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The aim of this article is to look at algorithmic media and how they shift and alter everyday media-related practices and content, and with it power relations as well as agency between media institutions, medium and users. It does so from a historical perspective using the waves of mediatisation by Couldry and Hepp (2018) to discern different phases of media development and describe how the affordances of the most popular media of each wave alter media-related practices. This helps to put the changes induced by algorithmic media into perspective. While algorithmic media have existed since the wave of digitalisation, they have become a lot more independent, complex and visible with the introduction of social and chatbots (Alexa, Siri) and artificial intelligence (ChatGPT). Algorithmic media have inflicted changes to communicative practices as we are now communicating with machines, which always have an invisible bystander in the form of a media company listening in. Furthermore, we find a broadening of user agency and power with the establishment of Web 1.0, which is gradually being reduced with the upcoming of Web 2.0 as well as the usage of social and algorithmic media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to one of the forms of interaction between believers of Kazakhstan and the authorities, namely, letters from citizens to the state authorities. These letters of complaint against the actions of local officials led to the emergence of a set of documents that were deposited in archival fund. They became the main documentary base of the research. The concept of cultural adaptation of ethnic groups was used as a methodology to characterise the mechanisms of adaptation of believers to the requirements of the anti-religious policy of the Soviet state. The systemic analysis of the documents showed the informational potential of believers' letters as a narrative base that allows reconstruction the history of relations between the Soviet state and religious organisations. The letters of believers' form ideas about religious discourse and the spiritual state of society. They reflect the religious feelings of Soviet people and characterise the level of religiosity of society. They express the reaction of ordinary citizens to the confessional policy of the state and the methods of its implementation. The informative content of letters, as sources for research into the methods of religious legislation, is often more comprehensive than the content of official documents and reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competing firms may engage in group buying (GB) to benefit from a quantity discount from a common supplier. We study GB under different power structures (i.e., Nash and Stackelberg) and investigate how the power structures can be endogenized along with the resulting GB outcome. We employ a game-theoretic framework in which two firms under Cournot competition can group their purchases if it is beneficial compared to individual purchasing. We show that under exogenous power structures, when the two firms have highly asymmetric market bases, Nash GB is unattainable due to severe co-opetition conflict, and Stackelberg GB can better resolve the conflict. Our results suggest that power structures may fundamentally affect firms' GB incentives, and no power structure is always superior to others. We then endogenize the power structures of the two firms based on a two-stage extended game. Using Pareto-risk dominance, we identify conditions under which one firm endogenously emerges as the Stackelberg leader with the rival as the follower, as well as the conditions under which both firms endogenously choose Nash GB or opt for independent purchasing. We demonstrate that the two firms can largely resolve the battle for GB leadership and achieve an efficient outcome in most cases. Our study is the first to compare different exogenous power structures and consider endogenous power structures in the context of GB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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There is emerging evidence that a significant proportion of migrants acquire HIV after arrival in Europe. Thus, to strengthen prevention efforts, it is crucial to understand migrants' vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. This article contributes to this understanding by analysing the perspectives of prevention actors and migrants. Data were collected through a qualitative and participative research study conducted in Switzerland. Twenty prevention actors and 28 migrants participated in in-depth interviews. Results show that migrants' difficulties in accessing and adopting measures to prevent HIV are related to three types of situational vulnerability that increase their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS: social vulnerability, which refers to social inequalities in access to care; relational vulnerability, which refers to unequal distribution of power within intimate relationships; and sexual vulnerability, which refers to stigmatization of sexualities that some people may consider as socially nonconforming. For HIV/AIDS prevention to be successful among migrants, power structures such as sexism, heterosexism, cisgenderism, ethnocentrism, and racism need to be addressed. Reducing stigma related to HIV among migrants requires a struggle against these power structures as well as health inequities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper pays homage to the late Kadir Beycioğlu's invaluable contributions to social justice and education. Beycioğlu crafted a reflexive narrative that uses philosophical methodologies to explore the concept of social justice within educational settings. In this brief article, we aim to engage in a dialectical and theoretical discourse with Beycioğlu's scholarship, expanding upon his arguments, critically assessing various aspects of his work, and providing responses to several of his assertions. By adopting the approach of conversationalism (Chimakonam, 2017), we create an intellectual space for critical, reflective, and productive dialogues among ourselves