Masyarakat, Kebudayaan dan Politik

#ShutItAllDown social protest: Examining emotional content on Twitter against sexual gender-based violence in Namibia

Anthony Eniayejuni — 2023-08-22

Over the years, social media has evolved into the primary platform for political activism. Citizens have utilized social media platforms to mobilize people to band together and rise against injustice. Social protests usually occur because of citizens’ emotional reactions to perceptions of injustice. Citizens have traditionally used social protests to voice their dissatisfaction with government policies and to influence political reforms. Citizens’ participation in social protests is fraught with emotion. Emotions elicited by political stimuli play a vital role in initiating and guiding goal-directed behavior. Therefore, this study intends to analyze the emotions expressed in Twitter posts during the #ShutItAllDown social protest. This study uses a quantitative approach. The findings show that both positive and negative emotions expressed on social media accelerate Namibian youth participation in the #ShutItAllDown social protests. Fear, anger, and anticipation instigate people’s participation in protests, whereas joy and happiness are feelings of satisfaction that are experienced during goal achievement. Thus, protest participation arising from both positive and negative emotions enforces government reforms.

The dichotomy of electoral choice in fragmented societies: Prospects of 2023 Nigerian general elections

Adeyinka Patrick Adewumi — 2023-09-08

Elections in fragmented states are usually contested along the divisive lines present within the geo polity, and this plays an important role in the emergence of political leaders. Nigeria, one of the most heterogeneous countries in the world, has exhibited predominantly ethnic voting since the consolidation of its fourth republic, and this has contributed to mixed socioeconomic and political fortunes. Using a qualitative approach based on secondary sources such as, books, journals, articles, this study highlights that mature democracies exhibit retrospective voting, through which objective scrutiny of government performance in the economy and other aspects of the state is done to determine whether to reward or punish political leaders at the polls. The limitations of primal and ethnic voting considerations in Nigeria, visible in development outcomes, call for a new guardrail to electoral choice. This paper argues the need for economic voting to predominate the ethnic considerations that determine electoral choice, as this can guarantee developmental outputs, and ensure political accountability that benefit the state. This study concludes that, if Nigeria is to experience significant changes in its fortunes going forward, the 2023 elections must change the narrative from non-evaluative considerations to evaluative voting considerations, for positive socioeconomic dividends.

Physical culture for lifelong healthy participation: Expanding the horizon of individual interest and university engagement in physical education in higher education

Joseph Lobo — 2023-09-08

The degree of an individual’s interest can be conceptualized as their inclination to experience specific emotions toward a particular domain, such as physical education. There is a lack of published scholarly literature exploring the correlation between individual interest and university engagement, particularly within the context of colleges and universities in the Philippines. The primary objective of this study is to enhance the understanding of the correlation between the two variables. Furthermore, the objective of this study is to ascertain the notable disparity in the individual interest and university engagement of students, taking into account their sexes and educational institution. This study uses a quantitative research method. Upon collecting data from a representative sample of college students, it was determined that there was no discernible variation in the levels of individual interest and university engagement based on gender and educational institution. Furthermore, a notable correlation has been identified between individual interest and engagement in higher education. Ultimately, the factors that contribute to university engagement include positive affect and readiness to reengage, stored utility value, stored attainment value, and knowledge-seeking intentions. The present study provides recommendations for future research initiatives and instructors in order to effectively promote lifelong engagement in physical culture among students, encouraging their participation in diverse healthy activities.

A statistical analysis of work-related accidents in women’s employment

Fatih Yilmaz — 2023-09-08

Women are often victims of gender discrimination in various fields, including in the work environment. This research article aims to statistically evaluate the status of women’s employment and occupational accidents in some countries where regular data are available, and to provide predictions in the future. Using quantitative methods, data were analyzed with panel data analysis, bivariate correlation and two-step clustering methods. The findings of this study indicate that there is a positive and stronger correlation between work-injury for women than for men in all but a few developed social welfare countries. In some countries, while the correlation is negative for men, it is positive and strong for women. This study concludes that existing preventive regulations, including those in developed countries, are not sufficient to protect women. Women are more likely to work in non-traditional sectors where occupational health and safety (OHS) regulations are more flexible. Therefore, public authorities related to OHS should focus more on the conditions of this new industry in the future.

Political confrontations and disagreements in the Nigerian Government’s COVID-19 response

Tahir Adekunle Ijaiya — 2023-09-08

The COVID-19 outbreak has led to various interventions and policies from governments around the world, including Nigeria. However, Nigeria’s response was laden with political interests, confrontation and disagreements from various blocs of interest. Therefore, this study aims to examine various phenomena of political confrontation and disagreement during COVID-19 intervention. This study uses qualitative methods. Data were obtained through qualitative secondary data and analyzed thematically. The results of this study indicate that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC) are the two political parties that engage in the most political confrontation and disagreement. This study found that conflicting interests also occurred between the government and several interest groups regarding the import of foreign health workers and the distribution of COVID-19 assistance. Similarly, disagreements also ensued between the federal government and some subnational governments over their refusal to acknowledge the existence and/or severity of COVID-19. This study concludes that political conflicts and disagreements during COVID-19 in Nigeria were caused by government policies and interventions that could not be separated from competing interests and needs of the political, business, and professional elite.

