Recent Trends in Arts and Social Studies Vol. 9

The objective of the study was to assess the awareness, knowledge and willingness to donate eyes among general public in southern Indian. Visual impairments have physical, emotional, social, and economical consequences and are a crucial element influencing one's quality of life. A total of 1.285 million people are estimated to be visually impaired worldwide of which 39 million are categorised as blind. These figures are startling, given that 80 percent of known vision impairments are either treatable or preventable. Corneal transplants appear to be our best hope for resolving this problem; however, a global shortage of available donors continues to dampen efforts addressing this issue.

A cross sectional population-based survey used a semi structured questionnaire on awareness, knowledge and willingness for eye donation in states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Stratified multistage cluster random sampling method was used with a sample size of 867 adults >16 years based on, estimated awareness of cataract 70%, assuming an expected rate of 85%, design effect of 1.5, margin of error 4% with 95% confidence interval with 25% from urban areas and 75% from rural areas. Having heard of eye donation was defined as awareness and having knowledge of the ideal time to donate the eyes was considered as knowledge. A pilot study was conducted to validate the questions used in the main study. Statistical package SPSS (version 19) was used for analysis to calculate logistic regression and odds ratios for gender, age, education and urban-rural areas.

A total 782 (90.1%) out of 867 participants took part in the poll, with women making up 47.4% of the total. 603 participants (or 77.1%) knew about eye donation. 301 participants (38.5%) expressed a willingness to give eyeballs. The 297 participants (49.3%) knew when it was best to make a contribution after passing away. Public awareness of eye donation was high, but there was little public desire to donate eyes. To enhance voluntary eye donation and fight corneal blindness, it is necessary to identify the obstacles to donation.

This article examines the impact of oil imports on U.S. national security, especially an increasing dependency on petroleum resources from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), a region whose socio-political landscape is characterized by authoritarian regimes, political instability, and periodic tumult. This paper critically examines the extent to which the United States remains reliant on oil imports from the Middle East.  Moreover, it delves into the complexities that arise from dependence, especially where the suppliers are governments that do not align with democratic ideals and where the potential for supply disruption looms larger due to political upheavals. The authors conclude that the only way to mitigate the risks posed by this dependence is to reduce oil imports and to attain energy independence through the adoption of alternative and renewable energy strategies.

The study adopts the Active Peace Theory, which concerns how peace is mainstreamed as part of a triad, that includes justice and well-being (wholeness). The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is blessed with enormous human capacity and natural resource wealth but characterised by poverty, insecurity and underdevelopment. Conflict happens everywhere in the globe, including the Niger Delta, where the participants all have different survival goals and interests. People are driven to compete with others by certain motives. For society to advance in all spheres, therefore, peacebuilding is necessary. This study analyzes secondary sources to investigate the conflict causes that give rise to peacebuilding, which emphasizes relationship development and empowerment. The report also covers the takeaways from the factors that contribute to war and instability in the region.  Teenagers who recognize the importance of wellbeing find it challenging to take part in activities that violate others' rights to sustainable life. It will stop violence in society if they adopt this as part of their lifestyle. Being on the side of the government is quite advantageous for young people. They may contribute directly to growth as partners, or they could address labor shortages by generating jobs in their lawful enterprises. The existence of partnership and peace committees in various multinational companies is an opportunity for the youth to be given recognition in the area of having their grievances attended to. Youth well-being and safety priorities must be considered by the state and policymakers at all levels if peaceful oil-producing delta is to be achieved.

Music serves as a key creative space for experimenting with creativity. It provides a means through which one can maintain the originality throughout time while also allowing for improvisation and variation. This paper examines the social and cultural context of Igorot music popularized by the Salidummay Cultural Group (SCG), the Petune (P), and the Living Anitos (TLA) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) of the northern Philippines, drawing on Drout's (2006) work and hybrid identity anchored in Berger and Luckman's (1966) Social Constructionism Theory (SCT) for its theoretical orientations and also the concept of rhetorical perspective through anaphoric repetitions. This paper tries to demonstrate how the chosen ethnic bands use [indigenous] music as a tool to navigate their Igorot positions through musical genres and approaches including improvisations and anaphoric tropes. The three ethnic bands chosen were accepted and loved as skilled and motivated artists descended from their Igorot ancestors, and it was also recognized that their cultural roots play an important role in developing their musical Igorot identities.