and in relation to Beycioğlu's later work and hope to enrich the ongoing discourse on social justice in education. Our intention is to honour the lasting contributions of Beycioğlu to education in Turkey by tracing his work into three distinct theoretical strands and engaging critically with his scholarship. These three strands are his conceptualisation of social justice, his contributions to critical policy-making and his later work on questioning gender equality and other intersecting inequalities in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Closure of a forest for biosecurity purposes led to the marginalisation and disconnection of Year 6 children from a local forest of significance to them in Aotearoa, New Zealand. The marginalisation of children's voices and concomitantly of their knowledge, ideas, and values from environmental issues can be viewed as an example of epistemic injustice, which manifests widely in the environmental area, particularly in relation to marginalised groups. To counter this marginalisation and promote epistemic justice, we explored how the creative arts involving a child-driven environmental communication project could foster children's sense of agency by supporting the protection of a local forest affected by a tree disease. We show that the creative arts could facilitate the children's meaningful engagement in environmental issues in a learning environment that fostered child-centric approaches that enabled children to express their visions for sustainable futures in distinctly unique ways that were relevant to them. Furthermore, enabling the children to participate as environmental communicators re-established their relationship with their local forest and re-balanced the power structures that had led to the children's sense of marginalisation. The insights on how this child-centred relational approach can promote epistemic justice and provide a meaningful contribution to the long-term sustainable management of forest ecosystems has implications for other marginalised groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Subaltern studies address postcolonial notions, binary oppositions, and power structures, enabling us to perceive history from an oppressed perspective. Similarly, subaltern geopolitics challenges the traditional narratives that often present the interest of the dominant community and omit the marginalised history. It provides perspectives of the dominant group with geographical imaginaries. This article aims to trace hegemony and power structures with geographical imaginaries through the theoretical framework of subaltern geopolitics in Mahaswetha Devi’s Chotti Munda and his Arrow (2018), translated by Gayatri Chakravarti Spivak. Munda tribes are connected to the land, and the acquisition of land played a pivotal role in the domination and subjugation of the natives. With the subaltern geopolitics, the process of imperialism against the Tribal community during and after the colonisation is studied. Through the lens of hegemony, the cultural exploitation of tribal communities is analysed. It also focuses on the power structure in terms of political and economic structures and elucidates the resistance of the Munda tribal community. The paper identifies three hegemonic power structures that existed during the colonial period, after the colonial period, and in the contemporary period. The article investigates the power structures imposed on Munda tribes through the ownership of the lands and the tribes’ resistance, irrespective of government. The paper brings out the significance of resistance and the importance of land in the lives of tribal people. It concludes that resistance against the authorities is the only means of their survival.

We define a Grothendieck ring of pairs of complex quasi-projective varieties (consisting of a variety and a subvariety). We describe -structures on this ring and a power structure over it. We show that the conjectual symmetric power of the projective line with several orbifold points described by A. Fonarev is consistent with the symmetric power of this line with the set of distinguished points as a pair of varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the global climate problem becoming increasingly severe, governments have adopted policies to encourage enterprises to invest in low-carbon technologies. However, the opacity of the carbon emission reduction process leads to incomplete consumer trust in low-carbon products as well as higher supply chain transaction costs. Based on this, this paper constructs Stackelberg game models with and without blockchain under different power structures and compares the impact of these models on low-carbon emission reduction decisions. The results show that: (1) blockchain does not necessarily improve enterprise profits and can only help enterprises maintain optimal profits within a certain range when the carbon emission cost is low; (2) when consumers' environmental awareness is high, the blockchain can incentivize manufacturers to enhance carbon emission reduction, and it has an obvious promotional effect on retailers' profits; and (3) the profit gap between enterprises in the supply chain is larger under different power structures, and the implementation of blockchain can coordinate profit distribution and narrow the gap between enterprises. Compared with the manufacturer-dominated model, the emission reduction in products is maximized under the retailer-dominated model. Our study provides theoretical support for the government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as well as for the optimization of enterprises' decision-making supported by blockchain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian cinema, particularly Bollywood, has a significant influence on the Indian people and has achieved international acclaim (Bandyopadhyay). Bollywood films are based on a variety of themes, ranging from family values, love, gender inequality, patriarchy, identity, nationalism, and so on (Bandyopadhyay). Analysing Bollywood films from an ecofeminist perspective will uncover how women and the environment are portrayed in these films. Ecofeminism emphasises