World Of Chaos Research Articles

From Fear and Anxiety to Vulnerable Collective Action: Lucy Kirkwood's The Children

In a seemingly tranquil cottage along the coast, Lucy Kirkwood’s The Children (2016) delves into the profound anxieties and vulnerabilities arising from an ecological crisis. Set in a post-nuclear disaster Britain, the play follows three retired nuclear scientists grappling with the consequences of their past decisions. Amidst a world in chaos, Kirkwood portrays the fragile relationships and emotional struggles of her characters, reflecting the anxieties prevalent in our own reality. Drawing on affect studies theories—such as Lauren Berlant’s “cruel optimism” and “inconvenience,” Sianne Ngai’s “ugly feelings” and Clare Hemmings’ “affective dissonance”—this analysis explores how these concepts shed light on the characters’ experiences. Berlant’s ideas help us understand the characters’ necessity to adhere to routine as a means to avoid confronting larger, more pressing issues. Ngai’s “ugly feelings” expose the anxiety and discomfort that pervade their lives, while Hemmings’ “affective dissonance” highlights the internal conflicts and moral dilemmas they face. By emphasising these struggles, the play invites audiences to reflect on their own vulnerabilities and consider the need for collective action in the face of adversity. Deliberately refusing catharsis, the play underscores the persistence of unresolved crises, prompting viewers to engage with the issues presented on stage and consider their implications beyond the theatre.

The role of ecosystem restoration for a world in chaos—barriers and opportunities to optimize human wellbeing

There is an urgent need to globally advance human wellbeing and ecosystem restoration is required to achieve international targets. However, the relationship between ecosystem services and wellbeing is frequently assumed to be simple and positive, but this is not the case. This paper argues that a poor understanding of how and when ecosystem restoration can improve wellbeing causes a disconnect between the practice and the benefits it promises to provide. Problematic issues with carbon credits are discussed and a case is made against promoting ecosystem restoration initiatives based on carbon storage. Opportunities for ecosystem restoration to optimize gains in wellbeing are proposed, including the identification of sites where restoration has the greatest impact and the transition from carbon credit systems into ecosystem service credit systems. Future research directions are recommended, as are the production of international standards for ecosystem restoration in natural hazard recovery and risk mitigation.

A Study of Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”

The theatre of the Absurd includes plays wherein humans are mere puppets full of irrational and illogical thoughts. From Aeschylus to Ibsen, the artists aimed at constructing meaning out of chaos and at gaining a momentary stay at confusion. So drama was then a temporary escape from the utter meaninglessness of life, a brief period when the audiences could dismiss their tensions and enter into a fictional world based on the assumption that man was a rational animal. But, ‘The Theatre of the Absurd’ ruthlessly shattered these notions, advocating instead their view of human being as an isolated existence and to represent life as it moves from nothingness whence it came to nothingness where it must go. The same notion is very much significant in Shakespeare’s line: “Life is a tale told by an idiot Full of sound and fury signifying nothing.” (Act V, Scene 5, Macbeth) Martin Esslin provided justification for the emergence of this new wave in the theatre, in his book: “The Theatre of the Absurd” which attempts to make man face up the world in which he lives and human conditions as they really are. As it was believed that the real dignity of man lies in his ability to face the reality in its senselessness, to accept it freely, without fear, without illusions and to laugh at it. This term is applied to a group of dramatists in the 1950s who shared the same predicament of man in the universe. Incidentally, the word ‘absurd’ is used in music which denotes a ‘jarring note’ or ‘discord’. This research paper is an attempt to study Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” a tragicomedy in two acts, published in 1952, originally in French as En attendant Godot and first produced in 1953. It is a true innovation in drama that successfully depicts the search for meaning in a world of chaos.

