Subject:
All Disciplines Arts & Humanities Biology & Life Sciences Business & Economics Chemistry & Materials Science Computer Science & Mathematics Engineering Environmental & Earth Sciences Medicine & Pharmacology Physical Sciences Public Health & Healthcare Social Sciences
Sort:
Hottest Latest Alphabetical (A-Z) Alphabetical (Z-A)
Type:
All Topic Review Biography
Topic Review
Fashion Influencer
A fashion influencer is a personality that has a large number of followers on social media, creates mainly fashion content and has the power to influence the opinion and purchase behavior of others with their recommendations. Brands endorse them to attend fashion shows, parties, designer dinners and exclusive trips and to wear their clothes on social media. If a salary has been involved, the influencer may be required to label such posts as paid or sponsored content. Before social media "they would have been called 'It girls'". Business magazine Forbes identified fashion influencers as "the new celebrity endorsements". However, influencers seem to have a closer relationship with their audience than traditional celebrities. As marketers Jung von Matt, Brandnew IO and Facelift point out: "Daily interactions across multiple channels, through photos, stories or live sessions, create a form of closeness and trust" that make influencers "often more tangible than traditional celebrities".
  • 2.9K
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Hung Jury
A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. This situation can occur only in common law legal systems, because civil law systems either do not use juries at all or provide that the defendant is automatically acquitted if the majority or supermajority required for conviction is not reached during a single, solemn vote.
  • 1.1K
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Islamist Shi'ism
Islamist Shi'ism (Persian: تشیع اخوانی‎) is a denomination of Twelver Shia Islam greatly inspired by the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood ideologies and politicized version of Ibn Arabi's mysticism. It sees Islam as a political system and differs from the other mainstream Usuli and Akhbari groups in favoring the idea of formation of Islamist state in occultation of the twelfth Imam. Hadi Khosroshahi was the first person to identify himself as ikhwani (Islamist) Shia. Because of the concept of the hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, Shia Islam is inherently secular in the age of occultation, so islamist Shi'ites had to borrow ideas from Sunni islamists and adjust them with Shi'i outlook. Islamism (Persian: اخوانی گری‎) (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is conceived as a revival or a return to authentic Islamic practice in its totality. Ideologies dubbed Islamist may advocate a "revolutionary" strategy of Islamizing society through exercise of state power, or alternately a "reformist" strategy to re-Islamizing society through grassroots social and political activism. Islamists may emphasize the implementation of sharia, pan-Islamic political unity, the creation of Islamic states, or the outright removal of non-Muslim influences; particularly of Western or universal economic, military, political, social, or cultural nature in the Muslim world; that they believe to be incompatible with Islam and a form of Western neocolonialism. Some analysts such as Graham E. Fuller describe it as a form of identity politics, involving "support for (Muslim) identity, authenticity, broader regionalism, revivalism, (and) revitalization of the community." The term itself is not popular among many Islamists who believe it inherently implies violent tactics, human rights violations, and political extremism when used by Western mass media. Some authors prefer the term "Islamic activism", while Islamist political figures such as Rached Ghannouchi use the term "Islamic movement" rather than Islamism. Central and prominent figures in 20th-century Islamism include Sayyid Rashid Rida, Hassan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, Abul A'la Maududi, Hasan al-Turabi,and Ruhollah Khomeini.
  • 1.2K
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Proportional Cake-cutting with Different Entitlements
In the fair cake-cutting problem, the partners often have different entitlements. For example, the resource may belong to two shareholders such that Alice holds 8/13 and George holds 5/13. This leads to the criterion of weighted proportionality (WPR): there are several weights [math]\displaystyle{ w_i }[/math] that sum up to 1, and every partner [math]\displaystyle{ i }[/math] should receive at least a fraction [math]\displaystyle{ w_i }[/math] of the resource by their own valuation. In contrast, in the simpler proportional cake-cutting setting, the weights are equal: [math]\displaystyle{ w_i=1/n }[/math] for all [math]\displaystyle{ i }[/math] Several algorithms can be used to find a WPR division.
