Social Science Journal for Advanced Research

Analysing Cost Structures in Cooperative Sugar Mills with Varying Product Lines: Evidence from Exploratory Factor Analysis

2025-06-23T17:35:21+0530

This study applies Exploratory Factor Analysis to identify the multi-dimensional cost factors influencing the performance of cooperative sugar mills in Maharashtra, operating under varying product configurations — including sugar-only production, sugar with rectified spirit, and sugar with both rectified spirit and fuel ethanol. Drawing on structured secondary data across a ten-year period, the analysis extracts key components related to cost efficiency, capacity utilisation, production orientation, and distillery performance. These components together explain over 73 percent of the total variance in cost, offering a clearer understanding of the complex cost structures in these mills. The findings provide insights for operational restructuring and policy interventions aimed at enhancing the economic efficiency of the sector.

Folklore and Public Memory: The Great Earthquake of 1950 in Assam with Special Reference to the Misings

2025-06-23T17:36:05+0530

The Great Assam Earthquake of 1950 was not only a geological catastrophe but also a profound cultural event for the indigenous communities of Assam. This paper explores how the Mising community, one of the largest indigenous groups in the region, memorializes the earthquake through oral traditions, including folk songs (oi: nitom), ritual narratives, and communal storytelling. Drawing from cultural trauma theory and vernacular historiography, the study highlights how these oral forms function as repositories of historical memory and tools for cultural resilience. The paper argues that folklore in the Mising context preserves both ecological knowledge and emotional truth, offering alternative modes of witnessing disaster that challenge state-centric historical narratives.

Caste System in Changing India

2025-06-23T17:37:18+0530

Every country has certain social and historical roots that lead to one group being discriminated against by another. This division differs from place to place and may be caste, race, ethnicity, religion, or gender, and it is often deeply integrated with the mainstream societal institutions and attitudes. In ancient India, the caste system developed through the Varna system, where those who were born into higher castes were Brahmins or Kshatriyas, and those born into lower castes, especially Dalit’s or untouchables, faced different kinds of discrimination, exclusion, and limited access to resources and opportunities. Historically, India is a diverse country where different castes, religions, cultures, and languages exist. The caste system refers to a social practice that defined rules, restrictions and activities for each group based on their practices of occupation and social status. In Indian society, caste is determined by birth. That means an individual is born into the caste of their parents and remains in that class their whole life. The main objective of this paper is to analyse efficient understanding about the historical background of the caste system in India and changes taken in this framework. Although the Indian constitution provides constitutional and legal reform for caste-based discrimination and provides reservations in education and jobs, birth still determines caste identity. Caste continues to influence social practices, politics and access to resources and education, especially in rural areas.

The Paik System in Ahom Society: A Socio-Economic Study

2025-06-23T17:37:53+0530

In the early 13^th century, the Tai-Shan people, ancestors of the Ahoms, entered the eastern Brahmaputra Valley from Upper Burma and Yunnan. They ruled Assam for more than 600 years, establishing a strong kingdom through effective governance with cultural assimilation. Central to their administrative and socio-economic structure was the Paik system—an indigenous labour and military framework that enabled the Ahoms to mobilize manpower for both civil and military purposes. This paper explores how the system influenced the lives of ordinary people through collective labour, land distribution, and shared responsibilities. It examines the internal organization of paiks into units such as gots and khels and their classification into Chamua, Kanri, and professional khels, highlighting the embedded social hierarchy, privilege, or restrictions. The relationship between the state and the paiks is analysed in terms of land rights, mobility, and influence over local officials. While the system fostered community cohesion, interdependence, and a sense of unity, it also imposed constraints on personal economic freedom and social mobility, revealing a structure marked by both solidarity and stratification.

Age Dynamics and Power Relations in Love and Arranged Marriages: A Comparative Study

2025-07-23T11:16:24+0530

This study explores the comparative age dynamics in love and arranged marriages, focusing on how age groups influence marital stability and power relations. Based on a quantitative survey of 400 respondents across Ahmedabad, Baroda, Rajkot, and Surat, the research analyzes the age distribution patterns among divorced couples. Results reveal that early divorces (ages 21–25) are more prevalent in arranged marriages, while middle-aged divorces (ages 36–40) are also higher in arranged settings. In contrast, love marriages show a relatively lower rate of divorce in older age groups. The study uses statistical tools including percentage analysis, mean, mode, and standard deviation.

Exploring the Motivations for Social Media Use among Tribal Women in North Gujarat: A Sociological Analysis

2025-07-25T12:04:35+0530

In recent years, the reach of digital technology has extended into India’s most remote and socio-economically disadvantaged regions. Among the key demographic groups entering the digital fold are tribal women, whose engagement with platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube represents a significant shift in patterns of communication, knowledge access, and identity formation (Gurumurthy & Chami, 2014). However, despite the growing relevance of this trend, scholarly attention to the motivations behind their social media usage remains limited.

