Changing Societies & Personalities, 2022
Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 483–487

https://doi.org/10.15826/csp.2022.6.3.185

EDITORIAL

Values Under the Influence of Various Contexts:
Cross-Cultural Reflections

Elena A. Stepanova
Institute for Philosophy and Law, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Yekaterinburg, Russia

How are food preferences related to the moral imperatives of everyday behavior?
How does schoolgirls’ and schoolboys’ intelligence differ, and what determines
these differences? Why are the virtues described by Aristotle relevant to
employers in India? What does the obligatory wearing of a hijab tell us about
the position of women in a society? What are the socio-cultural motivations of
women to become oocyte donors?

In all honesty, I would probably never be thinking about these and many
other issues if they were not the subjects of articles selected for publication in
our journal. In today’s world, as always in human history, our everyday behavior
and perception of reality are determined, perhaps unconsciously, by numerous
socio-cultural contexts. What is acceptable in one location may be completely
unacceptable in another one. The failure to understand each other may stem
from the influence of contexts, which fact eludes human perception. However, it
is reflection upon reality that is the main purpose of scientific search, since it aims
to elucidate the causes and origins of contextual peculiarities. Critical reflection
makes it possible to penetrate into the nature of different cultures, become aware
of their values and traditions and, if not share, then accept them. The possibility
of such acceptance is raising many debates, which our journal seeks to promote.
The articles in the current issue of Changing Societies & Personalities reflect
upon various shifts in educational policies, managerial strategies, moral choices,
etc., as well as the growing intricacy of contextual influences.

The main subject of the ARTICLE Fluid Intelligence Test Scores
Across the Schooling: Evidence of Nonlinear Changes in Girls and Boys by
Tatiana N. Tikhomirova, Artem S. Malykh, and Sergey B. Malykh (Russia) is
intelligence as a significant predictor of educational achievement in all school
subjects. The research is based on a cross-sectional study of more than
1500 primary, secondary, and high public school students (boys and girls in

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484 Elena A. Stepanova

equal proportion). The authors’ aim was (a) to examine changes in fluid intelligence
test scores through all years of schooling from grades 1 to 11; (b) to analyze sex
differences in fluid intelligence test scores for each year of schooling, as well as in
fluid intelligence changes across schooling; (c) to investigate relationships between
the year of schooling and schoolchildren’s ages, and corresponding independent
and joint influences on changes in fluid intelligence. According to the authors, “the
analysis reveals that, despite a strong correlation between grade and schoolchildren
age, grade is a more important factor in shaping changes in fluid intelligence during
schooling”. In addition, the authors make a lot of interesting and fruitful conclusions
about differences between boys and girls in the terms of intelligence development
at different ages.

Israel Kibirige (South Africa) in the ARTICLE Short Learning Programmes for
Skills Development Beyond COVID-19 elaborates on the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic, as well as of globalization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, on the
quality and quantity of all levels of education. Today, the education system is faced
by the demand to produce adept individuals capable of meeting unprecedented
changes. Moreover, such individuals are expected to have sufficient knowledge
and skills in the field of Information Communication Technologies (ICT). Short
Learning Programmes (SLPs), which have been recognized in South Africa and other
countries as an important educational component, could be a “panacea for producing
empowered individuals to respond to unequivocal employment demands”. The author
uses the Capability Approach Theory (CAT) and Critical Realist Theory (CRT) as
theoretical frameworks to clarify several issues regarding SLPs.

In the ARTICLE Representing the Powerful Principle of Virtue Ethics: Commitment
at Workplaces, Mitashree Tripathy (India) analyzes the concept of virtue ethics, which,
unlike other moral theories that primarily focus on the morality of action, “chiefly
emphasizes the morality of character” or, in simple words, is focused “on being good
or bad”. Such traits of character as loyalty, trust, kindness, courage, honesty, patience,
etc., encourage individuals to act morally, and are usually urged by the society
to be practiced. However, the concept of virtue varies from one context to another
depending on cultural traditions, social practices, professional requirements, gender,
age, and the like. According to the author, the commitment at a workplace can be
considered as a virtue, which improves interpersonal connection and social bonding,
and thus stands equal along with other moral features, including honesty, sincerity,
civility, dedication, competence, courtesy, tolerance, etc. Mitashree Tripathy poses
the question: “Does there exist a drawback of commitment, or in other words are there
any limitations to commitment?”, and, after observing various forms of commitment
(continuance, affective, normative, and blind), concludes that this phenomemon has
both pros and cons.

