Socio-cultural Reality Research Articles

Prostate Cancer, Race, and Health Disparity: What We Know.

Prostate cancer (PCa) in African American men is one of the most common cancers with a great disparity in outcomes. The higher incidence and tendency to present with more advanced disease have prompted investigators to postulate that this is a problem of innate biology. However, unequal access to health care and poorer quality of care raise questions about the relative importance of genetics versus social/health injustice. Although race is inconsistent with global human genetic diversity, we need to understand the sociocultural reality that race and racism impact biology. Genetic studies reveal enrichment of PCa risk alleles in populations of West African descent and population-level differences in tumor immunology. Structural racism may explain some of the differences previously reported in PCa clinical outcomes; fortunately, there is high-level evidence that when care is comparable, outcomes are comparable.

Periyar: Forging a Gendered Utopia

The category of gender has perennially found itself at the margins because of its social location across South Asia. Albeit heterogeneous by nature, women have borne the burden of history, community, tradition and even geography being violently mapped across their bodies. No wonder that the past two centuries has witnessed heated debates on the women’s question in the region ranging from the Altekarian paradigm to the valorized mother figure who is ever nurturing and generous. Many social reformers both male and female sought to battle orthodoxy, religious chauvinism and caste-based status-quoism widening the contours of gender justice in the process. The tropes revolved around consent and coercion, public battles over scriptural legitimacy and contentious traditions. The reformers were treading on delicate grounds as the sacred domain of the ‘home’ had to be kept immune from any polluting winds of ‘western’ ideology. This article is an attempt to tease out E.V. Ramasamy Naicker’s (Periyar) radical understanding of the gender question and his efforts to create an alternate epistemology to question existing socio-cultural realities. It concludes by arguing that this gendered utopia is also a work in progress.

Regulation of Organic Production in Brazil: Notes for its Adaptation to Participatory Guarantee Systems

Objective: analyze the process of public regulation of organic production in Brazil, with a focus on Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) and Social Control Organizations (SCO). Method: The research employed document analysis of reports produced by civil society organizations, content analysis of two webinários on the subject, and conducted 12 interviews with representatives of Brazilian PGSs. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework encompasses regulations and documents related to organic certification, agroecology, and social construction spaces, as well as current studies on PGS and participatory certification. Results and conclusion: The results presented in this work are part of the research project “Sistemas de confianza, producción ecológica y garantía. Innovaciones sociales al sello oficial en el contexto de los canales cortos de comercialización” developed by the University of Córdoba, Spain, in partnership with a team from the Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil. It is noteworthy that the excess of records, notes and regulatory controls hinder the inclusion and participation of peasants and farmers in organic quality assurance processes. Research implications: This discussion aims to contribute both to an expanded understanding of the social processes established for the regulation of organic production and to provide insights for the reformulation of current regulations in the country. Originality/value: A revision of the methods of verification, traceability, and social control is necessary, adapting them to the diverse socio-cultural realities existing in Brazil.

New Slang Expressions-Neologisms to Denote the Phenomena of War: A Translation Aspect of the Neglect

The phenomenon of war broadcasts military discourse, which is often considered a “separate language” full of stylistic figures: rhetoric, puns, metaphors, and neologisms. The latter often function as keys to ideology and thus reflect a certain vision of the world. Such categories pose significant challenges for translation, as these “ideological keys” are often incomprehensible to the target audience. First of all, these are terms with connotations that refer to socio-cultural reality, socio-cultural reality, or derived from connotations known only to the military, which are difficult to translate and, according to some scholars, are untranslatable. The purpose of the article is to propose a theoretical model and a methodological description of the ways of translating slang expressions-neologisms of military discourse that have entered the English language as a result of the war in Ukraine. The result of the work is an analysis of the ways in which Ukrainian slang expressions-neologisms entered the English language and the ways in which they can be translated. Each neologism characterizes a certain category according to the criterion of the channel through which it spreads - through peer-to-peer networks and through the media, respectively. The application of the theory of innovation diffusion to neologism provides food for thought about the typology of speakers in terms of their sensitivity and adaptability to neologisms. The difference between disparaging slang expressions-neologisms, in particular, dysphemisms and ethnic slurs and neologisms with ironic connotations is noted. The conclusions of the study formulated the ways of translating neologisms: borrowing, calquing, literal translation, transposition, modulation, equivalence, adaptation, and translation methods: a combination of calquing/literal translation with explanation or definition, deletion and replacement, and translation by equivalent with the creation of own neologism.