how patriarchal authority maintains the subjugation of women and the environment (Gallhofer). It challenges the anthropocentric perspective of deep ecology and emphasises the gendered nature of oppression (Gallhofer). In the context of Indian cinema, Ecofeminism can shed light on the portrayal of the domination of women and nature (Bandyopadhyay). Therefore, the current study examines how the movie Sherni depicts the exploitation of nature and the environmental implications of human actions. The study focuses on how the film exposes the link between the subjugation of women and the degradation of the environment while also criticising the capitalist structures that fuel this exploitation. It provides an insight into the representation of women and nature in the film. By examining these aspects, it can contribute to a deeper understanding of the social, cultural, and environmental implications of Bollywood cinema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Blockchain technology is very useful for combating counterfeits and verifying the authenticity of products for consumers. This paper studies blockchain adoption in a two-level supply chain consisting of a brand supplier and a retailer. Our contribution using the game-theoretic framework is to consider the various preferences that consumers may have for blockchain-supported products and to investigate the value and effects of blockchain in a traditional wholesale channel with different power structures and a platform-based-agent selling channel. We confirm that consumer aversion to blockchain will lower retailer incentive to adopt blockchain, while the opposite will occur if consumers are interested in blockchain. We find that the market leader with power advantage is more motivated to adopt blockchain while the follower has less motivation. We also find that the brand supplier will be willing to move to the agent selling channel if the unit cost of the blockchain is low and the platform commission rate is medium. Moreover, an interesting finding is that blockchain can achieve a win–win-win outcome for the brand supplier, retailer, and consumers under a certain critical threshold, which may cause unfair distribution of supply chain profit and may also be detrimental to the establishment of agent selling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The study peruses Pakistani dramas to acknowledge interdiscursivity through Van Dijk's socio-cognitive model which comes under the umbrella of Critical Discourse Analysis. The study observes that Pakistani society is facing challenges at various levels as shown in Urdu dramas. The study evaluates human violation through interdiscursive practices and the language strategies being operated and drilled through various characters in selected dramas to control the nation's progression by exhibiting their social environment through the lens of Pakistani media. In this qualitative research, Van Dijk's model has been used to analyze data. The study reveals that interdiscursivity delves into the underlying agenda to inculcate certain ideologies and discursive practices. The study also exposes that challenges related to the imbalance in power structures faced by Pakistani society are shaped through Pakistani Urdu dramas which block the overall social, political, educational, and economic development of the nation. The findings conclude that language is used as a tool by Pakistani media to achieve hidden agendas instead of bringing change in the society which can lead to a developed nation. The study helps us to understand interdiscursivity and how it develops discourse in a variety of societal contexts that inhibit progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of social media platforms in the 21st century has transformed the way individuals engage with and understand the world. While the debate around privacy in these digital spaces is well-founded, this paper emphasizes the fundamental design and intent of these platforms: the public sharing of personal information for economic gain. Beyond the individual user, social media companies like Facebook engage in the collection of data on both users and non-users, creating “shadow” profiles that extend their reach and influence. Understanding power dynamics and influence within the social media landscape is an emerging field of research. Social media has redefined traditional structures of authority, allowing individuals without conventional attributes of influence to ascend to prominence. Influence is a fluid, context-dependent resource, driven by collective attention and the specific issues of the moment. It highlights the democratization of power and challenges established notions of authority. Moreover, the perpetuation of patriarchal ideals on social media platforms contributes to the normalization of traditional gender roles. Symbolic violence is disseminated through collective reinforcement, often unconsciously, solidifying these ideals as societal norms. Disparities in social media participation persist, reflecting offline inequalities in class, race, and gender. The selection of platforms often reinforces these disparities. A robust empirical focus on underrepresented groups’ experiences is essential for a comprehensive understanding of social media dynamics. The role of social media in the lives of Black American women offers a distinctive perspective, where these platforms serve as tools to acquire social resources to navigate structural oppression. These platforms acquire profound emotional significance in their lives, transcending their roles as mere communication tools. This paper underscores the multifaceted dimensions of social media’s impact on society, emphasizing the need for nuanced research that explores its complexities. While privacy concerns remain pertinent, it is vital to recognize the core intent of these platforms, the collection of data for economic gain. Understanding influence dynamics, the perpetuation of patriarchal ideals, disparities in participation, and the unique experiences of underrepresented groups in the digital age is crucial for a comprehensive comprehension of social media’s role in contemporary society.

