Everyday Life and Everyday Communication in Coronavirus Capitalism

In 2020, the coronavirus crisis ruptured societies and their everyday life around the globe. This article is a contribution to critically theorising the changes societies have undergone in the light of the coronavirus crisis. It asks: How have everyday life and everyday communication changed in the coronavirus crisis? How does capitalism shape everyday life and everyday communication during this crisis? Section 2 focuses on how social space, everyday life, and everyday communication have changed in the coronavirus crisis. Section 3 focuses on the communication of ideology in the context of coronavirus by analysing the communication of coronavirus conspiracy stories and false coronavirus news. The coronavirus crisis is an existential crisis of humanity and society. It radically confronts humans with death and the fear of death. This collective experience can on the one hand result in new forms of solidarity and socialism or can on the other hand, if ideology and the far-right prevail, advance war and fascism. Political action and political economy are decisive factors in such a profound crisis that shatters society and everyday life

Unmet goals of tracking: within-track heterogeneity of students' expectations for

Educational systems are often characterized by some form(s) of ability grouping, like tracking. Although substantial variation in the implementation of these practices exists, it is always the aim to improve teaching efficiency by creating homogeneous groups of students in terms of capabilities and performances as well as expected pathways. If students’ expected pathways (university, graduate school, or working) are in line with the goals of tracking, one might presume that these expectations are rather homogeneous within tracks and heterogeneous between tracks. In Flanders (the northern region of Belgium), the educational system consists of four tracks. Many students start out in the most prestigious, academic track. If they fail to gain the necessary credentials, they move to the less esteemed technical and vocational tracks. Therefore, the educational system has been called a 'cascade system'. We presume that this cascade system creates homogeneous expectations in the academic track, though heterogeneous expectations in the technical and vocational tracks. We use data from the International Study of City Youth (ISCY), gathered during the 2013-2014 school year from 2354 pupils of the tenth grade across 30 secondary schools in the city of Ghent, Flanders. Preliminary results suggest that the technical and vocational tracks show more heterogeneity in student’s expectations than the academic track. If tracking does not fulfill the desired goals in some tracks, tracking practices should be questioned as tracking occurs along social and ethnic lines, causing social inequality

The political economy of recasting the constitutional debate in Hong Kong

People obtain value, or gain utility, from procedures rather than merely from outcomes. Academic researchers are slowly and selectively coming to terms with this fact, but it is neither sufficiently nor widely appreciated by actors in Hong Kong's political arena, whether at the center or on the periphery. The territory is grappling with the issue of democratic reform— both its pace and scope— but the heated exchanges between the proponents and the opponents of representative government are confined to the outcome utility of the various constitutional proposals. It is essential to incorporate the procedural element into this incomplete picture

The Art of Exile: A Narrative for Social Justice in a Modern World

In this paper I will illustrate what exile art is, how it is influenced on a global platform, and the change it engenders. My research reveals a central theme of globalization in the exchange, mix, and clash of cultures and political views that accompany it as well as the spread of art and ideas. In my research I illustrate how political circumstance, and sense of responsibility to share a political narrative, propelled exile art from a personal to a political narrative. My research illustrates how, as displaced people stripped of a homeland, exiled artists have surfaced as a voice of awareness, social justice, and political change, giving a voice to those who have none. I emphasize how artists in exile communicate the internal struggle of being caught between two cultures. I discuss how the artists’ symbolic rendering of the imagined third spaces of exile illustrates the intimate and personal experience of exile. Further, my research seeks to understand the significance of how this artform is received on a global market

Grief, Loss, and Sexually Transmitted Infections

Having a sexually transmitted infection (STI) affects people of all ages, races, and cultural backgrounds. Being diagnosed with an STI has implications across the lifespan. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of grief and loss on having a sexually transmitted infection and how these effects manifest across the lifespan of an individual. Using a mixed-methods design, ten individuals responded to an anonymous Qualtrics survey and answered a series of questions related to grief, loss, and having an STI. Data was analyzed using descriptive and open-coding techniques from the survey responses and then linked to the existing literature. The findings indicated that the majority of respondents experienced some type of loss related to having an STI, as well as stigma from society. Also, the findings indicated that several of the respondents experienced some type of positive growth and change as a result of being diagnosed with an STI. These findings outline the need for further research in this area to develop effective social work intervention strategies on a micro, mezzo, and macro level

Grief, Loss, and Sexually Transmitted Infections

Having a sexually transmitted infection (STI) affects people of all ages, races, and cultural backgrounds. Being diagnosed with an STI has implications across the lifespan. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of grief and loss on having a sexually transmitted infection and how these effects manifest across the lifespan of an individual. Using a mixed-methods design, ten individuals responded to an anonymous Qualtrics survey and answered a series of questions related to grief, loss, and having an STI. Data was analyzed using descriptive and open-coding techniques from the survey responses and then linked to the existing literature. The findings indicated that the majority of respondents experienced some type of loss related to having an STI, as well as stigma from society. Also, the findings indicated that several of the respondents experienced some type of positive growth and change as a result of being diagnosed with an STI. These findings outline the need for further research in this area to develop effective social work intervention strategies on a micro, mezzo, and macro level

Democratic Transitions and the Future of Asylum Law

The United States\u27s commitment to protecting refugees is dying a slow death. Two developments have contributed to its demise. The first, widely heralded, is the United States Congress\u27s evisceration of procedural safeguards such as judicial review. The second development is more insidious: expansion of the asylum law doctrine, which holds that changed country conditions can defeat an otherwise valid asylum claim. In an age in which democracy seems triumphant throughout the world, the combination of severely curtailed judicial review and mechanical application of the changed conditions doctrine relegates refugees, as well as asylum law itself, to an uncertain future.\u27 This article argues that the rise of the changed country conditions doctrine stems from judicial and administrative confusion about both the role of both subjective and objective factors in asylum law and the nature of democratic transitions