LGBTQ Human Rights and Conservative Backlash: A Case Study of Digital Activism in Mexico | Author : Nielan Barnes | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :The internet is a powerful tool that can be leveraged to form networks that disseminate information and encourage collective action. As a socio-material practice the ways in which liberal and conservative social actors use the internet matters deeply, as evidenced by the power of social media to manipulate election results. This paper asks to what degree are liberal and conservative social movement organizations using the internet -specifically, websites and social media - to achieve their goals, and what can activists and policy makers learn from trends in use of such digital strategies? To answer this question this paper presents an analysis of the websites and social media of two core sets of liberal (LGBTQ) and conservative (pro-family) organizations that engage each other within a contested policy domain. A principal finding is that while pro-family organizations use their websites and social media more extensively, neither pro-family nor LGBTQ organizations take full advantage of their digital ecosystems. While there is a significant amount research on the topic of digital activism, LGBTQ human rights, and social movements, there is very little social science research that analyzes the use of digital strategies within LGBTQ social movements, and even less that examines how conservative social movements use digital forms of activism to counteract liberal gains. This paper helps fill that gap by identifying trends in liberal and conservative organizations’ use of websites and social media and in so doing contributes new knowledge relevant to social science theory(s) and public policy.
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| Antisemitism in the Gaming Community: The Types of Jewish Hate within Video Games | Author : Craig Isaac White, Professor Melnick | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :There are two parts of this research paper. (i) Part one is an analysis of utterly antisemitic video games. The two games I discuss in part one are titled: Ethnic Cleansing and ZOG’s Nightmare -- both of which were created by neo-Nazi organizations. These types of games are created with the specific intent of breeding extreme hatred. Throughout part one, I exhibit photo evidence of the immense hatred found within the games themselves (i.e., in the design of each game). Moreover, I postulate that antisemitic video games are a new and effective tool in the spreading of Nazi propaganda. (ii) Part two focuses on the prevalence of Jewish hatred within gaming communities. |
| The Girl Who Learned to Pray: A Journey through Psychology, Philosophy, and Theology | Author : Craig Isaac White, Professor Melnick | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :Throughout Etty Hillesum’s short life, she attained a pinnacle of intellectual and spiritual enlightenment, rare for even the eldest amongst humankind. According to Jan G. Gaarlandt, Etty Hillesum had her “own [spiritual] rhythm” (xv). Etty’s final years were an amalgam of intellectual and spiritual discovery. However, her religiosity was “totally unconventional” (xv). In other words, Etty underwent a completely individualistic search for practical wisdom. She open-mindedly delved into Jungian psychotherapy, Western philosophy, Eastern philosophy, and theology; she found much meaning in each of these quasi-religious pursuits. Thus, Etty Hillesum’s spirituality knew no formal boundaries. |
| The “Freedom” of Motion | Author : Craig Isaac White, Nefeli Forni | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :Throughout Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1994), motion is used in various ways for different purposes. At 1:28’00”, a prisoner is taken out of a factory in order to be executed by Ralph Fiennes. During this relatively short encounter between the prisoner and Fiennes, questions involving fate enter the viewer’s mind. But why? All because of motion (or a lack thereof). Spielberg, in this film, employs motion and/or non-motion to convey complicated and meaningful ideas. Ultimately, in this essay, I propose to (i) analyze this somber scene in its production (i.e., why and how did the scene work so well), and (ii) postulate that, in this specific scene, the ability to move freely is restricted to those who are not facing certain death. |
| What is self-knowledge and how far is it desirable? | Author : Bridie Raban | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :Knowledge as a concept has been a central concern of human curiosity as far back as we have records of people’s thoughts. What counts as knowledge and what kinds of criteria we can use to establish knowledge, provide the fulcrum for intellectual life. The answers must be inevitably related to the particular world view of a culture and the first part of this article will deal with some of the issues and ways in which they have been dealt with by philosophers in the Western tradition. Subsequent to this discussion of knowledge in general terms, the special case of self-knowledge will be discussed in relation to its correlate, self-deception. As will be shown initially, the viability of mistakes only makes sense if we allow for the possibility of knowledge. So, for individuals, their knowledge of the outside world must always be referential to their knowledge of themselves. How much of this knowledge is tolerable and manageable and therefore how far it is desirable will be seen in relation to this overall thesis. |
