Search results for: different social and cultural context

Authors: Oussedik Lydia, Zaouani-Denoux Souâd

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Given the evolution of professions, training is becoming a solution to meet the current requirements of the labor market. Notably, the amount of money invested in training activities is considerable and continuously increasing globally. The justification of this investment becomes an obligation for those responsible for training. Therefore, the impact of training can be measured by the degree to which the knowledge, skills, and attitudes acquired through training are transferred to the workplace. Further, knowledge transfer is fundamental because the objective of any training is to be close to a professional environment in order to improve the productivity of participants. Hence, the need to better understand the knowledge transfer process in order to determine the factors that may influence it. The objective of this research is to understand the process of knowledge transfer that can occur between two contexts: professional training and the workplace, which will provide further insight to identify the environmental factors that can hinder or promote it. By examining participants' perceptions of the training and work contexts, this qualitative approach seeks to understand the knowledge transfer process that occurs between the two contexts. It also aims to identify the factors that influence it. The results will help managers identify environmental factors in the training and work context that may impact knowledge transfer. These results can be used to promote the knowledge transfer process and the performance of the trainees.

Keywords: knowledge transfer, professional training, professional training in agriculture, training context, professional context

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Authors: Swapnil Vidhate, Anupama Sharma

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At present the world is experiencing an extraordinary rate of urbanization. India is also in a major phase of urbanization. Gentrification is being practiced in India much later compared to western countries as a strategy for urban renewal. The urban fabric in Indian context is composed of multiple layers in it. Thus, the process of gentrification has different typologies, views and impacts in Indian context. It is a curative concept to restructure the declined areas of the city. But it has more negative views compared to positive due to the concerns in the process in India. The paper brings out the impacts of gentrification and concerns related with the process in Indian context with a case example of core city.

Keywords: urbanization, urban renewal, gentrification, restructure, core city

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Authors: Diljan C. K.

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Every location on the planet has a history and culture that give it its own identity and character, making it distinct from others. urbanised world, it is fashionable to remould its original character and impression in a contemporary style. The new character and impression of places show a complete detachment from their roots. The heritage and cultural values of the place are replaced by new impressions, and as a result, they eventually lose their identity and character and never have sustenance. In this situation, form-based coding acts as a tool in the urban design process, helping to come up with solutions that strongly bind individuals to their neighbourhood and are closely related to culture through the physical spaces they are associated with. Form-based code was made by pioneers of new urbanism in 1987 in the United States of America. Since then, it has been used in various projects inside and outside the USA with varied scales, from the design of a single building to the design of a whole community. This research makes an effort to interpret the form-based code in historic corridors to establish the association of physical form and space with the public realm to uphold the context and culture. Many of the historic corridors are undergoing a tremendous transformation in their physical form, avoiding their culture and context. This will lead to it losing its identity in form and function. If the case of Valiyashala in Trivandrum is taken as the case, which is transforming its form and will lead to the loss of its identity, the form-based code will be a suitable tool to strengthen its historical value. The study concludes by analysing the existing code (KMBR) of Valiyashala and form-based code to find the requirements in form-based code for Valiyashala.

Keywords: form based code, urban conservation, heritage, historic corridor

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Authors: Antonella Poce, Deborah Seid Howes, Maria Rosaria Re, Mara Valente

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The Creative Industries education contexts, Museum Education in particular, generally presents a low emphasis on the use of new digital technologies, digital abilities and transversal skills development. The spread of the Covid-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of these abilities and skills in cultural heritage education contexts: gaining digital skills, museum professionals will improve their career opportunities with access to new distribution markets through internet access and e-commerce, new entrepreneurial tools, or adding new forms of digital expression to their work. However, the use of web, mobile, social, and analytical tools is becoming more and more essential in the Heritage field, and museums, in particular, to face the challenges posed by the current worldwide health emergency. Recent studies highlight the need for stronger partnerships between the cultural and creative sectors, social partners and education and training providers in order to provide these sectors with the combination of skills needed for creative entrepreneurship in a rapidly changing environment. Considering the above conditions, the paper presents different examples of digital learning experiences carried out in Italian and USA contexts with the aim of promoting digital skills in museum professionals. In particular, a quali-quantitative research study has been conducted on two international Postgraduate courses, “Advanced Studies in Museum Education” (2 years) and “Museum Education” (1 year), in order to identify the educational effectiveness of the online learning strategies used (e.g., OBL, Digital Storytelling, peer evaluation) for the development of digital skills and the acquisition of specific content. More than 50 museum professionals participating in the mentioned educational pathways took part in the learning activity, providing evaluation data useful for research purposes.

