Advanced Journal of Social Science

The Impact of the 2021 Fire in the Municipality of Ancient Olympia in Greece on the Mental Health of Residents

Manolis Nikolaos Mentis — 2024-03-01

A natural disaster is the probability of a potentially catastrophic event occurring over a period of time in a specific geographical area. The aim of this research was to investigate whether the catastrophic fire of 2021 affected the mental health, in terms of post-traumatic stress and depression, of the social care services beneficiaries in the Municipality of Ancient Olympia in Greece. A questionnaire was used which, apart from demographic questions, contained two main tools: a) the PCL Scale (a tool for assessing post-traumatic stress), b) the Geriatric Depression Scale. The individuals with post-traumatic stress in the sample are in the range of moderate to high PTSD symptomatology. The majority of the participants are in the range of moderate PTSD symptomatology, but there is also a significant percentage who are in the range of high PTSD symptomatology. In terms of geriatric depression, the individuals in the sample are close to the mean. This article was written to serve as reference for the PTSD that can be directly caused by natural disasters.

Leaders of Welcoming and Affirming Churches in North Carolina Discuss their Roles in HIV/AIDS Awareness and Prevention

DaKysha Moore — 2024-03-15

Some church leaders work to increase HIV testing and spread messages to reduce stigma. This study focuses on how leaders of North Carolina churches considered welcoming and affirming by the LGBTQ+ community discuss and disseminate information about HIV/AIDS to church members and communities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six leaders of different denominations between April and May 2023. A thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews found three main approaches: 1) HIV is not addressed directly, but we are here; 2) provide access to educational resources; and 3) fight stigma. Results confirm welcoming/affirming churches could play a significant role in, not only educating their communities about HIV, but also reducing the stigma associated with the disease.

Are Technologies Useful and Easy to Use: Results of A Cross-Sectional Survey

Adinet Lock — 2024-04-01

Tools and technologies have strengths and weaknesses and can either reduce or increase complexity and make work easier or harder. This article aims to report the results of a survey that assessed the usefulness and ease of use of tools and technologies, and perceptions of participants about tools and technologies as a factor in complexity and project failure. A cross-sectional survey of 114 project managers, researchers, and decision-makers was conducted to assess if tools and technologies that participants use in their work are useful and easy to use by asking two questions based on a validated tool of user acceptance of technologies. Additionally, two questions asked participants which tools and technologies were most helpful in their work – one was an open question, and the other provided pre-selected choices of tools and technologies. Few participants chose tools and technologies as a factor that contributes to complexity and project failure, and most participants rated tools and technologies as useful and easy to use. However, the tools and technologies that were chosen by most as helpful for work, tend to be older and simpler and include tools such as checklists. In conclusion, even though tools and technologies are advancing rapidly, most participants in the current survey chose older tools and technologies as helpful in their work. The relevance of these findings is that there appears to be barriers to the adoption of newer technologies such as artificial intelligence and algorithms. The barriers to the adoption of new tools and technologies should be explored further.

Why Not Us? Experiences of Incarcerated Women on Education Access in Malawi Prisons

Samson C R Kajawo — 2024-04-02

Many incarcerated women worldwide have low education profiles that cause them to commit petty criminal offences among others. Thus, education access to incarcerated people, including women can be undoubtedly an indispensable strategy for their rehabilitation. However, education access could still be patriarchal and not accessible to women in prisons. Guided by radical feminist theory, this study employed a qualitative narrative research approach to explore from incarcerated women and correctional officers how education was made accessible at two prison facilities in Malawi. The key finding was that there was social injustice in the provision of education to offenders. Education access was monopolised by male inmates. Women were denied access to education even though they needed and demanded it since authorities preferred to use the available inadequate educational resources to provide education to only male inmates. It was recommended that gender equality needed to be exercised in the provision of education opportunities in prisons. Where resources are scarce, at least similar educational resources should be made equally and equitably accessible to both male and female inmates.

A Cross-Sectional Online Survey of Researchers, Project Managers, and Decision-Makers to Assess Factors That Contribute to Complexity and Project Success

Adinet Lock — 2024-04-02

Complexity is a major problem for managers and decision-makers and needs to be addressed for projects to succeed. The aim of this study was to explore the factors contributing to complexity and project failure and success. An online cross-sectional survey of 114 researchers, project managers and decision-makers was conducted to explore these factors. Results showed that all participants who use project management indicated that it contributes to the success of their projects. Humans and human interactions were chosen by most participants as the main factor responsible for complexity. Most participants indicated that poor communication and collaboration was the biggest factor preventing them from achieving their goals. Participants mostly prefer working with people that they have a lot in common with, and most indicated that smaller teams of four to five people are better for optimal performance compared with larger team sizes. Feeling valued, respected, and being adequately rewarded motivated participants to perform well. In conclusion, project management may be able to improve the chances of project success. Addressing human factors and interactions may reduce complexity and motivate people to perform well. Limitations of this research include convenience sampling and subjective responses to a cross-sectional survey rather than objective measurement of outcomes.