The communicative functions of epitaphs in the linguistic landscape of Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery), Philippines

ABSTRACT The study of Philippine cemeteries has been traditionally placed within the purview of archaeology, which, broadly speaking, places importance in its material cultures. To further broaden our knowledge about these sites, this paper explores how Philippine cemeteries, particularly Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB), generate meaning through their linguistic landscape (LL). Using place semiotics approach and indexicality, this study identifies seven communicative functions used in LNMB epitaphs: (1) affective, (2) associative, (3) celebrative, (4) memorative, (6) desiderative, and (7) summative. In doing so, this study not only treats public signs as communicative ‘actors’ which convey meaning and pragmatic function but it also analyzes the act of ‘engaging’ with epitaphs as a highly contextualised speech event. Finally, this study argues that epitaphs signify discourses of memory, remembrance, and patriotism and index sociocultural and political realities, all of which contribute to the creation of LNMB not only as a cemetery per se but also as a place of experience and embodiment.

Everything flows... On the role of knowledge sources and the significance of comparative research in the modern world

Contemporary changes in the socio-cultural reality, associated with the revolution in the field of information and the development of new technologies, provide a context for reflection on the problem of the sources of knowledge. The wide access to resources of various data, information and knowledge, related nowadays, in particular, to questions about the manners and limits of using artificial intelligence (AI) at the borderlines of science and education, provokes reflection on the role of contemporary science and its representatives. The reflections are undertaken from the perspective of comparative education, which is treated as a scientific discipline that studies different materials (sources) and constitutes also a field (source) of knowledge. The text presents three aspects of reflection: the origins and development of pedagogical comparativism; its contemporary opportunities and challenges; and the role of the researcher embedded in a vision of the future. Comparative education is presented as the discipline which, through actions and works of comparativists, establishes the value of progress and continuity as inherent developmental forces in culture.

Oxygen isotope variation in drinking water in Oaxaca, Mexico and its implications for forensic provenancing efforts

Forensic anthropologists have used oxygen isotopic analyses (δ18O) in recent decades because of its ability to help estimate probable regions of origin of unidentified individuals based on isotopic composition of bodily tissues. Prior research has found that drinking water is geographically patterned and that tap water is often representative of drinking water in assessing these links between human tissues and geography. Researchers have begun applying the method in a variety of global contexts. This research critically assesses the assumption that tap water is isotopically representative of drinking water in Oaxaca, Mexico. Drinking water samples from Oaxaca were analyzed and compared with predicted δ18O values from a previously constructed tap water isoscape of Mexico. Hair samples from Oaxaca were also analyzed to compare against various water sources. Tap water δ18O values do not reliably reflect drinking water δ18O in sampled regions of Oaxaca, Mexico. Further, the models relating hair keratin to drinking water, built on this assumption, fail to hold predictive power. With an incomplete understanding of tap water’s ability to represent drinking water isotopically, researchers need to study the role of other key factors in δ18O values. If the individual’s being identified with δ18O are from non-Western communities, forensic practitioners run the risk of incorrectly predicting region of origin because of the method’s assumptions. Recognizing the varying sociocultural realities of the communities forensic practitioners seek to aid is paramount as we grow and develop our methods moving forward.

MobiLithics: Fingerprinting the exploitation of lithic resources during the Upper Pleistocene

MobiLithics is a multiscalar project aimed at characterizing the lithic resources exploitation and territorial adaptive responses among the last Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens to different climatic, cultural, and biological dynamics. The project focuses on the Middle-to-Later Stone Age, in North Africa, and the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic Transition in the Mediterranean basin of the Iberian Peninsula, as key scenarios for the origin and expansion of our species. Results on geospatial modelling, petrographic and geochemical analyses, and multivariate statistics and predictive models determine the variability on resource procurement and territorial structure. These will contribute to the international debate on the adaptability of our species to different palaeoenvironments, sociocultural realities, and changing climatic conditions.

