The title of the conference “Contradiction, Conflict and Continuity: Their Significance in Contemporary Society” is generic. Contradiction and conflict became tangible from the time when language became the medium of expression. The inevitable consequence of such contradictions and conflicts was severe bloodsheds. As society developed, perceptions towards contradiction and conflict were also changed. Some ideologies which were identified as the prevalent customs of the society became the mammoth issues of contradiction and conflicts. Sometimes, the contradictions were restricted within discussion among the cultured people, sometimes it was continued as people, holding different ideologies, moved on simultaneously without influencing the other, for example, between the theist and the atheist and among various isms. The same idealism which triggered the ire of conflict and contradiction in different socio-political aspects, sometimes become the soul guiding force for the development in various trajectories.

What do young people really do with digital media? Young People's Literacies in the Digital Age aims to debunk the common myths and assumptions that are associated with young people's relationship with digital media. In contrast to widespread notions of the empowered and enabled 'digital native', the book presents a more complex picture of young people's digital lives. Focusing on the notion of 'critical digital literacies' this book tackles a number of pressing questions that are often ignored in media hype and political panics over young people’s digital media use, including: In what ways can digital media enhance, shape or constrain identity representation and communication? How do digital experiences map onto young people’s everyday lives? What are young people’s critical understandings of digital media and how did they develop these? What are the dominant understandings young people have of digital media and in whose interests do they work? These questions are addressed through the findings of a year of fieldwork with groups of young people aged 14 to 19 years. Over the course of eight chapters, the experiences and views of these young people are explored with reference to various academic literatures, such as digital literacies, media and communication studies, critical theory and youth studies. Starting with their early socialisation into the digital context, the book traces the continuities, contradictions and conflicts they encounter as part of their practices. Written in a detailed but accessible manner, this book develops a unique perspective on young people’s digital lives.

This work analyzes the history of conflict in one Indian university. Scholars representing Maharashtrian Brahman and non-Brahman castes embedded in the university's postgraduate campus and urban and rural colleges have fought for over forty years to control university government. The structure of these castes, institutional and regional contradictions, suggests that conflict will persist. The book explores the history of conflict from 1924 to 1989 and proposes a dialectical methodology to analyze the conflict. It examines the agents and dramatic conflicts that engaged them. Finally, it suggests a dialectical political anthropology for understanding politics anthropologically. The work suggests that a dialectical methodology focused on internal social contradictions provides a superior analysis of conflicts that impel historical agency, and that universities, largely ignored by anthropologists, are exciting reservoirs for ethnographic research.

This book explores the contradictions that emerge in international statebuilding efforts in war-torn societies. Since the end of the Cold War, more than 20 major peace operations have been deployed to countries emerging from internal conflicts. This book argues that international efforts to construct effective, legitimate governmental structures in these countries are necessary but fraught with contradictions and vexing dilemmas.. Drawing on the latest scholarly research on postwar peace operations, the volume: addresses cutting-edge issues of statebuilding including coordination, local ownership, security, elections, constitution making, and delivery of development aid features contributions by leading and up-and-coming scholars provides empirical case studies including Afghanistan, Cambodia, Croatia, Kosovo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and others presents policy-relevant findings of use to students and policymakers alike The Dilemmas of Statebuilding will be vital reading for students and scholars of international relations and political science. Bringing new insights to security studies, international development, and peace and conflict research, it will also interest a range of policy makers.

The premise of this book is that individuals and societies have an inexorable urge to morally develop by challenging the assumptions of the previous generation in terms of what is right and wrong. The focus is on the nature and functional value of conflicts and challenges to the dominant moral and social values framework. Through this analysis, individuals develop moral character through conflict with their local authority figures, including parents. The moral structure of societies evolves through intergenerational challenges to and contradictions with the dominant social order. The book is divided into three parts to help frame this discussion: *Part I directly takes up the issue of resistance as it occurs at a cultural level, and the implications of such resistance for moral education and socialization. *Part II explores the normative forms of adolescent resistance and contrarian behavior that vex parents and teachers alike. *Part III brings back the issue of societal structure and culture to illustrate how negative features of society--such as racial discrimination and economic disparity--can feed into the construction of negative moral identity in youth posing challenges to moral education. Taken together, this collection presents a rich counterpoint to the pictures of moral growth as the progressive sophistication of moral reasoning or the gradual accretion of moral virtues and cultural values. It will benefit those in developmental, social, and cognitive psychology, as well as sociology, political science, and education.