| Social Justice and Greimas’s Semiotic Square: Women in Prison in Salwa Bakr’s The Golden Chariot | Author : Dina Hassan | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :The genre of women in prison literature sheds light on a rich storehouse of an unexplored segment of society. As such, it needs to receive more attention from scholars and educators to promote its readability to a wider audience. The purpose of this often-neglected genre is to show how women prisoners are perceived by a wide majority of the supposedly good citizens as constituting a sub-human level that does not deserve to be heard. On top of that, the stories of women prisoners are often exceptionally rich in information about the various elements of their human experience, the societies they were shaped by, their value systems and the highly asymmetrical systems of domination and subordination. and can offer a valuable understanding of ways to reform such societies. A lot of the attention is given to exemplary women who are either active feminists or silent subjugated objects, and between those two ends of the spectrum, a wide range of stories are lost and voices are turned silent. More importantly, looking at women’s stories in prison and their complex subjectivities becomes more illuminating when those stories are compared and contrasted in different societies. In order to make that comparison, Greimas’s semiotic square comprises an effective tool in creating a visual structure to the contraries and contradictions manifested in the text. For the analysis, I chose to focus on The Golden Chariot by the Egyptian writer Salwa Bakr’s and the American best seller which became a Netflix series Orange is the New Black written by Piper Kerman. The two texts challenge the abstract image of a ‘typical female inmate.’ The two texts communicate who those women are, their subjectivity and their sense of self, and their own understanding of and feelings about that time in their lives. The two texts share the common purpose of reintroducing the desire and dream for a communal mode of existence that is less oppressive and manipulative to all its members. The two texts also explore the layers beyond the self to depict how women re-structure power, race, and kin relations in prison, while examining the intricate connection between the personal and the social scene. I argue that the social, economic, and individual squares are the same in both societies, “The conjunctions of those relations form a fundamental network that governs human social behavior and practice.” (Wang 341-342). The analysis investigates the intersectionality of women suffering, how those stories are interrelated as well as how certain cultures and individuals perceive relations between entities in the most profound and subtle sense that reveals the ugliness of moral hypocrisy. |
| THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND THE PRIVATE DOMAIN: MYTHS AND SHADOWS | Author : José Luís Bonifácio Ramos | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :In effect, the dichotomy between the public and the private domains of the state once again draws the attention of doctrine, both public as well as private, not only due to the continual controversies caused by the regime, the juridical effects and nature of dominion but also, and above all, arising from the recent legislative reforms and proto-reforms with ranges and consequences that require grasping and deciphering. We here refer in particular to Decree Law no. 280/2007 of 7 August, of the Legal Regime for Public Immovable Property as well as the draft law on Public Dominion Properties, publicly unveiled by portuguese government officials on 27 October 2008. |
| Decolonizing African Economic Structure: A Gendered Lesson from Flora Nwakpas Efuru and Buchi Emechetas the Joys of Motherhood | Author : Wale Oyedeji, Roseline Adebimpe Adewuyi | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :The protruding numbers of scholarly works on feminism?in all its inflections?reveal that there is a progression of conversations that center on the exploration of gender inequity in the world, and the absurdity it creates therefore. In recent time, that tide of influence has been sweeping the African intellectual space with a form of torrent that necessitates diverging views. Many of the works in this direction argue that Africans undermine their females economic freedom by distancing from them the means of production, and by implication, their financial access. There is thus the paucity of intellectual engagements that considers necessary the decolonization of the existing economic structure of Africa, achievable through the knowledge of distributive economies that permeated their system before colonial experience. Consequently, this work concentrates on decolonizing this structure by taking a gendered lesson from two texts, namely, Flora Nwakpas Efuru and Buchi Emechetas The Joys of Motherhood. To achieve this, Akachi Ezeigbos snail-sense feminism is used, as its tenets are anchors for situating the contemporary African economic structure within its colonial heritages. The culture of protest demonstrated by the protagonists of the text is an awareness and consciousness of the roles of women in primordial African setting and they appear to be unapologetic about making their voices heard, and their roles count. Role-reversal, and economic restructurings are evident of this adrenaline protest, and the works therefore exemplify economic frameworks useful in revolutionizing the polity. |