Keywords: digital skills, museum professionals, technology, education

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Authors: E. J. Cilliers, Z. Goosen

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The impact that urban green spaces have on sustainability and quality of life is phenomenal. This is also true for the local South African environment. However, in reality green spaces in urban environments are decreasing due to growing populations, increasing urbanization and development pressure. This further impacts on the provision of child-friendly spaces, a concept that is already limited in local context. Child-friendly spaces are described as environments in which people (children) feel intimately connected to, influencing the physical, social, emotional, and ecological health of individuals and communities. The benefits of providing such spaces for the youth are well documented in literature. This research therefore aimed to investigate the concept of child-friendly spaces and its applicability to the South African planning context, in order to guide the planning of such spaces for future communities and use. Child-friendly spaces in the urban environment of the city of Durban, was used as local case study, along with two international case studies namely Mullerpier public playground in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Kadidjiny Park in Melville, Australia. The aim was to determine how these spaces were planned and developed and to identify tools that were used to accomplish the goal of providing successful child-friendly green spaces within urban areas. The need and significance of planning for such spaces was portrayed within the international case studies. It is confirmed that minimal provision is made for green space planning within the South African context, when there is reflected on the international examples. As a result international examples and disciples of providing child-friendly green spaces should direct planning guidelines within local context. The research concluded that child-friendly green spaces have a positive impact on the urban environment and assist in a child’s development and interaction with the natural environment. Regrettably, the planning of these child-friendly spaces is not given priority within current spatial plans, despite the proven benefits of such.

Keywords: built environment, child-friendly spaces, green spaces, public places, urban area

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Authors: Lenshie, Nsemba Edward

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This paper examines political sexuality as an identity construct, which imparts on democratic practices globally. The manifestation of political sexuality reflect on the dynamics of social, economic, cultural and political relations among different gender affecting a number of issues, such as the questions of citizenship, poverty alleviation, property rights, ownership and inheritance, rights to sexual consent, polygamous marriage, governance and representation among other issues. This paper is concerned with the aspect of political participation among different genders in Nigeria. This paper posit that political sexuality is an outcome of ‘sexuality differences’, which seeks to glorify and gratify the superiority of a particular sexuality over another. Political sexuality, therefore, motivate and exacerbate socio-cultural, economic, and political struggles among different sexualities. The paper asserts further that majority of women have been discriminated, sexually harassed, and are often denied certain rights and privileges in Nigeria. A few number of women who have found themselves at the corridors of government have used the Beijing protocol on Women to demand for ‘affirmative action’ to expand their political space. It contends that the ‘affirmative action’ in Nigeria is far from achieving it throughout the country. The paper conclude that women require more than just a ‘self-rediscovery’ to assertively demand for a more and proper inclusion in Nigeria’s democratic process.

Keywords: gender democracy, identity, politics, political sexuality

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Authors: Sammy Xiaoyan Ying

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Professional skepticism remains one of the most important and controversial topics in auditing. This study examines the influence of client cooperativeness and fraud risk on judgments of professional skepticism among Chinese entry-level auditors in the context of evaluation of client-provided audit evidence. Given that the essence of auditors’ PS rests on distrust of clients, this study invokes trust-related theories from psychological and cultural perspectives. Specifically, invoking psychology theories of trust concerning positive relationship between risk and distrust, this study hypothesizes that professional skepticism is likely to be positively associated with client fraud risk. The results support the hypothesis and show that lower (higher) levels of client fraud risk lead to lower (higher) levels of professional skepticism. Furthermore, drawing on analysis of relationship between cooperation and trust, with particular reference to guanxi dynamics in the Chinese culture, this study hypothesizes that professional skepticism is likely to be negatively associated with client cooperativeness. The results support the hypothesis and show that higher (lower) levels of client cooperativeness lead to lower (higher) levels of professional skepticism. The findings may assist audit firms and auditing educators in improving training and education programs and enhancing entry-level auditors’ abilities to maintain professional skepticism. Also, practitioners and regulators may benefit from increasing awareness of psychological factors in influencing professional skepticism.

Keywords: audit judgment, Chinese culture, entry-level auditor, professional skepticism

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Authors: Sarah Abi Raad

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Nowadays, one of the challenges faced by many institutions is the continuous changing psychosocial environment. This alteration affects the resources, the organizations and defies the leadership and management of people in charge. As a fact, institutions of higher education differ from many organizations, requiring leadership to be a more shared phenomenon than in most profit-centered enterprises. In these colleges, the leadership must be oriented in a way to empower activities. This said, it is important to train students to take on leadership roles in their personal and professional lives. Thus, leadership training in higher education have to manage a cross-cultural environment in order to get the best out of the whole community that works and studies there. The main directions to follow are the building of a professional identity that manages the cross-cultural public while feeling a personal fulfillment in the workplace. In order to do that, this communication proposal has three objectives: - Explain the aspects of the cross-cultural leadership training logic offered to managers and chairs by allowing them to develop a technical leader style of passionate type with a managerial leadership style of compassionate type. - Define the multiple factors on which depends the leadership, which includes the department’s stage of development, the specific management function, the academic discipline and the chair’s own style of leadership. - Emphasize on the complex nature of leadership and the different facets that results from its role in the higher education. However, different situations require a leader with particular characteristics that can be gathered into three categories: “the innovator”, “the implementer” and the “pacifier”. Each category is linked to a problem organizations normally encounter. This leads to conclude with the following question: are the gender, age and culture taken into consideration during a training?