“I am not human without my phone”: How the socio-cultural realities of Liberia shape Liberian mobile youth culture

Mobile youth culture (MYC) is a concept that refers to the distinctive ways in which young people adopt and use mobile phones. However, most studies on MYC are situated in the Global North, where the lived realities of teenagers are different from teenagers in the Global South. Through an investigation of how MYC manifests in Liberia, this article adds to the growing literature on mobile communication in the Global South. By doing so, the study responds to scholarly criticisms of the assumption that young people everywhere experience the use of mobile phones in similar ways. Based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with 38 Liberian teenagers, our findings challenge the western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD)-centric suggestion of a worldwide “monoculture,” because our results show that although mobile connectivity gives Liberian teenagers opportunities similar to those afforded to their peers in most WEIRD (and non-WEIRD) societies, it is simultaneously experienced markedly different by them. We therefore argue for a more “inclusive” conceptualization of the MYC concept.

Risks and Prospects of Creativity Tokenization

Objective: tokenization of creativity, alongside with cryptoeconomy and Web3 network infrastructure, is a notable trend in the development of modern society in the third decade of the 21st century. The objective of this article is to explore the risks and prospects emerging in the process of disposition of the creative labor results in the form of non-fungible tokens.Methods: the research methodology is based on analysis of varied viewpoints on the problem, including diametrically opposing concepts. The opposing views of the observers manifest their attitude to tokenization of creative products as a speculative scheme, on the one hand, and a promising tool of creative industries development, on the other.Results: the probable negative consequences of tokenization of intellectual activity results are identified; author’s recommendations on managing these risks are given. Another result of this publication is analysis of economiclegal prospects stemming from tokenization of the objects of copyright and neighboring rights by the example of musical pieces.Scientific novelty: it consists in presenting and substantiating a hypothesis that the relations formed in the musical industry under the modern sociocultural and technological realities will be reproduced in other creative industries. Also, scientific novelty consists in the analysis of prospects of tokenization of such results of intellectual activity as gaming artifacts, works of traditional and digital visual arts, patents and scientific achievements. The use of nonfungible tokens the ecosystem of network computer games will allow gamers to buy and sell rights to game pieces autonomously from game publishers. Tokenization of industrial property objects and individualization means will ensure protection of intellectual rights of their authors while waiting for the issuance of a state protection document. In the modern society, there will be many of those wishing to become an owner of a token for a scientific work, as the popularity of science and innovations is constantly growing in developed countries. Ownership of a token for a scientific work will be regarded a moral investment, increasing the prestige and status of its owner. Tokens for scientific works have a high potential as a means of measuring value in a post-economic society.Practical significance: it consists in the description of innovative means of using creative products and business models based on tokenization of the results of intellectual activity, ready to be implemented in practice.

Balance of traditional and innovative ingredients in the modern educational space

The purpose of the study is to highlight the perspectives of educational strategies in which the principles of innovation and traditionality are harmonized. The tasks of the article are focused around the search for theoretical-methodological and educational-practical guidelines for the correlation of innovative ideas with the traditional educational space. The research methodology is based on general scientific methods (analysis, forecasting, systematization), which provide an understanding of the foundations and features of scientific and pedagogical discourse; philosophical and scientific methods (synergy, dialectics), thanks to which awareness of the coexistence and interaction of educational elements or development strategies is formed. Elements of the novelty of scientific intelligence are focused on taking into account the cultural norms and traditions of the community in which innovative transformations are implemented in the educational space. Sociocultural realities can play the role of a barrier or a favorable environment for information and communication technologies in the educational sphere. Consequently, educational systems are being transformed in today's dynamic world along with other spheres of social activity, actively using digital potential. At the same time, cultural traditions are a stabilizing factor in innovation processes, which allows us to clearly position the role and status of the digital environment in the educational space. The use of ICT has its own characteristics and determines the priorities of future educational strategies. Conclusion. Therefore, maintaining a balance between the classical educational system and new educational environments is the key to the harmonious development of this sphere of social activity in the context of socio-cultural progress.

