scholarly journals BUCHANS: A MINING TOWN: EXCAVATING ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION THROUGH CANADIAN DOCU-DRAMATURGY

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Aditi Vahia ◽  
Devang Nanavati

The figures that 1% of the richest possessing 44% of the world’s wealth in 2020 (“Facts: Global Inequality”) evidently indicates the immediacy of addressing the horrific economic gaps which have been irreversibly disrupting the socioenvironmental balances across the globe and within the national borders. This paper aims to have a broader view of the glocal implications of this scenario with the help of a Canadian documentary experiment, which can be seen as microcosm of the macrorealities. It may be noted that the Canadian confederation was completed when Newfoundland (in the milieu of which the action of Buchans takes place) joined it at last in 1949- which almost coincides with the constitutional re-formation of India. Like the industrially developing India, the economically developed Canada also aspires to follow democratic ideals and all-inclusive policies which can guarantee the protection of the basic rights, needs and dignity of all human beings, irrespective of their socio-economic status. It would be interesting to see in this paper as to how Buchnas, a Canadian documentary experiment, brings to light the plights of the labor class working in the darkest corners of the mines, and how the exploitative operations of a giant mining company shown in this play stands for the predatory gaze of all the profit-intensive operations that continue to exploit a huge part of humanity as well as the collective natural sources.

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-257
Author(s):  
Mayo MORIMOTO

Abstract In this study, I analyze a hiring mechanism prevalent in the coal mining industry in the first decade of the 1900s by investigating ‘job applications’, which are assumed to have functioned as employment contracts. These job applications include the names, ages, addresses, and previous occupations of 775 applicants, as well as the names of respective referrers, all of which have been compiled in a database. It is noteworthy that some of the applicants affixed personal seals to their job applications. At the time, the use of seals—a traditional Japanese practice—was not pervasive throughout the entire citizenry, as it is now. Coal miners of that era tended to be rustic people with little formal education who were accorded a relatively low socio-economic status. In this article, we explore possible motivations underlying their use of seals. Our results indicate a statistically significant tendency toward the use of seals among these relatively low-skilled workers, as well as a tendency for applicants who used seals to be hired directly by the mining company, rather than through referral hiring, even though the latter was widely used at the time. These trends are consistent with the supposition that the company sought disciplined and diligent workers to hire people who owned seals. This is also consistent with the supposition that low-skilled workers employed seals as a signal to project an image of diligence.


Author(s):  
Lydia Pinirou

In the Fall of 2017, while a rising high school junior, the author founded a school club at the American Community Schools of Athens named ΚΟΙΝΩΝΟΣ (pronounced Kinonos), derived from the Greek word “Κοινωνία” which means “Community.” ΚΟΙΝΩΝΟΣ refers to the community of people that come together for a common cause. It connotes the importance of participation in community affairs that as citizens we must all participate in community affairs in order to improve social conditions, problem solve, and better plan so as to have a healthy, thriving community. On a larger scale, ΚΟΙΝΩΝΟΣ denotes that we are all members of a community, and while we have many differences we also have commonalities, the main commonality being that we are all human beings regardless of socio-economic status, gender, opportunity, or education. Revering this simple fact is a necessary mindset in order to develop the highest form of social interest and become conscious citizens who ‘see' society's plaguing issues and address them.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-95
Author(s):  
Jeffrey R. Dickson