Keywords: benevolent leadership, cross-cultural training, management, unprecedented existential crisis

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Authors: Jie Li, Nick Manning

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The mass rural-urban migrants in China associated with the urbanization processes bear significant implications on public health, which is an important yet under-researched area. Urban social and built environment, such as noise, air pollution, high population density, and social segregation, has the potential to contribute to mental illness. In China, rural-urban migrants are also faced with institutional discrimination tied to the hukou (household registration) system, through which they are denied of full citizenship to basic social welfare and services, which may elevate the stress of urban living and exacerbate the risks to mental illness. This paper aims to link the sociospatial exclusion, everyday life experiences and its mental health consequences on rural to urban migrants living in the mega-city of Shanghai. More specifically, it asks what the daily experience of being a migrant in Shanghai is actually like, particularly regarding sources of stress from housing, displacement, service accessibility, and cultural conflict, and whether these stresses affect mental health? Secondary data from literature review on migration, urban studies, and epidemiology research, as well as primary data from preliminary field trip observations and interviews are used in the analysis.

Keywords: migration, urbanisation, mental health, China

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Authors: Helene Jacobson Pettersson, Linda Lill

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Research that combines educational science, social work and migration studies shows that ethnic relations tend to be represented from various angles and with different content. As studied here, it is found in steering documents, literature, and teaching that the construction of ethnic relations related to social work varies in education over time. The study has its actuality in changed preconditions to social work education caused by the demographic development and the on-going globalization in the Swedish society. In this presentation we will explore strategies and experiences of teaching ethnic relations at social work educations in Sweden. The purpose is to investigate the strategies that are used and what content is given to ethnic relations in the social work education. University teachers are interviewed concerning their interpretation of steering documents related to the content and how they transform this in their teaching. Even though there has been a tradition to include aspects as intercultural relations and ethnicity, the norms of the welfare state has continued to be the basis for how to conceptualize people’s way of living and social problems. Additionally, the contemporary migration situation with a large number of refugees coming to Sweden peaking in 2015, dramatically changes the conditions for social work as a practice field. Increasing economic and social tensions in Sweden, becomes a challenge for the universities to support the students to achieve theoretical and critical knowledge and skills needed to work for social change, human rights and equality in the ethnic diverse Swedish society. The study raises questions about how teachers interpret the goals of the social work programs in terms of ethnic relations. How do they transform this into teaching? How are ethnic relations in social work described and problematized in lectures, cases and examinations? The empirical material is based on interviews with teachers involved in the social work education at four Swedish universities. The interviewees were key persons in the sense that they could influence the course content, and they were drawn from different semesters of the program. In depth interviews are made on the themes; personal entrance, description and understanding of ethnic relations in social work, teachers’ conception of students understanding of ethnic relations, and the content, form and strategies for teaching used by the teachers. The analysis is thematic and inspired from narrative analysis. The results show that the subject is relatively invisible in steering documents. The interviewees have experienced changes in the teaching over time, with less focus on intercultural relations and specific cultural competence. Instead ethnic relations are treated more contextually and interacting with categories as gender, class and age. The need of theoretical and critical knowledge of migration and ethnic relations in a broad sense but also for specific professional use is emphasized.

Keywords: ethnic relations, social work education, social change, human rights, equality, ethnic diversity in Sweden

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Authors: Bhawna Devi, Girishwar Misra, Rajni Sahni

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Menarche and menstruation is a nearly universal experience in adolescent girls’ lives, yet based on several observations it has been found that it is rarely explicitly talked about, and remains poorly understood. By menarche, girls are likely to have been influenced not only by cultural stereotypes about menstruation, but also by information acquired through significant others. Their own expectations about menstruation are likely to influence their reports of menarcheal experience. The aim of this study is to examine how girls construct meaning around menarche and menstruation in social interactions and specific contexts along with conceptualized experiences which is ‘owned’ by individual girls. Twenty adolescent girls from New Delhi (India), between the ages of 12 to 19 years (mean age = 15.1) participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to capture the nuances of menarche and menstrual experiences of these twenty adolescent girls. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. From the detailed analysis of transcribed data main themes that emerged were- Menarche: A Trammeled Sky to Fly, Menarche as Flashbulb Memory, Hidden Secret: Shame and Fear, Hallmark of Womanhood, Menarche as Illness. Therefore, the finding unfolds that menarche and menstruation were largely constructed as embarrassing, shameful and something to be hidden, specifically within the school context and in general when they are outside of their home. Menstruation was also constructed as illness that programmed ‘feeling of weaknesses’ into them. The production and perpetuation of gender-related difference narratives was also evident. Implications for individuals, as well as for the subjugation of girls and women, are discussed, and it is argued that current negative representations of, and practices in relation to, menarche and menstruation need to be challenged.