Design literacy becomes more essential to creating a collaborative and inclusive society. Nonetheless, students were more anxious and exhibited lower performance when design studio tutors employed the conventional master-apprentice pedagogy. The cross-pollinative team learning (CTL) design studio pedagogy was operationalised in a year-long randomised controlled trial with first-year Generation-Z beginning design students to resolve the limitations in the existing pedagogy. The CTL students were significantly less anxious compared to master-apprentice students at the year end, although the impact of both pedagogies on anxiety was relatively modest. The hidden CTL curriculum and social support were also demonstrated to enable CTL students to outperform one-on-one master-apprentice learners academically. This study suggested that the power structures of design studios should be recalibrated to acquire CTL advantages, thereby leading to more effective learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Slavica Litteraria is the property of Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The distribution of power is present at all levels of our existence: race, religion, ethnicity, culture, military level, politics, and economics. The power structures have never been based on equality because there is always a person or a group that wants to impose his/her/their view upon others. The present study follows these balances at multiple levels: from the point of view of the macro- (societal) and the micro- (individual/private) sphere, but also from the perspective of ethnicity and gender as they are represented in După gâşte (After Geese) by Lucian Dan Teodorovici. The main stream of the short story has a rather simplistic pretext – the theft of some geese by the Gypsies in a Romanian village –, which masterly introduces us to the problem of power structures.

A livestreaming supply chain composed of a single manufacturer and a single streamer in the low-carbon market is examined. Motivated by the actual production and operation, both the manufacturer and the streamer have a chance to dominate the supply chain. Low-carbon strategies and livestreaming marketing modes of the supply chain are studied. The impacts of the consumer's price sensitivity coefficient, low-carbon preference, and streamer's promotion sensitivity coefficient on the equilibrium results are further studied. The results show that: the streamer achieves the optimal level of promotion effort in the resale mode under both power structures. The manufacturer achieves the optimal low-carbon level in the commission mode when the promotion sensitivity coefficient is smaller under both of two power structures. The streamer's profit is optimal in the resale mode, while the manufacturer's profit is optimal in the commission mode when under the streamer-led structure. Two parties' profits are optimal in the commission mode when the promotion sensitivity coefficient is smaller under the manufacturer-led structure. The low-carbon level, streamer promotion effort and selling price in two livestreaming marketing modes will increase when the streamer promotion sensitivity coefficient and consumer low-carbon preference increase and will decrease when consumer price sensitivity increases under two power structures. Lastly, the selling price in resale mode is always higher than that in commission mode under two power structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

General purpose technologies (GPTs) are regarded as a major source of productivity advancement and economic growth. As a kind of platform technology, GPTs have strong knowledge spillovers, which causes a single subject to lack R&D motivation and adopt a wait-and-see strategy. Cooperation R&D is an effective mode choice for GPTs. For this, three models based on upstream-led, downstream-led and balanced power structures were constructed to study the cooperation R&D modes of GPTs and influencing factors from a technology chain perspective. This study aims to reveal the effects of fairness concerns and power structures on three models. This study also focuses on the roles of knowledge spillovers and government support. The results indicate that different power structures will lead to an unequal distribution of profits between firm U and firm D in the technology chain. The balanced power structure should be the preferred model. The profits of firms in the leading position are always higher than those of firms in the following position. In addition, fairness concerns negatively impact the performance of firms, which may improve the bargaining ability of firms in the following position, but this does not bring a sustainable benefit. Government support (e.g., knowledge and technology support and R&D subsidies) and knowledge spillovers are two key factors influencing the decisions and outcomes of the technology chain. When a firm's relative innovation contribution level is greater, its profits in the leading position are the highest, followed by those in the balanced power structure, and they are lowest in the following position. In contrast, profits under balanced power are the highest, and those in the following position are still the lowest. This study enables a theoretical understanding of how and why the R&D process of GPTs can be regarded as a technology chain. It also sheds light on the fact that the balance power structure model should be the preferred choice and that both fairness concerns and government support should be considered for improving the R&D efficiency of GPT cooperation R&D in practice.