Embrace through the universe: Sound design with cosmic muons and the parameters of solar wind

Although humans are destined to live in a world of chaos, there is also hidden beauty within it. Analogically, this implies that there can be a creative way of living through the exploration of the unknown. Considering humans are part of the dynamism of the whole universe that consists of matter and energy, what would it be like if they could feel being embraced through the universe? Having continuous dialogues with the organizer throughout the planning phase, an artistic performance with the sounds of the universe is presented at the cultural event Connected Ink 2021 in Tokyo. This performance is entitled Life, the Universe and Everything in homage to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. In this paper, the background, concepts, physics, sound design, and the process and result of the project are discussed in collaboration with artists, sound designers, and experimental physicists. Regarding the sound design, it had been developed, in part, based on what the authors have shown through the preliminary sound the installation: Particle Post – Letters from the Universe in 2019, through which the signals from cosmic muons that are captured by a scintillation detector are poetically designed. Transforming imperceivable elements of the universe into an appreciable form in a poetic manner is one of the crucial essences of the authors' research and practice. With this, we believe that we could approach the wonders of the universe aesthetically. Hence, imperceivable elements such as cosmic muons and the parameters of solar wind (density, speed, and temperature in particular) captured from the satellite DSCOVR orbiting the L1 Lagrange point, are brought into the audio system in almost real time. Five iron fuurin, Japanese wind bells, ring triggered by cosmic muons that constantly arrive on Earth, while the stylized sounds of solar wind surround the large space at the venue. Consequently, these two different kinds of ‘wind’ sounds create harmony within the space, hoping to create a similar harmony through the bodies and minds of the audience as well. This project also signifies the value of genuine dialogue and communication with the purpose of deepening an interdisciplinary collaboration and opening up further creation.

Wellness 911

Wellness 911

The Experience of Palliative Care Nurses in Qatar During the Time of COVID-19: A Qualitative Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a source of significant confusion and fear for healthcare workers as they try to maintain some sense of normalcy within their daily practices. One of the many areas affected by this pandemic has been palliative care. Palliative care nurses were thrust into a world of chaos as they faced increasing numbers of patients who were in the process of dying. The aim of this research was to explore the caring experiences of palliative care nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative interpretive description design was used to explore the experience of nurses caring for dying patients in a palliative care unit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-two nurses working in a palliative care unit participated in this study. Data were collected during 1.5- to 2-hour focus group sessions that were guided by open-ended questions. The collected data were analyzed and coded into themes, including (a) transitioning to the new normal, (b) ethical dilemmas, and (c) collaboration and support for fellow colleagues. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet ended, this study provides relevant implications for practice. These implications include (a) holding continuing education sessions to help nurses better understand the meaning of pandemic conditions and how best to respond and (b) supporting nurses to better cope with the additional burdens faced because of increased patient loads. Overall, the nurses in this study were shown to have demonstrated reliance and resilience in the face of COVID-19.

A Multilevel Analysis of the representations of Technology in «Years and Years»

The analysis of science fiction narratives is valuable to explore possible futures. This article analyzes the representation of technology in the television series Years and Years (2019), a co-production by the BBC and HBO created by Russell T Davies. This audiovisual narrative depicts key problems of the present in a representation of the near future, enabling the identification of new socio-technological paradigms. We applied the method of Causal Layered Analysis (CLA), a prospective analytical tool used both for the study of diverse current phenomena and for the design of possible futures, which includes the levels of the litany, systemic causes, discourse/world vision, and myth/metaphor. The analysis showed that Years and Years offers a vision of a world in chaos, based on a global capitalist and technological project that threatens fundamental rights, and the existence of the human species. In the series, technologies are imbibed in all the fundamental systems of Western societies, pushing common people into obsolescence. Three narratives uphold the myth of the dominion of science and technology: the technological transcendence of human beings, the irrelevance of humans before technology, and the ubiquitous panopticon of digitized power. Through its bleak version of the future Y&Y puts into focus aspects of technological development that make us reflect critically and urgently about the present.

Thriving at the University Level: Student Maintains Her Sanity in a World of Chaos

The purpose of this paper was to explore the lived experiences of a woman from a non-dominant racial group in academia. It examined some of the obstacles to effective organizational socialization she encountered, which manifested as micro-aggressive behavior and other marginalizing activities. When the light at the end of the tunnel began to flicker, she found innovative strategies to attain her goals. This paper emphasized the tactics utilized by a woman to maintain her sanity in a world of chaos. It detailed some of her barriers to success from the perspective of organizational socialization, and it identified strategies that enabled her to thrive.