Keywords: embarrassment, gender-related difference, hidden secret, illness, menarche and menstruation

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Authors: Taba Tath

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Arunachal Pradesh, located in the easternmost part of India, is known for its natural beauty and diverse tribal lifestyles. The state has the highest species richness and biological diversity among Northeast states in terms of flora, fauna, and tribal traditions and culture. The protection of nature and culture is a practice that is widely used by governments or nongovernmental organizations seeking to preserve the scenic beauty of landscapes and their natural resources in spaces that stand out for their natural and cultural value and have not been heavily impacted by human activity. The whole of Arunachal Pradesh comes under the purview of special permits such as the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and Protected Area Permit (PAP) for domestic and foreign travellers, respectively. Due to politically vibrant areas and naturally fragile in nature, the state needs to be protected, but at the same time, the demand for tourism activities is increasing gradually due to its unique blend of nature and socio-cultural richness. There are 13 protected areas in the state which is unexplored, and there are no tourism activities in these protected areas except for Namdapha National Park. Out of 13 protected areas, the Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the well-managed protected areas located near the Assam-Arunachal border, approximately 40km away from Tezpur town, Assam. The state has great potential for wildlife and nature-based tourism development, which can also indirectly support wildlife and nature-based livelihood options for the local inhabitants living in the peripheral of the sanctuary area due to its high richness in terms of flora and fauna. To promote the richness of the state, boost tourism, and the economic, social and environmental development of the area and local communities, a proper tourism management practice and framework are very much required. The research paper has made an attempt to study the role of stakeholders in preserving and promoting the Protected Areas for tourism development in a sustainable way. This is both a primary and secondary study conducted with field visits, interaction, questionnaire and observation with the various stakeholders and also conducted with the Government reports, magazines and other published sources available. Furthermore, this study will be relevant to all stakeholders for having knowledge and processes for promoting tourism in Protected Areas in a sustainable way. The results will provide relevant information and process for the management and promotion of the protected Areas and to strengthen the sustainable tourism activities in these areas.

Keywords: protected area, inner line permit, protected area permit, management, government, nongovernmental organization, stakeholders, sustainable, natural resources

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Authors: Siti Dewi Aisyah

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Islamic Modest Fashion has become one of the emerging industries. It is said that social media has making a role in its development. From designers, hijabi bloggers and then instagrammers, they are often seen posting their everyday outfits. They want to combine their faith with cutting-edge fashion trend. Muslim consumers has become a potential targeted market due to the increasing of people wearing hijab. Muslim consumers are projected to spend $327 bilion on clothing by 2020. Indonesia, as the biggest Muslim majority country, has targeted to be The World’s Center for Muslim Fashion in the world as its national branding by 2020. This study will examine how social media especially Blog and Instagram can lead the movement of Islamic Modest Fashion in Indonesia, how it also brings consumer culture to hijabi and as the result it triggers Indonesia to brand itself and how all the elements in Indonesia including the designers, bloggers or instagrammers and also Indonesian Agency for Creative Economy together work to make its dream come true. This research will be conducted through interviews with several elements mentioned, and internet, blog, Instagram and Youtube analysis through visual analysis that also examine the semiotic meaning behind the picture that are posted by the people on the social media especially about the Islamic Modest Fashion trend. This research also contains a literature review of a diverse group of works on topics related to the study. This research will be examined through several theoretical frameworks including the study of social media, fashion culture and consumer culture. Fashion and consumer culture are also two main topics because fashion furthermore leads to consumer culture. The possible benefit of this research is to be a reference literature of Islamic Modest Fashion and social media’s role especially in an Indonesian context.

Keywords: blog, instagram, consumer culture, modest fashion, social media, visual analysis

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Authors: Rita Fofai

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The aim of the study is to help peacebuilding by analyzing the symbolical level of fights in the war. Despite the sufferings, war heroism still represents such a noble value in war narratives (especially in literature and films, whether it is high- or popular culture) which can make warfare attractive for every age-group. The questions of the study will revolve around the events when heroism is not a necessary and unselfish act for a greater good, but when the primary aim is to express strength in order to build self-mythology. Since war is a scene where the mythological level can meet reality, and even modern narratives use the elements of rituals and sacral references in even secular contexts, understanding the connection between rites and modern battles will ground this study, and the analysis will follow the logic of the violent rites. From this aspect, war is not merely the fight for different countries and ideas, but the fight of mankind with superhuman and natural or supernatural phenomena, as well. In this context, enemy symbolizes the threat of the world which is unpredictable for mankind, and the fight becomes a ritual combat; therefore the winner’s symbolic reward is to redefine himself or herself not only in the human environment but in the context of the whole world. The analysis of the study reveals that this kind of violence does not represents real heroism and rarely results in recruitment, on the contrary, conserves fear and the feeling of weakness, which is the root cause of this kind of act. The result of this study is a way to reshape the attitude toward so-called heroic war violence which is often a part of war narratives even nowadays. Since stepping out of the war tradition is mainly a cultural question, redefining the connection between society and narratives which has an effect on mentality and emotions, giving a clear guide to making difference between heroism and useless violence is very important in peacebuilding.

