Participatory Mapping and SWOT in the context of the Water-Food-Energy Nexus for attaining SDGs in Eastern Amazonia

The nexus concept is applied to many global contexts to generate understanding of the relations among the water, food and energy sectors and to guide investigations that seek to improve living conditions of marginalized communities. This work analyses the nexus by means of qualitative and participative methodologies at a community scale with the objective of understanding how residents of traditional communities perceive the interconnections among water, food, and energy. SWOT and participatory mapping methodologies were utilized complementarily to map the water, food, and energy contexts of Ponta do Urumajó community, located in Pará state, Brazil. Participatory mapping and SWOT create quali-quantitative data, enabling the participation of individuals in the production of participatory maps of their territories and the material and symbolic appropriation of spaces, constituting a political and social strategy for empowerment and autonomy. These methods provided the basis for learning and reflecting on the social, environmental, territorial, and political reality in terms of the water, food, and energy nexus, making it possible to use the data for achieving the SDGs, creating future public policies or more rational community management adjusted to the local reality.

The vocabulary learning strategy use of Iranian elementary EFL learners

In order to learn vocabulary efficiently, the utilisation of learning strategies is very important and surely it depends on learners’ attempts. The current study aimed at examining the strategies that Iranian elementary English as a foreign language (EFL) learners adopt for learning English vocabulary. To this end, based on the performance of the participants on the Quick Placement Test, the researcher recruited 100 participants through availability sampling. To determine the strategies that the participants employ for learning English vocabulary, Schmitt’s taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) questionnaire was administered. The findings of the current study indicated that Iranian elementary EFL students were medium VLS users. The social strategy was found as the most frequently used category of strategies, followed by memory, determination, cognitive and metacognitive strategy. Keywords: Language, learning strategies, vocabulary, Iranian, elementary.

PROBLEMS OF CHOOSING THE RUSSIAN MODEL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL STATE

Статья посвящена изучению проблем российской модели социального государства и его развития. На сегодняшний день выбор правильной стратегии социальной политики является важнейшей задачей для ряда государств, поскольку ошибки в этой сфере деятельности государства могут привести к социальным волнениям не только в кризисные, но и в стабильные периоды. Есть потребность в комплексном рассмотрении проблемы и выявлении тенденций в данной сфере. Россия на конституционном уровне провозглашает себя социальным государством, но в то же время с определенной периодичностью мы сталкиваемся с решениями государственных органов, которые можно считать спорными с точки зрения положений Конституции РФ о социальном государстве. В связи с вышесказанным, мы приходим к выводу, что российскому законодательству в виде правовых норм различного уровня необходимо выработать единую социальную стратегию, которая должна соответствовать ряду критериев. Среди них важно выделить: четкость и конкретность желаемых результатов, реалистичность задач и их важность для общества, сроки их достижения. Следует также отметить необходимость привлечения к разработке целей, показателей эффективности концепции, мер социальных гарантий представителей различных общественных наук. The article is devoted to the study of the problems of the Russian model of the social state and its development. To this date, the choice of the right strategy of social policy is the most important task for a number of states, because mistakes in this area of state activity can lead to social unrest not only in crisis periods, but also in stable periods. There is a need for a comprehensive review of the problem and identification of trends in this area. Russia at the constitutional level proclaims itself a social state, but at the same time with a certain periodicity we are faced with decisions of state bodies which can be considered disputable from the point of view of provisions of the Russian Federation Constitution on a social state. In connection with the above, we come to the conclusion that the Russian legislation in the form of legal norms of different levels needs to develop a unified social strategy, which must meet a number of criteria. Among them it is important to highlight: the clarity and specificity of the desired results, the realism of objectives and their importance for society, the timing of their achievement. And in the development of goals, performance indicators of the concept, measures of social guarantees it is necessary to involve representatives of various social sciences.

The Study of Strategies in Learning English and English Academic Achievement

English language learning is not a new thing in Indonesia, many people want to learn English for various purposes. However, not all students can easily achieve their goals and follow the learning process. One of the factors is language learning strategy. This research aimed to investigate the students’ English language learning strategies and its correlation with the English academic achievement. Descriptive and correlational design, quantitative and qualitative methods were applied in this research. The students’ English scores on their study report (KHS) and SILL were used as the instrument. The samples of this research were fifty third year students majoring in English at IAIN Samarinda. Moreover, three students were chosen to participate in the semi structured interview. The data of the research were analyzed using descriptive and Pearson Product Moment correlation. The result showed that the most preferred strategy used by the students was social strategy There was a significant correlation between students’ English language learning strategies and English academic achievement (r=.436, p=.001<.05).

Political Will, Leadership, and the Importance of Decolonization

This chapter explores political will. While political will is often cited as a critical component of health programs around the world, it is a poorly defined concept. Using the framework of the late Dr. Julius Richmond, former U.S. Surgeon General, political will is interrogated through the interconnected factors of social strategy and science to advance policy. The COVID-19 pandemic is used as an example of this framework. The chapter also discusses the impact of colonialism and capitalism on the actualization of political will and leadership of impoverished countries. Challenges to sovereignty are addressed through the framework of necropolitics and social theories and practices that can improve responses. The chapter gives examples of regional and national leadership in the COVID-19 pandemic that have fought to decolonize the locus of power.

