress made in ensuring the right to protection, including the independence of the judiciary, access to justice, legal aid programs, and prevention of arbitrary detention or treatment. However, challenges such as corruption, delays in court proceedings, limited access to justice, conflict-affected areas, and societal attitudes persist. Addressing these challenges requires ongoing efforts, including judicial reforms, resource allocation, public awareness campaigns, conflict resolution, and human rights education. This research contributes to the broader discussions on human rights and the rule of law in transitional and post-conflict societies and informs strategies for promoting the right to protection worldwide. The article emphasizes the significance of the research topic by examining Ukraine's political, social, and legal transformations in recent years. These transformations have presented challenges related to the rule of law, corruption, and human rights protection. By focusing on the right to protection, researchers can assess the progress made, identify gaps and shortcomings, and provide insights into areas that require attention and improvement. This evaluation serves as a tool to measure the effectiveness of legal reforms, policy initiatives, and institutional changes undertaken in Ukraine to ensure the protection of individuals' rights. The relevance of this research topic is further underscored by Ukraine's ongoing conflicts and security concerns. The war and annexation of Ukrainian territories have resulted in human rights violations, displacement, and the need for accountability and justice. By examining the right to protection, researchers can explore the impact of these conflicts on individuals' rights, assess the measures taken to address the resulting challenges, and evaluate the extent to which the right to protection is upheld in Ukraine.

Ambivalence in the assessments and perception of the heritage of F. Gulen by the certain part of the Belarusian academic environment

The main aim of the article is to realize the reconstruction of cultural-historical and religious-philosophical foundations of F. Gulen's doctrine, thus, to reveal the place and the role of this doctrine in the ideological heritage of the Republic of Belarus. The objective is subordinated to the logical arguments of historical and philosophical interpretation. The paper also reveals the understanding of the meaning and purpose of the intelligentsia; it carries out the philosophical and epistemological analysis of Gulen's teaching. The aim of the investigation includes a thorough study of plausible inferences showing intensive characteristics of political conclusions, their role and place in modern transitive societies. This article emphasizes the key aspects of understanding the variability of Gulen’s social and philosophical views known as conceptual foundations. Moreover, the study uncovers the ambiguity and even the so-called «extremist» potential of these thoughts. Also the authors revealed the fact to what extent Gulen’s heritage gets into a resonance with the modern philosophical culture. The conclusions of the research can contribute to deepening the ideas about the essence of self-knowledge.

Online supervision as a way to increase the level of professional skills and formation of professional identity of consulting psychologists

Introduction. Applying for supervision is especially relevant in modern conditions of uncertainty in a transitive society, which require psychologists to improve their professional skills. The demand for the online supervision format is also increasing, which is noted as more convenient and accessible compared to the offline form. During our works review, it was found that obtaining supervision is a significant factor in the formation of identity and professional development of novice psychologists-practitioners.Purpose. Determination of the influence of online supervision on the identity formation of a consulting psychologist and the development of his professional qualities and competencies.Materials and methods. In this study 280 respondents, beginning psychologists, took part as respondents. We applied the author’s questionnaire aimed at studying the experience of obtaining online supervision from entrant psychologists and practitioners and also to identifying barriers to obtaining it. The Methodology of Professional Identity Measuring (MPIM) made it possible to assess professional identity formation. Empirical data were processed using the Student’s t-test.Results. The types of identity of practising psychologists who apply and do not apply for online supervision were identified. It is shown that most practising psychologists, who rarely or never apply for online supervision, have a diffuse type of identity. For practising psychologists who regularly visit a supervisor, the predominant type of professional identity is “achieved”.Discussion and conclusion. During the analysis of works, it was found that applying for supervision, including in an online format, allows a practising psychologist to improve professional qualities and competencies effectively and is a significant determinant of professionalism formation and the achieved professional identity.

