scholarly journals Improving Living Conditions of Widows: The Role of Sister Connection Organization in Burundi

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (29) ◽  
pp. 281
Author(s):  
Ndabarushimana Alexis ◽  
Dushime Francine
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Family Systems Theory ◽  
Interview Protocol ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
National Director

This paper focuses on the role of Sister Connection organization in improving the living conditions of Burundian widows. Specifically, it shows how received assistance has contributed to improving the living conditions of widows. It also shows different constraints that Sister Connection is facing in its effort of supporting widows. It further allowed us to know the suggestions that widows and the management of Sister Connection have. We opted for qualitative approaches with the use of the interview guide, and quantitative approaches with the use of a questionnaire administrated indirectly to the widows sponsored by Sister Connection. 96 widows have been selected using Bouchard’s technique. An interview protocol was conducted by the National Director and a questionnaire was administered to the 96 widows. Data findings were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The “family systems theory” was chosen and it allowed us to understand how the solidarity that naturally characterizes Burundian families is broken at the death of a spouse and how other family members react to widows in Burundian society. Results showed that living conditions have been improved by the financial and spiritual assistance that the widows received from Sister Connection. Furthermore, the majority of widows have benefited shelter from Sister Connection. Despite all this effort, a significant number of widows assisted by Sister Connection are illiterate, and this presents a challenge to communicate with them whether it’s through written communications or simply explaining certain things or communicating ideas. Training or teaching them becomes a challenge as they don’t easily pick up on things or understand as fast as they could. Widows live far from each other. In fact, some live in isolated areas which make it difficult to reach them and know their needs on a regular basis.

Concluding Summary

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie Figdor
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
External Factors ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Conceptual Foundation ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Research ◽  
Internal And External Factors ◽  
Conceptual Confusion

Chapter 10 provides a summary of the argument of the book. It elaborates some of the benefits of Literalism, such as less conceptual confusion and an expanded range of entities for research that might illuminate human cognition. It motivates distinguishing the questions of whether something has a cognitive capacity from whether it is intuitively like us. It provides a conceptual foundation for the social sciences appropriate for the increasing role of modeling in these sciences. It also promotes convergence in terms of the roles of internal and external factors in explaining both human and nonhuman behavior. Finally, it sketches some of the areas of new research that it supports, including group cognition and artificial intelligence.

A Phenomenology of Rhythm

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lexi Eikelboom
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Henri Lefebvre ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
The Social ◽  
Analytical Importance ◽  
Jazz Performance

This chapter proposes a framework for approaching the theological significance of rhythm through phenomenology, prosody, and the social sciences. In accordance with the general categories of phenomenology established by Merleau-Ponty and the “rhythmanalysis” of Henri Lefebvre, the chapter investigates two experiences of rhythm: approaches to analysing the human encounter with rhythm in the reading of poetry and the role of rhythm in social interactions introduced through commonalities between rhythm in conversation and in jazz performance. These explorations establish two features of rhythm that are of analytical importance for the chapters that follow: (1) the synchronic and the diachronic as two necessary but distinct theoretical perspectives on rhythm, each of which emphasizes different features of rhythm and (2) the importance of interruption for understanding rhythm’s significance.

Indonesian Historical Writing after Independence

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Historical Writing ◽  
Dutch Version ◽  
History Writing ◽  
Academic History ◽  
Artistic Representations ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Military ◽  
Local Perspectives

This chapter discusses Indonesian historical writing after independence. At the time Indonesia became independent, knowledge of academic history-writing was virtually non-existent. Indonesian elites then faced the postcolonial predicament of having to adopt Western nationalistic approaches to history in order to oppose the Dutch version of the archipelago’s history that had legitimized colonial domination. Soon after independence, the military took over and dominated the writing of history in Indonesia for several decades. Challenges to the military’s view of history came from artistic representations of history, and from historians—trained in the social sciences—who emphasized a multidimensional approach balancing central and local perspectives. However, it was only after 2002 that historians could openly criticize the role of the military.

Reconsidering American Power

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
American Power ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
The Social ◽  
State Sponsorship ◽  
To Come

Postcolonial studies, postmodern studies, even posthuman studies emerge, and intellectuals demand that social sciences be remade to address fundamentals of the human condition, from human rights to global environmental crises. Since these fields owe so much to American state sponsorship, is it easier to reimagine the human and the modern than to properly measure the pervasive American influence? Reconsidering American Power offers trenchant studies by renowned scholars who reassess the role of the social sciences in the construction and upkeep of the Pax Americana and the influence of Pax Americana on the social sciences. With the thematic image for this enterprise as the ‘fiery hunt’ for Ahab’s whale, the contributors pursue realities behind the theories, and reconsider the real origins and motives of their fields with an eye on what will deter or repurpose the ‘fiery hunts’ to come, by offering a critical insider’s view.