Discourse on moving the new capital city in East Kalimantan Province a political economy perspective

Syifa Izdihar Firdausa Asfianur — 2023-09-08

This paper aimed to examine the discourse on moving the new state capital in Indonesia. The relocation of the national capital city was highly controversial, with many significant indicators of displacement according to the level of interest in it. The new capital city of Indonesia will be located in Kutai Kartanegara Regency and Penajam Paser Utara Regency. This study looks at the discourse of moving the national capital from a political economy perspective. This study uses qualitative research methods, with a literature review and NVIVO12 analysis. The discourse on moving the state capital explained many interests of the government and people in East Kalimantan Province. This discourse has pros from a political and economic point of view considering the benefits it could bring and cons from a judicial and academic perspective on the reasons and urgency behind relocating the state capital. It is assumed that the development of the National Capital will be evenly distributed, although in fact the management of urban planning has not been carried out properly. This study recommends that a more in-depth study is needed so that the relocation of the capital can provide greater benefits to the people of Indonesia in accordance with national goals.

Improving community welfare through Non-Cash Food Support Programs in Jeneponto Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Amiruddin Amiruddin — 2023-09-08

To improve people’s welfare, policies are needed that can help people get above the poverty line. This study aims to describe how the implementation of the Non-Cash Food Assistance Program can improve the welfare of the people in Jeneponto Regency. This study uses a qualitative research design. Data collection techniques are through observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation. The results of the study show that the Non-Cash Assistance Program in Jeneponto Regency can improve people’s welfare which is marked by a decrease in the percentage of the poverty rate from 14.28 percent in 2021, down in 2022 to 13.73 percent. This decrease in the percentage of the poverty rate has made Jeneponto Regency no longer the Regency with the highest poverty rate in South Sulawesi Province. For services, it was found that e-warongs serving the community had low competence, which affected the quality of food sold by e-warongs to beneficiary families. This study concludes, improvement is needed in determining the target group by setting strict criteria for prospective program recipients, and it is necessary to have a cluster for each category, so that the formulation is also adjusted based on needs. Determination of providers must apply a competition system, so that the quality of basic ingredients is maintained at affordable prices.

The paradox of special autonomy: Why does wealth make Papua poor?

Hendy Setiawan — 2023-09-08

Papua’s Special Autonomy has been running for two decades with a budget disbursement of approximately 101.2 trillion rupiah. In line with that, this study aims to analyze the problems that occurred in Papua during the implementation of special autonomy. This research is qualitative research using data from books, journals, and media reports. This research adopts Bardhan and Mookherjee’s theory about the condition of fiscal decentralization which generates welfare. The research results substantially consist of two main things. First, from the point of view of local democracy, previously the special autonomy policy in Papua had not fully involved local (customary) figures in managing the special autonomy fund. Second, special autonomy in Papua has made budget items increase, both from central to regional transfer funds or other balancing funds. However, this fiscal authority is not accompanied by good capacity building for the organizers of the special autonomy for Papua. Therefore, it can be concluded that the implementation of special autonomy for Papua over the last two decades has not been able to function local democracy and produce reliable fiscal authorities so that the road to prosperity is still long.

Agrarian conflict and split recognition: The middle way for recognition of the Mapur Bangka Tribe in Indonesia

Iskandar Zulkarnain — 2023-09-12

Since the New Order regime, access to tin mines has been a disaster for the Mapur Tribe. The desire to live in prosperity from tin mining led to a prolonged structural agrarian conflict and problems of political recognition. This study aims to analyze agrarian conflicts and the recognition debates that surround them and analyze the visibility of discourses on the recognition that is adaptive to the interests of indigenous peoples. Through qualitative research with case studies, this study found that structural agrarian conflict gave rise to social rupture and acts of mutual exclusion between groups. The counter-movement can unite the group and continue the resistance. After the agrarian conflict, indigenous peoples were faced with debates about the legal product of recognition through sectoral laws which gave rise to different interpretations at the Regional Apparatus Organization (OPD) level. This condition gave rise to the phenomenon of split recognition, due to the lack of political will to include the agenda for recognition of Indigenous Peoples (MHA) in regional planning policies. A comprehensive law with a general function is needed as a middle ground for the unification of arrangements regarding MHA.

Integrated handling to overcome stunting in rural areas in East Java, Indonesia

Septi Ariadi — 2023-10-24

Stunting is one of the pressing health issues that requires serious attention and immediate intervention. This study aimed to assess the causes of stunting, the challenges faced by communities in ensuring nutrition for children, the management of stunting, and the efforts needed to optimize stunting intervention in rural areas. This study employed a qualitative approach with a total of 30 families having stunted children as informants. The study reveals that preventive measures against stunting should commence early, even during pregnancy. Apart from nutritional deficiencies, equally important contributing factors are inadequate maternal knowledge, recurrent or chronic infections, poor sanitation, and limited healthcare access. One pivotal step in preventing stunting is empowering and centralizing the role of mothers, who should be committed actors in the stunting prevention process. In a child’s growth and development, exclusive breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary feeding demands attention. Understanding child growth stages is crucial for parents to prevent stunting. Although most parents are aware of the significance of meeting their child’s nutritional needs, economic constraints and lack of awareness still hinder some parents from giving extra attention to this matter.