Sword and Lotus: The Life of a Confucian Buddhist Woman Warrior in Seventeenth Century China

This paper focuses on the life of Liu Shu (1520–1657), a woman warrior who lived through the social and political turmoil of the violent dynastic transition from the Ming (1368–1644) dynasty to the Qing (1636–1911) dynasty. Drawing on the writings of Liu Shu and on different versions of accounts of her life written by male literati in different time periods, this paper intends to reveal the multiplicity and complexity of how a woman could exert her agency and interact with the dominant structure. Commonly, women’s agency has been understood as resistance against the male-dominant patriarchal system. However, recently, scholars such as Saba Mahmood have problematized universalizing overtly resistant acts against the patriarchal society to bring radical changes as demonstrations of women’s agency. These scholars argue that this approach fails to recognize that through their autonomy and while living a life of self-fulfillment, women have the capacity to reproduce, sustain, or subtly change the social norms and views of values that justify and support the patriarchal structure. In light of these scholars’ studies, this paper explores Liu Shu’s engagement in political and military activities and her Buddhist practices to analyze how she transgressed established gender norms in order to uphold rather than reject the virtues promoted by patriarchal ideology. The paper also discusses how conflicting demands on women by a male-centered society in the drastic dynastic transition enabled her to negotiate with or challenge the dominant structure. It also considers how her disobedient acts were accepted and applauded by some male literati to address their own agenda in different cultural, historical, and political contexts.

Transformations of the Ideology of Nation-Building and State-Building in Armenia: Phenomenon of Integrity of Nation and State

The article deals with the issues of creating a new national ideology in the conditions of state-building in modern Armenia. The discourse of political actors on the role of national ideology, which is divided, is analyzed comparatively. This article attempts to reveal the main reasons why some believe that in modern Armenian society, based on the principles of political and ideological pluralism, there should be no ideology that claims to be national. On the contrary, the adherents of the creation of a national ideology see it as an important tool for the consolidation of the Armenian society. The author comes to the conclusion that the collapse of the USSR and the Soviet ideology led to the fact that the role of ideology was criticized. The article touches upon the topic that since 1991, the process of de-ideologization of society and public institutions began in Armenia. However, in reality, the ideological confrontation between the various actors of the Armenian transit society intensified. Since 1988, the topic of the national ideology of Armenia has been one of the key topics of interdisciplinary research.

Research on Juvenile Delinquency in a Transitional Society

Along with the rapid development of China's socio-economic and technological development, the mass use of Internet media has prompted the collision and conflict between old and new ideas, and the original social system and moral bottom line are facing challenges from various radical forces, and the society as a whole is in the process of transformation and change. Although the social transformation has accelerated the development of productivity, it has also generated corresponding social problems, such as the underage criminalization has become a major concern in academic circles. In recent years, the crime rate of minors has shown an increasing trend, and the diversification of crime types, the low age of crime, and the cruelty of crime methods are warning us to pay attention to the analysis and study of the motives of juvenile crime in the new social context. The traditional factors affecting juvenile delinquency and the emerging factors in the transition society should be considered as a whole, and an effective prevention and treatment system should be built up with the cooperation of family, school and society in a targeted manner, so as to weave a safety net for preventing juvenile criminal delinquency.

Studi Masyarakat Indonesia Tradisional, Transisi, Modern, Pedesaan dan Perkotaan

The study of Indonesian society is always related to the condition of a pluralistic Indonesian society, both in terms of race, ethnicity and religion. In addition, the study of Indonesian society also has several sections including studies of traditional, transitional, modern Indonesian society, and studies of rural and urban communities. Traditional communities are usually referred to as rural communities, with a population of less than 2.500 people. A transitional society can be described as a society that is just experiencing growth, because in this transitional process, society is expected to be at a faster pace in understanding technological growth, which inevitably has to be able to master this technology. And in modern society, every level of society can be influenced by means of communication to convey information, such as radio and television. Meanwhile, rural and urban communities have a relationship of interdependence. With an illustration, urban communities need labor from rural communities, while rural communities need jobs created by urban communities. With the sections from the study of Indonesian society, the pluralism that has been formed long ago, can be seen clearly. Because each part of the study of society, has its own characteristics.Between village and traditional communities have the same characteristics. Because in the village community, there must be a strong sense of bond as well as traditional society. Whereas urban society has the same characteristics as modern society, because every urban society has an open view of new things, so it is not difficult for them to move forward to become a modern society. However, before achieving this, they must go through several phases, among which the first phase is called the colonial phase because it places leaders as foremen, the second phase is referred to as the developmental phase of administration and management because of the emergence of administrative and secretarial academics, the third phase is referred to as This phase is referred to as the global leadership phase, because leadership studies have begun to appear in specific fields.