Keywords: war, ritual, heroism, violence, narratives, culture

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Authors: Antonio Piga

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The study of language strategies in financial and corporate discourse has always been vital for understanding how companies manage to communicate effectively with a wider customer base and offers new perspectives on how companies interact with key stakeholders, not only to convey transparency and an image of trustworthiness, but also to create affiliation and attract investment. In the light of Systemic Functional Linguistics, the purpose of this study is to examine and analyse the annual reports of Asian and Western joint-stock companies involved in oil refining and power generation from the point of view of the functions and frequency of grammatical metaphors. More specifically, grammatical metaphor - through the lens of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) - is used as a theoretical tool for analysing a synchronic cross-cultural study of the communicative strategies adopted by Asian and Western companies to communicate social and environmental sustainability and showcase their ethical values, performance and competitiveness to local and global communities and key stakeholders. According to Systemic Functional Linguistics, grammatical metaphor can be divided into two broad areas: ideational and interpersonal. This study focuses on the first type, ideational grammatical metaphor (IGM), which includes de-adjectival and de-verbal nominalisation. The dominant and more effective grammatical tropes used by Asian and Western corporations in their annual reports were examined from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective. The aim was to categorise and explain how ideational grammatical metaphor is constructed cross-culturally and presented through structural language patterns involving re-mapping between semantics and lexico-grammatical features. The results show that although there seem to be more differences than similarities in terms of the categorisation of the ideational grammatical metaphors conceptualised in the two case studies analysed, there are more similarities than differences in terms of the occurrence, the congruence of process types and the role and function of IGM. Through the immediacy and essentialism of compacting and condensing information, IGM seems to be an important linguistic strategy adopted in the rhetoric of corporate annual reports, contributing to the ideologies and actions of companies to report and promote efficiency, profit and social and environmental sustainability, thus advocating the engagement and investment of key stakeholders.

Keywords: corporate annual reports, cross-cultural perspective, ideational grammatical metaphor, rhetoric, systemic functional linguistics

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Authors: Karine B. de Oliveira, Carina F. Dorneles

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The structure level matching is the problem of combining elements of a structure, which can be represented as entities, classes, XML elements, web forms, and so on. This is a challenge due to large number of distinct representations of semantically similar structures. This paper describes a structure-based matching method applied to search for different representations in data sources, considering the similarity between elements of two structures and the data source context. Using real data sources, we have conducted an experimental study comparing our approach with our baseline implementation and with another important schema matching approach. We demonstrate that our proposal reaches higher precision than the baseline.

Keywords: context, data source, index, matching, search, similarity, structure

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Authors: Anandi Anant Lale, Pooja Sadananda Patil

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Neighbourhood gardens (NGs), in the rapidly growing tier two cities of India, play a pivotal role in maintaining and enhancing the quality of life of the dwellers in terms of mental, physical and socio- cultural well-being. They are the breathing areas which avail the opportunity of accessing nature while being in the close proximity of modern infrastructural provisions of the neighbourhood. In this article, the landscape values (viz. Cultural, Functional, Environmental and Perceptual) associated with the landscape development approach of neighbourhood gardens in the city of Nashik; one of the major tier two cities of Maharashtra; India, are studied through physical survey of selected NGs and the respective neighborhoods. Contextual study of the selected neighbourhood with the emphasis on dwellers' response in terms of physical as well as mental associations with the NGs is recorded through visitors' interviews. Analysis of interrelation of the landscape values and the users' response to the NGs revealed that each landscape value associated with the landscape development approach, has impact of diverse intensity on the users' perception, in different neighbourhoods. Contextual needs of selected neighbourhoods govern the user's perception towards the respective NGs and eventually define the role of landscape value/s associated with the landscape development approach of NG in deciding the competence of the space. The findings of the study can form the basis to redefine the landscape development approach for the future NGs in tier two cities of India that will justify the contextual needs of every neighbourhood through the emphasis of landscape values.

Keywords: neighbourhood garden, landscape value, user’s perception, context, landscape development

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Authors: Shalini Misra

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The means and methods of education have been changing fast since the invention of internet. Both, ancient and modern education emphasized on the holistic development of students. But, a significant change has been observed in the 21st century learners. Online classes, intercultural and interdisciplinary education which were exceptions in the past, are setting new trends in the field of education. In the modern era, intercultural and interpersonal skills are of immense importance, not only for students but for everyone. It sets a platform for better understanding and deeper learning by ensuring the active participation and involvement of students belonging to different social and cultural backgrounds in various academic and non-academic pursuits. On October 31, 2015, on the occasion of 140th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi announced a wonderful initiative, ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ i.e. ‘One India Best India’ commonly known as ‘EBSB’. The program highlighted India’s rich culture and traditions. The objective of the program was to foster a better understanding and healthy relationship among Indian States. Under this program, a variety of subjects were covered like ‘Arts, Culture and Language’ .It was claimed to be a successful cultural exchange where students from diverse communities shared their thoughts and experiences with one another. Under this online cultural exchange program, the state of Uttarakhand was paired with the state of Karnataka in the year 2022. The present paper proposes to undertake a survey of a total of thirty secondary level students of Uttarakhand and the partner state Karnataka, who participated in this program with a purpose of learning and embracing new ideas and culture thus promoting intercultural education. It aims to study and examine the role of intercultural education in shifting and establishing new paradigms of education.

