Humanities, Society, and Community

Idleness as a form of resistance to Capitalism in Philip K. Dick’s Piper in the Woods

Raphael Yi Xian Thoo, Soon Seng Foong, Gheeta Chandran — Fri, 31 May 2024 00:00:00 +0700

In Philip K. Dick’s short story “Piper in the Woods”, an increasing number of personnel on Asteroid Y-3 began identifying themselves as plants rather than humans after an encounter with the natives. Because the plants were unconcerned with work, their superiors were alarmed and attempted to unravel the mystery behind such a drastic transformation. This research studies, via textual analysis from a Marxist perspective, the ways in which capitalist ideologies are portrayed, reproduced, and resisted in the story. It was found that generally, humans perceive productivity as an essential part of their nature, and the only way to become valuable is by working. Under capitalism, wage labour is indeed crucial both for the working class to earn a living and for capitalists to accumulate even more capital. By this logic, the plants and asteroid natives that are content with minimal labor were considered primitive savages, even though they are perfectly self-sufficient. This is perhaps ironic given mankind’s insights into the tremendous stress stemming from the need to always be productive and that becoming a plant could be a form of resistance. Nevertheless, the idleness of the former humans was treated simply as a mental disorder that has to be cured so that the status quo can be maintained. This study would hopefully prompt readers to examine stories such as this one from a more critical perspective and demand meaningful changes over simple solutions about issues arising from the capitalist system.

Semantic Study of Boat Maker Jargon: Basis for an Industrial Arts English Lesson Exemplar

Fri, 31 May 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Panday, the Filipino term for carpenter, has a unique language of its own, filled with specialized jargon that is integral to the craft. Despite the significance of panday jargons in the Filipino boat-making culture, very few know the semantic functions of these terminologies. This study aims to compile these boat-maker jargons and determine their semantics as to how they are used in the field of work. Because the study focuses on the use of language in different cultural groups, particularly boat makers, ethnolinguistic design was used. This study employed convenience sampling, with researchers selecting participants with at least 10 years of experience as boat makers. Responses were analyzed using thematic analysis and jargon-filtered before they were categorized using a matrix. Accordingly, the study determined the jargon used in materials, equipment, tools, wooden boat parts, and processes. The data also showed additional jargon that were not categorized yet are essential in the field of boat making, such as inadlaw, pakyaw, master, and helper. These jargons created concepts encompassing the boat-making culture. This included the apprenticeship that determined the master and the helper and labor agreements, such as inadlaw and pakyaw. This daily routine of labor exposes workers to tools, thus affecting their routine if not brought. The participants’ statements proved that their job has had a meaningful impact on their lives since they started it. Further research exploring topics in similar fields is recommended to examine the distinctions between jargon in different geographical and cultural contexts.

Breaking Barriers: Exploring Language and Pedagogical Challenges in Teaching the Filipino Subject

Yna Jane H. Seballos, Rochelle C. Ramos, Justine A. Canto, Ruel T. Bonganciso — Fri, 31 May 2024 00:00:00 +0700

The Philippine educational system has faced several challenges, including a teacher shortage that created pedagogical difficulties across many subjects. This study identified the language and pedagogical challenges that English teachers encounter when teaching the Filipino subject. The researchers used the transcendental phenomenology method to collect data through one-on-one interviews with English teachers. The data explicitation was done by using the modified Van Kaam Analysis to characterize the challenges English teachers face by examining the respondents and then comparing and contrasting their responses by following the seven (7) steps: listing and grouping, reduction and elimination, clustering and thematizing, validation, individual textual description, individual structural description, and textural-structural description. This study revealed that the challenges faced by English teachers in teaching the Filipino subject were as follows: (1) the misplacement of English teachers because of a shortage of teachers; (2) the need for out-of-field pedagogical adjustment; and (3) rapid language transition. Moreover, presenting interventions like using various strategies and approaches to address these challenges.

Digital Marketing Strategy Analysis “Lagoon Avenue Mall” Toward Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Case Study at Lagoon Avenue Mall Sungkono Surabaya)

Ayu Sekar Ndini, Prima Mulyasari Agustini — Fri, 31 May 2024 00:00:00 +0700

This study examines the digital marketing strategy of Lagoon Avenue Mall Sungkono Surabaya, Indonesia, in promoting Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5), focusing on women’s empowerment. Employing a qualitative approach, the study delves into the strategies implemented by the mall’s internal team and provides insights from community partners and event organizers who have collaborated with the mall. The combination of internal and external perspectives provides a comprehensive view of digital marketing efforts and challenges faced in achieving SDG 5. Findings indicate that while Lagoon Avenue Mall has succeeded in targeting specific market segments and developing mall-based events, several areas require enhancement. Challenges include imprecise audience targeting, inadequate campaign performance evaluation, lackluster content, and low user engagement. Administrative issues related to rental contracts, uncertainty about non-financial collaboration benefits, and competition from other malls also pose significant obstacles. This study offers actionable recommendations for improving digital marketing strategies to support SDG 5 goals, particularly empowering women. By refining these strategies and addressing the identified challenges, Lagoon Avenue Mall can more effectively contribute to sustainable development and meet the objectives of the SDG agenda.

Building Teamwork in the Gotong royong Based Modern State: A Conceptual Investigation of Difficulties and Challenges

Gunardi Endro, Astrid Meilasari-Sugiana — Fri, 31 May 2024 00:00:00 +0700

It is difficult to contextualize the spirit of gotong royong that underlies communal life in ancient times to build modern teamwork. Questions arise about the incompatibility between gotong royong and modernity. This research aims to conceptually explore what underlies this incompatibility, how this incompatibility makes it difficult to build modern teamwork, and what solutions can be taken to overcome these difficulties. The traditional literature review method was chosen to achieve its objectives because the method provided flexibility to explore ideas, concepts, and insights from a variety of relevant literatures in various disciplines. Relevancy, comprehensiveness, and depth of conceptual assessment were used as criteria to select targeted literatures. The research results showed a sharp incompatibility, namely that gotong royong is characterized by a communal way of life whose principles are “giving” and “mutual giving,” while modernity is characterized by individualism, economism, and instrumentalism whose basic principles are “taking/having” and “mutual taking/having.” Sharp incompatibility is prone to producing a crisis of individual self-integrity and a culture of non-transparency, which in turn creates difficulties in building modern teamwork. A solution was proposed, namely, building self-integrity, which is conceptualized as a virtue acquired through identifying oneself with ideal communities (teams, organizations, social institutions, or human communities generally) of which one is a member. The self-integrity solution emphasizes individual aspects, places practical ethics at the center of the education system, and promotes ethical leadership.