Transitional Societies Research Articles

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).

National Human Resource Development in Transitioning Societies: The Case of Saudi Arabia

This paper establishes an understanding of the Saudi National Human Resources Development (NHRD) and proposes effective strategies for improving the NHRD in the knowledge-based economy. Building on the foundations of HRD at the national level, provided by Harbison and Myers and the utilization of Paprock’s NHRD model for transitional societies, this article provides an in-depth analysis of the political, economic, and socio-cultural contexts in connection with NHRD environment. Challenges concerning the emerging workforce (e.g., jobseekers, women, and students) in the labor market are discussed. The analysis of the Saudi NHRD efforts shows the importance of addressing adaptive challenges through adaptive change. Based on the integrated findings, three workforce development strategies are proposed: (1) Build workforce adaptability to better navigate their careers, (2) create meaningful work and a family-friendly workplace, and (3) develop early career exploration programs and opportunities.

Historical and sociological analysis of the development of the Russian society in transition as a social dissipative system in a bifurcation zone

The author of the article studies the phenomenon of a dissipative system, the patterns of functioning and development of social dissipative systems as well as their behavior in the bifurcation zone. The study is carried out through historical and sociological analysis of the specifics of the development of the Russian society during the transition period of the 1990s. A hypothesis is put forward that if the Russian society is a special case of a dissipative system, its development necessarily obeys the objective laws of development of dissipative systems; therefore, the dynamics of the system of the Russian society during a crisis period should correspond to the patterns of behavior of complex social dissipative systems in the bifurcation zone. Following the analysis of data from empirical sociological studies conducted in Russia at the end of the 20th century, the hypothesis is confirmed. A conclusion about the need for scientific substantiation of modern forecasts for the development of complex social systems through theoretical and methodological constructions of the general systems theory and the theory of self-organization is made.

Disruptive Reparations? Tunisia's Victim Regions and the Collective Reparations Dilemma in Transitional Societies

In the past decade, an encompassing transitional justice process has been developed in Tunisia, which interacts with various other policy domains, including that of development. This article foregrounds three important interrelated innovations of Tunisia's transitional justice process: The explicit attention to economic crimes and violations of economic, social, and cultural rights; the introduction of the notion of victim regions; and the conceptualization of collective reparation programs. I discuss these innovations in light of the ongoing debate about the collective reparations dilemma in transitional societies, and notably about the ideal relation between (collective) reparation programs and development. The article then introduces the notion of disruptive reparations to theorize this relation in a way that foregrounds the need to consider and disrupt the political, socio-economic, and epistemic structures that facilitated the initial harm. This exercise acknowledges the specificity of various policy domains, and approaches them in a way that is fundamentally rooted in victims’ justice needs.

A GIS-Based Typological Interpretation of Cultivated Land Loss: A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Tai’an Prefecture in the North China Plain

Loss of cultivated land has become a global issue that is especially critical in populous and rapidly urbanizing countries. However, knowledge in this field in general and its spatiality in particular have long been restrained in developing countries for the lack of accurate and reliable data. This study addresses this issue from a typological perspective by distinguishing the patterns and determinants of the conversion of cultivated land to nonagricultural use, nongrain use, and ecological land use. By using land use survey data from 2009 to 2019, and taking villages as the research units, the cultivated land loss in an ordinary prefecture, Tai’an, in the North China Plain was investigated from its temporal–spatial patterns, destination uses, and various driving factors. GIS methods such as spatial visualization, overlay analysis, and hotspot analysis were used to depict the geography of cultivated land loss in total and by cause. Multiple linear regression models were then developed to explore the roles of natural, locational, economic, social, and policy factors in predicting the overall and three types of cultivated land loss. The results show that (1) the cultivated land area in Tai’an Prefecture decreased by 1338.3 km2 over the decade, which was 32.4% of that in 2009. Ecological use, rather than the widely blamed urban expansion, was the dominant reason, accounting for 55.6% of the total loss of cultivated land. (2) The hotspot areas of cultivated land loss were mainly distributed in the northeastern mountainous area and villages around cities and county seats in the southwest. The hotspot areas of nongrain and ecological conversion were mainly located around the central city, whereas those of nonagricultural conversion were the most extensive around county centers. (3) The factors were found to have heterogeneous effects on the three types of cultivated land loss. For example, land transfer is conducive to large-scale farming and is thus associated with a lower probability of nonagricultural conversion of cultivated land. However, it often facilitates ecological conversion of cultivated land. (4) The basic farmland protection policy was proven to be effective in preventing all three types of cultivated land loss. The above results indicate the great heterogeneity among the three types of cultivated land loss in their geography and determinants, demonstrating the necessity and significance of the typological perspective adopted to interpreting cultivated land loss in urbanizing and transitional societies. To some extent, only by reasonably distinguishing, spatially analyzing, and fully understanding the different types, various causes, and internal structure of cultivated land loss can we formulate more targeted and effective policies of cultivated land protection.