Wajeeha Brar Ghias and Syed Zaheer Abbas Kazmi (Pakistan) in the ARTICLE
In the Eyes of the Beholder: Leaders’ Personality and Courageous Followership
observe that Pakistan is ranked low in terms of institutional performance due to
the high level of corruption and a lack of transparency. Therefore, “courageous
followership is a type of behavior that develops the capacity of a manager to speak

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up against unethical practices and make them partners with leaders”, which “not only
challenges unethical practices, but also makes individuals support their leaders by
assuming responsibility, serving the leader, and taking part in the transformation”.
In order to answer the research question “What type of the personality of a leader
encourages proactive courageous followership behavior”, the authors use a sample
of 190 Pakistani private school leaders working in 30 top private schools as regular
employees. The authors hope that courageous followership as a proactive form of
followership with dimensions of assuming responsibility, taking part in organizational
transformation, challenging the wrongdoings of leaders, etc., could enhance the
overall culture of transparency in Pakistani institutions.

In the ARTICLE Moral Foundations of Dietary Behavior and its Linkage to
Sustainability and Feminism by Benedikt Hackert, Lilith C. Voeth, and Ulrich Weger
(Germany), ethical reasons (e.g., animal welfare, environmental concerns, world
hunger) as the main motivations for becoming a vegetarian or a vegan are discussed.
The authors underline that “in general, it becomes obvious that vegetarians, vegans,
and meat eaters differ significantly in their attitudes towards animals and their moral
consideration”, and pose the overarching question: What are the moral foundations
for ethical diet change? In the study, two surveys are presented. In the first survey
(511 participants from social networks and internet forums in Germany), moral-
foundations-profiles (MFP) of vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters, and the
score of their individualization are investigated; in addition, the authors aim to
determine the impact of diet type on other areas of everyday life and consumption
(e.g., sustainable behavior, fair trade buying, donations). The second survey
(159 participants from social networks and internet forums in Germany) explores
to which degree vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters support feminism as an
ideology that aims for social justice.

Irina G. Polyakova, Dmitry O. Mazurov, Elvira E. Symanyuk, and
Aleksandra Yu. Khramtsova (Russia) in the ARTICLE The Influence of Socio-
Cultural Factors on Oocyte Donors’ Motivations and Disclosure Decisions, draw
attention to the growing demand for mentally and physically healthy oocyte donors
in Russian fertility clinics. In Russia, similarly to many other countries, In Vitro
Fertilization (IVF) treatment with donor eggs is considered one of the most efficient
assisted reproductive technologies. At the same time, egg donation as a complex
phenomenon fraught with ethical concerns remains largely underexplored in research
literature. The study aims to examine the motivations of Russian oocyte donors
and existing barriers to donation, as well as the key socio-cultural factors that affect
the potential donors’ decision to donate or not. The research is based on 16 semi-
structured interviews, in which women displayed a diversity of motivations.

In the ARTICLE Social and Economic Factors of Violence against Women in the
South of Moldova: Identification, Estimation, and Mechanisms of Elimination, Elena
V. Bazueva (Russia) points out the high rate of violence against women in Moldova
using the data from one of the settlements in Autonomous Territorial Unit Gagauzia.
In the article, social and economic factors that influence violence against women
are outlined and classified, namely: limited opportunities for women to realize their

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486 Elena A. Stepanova

economic rights in the regional labor market; a high level of patriarchalization of the
population’s consciousness; a lack of effective mechanisms for ensuring gender
equality in the region, as well as a lack of coordination between the ministries and
state departments responsible for the implementation of a gender equality policy.
In the light of the recommendations given by the UN and EU, Elena proposes several
projects that might be useful for preventing gender-based discriminatory practices.