A new efficiency evaluation approach with rough data: An application to Indian fertilizer

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>In the world of chaos, nothing is certain. In such an unpredictable world, measuring the efficiency of any individual is inevitable. In a conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) model, exact input and output quantity data are needed to measure the relative efficiencies of homogeneous decision-making units (DMUs). However, in many real-world applications, the exact knowledge of data might not be available. The rough set theory allows for handling this type of situation. This paper tries to construct a rough DEA model by combining conventional DEA and rough set theory using optimistic and pessimistic <inline-formula><tex-math id="M1">\begin{document}$ \beta $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> confidence values of rough variables, all of which help provide a way to quantify uncertainty. In the proposed method, the same set of constraints (production possibility sets) is employed to build a unified production frontier for all DMUs that can be used to properly assess each DMU's performance in the presence of rough input and output data. Besides, a ranking system is presented based on the approaches that have been proposed. In the presence of uncertain conditions, this article investigates the efficiency of the Indian fertilizer supply chain for over a decade. The results of the proposed models are compared to the existing DEA models, demonstrating how decision-makers can increase the supply chain performance of Indian fertilizer industries.</p>

An Intelligent Gender Classification System in the Era of Pandemic Chaos with Veiled Faces

In the world of chaos, the pandemic has driven individuals around the globe to wear face masks for preventing the virus’s transmission, however, this has made it difficult to determine the gender of the person wearing a mask. Gender information is part of soft biometrics, which provides extra information about a person’s identification, thus, identifying a gender based on a veiled face is among the urgent challenges that must be advocated for in the next decade. Therefore, this study exploited various pre-trained deep learning networks (DenseNet121, DenseNet169, ResNet50, ResNet101, Xception, InceptionV3, MobileNetV2, EfficientNetB0, and VGG16) to analyze the effect of the mask while identifying the gender using facial images of human beings. The study comprises two strategies. First, the experimental part involves the training of models using facial images with and without masks, while the second strategy considers images with masks only, to train the pre-trained models. Experimental results reveal that DenseNet121 and Xception networks performed well for both strategies. Besides this, the Inception network outperformed all others by attaining 98.75% accuracy for the first strategy, whereas EfficientNetB0 performed well for the second strategy by securing 97.27%. Moreover, results suggest that facemasks evidently impact the performance of state-of-the-art pre-trained networks for gender classification.

ПОСТАТЬ ГРИГОРІЯ СКОВОРОДИ І СКОВОРОДИНСЬКІ СМИСЛИ В ПОЕЗІЇ ОЛЕКСІЯ СОФІЄНКА

In this research, the works with the Skovoroda theme were analyzed, written by the talented poet from Kaniv, Oleksii Sofiyenko (1952-2011). Considering the relative little-known status of the writer, the study contains basic biographical information about him. O. Sofiyenko’s poetic language is analyzed in sufficient detail based on all six of his collections; its metaphorical saturation and complexity, intellectuality, problem-thematic richness, versification variety and mastery are noted. The poet’s formal and substantive experimentation, the originality of his visual poetry as an echo of baroque stylistics, is especially emphasized, which to some extent brings Sofiyenko’s work closer to baroque features in the works of Hryhorii Skovoroda. Other possible typological similarities between the works of Skovoroda and Sofiyenko are noted, namely, the philosophical and expressive saturation of the contemporary artist’s poetic texts with biblical, religious, and spiritual imagery and symbolism. It is also noted that O. Sofiyenko’s semantically and figuratively complicated poetry requires active reader cooperation and empathy. Other semantic contexts, particularly stylistic ones, of this poet’s works are indicated. The article focuses on the analysis of O. Sofiyenko’s poem “Apostle of Freedom”, written on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the death of Hryhorii Skovoroda (1994) and published only in the poet’s posthumous collection “Singing Blood” (2013). Detailed attention is paid to the structuring of the poem and its versification pattern, to the realization of the key idea of the work in it - the idea of will (in H. Skovoroda’s - freedom), to the semantics of the concept of will in the world of chaos (“hell of will”) and in the harmonized world (“infinity of will”). It is noted that, according to O. Sofiyenko, world harmony is realized to a large extent by the confession of humanistic values, including spiritual and religious values, through the idea of God. The evolution of imagery and tonality of the poem is traced. Considerable attention of the study was paid to the analysis of other “Skovoroda” poems in O. Sofiyenko’s collections (“Skovoroda”, “Truth”, “Happiness”, “Create Yourself”, etc.), to the semantics artistically reproduced in them, as well as to epigrams and intertexts “from Skovoroda” in the works of a modern poet.