Keywords: education, intercultural, interpersonal, traditions, understanding

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Authors: Jo Rhodes, Bruce Bergstrom, Peter Lok, Vincent Cheng

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The aim of this study is to determine key factors and processes for multinationals (MNCs) to develop an effective stakeholder engagement and sustainable development framework. A qualitative multiple-case approach was used. A triangulation method was adopted (interviews, archival documents and observations) to collect data on three global firms (MNCs). 9 senior executives were interviewed for this study (3 from each firm). An initial literature review was conducted to explore possible practices and factors (the deductive approach) to sustainable development. Interview data were analysed using Nvivo to obtain appropriate nodes and themes for the framework. A comparison of findings from interview data and themes, factors developed from the literature review and cross cases comparison were used to develop the final conceptual framework (the inductive approach). The results suggested that stakeholder engagement is a key mediator between ‘stakeholder network’ (internal and external factors) and outcomes (corporate social responsibility, social capital, shared value and sustainable development). Key internal factors such as human capital/talent, technology, culture, leadership and processes such as collaboration, knowledge sharing and co-creation of value with stakeholders were identified. These internal factors and processes must be integrated and aligned with external factors such as social, political, cultural, environment and NGOs to achieve effective stakeholder engagement.

Keywords: stakeholder, engagement, sustainable development, shared value, corporate social responsibility

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Authors: Omotayo Olalere

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The relevance of code-switching for intercultural communication through literary translation cannot be overemphasized. The translation of code-switching and its implications for translations studies have been studied in the context of African literature. In these cases, code-switching was examined in the more general terms of its usage in source text and not particularly in Ngugi’s novels and its translations. In addition, the functions of translation and code-switching in the lyrics of some popular African songs have been studied, but this study is related more with oral performance than with written literature. As such, little has been done on the German translation of code-switching in African works. This study intends to fill this lacuna by examining the concept of code-switching in the German translations in Ngugi’s Petals of Blood. The aim is to highlight the significance of code-switching as a phenomenon in this African (Ngugi’s) novel written in English and to also focus on its representation in the two German translations. The target texts to be used are Verbrannte Blueten and Land der flammenden Blueten. “Abrogration“ as a concept will play an important role in the analysis of the data. Findings will show that the ideology of a translator plays a huge role in representing the concept of “abrogration” in the translation of code-switching in the selected source text. The study will contribute to knowledge in translation studies by bringing to limelight the need to foreground aspects of language contact in translation theory and practice, particularly in the African context. Relevant translation theories adopted for the study include Bandia’s (2008) postcolonial theory of translation and Snell-Hornby”s (1988) cultural translation theory.

Keywords: code switching, german translation, ngugi wa thiong’o, petals of blood

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Authors: Emily Carrothers

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This research takes a critical look at the development of the social worker subjectivity, particularly in Canada. Through an interrogation of required graduate course texts, this paper explicates the discursive formation, orientation, and maintenance of the social worker subject and the conceptualizations of poverty in graduate social work education. This research aims to advance understandings of power and ideology in social work graduate texts and formations of particular dominant constructions of poverty and social worker subjectivity. Guiding questions for this inquiry include: What are social workers being oriented to? What are social workers being oriented away from? How is poverty theorized, discussed and/or attached to social location in social work education? And, how are social workers implicated in contesting or reinforcing poverty? Using critical discourse analysis, 6 texts were analyzed with a particular focus on ways in which notions of poverty are discursively represented and ways in which notions of the formation of the social worker were approached. This revealed that discursively underpinning social work in anti-oppressive practice (AOP) can work to reify hierarchal structures of power that orient social workers away from structural poverty reduction strategies and towards punitive interactions with those that experience poverty and multiple forms of marginalization. This highlights that the social worker subjectivity is formed in opposition to the client, with graduate texts constructing the social worker as an expert in client’s lives and experiences even more so than the client.

Keywords: Canada, education, social work, subjectivity

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Authors: Biljana Marković

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Social networks are an integral part of our everyday lives, becoming an indispensable medium for communication in personal and business environments. New forms and ways of communication change the general mindset and significantly affect the quality of life of individuals. Quality of life is perceived as an abstract term, but often people are not aware that they directly affect the quality of their own lives, making minor but significant everyday choices and decisions. Quality of life can be defined broadly, but in the widest sense, it involves a subjective sense of satisfaction with one's life. Scientific knowledge about the impact of social networks on self-assessment of the quality of life of individuals is only just beginning to be researched. Available research indicates potential benefits as well as a number of disadvantages. In the context of the previous claims, the focus of the study conducted by the authors of this paper focuses on analyzing the impact of social networks on individual’s self-assessment of quality of life and the correlation between time spent on social networks, and the choice of content that individuals choose to share to present themselves. Moreover, it is aimed to explain how much and in what ways they critically judge the lives of others online. The research aspires to show the positive as well as negative aspects that social networks, primarily Facebook and Instagram, have on creating a picture of individuals and how they compare themselves with others. The topic of this paper is based on quantitative research conducted on a representative sample. An analysis of the results of the survey conducted online has elaborated a hypothesis which claims that content shared by individuals on social networks influences the image they create about themselves. A comparative analysis of the results obtained with the results of similar research has led to the conclusion about the synergistic influence of social networks on the feeling of the quality of life of respondents. The originality of this work is reflected in the approach of conducting research by examining attitudes about an individual's life satisfaction, the way he or she creates a picture of himself/herself through social networks, the extent to which he/she compares herself/himself with others, and what social media applications he/she uses. At the cognitive level, scientific contributions were made through the development of information concepts on quality of life, and at the methodological level through the development of an original methodology for qualitative alignment of respondents' attitudes using statistical analysis. Furthermore, at the practical level through the application of concepts in assessing the creation of self-image and the image of others through social networks.