The ARTICLE Patriarchal Language Evaluation of Muslim Women’s Body,
Sexuality, and Domestication Discourse on Indonesian Male Clerics Preaching by
Eva Leiliyanti, Dhaurana Atikah Dewi, Larasati Nur Putri, Fariza, Zufrufin Saputra,
Andera Wiyakintra, and Muhammad Ulul Albab (Indonesia) is based on the
assumption that language is a storehouse of cultural ideas. Consequently, power
inequalities and related discrimination in Islamic clerics’ patriarchal language about
Muslim women’s bodies, sexuality, and domestication in Indonesia could be revealed
by text-oriented discourse analysis. According to the authors, “language can be
manipulated to produce linguistic coverings coupled with verb choice to influence
causality attributions, offering tools to apply discrimination while masking reality and
reducing perceived conflicts of interest”. The study aims to compare and evaluate the
scope of the patriarchal language of Muhammadiyah’s, Nahdlatul Ulama’s, and Salafi’s
clerics in their preachings posted on YouTube regarding these women’s discourses.
In particular, the authors discuss the role of hijab in Islamic discourse in Indonesia.

In the ARTICLE The Concept of Mladostarchestvo as a Tool for Criticizing Religion
in Modern Russia: An Analysis of Rhetorical Strategies, Eugene I. Lyutko and
Alexey I. Cherny (Russia) note that the term mladostarchestvo [the concept refering to
young elders] is one of the most notable and widely used concepts “in the context of
spoken language, journalism, and discussions on the net”. Moreover, this term could
also be placed among quite rare “elements of critical rhetoric applied exclusively (or
almost exclusively) to the priesthood” in the Russian Orthodox Church. The relevance
of a critical interpretation of the term is proved by the very fact of its popularity in today’s
discussions in the sphere of religion. The authors aim to reconstruct a history of this
concept; their methodological approach is based on the study of rhetoric strategies
and functioning of such a concept as mladostarchestvo.

The RESEARCH NOTES section contains the study Perceived Discrimination
of Old Settlers in Sikkim by Bhasker Malu, Santhosh Kareepadath Rajan, Nikhita
Jindal, Aishwarya Thakur, and Tanvi Raghuram (India). The article explores the racial
minority of old settlers in Sikkim, a northeastern state merged with India in 1975. The
main problem with the old settlers is their status of outsiders in Sikkim, “since they
are not part of the indigenous ethnic groups and belong to various mainland Indian
communities”. Consequently, despite the long history of settlement, they still are not
considered domiciles and are ostracized from availing many of the welfare facilities.
The authors argue that old settlers in Sikkim are discriminated as a minority or a non-
dominant group, and stress the need for a deeper analysis of the perception of such
discrimination and its reasons. The research is based on a sample of eight men and
three women out of old settlers’ total number of less than 3000. The authors reveal
13 basic themes, two organizing themes, and one global theme of discrimination.

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The BOOK REVIEWS section contains three reviews. The first is of Ivan
Strenski (2022). Muslims, Islams, and Occidental Anxieties: Conversations about
Islamophobia by Elena A. Stepanova. She pays particular attention to Strenski’s
concern about the possibility of tolerating contradictory opinions, when the
opposing sides are convinced of their own truth, which is surely applied not only
to the possibility of a mutual understanding between Islam and Western cultures,
but also to many other cases. Second, Olga F. Rusakova, Ekaterina G. Gribovod,
and Yan Yu. Moiseenko in the review of V. V. Lapin, A. I. Miller (Eds.). (2021).
Simvolicheskie aspekty politiki pamiati v sovremennoi Rossii i Vostochnoi Evrope
[Symbolic aspects of the politics of memory in modern Russia and Eastern Europe]
note that several Russian research centers have focused on producing the public
discourse of the politics of memory following the global trend in viewing memory
studies as an increasingly interesting research field and an effective strategy
for interpreting the past. In the third review of the Priest M. V. Legeyev (2021),
Bogoslovie Istorii kak Nauka. Metod. [Theology of History as a Science. Method],
Andrey V. Lavrentiev argues that the author’s intention is to form a new direction of
scientific and theological thought, which, in his opinion, is the theology of history.

Discussions around the topics raised in the present issue will be continued
in the subsequent issues of our journal. In planning to introduce new interesting
themes, we welcome suggestions from our readers and prospective authors for
thematic issues, debate sections, or book reviews.

For more information, please visit our journal web-site: https://changing-sp.com/

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