Land use conflicts are complex disputes that contribute negative social and economic impacts within the heterogeneous societies. Land use conflict resolution still need further research because of various mindsets of the people. In this paper, the issues of land conflicts between farmers and pastoralists in Mkoka and Songambele wards in Kongwa District, Tanzania which could lead to low economic development are reviewed and the causes and effects of land use conflicts are outlined. Poor land governance, inappropriate of land use plans, inadequate land policies, land tenure insecurity, corruption are cited as being among of the main causes fuelling land use conflicts in Mkoka and Songambele wards in Kongwa District, Tanzania. Pastoralists move across the district with large herds of hungry livestock in search of pastures and water, the livestock are randomly led intofarms where they forage on whatever crops that may be in sight. Angered farmers often take the law into their hands and fight the pastoralists. Armed fights erupt resulting to human and livestock deaths, destruction of crops and homesteads.  The National Land Policy (NLP) is a key instrument for land management and administration, land use planning, conflict resolution, and land tenure security. However, lack of land use plans in the rural areas, and the outdated National Land Policy of 1995 brought in focus of the recurring land conflicts between farmers and pastoralists. This paper provides how Mediation-Arbitration (MED-ARB) approach can be used in solving land conflicts between farmers and pastoralists. The recommendations have been made on this issue, and authors propose MED-ARB as the best way to put in place sustainable measures of land conflicts in Mkoka and Songambele wards, Kongwa district.

In the Philippines, Local Government Units (LGUs) are working to change the administration and functioning of public markets, and the study looked at how well these LGUs were internalizing the basic ideals of New Public administration (NPM). The study evaluated the effectiveness of PPP/BOT Public Markets in resolving the enduring issues with public markets in the Philippines using Public Private Partnership (PPP) as a framework of NPM for infrastructure development and service delivery.  It questioned whether PPP had made public markets run more efficiently as a reform tool.  Five of the nation's first PPP public markets, including the Mandaluyong Public Market in Mandaluyong City, the Carmen and Cogon Public Markets in Cagayan de Oro City, the Suki Market in Quezon City, and the Bocaue Public Market in Bocaue, Bulacan, were reviewed to support the evaluation. As performance indicators, it looked at management and organization, the range of facilities and services, LGU revenue income and expenditures, vendor income from the market, and client satisfaction with the caliber of the facilities and services.  Case studies, content analyses, ocular inspections, and interviews with city and municipal administrators, market administrators, market vendors, and officials of market vendors organizations were some of the combined research approaches used to gather the study's data. The study shows that while PPP has improved the performance of public markets during the early years of operation, these gains and all advances were not sustained by the LGUs when management and operation of public markets were turned over to them from the private project proponent-operators. The study argued that to sustain public-private partnerships in the operation of the public market, it is imperative to institutionalize reforms in the structure, processes, mindsets of the leaders, and stakeholders. The institutionalization of NPM’s core values can be carried out effectively through localization of PPP as a policy so that the necessary legal and institutional frameworks for PPP will be anchored based on the need, strength, and weaknesses of the LGU concerned.

The study makes a positive contribution to the on-going discourse on public sector reform in the Philippines particularly at the local level using PPP as a model. It enriches not only the literature of Public Administration but also provides valuable lessons in the praxis of governance.

Gender equality signifies a higher level of human development indices and reflects a nation's overall human rights records.  The Paris Protocols of Agenda-2030 stipulate Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for all sex and age groups of Hom sapiens. The level and degree of gender inequality during the Anthropocene epoch (1950 onwards) are gradually mounting in India as per the available data. Gender-based violence (GBV) covered under SDG-5 has adversely impacted the social, economic, political, and cultural structure of society resulting in the erosion of liberty, equality, dignity, and freedom especially for weaker sections.

