A Socio-Historical Perspective on Ponzi Schemes and Development in Nigeria: The Role of the Christian Church

This paper is a study on Ponzi schemes, development and the Christian church in Nigeria. It traced the emergence of Ponzi schemes in Nigeria. The paper considered the practices of Mavrodi Mondial Movement (MMM), being one of the strongest Ponzi schemes in Nigeria. It assessed the impact of this Ponzi scheme on development in the country. It also looked into the role played by the Christian Church during the period of the scheme’s existence in the country. The paper, however concluded that, despite the people involved in the scheme being interested in supposedly helping people (including those in the scheme and the less privileged), it is contrary to the ethos of Christianity that touches on labour and its corresponding success. The data collected for the study were analysed using socio-historical approach.

The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health of Under Graduate Students of Nadia District in West Bengal During Covid-19 Pandemic

The world is going through panic, fear, anxiety, stress, worry and isolation because of COVID 19 pandemic and lockdown. Almost one third of the world population is living under some kind of quarantine or lockdown. All these things affect the mental health of any individual a lot. At this time of social distancing and self-isolation, social media can be an indispensible tool for keeping you in touch with friends, online class, loved ones and the wider world. But be mindful of how it makes you feels. If spending time on social media enhance your stress, anxiety, and uncertainty, takes steps to limit your engagements. And always check reputable news sources before believing—or forwarding—any rumors about COVID-19 pandemic that may cause panic. In West Bengal, Government has declared that all educational institutes will remain closed till 10th June, 2020. Studies in different parts of the world stated that even in normal time, depression, anxiety, stress among under graduate college students are high. Several reasons are there. In this situation the researcher wanted to carry out the study to find out the condition of the Mental Health of the under Graduate Students of Nadia District in West Bengal during lockdown and how they are facing this pandemic situation.

The Application of Life Skills in Sunnah: A Study Based on Recommended Life Skills by WHO

Life skills refer to adaptive and positive behaviors that help people effectively cope with the needs and challenges of daily life. Thus, this study aimed at the analysis of the application of life skills in the Sunnah of Prophet (PBUH) based on the life skills recommended by WHO such as problem-solving, decision making, creative thinking, critical thinking, self-awareness, empathy, interpersonal relationship, effective communication, coping with stress, coping with emotions. The deductive content analysis of topic-related data in Hadith which refers to the verbal, action, and recognition of the Prophet (PBUH), classic Islamic and modern literature, is conducted through the descriptive narrative method. The finding reveals the acknowledgment and the application of life skills on several occasions in Sunnah, as well as the adherence to such skills will assist walking through the guidance of Sunnah. As a result, it strongly suggests that the icon would serve as a guide for every individual in the modern world in terms of the effective application of life skills at various levels and circumstances that can assist in leading a successful life. This study will be referred for future studies regarding the application and the impact of life skills.

Orientalist Perspective in the Letters of Lady Mary Montagu and Kelemen Mikes

An English aristocrat, poet and writer, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762) was a privileged and distinguished woman traveller in her time. During her sojourn in Ottoman Istanbul, she noted down significant details as regards the Constantinople and seraglio through her vivid descriptions as a liberated woman in her Embassy Letters. Another significant oriental work, Letters from Turkey by Kelemen Mikes (1690-1761), who was a Transylvanian-born Hungarian writer and political figure, is centered upon Mikes’s life in exile between the years 1717 and 1758 within the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire. In Letters from Turkey, we can feel his strong sense of Hungarian identity and his steadiness in maintaining his cultural and religious customs and values in his elaboration of his own and the “other” culture, while his praising the benign and merciful ruling style of Ottoman Sultans offers a different view of orientalism in favour of the “other” culture (Ottoman Empire). Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the Letters of Lady Mary Montagu and Kelemen Mikes from their political, ethnical, religious and personal perspectives and trace several relationships that has allusive discussion relativity in the discourse of Orientalism. After having explained the specific letters of both writers, I will attempt to use the scope of Edward Said’s Orientalism and Enlightenment Orientalism discussed in Sirinivas Aravamudan’s Enlightenment Orientalism: Resisting the Rise of the Novel, as a magnifying glass to different oriental images and conceptions contradictory with the reality in the eighteenth century. This study will mostly make use of Edward Said’s account of orientalism as well as Stephen Greenblatt’s theory of Self Fashioning in order to explicate the differences as to how the Orient is perceived by the authors from different cultures but from the same period. In order to highlight how the definition of Orient changes, this paper attempts to define the Orient in accordance with the works of Lady Montagu and Kelemen Mikes.