  • 315
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Hooker with a Heart of Gold
The hooker with a heart of gold (also the whore with a heart of gold or the tart with a heart) is a stock character involving a courtesan or prostitute with a hidden integrity and kindness. The character, traditionally female, is usually an example of irony: an allegedly immoral woman who demonstrates virtues absent in woman morally correct for the role.
  • 1.0K
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Metaverse Space Travel and Anxiety
The metaverse is a collection of 3D-simulated artificial environments designed to foster social interaction. COVID-19 travel anxiety has triggered growing interest in virtual environments (e.g., metaverse travel) in the aftermath of the pandemic. The cost-conscious and tech-savvy behavior of travelers has been resurrected in the ‘new normal’; however, the fear of missing out (FOMO) is now dictating travelers’ choices for newness, immersive and rewarding travel experiences.
  • 609
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Távora Affair
The Távora affair was a political scandal of the 18th century Portuguese court. The events triggered by the attempted assassination of King Joseph I of Portugal in 1758 ended with the public execution of the entire Távora family and its closest relatives in 1759. Some historians interpret the whole affair as an attempt by the prime minister Sebastião de Melo (later Marquis of Pombal) to limit the growing powers of the old aristocratic families.
  • 1.3K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Family Register
A family register (also known in several variations, such as household register and family album, and, when discussing non-anglophone countries, the native-language names of the registers such as koseki in Japan ,Familienbuch in Germany ,and hukou in China ) is a civil registry used in many countries to track information of a genealogical or family-centric legal interest. Often, official recognition of certain events or status may only be granted when such event or status is registered in the family registry—for example, in Japan, a marriage is legally effective when and only when such filing is recorded into the household register (known as a koseki). In other cases, the family register serves as a centralized repository for family legal events, such as births, deaths, marriages, and expatriations, as with the familienbuch in use in Germany and the livret de famille (fr) in France, although it is not the sole source of official recognition for such events. Use of government-sanctioned or administered family registers, while common in many European nations and in countries which use continental-style civil law (where the family or household is legally viewed as the fundamental unit of a nation), is nonetheless rare in English-speaking countries (for example, the closest equivalent in the United Kingdom is the electoral roll, which is also organised by household, but it is limited in the amount of information recorded). Although the United States for example assigns most citizens and residents a social security number intended to be unique to the recipient and information regarding birth, death and work history (in the form of contributions to the social security system) is collected, the U.S. social security system has long been intentionally restricted in the scope of information collected and maintained regarding individuals where not directly related to social security benefits—as such, no information is centrally collected regarding marriage, citizenship status, parentage, or the like, in contrast to the German and Japanese family register systems. Establishment of a more comprehensive personal information repository (along the lines of the Japanese or former German systems) has been criticized by civil liberties advocates as subject to governmental or criminal abuse, while proponents cite the benefits of simplified access to vital information. In South Korea, use of the hojeok (similar to the Japanese household registry, written using identical Chinese characters) was repealed in 2005, in favor of a personal registry system. The systems of household registers in China, Korea and Japan date back to the Tang Dynasty or Heian Period or earlier, both since the seventh century.
  • 3.0K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Prohibited Degree of Kinship
In law, a prohibited degree of kinship refers to a degree of consanguinity (blood relatedness) and sometimes affinity (relation by marriage or sexual relationship) between persons that results in certain actions between them being illegal. Two major examples of prohibited degrees are found in incest and nepotism. Incest refers to sexual relations and marriage between closely related individuals; nepotism is the preference of blood-relations in the distribution of a rank or office. An incest taboo against sexual relations between parent and child or two full-blooded siblings is a cultural universal. Taboos against sexual relations between individuals of other close degrees of relationship vary, but stigmatization of unions with full siblings and with direct descendants are widespread.
