Background: A recent theological exegesis of Ecclesiastes 6:3b (Gyan, 2026) demonstrated that Qoheleth’s burial clause “and also he has no burial” functions as the theological climax of his argument against outward abundance without inward satisfaction, operating simultaneously as a marker of covenantal rupture, social erasure, and eschatological warning within the Hebrew wisdom tradition. That study, however, operated principally within a Western biblical hermeneutical framework, leaving a significant contextual lacuna: the absence of a reading of this neglected clause from within and alongside the funerary theologies of African traditional societies. Purpose: This article develops a cross-textual dialogue between Qoheleth’s theology of the unburied dead and the funerary cosmology of the Akan people of Ghana’s Bono Region, further illuminated by Ubuntu relational philosophy, with the aim of producing a contextual African pastoral theology of burial grounded in both biblical wisdom and indigenous African philosophical resources. Methods: The study employs African Biblical Hermeneutics as its primary methodological framework, placing the biblical text in deliberate, non-reductive dialogue with Akan funerary cosmology and Ubuntu relational philosophy. Ethnographic-theological reflection is based on the author’s firsthand experience as an ordained minister in the Berekum Area of the Bono Region. Comparative analysis identifies convergences and divergences between Qoheleth’s burial theology and Akan understandings of death, the ancestral community (Nsamanfo), and communal obligation toward the dead. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that Qoheleth’s burial theology and Akan funerary cosmology share a deep structural grammar: both identify denial of burial as a rupture of communal belonging that constitutes a theological and cosmological verdict. Ubuntu relational ontology provides the philosophical foundation for a contextual African Christian pastoral theology of burial that speaks prophetically into contemporary African funerary crises: unclaimed bodies in hospital mortuaries, poverty-related denial of burial, and funerary stigmatization, as well as issues in concrete ecclesial obligations.
Olympic villages represent emblematic residential legacies of mega-events, engineered as high-density housing solutions yet frequently repurposed post-Games, triggering profound socio-demographic shifts that test urban equity and inclusion. Barcelona 1992 and London 2012 exemplify gentrification trajectories, in which athlete accommodations evolve into premium markets, displacing vulnerable populations and reshaping neighbourhood fabrics. This study comparatively assesses pre- and post-Olympic population dynamics across multiple host cities, elucidating patterns of social replacement, tenure restructuring, and spatial polarisation. Methods draw on granular census tract data from national statistical institutes—INE, ONS, and INSEE—spanning 5–10 years before and after each Games. Indicators include population density, age structures, household incomes, tenure mixes, and migration balances, benchmarked against city-wide controls. GIS platforms facilitate spatial difference-in-differences mapping, while fixed-effects regressions isolate Olympic impacts from secular trends, augmented by propensity-score matching to ensure neighbourhood comparability. Results confirm gentrification archetypes: Barcelona’s Diagonal Mar saw a 25% increase in income and a 15% outflow of low-income residents between 1998 and 2005, as public housing quotas eroded under market pressure. London’s East Village registered 40% rental uplifts post-2013, attracting young professionals at the expense of social tenants despite a 50% affordable mandate. Preliminary Paris 2024 data signal analogous displacements in Saint-Denis, while Athens 2004 illustrates vacancy spikes and underutilisation. Social replacement consistently favours higher-SES inflows, correlating with proximity to transport nodes. These findings position Olympic villages as policy laboratories, exposing tensions between legacy pledges and market dynamics. Equitable post-event outcomes require mandatory income mixing, participatory repurposing, and long-term monitoring to foster inclusive urban futures beyond the Games.