Editorial

This editorial marks the transition of the role of principal editor of the journal from Amanda Williamson to me. It marks the points of contact between us as I reflect on how Amanda’s work and more broadly how practices of somatic spiritualities have impacted my life personally and professionally. As I navigate my new role as an editor, I embrace and celebrate the diversity of practices and voices this journal seeks to recognize. It feels like no accident that the contributions to this issue all, at some level, are speaking about the interpersonal body. Through somatic movement practices, the more embodied we become, the more aware we are of other people, and we begin to acknowledge others as simultaneously distinct from us whilst also being a part of us – others are included in our experience of ourselves. And so here, in this issue, we are invited deeply into the practices of others, knowing that we are already included in them. And as we read and move alongside each other through these words, we extend ourselves into their consciousness too, broadening the networks of embodied knowledge which hold open the space for us to be body–spirit–somas, ineluctably entwined with one another, energetically, intellectually, spiritually. The very real physical, material, fleshly aspects of the contributions to this issue speak to the urgent demands of a society which longs for contact and connection which these practices offer. Whether through shared rhythms of breathing and dancing, visual perception or practical care and somatic authority offered to those suffering illness which threatens to take away their agency, spiritually oriented somatic practices give life back to us when we feel undermined by a world in chaos and reminds us of the connections available to us when we listen, feel, think and move together.

Dzieci „toksycznych rodziców”. Próba interpretacji „Niepocieszonego” Kazuo Ishiguro

The article constitutes an attempt to interpret the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro The Unconsoled – a work with a complex plot and a multi-threaded structure, typical for a composition stretched on the frame of the rhizome-like labyrinth and the motif of memory imperfections. The labyrinth is a space of strangeness, of being lost. It is a journey of the main character who wanders around various spaces of the city and hotel (which performs a variety of functions), meets many random people and listens to their accounts. The life problems of the city’s inhabitants indicate the eternal truth, according to which a man cannot live without understanding, without talking to someone kind who has the ability to listen. They were looking for someone who would listen and understand them, someone who would kindly respond to their problems. It may also be assumed that living in a world without the feeling of a lack of transcendence, the inhabitants were looking for an authority like a messiah who would indicate the direction of renewal in the world of chaos and who would answer the question: How to live? The novel describes a cultural crisis triggered by the feeling of a fundamental contradiction between the world of scientific truths and the inner world of every human being. Values such as faith, friendship, selflessness, truthfulness or family, to which Ishiguro pays a lot of attention, have been lost. “Toxic parents” are shown in multiple configurations: on the example of Ryder’s parents, or Ryder himself as the father of Boris and Stephan Hoffman. The author shows one of the major causes of the paternity crisis, namely the cult of professional success. Professional success and rivalry connected with it completely absorb Ryder’s life and activities. As a result of the pursuit of professional fulfillment, the role of emotional ties in his life becomes less significant, they almost disappear. It may be assumed that, using the example of the crisis in the described city, Ishiguro presents the contemporary world, which lost the sense of life; however, he did not limit it to the lost past. The world in which all attempts to search for a new form of expression and valorization end in failure. It is a labyrinthine, objectified world which is only given outside, a world of showing off and a “game” of pretending, without honesty and simplicity. It is a place dominated by a pose and culture of narcissism, full of inauthenticity, artificiality and appearance. In addition, The Unconsoled is a poignant novel about human loneliness.