Keywords: quality of life, social media, self image, influence of social media

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Authors: Nasir Haruna Soba

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In addition to sustaining poverty and inequality, the issue of out-of-school children impedes efforts to accomplish the sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially Goal 4, which is to guarantee inclusive, egalitarian, and high-quality education for everyone. However, a number of social, cultural, and infrastructure barriers mean that millions of children in Nigeria are denied this privilege. This paper presents the findings of a case study conducted in Nigeria. The findings of this study revealed that out of school children in Nigeria are the most common causes of poverty; inadequate school facilities, long distances to schools, and poor road networks make it difficult for children, especially in rural areas, to access education. Social Disparities: Social inequality is sustained by differences in education, especially when it comes to financing, governance, and coordination amongst stakeholders. These differences are especially pronounced along gender and socioeconomic lines. The study recommended that policymakers and stakeholders should consider addressing the root causes, enhancing existing interventions, and implementing targeted policy measures. Nigeria can make significant strides towards ensuring inclusive and quality education for all children, thereby fostering sustainable development and reducing poverty.

Keywords: poverty, inequality, funding, education, development

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Authors: Sogo Angel Olofinbiyi

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There have been widespread assumptions across the globe that the root cause of Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria is religious rather than socio-economic. An investigation into this dichotomy allowed this study to fully demonstrate that the root cause of Boko Haram’s terrorist actions emanates from the non-fulfillment of socio-economic goals that are prompted by the violation of fundamental human rights, corruption, poverty, unconstitutional and undemocratic practices in the northern part of the Nigerian state. To achieve its aim of establishing the root cause of the terrorism crisis in the latter country, the study critically appraised the socio-economic context of the insurgency by adopting one-on-one in-depth interviews involving forty (40) participants to interrogate the phenomenon. Empirical evidence from the study demonstrated that the evolution of Boko Haram terrorism was a response to socio-economic phlebotomy, political and moral putrescence, and the dehumanization of people that stem from a combination of decades of mismanagement and pervasive corruption by various Nigerian leaders. The study concludes that, as long as the endemic socio-economic problems caused by global capitalism vis-a-vis unequal hegemonic power exchange as expressed in socio-political, ethno-religious and cultural forms persist in the Nigerian society, the terrorism insurgency will recur and remain an inevitable enterprise and indeed a normal social reaction to every undesirable state of affairs. Based on the findings, the study urges the need for the amelioration of the conditions of the vast majority of the Nigerian populace by making socio-economic facilities available to them through the political state.

Keywords: Boko Haram Terrorism, insurgency, socio-economic, religious injunctions

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Authors: Bashaiar Al-Sanaa

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Class has always been a vital distinguishing factor among people within any society. Clear borders between social layers; such as royals, nobles, aristocrats, the bourgeoisie, and working class; have been minimized and blurred due to the advent of social media. Unprecedented access to information has played a significant role in teaching different individuals about the nature of other social layers, hence, allowing for imitation and integration. This study aims to fill the void in research conducted on such topic. The research explores how social media may be slowly but surely dissolving apparent and rigid borderlines of social class. In order to present an overview of the topic, the study surveys individuals in Kuwait to measure how using social media changed their views and style of social class. It also draws a framework through which implications and suggestions for future research may be discussed to better serve the advancement of human communication.

Keywords: class, communication, Kuwait, social media

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Authors: U. Obaje Gabriel

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The overwhelming and intimidating presence of western civilization over our traditional edifice is rather sad and distressful. A careful observation of our prevailing situation would reveal to anyone what mess westernization has done to our cultural values and norms. Corruption, frivolity and moral decadence which are major hallmarks of this foreign ideology are seriously ravaging our society in general and our educational system in particular. The current trends in our schools are those of cultism, nudity in dressing, exam malpractices, corruption and general moral decadence. Against the background of these unwholesome practices in our schools, this paper intends to show the need for us to go back to our roots and harmonize the veritable aspects of our rich cultural heritage with those equally good aspects of western civilization. We believe that when this is done effectively, a very potent indigenous system of education will surely emerge, thereby solving the teething problem of fallen standard in our educational system.

Keywords: heritage, educational development, western civilization, performing arts studies

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Authors: Søren Birkvad

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This paper traces the development of sexual cinematic freedom in the wake of an epoch-making event in Danish cultural history. As the first in the world, the Danes abolished all censorship for adults in 1969, making the tiny nation of Denmark the world’s largest exporter of pornography for several years. Drawing on the insights of social and cultural history and the focus point of the National Cinema direction of Cinema Studies, this study focuses on Danish film pornography in the 1960s and 1970s in its own right (e.g., its peculiar mix of sex, popular comedy and certain ‘feminist’ agendas). More importantly, however, it covers a broader pattern, namely the culturally deep-rooted tradition of freedom of speech and sexual liberalism in Denmark. Thus, the key concept of frisind (“free mind”) in Danish cultural history took on an increasingly partisan application in the 1960s and 1970s. It became a designation for all-is-permitted hippie excess but was also embraced by dissenting movements on the left, such as feminism, which questioned whether a free mind necessarily meant free love. In all of this, Danish cinema from the 1960s and 1970s offers a remarkable source of historical insight, simultaneously reminding us of a number of acute issues of contemporary society. These issues include gendered ideas of sexuality and freedom then and now and the equivalent clash of cultures between a liberal commercial industry and the accelerating political demands of the “sexual revolution.” Finally, these issues include certain tensions between, on the one hand, a purely materialistic idea of sexual freedom – incarnated by anything from pornography to many of the taboo-breaking youth films and avant-garde films in the wake of the 1968-rebellion – and, on the other hand, growing opposition to this anti-spiritual perception of human sexuality (represented by for instance the ‘closet conservatism’ of Danish art film star Lars von Trier of nowadays). All in all, this presentation offers a reflection on ideas of sexuality and gender rooted in a unique historical moment in cinematic history.