Mingzu Universities as an Educational and Social Phenomena in PR China

Mingzu University is a common name for educational institutions for ethnic minorities established in China in 1950. By establishing such kind of higher education institutions, PR China as a state pursued several goals. In one hand, they started the opportunity for minor ethnic groups` representatives enter a higher education institution and thereby enlist their support for the state government. In the other hand, China saves the originality and the identity of small nationalities` cultures at the state level by studying and promoting it. Today such educational institutions also serve to train leading cadres from ethnic minorities’ representatives, loyal to the state system and the political and social course of modern China as they are brought up in the spirit of modern Chinese social and pedagogical guidelines. The article aims to represent different social functions of Minzu Universities as a social phenomena common for China as well as cultural and social strategy of the PR China state in the field of ethnic minorities, an important part of which is implemented through them. Using the research methods typical for scientific studies of this kind (mainly empirical and theoretical ones) the article proves the idea that Mingzu Universities in China play a great not only the educational, but also social role in the country to form an ideologically homogeneous society and respect for human rights in the country.

The social theory of the business model of Huawei and its implementation

The social component of the personnel policy of Huawei Technologies is considered. As the largest international, multinational telecommunications corporation, Huawei successfully solves the problem of forming corporate unity. The directions of its effective social strategy are of scientific and practical interest. In the article, based on official data on the personnel structure, it is revealed that the principle of personality psychotypes is used in the practice of creating a stable structure, which determines the novelty of the material. One of the directions of this research is to clarify the special social rhetoric used in verbal and nonverbal communication. Since Huawei has many educational centers on the territory of Russia based on domestic universities, the authors of the article see their task to acquaint today’s students – potential employees of the company with the social policy of their future employers.

Tactical deception in sociosexual behaviour of stump-tailed macaques (Macaca arctoides): an exploratory study

Tactical deception (TD) is a social strategy in which a subject performs an action to its own benefit causing disadvantage for a competitor. In primates, the cognitive mechanisms involved in TD have been described at different levels. Sneaky mating is a common context within which to study TD because in many primate groups, dominant males monopolize access to females and subordinate males must find a way to copulate with females avoiding the alpha’s presence. The objective of this study was to explore which of the TD behavioural strategies are involved in the male sociosexual behaviour of a group of stump-tailed macaques (Macaca arctoides). We found that the subordinate males participated in more interactions when they were in a section of the enclosure where the alpha male was not present. The alpha male had more copulation interactions, but the beta male’s interactions lasted longer on average. Our data offer evidence in support of the hypothesis that stump-tailed macaques may use TD strategies that are related to operant conditioning.

Intra-Population Variability in Group Size of Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis)

Group size is a key social trait influencing population dynamics of group-living animals. The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (IPHDs), Sousa chinensis, a shallow water delphinid species, display a fission-fusion social system. Yet little is known about how social organization of this species vary with temporal scales and behavioral state. In this study, we sampled group size estimates from the world’s second largest population of humpback dolphins (Sousa spp.), which inhabit the eastern waters of Zhanjiang, China. IPHD group sizes changed seasonally and inter-annually, but not with tidal phases. Group sizes also changed with behavioral state of IPHD groups and with number of mother-calf pairs present. IPHDs formed larger groups in the autumn than in other seasons, which might be related to seasonal changes in food availability and reproductive cycle. Of the groups observed, we recorded the presence of mother-calf pair in 85 groups (i.e., nursery groups: 47 ones with one pair, 25 ones with two pairs, and others with three pairs). Notably, nursery groups were about 2–4 times larger than non-nursery groups. In addition, group sizes greatly increased with the number of mother-calf pairs. Living in relatively large groups, more protection, food, and resources might be available for IPHD mothers and calves, and such social strategy provide higher reproduction efficiency and survival success for this species. During our observations, feeding (45.5%) and traveling (25.2%) represented the majority of IPHD’s behavioral budget, while socializing (8.4%) and resting/milling (6.8%) were not frequently observed. Resting/milling groups were approximately 50% smaller than feeding, traveling, or socializing groups, while the latter three types had a similar mean group size. Large groups when IPHDs foraged, traveled, or socialized, might provide more added group benefits. For the first time, our findings clearly revealed intra-population variability in IPHD group sizes across different behavioral and temporal variables, and provided a better understanding of IPHDs’ adaptations to various biological processes and ecological constraints.

Acculturation and attitudes toward code-switching: A bidimensional framework

Aims and objectives: Code-switching, the spontaneous switching from one language to another within a single speech event, is often performed by bilinguals who have mastered a communicative competence in two languages. It is also a social strategy – using linguistic cues as a means to index social categories and group solidarity. Code-switching is, therefore, linked to attitudes, seen as a reflection of the speaker and their values and identities. Traditionally perceived negatively, attitudes toward code-switching have been shown to be acceptable in certain cases, such as in multilingual contexts. However, it has yet to be determined empirically whether attitudes toward code-switching are associated with individual social characteristics, including cultural identity and identity negotiation. Adopting the bidimensional model of acculturation, the goal of the study was to investigate the relationships among cultural identity and code-switching attitudes. Specifically, we sought to examine whether the bidimensional framework can be used to characterize and distinguish biculturals and whether such distinctions result in differences in code-switching attitudes and other related factors. Data and analysis: Cantonese-English bilinguals ( n = 67) reported their language background and completed questionnaires relating to identity and code-switching. Findings: The findings suggest the bidimensional model was successful in classifying biculturals versus non-biculturals and, additionally, that biculturals could be differentiated according to their strength of cultural identification, which we designated as strong biculturals, Canadian-oriented biculturals, Chinese-oriented biculturals, and weak biculturals. Findings also revealed significant group differences in code-switching attitudes and other factors, such as code-switching comfort and preference, among the bicultural subgroups. Implications: The study supports the hypothesis that code-switching is linked to bicultural identity. The results conclude that a more nuanced classification of biculturals is meaningful, as individual differences in cultural identification among biculturals are linked to significant differences in code-switching comfort, code-switching preference, code-switching attitudes, and multicultural attitudes.