scholarly journals AN IMPERATIVE NEED FOR A NEW SOCIAL ORDER IN MICROFINANCE COMMUNITY - TOWARDS USHERING IN A RESILIENT ECO-SYSTEM IN THE BATTLE AGAINST CORONA PANDEMIC

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 107-123
Author(s):  
Ali Saleh Alshebami ◽  
V. Rengarajan
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Physical Capability ◽  
Demand And Supply ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
New Social Order

The battle against corona does not confine to only economic resurgence by supplying microcredit to the poor clients in both demand and supply sides of microfinance sector but how to protect them from the offense of the corona in the health perspectives. In other words, imperatively it is warranted that the survival of human beings in the pandemic in the Microfinance sector merits attention on priority in the revival package.  It is therefore surmised that in the process of ushering in a new social order with a resilient ecology in the Microfinance sector, there is a dilemma in awarding priority either for economic revival through the flow of microcredit for releasing financial stress or human survival with the resilient physical capability in the process of recovery from the pandemic. The study, based on secondary data, concludes that Microfinance actors need to consider that economic revival bundle should not confine with a fresh dose of microcredit alone and recovery of it collectively or individually in Microfinance sector without synchronizing a social-oriented bundle in the micro-financial package towards nurturing on health care awareness and for the obedience of obligatory preventive measures namely social distancing, Face mask, washing hands by the poor clients in the last mile. Any assumption on this issue is dangerous. The latter that guarantees the basic survival of the customers from the Corona pandemic, should precede the former one or get integrated simultaneously with it to generate a resilient ecosystem from interdisciplinary perspectives. Otherwise, another Microfinance crisis is forthcoming.

scholarly journals Data Colonialism: Rethinking Big Data’s Relation to the Contemporary Subject

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 336-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Couldry ◽  
Ulises A. Mejias
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Data Stream ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Social Discrimination ◽  
Social Data ◽  
For Profit ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Form ◽  
New Social Order

We are often told that data are the new oil. But unlike oil, data are not a substance found in nature. It must be appropriated. The capture and processing of social data unfolds through a process we call data relations, which ensures the “natural” conversion of daily life into a data stream. The result is nothing less than a new social order, based on continuous tracking, and offering unprecedented new opportunities for social discrimination and behavioral influence. We propose that this process is best understood through the history of colonialism. Thus, data relations enact a new form of data colonialism, normalizing the exploitation of human beings through data, just as historic colonialism appropriated territory and resources and ruled subjects for profit. Data colonialism paves the way for a new stage of capitalism whose outlines we only glimpse: the capitalization of life without limit.

scholarly journals Conceptualizing Artificial Intelligence through Alternate NEO-Planetary Models in the Science Fiction of Dan Simmons

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 3218-3221
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Mechanical Efficiency ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Technological Competence ◽  
Scientific Innovation ◽  
Machine Interface ◽  
The Mind ◽  
New Social Order

The technological competence of a nation is confirmed by the number of successful space expeditions. Science Fiction from the early 1900s has dealt with the idea of living in conceptual spaces. This paper deals with select works of Dan Simmons including four prize-winning Science Fiction novels which are usually referred to as the Hyperion (1989), The Fall of Hyperion (1989), Endymion (1996), The Rise of Endymion (1989). In modern Techno-Fiction, the mind of the man and the scientific innovation of the machine have been harmoniously brought into existence as Cyborgs through Artificial Intelligence. The life expectancy and the available technical manifestations would seem scarce to get into a feasible interface of enhanced human beings and mechanical efficiency to accelerate the voyage into an anticipated future. This study further examines the ways in which the incredible complexity of the Cybernetic self has been portrayed in the works of Simmons. The principle aim of this proposed paper is to understand the context of the technological forces unbridled in the man-machine interface and how it has been constitutive of bringing up a new social order. It further analyses how symbolic, social spaces can be experienced adversely by multiple Man-Machine synthesis - mutant beings and clones during the planetary invasions. It is unnatural of a Cyborg to think politically or materialistically, as the functioning would be predominantly based on the commands received from its Artificial Intelligence led consciousness. Moreover, Cybernetics would be an exploration into the formidable secrets, the realm of decrypting ciphers and interpreting codes and cryptograms. Furthermore, embracing the possibilities without a foresight into the Man-Machine synthesis, might lead the whole humanity into a catastrophe depicted by Simmons.