Female Leadership in Muslim Societies

For centuries, Muslim women have been considered legally unqualified for judicial, political, and other highest leadership positions in the public domain. The contemporary debates range from constructing and reconstructing theological contestation to identifying and analysing various socio-cultural realities around Muslim women’s lives which made it more challenging for them to claim leadership. Today, in one hand, a growing number of literatures are challenging conservative religious interpretations that disfavour female leadership and calling to reread religious source texts. On the other hand, many literatures are raising voices on social gender perceptions and cultural biases which create barriers for women leadership. The recent inauguration of hijab-clad Muslim female presidents in Tanzania and Singapore also manifests a positive paradigm shift in collective Muslim consciousness to female leadership. To understand this change, this paper looks into both theological and socio-cultural aspects to outline the different positions and new developments in contemporary literature in identifying the burdens on Muslim women’s shoulders that curtail their aspirations for leadership participation. This study argues that contemporary literature reveals a complex and formidable development in the debate that demands more careful attention to accommodate the changing environment and attitudes in Muslim societies regarding the permissibility and plausibility of female leadership.

MULTICULTURAL BASES OF STUDENTS CIVIC IDENTITY FORMATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

The article substantiates the main priority and innovative ideas of this problem in theory and practice, examines the semantic meaning of the concepts of "multicultural education", "multicultural upbringing", "civic identity", "tolerance", and identifies effective forms and interactive methods of education and training with school and university students in the context of reforming the education system. Three levels of multicultural education are highlighted, including ethnic, civic and global (planetary). It is noted that multicultural education synthesizes knowledge about culture, which is the property of the civilized world, about ethnic culture, about national culture as a product of historical mutual enrichment and interpenetration of ethnic cultures. It is emphasized that the very concept of "multicultural education" is inextricably linked with the concept of "civic identity" in the meaning that the latter as a form of social life of a person encompasses "the feeling of being a part of society and the desire to be an active member of it in the present and future. The author characterizes the technology of education of the culture of personal self-affirmation, which actualizes the multicultural focus, active civic position of the student's personality. The described innovative program on English language teaching methods developed by the British Council in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine within the framework of the project "New Generation School Teacher" focuses on the formation of students' professional and pedagogical competences of future teachers, the development of critical thinking, initiative, creativity, independent thinking, and active citizenship in the socio-cultural reality. The author summarizes that the analysis of domestic and foreign experience makes it possible to comprehensively study the problems of civic identity and tolerance in the context of multiculturalism of the modern educational space. Therefore, it is undoubtedly especially valuable to clearly define and substantiate a conceptually oriented perspective which would contribute to the development of active civic position of pupils and student youth, the formation of national consciousness, the formation of high moral feelings and habits, would ensure the creation of a positive system of pupils' and students' attitudes towards reality, and establish tolerant intercultural relations in various activities. Key words: multicultural education, multicultural upbringing, tolerance, intercultural communication, civic identity, culture of personal self-affirmation, interactive methods, personality-oriented approach.

Pertunjukan Partisipasi Pantun Palang Pintu di Kecamatan Mandau, Kabupaten Bengkalis, Riau

Pantun Palang Pintu is a form of traditional art performance by the people of the sub-district. Mandau. Regency. Bengkalis which is usually used in welcoming the bride and groom and entertainment for its supporting community. The interaction in the performance of the pantun creation process is spontaneous. In this case the messages conveyed are socio-cultural realities as material for the interaction of participation in producing meaning and exchanging experiences related to people's lives. This study aims to determine the performance of palang Pintu rhyme in the people of Riau, especially in the people of the sub-district. Mandau, Regency. Bengkalis. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method and the analysis used is the data obtained, both written data and data obtained in the field through interviews and collected and described and then analyzed with the problems that have been formulated. cloth known as doorstop and the existence of reciprocal pantun activities. With the participation of the audience or extended family, both parties explained that the Pantun Palang Pintu performance was in Mandau District. Bengkalis Regency is a participation show.