  • 4.6K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Development Communication Policy Science
Development communication policy sciences is the study of policy issues related to development communications. These two branches of social sciences are regarded as distinct and mutually exclusive areas of study but are said to be inextricably linked. According to Nora C. Quebral (2012), the University of the Philippines Los Baños defines Development Communication as the interaction of two social process—development and communication—in any given environment. Quebral, being the "mother of development communication", initially articulated that, in 1971, Development Communication was tentatively defined as "the art and science of human communication applied to the speedy transformation of a country and the mass of its people from poverty to a dynamic state of economic growth that makes possible greater social equality and larger fulfillment of the human potential" (p. 3). Gonzales (no date) defines development as a "quest for an improved quality of life for all" and communication is used to facilitate changes in people and society so that their full potential will be realised. Grounded on the mentioned basic meanings of development and communication, development communication is defined as "the use of communication in development work". Guru (1997) adds that development communication provides a conceptual and practical framework which is meant to accelerate the process of development in all spheres of human life. It is also meant to break the wall of ignorance, thus, breaking the bonds of poverty and oppression. In 1993, Alexander Flor suggested to refine the definition of development communication including the perspective of cybernetics and general systems theory. In 1995, Alexander Flor claimed development communication as the Fifth Theory of the Press. According to the author, it is the suitable system given "the social and political structures" of the Third World and its present universal environment. In UNESCO's approaches to development communication, Jan Servaes cited "while communication on its own will not bring about change and development, neither will change happen without development communication. We need to integrate all our efforts". Flor & Ongkiko (1998) describe development communication in the book titled 'Introduction to Development Communication' as purposive as it primarily uses communication not merely to give information but practically to influence the people- the receivers of information. Nair (1993) adds that development communication brings change, education and inspiration toward development. In 2001, Quebral redefined development communication as the "art and science of human communication linked to a society's planned transformation from a state of poverty to one of dynamic socio-economic growth that makes for greater equity and the larger unfolding of individual potential". The World Bank views development communication as the "integration of strategic communication in development projects" based on a clear understanding of indigenous realities. In 2006, Bassette defined development communication as a "planned and systematic application of communication resources, channels, approaches and strategies to support the goals of socio–economic, political and cultural development". In 2007, the Rome Consensus gave this definition: "Communication for Development is a social process based on dialogue using a broad range of tools and methods. It is also about seeking change at different levels including listening, building trust, sharing knowledge and skills, building policies, debating and learning for sustained and meaningful change. It is not public relations or corporate communication." According to Dr. Florangel Rosario-Braid, a communication expert in the Philippines, development communication is defined as a "purposive approach to communication" that intends to bring about social and economic change in the lives of the greatest number of the population. Braid says Development Communication involves three key elements: (1) Communication involves people's participation, (2) Stakeholders are in active dialogue and consultation, (3) End goal should be to uphold the rights and needs of the people and to achieve "self-reliance and autonomy". Human perspectives of development come into consciousness through communication whereby social reality is negotiated culturally and politically. Communication encompasses all levels of development in society and development initiatives like in health, agriculture, family planning, etc. It is a tool for mitigating global frontiers, contrasts, and divisions and landscaping structural intricacies and dynamic transformations in this sphere—the evidences of change and their social evolution. The Communication Initiative Network defines communication in models of development. To study communication is no less than one way to study policy-making. Communication about development ensures the sustained attention to the issues and which in turn is necessary in getting the essential commitment from world leaders and the wider public to give meaning to the process. The purpose of development communication is to support sustainable change in development operations by engaging key stakeholders, specifically, to: (a) establish conducive environments for assessing risks and opportunities; (b) disseminate information [to generate knowledge, p. 14]; (c) induce behavior and social change. Communicating "development" is framed within economic growth under the Western-centric modernization for underdeveloped countries using traditional vertical (top-down), linear, one-way Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver model based on Lasswell's 1948 communication theory as monologic, persuasive information and message transfer/dissemination/diffusion or selling of ideas through