Search results for: cultural identity

Authors: David Martínez Rico, Juan Pablo Farid Cuéllar Martínez

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After more than half a century that the first treaty of European cooperation was created, the final result of a difficult and long historical process, which is the current European Union, is facing economical and social challenges. The barriers of policies differences and national sovereignties seem to be being defeated in the last and present decades. However, the last crisis of 2008 brought back problems as xenophobia and nationalism. In this ambit of identity, European Union has made many efforts to reinforce a European identity and leave behind the radical nationalisms which generated World Wars. Nevertheless, these social problems are increasing and becoming more present in the life of many Europeans. Even, in the last Euro Parliamentarian Elections of the present year, 2014, the extreme right parties, in favor of xenophobic and anti European ideals, got more seats and are increasing their presence in Euro Parliament. This essay approaches to this controversial topic of European identity. Taking as start point the nationalist divisions that are causing internal divergences in Europe, the authors of this research study the role and contributions of the Memorials of the fallen soldiers and heroes of World Wars, present in many cities as Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris, to the impossibility to reach an European identity, it means that Europeans feel first part of Europe in place to feel first part of a nation. The objective of this essay is to reaffirm the thesis that establishes that the European Union won´t reach the longed supranational identity with just with the current strategies, because yet there are many cultural elements in its member states societies which exalt the heroes and soldiers of the past wars, increasing nationalism feelings. Besides, in it are promoted some interesting ideas that could change the course in this quest of a European social identity.

Keywords: identity, memorials, European identity, nationalism, proposals

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Authors: Emmanuel Pedler, Elena Raevskikh, Maxime Jaffré

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Can the cultural geography of European cities be durably managed by European policies? To answer this question, two hypotheses can be proposed. (1) Either European cultural policies are able to erase cultural inequalities between the territories through the creation of new areas of cultural attractiveness in each beneficiary neighborhood, city or country. Or, (2) each European region historically rooted in a number of endogenous socio-historical, political or demographic factors is not receptive to exogenous political influences. Thus, the cultural attractiveness of a territory is difficult to measure and to impact by top-down policies in the long term. How do these two logics - European and local - interact and contribute to the emergence of a valued, popular sense of a common European cultural identity? Does this constant interaction between historical backgrounds and new political concepts encourage a positive identification with the European project? The European cultural policy programs, such as ECC (European Capital of Culture), seek to develop new forms of civic cohesion through inclusive and participative cultural events. The cultural assets of a city elected ‘ECC’ are mobilized to attract a wide range of new audiences, including populations poorly integrated into local cultural life – and consequently distant from pre-existing cultural offers. In the current context of increasingly heterogeneous individual perceptions of Europe, the ECC program aims to promote cultural forms and institutions that should accelerate both territorial and cross-border European cohesion. The new cultural consumption pattern is conceived to stimulate integration and mobility, but also to create a legitimate and transnational ideal European citizen type. Our comparative research confronts contrasting cases of ‘European Capitals of Culture’ from the south and from the north of Europe, cities recently concerned by the ECC political mechanism and cities that were elected ECC in the past, multi-centered cultural models vs. highly centralized cultural models. We aim to explore the impacts of European policies on the urban cultural geography, but also to understand the current obstacles for its efficient implementation.

Keywords: urbanism, cultural policies, cultural institutions, european cultural capitals, heritage industries, exclusion effects

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Authors: Lia Tsuladze

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The paper discusses the Georgians’ online discourses of national identity in the context of Europeanisation focusing on two periods - initialing of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement in November 2013 and signing it in June 2014. Discussing how the Georgians’ aspiration to integrate with the EU is combined with their perception of Europeanisation as a threat to the national identity, the author explores how the national sentiment is expressed in the above discourses while performed for the local vs. international audiences.

Keywords: Europeanisation, frontstage, backstage discourses, Georgia, national identity

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Authors: Gurleen Kaur

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Being tall-short, fat-thin, black-white, etc. is an inevitable part of how people perceive you. This association of people with your external appearance carves out an identity for you. This paper will look at the reasons why people relate a person to a particular categorization on the basis of his/her physical appearance. The paper delves into reasons for this categorization into groups: Subconscious grouping, personal gain, ease of relating to the group, and social acceptance. Development of certain unique physical features also leads to a person relating himself to a collective identity. Thus, this paper will support the fact that physical appearance plays a crucial role in categorization of people into groups and hence forming a group identity for them. This paper is divided into three parts. The first part will discuss what physical appearance is and how is it linked to our daily lives. The second part will talk about why it works i.e. why this factor of external appearance is important in formation of identity. The last part will talk about the factors which lead to categorization of identity because of physical appearance.