“Society Is a Simple and Beautiful Science”

2021 ◽  
pp. 34-75
Author(s):  
Mark A. Allison
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Great Difficulty ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
William Hazlitt ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Political Left ◽  
New Social Order ◽  
The Church

This chapter investigates British socialism’s symbolic birth: Robert Owen’s unveiling of his plan for an entirely new social order in the summer of 1817. Although Owen has been canonized as a stalwart of the political left, his proposals baffled and enraged partisans across the ideological spectrum. Commentators had great difficulty deciding whether his “Plan” was radical or reactionary—or even if it was “political” at all. Using the vitriolic debates that consumed the Plan as a focal point (and drawing on contemporary commentators as varied as William Hazlitt, Thomas Malthus, and George Cruikshank), this chapter undertakes a revisionary interpretation of Owenite socialism that uncovers its latent aesthetic core. Owen and his followers have long been associated with utilitarian indifference, if not downright vulgarian insensitivity, to the arts. However, Owen’s very ambition to govern citizens without recourse to the state or the Church rests upon an aesthetic substratum. This chapter demonstrates that the curriculum Owen designed to produce human beings who would not require “politics” to produce consensus relies upon extensive training in the musical arts to inculcate the principle of universal harmony. The final part of this chapter locates the origins of British anti-socialist rhetoric at the juncture of Malthusian political economy and anti-Jacobin polemic.

Blackism and Pan-Africanism in Post-Colonial African Literature: A Reading of Femi Osofisan’s Plays

Imbizo ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clement Olujide Ajidahun
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Black People ◽  
African Literature ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
African Renaissance ◽  
Pan Africanism ◽  
New Social Order

This article is a thematic study of Femi Osofisan’s plays that explicitly capture the essence of blackism, nationalism and pan-Africanism as a depiction of the playwright’s ideology and his total commitment to the evolution of a new social order for black people. The article critically discusses the concepts of blackism and pan-Africanism as impelling revolutionary tools that seek to re-establish and reaffirm the primacy, identity, and personality of black people in Africa and in the diaspora. It also discusses blackism as an African renaissance ideology that campaigns for the total emancipation of black people and a convulsive rejection of all forms of colonialism, neo-colonialism, Eurocentrism, nepotism and ethnic chauvinism, while advocating an acceptance of Afrocentrism, unity and oneness of blacks as indispensable tools needed for the dethronement of all forms of racism, discrimination, oppression and dehumanisation of black people. The article hinges the underdevelopment of the black continent on the deliberate attempt of the imperialists and their black cronies who rule with iron hands to keep blacks in perpetual slavery. It countenances Femi Osofisan’s call for unity and solidarity among all blacks as central to the upliftment of Africans. The article recognises Femi Osofisan as a strong, committed and formidable African playwright who utilises theatre as a veritable and radical platform to fight and advocate for the liberation of black people by arousing their revolutionary consciousness and by calling on them to hold their destinies in their hands if they are to be emancipated from the shackles of oppression.

The Global Rise of Social Cash Transfers

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lutz Leisering
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Security ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Social Citizenship ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Sociological Approach ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Social Cash Transfers ◽  
The Right

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) proclaimed the equality of all human beings in dignity and rights. The right to social security, however, has been taken more seriously only since the 2000s, through calls for ‘Social security for all’ and ‘Leaving no one behind’. The book investigates a major response, social cash transfers to the poor. The idea of simply giving money to the poor had been rejected by all major development organizations until the 1990s, but since the early 2000s, social cash transfers have mushroomed in the global South and on agendas of international organizations. How come? What programmes have emerged in which countries? How inclusive are the programmes? What models have international organizations devised? Based on unique quantitative and qualitative data, the book takes stock of all identifiable cash transfers in all Southern countries and of the views of all major international organizations. The author argues that cash transfers reflect broader changes: new understandings of development, of human rights, of global risks, of the social responsibility of governments, and of universalism. Social cash transfers have turned the poor from objects of charity into rights-holders and agents of their own lives and of development. A repertoire of cash transfers has evolved that has enhanced social citizenship, but is limited by weak political commitments. The book also contributes to a general theory of social policy in development contexts, through a constructivist sociological approach that complements the dominant approaches from welfare economics and political economy and includes a theory of social assistance.