mass media (e.g., advertisements, social marketing). This dominant paradigm which was opposed by the political-economic framework of dependency is in part abandoned and has taken the perspectives of "participation", "empowerment", and socio-cultural "multiplicity" for sustainable or long-term economic growth stipulated by the Millennium Development Goals. Communication is underscored for meaningful participation using horizontal, two-way (dialogic/interactive) communication principles and practices to facilitate stakeholders' engagement throughout the development process. These are captured by the 17 Global Goals to 2030 for sustainable development through social progress. Development communication as a field is defined by: (1) World Bank as "an interdisciplinary field based on empirical research that helps to build consensus while it facilitates the sharing of knowledge to achieve positive change in development initiatives. It is not only about effective dissemination of information but also about using empirical research and two-way communication among stakeholders" and key management tool in assessing socio-political risks and opportunities; and (2) First World Congress of Communication for Development in Rome on October 2006 as "a social process based on dialog using a broad range of tools and methods. It is also about seeking change at different levels, including listening, building trust, sharing knowledge and skills, building policies, debating, and learning for sustained and meaningful change. It is not public relations or corporate communication". Participation refers to people's involvement from social movement and project-based perspectives which could be passive (informed), consultative (provides feedback), functional (takes part in discussion and analysis by horizontal communication), and empowered (equal partners with external professionals in decision-making) along the ladder to change. To move into sustainability, change in people's beliefs and practices take place. However, "...change cannot occur without communication". Development communication accommodates three pillars of sustainable development: (1) ecological; (2) economic; and (3) social issues. In addition, Paolo Mefalopulos of the World Bank, believes that a four-phase methodological framework can help formulate appropriate communication strategies in development communication through (1) research, often referred to as communication-based assessment, or CBA; (2) inputs for the strategy design; (3) production of the materials and implementation of the planned activities; and (4) evaluation. Social, cultural, economic, political, technological and environmental issues and their utterances (also known as "advocacies") in the form of gender concerns, capitalism (e.g., welfare capitalism), marginalization (e.g., social welfare development), poverty, health care, climate change versus sustainable development, and social innovation are brought to public knowledge, and to a consensus for action on the interests, needs and capacities of all concerned through development communication. It also provides stakeholders access to national and local development goals and plans in a communication system where they can communicate horizontally and vertically to coordinate for resource and human development, more so to promote equal opportunities for social welfare, to seek social change involving innovations, and a higher quality of life and values of society. It is a vital part of the political and policy processes. The interface of development communication and policy sciences is the common ground for social and political actions such as reforms in order to: (1) blur discriminatory tensions, (2) reckon the benefit of change, and (3) configure disarrays of allocating equities between the government, corporations, and social sectors. They strengthen the basic framework of management sciences by adding much needed components. Policies articulate directions for their mobilization and regulatory mechanisms since it is set to be anticipatory or forward-looking that is, problems have been envisioned (predicted) at vantage points (strategic) so countermeasures can have minimal consequences. 'Legitimacy' of policies can be defined in terms of their (a) effectiveness and (b) relevance in the real world to address the multidimensional and complex problems. The policy sciences study the process of deciding or choosing and evaluate the relevance of available knowledge for the solution of particular problems. When policy scientists are concerned with government, law, and political mobilization, they focus on particular decisions. Policy scientists also study the choosing process of nongovernmental organizations and individuals and consider the significance of the current stock of knowledge for specific issues. According to Hale (2011), the central aim of policy sciences is to resolve problems [in the service of human dignity] and the diverse human, historical, and contextual element in public policy-making. This is a reiteration of the Lasswellian maxim on public policy in the following key elements: "contextual"; "problem-oriented"; "multi-method inquiry" or diverse empirical methods; "political"; "normative, welfare-oriented" in the case of social policy goals; and posing "interdisciplinarity" or moving between humanities and social sciences. Policy sciences improve decision-making by reinforcing and supporting human dignity to elide the blinders of instrumental reason by addressing the manifold of human experience. According to Laswell (1971), an adequate strategy of problem solving in policy sciences encompasses five intellectual tasks. These five tasks are performed at varying levels of insight and understanding: goal clarification; trend description; analysis of conditions; projection of developments; and invention, evaluation, and selection of alternatives. With this, the