Association of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) with socio-demographic factors and metastases site in women with metastatic breast cancer in Albania

Aim: The aim of our study was to assess the association of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 15-3 (CA15-3) with socio-demographic factors and metastases site in women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in post-communist Albania. Methods: A case-series study was carried out during the period January 2010 – September 2017 including 110 female patients diagnosed with breast cancer with metastases at the Oncology Service of the University Hospital Centre “Mother Teresa” in Tirana, the Albanian capital. Of these, 57 (51.8%) patients had evidence of hepatic metastases, whereas the reaming 53 (48.2%) patients had metastases in the bones and/or in the lungs. CEA and CA15-3 were measured at the time of diagnosis for all study participants. In addition, information on socio-demographic factors was collected. General linear model was used to assess the relationship of CEA and CA15-3 with covariates. Results: There was evidence of a significant correlation between CEA and CA15-3 levels (Spearman’s rho=0.59, P<0.001). Upon simultaneous adjustment for all covariates, mean values of CEA and CA15-3 were significantly higher in patients with metastases in the bones and/or in the lungs compared with their counterparts with metastases in the liver. Also, CA15-3 levels were significantly higher in younger patients compared with their older counterparts. Conclusion: This study provides valuable evidence on selected correlates of CEA and CA15-3 in Albanian female patients diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Oncologists and other health professionals in Albania, as well as decision-makers and policymakers should be aware of the burden and risk factors of breast cancer among women in this transitional society.

Political dynasties and democratization: A case study of Taiwan

Political families in transitional societies are often seen in the context of corruption, democratic regression, deterioration of socio-economic development, inequality, and deprivation. High levels of dynasticism, however, also exist in advanced democratic societies. Using the example of Taiwan, this article explores the factors behind the evolution of electoral dynasties and how the behavior of hereditary politicians has been conditioned by democratization. More specifically, the article argues that legacy politicians are not per se the Pandora’s box of low-quality politics. Rather, they act like other networks of personal relations. As such, self-imposed ethical standards and inherited cultural norms may substantially restrain the intrinsic particularistic potentials of such networks, but in the long run only political modernization can prevent them from cultivating political capitalism—the predatory use of public resources. That is, political modernization conditions the behavior of electoral dynasties. It transforms particularistic networks into more progressive and programmatic forms of dynasticism.

МЕТОДОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ ИЗУЧЕНИЯ ОБРАЗА МИРА МОЛОДЕЖИ В ЦИФРОВОМ ТРАНЗИТИВНОМ ОБЩЕСТВЕ

In modern psychology, the study of the socialization of young people is of particular relevance in connection with changing living conditions: the transitivity of society; increased social mobility and sociocultural dynamics in general; expansion into everyday life of digital reality. In psychological studies of the transformations of today’s world, it makes sense to use the terms “image of the world” and “world picture” to focus on various sociocultural aspects of the reality under study. The complexity and diversity of youth worldviews in modern conditions are emphasized, which results in the need to differentiate the cultural and psychological aspects of the development of youth communities within society. The author considers interrelation between the formation of the image of the world and the formation of subjectivity; study of individual differences in the construction and transformation of the picture of the world; dynamics of the world picture in a transitive and digital society. The phenomenon of the digital self and the growing environmental concern of young people in connection with the characteristics of modern times are discussed. Among the methodological issues of studying the image of the world of young people in a digital transitive society, it is necessary to highlight a number of aspects: 1) changing the perspective of psychological research – the movement from a closed psychological laboratory to an open everyday world; 2) switching optics – from the normativity of a stable picture of the world to the normalization of the constancy of changes; 3) rethinking the “image of the world” construct in a transitive society – from focusing on the phenomena of perception and social representations to studying the diversity of worldviews and lifestyles; 4) for the integration of thematic (task-oriented) studies of psychology and social sciences – reliance on a transdisciplinary approach; 5) the invention of relevant constructs and concepts in order to systematize a new phenomenology that characterizes the changed state of modern times and the interaction of young people with the digital environment

Indian Society in Transition

Indian Society in Transition

Puesta en escena de la masculinidad: el impacto de los legados ancestrales y coloniales en las relaciones de género y la transformación social a través del estreno cinematográfico de Sembene Ousmane (1960-1965)