La religión a un nivel más institucional y la espiritualidad de una manera más personalmente existencial no respeta el estatus socioeconómico, que se limita al hecho de que un país esté o no desarrollado, o es voluble respecto del lugar donde se arraiga geográficamente. Incluso el movimiento del “nuevo ateísmo” obedece a pseudodoctrinas, demuestra entusiasmo por las creencias profundamente arraigadas e incluso ha empezado a celebrar reuniones en lo que se llaman “megaiglesias” ateas. Parecería que los seres humanos se inclinan al fenómeno de la religión organizada o “juego sagrado” independientemente de su extracción o de qué ubicación histórica acusen.Aunque la religión y la teología y sus correspondientes postulados deberían tener peso en los debates relativos a la persona humana, a menudo estas ciencias se desestiman como secundarias o incluso como innecesarias. Sin embargo, más personas están admitiendo que para entender a la humanidad en general y al individuo en particular se debe incorporar lo que ofrecen estos debates. Como Haslina Ibrahim (2008) reconoce con razón: “Para comprender plenamente al hombre, es vital que reconciliemos el estudio de las religiones con otras ciencias que están incluidas en el estudio de las humanidades”.Con este fin, esta argumentación va a ofrecer una justificación fehaciente de la omnipresencia del juego sagrado y convocar a los lectores a entender un poco de su legitimización en los debates sobre la persona humana. Esto se logrará al construir un compendio de características que se observa en la persona humana y que los científicos sociales suelen observar y luego conectarlas tanto individual como colectivamente al fenómeno del juego sagrado.AbstractReligion on a more institutional level and spirituality in a more personally existential way is not a respecter of socio-economic status, limited to whether or not a country is developed, or fickle about where it takes root geographically. Even the “New Atheism” movement complies with pseudo-doctrines, proves zealous for deeply-rooted beliefs, and has even started meeting in what are called atheist “mega-churches.” It would seem that human beings are inclined to the phenomenon of organized religion and/or “sacred play” no matter what their backgrounds are or what historical localization they claim. Though religion, theology, and the claims therein should be weighty in discussions concerning the human person, often these sciences are dismissed as secondary or even unnecessary. However, more are admitting that to understand mankind in general and the individual in particular, one must incorporate what these discussions afford. As Haslina Ibrahim (2008) rightly acknowledges, “to fully understand man, it is vital that we reconcile the study of religions with other sciences that fall under the study of humanities.”To this end, this argument will build an evidential case for the pervasiveness of sacred play and call readers to understand something of its legitimacy in discussions of the human person. This will be accomplished by building a compendium of characteristics witnessed in the human person that are generally observed among social scientists and then connecting these both individually and collectively to the phenomenon of sacred play.


1964 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell J. Love

A battery of six tests assessing various aspects of receptive and expressive oral language was administered to 27 cerebral palsied children and controls matched on the variables of age, intelligence, sex, race, hearing acuity, socio-economic status, and similarity of educational background. Results indicated only minimal differences between groups. Signs of deviancy in language behavior often attributed to the cerebral palsied were not observed. Although previous investigators have suggested consistent language disturbances in the cerebral palsied, evidence for a disorder of comprehension and formulation of oral symobls was not found.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 320-323
Author(s):  
Samar Hossain ◽  
Sharma Priyanka ◽  
Talib Hossain ◽  
Surendra Mohan Mathur

Objective: The last two decades have witnessed an increase in health care costs due to obesity and related issues among children and adolescents. Childhood obesity is a global phenomenon affecting all socio-economic groups, irrespective of age, sex or ethnicity. The study was done to find the the prevalence of obesity and overweight and their association with socioeconomic status (SES) and the risk factors. Materials and Methods: School based cross sectional study carried out over a period of 4 months in three schools of East Delhi. The study was carried out in 629 school children of 10–18 years of age and belonging to different socioeconomic statuses in schools in East Delhi. The obesity and overweight were considered using an updated body mass index reference. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to determine the Socio-economic status and life style factors. Results: The prevalence of overweight among children was higher in middle socioeconomic status groups as compared to high socioeconomic class in both boys and girls whereas the prevalence of obesity was higher in high Socio economic status group as compared to middle socioeconomic group. The prevalence of obesity as well as overweight in low SES group was the lowest as compared to other group. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that the prevalence of overweight and obesity varies remarkably with different socioeconomic development levels.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlen Reyes ◽  
M Kassim Javaid ◽  
Cyrus Cooper ◽  
Adolfo Diez-Perez ◽  
Daniel Prieto-Alhambra

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