Excavation in the Ravne 3 tunnel, part of the Ravne underground complex near Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, has produced a small metal assemblage alongside the site’s much larger ceramic record. The metal finds include an iron hooked/curved blade tool (a hedge bill or billhook type), two hand-forged iron nails, a bronze pendant with an abstract Celtic-style motif, and a group of heavily corroded bronze coins. Most of the assemblage was recovered from a raised, secondary-deposit floor zone in Chamber R3-1, alongside more than 3,100 ceramic sherds spanning the Neolithic/Eneolithic through the late medieval period. A radiocarbon date on charcoal at a dry-stone wall interface (calibrated range 261–423 CE, 95.4% probability, with 85.8% of that probability falling in 340–423 CE) anchors at least one phase of Late Roman activity in the tunnel. This paper describes the metal assemblage on its own terms, places the billhook and pendant within a wider comparative framework of Mediterranean and Roman-provincial parallels, and treats the objects as evidence of repeated, later use of a pre-existing tunnel rather than evidence for when the tunnel was first cut.
This study examined the effectiveness of inquiry-based and lecture-based instructional approaches on the academic performance of Grade 11 Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) students in Philippine Politics and Governance at Saint Columban College, Pagadian City. Grounded in Constructivist Learning Theory and the principle of scaffolding, the research aimed to determine the academic performance of students under both teaching approaches and identify whether a significant difference existed between them. A quantitative quasi-experimental design using a one-shot posttest two-group approach was employed. Twenty-four Grade 11 HUMSS students participated in the study. Data were collected through researcher-made posttests administered after the implementation of both instructional approaches. Descriptive statistics and a paired-samples t-test were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that students exposed to the inquiry-based approach achieved a Mean Percentage Score (MPS) of 86.70%, interpreted as “Closely Approximating Mastery,” while those taught through the lecture-based approach obtained an MPS of 77.90%, interpreted as “Moving Towards Mastery.” Statistical analysis showed a significant difference between the two approaches (p = 0.033), indicating that inquiry-based instruction was more effective in improving students’ academic performance. The results suggest that inquiry-based learning promotes deeper understanding, critical thinking, and active participation among learners. The study recommends integrating inquiry-based strategies into Philippine Politics and Governance instruction while enhancing lecture-based teaching through interactive and student-centered activities.
This theoretical essay aims at presenting the problem of managing bicycling mobility in latin-american cities through political technologies for planning Ciclovías Recreativas programs. According Estrada et al. (2009), Ciclovías Recreativas consist of events that temporarily open public roads for physical activities, restricting access to motorized vehicles. They generally take place on Sundays and holidays, lasting an average of six hours, and have varying names depending on the country. Despite the management efforts of the Latin American region’s main metropolitan areas expanding accessibility for bicyclists through the implementation of bicycling infrastructure, Ciclovías Recreativas simultaneously promote, within a specific timeframe, the playful experimentation of bicycling mobility. These events, by modifying the dynamics of public roads, have the capacity to include the entire population in participation; however, it seems strategic to investigate how these programs can enhance mobility practices that foster a bicycling culture. The text is organized into four parts: 1) Researcher’s perspective: an exposition of the research trajectory situating problematic field; 2) Urban mobility, cycle activism, and the use of bicycles on public roads: this section seeks to specify the path of research on public policies for active bicycle mobility; 3) Political technologies and agency: theoretical framework of the Human Sciences for the analytical interpretation; 4) Recreational Ciclovías Recreativas in the Latin American context. Given the asymmetrical political relations spheres power between cyclists and drivers motorized vehicles, the justification research lies problematizing scope of government technologies that expand conditions possibility agencyment bicycling use in Latin American cities.
In the emerging field of singlehood studies, a critical studies approach can be an important guide to transcending deficit narratives of single life. I illustrate this by critiquing a recently published research report that focused on the deficiencies of young single people who had not yet had a romantic relationship and the greater well-being of their romantically involved peers. I suggest that single people may be doing less well not because they are personally deficient or deprived of closeness or intimacy, but because they are devalued and disadvantaged and the important people in their lives are too. Drawing from other research, I show that single people have their own valuable experiences, strengths, opportunities, and accomplishments, and that coupled life comes with its own risks and not just rewards. Importantly, a critical studies approach positions single people in systems of inequality that typically advantage romantically coupled people and disadvantage singles; that adds an important structural and sociological perspective to the emerging field of singlehood studies that sometimes focuses disproportionately on individual psychological processes.
