International Journal of Research in Social Science and Humanities (IJRSS) ISSN:2582-6220, DOI: 10.47505/IJRSS

Negotiating the Language of Counseling: A Conversation Analysis of Initial Counseling Sessions

2025-04-08T03:23:03+00:00

Language, as a fundamental aspect of communication, plays a pivotal role in shaping the connection between counselor and client within counseling conversations. This study micro-analyzed counselor-client interactions, focusing on turn-taking mechanisms and structural organizations. Using CA as the primary framework, a qualitative approach was employed to analyze sixteen audio-recorded counseling sessions conducted in higher education institutions in Davao City, Philippines. Findings revealed that counselors primarily managed turn-taking through direct questioning, unfinished clauses, and explicit speaker selection. Transition relevance places were signaled by pauses, tag questions, and rising intonation, ensuring smooth speaker transitions. Various repair mechanisms, including self-initiated self-repair (expansion, repetition, hesitation, abort and abandon, abort and restart, and avoidance), other-initiated self-repair, self-initiated other-repair, and other-initiated other-repair, were employed to clarify miscommunications, correct speech errors, and maintain conversational coherence. Furthermore, counseling sessions followed a structured format comprising three main moves: the opening move, which involved relationship-building and social conversation; the topic development move, which addressed concerns such as anxiety and depression, academic stress, emotional crises, physical well-being, mental distress; and the termination move, includes assurance to help, encouragement, and support. Findings can be used to develop targeted training programs for counselors to improve conversational strategies in counseling. Policymakers can integrate linguistic insights to enhance mental health interventions. Future research should explore cross-cultural variations in counseling discourse, including non-verbal cues, by incorporating a more diverse participant pool.

Reflection over unspent Special-Purpose Funds in India: A Case of Building and other Construction Workers (BOCW) Welfare Fund

2025-04-17T13:21:36+00:00

The Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Welfare Fund was established under the BOCW (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 and the BOCW Welfare Cess Act, 1996, to provide social security benefits to construction workers, one of the most vulnerable labour groups in India. Despite the significant accumulation of funds through a mandatory cess on construction projects, a large portion remains unspent or underutilised, drawing attention to governance failures, administrative inefficiencies, and policy bottlenecks. This paper critically examined the issue of underutilisation of BOCW cess funds along with its reasons and their diversion for other purposes, particularly during emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, when large sums were repurposed for relief efforts. While such reallocation may have provided temporary support to the affected populations, it raises fundamental legal and ethical questions regarding the use of special-purpose welfare funds to meet alternative needs. Over the years, several audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, judicial directives, and parliamentary committees have highlighted gross mismanagement, bureaucratic hurdles, regulatory constraints, poor implementation, and weak accountability mechanisms in fund administration. Despite these observations, concrete policy actions have remained slow. Thus, this study recommends policy reforms and enhanced administrative efficiency in managing BOCW funds through structural changes in fund disbursement mechanisms, increased worker enrolment and awareness, and stronger legal safeguards to prevent the diversion of funds, ensuring that welfare entitlements effectively reach the construction workers.

Genetic Escapade: Development of Digital RPG for Teaching Non-Mendelian Genetics

2025-04-26T05:38:01+00:00

The underperformance of the Filipino learners in both national and international assessments is a call to improve teaching materials and strategies. Among innovative approaches in teaching, role-playing game (RPG) is one of the approaches in game-based learning that is seen to have increased educational potential in transforming contents into more enjoyable activities while improving higher-order thinking skills. This study aims to develop a digital RPG to improve conceptual understanding in non-Mendelian genetics. This study employed a developmental research design and utilized the Successive Approximation Model of instructional design (SAM). A needs assessment was conducted to determine least learned topic in science 9, the target users’ familiarity with RPG and openness to using RPG, and benefits and challenges in game-based classroom. The development process was done in three phases: preparation, iterative design, and iterative development. The developed RPG was evaluated by five in-service grade 9 science teachers and three in-service ICT teachers. The developed game passed all criteria for evaluation and is recommended by the evaluators for approval for use in public schools.

