OpenMind Journal of Humanities, Arts & Creative Studies

Abstract

This research paper offers a comparative political interpretation of Europe and Asia through the allegorical framework of Gulliver’s Travels. While the text is rooted in eighteenth-century European satire, its symbolic structures provide a conceptual lens for examining broader political traditions. By combining literary analysis with comparative political theory, the study explores how Swift’s fictional societies reflect key political ideas such as power, authority, governance, legitimacy, hierarchy, conflict, and social order. The paper argues that European political traditions are symbolically represented through competition, institutional authority, rational governance, and ideological conflict, whereas Asian traditions may be interpreted through hierarchical authority, moral legitimacy, centralized power, and social harmony. The study also acknowledges the limitations of this binary and situates its argument within contemporary scholarship. Ultimately, it demonstrates that literary texts can function as analytical tools for comparative political inquiry.

Keywords: Jonathan Swift; Gulliver's Travels; Comparative Political Theory; Political Allegory; European Political Tradition; Asian Political Tradition; Governance

Abstract

This paper argues that publication format severely alters narratorial authority by examining how the narrative voice in A Tale of Two Cities changes between its serialized and volume versions. Narratorial drift is a slow but cumulative shift in the narrator’s epistemic position due to reading contexts and small textual changes, beyond the basic importance of suspense and plot. The serial version also takes place in a temporality of interruption, anticipation, and reader reorientation that is characterized by incursions, modal uncertainty, and dialogic address, based on narratological frameworks that Gérard Genette and Mieke Bal developed. The volume edition, on the other hand, suppresses these characteristics in favor of a retrospective, authoritative narrative voice that is distinguished by structural coherence, declarative certainty, and continuity. By paying particular attention to segmentation, duration, focalization, and microlevel stylistic modifications, the article demonstrates that reader temporality and the material constraints of publication co-produce narratorial identity, which is not fixed. The codex form resurrects this voice as one of coherence and omniscient, but serialization also implies a contingent and processual narrator who can be delayed and disrupted. This study reframes narrative voice as a dynamic feature and a feature of the text, which makes the connection between textual form and reading habit key. Finally, it argues for a more comprehensive narratological approach that incorporates media in the analysis of narrative discourse.

Keywords: Serialization; Narratorial drift; Narrative voice; Temporality; Dickens; Narratology

Abstract

In geopolitical realism's anarchic self-help arena, where destructive AI capabilities will dictate not just military outcomes but economic, civilian, and global dominance, Atmanirbhar Bharat demands uncompromising self-reliance in military artificial intelligence to safeguard sovereignty. Lagging in AI-enabled lethal autonomous systems, command-and-control, and electronic warfare risks technological vassalage, as frontrunners extend battlefield superiority into trade, innovation, and negotiation leverage. Realism, tilted toward power as destruction's arbiter (Mearsheimer, 2001; Morgenthau, 1948), insists the world heeds only the militarily potent; the UN's declining stature underscores self-reliance, echoing Waltz's (1979) survival imperative. Framed through Kautilya's indigenous Danda, the Bhagavad Gita's karma yoga, and Shanti Parva's rajadharma, this paper argues India's AI military prioritization via sustained R&D, public-private partnerships, and resource allocation over energy vulnerabilities is dharma: securing strategic autonomy, deterring conflicts, and commanding the AI arms race. Absent binding regimes like the NPT, such mastery transforms multipolar threats into Vijaya, positioning India as Global South leader.

Abstract

The built environment is a crucial concept for any endeavour in architecture, housing, urban planning, and social analysis, including those conducted by the discipline of social work. Understanding space is essential to comprehending the creation and alteration of social interactions. This research examines the connection between the Henri Lefebvre theory of space and social production by focusing on the role the theory played in producing the spaces of urban regions in our cities. The study also examined how the spatial aspects of social life have drawn more attention from the social sciences. This study shows Henri Lefebvre's theoretical and sociological framework's importance for the developing field of social production studies concerned with the relationship between architecture, housing, law, and geography and other studies in urban development. This study showed how Henri Lefebvre's influential theories of the production of space help generate a more critical understanding of transformations in our society. This study illuminates the different ways additional spaces are produced, helping us to develop a more robust critique of abstract space. This study thoroughly examined the theoretical relationships between housing and architecture. This study showed how Lefebvre's sophisticated theory of the socially produced nature of space can expand urban design, land-use planning systems, architectural schemes, and housing research through a detailed examination of his work and application of his concepts in several investigations into the production of space in urban areas.

Keywords: Henri Lefebvre; Social Production; Space; Architecture; Housing; Urban Design

Abstract

Teacher resilience and job satisfaction are increasingly recognised as fundamental to educational quality, teacher retention, and sustainable school improvement, particularly in contexts characterised by increasing workload, policy reforms, and rapid technological change. This study investigated the influence of school leadership strategies on teacher resilience, job satisfaction, burnout, and turnover intentions among teachers in public secondary schools in North-Central Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design with correlational and predictive components was adopted. Using a multistage sampling procedure, 540 teachers were selected from public secondary schools across the region. Data were collected using five validated instruments: the School Leadership Strategies Questionnaire (SLSQ), Teacher Resilience Scale (TRS), Teacher Job Satisfaction Inventory (TJSI), Burnout Assessment Scale (BAS), and Turnover Intention Scale (TIS). The instruments yielded Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from.82 to.91. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Product – Moment Correlation, and Multiple Regression Analysis at the.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that supportive leadership practices, particularly professional development, mentoring, recognition, participatory decision-making, and emotional support, were significantly associated with higher teacher resilience (r =.732, p <.001) and job satisfaction (r =.687, p <.001). Burnout significantly predicted turnover intention (β =.621, p <.001), while mentoring and coaching emerged as the strongest predictors of resilience and teacher recognition as the strongest predictor of job satisfaction. The study concludes that supportive school leadership constitutes a vital organisational resource for enhancing teachers’ psychological well-being, reducing burnout, and promoting workforce sustainability. It recommends strengthening leadership preparation programmes, institutionalising teacher wellness initiatives, and embedding mentoring and recognition practices within school management to improve teacher retention and educational effectiveness in Nigeria.

Keywords: School Leadership Strategies; Teacher Resilience; Job Satisfaction; Burnout; Turnover Intention; North-Central Nigeria