This study examined the impact of production loans on the productivity of corn farmers in Sarangani Province, Philippines. It specifically investigated the socio-economic characteristics of farmers, the reasons for availing production loans, the factors influencing corn productivity, the effect of production loans on yield, and the profitability of corn production. A descriptive-correlational design was employed, and data were collected from 315 farmer respondents using structured questionnaires. Frequency and percentage analyses were used to describe socio-economic profiles, while ranking and thematic analysis identified the primary reasons for loan utilization. Factors affecting productivity were analyzed using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and Generalized Linear Models (GLM), while the impact of production loans was explored using an impact pathway approach. Cost and return analysis determined the economic viability of corn farming. Results revealed that age, educational attainment, farm size, monthly income, loan amount and frequency, and participation in corn production and financial management training significantly influenced productivity. Gender, marital status, and number of dependents had no significant effect. Production loans enabled farmers to access essential inputs, conduct timely farming activities, and improve overall farm management, which contributed to higher yields and profitability. The study highlights the importance of integrating financial support with technical training and resource management to enhance smallholder corn productivity in the province.
Este artigo apresenta resultados parciais da pesquisa em andamento sobre a Argentina, com foco na Era Kirchner (Néstor, 2003-2007, e Cristina, 2007-2015). Antes de discorrermos sobre o período em foco, retomamos momentos da história econômica, passando pela última ditadura militar (1976-1983), pelos governos de Raúl Alfonsín (1983-1989) e sobretudo de Carlos Menem (1989-1999), pela crise de 2001, para finalmente tratarmos dos governos Kirchner como pausas relativas na solução (neo)liberal, que voltaria no governo de Mauricio Macri (20152019). Indicamos como o passado condicionou as circunstâncias, quando governos progressistas alcançaram o poder na Argentina, também o nível de estrangeirização da economia, certamente traduzido em força político-ideológica, contra a qual vitórias duradouras são difíceis. A reflexão é fruto essencialmente de pesquisa bibliográfica.
The distinction between ethics and morality constitutes one of the fundamental pillars for understanding human action in contexts of growing social, technological, and biopolitical complexity. Drawing on the classical tradition, Aristotle conceives of ethics as the rational pursuit of the good and excellence of character (areté), aimed at the full realization of the human being within the polis. Thomas Aquinas deepens this perspective by articulating morality as the realm of free human acts, ordered toward the good according to reason and the dignity of the person. In modernity, Kant introduces moral autonomy as the foundation of dignity, while Levinas shifts the focus toward responsibility in the face of the other. These traditions converge in the contemporary understanding that ethics and morality, though related, are not equivalent: ethics is critical reflection on the foundations of action, while morality is the set of norms, habits, and values that guide conduct. In the field of bioethics, the distinction between ethics and morality takes on special relevance in the face of the challenges posed by technoscience. Hans Jonas proposes the principle of responsibility as a criterion to guide human action in a technological civilization capable of affecting the very conditions of life. Ethics offers the critical framework for discerning the good in new and complex situations; morality, the concrete criteria for acting responsibly. Both converge in the construction of a praxis oriented toward justice, the protection of dignity, and the promotion of hope as a horizon of meaning. In a world marked by technological acceleration, inequality, and uncertainty, the articulation between ethics and morality proves indispensable for sustaining a humanity capable of responding to others, protecting life, and orienting technology toward the common good.
Utopia is analysed as a rhetorical work characteristic of humanism that demands an active and interpretative reading. Its meaning is constructed through paradoxes that challenge conventional wisdom, in line with Erasmus of Rotterdam’s proposal in a letter addressed to Ulrich von Hutten, and depends on both the historical context and the author’s biographical details for a proper understanding. Finally, a brief section will be included linking utopia, science fiction and artificial intelligence as tools for reflecting on social organisation. From this perspective, Utopia can be understood as a theoretical framework that remains relevant today, whilst science fiction and artificial intelligence appear as contemporary manifestations of that same utopian impulse.