Socio Economic Implications of Urban Poverty in Tamil Nadu: A Field Survey Study

2025-05-05T17:19:27+00:00

Though Poverty has been a serious issue in the development process across the world for quite a long period of time and alleviation of poverty has been one of the major challenges faced by most of the countries of the world, the issue of urban poverty is not new, but it is often narrowly viewed as an economic issue that is best addressed by economic policies and interventions. The SDG 1, also known as the “No Poverty” goal, is a global effort to eradicate extreme poverty and reduce income inequality by 2030. This goal is of utmost importance because poverty is a pervasive and complex issue that affects billions of people around the world. It can have serious consequences for individuals, communities, and economies, including poor health, limited access to education and other essential services, and reduced economic opportunity. Poverty is currently a serious socio economic concern in India. In spite of a number urban poverty alleviation measures taken by the government still the incidence of poverty exists and further there are social, economic and regional variations observed both at macro level as well as micro level. Hence, the present study tries to study the socio economic implications of urban poverty in one of the recently incepted Corporations of Tamil Nadu, Thanjavour through field survey. This analysis attempts to study the Socio Demographic background of the sample respondents; to analyse the Income and Expenditure Pattern of the selected sample respondents; and to suggest possible policy measures to reduce the incidence of urban poverty to improve the standard of living of the respondents of the study area. Urban poverty today, as driven by globalization and rapid uncontrolled urbanization, also needs to be recognized as a social, political, and cultural process that has profound impacts on overall economic progress.

Utilizing Salazar's Grouping Method in Improving Learners' Performance on the Applications of Right Triangle

2025-04-24T11:47:27+00:00

This quantitative study aimed to utilize Salazar’s Grouping Method in improving grade 9 learners’ performance on the applications of right triangles. The researcher adapted and validated a solving real-life problems from a variety of sources that was originally created using a two-way Table of Specification (TOS) that was aligned with the DepEd-MELC Curriculum. Ninety-six (96) learners from one of the branches of Mindanao State University External Units in Lanao del Sur, Philippines, forty-eight (48) learners were assigned to the control group and forty-eight (48) to the experimental group, who participated in the study in two weeks of intervention. Learners’ performance refers to the problem-solving test that was rated with a validated rubric. A problem-solving test was used, which consisted of five problem-solving problems. The hypothesis was evaluated at the 0.05 level of significance, and the data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and intraclass coefficients. The findings of the study revealed both groups made improvements; however, the experimental group showed significant differences in the posttest results with a mean of 17.57 (SD = 4.64), categorized as very satisfactory improvement, and higher than the control group's mean of 12.92 (SD = 4.86), categorized as satisfactory improvement. This implies that utilizing Salazar’s Grouping Method was effective to improve learners’ performance, particularly on the applications of right triangles. Learners’ performance was found to have improved from no improvement to very satisfactory, with a mean gained score of 14.65. Based on the results, learners require additional exposure, practice, and collaborative activity that will boost their confidence and communication skills, such as the Salazar’s Grouping Method, and to fully learn the applications of right triangles and apply them to problem solving. Thus, integrating interviews and student reflections will help to further explore performance and understand more deeply the effects of the Salazar’s Grouping Method.

Digital Divide and Job Search Behaviour: An Empirical Study of Educated Urban Youth in Aizawl, Mizoram

2025-04-29T10:39:40+00:00

This study explores the influence of digital access and skills on job search behaviour among educated youth in Aizawl, Mizoram. Using empirical data from 304 respondents, it examines the nature and frequency of job applications, utilization of online platforms like hnainpui.com, and preferred modes of application. Findings reveal that while nearly half of the respondents use online modes to apply for jobs, a significant proportion remains digitally excluded. Only 16.8% reported using the state-supported employment portal hnainpui.com. These patterns suggest a pressing need for digital literacy initiatives to improve employment outcomes and labour market efficiency in the region.