The present work involves the quantitative and qualitative investigation of their condition in patriarchal and feudal society, underlying socio-demographic factors abetting physical violence, frequency of occurrence and their social consequences, and various factors contributing directly and indirectly to that deplorable status of girl child, women, and LGBT community. The article correlates distinct features of the Anthropocene epoch like climate challenges, global warming, mean sea level rise, and environmental degradations contributing to gender inequality and GBV.  The complete lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic accompanied by supply chain distortions and loss of livelihood of millions of Indians has aggravated social problems like dowry and rape cases, intimate partner violence, kidnapping, gambling, drinking, and drug trafficking.  

The Authors focus on steps towards achieving gender equality and girl-child empowerment (SDG-5) during the Anthropocene epoch through social, economic, and legal means for building equal and equitable societal order.

The author discusses the historical background of the origin of modern Azerbaijan divided by the Araz river into southern or Iranian and northern or the independent Republic of Azerbaijan. The author analyzes the application of the Sasanian name Adurbadagan to both sides of modern Azerbaijan. He believes that the name Azerbaijan originates from the Avestan words Atash or Atar or Azar that means fire. As a historical and political term, Azerbaijan roots deep to Achaemenids’ Aturpatakan (Atropatena) evolving into the Sasanian Adurbadagan - a Zoroastrian center of the empire. Since late Antiquity, Adurbadagan’s military and administrative functions were extended and applied by the Sasanids to all lands in the north from the Aras river, up to Darband fortress in Arran (Albania) in Caucasia. The author argue, since late Antiquity, Adurbadagan and Arran became interchangeable names in the northern bank of the Araz river. In the Islamic period, particularly after Seljuk Turks conquest of Iran, Adurbadagan evolved into the Turkified form of Azarbadajan or Azerbaijan, cementing the modern Azerbaijani Turks’ identity in the south and north sides of the entire Azerbaijan divided by the Araxes.

This paper will serve as the first design of the A Grasp of Reality Television series. It is a social behavior project to examine the influence of reality television upon its audience. The researcher, Yerodin Lasana Carrington, conducted a quantitative survey for 15 days to gain insight on one’s worldview of reality television programming. The cultivation theory was applied to provide an explanation on the phenomena of an audience’s perception on reality and the long-term effects of viewing this television format. There were 66 random respondents that participated in A Grasp of Reality Television through Survey Monkey in April 2020. The findings of this investigation were analyzed through the use of a simple regression model and a compare mean analysis to accept or reject the research hypothesis and questions. The results reflect the interest of Reality Television, along with the everlasting social qualities, behavioral, and emotional effects viewers encounter upon interpretation of this television program genre.

Grounding the account of Dak’Art on Exhibitions that showcased emergent African and Other non-western art productions, processes and styles, this article avers a history. Instrumental to impacting visibility for modern and contemporary African art in the international arena and the comprehensive contexts of African artistic modernity in the 20th century, these shows are grounds for feasible links of African history and art history. In the creation of storylines, fairs in the past did not only function as locations of display but conveyor-belts of repeats, reincarnations and recalibrations characteristic of African art and its histories in perpetual flux (Belting 2009:54). Dak’Art 2022 narrates the deft celebration of diversity, liberty and freedom of expression. This essay takes the works of three (3) artists to reflect art that speaks in many voices’ in African art and its history.

Indeed, Dak’Art 2022 constructs narratives of art modernism, modernity and contemporaneity that significantly make exhibitions active means in those narratives.

The present research aimed to explore social media users’ perceptions of the positive roles of social media. Several positive social media roles were identified from the literature. The educated segment of social media users was selected and surveyed using a Google Forms-based self-administered questionnaire. A total of 178 Facebook users voluntarily participated in the survey. The outcomes indicate that social media captures users’ attention on social issues, followed by politics, economics, and other vital topics. Sharing and acquiring knowledge and skills, connecting with friends and family, and sharing current affairs are the most critical uses of social media instead of entertainment. Respondents agree that social media has the potential to increase awareness, change attitudes, and foster a sense of responsibility compared to television and newspapers. Social media users may be responsible or irresponsible. This study contributes to the positive social media use literature, which is limited in Bangladesh. It may also guide policymakers to promote more positive social media use among university students who can harness its potential effectively. Future studies may involve large-scale surveys and the application of structural equation modeling.