International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Review (IJHSSR) ISSN 2582-9106

The Covid-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia: Reinforcing National Identity and the Challenges to Religious Facets

Ghayda Abdullah Al-Juwaiser (PhD) — Fri, 12 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic was accompanied by a fierce race in scientific and academic publications from various disciplines. However, the social and humanities fields were scant in their output. The value of protecting the country (Saudi Arabia) through the campaign, #Weareallresponsible, which necessitated staying home for the safety of others and the discomfort experienced by those who witnessed the social distancing between the ranks of the worshippers in mosques while shushing: “set the rows in order, stand shoulder to shoulder, close the gaps”, calls for research within the context of identity upon crises to revisit several social and religious taboos. Moreover, the “safe social distancing,” which was imposed at the start of the pandemic (March 2020) for a total of five months (August 2020),1 enables researchers to examine the phenomenon after the storm subsided—so to speak—and to look through the perspective of an observer rather than a participant. This work examined two questions: 1) How did the Covid-19 pandemic reinforce Saudi national identity? (2) At the same time, how did it challenge the religious identity facets? This paper tried to answer these questions by employing a qualitative approach through analysing a number of tweets and their interactions (between March and July 2020) on two Twitter accounts: a) the Saudi Ministry of Health @SaudiMOH; and b) the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs @Saudi_Moia. The results can be summarised as follows: The Saudi Ministries of Health and Islamic Affairs employed the national and religious identity facets by reinforcing the first and facing the challenges of the latter through a discourse that focused on social responsibility, heroism and duty and the concept of national health security, all to raise the level of commitment to precautionary measures during the pandemic of Covid-19. The encounters with religious identity appeared in avoiding shaking hands, disapproving of the social distance between worshippers and wearing a face mask.

A Manifestation of Women Writings in the Context of Maya Angelou’s Selected Works

Ranju Padikkapparambil — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This study explores the stigmatization of the female body and women in American literature, highlighting how contemporary women's writing challenges traditional gender norms. In many literary works, women are often portrayed as passive, objectified, and devoid of agency. The aim of this study is to re-establish the importance and role of women in literature for the betterment of society. To achieve this, Maya Angelou's work, specifically Still I Rise, has been selected as a case study. Angelou's influential writing sheds light on women's experiences and the impact of trauma on their bodies. Through her work, Angelou challenges the conventional portrayal of women in literature and emphasizes the significance of self-love and resilience in the face of adversity. Employing a qualitative approach, the study conducts content analysis to examine the themes and imagery in Angelou's work. The findings will be discussed in relation to the traditional concept of women in literature and how contemporary women's writing defies these notions. Ultimately, by highlighting women's experiences and the impact of trauma on their bodies, this study endeavours to challenge traditional gender norms and foster a more inclusive and equitable society.

Cognition and Metacognition: Understanding the Second Language Learner from Various Perspectives

Dr. P Bhaskaran Nair — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This paper has been situated within the framework of the interface shared by cognition and metacognition. While conventional classroom instruction aims at maximizing the learner’s cognitive skills, this paper argues that if the metacognitive skills go neglected, still higher order potentials remain unnoticed and untapped. Instead of addressing language skills in isolation, the paper proposes to integrate higher order cognitive skills and skills of still higher order such as metacognitive skills, which are rarely taken into serious consideration while planning second language curricula.

Gender Inequality in John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”

Mahisha Babu, Dr. B. Anita Virgin — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The difference between male and female is very real and strongly rooted in human nature and physiology. In the olden days, people were not treated equally on the basis of their gender which was considered a social issue. Some differences in genetics, psychology, or social culture may cause this treatment. Even in the current politics when we come across the globe lead, women are the one who suffers loss when we compare to men. Gender inequality leads a major role in women including education, life, expectancy, personality, interest, family, occupation, and health. In many areas, they have shown that gender perceives things differently like education and political allegiance. Different cultures have different ways of dealing with gender inequality, which also has an impact on non-binary people.

An Evaluative Study of Dropouts in Primary and Upper Primary Schools in Coimbatore

Ebinesh G, Dr. Anita Virgin — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The use of education to achieve development goals is well recognized. This study is a comprehensive cessation study among primary and secondary school students in Coimbatore district. The researcher decided to study the factors involved in the suspension of the main phase. It is necessary to investigate the number of primary school dropouts and the reasons for primary and secondary school dropouts. This secondary data were analyzed with the dropouts from Coimbatore for the last five years, from 2018–2022.

Perception and Response of Salaried Professionals towards Telemarketing of Financial Products

Ms. Chandana S, Prof. Savita Shastri — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Marketers adopt many channels to reach out to their potential customers. Out of these various channels, Telemarketing is one of the most common channels used for marketing of products and services. Telemarketing in a traditional set up is usually done with the help of telemarketers; the modern telemarketing involves use of automated telephone calls, which is also referred to as interactive voice recorders. Telemarketing is an effective strategy to connect with existing customers and can also be used to target and attract potential customers. Telemarketing as a tool can also be helpful in collecting information about customer preference and disseminating valuable information related to products and services. Telemarketing is a popular marketing channel for financial products, but it can be difficult to generate leads and convert them into customers. This is especially true for salaried professionals in Bengaluru, who are often bombarded with telemarketing calls. This study investigates the perception and response towards telemarketing of financial products in Bengaluru. The study focuses on 110 salaried professionals, as they represent a large and important target market for financial institutions. The respondents have expressed discomfort as they receive telemarketing calls during working hours. They do not feel that telemarketing can help in building strong customer relationships. However, the respondents have responded positively to telemarketing calls and invested in financial products.