scholarly journals Communication and the Shaping of Human Personality; Deconstructing the Nature/Nurture Debate in Light of the Menace of Street Children in Nigeria

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kizito Ogedi Alakwe ◽  
Silk Ugwu Ogbu

At the core of the knowledge inquiry about behavioural differences is the nature versus nurture debate which has been central to the development of various theories of human personality. The metaphor of a pendulum, swinging back and forth between nature and nurture, has been used to depict the opinion of scholars and practitioners in the social sciences and psychology in this debate. Nature / Nurture debate seeks to proffer answers to the following questions: why do people differ significantly in temperament, approach to challenges and level of intelligence even when they are siblings sharing from the same pool of genes? The debate also seeks to understand why people with different genetic trait behave alike within a group. How does our physical environment affect human behaviour and what role does communication play in the development of human personality? In the context of street children in Nigeria, should we attribute human personality to nature or nurture? These are issues this paper seeks to deconstruct. Methodologically, the paper examines critical theories of human personality and utilises a mix of review of relevant literature, comments and observations to discuss the role of communication in the formation of human personality. It concludes that though nature contributes towards human behaviour and personality, communication, which is the tool that drives socialisation, is central to the development of personality among the street children of Calabar. Thus, if communication can influence personality negatively, then the street children of Calabar have a chance of being rehabilitated through a different kind of communication aimed at behaviour modification.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehita Iqani

This article explores the role of social media promotions in the marketing of luxury, from the perspectives of both representatives of global brands and the local influencers contracted to promote them online. It provides insights into role of social media in marketing luxury in ‘new’ markets (African cities) and the complexities attendant to the relationship between brand representatives and influencers. It reports on in-depth interviews with brand representatives and social media influencers working in the luxury sector in large anglophone African cities. Empirical findings show the role of social media in how luxury is promoted by those working in the industry. Three key complexities to do with value, trust and authenticity were evident in how global brand representatives and local influencers discussed social media. In terms of value, influencers emphasize strategies for monetizing visibility, while brand managers emphasize the need to get their money’s worth. Regarding trust, influencers express caution about brands trying to exploit them, while brands express scepticism about the extent of influencer’s abilities. On the topic of authenticity, influencers emphasize how the integrity of their personal brands is paramount, while brand representatives are mostly concerned with how genuine the social media posts seem. The article provides original empirical details about the relationships between brand managers and social media influencers, as well as to the nuances of social media luxury marketing in African cities. It contributes to critical theories of branding practice in media economies of the global south.


Author(s):  
Mohamad Seddigh Mohamadi ◽  
Hasan Babaee ◽  
Mohamad Khaledian

The present paper aims to explain crime by investigating various theoretical approaches and to show that from the classic era to the recent postmodern theories, a slow but steady cycle of discourse concerning crime has been occurring. In the classic times, the criminal is assumed to be a sane person with sound will who commits crime with an individualistic choice and due to incorrect decisions; In the positivism approach, the theorists' concern is directed at recognizing criminals and clarifying more fundamental biological aspects and psychological performance and they seek to explain the phenomenon of crime by dividing the people of the society into normal and abnormal people; In the modern theories the social factors causing the appearance of crime are at the focal point while critical theories greatly emphasize on the role of the society in the criminal phenomenon and its definition, finally postmodern theories consider crime totally as constructed by mindset, language and power and question its existential reality.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-159
Author(s):  
Ágota Szilágyi-Kispista

In his 2016 book Notes on the Ontology of Design, Arturo Escobar asks whether it is possible to talk about the existence of a “critical design theory”. He states that if by “critical” we mean the application of a series of critical theories and approaches in the fields of design, and a certain connection to cultural studies, then we can talk about the ongoing development of a “critical design theory”. Based on an analysis of a set of objects by the social enterprise Meșteshukar ButiQ (Bucharest, Romania), I analyze the role of design in the construction and representation of Romani identity. Generally, design is interpreted as a representation of the self, however it has a significant role in constructing it too. According to Penny Sparke, “design is seen as being part of the dynamic process through which culture is actually constructed, not merely reflected” (2013: 4). Through an analysis of the products created and sold by Meșteshukar ButiQ and its collaborators, I examine the role of design not just in expressing but also in creating meanings, and thereby, I emphasize the design process’ importance in identity politics.