policy sciences integrate philosophy, history, science, prophecy, and commitment. Policy is the "plan of action" for administration, management and control of resources. The Evidence-Based Policy in Development Network and Overseas Development Institute provide a mirror of policy sciences on development by information exchange between stakeholders. Policy-making involves analysis of data and options to determine the "best" possible solution to the problem, weighing between welfare, health, expediency, efficiency, justice, and rights, among other things at par with understanding value judgments. The Lessons Database by the Independent Evaluation Department of the Asian Development Bank frames the rigors of balancing a variety of factors in the context of organizational and operational effectiveness. Prioritization towards sustainable development is actually based on estimates of economic and social costs, interests and power structures, scientific information, and ethics. Nair (1987) emphasized that communication can be utilized in providing service to the people. It is essential for mobilizing initiatives and providing information required for action in all fields of development such as agriculture, health and family planning, education and religion. However, MacBride Commission (1980) highlighted that adequate financing must be given to development projects. Without funds, programs of governments will not succeed. Apart from funding, there are other equally important aspects in implementing projects. Communication for Asia (CFA) shares their 5I's methodology in development communication: Inform, Instruct, Inspiration, Insist and Involvement. The 5I's means informing all stakeholders of concerns and priorities to achieve collaboration and cooperation of everyone in mutually sharing expertise and talents in serving the people. The term "policy sciences" was originally coined by Harold D. Lasswell and Daniel Lerner as an approach to understanding and solving problems that draw on and contribute to all fields of knowledge. It is a set of procedures in an integrated and comprehensive form to help clarify and secure common interests. The term "policy sciences" is in plural form to emphasize its interdisciplinary nature. Fraser (1998) elucidated the purposive nature of both development communication and policy sciences, thus intertwining their functions. Policies will greatly aid in the successful implementation of projects as they provide directions on what necessary steps to take. In the work of Alexander Flor, the term "development communication policy sciences" was not used as a whole phrase but was mentioned separately as development communication and policy sciences. He discussed the term according to the linkage of development communication and policy sciences as fundamental and traceable even before either area was afforded the status of science. Communication policy research evolved from the outset as a multi-disciplinary field and domain of various academic disciplines from sociology and political science to law and economics, resulting in the coverage of a myriad of multi-faceted topics. The choice of subjects in communication policy research is affected by sociocultural, political, economic and technological forces that determine the overall framework for communication policy and regulation as well as by the many regulatory objectives in communication. The place of communication in the development process was given a boost when Lerner (1958) wrote his famous treatise 'The Passing of the Traditional Society', in which he acknowledged that mass media growth was one of the three phases of democratic political development (Moemeka, n.d). He pointed out that the mass media had the power to create opportunity for empathy which 'disciplined western men in skills that spell modernity'. Development communication is basically communication for social change to achieve one's potential. This is embodied in Nora Quebral's (1971) definition which states that development communication is the "art and science of human communication applied to the speedy transformation of a country and the mass of its people from poverty to a dynamic state of economic growth that makes possible greater social equity and the larger fulfillment of the human potential." Quebral (2001) redefined development communication to "the art and science of human communication linked to a society's planned transformation from a state of poverty to one of dynamic socio-economic growth that makes for greater equity and the larger unfolding of individual potential." McKee (1992) emphasized that people's involvement is the key to the desired changes. Unless people see themselves as the driving force of their own development, no amount of investment or provision of technology and inputs will bring about any lasting improvements in their living standards. An important and founding impetus for communication policy research came from Harold D. Lasswell, who also figures prominently as a founding father of communication science and policy science (Rogers 1994). He argued that future advances in communication study depended upon the development of a policy focus and upon being a third voice supplying 'a competing appraisal of the images spread by self-serving sources' (Lasswell 1972:307). The conception of the policy sciences on the other hand, is more refined and extended today than at any time in the colorful history of man (Lasswell, 1971). Giving a working definition for it, he noted that policy sciences are concerned with knowledge of and in the decision processes of the public and civic order.
  • 7.2K
  • 19 Oct 2022
  • Page
  • of
  • 288
Featured Entry Collections
>>

Featured Books

>>
Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Encyclopedia of COVID-19
Encyclopedia of Fungi
Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
ScholarVision Creations
Feedback