Keywords: group identity, physical appearance, subconscious grouping, collective identity

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Authors: A. K. O’Loughlin

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Identity doesn’t exist in discrete categories as it is defined. Kevin Kumashiro reveals the phrase 'an impossibility of identity' in Troubling Education (2000), an investigation of the intersections of culture and gender and the impact of erasure for queer POC identity. This underscores the essentiality of an insider or an outsider identity and the appearance of 'contradiction' or impossibility of these identities. The contradictions between us as subject in our own stories and in the stories of others are often silenced. This silencing of complex, 'contradicting' identity has unmissable implications in the classroom; the developing student in question is done a serious disservice, from which they may never recover. There is no more important point of contact than the teacher, for willingness to encounter a developing person as they are, not as we already think they are, or 'know' them to be, or think they should be. To decide how to regard them based on our own unilateral identity and its associated exhortations and injunctions is, as Hannah Arendt writes in The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951), to sell off our ability to rise, human-like, to the challenge of investigating things as they are. A re-reading of Kumashiro’s impossibility of identity becomes possible through the investigation of pluralism. Identities become possible and un-paradoxical by the notion that contradictions are not problems that an individual is not unilateral, but plural. In this paper, we investigate how philosophies of pluralism can inform our understanding of impossibility of identity in classroom curriculum and pedagogy.

Keywords: identity, gender, culture, pluralism, education, philosophy of education, queer theory, philosophy of mind, adolescent development

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Authors: Sterlyn Poueriet Gil

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Through the years, the construction of cultural identity in the Dominican Republic has been subject to multiple unfavorable conditions fostered by the elites. These conditions have led to the loss of a pattern that lasts over time; leaving this as a result of inconsistency and the diversity of elements that at first are theses and antitheses and gives form to the complexity of what we can call: "the culture of a people that tries to reinvent itself in each social-historical moment". Religion is one of those cultural elements that does not escape the will of the elites. In the country, there are multiple religious groups that, in one way or another, represent what the people are, their ancestral customs, their philosophy, and even their strengths as groups of a certain social environment. However, these have always been marginalized and discriminated against by the country's official religion and their respective denominations. The objective of this research was to verify to what extent interreligious discrimination was real, moving from the assumption to scientific evidence through the application of research techniques such as the survey, fieldwork, and qualitative analysis of the collected evidence, the supremacy of the dominant religion condemns its rites and in many cases the person himself. In many communities, freedom of worship is reserved for traditional groups, having cases in the country where the manifestations of rites such as the "gagá" and the "prillé" have been prohibited, considering them as diabolical and primitive practices; this seeks to deny the roots of a people marked by poverty and social conflicts but remains firm in the will to be.

Keywords: cultural identity, freedom of worship, gagá, popular demonstrations

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Authors: Patrick Andrew McCoy

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The intense fascination with ancient Egypt has persisted for thousands of years and across cultures globally, known popularly as Egyptomania,’ ‘Tutmania,’ ‘Mummymania,’ and ‘Orientalism. A review of the literature indicates psychological themes for its behavior are curiosity, escapism, existentialism, religiosity and spirituality, and cultural, racial, and ethnic identity. A mixed-methods study is initiated with established tools to explore these themes and discover additional motivators. Objectives: The purpose of the study is to explore the themes underlying the intense fascination of ancient Egypt. The abstract themes of the fascination of ancient Egypt are cross-cultural phenomena that motivate people in their interactions with other cultures. These interactions have both been beneficial and combative. Methodology: A mixed methods research study is designed where quantitative (QUAN) survey of participants’ strong fascination with ancient Egypt, within psychological themes derived from a review of the literature. The qualitative (QUAL) survey consists of open-ended questions to explore participants’ exposure to ancient Egypt that may have influenced their fascination and their behaviors resulting from the phenomenon. The themes are explored in QUAN data and QUAL data to discover what themes are established and inferred the psychological motivations of the phenomenon. Main Contributions: This study will provide more information on several scientific disciplines, including psychology, anthropology, Egyptology, and tourism. This study seeks to benefit the tourism industry for not only in Egypt but hopefully with generalizability of cultural tourist industries in other countries.