THE MYTHOMODEL OF THE UNIVERSE IN THE INTERPRETATION OF P. KULISH (STORY «FIRE SNAKE»)

The paper is devoted to insufficiently investigated subject of modern Ukrainian literary criticism – the novelette by P. Kulisha «Fire snake». The purpose of the paper is to outline the features of the world, modeler by the author, using the three-tier structural division of reality scheme tested in the literature.The main attention was focused on the study of the peculiarities of the functioning of the mechanism of simultaneous interaction and reciprocation of the levels of the world model. The following techniques have been identified – gradation, oxymoron, antinomy, mirroring, etc., by them the author builds each of the simulated spaces, namely: the upper world – the heaven as the abode of God; median space – antroposphere; the lover world is the chaos of unholy power.A separate aspect of interests is the specificity of the presentation of the through character of the story – gold – as a dual phenomenon that accumulates binary meanings. Also, it was about folk and philosophical semantics of the meaning – and structure-forming image of the story – a fire snake – the materialized embodiment of the temptation and the sin.The basic means of creation of characters are analysed: the author’s characteristic, the use of a doubleimage. The semantics of irrational is in the sphere of interest of the author of the paper as well.It was proved that modeled by P. Kulish world is incomplete, deformed by an incorrect understanding of its own existence. In fact, this is a model, the basis of which is the paradox: the man essence ruined by the vanity of humanity destroys the antroposphere, shifts the world axis down into the world of chaos, eventually dehumanizing its own perspective, restructuring the universe on the principle of absolute character of pre-term.

God joins us in death

Graham B. Walker introduces the slow violence of the environmental crisis as a flashpoint in the question for the doctrine of providence in general and the history of the Cross specifically. Where is God in all this? Two immediate positions are identified: the first position assumes that God is located high above the world of chaos in the valley below. God intervenes as God deems appropriate. Questions of inordinate suffering challenge this starting point. A second notion begins in the chaotic valley below and asks, where is God in all of this? E. Frank Tupper begins in this valley and describes “the God of love (who) always does the most God can do.” Tupper identifies the ecological crisis as a significant factor in the chaos of human history. Walker amplifies this concern by introducing ecologist Rob Nixon’s critique of the Western addiction to global consumption and Edward O. Wilson’s appeal for the religious community and the scientific community to work together for the love of the earth. Looking for theological responses that unite both science and faith with a love for God’s world, Walker dialogues with Ian McFarland and Sallie McFague. Although McFarland and McFague start from divergent theological positions, they arrive at a similar conclusion: the self-limitation of human acquisitive desire for the love of God’s world and God’s identification with the suffering creation of the world in the death of Christ.

Parking policy: The socio-legal architecture of parking bays in American cities

In Western vehicularized society, we are constructed by lines. We wait in queues while stuck in traffic, waiting for a morning coffee, even to receive basic governmental entitlements. Lines perpetuate order in an otherwise world of chaos. Lines frame how we distinguish between order and chaos. In parking, lines frame a legitimized rectangle of vehicular occupancy. In other words, the marked parking space is ours for a little while *if* we park within the lines. The legal aesthetic of lines designating parking spaces on pavement symbolizes a legal landscape of cars and people. This performance of law that keeps us ‘in line’ is a really a construction of order designed according to the spatiality of belonging (Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos, 2015). Whether on streets or in lots, pavement that is painted for parking is a site of legal culture. This material spatialization perpetuates a map of life based upon vehicular size and designated usage. The cultural architecture of these lines spatially engenders the paved environment (Dovey, 2009; Lefebvre, 1991) and generates a form visual legal pollution that further contributes to the nomospheric occupancy of place in everyday life (Delaney, 2010). Yet, everyday resistance to such linear normativity (Barr, 2015) disrupts the normative ordering of place and tests the socio-legal imagination.

Hindsight-insight-foresight: a strategic combination for enterprises in a VUCA world

Dotcom-based start-ups have steered their existence, sailing through rough weather, undergoing turbulence, i.e., volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous times, termed as VUCA. The objective of this research is to discover the VUCA challenges that the dotcom enterprises have undergone in the last decade, keeping in mind the ontological and epistemological dimensions and the foresighted required for survival in a world of chaos. An influential case selection technique was administered, where one case was selected that influenced the identified findings among a set of similar cases. BookMyShow (BMB), as the incumbent entrepreneurial firm, from the dotcom space was chosen for the study. This research reflects that in the age of turbulence, dotcom-based enterprises (or entrepreneurial firms) should 'think like a futurist', with new leadership literacies engaging 'foresight and innovation', while moving swiftly acquiring a 'strategic foresight', emanating from hindsight-insight-foresight combination.