Social media, as framed by Castells (2011), is a powerful agent of social change, enabling new forms of networked individualism and collective identity. For tribal women in North Gujarat—historically excluded from mainstream educational and economic systems—the mobile phone and internet offer not only connection but also a sense of visibility and voice (Sundar, 2020). Their motivations for engaging with social media are deeply embedded in their socio-cultural realities, encompassing a desire for inclusion, expression, learning, and economic participation.

From a sociological perspective, the use of social media among tribal women is not merely a digital phenomenon but also a reflection of broader structural shifts in gender roles, rural development, and technological penetration (Jain & Kurane, 2018). Whether as learners, entrepreneurs, homemakers, or activists, tribal women are finding in social media a space for identity negotiation and aspiration formation.

This paper seeks to explore these motivations through a sociological lens, emphasizing how intersecting factors such as caste, tribe, gender, class, and location mediate digital behavior. By focusing on tribal women in North Gujarat, the study contributes to the evolving discourse on technology and society, offering insight into how social media is reshaping lived experiences on the periphery.

The Cause of Marital Separation in Love and Arranged Marriages: A Sociological Study of Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, and Vadodara

2025-07-26T12:01:48+0530

This study explores the sociological dimensions of marital stability in love and arranged marriages within four major metropolitan cities of Gujarat—Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, and Vadodara. As Indian society undergoes rapid modernization, especially in urban areas, traditional marital norms are being redefined. This research aims to analyze the stability of marriages based on their mode of formation—love or arranged—and examine how factors such as communication, socio-economic background, family support, expectations, and cultural compatibility influence the longevity and satisfaction within these unions.

Using a mixed-method approach, the study collects both quantitative and qualitative data from a sample of 200 married individuals, equally divided between love and arranged marriages across the selected cities. Statistical tools and thematic analysis are employed to assess key indicators of marital stability such as emotional bonding, conflict resolution, mutual understanding, and divorce/separation rates.

Preliminary findings suggest that while love marriages offer higher initial compatibility and emotional intimacy, they are more vulnerable to external social and familial pressures. In contrast, arranged marriages benefit from stronger familial support and social acceptance, which often contribute to their stability over time despite initial adjustment challenges.

The study contributes to a deeper understanding of how urbanization, changing values, and individual agency impact marital outcomes in contemporary Gujarat. It also offers policy insights for family counseling services and social institutions in strengthening marital relationships and reducing separation rates.

The Role of Social Media in Empowering Tribal Women to Combat Human Trafficking: A Sociological Study of North Gujarat Tribal Region

2025-07-27T14:20:10+0530

Human trafficking remains a severe socio-economic challenge in India, disproportionately affecting tribal women due to systemic marginalization, poverty, and lack of awareness. This study examines the transformative role of social media in empowering tribal women in the North Gujarat tribal region—particularly in districts like Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, and Aravalli—to resist and combat human trafficking. Through a sociological lens, the research explores how platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and YouTube are not only spreading awareness but also enabling collective action, reporting mechanisms, and access to legal aid and support networks. The study employs qualitative and quantitative methodologies including interviews, focus group discussions, and digital ethnography with tribal women, NGOs, and local authorities. It highlights that digital literacy and online networks are gradually fostering a sense of agency and resistance among tribal women. Social media, when supported by grassroots initiatives and state policy, emerges as a potential weapon in the fight against trafficking (Kaur, 2020; George & Sreelekha, 2022). This study offers insights for policymakers, social workers, and digital rights activists seeking to utilize technology for social justice and gender empowerment in tribal areas.

Educational Leadership and Its Role in Enhancing School Performance and Teacher Development in North West Haiti: A Literature-Based Review

2025-07-30T12:53:29+0530

This paper investigates the role of educational leadership in improving school effectiveness and professional development of teachers in the North West Department of Haiti. Using a systematic literature review method, the study compiles findings from international and regional research to draw conclusions applicable to the Haitian context. The paper highlights how instructional, transformational, and distributed leadership practices contribute to the development of teachers and learning outcomes. Despite systemic challenges, this paper argues for strong leadership investment and localized initiatives such as professional learning communities. It concludes that strengthening educational leadership is fundamental to reversing underperformance and fostering sustainable improvements in the education system.

Influencer Driven Social Media as an Effective Marketing Strategy for Gen Z Consumers: A Bibliometric Review

2025-07-31T12:44:50+0530

The paper performs a bibliometric review of influencer driven social media as an effective marketing strategy for generation Z consumers with the objective of identifying the existing underlying themes of research and finding the underexplored research areas. A dataset of 181 research papers published in the last ten years was extracted from the SCOPUS database. Results show that research in the subject area is limited especially in the Indian context. Five research clusters were identified using co-occurrence analysis. These include relationship between parasocial interaction and influencer’s credibility on trustworthiness; relationship between branding, consumer engagement and consumer’s purchase intention; sustainability driven Marketing and Consumer Engagement; immersive marketing and psychological well-being of the users. It is observed that there is a need for development of a comprehensive conceptual model which relates the direct and moderating variables affecting the Generation Z consumer’s purchase intentions. Gaps also exist in the research on tourism, fashion products, food blogging and investment in financial products in context of social media marketing making them potential areas of research in future.