Hearing loss in old age is often addressed from a biomedical perspective, emphasizing sensory deficit and rehabilitation through assistive technologies. However, this article proposes a broader approach, centered on the new meanings constructed by older adults in the face of communicative transformations imposed by hearing loss. Based on recent studies and accumulated research in the field of Communication Disorders, the analysis highlights how the meanings attributed to deafness in later life are intertwined with issues of identity, belonging, and social inclusion. The article also underscores the importance of interdisciplinary practices and public policies sensitive to the communicative needs of older adults, recognizing listening as both a human right and a gesture of care.
De nos jours, le contact avec les cultures étrangères est permanent et facilité par les nouvelles technologies, capables de relier des milliards d’êtres humains des quatre coins de la planète et de donner à voir et à comprendre d’autres modèles de vie et de pensée. Le contact permanent et direct avec les autres est dû à l”intensification des échanges, à la forte mobilité des personnes générant ainsi le brassage des populations, l’interpénétration de différentes cultures. le flux d’échanges et de relations ne signifie pas que la rencontre ait lieu dans un rapport d’ouverture d’esprit et de réciprocité et à l’heure où l’on assiste à une recrudescence de mouvements nationalistes et à différentes formes de rejet de l’étranger, l’interculturalité doit alors se poser comme un garde-fou contre toutes ces dérives identitaires et s’inscrire dans un véritable projet de société. Le défi qui se pose alors dans nos sociétés est d’arriver à faire de cette diversité culturelle une source d’enrichissement et non un champ de bataille et c’est là le défi qu’il incombe aux institutions scolaires de relever, à travers la promotion d’une éducation interculturelle. En tant que valeur universelle, l’interculturalité a toute sa place au sein d’une institution scolaire, lieu où l’on va non seulement instruire des élèves en leur délivrant des savoirs et savoir-faire mais aussi éduquer des sujets responsables, des acteurs sociaux capables d’agir et d’interagir avec le monde qui les entoure.
This article examines the relationship between science fiction and coloniality in Brazilian literature through a postcolonial reading of two short stories published in 1961: “O Desafio” (“The Duel”) by Antônio Olinto and “O Menino e o Robô” (“The Boy and the Robot”) by Rubens Teixeira Scavone. It starts from the premise that, although science fiction is often associated with technological speculation and futuristic settings, the genre also functions as a privileged space for reflecting on historical and social tensions. In the Brazilian context, such narratives frequently engage, either explicitly or implicitly, with the country’s colonial past and with the legacies of slavery and racial hierarchy that continue to shape national identity. The objective of this study is to analyze how these narratives reconfigure structures of domination and alterity within technologically advanced societies. The analysis is grounded in postcolonial studies, particularly the contributions of Edward Said and Frantz Fanon, in order to examine how the texts reproduce, question, or negotiate colonial discourses related to race, cultural authority, and social hierarchy. The study demonstrates that in both stories the robot functions as a symbolic figure of subordinated alterity. In “The Duel,” the robot T-55 embodies a technologically mediated version of the colonized subject, whose existence is regulated by human authority and by hierarchies of language and culture. In “The Boy and the Robot,” the apparently harmonious relationship between the boy and the robot evokes the Brazilian myth of racial democracy, while simultaneously preserving paternalistic structures rooted in servitude and dependency.
