Learning to Die: Analysis of The Cultural Role of Voluntary Death

Voluntary death is a morally and legally grey area in many countries around the world. In my research I studied the topic of euthanasia and assisted suicide in Italy. Specifically, I analyzed the relationship between collective law and individual morality using as case study the phenomenon of voluntary death, which has been making people talk about itself in recent years precisely because of its as yet undefined nature. Using a qualitative approach i.e., semi-structured interview, I listened the voices of a representative sample of Italian doctors in order to collect the opinion of the medical class i.e., the social group that would be most affected by the possible legalization of euthanasia. It has emerged, among other things, that Italy lacks a real education to death. The research has opened a reflection on the range of voluntary death within a Nation where it is illegal. Numerous studies have determined the enormous symbolic baggage present within the concept of death, but in the study of the legalization of voluntary death a new factor has emerged: a legalization is not desired until the population receives a real education on the idea of having to die. Like sex, death is still a taboo in many societies around the world. Is it therefore necessary to fulfill a death education before even start to talk about creating a general law. This research has exalted not only a cultural deficiency but also the desire to remedy it through education, in order to exorcise the fear of an event that sooner or later everyone has to face.

Cak Nun, Maiyah, and Fandom: Participatory Culture Perspective

The emergence of Maiyah in the midst of the downstream community marked a new format for recitation focusing on horizontal dialectics based on contextual themes. It can be said that Maiyah is a recitation forum that discusses actual themes such as culture, education, social, economy, religion, etc. by basing universal values such as egalitarian, democratic, and mutual respect. Maiyah has been held for about two decades and carried out in dozens of cities in Indonesia (Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Semarang and others) and abroad (Hong Kong, Berlin, Philadelphia, Bangkok, Seoul, Amsterdam, Helsinki, London, and others). The communities which consist of a variety of backgrounds, both economic, class, age, and religion, have a strategic role in the discourse formation on what and how Maiyah is formulated. Such a tendency explains their position, if revealed from the fandom's perspective, it strengthens the relationship between Cak Nun and Maiyah. Cak Nun is widely known as a multidimensional human being: writer, intellectual, islamic scholar, and social activist. Cak Nun and Maiyah, therefore, are reciprocal correlates when viewed from the perspective of fandom. The fandom framework that emerged in the past decade and a half extends to the cyberspace. The emergence of new internet-based media requires the fandom movement in cyberspace. This article uses a fandom theory—Henry Jenkins—and particularly cultural participation perspective. Thus it could be answering the question of how stretching fandom is in the practice of Maiyah and how it appears to be related to the character of Cak Nun.

Assessing the Prevalence and Factors Affecting Sexual Harassment Among Female Staffs of a Supermarket in Kathmandu, Nepal

This cross sectional study was carried out to assess the prevalence and factors affecting sexual harassment (SH) among female staffs of a supermarket in Kathmandu, Nepal. The data were collected with self-administered questionnaire from 170 staffs. Uni-variate (descriptive detail) and bivariate (statistical detail) analyses were the methods applied. Among 24.1% of sexually harassed respondents, the most common was 15-30 years' age group. Moreover, 80.5% of the victims were harassed verbally, 39% non-verbally and 48.8% physically. The harassment occurred either when they were alone (non-verbal 56.5% and physical 78.3%) or when the shop was crowded (non-verbal 29.3% and physical 88.2%). Most of the victims accepted the problem (non-verbal 55.6% and physical 94.4%) due to fear of being fired and social stigma. Non-verbal (53.8%) and physical (100%) harassments mostly occurred during night shift whereas verbal harassment (63.4%) occurred during day shift. Out of 6 selected predictors: age, dress, place, shift, perpetrator and acceptance of the incident, the verbal harassment was statistically associated with shift (63.6% in day, p-val.= 0.007), non-verbal harassment was associated with age (25% of age 15-30 years, p-val.=0.002) and the physical harassment was statistically associated with age (35% of age 15-30 years, p-val.=0.000), shift (35.0% at night, p-val.=0.000), prepatrators (25% of age 15-30 years, p-val.=0.003), acceptance (40.0% due fear of being fired/ social stigma, p-val.=0.000). In order to reduce sexual harassment among female staffs of supermarkets, there must be awareness programs for all the staff, advocacy programs against SH for customers and staffs, punishment for the perpetrators must be legal.