Law in a Transitional Society: Discussing Emile Durkheim's Thoughts on Law and Society in an Indonesian Context

This paper discusses Emile Durkheim's thoughts as a figure in early legal sociology studies, and their contextualization in Indonesian reality. Durkheim in his theory divides society into two types, simple and modern. Simple society is characterized by streamlined work differentiation, mechanical social solidarity, and repressive types of laws. Meanwhile, modern society is characterized by an increasingly diverse and specific division of labor, organic solidarity and restitutive legal types. In the Indonesian context, the New Order era was an era of economic development that was full of issues of industrialization, law was used as a tool of social engineering and served for practical purposes, the volume of regulations increased until there was what Susskind called hyperregulation. Another issue is the legal unification project, this project is powerless because it has to deal with local legal forces inherent in society. This kind of legal condition shows the social condition of a society that still upholds collective spirit or awareness, a characteristic of a simple society in Durkheim's perspective of thought. but on the other hand, the need for and the applicability of positive law nationally along with the development of society as well as the development of legal institutions and professions, can be used as a reflection of the characteristics of modern society in the perspective of Durkheim's thought. The two categories of law and society that Durkheim theorized were in one container, namely Indonesian law and society, a uniqueness as well as a criticism of Durkheim's theory.

Patriotism in a Transitive Society: Socio-Psychological Analysis

In recent years, the attention of contemporary society has been increasingly directed at the problem of forming the civic-patriotic qualities of young people. In the local social consciousness, some directives are formed and developed related to the scientific-conceptual argumentation of the patriotic education of children, adolescents and teenagers, positioned as extremely important conditions for increasing their effectiveness. The phenomenon of patriotism is directly related to the feeling of unity and identification with ones own people, with that of love for the Motherland, with the tendency to preserve, respect and promote cultural-historical values, national customs and traditions, etc. Thus, the purpose of the article is to consider patriotism in the context of a transitional society and its socio-psychological functions, as well as the formation of the new value orientations of citizens that are most in demand at the moment. In order to achieve the stated goal, a series of methods were applied in the present scientific approach, including the logical, historical, systemic, comparative methods.

Emotion and judgment in young women of a society in transition

The present study asked whether emotional responses to narratives of moral transgressions are shaped by the reader’s assumed relationship with the injured party (i.e., oneself, familiar other, and unfamiliar other). Its goal was to test a cultural, religious, and individualistic account of such responses in young females of a traditional society in transition towards a sustainable integration into the global economy. To this end, female college students from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were asked to identify their emotional reaction to each of several moral transgressions, report its intensity and then judge the severity of the transgression. In agreement with the religious norm hypothesis, whereby others are to be treated as oneself, reported emotions, affective intensity, and moral judgment did not change with students’ relationship with the injured party. The only exception was students’ lenient judgment when feeling angry for being the victim of a transgression, which underlies the tenet of forgiveness in religious doctrine.

TO GENERATE DATA AT ALL COSTS FOR TRAFFIC CELEBRITIES: THE REMAKING OF CHINESE NEW POOR THROUGH DATA-DRIVEN FAN CULTURE

Among Chinese fans of ‘traffic celebrities’ (liuliang mingxing, 流量明星), to generate excessive data either on digital platforms or in various sales charts so as to inflate certain entertainer’s popularity has become a normalized ritual to demonstrate one’s fan identity. The so-called fandom economy effectively mobilizes fans from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds to consume and participate, thus, generates tremendous revenues. However, when some fans could easily satisfy their consumerist desire for being economically powerful and socially successful, many more—who are seduced by the communitas of fan activism and agency as consumers —are unable or not yet fully prepared to afford this lifestyle. Depending on an eighteen-month ethnography, this study unpacks how these fans are seduced, to some extent included, but still exploited in the transitional Chinese consumer society as new poor (Bauman 2005), where digital platforms become new structuring nexus and transform existing power dynamics.