Islamic Higher Education as a Part of Kazakhs’ Cultural Revival

Kazakhstan is currently going through a phase of national and cultural renaissance. This began in the 90s when political and spiritual independence had been obtained. The process of national or cultural revival entails a shift in the paradigm, a reevaluation of prior ideas, and a return to long-forgotten customs, beliefs, or traditions that are distinctive to contemporary Kazakhstani culture. Undoubtedly, a return to religious origins via freedom from the burden of the Soviet ideology of atheism and the expansion of Islamic education is the fundamental trend in the development of national-cultural awareness. Kazakhstan has experienced a spiritual vacuum because of the rapid shift from the ban on religion to religious freedom. This has resulted in a surge in the number of religious denominations and religious organizations in the nation and the emergence of radical movements. The issue is particularly significant for the post-USSR nations that are now experiencing hardships. Evidence of this is shown in two ways: (1). many people in the CIS countries have begun to show a keen interest in religious values and traditions, and (2). new sociopolitical and socio-cultural realities brought about by the fall of communism and the dissolution of the USSR have sparked the growth of national consciousness and altered spiritual guiding principles in the post-Soviet society, particularly in Kazakhstani society. The establishment of relations with the Muslim and non-Muslim world has incorporated the opening of borders, allowed missionaries to enter freely, and allowed current citizens to go abroad for religious education and general education in both religious and non-religious-oriented countries. In addition, the liberal legislation in relation to religion in general in the early 2000s opened up new horizons for representatives of religious and pseudo-religious communities. Therefore, religious education, namely Islamic, given that population of the state is predominantly Muslim, is an absolute necessity.

Negotiating Religious Discourses in English Language Teaching: Reorienting and Reframing Dominant English Ideologies

ABSTRACT Efforts to decolonise foreign/English language teaching involve recognising the importance of diverse meaning-making resources rooted in speakers’ socio-cultural realities, traditions, and values alongside English practices. This focus highlights the value of multicultural and multilingual environments, particularly in dominant English-speaking contexts, and emphasises how languages and their embedded worldviews can enrich language pedagogy. Although progress has been made in acknowledging and affirming linguistic, cultural, and epistemological diversity, little attention has been given to the role of religious discourses in transformative pedagogies that challenge the finitude of Global English. Based on interviews conducted as part of a larger study, this research explores how religious discourses shape the professional practices of two English teachers in Indonesia. It argues that these discourses, as temporal occurrences, can disrupt the notion that religiously inspired education is dogmatic and closed. Conversely, a religiously-inspired English pedagogy can serve as a potent means to resist dominant English ideologies and the inherent dogmas they perpetuate.

Exploration of the Child Domestic Workers’ Lived Experiences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

This qualitative study, based on a phenomenological design, explored the lived experiences of child domestic workers aged 15 to 18 years in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Children in this age group are above the national and international legal minimum age for admission into light work. The findings of our study indicated that although domestic work is perceived by the child domestic workers as a method for impoverished children between the ages of 15 and 18 to earn money, get experience, and learn new life skills, it also entails loneliness, challenges in assimilating into an unfamiliar social context, and child sexual exploitation and abuse. Also, a significant number of CDWs originate from low-income, rural households, with financial poverty, children’s idleness after completion of primary school, and a desire for income serving as important antecedents for their entry into domestic work. The process of social construction of the concepts "a child" and "childhood" includes the idea of typification. Hence, in the Tanzanian socio-cultural atmosphere, domestic work for underprivileged youngsters may be a better alternative for survival than opting for other options like commercial sex work, remaining idle in financially precarious homes, working and living on the streets, and "panya road" (children's criminal gangs). In addition to addressing poverty, ensuring light (domestic work) for children under 18 years, and acknowledging that childhood and its roles differ depending on the sociocultural atmosphere, researchers and policymakers should pay attention to these children's best interests, socio-cultural realities, and their perspectives and worries regarding this phenomenon in a quest to developing research-driven interventions and policies.

