Invisible Barriers, Undeclared Wars

Despite the indisputable progress of gender equality in academia in recent decades, the relative stagnancy of women's participation in decision making and resource distribution remains a global issue. There is growing evidence that a large part of gender inequality in higher education and research cannot be explained by explicit measurable factors. Male bias is encoded in societal and academic culture and to a significant extent determines subconscious choices and decisions benefiting men. This chapter analyses cultural reasons behind gender inequality and typifies them in a form of a matrix based on gendered attitudes to women's leadership in academia. The analysis of typical resistances reveals psychological and social mechanisms of subtle gender discrimination and is followed by a set of proposed preventive measures.

Three Questions about Spirituality

Using the concepts of developed in the volume, this chapter concludes the book by addressing three important questions about spirituality. Our approach foregrounds how spirituality is shaped by the interplay of context and practice and influenced by the distribution of material resources. On the question of the meaning of spirituality, we advance an explicitly relational approach that identifies the polysemous nature of “spirituality.” On the question of spirituality’s influence, we highlight the social mechanisms through which spirituality is likely to influence individual and public outcomes. Regarding the future of spirituality, we argue that spirituality, in both supernatural and secular forms, will endure for the foreseeable future because the conditions of late modernity will continue to create a demand for it.

The military as a neglected pathogen transmitter, from the nineteenth century to COVID-19: a systematic review

Background The risk of outbreaks escalating into pandemics has soared with globalization. Therefore, understanding transmission mechanisms of infectious diseases has become critical to formulating global public health policy. This systematic review assessed evidence in the medical and public health literature for the military as a disease vector. Methods We searched 3 electronic databases without temporal restrictions. Two researchers independently extracted study data using a standardized form. Through team discussions, studies were grouped according to their type of transmission mechanism and direct quotes were extracted to generate themes and sub-themes. A content analysis was later performed and frequency distributions for each theme were generated. Results Of 6477 studies, 210 met our inclusion criteria and provided evidence, spanning over two centuries (1810–2020), for the military as a pathogen transmitter, within itself or between it and civilians. Biological mechanisms driving transmission included person-to-person transmission, contaminated food and water, vector-borne, and airborne routes. Contaminated food and/or water were the most common biological transmission route. Social mechanisms facilitating transmission included crowded living spaces, unhygienic conditions, strenuous working, training conditions, absent or inadequate vaccination programs, pressure from military leadership, poor compliance with public health advice, contractor mismanagement, high-risk behaviours, and occupation-specific freedom of movement. Living conditions were the most common social transmission mechanism, with young, low ranking military personnel repeatedly reported as the most affected group. Selected social mechanisms, such as employment-related freedom of movement, were unique to the military as a social institution. While few studies explicitly studied civilian populations, considerably more contained information that implied that civilians were likely impacted by outbreaks described in the military. Conclusions This study identified features of the military that pose a significant threat to global health, especially to civilian health in countries with substantial military presence or underdeveloped health systems. While biological transmission mechanisms are shared by other social groups, selected social transmission mechanisms are unique to the military. As an increasingly interconnected world faces the challenges of COVID-19 and future infectious diseases, the identified features of the military may exacerbate current and similar challenges and impair attempts to implement successful and equitable global public health policies.

‘Dazed and Confused!’ Context and Social Disconnect in the Time of Pandemic

Humans are social animals. Our sense of identity and ‘self’ is defined in part by the roles we perform in the social groups to which we belong. This article discusses some of the variables that contribute to our sense of self, including language, place of origin, education and shared social norms. It also outlines some of the general mechanisms that underpin our various social networks. In its final part, this article reviews the impact of social isolation, such as that happened during the COVID pandemic, on these social mechanisms and the resulted disruption of psychological wellbeing in individuals diagnosed with dementia.

CHARACTERISTICS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

In the XXI century, the role of information technologies in the life of society is growing every day. The informatization of society leads to qualitative changes in the field of education. The world requires more and more mobility from a person, therefore, in addition to traditional forms of education, distance learning firmly occupies its position. Distance education acts as one of the social mechanisms that contribute to the adaptation of society to new living conditions. Modern computer telecommunications are able to provide knowledge transfer and access to a variety of sources containing educational information on an equal basis, and sometimes much more effectively than traditional means of teaching.

The military as a neglected pathogen transmitter and its implications for COVID-19: A systematic review

Background: The risk of outbreaks escalating into pandemics has soared with globalization. Therefore, understanding transmission mechanisms of infectious diseases has become critical to formulating global public health policy. This systematic review assessed the evidence for the military as a disease vector, an historically relevant one, yet overlooked in times of COVID-19. Methods: We searched 3 electronic databases without temporal restrictions. We identified 2010 of 6477 studies spanning over two centuries (1810 – 2020) that met our inclusion criteria and provided evidence for the military as a pathogen transmitter, within itself or between it and civilians. Two researchers independently extracted study data using a standardized form. Through team discussions, studies were grouped according to their type of transmission mechanism and direct quotes were extracted to generate themes and sub–themes. A content analysis was later performed and frequency distributions for each theme were generated. Results: Biological mechanisms driving transmission included person–to–person transmission, contaminated food and water, vector–borne, and airborne routes. Social mechanisms facilitating transmission included crowded living spaces, unhygienic conditions, strenuous working, training conditions, absent or inadequate vaccination programs, pressure from military leadership, poor compliance with public health advice, contractor mismanagement, high–risk behaviours, and occupation–specific freedom of movement. Contaminated food and/or water was the most common biological transmission route. Living conditions were the most common social transmission mechanism, with young, low ranking military personnel repeatedly reported as the most affected group. Certain social mechanisms, such as employment–related freedom of movement, were unique to the military as a social institution. While few studies explicitly studied civilian populations, considerably more contained information that implied that civilians were likely impacted by outbreaks described in the military. Conclusions: Features of the military identified in this study pose a significant public health threat, especially to countries with substantial military presence or underdeveloped health systems. Many social transmission mechanisms, unlike biological ones, were unique to the military, facilitating large–spreader events and affecting civilian health. As an increasingly interconnected world faces the challenges of COVID–19 and future infectious diseases, the identified features of the military may exacerbate current and similar challenges and impair attempts to implement successful and equitable pandemic policies.

Historical Analysis of the Social Policy of Uzbekistan (On the Example of the Regions of the Lower Reaches of Zarafshan)

The need to form an effective social policy aimed at supporting a decent level of social security is one of the most important democratic values of developing countries. The traditional approach to social development as a consequence of economic development, Uzbekistan inherited from the former Soviet system. In the conditions of transition to market relations, new systems of norms of social interaction between the state and society were developed. There have been extremely ambiguous changes in the factors of social development. The loss of planned mechanisms has led to the introduction of new social mechanisms, including problems of unemployment, medical care, education, the fight against poverty. The article analyzes the policy of Uzbekistan in the field of social development, identifies the specifics of social development, changes in the well-being of the population of the Nizhnezeravshan region in a changing economic and social environment.