This paper studies one manufacturer's optimal co-development payment under different power structures in a low-carbon supply chain with one manufacturer, one technology firm, and one retailer. The manufacturer could collaborate with the technology firm on developing low-carbon technology through linear fee or revenue-sharing payment. Our results demonstrate that the manufacturer's optimal payment depends on the technology firm's low-carbon level. If the manufacturer collaborates with a relatively low-level (high-level) technology firm, she should choose linear fee (revenue-sharing) payment, regardless of power structures. If the technology firm's low-carbon level is intermediate, the optimal payment varies with power structures. Meanwhile, the manufacturer's optimal payment is also beneficial to the environment due to more emission reductions. Besides, no matter under which payment type, as the manufacturer's market power becomes strong, both the manufacturer's and the technology firm's profits increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While carbon emissions reduction brings about environmental benefits, it can also create financial pressure on many manufacturing enterprises. Many manufacturing enterprises have begun to pledge their own carbon emissions right quotas for financing and the funds from this financing are being used to implement energy savings and emissions reduction strategies. To investigate the impact of carbon emissions right pledge financing on supply chains, this study constructed a two-echelon low-carbon supply chain, which consisted of a capital-constrained manufacturer and a retailer. The manufacturer invested in carbon reduction technologies using carbon emissions right pledge financing. On this basis, we analyzed the carbon emissions reduction levels and profits of the supply chain in three different power structures. The results showed that the manufacturer pledged the most carbon emissions rights to finance emissions reduction in the Nash model and, in this case, the carbon emissions reduction levels and profits of the supply chain were always the highest. In the manufacturer-led Stackelberg model, the overall economic and environmental benefits of the supply chain were the lowest. In addition, we analyzed the sensitivity of the important parameters of the model and revealed some management implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marilisa Jiménez García’s Side by Side: US Empire, Puerto Rico, and the Roots of American Youth Literature and Culture examines the power structures that have defined the field of children’s literature since its inception. The Introduction asserts that “the field has functioned and organized itself in a sort of hyper-canonical and hyper-hegemonic way”, centring “Victorian and American traditions about what it means to be young person [sic], and so whiteness and anti-Blackness, in many ways, serve as organizing factors of what is known as Children’s Literature Studies” (7). Side by Side analyses dominant narratives about Puerto Rico vis-à-vis Black Puerto Rican community-based aesthetics and pedagogies that have thrived in spite of institutional uninterest, resistance, and banning. It does so by way of “peel[ing] back the neutrality, and benign celebration, in what scholars have often considered the tradition of Puerto Rican children’s literature, specifically its relationship to Puerto Rican and US governments” (5). Given the school closures, budget cuts to the University of Puerto Rico, and the people's actions, atop everything else that's happening, this study is as timely as it is urgent.

This paper builds Pharmaceutical Manufacturer Stackelberg, Pharmacy Stackelberg and Nash game models with and without price cap regulation. The optimal pricing, performance and social welfare are derived and compared in three different power structures to find out how price cap regulation and power structures affect the drug supply chain. More power over other supply chain members always allows the pharmaceutical manufacturer to obtain more profits. However, the pharmacy cannot always benefit from its dominant position in the market with changes in the wholesale price cap. Additionally, the balanced market structure may harm social welfare under certain conditions. Another interesting finding is that the restricted wholesale price cap deeply affects the financial performance and social welfare in the manufacturer-dominated and pharmacy-dominated markets. The research results can provide important management insights, which will be beneficial to the government to design smart price-limiting policies that take into account the power relationships of the supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite knowing that perfection is an unsteady concept, mass society is unlikely to escape normalising pressures and be susceptible to negative differentiations of bodies, such as those with functional diversity. However, in co-creative design processes, these bodies can be understood as extreme-users and are welcomed for their diversity and empowerment. Artefacts similarly undergo inclusion and exclusion in creative and productive processes. Therefore, the stigmatisation and standardisation of human and artificial bodies are made explicit in extreme-users, whose importance in design processes lies in addressing them with no negative differentiation with respect to ordinary users, implying that objects' flaws would be embedded as identity and semantics. This paper questions the dualism of perfection/imperfection attributed to bodies and artefacts by normalising domains, and expects to corroborate design as a social activism tool for catalysing the paradigm of inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to discuss and to reflect on the experiences and challenges encountered during the North-South capacity building project on transdisciplinarity, KNOTS (Fostering Multi-Lateral Knowledge Networks of Transdisciplinary Studies to Tackle Global Challenges), which was financed by the EU through the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education program. Despite the large body of literature on transdisciplinary approaches and projects, not many studies exist that discuss both the political and the power dimensions within transdisciplinary endeavors, especially not from a social science perspective. Based on the experiences, challenges, and progress over the course of the project, I will analyze how power relations influenced and structured KNOTS. I argue that the success of transdisciplinary North-South collaborations depends very much on awareness of power hierarchies, reflexivity, and positionality as well as different understandings of knowledge. Although differences will be highlighted regarding, for example, the aims of transdisciplinarity or the role of different understandings of science and knowledge, the paper does not aim to increase skepticism regarding transdisciplinarity. Instead, the intent of the reflections is to increase awareness of the influences of power structures and relations in transdisciplinarity projects, especially North-South collaboration projects.