Russia's response to new types of threats of the XXI century

The need to form a new political philosophy is associated with modern challenges and threats that require large-scale ordering of the world of chaos and absurdity, an adequate response to the era of "post-truth" in order to preserve the national identity of peoples, cultures, civilizations, as well as the essential features of the person himself. The instability of international relations caused by the collapse of the bipolar world has given rise to the need to create a more stable polycentric world. Countering terrorism led to the formation of anti-terrorist coalitions at the international level and for a certain time brought the world community together in the fight against a common threat. However, no one expected that the new type of war would become another test for the development of a common strategy of counteraction by mankind, requiring a rethinking of the role of man in modern political processes. Schmitt's "friend-foe" confrontation may acquire a different content in the 21st century, when man himself becomes his own enemy, since the products of his military-political and scientific activities endanger the life of all mankind. Russia's response to new political threats can be the development of a new value role of man in the emerging world order, which is possible on condition of world recognition of the civilizational originality of the Russian historical path, building a dialogue of civilizations, as well as the implementation of three ideologies in the new political dimension - patriotism, socialism, environmentalism.

“Smiling depression” (an emerging threat): Let’s Talk

In today’s world of chaos and stressful life dealing with the situations alone with no family, friends or financial support makes people vulnerable to develop depression. It is a worldwide major public health problem and “Smiling depression” aka an atypical form of depression is on the rising trend. People wears mask to prevent the inner turmoil and the need to overcome it. Mostly, it affects the middle-aged group people- the working force for any nation. It is significantly leading to morbidity, disability, mortality and ultimately socio-economic loss. Addressing this type of depression at an early stage will not only help in reducing self-harm and suicides but will also improve the quality of life of such people. Both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment can be provided in different settings by people whether health or non-health professionals. Health system strengthening through proper counselling and psychotherapy, appropriate referral mechanisms and continuity of care is the point of need to tackle this escalating concealed problem.

Uszanowanie charakteru władzy w średniowieczu

CEL NAUKOWY: Celem naukowym niniejszego artykułu jest ukazanie charakteru władzy i szacunku do niej w pierwszych wiekach nowożytnej ery.
 PROBLEM I METODY BADAWCZE: Ponieważ dzisiaj władzy politycznej raczej się nie szanuje, warto się zastanowić nad tym fenomenem, analizując pierwsze wieki chrześcijaństwa i stawiając pytanie: jaki był charakter ówczesnej władzy? Odpowiedzi będziemy szukać, analizując główne nurty myśli teolo‑giczno‑politycznej tamtych czasów.
 PROCES WYWODU: Wychodząc od początków ludzkiego istnienia i potrzeby uporządkowania świata z chaosu spowodowanego grzechem, przeanalizowany zostanie charakter władzy pierwszych wieków chrześcijaństwai średniowiecza. Począwszy od Jezusa Chrystusa, naukę św. Pawła, a później trzech wariantów rządów według Euzebiusza z Cezarei, św. Augustyna oraz św. Ambrożego i św. papieża Gelazego I, będziemy dowodzić, iż władza bierze swój początek w Bogu, by później poprzez władzę Kościoła i cesarza zaprowadzać porządek i pokój w świecie.
 WYNIKI ANALIZY NAUKOWEJ: Analiza poglądów schyłku starożytności i średniowiecza dowodzi, iż istniały trzy rodzaje rozumienia władzy: prymat cesarza przy współudziale Kościoła (Euzebiusz z Cezarei), wyrazista wyższość władzy kościelnej nad świecką i pogańską (św. Augustyn) oraz rozdział pomiędzy władzą kościelną i świecką (św. Ambroży i św. papież Gelazy I).
 WNIOSKI, INNOWACJE, REKOMENDACJE: Analiza charakteru władzy z pierwszych wieków chrześcijaństwa i średniowiecza dowodzi, iż powszechnie okazywano szacunek zarówno władzy kościelnej, jak i świeckiej, uzasadniając taką postawę jej boską naturą i jednocześnie troską o dobro wspólne. Mądrość, która płynie od chrześcijańskich i średniowiecznych myślicieli, winna być zatem poważnym bodźcem do refleksji nad charakterem i stosunkiem do władzy we współczesnej cywilizacji demokratycznej.