AN ACCOUNT OF SEMANTIC CHANGE IN PAKISTANI ENGLISH AND ITS IMPACT ON ITS INTELLIGIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY

This study focused on Pakistani English in the context of the distinct features that stem from the sociocultural context in which English is being used. The study used Weinreich’s (1968) framework of language contact which outlines the pattern of language interaction and offers an explanation for linguistic change, as a theoretical cornerstone in the study of the semantic shift in the Pakistani variant of English, which lends this variety its Pakistani flavor. The objective of this study, which used four literary texts as data sources, was to examine the manner in which Pakistanis' sociocultural environment and experiences affect the meanings of some words that have both English and Pakistani origins, leading to extensions or outright variations in the meanings of some words of both English and Pakistani origin as they are incorporated into the lexicon of Pakistani English. The study highlights that these semantic variations are signs of the sociocultural dynamics of Pakistani society, which lead to linguistic variation among English varieties. The semantic variations prove that using the British variety as the benchmark for evaluating Pakistani English’s intelligibility and acceptability would be at odds with Pakistani sociocultural reality. Pakistani English, therefore, has to be assessed on its own grounds as a distinct variety. Keywords: Pakistani English; Semantic Shift; Semantic change; Semantic Variation; Intelligibility and Acceptability.

Representation of Current Sociocultural Realities in German Society: Thematic Group of Internet Memes OUTSIDER — LOCAL

This article presents an analysis of internet memes in Germany from 2020—2023, focusing on the thematic group “Outsider — Local”. The study examines various characteristics of these memes, such as their place and date of posting, “genetics”, precedent phenomenon, addressing, field structure, object and subject of criticism, interaction of visual and verbal series, patterns of meaning generation, sources of humor, and genre. The article identifies four subgroups of memes, which include criticism of political subjects (in defense of migrants), criticism of political subjects (against migrants), criticism of migrants, and criticism of local ethnic Germans. The study finds that social groups themselves, such as migrants and typical Germans, are the most frequently criticized objects. Additionally, the authorities are criticized for their insufficient or excessive support of migrants, while typical Germans are criticized for their cultural standards. The most frequent subjects of criticism for migrants include their large numbers, low integration into German society, criminal tendencies, pretentiousness, and disrespect for other cultures. The article notes that intercultural memes are infrequent, while borrowed memes that refer to recognizable characters and contemporary precedent phenomena with broad addressing dominate. Finally, the dominant genre varieties are macros and edvices.

INFORMATION SOCIETY AND NEW GLOBAL ETHICS

The article is dedicated to analyzing socio-cultural and ethical changes occurring in the modern information society under the influence of globalization processes. The main aim of the research is to analyze cultural transformations in the sphere of information society ethics. In examining these changes, the authors utilize theoretical concepts from leading researchers in the field of information society and ethics, including D. Bell, J. Baudrillard, M. Castells, R. Florida, at al. The article focuses on changes not only oriented towards technological aspects and the proliferation of information but also on the complex aspects of human interaction: the ability to create and transmit ethical values from generation to generation while considering existential priorities and moral norms. The authors regard the information society as a new socio-cultural reality that necessitates the development of a new global ethics. Such an ethics should take into account the global experience in the realm of morality and the necessity for democratizing the information society. The main emphasis of the article is directed towards interactive, networked communication as a key element of interaction, diverse forms of social dialogue, and methods of democratizing social relations through new technologies. In this context, the authors highlight the significance of Generation Z as a new creative class within the information society, serving as a subject of global ethics. This generation possesses new communicative skills and the ability to propose new strategies and forms of ethical behavior to adapt within the changing information society. In the conclusions of the article, the authors underscore that a new global ethics requires norms capable of aligning national, particular values with global universal ethical values, including ecological, humanistic, and human-centered values, ensuring their accessibility through the democratization of the information society. The methodological basis for such ethics could be Kantianism, fostering the harmonization of intergenerational interactions in the context of information society development.