Keywords: Danish film history, cultural history, film pornography, history of sexuality, national cinema, sexual liberalism

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Authors: Carmen Soria

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The aim of this paper is the study of the cultural and anthropological consequences of the historical natural disasters in Abruzzo (Italy, Central Apennine). These events have left cultural marks in local traditions as well as mythological stories, specific cults, or sanctuary areas in apotropaic function to prevent catastrophic events. Despite the difficult to find archaeological evidence of natural disasters, neverthless, the analisys of micro placenames, directly or indirectly related to such events, represents an integrated and interdisciplinary approach between seismology studies and landscape analysis. Toponymic data, indeed, highlight the strong relation between geomorphological features of areas affected by natural disasters and heritage community resilience, such as, for example, the cult of St. Agatha, widespread in the nearby of healing spring-water and ancient caves as a place of worship, in continuity with pagan rituals.

Keywords: abruzzo, heritage community resilience, seismic planames, St. agata

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Authors: Hind Hassan Arruwaite

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Conceptual metaphor is a cognitive semantic tool that provides access to people's conceptual systems. The correlation in the human conceptual system surpasses limited time and specific cultures. The universal associations provide universal schemas that organize people's conceptualization of the world. The study aims to explore how the cultural associations used in conceptual metaphors create commonalities and harmony between people of the world. In the research methodology, the researcher implemented Critical Metaphor Analysis, Metaphor Candidate Identification and Metaphor Identification Procedure models to deliver qualitative and descriptive findings. The semantic tension was the key criterion in identifying metaphorically used words in the headlines. The research materials are the oil trade conceptual metaphors used in the headlines of Arab News and Saudi Gazette Newspapers. The data will be uploaded to the self-constructed corpus to examine electronic lists for identifying conceptual metaphors. The study investigates the types of conceptual metaphors used in the headlines of the newspapers, the cultural associations identified in the conceptual metaphors, and whether the identified cultural associations in conceptual metaphors create universal conceptual schemas. The study aligned with previous seminal works on conceptual metaphor theory in emphasizing the distinctive power of conceptual metaphors in exposing the cultural associations that unify people's perceptions. The correlation of people conceptualization provides universal schemas that involve elements of human sensorimotor experiences. The study contributes to exposing the shared cultural associations that ensure the commonality of all humankind's thinking mechanism.

Keywords: critical discourse analysis, critical metaphor analysis, conceptual metaphor theory, primary and specific metaphors, corpus-driven approach, universal associations, image schema, sensorimotor experience, oil trade

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Authors: Shikuku Emmanuel Tsikhungu

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Theatre and religion have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship from time immemorial, each transforming in different epochs and into different forms of practice but gaining from each other’s growth. Despite the fact that religion has more or less looked at the theatre and its dramatic rituals with distaste, the two human engagements have had dynamic and reciprocal relationships. In Kenya, there is an emerging innovation and transformation of theatre for religion in which churches and sects are consciously developing a youth wing that is vibrant in theatre practice. The imagination that youth and children derive pleasure and vibrancy in theatre has led to a lively competition among churches that is now creating a new form of theatre in Kenya. This has given rise to a practice in which art engages the religious not at the spiritual level but at the social-cultural level. Thus theatre is finding itself in sanctums that it had been banished; not for its own sake but as a tool for keeping the youth nearer the church if not the church This article analyses findings of a study carried out in December of 2017 among theatre festivals for the Catholic Church held in Kitui School, KituiCounty, and the Methodist Church of Kenya festival held in Ntemwene Church, Nkubu, Meru County, Kenya. One of the findings of interest was that while they were not theatres of religion nor religious theatres since they did not fuse the religious rituals with the dramatic rituals, the festivals never the less qualify as theatres for religion for they link the former to the latter. Secondly, while they claimed to be youth or children theatre festivals, they lacked youth-centredness nor child-centredness associated with such. Thirdly and most importantly the style of dramatic execution ranged from bibliodramatic to secular drama with Christian messages. Fourthly, by this stroke of acceptance in formerly forbidden sanctums, theatre is re-inventing itself back to its ‘old’ nature and function. It may be argued conclusively that this sprouting movement of theatre for religion may be comparable to the Jesuit Theatre fronted by Ignatius Loyola but clothed in modern African theatre practice.

Keywords: theatre, religion, theatre for religion, social constructs, socio-cultural

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