This study investigates the influence of the digital divide on the job search behaviour of educated urban youth in Aizawl, Mizoram. In a rapidly digitizing world, digital access and literacy are crucial in determining employability and access to job opportunities. Using primary data collected from 304 graduates and postgraduates who completed their degrees within the last three years, the research explores their preferred modes of application, frequency of job applications, and use of the state-run job portal hnainpui.com.

Findings reveal that while 49.3% of the respondents use online modes to apply for jobs, a substantial 43.4% still rely on offline applications. Only 16.8% had used hnainpui.com, highlighting low awareness and possibly usability challenges. Moreover, 52% had not applied for any jobs in the past six months, signalling a deeper issue of limited digital engagement and structural constraints. Key challenges identified include digital illiteracy, lack of awareness about online platforms, inadequate internet infrastructure, and a reliance on intermediaries. To address these gaps, the study recommends improving digital literacy through workshops, simplifying employment portal interfaces, and launching targeted awareness campaigns. A mobile-first approach, better portal integration with social media, and digital job fairs could further enhance engagement. Bridging this digital divide is essential to improving labour market participation and employment outcomes for Aizawl’s youth.

Donor Funding Influence on Socio-Economic Development in Kenya: A Case of Water Projects in Lamu County

2025-04-04T09:54:15+00:00

Kenya has previously been classified as one of the countries that is water scarce in the World while Lamu County is classified or categorized among the water scarce counties in Kenya. There is a serious challenges which are facing the residents of Lamu County in accessing clean portable water. Several institutions both international and local have been making efforts to address the water scarcity situation across the world. These internationals institutions and organizations collaborate resources with an intention of improving the community access to clean drinking water and eventually improve the socio-economic conditions of the community. Studies that have been found in the past have established that inadequate human resource and lack of qualified personnel has affected the financial management and procurement which affected the implementation of the projects. The study investigate the relationship between donor funding and the socio-economic development in Kenya specifically Lamu county. Theory of poverty was instrumental in guiding of this study and the descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The members of the community-based organizations were considered as the target population since they are members of the water projects, county government officials and the service providers within Lamu County. The sampling technique that was used was the systematic random sampling in order to identify and select the 80 participants and respondents who took part in the study. The questionnaires were used as data collection instruments for the collection of information and data while the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS v.24). The descriptive statistics, frequency distribution and the regression, model were used as the data analysis techniques. The study revealed that the water projects had a statistically significant relationship to the socio-economic development in Kenya specifically for the people of Lamu County as a community

Halal Tourism for the Welfare of Local Communities

2025-05-09T15:27:41+00:00

Aceh, as a province that implements Islamic law, has its own characteristics that distinguish it from other provinces in Indonesia. Aceh has the potential to become a leading halal tourism destination because of its unique culture, history and religion. Banda Aceh is the capital of Aceh Province which is an important center of economic, social, cultural and religious activities. This city also has various tourist attractions, both in terms of history, culture, and nature. The purpose of this study is to: (1) To find out and analyze the implementation of halal tourism policies in Banda Aceh City towards the welfare of local communities, (2) To find out and analyze the inhibiting and supporting factors in the implementation of halal tourism policies towards the welfare of local communities in Banda Aceh City. By using a qualitative descriptive approach. The results of this study indicate. Halal tourism in Banda Aceh has succeeded in developing a tourism sector that is friendly to Muslim tourists by providing policies such as halal food, places of worship, and accommodation according to Islamic law. Leading destinations such as the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque and the Tsunami Museum strengthen their appeal. Positive impacts are felt through increased local economy, job creation, and the development of MSMEs and the hotel sector. Despite facing challenges such as lack of infrastructure, high costs, and suboptimal promotion, collaboration between the government, business actors, and the community is the key to success. Support from the central government and the international community also strengthens Banda Aceh's potential as a leading halal tourism destination at the national and global levels.