| Risks Identification of Genetic Test Results Applied in Insurance Underwriting- A Design Thinking Analysis | Author : Xiao Dan Lin, Rou Yu Lin, Fenqiang Chen, Chiang Ku Fan | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :In order to provide more information to help insurers do the preparation well to face the era of genetic generation, there are two goals need to be achieved for this research. The first is to identify the risks concerned by potential insurance consumers either agree to provide genetic testing results used as part of the underwriting process or not. The second is to identify the risks concerned by insurers either be allowed to use genetic testing results as an underwriting reference or not. A five-point scale attitude survey is used to collect data, then analyzed by the descriptive statistic analysis and independent t test. Furthermore, this study conducts a five-step process of design thinking that enables to come up with impactful solutions vetted by the potential customers. There are four recommendations include 1. The supervisor should invite insurer, genetic experts and consumers to get together to develop laws or regulations related to reasonable using genetic testing in insurance underwriting. 2. Insurers should design a clear and easy understand policy related to using genetic testing results in underwriting to avoid disputes and improve the acceptance of policies. 3. The supervisor not only to develop a consumer protection mechanism by revising the contemporary related statutes but also to request insurance companies to improve the employees’ legal awareness of using genetic test results appropriately by providing advance on the job training program. 4. The insurance industry, by applying Blockchain tech, to establish a third-party justice and trusted unit to manage genetic testing information fairly and insurance companies could reasonably employ genetic testing information in their underwriting procedures. |
| AGONY OF CIRCULATION IN THE BAMENDA METROPOLITAN AREA OF THE NORTH WEST REGION OF CAMEROON | Author : Lesley Ntumngia N., Lawrence Fombe F. | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :In most third world countries the roads are substandard characterized by the absence of service lanes, deteriorating pavements, minimal street lighting and frequent accidents. The roads in Bamenda are aging and in a deplorable stat. Potholes have developed into an endemic problem exacerbated by the absence of drains and culverts. Poorly constructed and delayed maintenance of these roads constitute a nightmare for vehicle owners due to their deplorable surface state, which often leads to congestion, frequent breakdowns and accidents. The objective of this study was to examine the state of roads in Bamenda, guided by the hypothesis that poor and untimely road maintenance leads to its rapid degradation. The study employed a face to face interview approach with related public and private institutions in 2019 and 2020. Over 186 respondents were selected from neighbourhoods such as Metta Quarter, Ntarinkon, Atuazire, Ntamulung, Ntabang and Nkwen which falls within the Central Business Area using the stratified sampling, simple random and systematic sampling techniques. Findings reveal that the absence of a sound sustainable measure to monitor the roads and ensure effective maintenance gives rise to an agonising population that has to deploy additional costs and time lost in attaining its socio-economic objectives. |
| Instances Narratives Et La Dénonciation Des Pouvoirs Socio-Phallocratiques Dans Rebelle De Fatou Keïta | Author : Joseph Akanbi Adewuyi, Dr. (Mrs) Titilade M.O.Ahmed, Roseline Adebimpe Adewuyi | Abstract | Full Text | Abstract :Every reader is moved by reading the intrigues on the condition of the black woman in rebel by the Ivorian Fatou Kéïta. Our choice for this novel is particularly caused by the fact that this work exposes the shocking life of the protagonist who revolts against the system established by retrograde traditions and its adverse impact on the culture and religion of black Africa. This study makes use of narratology, also known as the narrative voice or narrative context as theoretical frame work. A critical reading of selected novel rebel Fatou Keita was made. We reviewed the status of the subject areas about writers and narratology by using the theory of the work of Gérard Genette, model Lucie Guillemette and Cynthia Levesque. An inventory of narrative structures that denounce the oppressive powers in the novel was drawn for analysis. Subsequently, we proposed a statistical representation of simple percentage on analytical categories of the techniques for denouncing negative powers of traditions. The work revealed that the author made use of various narrative techniques to expose the socio-cultural injustices of the community in particular and Africa in general. The most prominent are: free indirect discourse and especially the interior monologues that expose stigmatizing abuses, oppression of men, that is to say, the subjugation of women caused by the patriarchal society. The study also revealed that the dialogues have severely condemned other ailments such as imperialism, racism, rape, forced marriage and female circumcision. The study also identified violence, a common element to all the stories as a way to protest against the cruel powers. The study has established the fact that narratology is a viable tool to highlight writers messages |
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