Background: Libraries and the intellectual community they serve have constituted the backbone of cultural life in Namangan region from the early twentieth century to the present. The region’s rich history of Islamic scholarship, combined with Soviet-era mass literacy programmes and post-independence cultural policy, has produced a uniquely layered library landscape. Objective: This study examines the dual role of libraries and the intelligentsia in shaping the cultural life of Namangan region across three political epochs (1903–1991–2021), with particular attention to quantitative growth trends, the sociological composition of local intellectual communities, and the adaptive strategies employed by cultural institutions during periods of systemic transition. Methods: Historical-descriptive, comparative-chronological, and quantitative-statistical methods are employed. Primary sources include regional state archive documents, official statistical publications of the State Statistics Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, contemporary local periodicals (Namangan Haqiqati, Pop Tongi), and data from regional information-library centre administrations. Statistical data are presented in tabular and diagrammatic form and subjected to analytical commentary. Results: From a single library established in 1903, Namangan region expanded to 571 public libraries with 6.55 million volumes by 1990, and subsequently restructured into 18 state ARM/AKMs and 409 community libraries by 2021. Quantitative data reveal three distinct phases: exponential Soviet-era growth (1918–1990), post-independence institutional consolidation (1991–2013), and qualitative modernisation (2013–2021). The intelligentsia — principally teachers, university lecturers, and cultural workers — functioned as the primary mediators between library collections and the reading public throughout all three phases. Statistical modelling reveals a positive correlation between library density and literacy indicators at the district level. Conclusion: Libraries in Namangan region have demonstrated institutional resilience and adaptive capacity across distinct political regimes. The intelligentsia’s sustained engagement with library institutions — both as professional library workers and as promoters of reading culture through private home libraries and community initiatives — constitutes a defining feature of the region’s cultural identity. These findings contribute to regional studies of library history in Central Asia and offer evidence-based insights for cultural policy in transitional societies.
Attachment is a crucial aspect of significant and enduring interpersonal relationships. The initial attachment bonds are established between infants and their caregivers, typically parents. However, humans continue to form attachment relationships throughout their lives. This lifelong process means that individuals experience various attachment figures, which can include both people and objects in their environment. Research in psychological sciences, particularly influenced by Bowlby’s work, has primarily focused on human-to-human attachment, such as the bond between mother and child. In this study, we aim to demonstrate that, in addition to forming connections with other people, humans also develop attachments to non-human entities, specifically objects.
This paper set out to analyze the concept of Mother Tongue (MT) in a student community at the University of Kinshasa. The underlying hypothesis, based on the researchers’ experiences and observations, was that the concept of MT as viewed and defined by UNESCO (1953) with a combination of chronological and competence meanings, could not be applied so straightforwardly to this study setting in DRC, where the dominant languages in the repertoires of a number of young people are not necessarily the first languages acquired as children. It was then posited that the regional language, in this case Lingala, or the official language, in this case French, or indeed any other second national language like Ciluba, Kikongo or Kiswahili, could take up the role of a MT, that is, with a MT effect. In this respect, a multiple MT has been naturally envisaged. The Democratic Republic of Congo is a multilingual country par excellence, with around 250^{*} spoken languages, and in the capital city of Kinshasa, speakers of the four national languages, namely Ciluba, Kikongo, Kiswahili, and Lingala, interact daily in addition to the official language, French. No wonder any of these languages could end up emerging as the dominant one, depending on social backgrounds and domains of language use. Linguistic data were collected empirically as well as in classrooms, using both qualitative and quantitative observation and interview techniques, as well as a questionnaire with both open and closed questions. The informants were 100 sample students selected from a target population of the Department English and Business Computer Science, at the Faculty of Arts, University of Kinshasa. Using a number of psycho-sociolinguistic parameters to assess the dominant language (s) in the informants’ linguistic repertoires, it has been realized that the examinees are truly bilingual in French and Lingala.
The implementation of communication strategies and tactics within the Russian-language extremist discourse utilizes a range of specific linguistic means. These primarily include lexical and semantic units that substantiate extremist doctrines and shape the images of “victim” and “enemy.” In addition to lexical and semantic units, other linguistic means are also used: word-formation (e.g., suffixes and prefixes of nouns with connotations of disapproval or disdain); morphological (various instances of violation of grammatical usage); syntactic (exclamatory sentences, ellipsis, inversion, etc.); stylistic (metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, allegory, hyperbole, litotes, etc.). In this work, we will characterize the lexical (lexical-semantic), syntactic, and stylistic devices that most influence the formation of the speech profile of a Russian-speaking extremist.