Cybersecurity Concerns & Teleworking in the COVID-19 Era: A Socio-Cybersecurity Analysis of Organizational Behavior

This research project examines the relationship between teleworking cybersecurity protocols during the COVID-19 era and employee’s perception of their efficiency and performance predictability. COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus and it has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Since March 2020, many employees in the United States who used operate onsite, have been working from their homes (teleworking) to mitigate the spread of the virus through social distancing. The premise of this research project is that teleworking can transform these employees into unintentional insider threats or UITs. Iinterviews were conducted through video conferencing with nine employees in Virginia, USA to examine the problem. This is an interdisciplinary research project which brings together the disciplines of sociology and computer science. Narrative Analysis was used to unpack the interviews. The major findings from the research efforts demonstrate that employees are trusting of the cybersecurity protocols that their organizations implemented but they also believe they are vulnerable, and that the protocols are not as reliable as in-person working arrangements. While the respondents perceived that the cybersecurity protocols lend to performance predictability, they seem to think it disrupts their efficiency.

A Survey of Leisure Activities that the Elderly Desire

The objective of this study was to explore both the indoor and outdoor activities that the elderly desire. This study employed a questionnaire and in-depth interviews with people aged 50 years and older in Bangkok, Prathum Thani, Samut Pragarn and Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya provinces. The sample size was 185. The study showed that the outdoor activities that the elderly preferred were walking in the water, stretching activities and walking. The indoor activities that they preferred were muscle, brain and mind development. The most preferred outdoor activity of the elderly was walking in the water, while their favorite indoor activity was muscle development.

Consumerist Approach to Sexuality in A World of Dynamism: Hanif Kureishi’s The Nothing

As one of the major phenomena in the contemporary global context, consumerism has been shaping lifestyles in different aspects. Signifying the demand for the consumption of the properties that are produced and accessed quickly, consumerism has not only shaped the tendencies for the consumption of products, but it has also had impact on the approach to interpersonal relations in cultural, social and individual areas. In contemporary British fiction, Kamila Shamsie focuses on the disillusionment of the immigrants with their hopes for a civilised life due to their consideration as “outsiders” and she views this as an embodiment of the consumption of their dreams for the future in Home Fire (2017). Zadie Smith reflects the consumerist approach to the relations among family members in On Beauty (2005) with reference to Howard Belsey’s affair with Victoria as a signification of the quest for his new self and his failed efforts for the reconciliation with his family. However, in The Nothing (2017), Kureishi reveals that consumerism also leads to temporary sexual relations among the people. Focusing on Zee’s affair with Eddie instead of her husband, Waldo because of his old age and infertility, Eddie’s sexual relations with Patricia and Sarah, Kureishi’s The Nothing invites reading in relation to its focus on the short-term sexual relations among the people as an embodiment of the consumerist approach to interpersonal relations and an inevitable quest for a new personal identity within the dynamism of the contemporary world.

Compulsive Behaviors in the Workplace

Compulsive behaviors are psychiatric challenges that interfere with the regular life practices of those who exhibit them. This study qualitatively identified compulsive behaviors within three organizations located in no.2 major cities from Romania, aiming to explore their effects on workers' productivity and extended community, including coworkers and employers. To understand the exact behaviors, a literature search was done from Google Scholar to understand examples of compulsive behaviors in the workplace before gathering data from the participants. Using three organizations, from construction materials and adjacent industries, 15 participants were selected and agreed to be interviewed. Further, a survey questionnaire was used to explore the severity and effect of the behaviors on productivity at work. The main results noted workplace compulsive behaviors like repetitive cleanliness, ritualistic behaviors like repetitive ordering or organizing things in a particular manner, persistent repetition of certain words or actions for the perfection of the work assigned, and isolation from other members. The findings from the results entailed an understanding that most compulsive behaviors conflict with established workplace code of conduct. Also, employees confirmed their continued struggle to control the exhibited behaviors. The effects of the behaviors on the employees' productivity and time management were also highlighted. Importantly, most participants confirmed that most employers and coworkers understand their situations and provide social support.