Determinants of Food Security in Tobacco and Sugarcane Production Zones, Migori County, Kenya

Erick Ochieng Anino — 2024-09-09

At 34%, food insecurity in Migori County is considered alarming while its measurement has posed challenges to academicians and researchers whilst many studies exist on food security determinants, none has been done in Migori entailing tobacco producers, sugarcane growers and non-growers in Kuria and Migori sub-counties. The study examined food security determinants guided by a consumer theory and measured by means of HFIAS modelled in ologit model. Data collection was done using an open data kit pre-loaded with a questionnaire and analyzed using stata software wherein results depicted 38.89% as severely insecure, 33.33% moderately insecure, 9.26% mildly insecure and 18.52% food secure while household size, off-farm income, capital sourcing was significant at p<0.001 in varying degrees and categories after ologit regression analysis. There is need for the national government to provide cash crop insurance and fixed contracts to prevent risks associated with price fluctuations as well as invest in innovative biotechnology research through formulation of policies to aid in ensuring capacity building through its stakeholders such as the national research institutes and other donor agencies.

Agricultural Value Chains and Gender in the Post-reform Era

Denis TUSHABOMWE — 2024-09-09

This article systematically reviewed literature on agricultural market reforms, value chains and gender, selected from Global South developing countries to generate evidence on the changes in smallholder agricultural value chains and gender relations, following liberalization reforms. The study specifically aimed to; identify and critically analyse previous attempts to categorize agricultural value chains; and provide new value chain categorizations and associated gender relations. We found that only 5% of the reviewed 60 publications have attempted to categorize agricultural value chains, however with no consideration of gender relations. A new value chain typology has been provided as: “Traditional”, Digitally-led”, “Group-led” and “Firm-led” value chains, respectively basing on 13%, 35%, 32%, and 24% of the publications. With regard to gender relations, the main finding was that unequal gender relations are inherent in all forms of value chains but tend to be experienced differently by value chain actors –men and women – depending on the type of value chain. The commonly identified underlying factors for gender inequality included; patriarchal structures that bestow upon men decision-making power and control over production resources mostly land. Related were social norms that confine women to the domestic realm, proscribe their mobility and participation in higher value chain nodes and farmer groups. Lastly were gender disparities in education, skills and income leading to differences in access, ownership and use of ICTs. From the results, we note that inasmuch as different forms of value chains present some opportunities for actors, the evolution in smallholder value chains continues to engender equality challenges, mostly affecting women. We contributed to filling the knowledge gap on transformations in post-reform value chains and its effect on gender relations.

Understanding the Rise of Right-Wing Crimes, and Intergroup Threat Theory: Global Perspective & Case Studies

Aila Sajid Bhangoo — 2024-11-08

The rise in right-wing extremist offenses has become a significant global concern, particularly in the United States. These offenses are usually fuelled by radical ideologies such as nationalism and white supremacy, and have quadrupled over the past decade. Our analysis reveals that far-right extremist offenses in the U.S. have surpassed violence previously linked with jihadist-groups, with right-wing factions responsible for over 60% of extremist-related casualties since 2014. Moreover, the increase in these offenses is strongly corelated with a rise in immigration influx and demographic changes. This study employs a systematic literature review guided by the PRISMA framework and synthesizes relevant works to explore the relationship between rising immigration rates and the increase in right-wing extremist offenses. While the study mainly draws on intergroup threat theory, other sociological and psychological frameworks are also presented to shed light on how economic downturns and demographic transitions can provoke hostile right-wing sentiments toward immigrants and minorities, often culminating in violent crimes. Our findings and analysis emphasize the need for comprehensive policy interventions which not only address the rise in extremist discourse but also curb those societal factors that contribute to their growth. Additionally, we examine the role of social media in disseminating extremist ideologies and suggest that immigration policy reforms can help mitigate xenophobic attitudes. Moreover, we also recommend that efforts to combat right-wing extremism should focus on promoting social inclusion, economic justice, and close monitoring of extremist organizations, both online and offline.