Education plays a supportive role in fostering the development of human values. In Bangladesh, women’s participation in higher education has become remarkably prominent. The present study was conducted among the students enrolled in the 2020-2021 academic session in the Department of Sociology at the University of Rajshahi. All students from that academic session were considered respondents, yielding a total sample of 103 participants. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, employing both social survey and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) techniques. For the survey, a structured questionnaire comprising both open-ended and closed-ended questions was used, while a checklist served as the tool for the FGD. Quantitative data obtained from the survey were presented and analysed in tabular form, supplemented by qualitative insights derived from the FGD. The findings clearly indicate distinct gender-based differences in academic engagement and performance. Time management emerged as a critical factor influencing students’ results. Compared to their male counterparts, female students devote significantly more time to regular classes and self-study. They allocate more study hours across different periods of the day- early morning, noon, afternoon, and evening. Although female students generally achieve better academic results than male students, they tend to experience greater perceived stress related to studying. The fathers of the female students generally hold higher occupational status than those of male students, this factor appears to contribute to the superior academic performance of the female students. Respondents residing in university halls of residence demonstrate better academic outcomes. Most of the participants live in halls, their monthly expenses are relatively low. Female students, compared to male students, receive financial support from a wider variety of sources. Female students are more likely than male students to prepare for examinations through consistent and regular study routines. According to the respondents, implementing appropriate measures to support the overall development of the students would help to ensure improved academic performance. Multifaceted patterns of engagement and academic activities were also observed among the respondents in relation to these outcomes.
A sedimentação em bacias hidrográficas é um processo crucial que impacta a qualidade da água, a morfologia dos rios e a gestão dos recursos naturais, especialmente durante eventos de cheias e inundações. Este artigo Este artigo analisa de forma holística as áreas sedimentadas na Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Inhanombe, situada no sul de Moçambique, destacando a aplicação dos modelos SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) e SDR (Sediment Delivery Ratio). São discutidos os aspectos fisiográficos, hidrológicos e de uso e cobertura do solo que influenciam os processos hidrossedimentológicos na bacia. O modelo SWAT é apresentado como ferramenta eficaz para simular a produção e o transporte de sedimentos, enquanto o modelo SDR é utilizado para estimar a fração de sedimentos que efetivamente alcança os corpos d’água. O artigo destaca os desafios relacionados à calibração dos modelos, à variabilidade espacial dos dados e à complexidade dos processos ambientais, sugerindo a integração de dados de alta resolução, sensoriamento remoto e monitoramento contínuo como estratégias para aprimorar a precisão das simulações. A combinação dos modelos SWAT e SDR proporciona uma abordagem integrada para identificar áreas críticas de sedimentação, contribuindo para o planeamento e a gestão sustentável dos recursos hídricos na região.
This study analyzes the historical and institutional genesis of the community forest concessions model in the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), Guatemala, as a case of socioecological transformation in tropical forest landscapes. Using a qualitative historicalinstitutional approach. The research integrates literature review, document analysis and comparative perspectives to examine how the model emerged in response to structural conditions of rural poverty, insecure land tenure, agricultural frontier expansion and weak state presence. The findings show that the concession system evolved as an adaptive governance arrangement that aligned conservation objectives with local livelihoods through the combination of conditional use rights, community organization and economic incentives derived from sustainable forest management. The results indicate that areas under community concessions have maintained near-zero deforestation rates while generating local income, strengthening territorial governance and promoting institutional learning across multiple scales. The study demonstrates that the effectiveness of the model is not attributable to a single factor, but to the interaction of socio-ecological components, including land tenure as a concession´s model, incentives, rules, capacities, and actors within a polycentric governance system. The case contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on how community-based forest management can reconcile conservation and development objectives. It also highlights key enabling conditions and limitations for policy design and replication in other tropical contexts.