The meaning of leadership for educated young bedouin men

In a world beset by rapid change, more than ever people seek trustworthy leaders. The establishment of the State of Israel has wrought many changes in Bedouin society, including the perception of the traditional leadership. From being the majority population in an Arab country, the Bedouins have become a minority in a Jewish-majority state. Moreover, they have undergone a shift from an Indigenous, tribal culture to a culture based on individualism, and from a nomadic life to one of permanent settlement. In this context a qualitative study in the phenomenological tradition, using a semi-structured interview, was conducted among 20 educated young Bedouin men, ages 20–25, with the aim of understanding the meaning of leadership for them. The findings revealed that they see leadership as action for the benefit of all. They are aware of what they consider bogus leadership, elected officials who use their position to promote their own interests and those of their cronies. The participants described the differences between formal and informal leadership, on the basis of their experience. They also described the change they themselves are undergoing. The findings contribute to the understanding of factors affecting the perception of leadership in a society in transition to modernity and are applicable worldwide.

Особливості діяльності громадських організацій в контексті формування правової ідеології у транзитивних суспільствах

The article defines the peculiarities of the activities of public organizations in the context of the formation of legal ideology in transitive societies. It is noted that as a social phenomenon, legal ideology needs to be considered in at least two aspects: ontological and epistemological. In the ontological aspect, ideology appears as one of the basic socio-legal institutions, and in the epistemological aspect, the study of ideology involves the study of ideological and legal components of Ukrainian society. It was found that legal ideology is a structured and embodied at the theoretical and practical level, a scientifically based system of society's ideas about legal validity, which, thanks to the formation of legal values and goals, can influence people's legal awareness and the development of social and state life. It is concluded that the transition to the purposeful formation of democratic ideology and legal awareness, and accordingly to the legal and democratic state, depends on many factors. One of them, in our opinion, is the formation of a national idea. Among other factors, it should be noted the stabilization of the political and economic situation in the country, the increase in the level of legal education of the population, which is repeatedly updated by legal scholars.

Liberalization Policy and Spread of Private University in Nigeria: The North-South Dichotomy in Perspective

Contemporary Nigeria provides an excellent example of a society in the labyrinth of the era of mass education. This era is particularly underscored by the quantum leap in the demand for higher education. Scholars of development studies have predicted this social change, referring to it as a significant attribute of societies in transition. Thus, in the last three decades or so, the increasing demand for higher education has been met with the liberalization of tertiary education by the federal government. Liberalization which seeks to unbundle government monopoly in the provision of tertiary education has equally been received with an impressive intervention by the private sector. Today, there are 111 private universities in Nigeria and the list is likely to grow considering the spate of applications by prospective investors. The paper seeks to examine this spectacular development in terms of the spread of investment in private university across regions. In specific terms, the paper undertakes a comparative study of southern and northern regional responses to the liberalization policy. It argues that the spread of private universities across regional divide leaves much to be desired, the implication being that a preponderance of the gains of liberalization of tertiary education is skewed against the northern region of Nigeria. This is predictably so in the light of the historical predisposing factors for western education in Southern Nigeria when compared to the north dating back to the colonial time. The paper established that apart from the historic poor reception of the north to western education, the equally poor private investment in tertiary education in the region, are some of the factors that extenuate spread. Moreover, the higher incidence of poverty in the north when compared to the south is partly responsible for the poor investment in the region, considering that the return on investment may not be attractive to sustain the enterprise. The paper concludes that though, the withdrawal of state monopoly in the provision of higher education is a welcomed development, the policy cannot be pursued at the expense of even spread that can contribute to improved access among the constituent regions. Therefore, it recommends among other that, the federal government should adopt an incremental approach towards meeting the UNESCO minimum benchmark of 26% budgetary allocation for education and that, while encouraging private participation in the provision of higher education, a deliberate policy to encourage even spread in investment in private university should be implemented.

Truth Commissions and the End of History

Transitional justice refers to a set of judicial initiatives that have been used in so-called post-conflict societies in transition from war to peace or from authoritarian rule to democracy. By the turn of the millennium, transitional justice had become a dominant global model and the list of countries that have undertaken some form of transitional justice is large and constantly growing. Truth commissions are a popular form of transitional justice. They are defined as investigative bodies that have been mandated by their sponsor governments to clarify controversial historical events and contribute to criminal justice efforts, reparations for victims, development of stable public institutions, and national reconciliation (Freeman 2006: 40–87). What is known to the general publicas a paradigmatic case of the truth commission is, of course, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa set up in 1995. It was only after the South African experience that the idea of a truth commission holding public, victim-centred hearings became the norm (ibid.: 24–25).