Author(s):  
Éva Pintér ◽  
Nikolett Deutsch

Az utóbbi évtizedben a környezettudatos gazdálkodás szerepének felértékelődése új tevékenységi területet nyitott meg a bankok előtt, amit nemzetközi szóhasználattal élve green banking-nek neveznek. A fenntartható fejlődést támogató projektek banki finanszírozása számos lehetőséget nyit a pénzügyi intézmények számára – hírnév, új ügyfélbázis, kockázatcsökkentés, jövedelmezőség növelése –, amennyiben a bankok a fenntarthatóság elveit megfelelően integrálják működési stratégiájukba. A cikksorozat második részében a szerzők a bankok fenntartható működését támogató külső és belső motiváló tényezőit veszik vizsgálat alá, amelyet már nemzetközi elvek és megállapodások is szabályoznak és támogatnak. Kiemelt fontosságot tulajdonítanak a környezettudatos gazdálkodás banki stratégiába történő integrálásának, melynek alapjait teremthetik meg a cikkben vizsgált nemzetközi irányelvek. ________ In the last decade, a lot of publications came to light, dealing with the social and environmental responsibility of financial institutions. Banks are expected to improve their competitive advantage by demonstrating economic development, while promoting environment care and social responsibility. This sustainable finance means to manage environmental and social risks in corporate lending and project financing. Green financial institutions have developed a wide range of innovations that can support sustainable development. This article highlights a few external and internal factor that support this aim, and which are regulated by international principles. However the authors’ survey shows that in the relevant literature there are a lot of ways to define sustainability and its achievement. They suggest that all of them can be interpreted associated with green banking operation. The goal of this paper is to identify the role of financial institutions in achieving sustainable development, and stress its strategic importance. The authors also attempt to show, why and how can this sector become the promoter of sustainability.


Author(s):  
Πανωραία Ανδριοπούλου ◽  
Κωνσταντίνος Καφέτσιος

Despite the seminal role of emotion perception in social and personal relationships, there is limited understanding of how adult attachment organization affects the decoding of facial emotion expressions. Previousresearch has focused on how insecure attachment-related strategies for emotion regulation influence early stages of emotion information processing. However, recent studies highlight the importance of socialprocesses and motivational factors in the perception of positive and negative emotion (see e.g., Vrtička, Sander, & Vuilleumier, 2012). Based on a critical review of the relevant literature, the present articlepresents findings from a recent series of studies that reveal the effects senders' social moti ves (relational context, social goals) have on emotion decoding accuracy in adults with insecure attachment. The findings from these studies are discussed in the context of theories of motivated social cognition and the social perception of emotion.


Author(s):  
Phillip J. VanFossen ◽  
Adam Friedman ◽  
Richard Hartshorne

In this chapter, the authors will report evidence for the potential of MMORPGs for social studies education by providing a detailed review of relevant literature from the fields of game studies, educational technology, and the social networking universe. This evidence will include game scholars’ efforts to develop classroom applications of MMORPGs in the social sciences and related disciplines, and also provide examples of ‘citizenship education’ already occurring with MMORPGs. The authors will also provide an overview of perceived costs and benefits associated with classroom MMORPG use, including logistical hurdles that need to be overcome. They will also share a list of recommendations to the field for classroom use of MMORPGs, as well as implications for policy changes and future study.