“The Sky is the Limit”: Saudi Youth in a Changing Kingdom, Beyond Narratives, Interpretations and Misperceptions

Current coverage by Western media of Saudi Arabia and Saudi youth conveys a range of narratives, interpretations and misperceptions about the ongoing changes in the country. In particular, this study intends to highlight how the young leadership, led by Mohammed bin Salman, is implementing a new “cultural diplomacy” inspired by foreign consultancies and outlined in Saudi Vision 2030. However, it seems that the actual moral and cultural impact of such diplomacy on the young, educated, connected and often unemployed Saudi youth is not a matter of official concern. This study draws on official Saudi and non-Saudi documents, facts and figures, press reports and recent literature rather than on field research, in the belief that changeable expectations and aspirations expressed by Saudi youth in the MbS era may be influenced by readily accepted narratives forged both inside and outside the country.

Analysis on Construction of Science Culture and De-extremization of Religion

This paper first discusses different development periods of science culture and religion culture and elaborates forms of religious extremization. At the same time, by solving the evolutionary game strategy between science culture and religious extremization, it explores the important role of science culture in eliminating religious extremization. It found that science culture and religious extremization can reach an evolutionary equilibrium after a long-term game, and converge to a stable node; strengthening science culture construction can effectively eliminate the phenomenon of religious extremization. Finally, this paper puts forward some suggestions that it should continue to strengthen science culture construction in China and apply it to eliminate religious extremism.

Once Again, the Propagandist Media Played it Right and Won by a Knockout-Coverage of George Floyd’s Murder Constitutes the Last Nail in Trump’s Coffin

At first it was the coronavirus briefings held at the White House and lead by the U.S. president Donald Trump. In these briefings and with the help of certain intrinsic and known-to-the public characteristics of the president’s personality such as the love of power, authority and control, appreciation of dictatorship, arrogance, and self-aggrandizing, the media managed to portray the president as a person with modest or even poor communication skills, a bigot, a self-congratulatory, a liar, a self-opinionated, and a self-righteous. Second, it was George Floyd’s murder as a result of the brutality of four white police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota which overtook the nationwide pandemic, the coronavirus. Floyd’s grievous death sparked waves of protests in major cities nationwide, and instead of standing up for his citizen’s rights, Trump turned a blind eye to this heinous crime. Furthermore, Trump failed verbally and nonverbally to address the grieving nation and to show empathy and solidarity with the victim and his family. His words did not match the grave and horrific situation, and his voice tone and his facial expressions failed to pacify the irate public. The media outlets were there to expose Trump’s deadly mishaps and glitches not just to the American public but to the whole world. With the help of the media, American people were able to detect the fallacy of his arguments and claims. These outlets were happy to dedicate hundreds of hours of live coverage in its quest to pave the way for Trump’s demise and fall.

Child Social Protection: Accessible by All or None? A Qualitative Analysis of Child Protection Workers Views in Albania

Limited research has focused on the challenges of child protection workers involved in the social protection system in Albania. Despite the changes that social protection has undergone over the last years, obstacles arise in the implementation process. Regardless of the strategies and programs targeting child protection in Albania children have not been protected from exploitation and other life-threatening risks. Mainly non-governmental organizations and stakeholders who support the child social protection system in Albania have been involved in continuous efforts to identify what is missing, and what needs to improve regarding the child social protection system. This paper presents the experiences of child protection workers on how the current social protection system responds to the needs of children and their families. The data was collected from 10 child protection workers in Albania using in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews. This research found that there is a gap in the distribution of services between urban and rural areas preventing beneficiaries who live in rural areas to access social services. Some of the major challenges that emerged by the majority of interviewees were lack of training, weak institutional cooperation accompanied by the need for emergency centers to assist children at risk of exploitation and abuse.

The Relation between the Emirati Woman and the Gulf Drama: A Field Study 2020

This study seeks to know the relation between the Emirati woman and the Gulf Drama, as well as the patterns of viewing. In addition, this study seeks to provide information for those, who are in charge of the Gulf Drama in order to get acquainted with the patterns of exposure to the Gulf Drama. And the most important result is The need to allocate large portions for women issues in the Gulf drama, discuss their problems and work to improve their mental image.

The Meaning of Private in an Age of Surveillance

The private has great significance for the individual as it is where identity is stored. However, the private comes at a cost, particularly in a time of mass surveillance, which is heightened by the present Coronavirus pandemic, and is becoming more and more rare as individuals seek security. At the collective level, whole societies are moving towards privatisation, as the private gives relief from increased surveillance by media, governments and informed individuals and organisations, thus allowing more operational flexibility. Private and public are significant as polar ends of a spectrum in which individuals and collectivities must position themselves on a wide range of issues while maintaining identity. As shown in the case of airport privatisation, the determining process has been influenced by cultural factors such as a desire to avoid surveillance and scrutiny, sociological factors such as contagion, and political factors such as convergence. In all areas of human activity, a rebalancing between private and public may be necessary, and a transdisciplinary approach would be appropriate.