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Pickup artists (PUA), self-identified as dating coaches, the seduction community or the pickup community, is a movement of men whose goal is seduction and sexual success with women. The community exists through Internet newsletters and blogs, marketing (e.g. banner ads, seminars, one-on-one coaching), forums and groups, as well as local clubs, known as "lairs". The rise of "seduction science", "game", or "studied charisma" has been attributed to modern forms of dating and social norms between sexes which have developed from a perceived increase in the equality of women in western society and changes to traditional gender roles. Commentators in the media have described "game" as sexist or misogynistic.

5.8K
10 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Libertarian Marxism

Libertarian Marxism is a broad scope of economic and political philosophies that emphasize the anti-authoritarian and libertarian aspects of Marxism. Early currents of libertarian Marxism such as left communism emerged in opposition to Marxism–Leninism. Libertarian Marxism is often critical of reformist positions such as those held by social democrats. Libertarian Marxist currents often draw from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels' later works, specifically the Grundrisse and The Civil War in France; emphasizing the Marxist belief in the ability of the working class to forge its own destiny without the need for a vanguard party to mediate or aid its liberation. Along with anarchism, libertarian Marxism is one of the main currents of libertarian socialism. Libertarian Marxism includes currents such as autonomism, council communism, De Leonism, Lettrism, parts of the New Left, Situationism, Socialisme ou Barbarie and workerism. Libertarian Marxism has often had a strong influence on both post-left and social anarchists. Notable theorists of libertarian Marxism have included Maurice Brinton, Cornelius Castoriadis, Guy Debord, Raya Dunayevskaya, Daniel Guérin, C. L. R. James, Rosa Luxemburg, Antonio Negri, Anton Pannekoek, Fredy Perlman, Ernesto Screpanti, E. P. Thompson, Raoul Vaneigem and Yanis Varoufakis, who claims that Marx himself was a libertarian Marxist.

5.7K
11 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Secular Humanism

Secular humanism, often simply called humanism, is a philosophy or life stance that embraces human reason, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality and decision making. Secular humanism posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or belief in a deity. It does not, however, assume that humans are either inherently good or evil, nor does it present humans as being superior to nature. Rather, the humanist life stance emphasizes the unique responsibility facing humanity and the ethical consequences of human decisions. Fundamental to the concept of secular humanism is the strongly held viewpoint that ideology—be it religious or political—must be thoroughly examined by each individual and not simply accepted or rejected on faith. Along with this, an essential part of secular humanism is a continually adapting search for truth, primarily through science and philosophy. Many secular humanists derive their moral codes from a philosophy of utilitarianism, ethical naturalism, or evolutionary ethics, and some advocate a science of morality. Humanists International is the world union of more than one hundred humanist, rationalist, irreligious, atheist, Bright, secular, Ethical Culture, and freethought organizations in more than 40 countries. The "Happy Human" is recognized as the official symbol of humanism internationally, used by secular humanist organizations in every part of the world. Those who call themselves humanists are estimated to number between four and five million people worldwide.

5.7K
14 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of queer studies and women's studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorization of 'queerness' itself. Heavily influenced by the work of Lauren Berlant, Leo Bersani, Judith Butler, Lee Edelman, Jack Halberstam, and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, queer theory builds both upon feminist challenges to the idea that gender is part of the essential self and upon gay/lesbian studies' close examination of the socially constructed nature of sexual acts and identities. Whereas gay/lesbian studies focused its inquiries into natural and unnatural behavior with respect to homosexual behavior, queer theory expands its focus to encompass any kind of sexual activity or identity that falls into normative and deviant categories. Italian feminist and film theorist Teresa de Lauretis coined the term "queer theory" for a conference she organized at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1990 and a special issue of Differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies she edited based on that conference. Through the context of heterosexuality being the origin and foundation of society’s heteronormative stability, the concept of queerness focuses on, “mismatches between sex, gender and desire” Queerness has been associated most prominently with bisexual, lesbian and gay subjects, but its analytic framework also includes such topics as cross-dressing, intersex bodies and identities, gender ambiguity and gender-corrective surgery. Queer theory holds that individual sexuality is a fluid, fragmented, and dynamic collectivity of possible sexualities and it may vary at different points of his life. Its attempted debunking of stable (and correlated) sexes, genders, and sexualities develops out of the specifically lesbian and gay reworking of the post-structuralist figuring of identity as a constellation of multiple and unstable positions. Queer theory also examines the discourses of homosexuality developed in the last century in order to place the "queer" into historical context, deconstructing contemporary arguments both for and against this latest terminology.

5.6K
17 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Container Shipping Supply Chain

Container shipping supply chain (CSSC) consists of several key stakeholders such as the shipper, freight forwarder, shipping line, port/terminal operator, inland carrier, and intermodal terminal/depot operator, who are working together to transport containerized cargo by different transport vehicles (e.g., vessels, trains, and trucks) and handle the containers by various types of handling equipment and facilities (e.g., terminals, cranes, trailers, wagons, lifters, and depots) from origin to destination along the entire end-to-end supply chain.

5.6K
05 Jul 2021

Topic Review

The Effect of Parental Styles on Social Skills

Parental educational styles have a significant effect in personal development. These styles (authoritative, democratic, permissive and neglectful) can be related to affects and social skills at the individual level. The results suggest that parenting styles are closely related to affects and social skills. It is also suggested that affects play a mediating role in the relationship between parenting styles and social skills.

5.6K
23 Mar 2022

Topic Review

Elephant in the Room

Elephant in the room is an English-language metaphorical idiom for an obvious problem or risk that no one wants to discuss. It is based on the idea/thought that something as conspicuous as an elephant can appear to be overlooked in codified social interactions, and that the sociology/psychology of repression also operates on the macro scale.

5.6K
28 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Grade Retention

Grade retention is a strategy for the remediation of learning or developmental delays. Students who cannot keep up with their peers or do not meet a predefined level repeat the same grade once again and by doing so have an extra year to get at the level that is needed to successfully manage the next grade. There are considerable doubts as regards the usefulness and effectiveness of retaining grades. Studies conclude that in the short term retaining grades may have a positive effect on academic achievement, but that this gain disappears in the longer term.

5.5K
30 Oct 2020

Topic Review

University Social Responsibility

University Social Responsibility (USR) enhances educational development and the impact of universities on society. As a stakeholder in USR, it is imperative to develop a comprehensive literacy scale that reflects the development of students’ citizenship in social engagement.

5.5K
26 Apr 2022

Topic Review

The Lisbon Treaty has brought significant changes to the institutional structure of the European Union. The traditional three pillar system has been abolished and provisions regarding formal Union institutions have been amended. The aim of this encyclopedia entry is to briefly describe the functioning of each of the formal EU institutions after the Lisbon amendment. More specifically, their main tasks and powers will be shortly presented, whilst more extensive bibliography will be provided. In this regard, the reader will be in position to understand the fundamentals of the EU institutional structure and also find valuable sources for further research.

5.5K
16 Mar 2021

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