The sociological distinction between ascribed and achieved statuses and the typology of roles attached to them construct “status sets” that form the building blocks of class, social inequality and stratification – the most important components of social structure. Among other topics, this chapter addresses the correspondences between work, salvation, piety and economics, by discussing the complexity of meanings in Islam, and through a discourse on Islamic culture. Both theoretically and empirically, we argue that work and social mobility have advanced by placing emphasis on achieved status rather than ascribed status, as in the Protestant vision. The prevalent assumption is that everybody is born with equal capabilities that can be actualized by individual endeavors. Thus, from the Protestant viewpoint, achieved statuses, and the social roles attached to them to build up the social structure, are more individually than socially based. This statement, that reflects a long debate on the role of nature and nurture, does not mean the authors are underestimating societal resources by an emphasis on psychologism. Attempts are made to avoid both sociologism and psychologism especially where theological foundational concerns are built upon here and beyond. Nonetheless, since creation starts with motivation, there are individuals who are prone to uphold and judge their creations to achieve a status without expert information. That is the moment that societal auditioning in various forms hold individuals' estimation of their creation to the societal standards whether in terms of subjectivity of taste or normative demands of a status. By de-emphasizing ascribed status, the individual's endeavors to gain rewards, material or non-material in this world not only contribute to capital accumulation, or prestige, but also open the avenue for the individual who believes in salvation, or engagement in innovation and scientific experimentation. As functionalists suggest, the expectation of reward, failure, and specialization create social inequality – that is, the qualities such as a degree of religiosity that have nothing to do with the stratification of people. If the degree of religiosity, measured by frequency of attending church or mosque, is able to impact drastically upon societal stratification, then the more stratified societies with large gaps between social classes are able to close them harmoniously.


2002 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
GRETA JONES

Whereas there has been considerable debate about the social context of Darwin's theory of natural selection, much less focus has been placed upon Alfred Russel Wallace. This article looks at Wallace's socialism and, in particular, the influence upon his thought of the early nineteenth-century socialist Robert Owen. It argues that a case can be made for seeing Wallace's thought about nature and natural selection in the years up to 1858 in the context of Owenism. Three aspects of his thought are singled out for examination. These are, first, Wallace's views on the role of instinct in animal and human behaviour; second, the idea of colonization in human society and in nature; and third, a re-examination of the role of Malthus in Wallace's thought, emphasizing the influence upon him of the early nineteenth-century socialist critique of Malthusianism.


Author(s):  
Claire Snell-Rood ◽  
Elise Trott Jaramillo ◽  
Alison B Hamilton ◽  
Sarah E Raskin ◽  
Francesca M Nicosia ◽  
...  

AbstractWhile implementation science is driven by theory, most implementation science theories, models, and frameworks (TMF) do not address issues of power, inequality, and reflexivity that are pivotal to achieving health equity. Theories used in anthropology address these issues effectively and could complement prevailing implementation science theories and constructs. We propose three broad areas of theory that complement and extend existing TMF in implementation science to advance health equity. First, theories of postcoloniality and reflexivity foreground attention to the role of power in knowledge production and to the ways that researchers and interventionists may perpetuate the inequalities shaping health. Second, theories of structural violence and intersectionality can help us to better understand the unequal burden of health disparities in the population, thereby encouraging researchers to think beyond single interventions to initiate partnerships that can impact overlapping health vulnerabilities and influence the upstream causes of vulnerability. Finally, theories of policy and governance encourage us to examine the social-political forces of the “outer context” crucial for implementation and sustainability. The incorporation of critical theories could enhance implementation science and foster necessary reflexivity among implementation scientists. We contend that a theoretically critical implementation science will promote better science and, more importantly, support progress toward health equity.


Author(s):  
Carter Rees ◽  
L. Thomas Winfree

Social learning theory is one of the leading theories in the field of criminology. This chapter provides an overview of the role of choice and human agency within the theoretical framework of social learning and their integrative importance for understanding delinquency and crime. Emphasis is placed on research stemming from Herrnstein’s matching law, choice allocation, and statistical models of social learning as applied to social networks. The chapter provides a unifying discussion of choice-based theories of behavior, elaborates on existing statistical models used to test these choice-based and social learning theories, and suggests topics for an innovative research agenda grounded in the relevant literature. In addition, the chapter articulates a research agenda that will help researchers further promote empirical and theoretical advancements in the social learning tradition of criminology.


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