Human Rights Waiver in Criminal Proceedings in Terms of the European Court of Human Rights: ‘Russian Cases’

The article investigates the general position of the European Court of Human Rights on the admissibility and validity of the waiver of rights, the features of the European mechanism for protecting human rights in case of the waiver of the right; studies the case-law practices in criminal cases of the Court in relation to Russia where the Court considered the presence/absence of the waiver of the right. The practice of the ECHR reveals the widespread occurrence of human rights violations in the Russian criminal proceedings with the alleged waiver of the right in the framework of criminal procedure. These includes the situations when the Government claimed that the Applicant had waived his/her right and the Applicant did not agree with this fact and insisted that he had been deprived of the opportunity to exercise his/her right. According to the ECHR, violations of human rights established in the Convention are related not only to shortcomings in the legal system but also to improper law enforcement that does not comply with the Convention requirements. Based on the analysis of the ECHR’s general approaches to the waiver of the right, the authors revealed the compliance of the Russian criminal procedure with the requirements of the Court to the waiver of the right and the guarantees established for it. To achieve the objectives in the HUDOC database of the European Court, using search requests we identified cases against Russia considered by the Chamber and the Grand Chamber, in which the ECHR examined the issue of the presence/absence of the waiver of the right in the criminal procedure. As a result, 40 judgments in which the Court directly considered the issue of the presence/absence of the waiver of the right in the criminal procedure in Russia were selected. We studied and analysed the selected judgments.

Academic Self-Concept and Critical Thinking Dispositions: Devising a Predictive Model of College Students’ Degree Commitment

Educational researchers incessantly endeavor to address underlying reasons for academic success/failure, and Degree Commitment constitutes a critical sought-after academic outcome regarding college students, which is considerably associated with higher student retention rates. Educational institutions may create effective preventive strategies and interventions for minimizing attrition issues by identifying factors leading to higher Degree Commitment. The aim of the current research was to explore the potential predictive relationship between higher demonstration of college students’ Academic Self-Concept and higher levels of Critical Thinking Dispositions on their commitment of further pursuing their chosen degree. A questionnaire-based survey method was employed, adopting a correlational design on a recruited purposive sample of 120 Greek college students of a privately-owned educational institution. A multiple regression statistical analysis generated a weak positive correlation (9.2%) between the predictors, with Academic Self-Concept being the strongest predictor of Degree Commitment, implying that the combination of the aforementioned academic facets significantly predicts Degree Commitment, but with a small generalization explanatory power to a population sharing common characteristics with the utilized sample. Although the devised model is of minimal practical use, it proposes an initial attempt to construct a holistic model of academic success, while simultaneously highlighting the necessity for developing interventions that robustly target Critical Thinking Dispositions and, most importantly, Academic Self-Concept. Future research may explore factors influencing the predictors under investigation, compare them between students deriving from traditional educational systems and those deriving from international educational systems, and explore alternative factors concerning college success and attrition within various sociocultural contexts.

Xenophobia and Class Conflicts Among Venezuelan Migrants: An Ethnographic Study in the City of Ibarra, Ecuador

In recent years, the city of Ibarra, Ecuador has received nearly 10,000 migrants from Venezuela. In this municipality, the relations between locals and migrants are quite complex. In January 2019, a group of local residents physically assaulted several Venezuelan migrants (Case Diana). These acts had a xenophobic nature. Through ethnographic research, this article analyzes the social dynamics at this city in the months after these events. The research showed that, on the one hand, after these events migrants criticized homogenizing discourses, highlighting the group's own heterogeneity. On the other, migrants also strengthened cooperation networks based on belonging to Venezuelan nationality. The article is aimed to shed light on intergroup dynamics in intermediate cities in the context of the ever-growing Venezuelan migration in Latin America.