The Politics of Global Health Inequalities

2019 ◽  
pp. 58-84
Author(s):  
Yusra Ribhi Shawar ◽  
Jennifer Prah Ruger
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Health Inequality ◽  
The Political ◽  
State Of Health ◽  
Political Determinants ◽  
The Social

Careful investigations of the political determinants of health that include the role of power in health inequalities—systematic differences in health achievements among different population groups—are increasing but remain inadequate. Historically, much of the research examining health inequalities has been influenced by biomedical perspectives and focused, as such, on ‘downstream’ factors. More recently, there has been greater recognition of more ‘distal’ and ‘upstream’ drivers of health inequalities, including the impacts of power as expressed by actors, as well as embedded in societal structures, institutions, and processes. The goal of this chapter is to examine how power has been conceptualised and analysed to date in relation to health inequalities. After reviewing the state of health inequality scholarship and the emerging interest in studying power in global health, the chapter presents varied conceptualisations of power and how they are used in the literature to understand health inequalities. The chapter highlights the particular disciplinary influences in studying power across the social sciences, including anthropology, political science, and sociology, as well as cross-cutting perspectives such as critical theory and health capability. It concludes by highlighting strengths and limitations of the existing research in this area and discussing power conceptualisations and frameworks that so far have been underused in health inequalities research. This includes potential areas for future inquiry and approaches that may expand the study of as well as action on addressing health inequality.

Social Ontology and Model-Building: A Response to Epstein

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-192
Author(s):  
Nadia Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Social Ontology ◽  
Model Construction ◽  
Ontological Commitments ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social

Brian Epstein has recently argued that a thoroughly microfoundationalist approach towards economics is unconvincing for metaphysical reasons. Generally, Epstein argues that for an improvement in the methodology of social science we must adopt social ontology as the foundation of social sciences; that is, the standing microfoundationalist debate could be solved by fixing economics’ ontology. However, as I show in this paper, fixing the social ontology prior to the process of model construction is optional instead of necessary and that metaphysical-ontological commitments are often the outcome of model construction, not its starting point. By focusing on the practice of modeling in economics the paper provides a useful inroad into the debate about the role of metaphysics in the natural and social sciences more generally.

The Moderation Role of Being Valued by Teachers Over the Association Between School Children Motivation and Need for Competition

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110441
Author(s):  
Cristina Maria Bostan ◽  
Tudor Stanciu ◽  
Răzvan-Lucian Andronic
Keyword(s):  
School Children ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Economic Status ◽  
Motivation For Learning ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family

Concordant with classical theoretical guidelines (i.e., social facilitation, social constructivism theory, and the Pygmalion effect) we tested the need for competition and perception of being valued by teachers to be better motivated for learning in school. We extend knowledge by testing these associations mediated by the social economic status given by the well-being of the family (i.e., controlling for gender and socio-economic status). A total of 214 Romanian students (45.3% boys) with ages between 13 and 17 years were administered the PEER questionnaire (i.e., perception of being valued by teachers, school-children motivation, and the need for competition). Results show a positive relation between the need for competition and motivation for learning. We also found positive relations between the perception of being valued by the teacher and motivation for learning and the need for competition. We conclude that motivation is higher when the need for competition is higher and the perception of being valued by teachers is higher.

The Phantom at The Opera

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney Tarrow
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Political Development ◽  
American Political Development ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Social

Movements and parties have given rise to two largely separates specialties in the social sciences. This Element is an effort to link the two literatures, using evidence from American political development. It identifies five relational mechanisms governing movement/party relations: two of them short term, two intermediate term, and one long-term. It closes with a reflection on the role of movement/party relations in democratization and for democratic resilience.

scholarly journals Experiences from families of children with cerebral paralysis in context of social vulnerability

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 956-963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marja Rany Rigotti Baltor ◽  
Giselle Dupas
Keyword(s):  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Support Networks ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Financial Difficulties ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Cerebral Paralysis ◽  
Primary Carer ◽  
Data Result

OBJECTIVE: to describe and to analyze the experience from families of children with cerebral paralysis living under circumstances of social vulnerability. METHOD: six resident families in area with this characteristic were interviewed. It was opted to use the Symbolic Interactionism as theoretic reference and the Thematic Content Analysis of Bardin as analysis method for the data. RESULT: the experience of such families is represented in the subjects: Reorganizing the Life, with the categories "Discovering the way" and "Accommodating the routine", and Stopping a Constant Fight with the categories: "Primary Carer being overcharged", "Coexisting with the preconception", "Having locomotion difficulty" and "Living with financial difficulties". CONCLUSION: the social vulnerability influences how the family bears the chronic condition. Professionals and strategies of public health are a power to minimize impacts including those related to the family budget, but they have not been effective. They need to be sensitized to become supporting resources, to offer and to guide the access to the support networks and to spur the social service in action when necessary. This study adds knowledge to the already existing by pointing out peculiarities of the family experience in situations regarding two variables of difficult handling: chronicity and social vulnerability, evidencing the role of the professional in search of the solution for the confrontation of demands and sufferings together with the family.

scholarly journals Curriculum design in theology and development: Human agency and the prophetic role of the church

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Haddad
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Development Programme ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
The Social ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
The University ◽  
The Church

The field of theology and development is a relatively new sub-discipline within theological studies in Africa. The first formal post-graduate programme was introduced at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa during the mid-1990s. In the early years it was known as the Leadership and Development programme and since 2000, as the Theology and Development programme. Over the past twenty years, this programme has graduated over 160 BTh Honours, 100 MTh, and 15 PhD students. This article outlines the history of the programme, addresses its ideological orientation, its pedagogical commitments and preferences in curriculum design. It further argues that theological reflection on “development” must seek to understand the prophetic role of the church in responding to the complexities of the social issues facing the African continent.  Key to this discussion is the contested nature of “development” and the need for theological perspectives to engage this contestation through a social analysis of the global structures of injustice. This requires an engagement with the social sciences. It is this engagement of the social sciences with theological reflection, the essay argues, that has enabled the students who have graduated from the Theology and Development Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal to assist the church and faith-based organisations to become effective agents of social transformation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document