This article studies the debut of Sembene Ousmane’s cinematic narrative during the early years of Senegal’s independence. Sembene was a renowned anti-colonial Senegalese writer who shifted to filmmaking during the “independence interlude”, from 1960 to 1965, with his first film Borom Sarret (1963), he became a pioneer of African cinema. Sembene’s revolutionary filmmaking and radical artistic project catapulted him to the realm of world cinema. Drawing on postcolonial film criticism, this article focuses on two of Sembene’s pioneering films: Borom Sarret and Niaye. I argue that he strategically crafted these films to genuinely contribute to the collective effort of postcolonial reconstruction. I start with a brief review of Sembene’s literary works during the independence interlude to understand how this period influenced his artistic perspective and cinematic narrative regarding gender. I then delve into an analysis of masculinity and colonial legacy in Borom Sarret, and finally focus on Niaye to explore how the filmaker depicts collective memory and patriarchal dynamics in a pseudo-feudal society in transition from colonialism to independence, from tradition to modernity. This article contributes to a better understanding of how Sembene approached social transformation, navigated (post)colonial power structures shaped by colonial and ancestral legacies, and established himself as an iconoclastic artist

PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND MENTAL HEALTH OF ADOLESCENTS

Demographic, socio-cultural, technological information, and communication changes in the country affect the mental state of young people, their emotional and psychological state, as well as the degree of their social adaptation and self-realization. Therefore, the study and understanding of the mechanisms that affect psychological well-being and mental health of young people in a transitive society is a key and urgent task for modern psychology. Not only the personal development of young people depends on this, but also, more broadly, the socio-economic well-being of society as a whole. The purpose is to study the factors affecting psychological well-being, life satisfaction and mental health of young people. Psychological well-being and mental health were studied with the Scales of psychological well-being, Satisfaction with life scale, WHO. Factors affecting well-being and mental health were studied with Multiple stimulus types ambiguity tolerance scale-I; Hardiness questionnaire; General self-effi cacy scale; Self-control scale; Test of meaningful life orientations. The study involved  students. .% of this sample are students aged - (M=.; SD=.). Mathematical analysis was carried out on this sample of  teenagers. Results. Positive correlations were found between well-being and hardiness, involvement, control, acceptance of uncertainty and its preference. With an increase in life satisfaction, mental health, the well-being signifi cantly increases. Negative correlations were obtained between well-being and inability to maintain positive relationships with others. Conclusion. Adolescents with high psychological well-being and mental health are self-confi dent. They are convinced that their activities can change the situation for the better. They adhere to the principle “There are no failures, there is only experience.” They have life goals and meaning in life. They are able to control their lives, freely make decisions, set goals and implement them in life. They believe that their life is interesting and emotionally rich.

Реконструкция пространства верований и воспроизводство традиционной культуры на фоне социальных трансформаций в России: на примере строительства православного храма в деревне Центрально-Черноземного региона

Using the ethnographic method of anthropology, this article presents the characteristics of social transformations in Russia based on field research data in a separate village of the Central Chernozem region of Russia. In the course of social transformations since the 1980s, there has been a revival of religious beliefs and traditional culture in Russia, which is manifested in the reconstruction and construction of Orthodox churches. In the villages of the Chernozem region, the process of recreating the Orthodox Church began. Behind the reconstruction of this space of beliefs and the reproduction of traditional culture is the regulation of state/society relations and official/popular relations in a transitional society, the establishment of social order and the realization of social unity, and, consequently, the choice of the way to create and develop a system of state and national identity.

Статус профессиональной идентичности как фактор психологической адаптации личности в юношеском возрасте

Background. `e diaculties of professional self-determination in a modern transitive society determine the relevance of studying the connection between psychological adaptation and the status of a person’s professional identity, regarded as an indicator of success in solving the key task of development in adolescence. `e value core of professional self-determination poses the issue of the relationship between individual’s value orientations, the level of professional identity, and basic beliefs as an indicator of the level of psychological adaptation. Objective. `e paper aims to study the relationship between the status of a person’s professional identity in adolescence and the characteristics of psychological adaptation. Objectives include studying (1) the relationship between the status of professional identity and the basic beliefs of the individual as an indicator of psychological adaptation; (2) the characteristics of the value orientations of an individual in connection with the status of professional identity and the level of psychological adaptation. Methods. `e World Assumptions Scale (WAS) by R. Yanob-Bulman in the adaptation of M. Padun and A. Kotelnikova; a technique to determine the status of identity in the celd of professional self-determination by D. Marcia, modiced by O. Karabanova and V. Orestova; Portrait Values Questionnaire-Revised (PVQ-R) by Sh. Schwartz were used. Sample. 102 respondents participated in the study: 35.4% are boys, 54.4% are girls aged 16 to 18. Results. `e K-means method was applied. 2 clusters were identiced, dibering in the level of psychological adaptation. Diberences in the level of basic beliefs and value orientations were revealed in groups with the status of dibusion and moratorium, dibusion and achieved identity (Mann-Whitney test, p ≤ 0.05). Diberences in value orientations were revealed between groups with diberent levels of psychological adaptation (Mann — Whitney test, р ≤ 0.05). Conclusion. `e status of professional identity in adolescence is associated with the level of psychological adaptation of the individual. High statuses of identity (achieved identity and moratorium) correspond to a high level of psychological adaptation, identity dibusion corresponds to a low level of it. A high level of psychological well-being and adaptation is determined by the balance of the values of autonomy and self-aarmation and the universal values of social interests and public well-being.

ПСИХОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ ХРОНОТОП И ОСОБЕННОСТИ ИДЕНТИЧНОСТИ В УСЛОВИЯХ СМЕШАННОЙ РЕАЛЬНОСТИ В ЮНОШЕСКОМ ВОЗРАСТЕ

. In modern psychology, the studying the virtual identity phenomenon attains a particular relevance in a mixed reality. In turn, virtual identity is only one of the aspects of a person’s integral identity and is built into the value sphere of a person. Adolescence is a key period in the formation of the hierarchy of the value sphere and self-determination. The study of identity within a transitive society requires a systematic approach, including the study of various aspects of the spatial and temporal context of personality formation. Virtual space in the structure of the psychological chronotope is a collection of various heterotopias interacting with each other both within the virtual space and within the real context of human existence. The specifics of the psychological chronotope of each person in the conditions of digital everyday life is determined by the nature of the subjective attitude to various aspects of the real and virtual space. Subjective experiences are reflected through the structure, content of the identity and value sphere of boys and girls. It was found that the severity of the subject position in the virtual space is positively associated with the presence of virtual characteristics in the structure of real identity. Such aspects of the psychological chronotope as experience, emotional attitude to different parameters of space and time, as well as the subjective position within this space determine the content and structure of identity in adolescence

Population Based screening strategy of Liver Stiffness Using Fibroscan in a Transition Society of South Kerala, India

Population Based screening strategy of Liver Stiffness Using Fibroscan in a Transition Society of South Kerala, India

Psychological stability of the personality in the light of the psychology of values: The dialectic of constancy and variability

THe issues of value transformations today come to the fore in educational practices and psychological research, includes different levels of cognition, forms a common problem field in the social sciences and the humanities, where a person’s value priorities are considered as prerequisites for his behavioral strategies, subjective preferences and political choices. However, the problem of relationship between values and psychological stability of a person in a transitive society remains insufficiently studied. THe purpose of the article is to discuss the psychological stability of a person in the context of the psychology of values. It has been established that reliance on values in a situation of sociocultural changes, awareness and self-reflexivity are prerequisites for the psychological stability of a person, which, depending on different research angles, can be interpreted in two ways: on the one hand, as self-determination, an internal locus of control, adherence to independently chosen life guidelines, on the other hand, adaptability, flexibility, readiness to situationally respond to changes and rebuild behavioral strategies. In this regard, the dialectic of constancy and variability becomes a methodological basis for interpreting the psychological stability of a person as a complex and antinomic process. Values connect subjective and objective, emotional and conceptual, existential and cognitive content, acting as a kind of bridge between the studies of personality and society, the methodology of psychology and social sciences. THe transdisciplinary approach is consistently used as a methodological strategy aimed at generalizing in a single conceptual framework the relationship between personality development, the evolution of society and culture, the dynamics of values changing in the course of sociocultural transformations. In this context of transdisciplinary discourse, a construct is introduced and substantiated — the axiological space of socialization. THe construct makes it possible to combine both directed influences on a person from the side of his social environment and educational institutions, as well as dispersed, diffuse, latent influences due to current changes in everyday life and the peculiarities of the modern way of life. It is assumed that in methodological terms, the axiological space of socialization contributes to the integration of research into the psychology of personality, the psychology of subject, the psychology of everyday life in the field of social sciences.

Imidž u javnosti i subjektivna dobrobit hrvatskih branitelja

The public opinion towards war veterans is in many cases controversial. On the one hand, they are respected, treated as heroes and valuable members of society, and their war merits were compensated through material, social and symbolical means. On the other hand, they are often marginalized, and their stigmatization is not uncommon: It is most often related to the psychological consequences of war trauma, but also to assumed dubious motives for joining the military (such as improving social and material status, disturbed personality, etc.). It is well-known that self- stigmatization is difficult to bear, so publicly-created negative images, if exaggerated, can have particularly severe consequences on the lives of defenders and veterans. In order to answer that question, an online survey conducted with 749 Croatian veterans from the Homeland War (1991— 1995) sought to fulfill two goals: first, to examine to what extent the veterans adopted the positive and negative images about their population; and second, to determine how it is related to their subjective well-being. The results show that almost all veterans are aware of and emphasize their merits, but they partly accepted negative views of their status. Additionally, it was shown that the mentioned veterans’ problems are not related or are only marginally related to their subjective well- -being. The findings are interpreted in a broader context, taking into account the phenomenon of personal compensation of public (macrosocial) deficits, typical of transitional societies.