AGPE THE ROYAL GONDWANA RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HISTORY, SCIENCE, ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE

WOMEN IN TRAVEL LITERATURE: VOICES FROM THE ROAD

Alka Dhariwal — 2025-08-31

Travel literature, once the exclusive domain of male adventurers, has evolved into a genre enriched by diverse female voices that challenge traditional narratives and expand the literary landscape.

This research paper explores the development and impact of women's travel writing, highlighting how it serves as a platform for self-expression, cultural critique, and gender resistance. Through an examination of historical and contemporary works, this study investigates the thematic concerns, stylistic approaches, and socio-political implications of travel narratives authored by women. The paper argues that women's travel writing redefines the act of travel as both a physical journey and a metaphorical exploration of identity and agency.

THE LINKED BETWEEN TAX STRUCTURE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN VIETNAM

To Le Nguyen Khoa — 2025-08-31

Using annual data from 1990 to 2022, this study examines the relationship of tax structure and economic growth in Vietnam. Data was collected from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, Ministry of Finance, and the State Bank of Vietnam in order to conduct the analyses. To limit issues of bias and to observe the long-run and short-run relationship between the components of taxes and economic growth, Johansen cointegration and the error correction mechanism were used. The results suggest Petroleum Income Tax and Corporate Income Tax have a statistically significant positive effect whereas Personal Income Tax, Customs Duties and Excise Taxes were less favorable for growth. Overall, these results demonstrate a heterogeneous growth effect of different tax instruments. From a policy standpoint, this research indicates Vietnam should investigate changes to its revenue system structure, reducing reliance on distortive taxes, such as personal income tax and trade-related taxes, and strengthening the role of growth-enhancing taxes, including petroleum income tax and corporate income tax. Additionally, improving tax administration and tackling issues of tax evasion of corporate and value-added tax will be essential for achieving stable revenue and sustainable growth. Overall, this study contributes to the literature by providing disaggregated empirical evidence of the taxation--growth nexus within the context of a transition economy.

A HEGELIAN DIALECTIC OF ENTITLEMENT AND TRANSFORMATION

Angelina Inesia-Forde — 2025-08-24

This study applies the Hegelian dialectic to analyze two opposing frameworks for social change processes, one disempowering and leading to demoralization, and the other empowering, leading to positive and sustainable social change across historical and contemporary contexts. It explores how seven conceptual dyads undergo aufheben (sublation) to transcend opposition. Using Hegel’s triadic dialectic (thesis-antithesis-synthesis), the study identifies absolute negations and synthesizes them into a higher-order framework. The dialectical process reveals contradictions resolve into transformative syntheses, offering a diagnostic tool for democratic erosion and renewal. The study bridges Hegelian philosophy and sociopolitical praxis, advancing a pluriversal lens for global conflicts. The shift from a unipolar to a pluriversal global order necessitates moving beyond traditional political strategies—rooted in hegemony and zero-sum logic—toward relational frameworks centered on co-sovereignty and civil reciprocity. The framework can assist social scientists and activists in navigating power asymmetries (e.g., epistemic injustice, colonial legacies) through dialectical resolution, with speculative moments serving as a conceptual blueprint for fostering mutual recognition, coexistence, and international peace. Future research could explore how the sublated framework shapes adaptive strategies, relational bonds, and normative codes. Methodologically, scholars should investigate whether Hegel's distinctive application of deconstruction within the analytical process of abstraction constitutes a substantive departure from Derrida's approach to deconstruction. Additionally, to advance toward Hegel's ideal of comprehensive understanding and achieve a more robust synthesis, scholars should:

1) Systematically integrate multiple antitheses emerging from competing ideological perspectives, and 2) identify the common essence producing negative consequences in the thesis-antithesis dyads and among thesis-antitheses set, thereby refining and strengthening Hegel's dialectical framework.