Immiserizing Growth

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Poverty Measures ◽  
Entry Points ◽  
Country Analysis ◽  
Cross Country

Immiserizing Growth occurs when growth fails to benefit, or harms, those at the bottom. It is not a new concept, appearing such figures as Malthus, Ricardo and Marx. It is also not empirically insignificant, occurring in between 10% and 35% of cases, depending on the data set and the growth and poverty measures used. In spite of this, it has not received its due attention in the academic literature, dominated by the prevailing narrative that ‘growth is good for the poor’. The chapters in this volume aim to arrive at a better understanding of when, why and how growth fails the poor. They combine discussion of mechanisms of Immiserizing Growth with empirical data on trends in growth, poverty and related welfare indicators. In terms of mechanisms, politics and political economy are chosen as useful entry points to explain IG episodes. The disciplinary focus is diverse, drawing on economics, political economy, applied social anthropology, and development studies. A number of methodological approaches are represented including statistical analysis of household survey and cross-country data, detailed ethnographic work and case study analysis drawing on secondary data. Geographical coverage is wide including Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, the People’s Republic of China, Singapore, and South Korea, in addition to cross-country analysis. As the first book-length treatment of Immiserizing Growth in the literature, we believe that this volume constitutes an important step in redirecting attention to this issue.

A Final Muse

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wendell Moller
Keyword(s):  
Human Beings ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich

Why are kings without pity for their subjects? Because they count on never being common human beings. Why are the rich so hard toward the poor? It is because they have no fear of being poor. . . .—Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Émile; or, On Education1In Shakespeare’s ...

Scriptural Battlefields: The Old Testament, Legal Culture, and the Polemics of the Spanish New World Empire, 1492–1821

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra ◽  
Adrian Masters
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Social Order ◽  
New World ◽  
Legal Culture ◽  
Spanish Empire ◽  
Correct Interpretation ◽  
Group Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Social Order

Scholars have barely begun to explore the role of the Old Testament in the history of the Spanish New World. And yet this text was central for the Empire’s legal thought, playing a role in its legislation, adjudication, and understandings of group status. Institutions like the Council of the Indies, the Inquisition, and the monarchy itself invited countless parallels to ancient Hebrew justice. Scripture influenced how subjects understood and valued imperial space as well as theories about Paradise or King Solomon’s mines of Ophir. Scripture shaped debates about the nature of the New World past, the legitimacy of the conquest, and the questions of mining, taxation, and other major issues. In the world of privilege and status, conquerors and pessimists could depict the New World and its peoples as the antithesis of Israel and the Israelites, while activists, patriots, and women flipped the script with aplomb. In the readings of Indians, American-born Spaniards, nuns, and others, the correct interpretation of the Old Testament justified a new social order where these groups’ supposed demerits were in reality their virtues. Indeed, vassals and royal officials’ interpretations of the Old Testament are as diverse as the Spanish Empire itself. Scripture even outlasted the Empire. As republicans defeated royalists in the nineteenth century, divergent readings of the book, variously supporting the Israelite monarchy or the Hebrew republic, had their day on the battlefield itself.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Preventive Behaviours in Cameroon: A Six-Month Online National Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2554
Author(s):  
Joseph Nelson Siewe Fodjo ◽  
Leonard Ngarka ◽  
Wepnyu Y. Njamnshi ◽  
Leonard N. Nfor ◽  
Michel K. Mengnjo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Regression Models ◽  
Health Personnel ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Adherence Score ◽  
Preventive Behaviour ◽  
Predictors Of Adherence

Since March 2020, the Cameroonian government implemented nationwide measures to stall COVID-19 transmission. However, little is known about how well these unprecedented measures are being observed as the pandemic evolves. We conducted a six-month online survey to assess the preventive behaviour of Cameroonian adults during the COVID-19 outbreak. A five-point adherence score was constructed based on self-reported observance of the following preventive measures: physical distancing, face mask use, hand hygiene, not touching one’s face, and covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing. Predictors of adherence were investigated using ordinal logistic regression models. Of the 7381 responses received from all ten regions, 73.3% were from male respondents and overall mean age was 32.8 ± 10.8 years. Overall mean adherence score was 3.96 ± 1.11 on a scale of 0–5. Mean weekly adherence scores were initially high, but gradually decreased over time accompanied by increasing incidence of COVID-19 during the last study weeks. Predictors for higher adherence included higher age, receiving COVID-19 information from health personnel, and agreeing with the necessity of lockdown measures. Meanwhile, experiencing flu-like symptoms was associated with poor adherence. Continuous observance of preventive measures should be encouraged among Cameroonians in the medium- to long-term to avoid a resurgence in COVID-19 infections.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document