Keywords: cross-cultural psychology, international psychology, mixed-methods, identity, ancient Egypt, phenomenology, escapism, curiosity, existentialism, religiosity, spirituality

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Authors: Jessie André

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In the past 10 years, more studies have begun exploring the psychological impact of those who have been subjected to and have adopted two different cultures. Currently, there is no existing literature regarding how individuals with a bicultural identity navigate their often-conflicting cultures on topics such as sexual pleasure and sexual scripts. The purpose of this study was to explore how first-generation Afro/Black Caribbean-American women navigate their multiple cultural identities with regards to sexual pleasure and sexual scripts. This study contains an exploration of participants self-described challenges, attitudes, and beliefs associated to how they navigate and experience their sexuality. This research study uses an explanatory, qualitative method design with semi structured interviews to answer the primary and secondary research question. Research findings indicate that the later the age of immigration, the stronger their ties were to the culture from their country of origin, which affected their self-assessments of sexual desirability and sexual self-esteem. Findings also suggest that even though women who immigrated at a younger age had higher rates of difficulty navigating and identifying with their adopted culture’s sexual mores. These women also reported lower ratings of comfort voicing sexual desires and concerns to their partner and had lower self-ratings of feeling connected to their cultural identity. These participants had challenges utilizing the dual and conflicting sexual mores and rules they received from U.S. society and their country of origin, resulting in less pleasurable sexual experiences. Whereas women who immigrated at an older age reported having more pleasurable sexual experiences.

Keywords: bicultural identity, sexual pleasure, first-generation immigrants, afro/black caribbean-American

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Authors: Monika Paleczna, Barbara Szmigielska

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Adolescence is a developmental period, covering the period from 10 to 20 years of age, in which young people face many challenges. One of the most important tasks of the adolescence period is getting a structured identity. The development of identity is possible by undertaking various activities. Nowadays, virtual activities are very common among young people. One of the main adolescents’ activities in the online environment is playing computer games. The main aim of this work is to answer the question about the relationship between the identity style of adolescents and immersion, -a phenomenon often observed while playing computer games. The concept of identity created by Berzonsky is considered as one of the best-defined concepts of identity. He defines identity as both a structure and a process and distinguishes three styles of identity: informational, normative, and diffuse/avoidant. Immersion is a concept that can be applied in a broad context, but in the game environment, it is a specific psychological experience of being involved in a computer game. It refers to the relocation of the attention resources to the game world, with a limited or impossible perception of stimuli from reality. Considering how much time adolescents spend playing computer games, the question about the relationship between their identity and the immersion in the game seems to be extremely interesting. Fifty adolescents aged 15-17 participated in the study. They played a computer game and completed the Identity Style Inventory and the Immersion Questionaire.

Keywords: identity, immersion, computer games, adolescence

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Authors: Burova Anna

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The current reality, changes in the world system, and the accelerating process of internationalization of the economies of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa dictate new challenges and opportunities. As cultural identity comes to the fore, understanding and developing cross-cultural competencies for effective collaboration becomes essential. Today, we are experiencing both -the integration of the world's economies and cultural disintegration, as each country feels the need for its own cultural, political, and economic sovereignty. Global and effective economic ties are critically needed at this stage of our common historical development. The role of intercultural aspects and sociocultural characteristics of our partners and colleagues cannot be exaggerated. This article presents an analysis of the most common intercultural conflicts in the general corporate environment and current ways of preventing as well as resolving them. A comparative analysis of business communications has revealed certain features of interaction. Based on contextual “landmarks” and points of fundamental disagreement in the perception of verbal and non-verbal messages of representatives of different national cultures, practical conclusions were drawn, and specific recommendations were formed to overcome weaknesses and develop strengths to establish closer and more effective economic and business ties in the international community.

Keywords: cross-cultural business communications, management of cross-cultural teams, intercultural conflicts prevention, intercultural competencies development, management, cross-culture

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Authors: Patricia Amorim Da Silva

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This paper explores the ongoing process of decolonialism, focusing on addressing the lasting consequences of colonialism. Centred on identity within marginalized communities, the study challenges Eurocentric frameworks and advocates for diverse perspectives. Emphasizing critical self-awareness among researchers regarding biases in their work, decolonialism influences feminist theory and global counter-publics. At its core is the concept of epistemicide, the intentional suppression of knowledge in unequal cultural interactions. Colonial imposition has devalued local knowledge, contributing to cultural loss and undermining autonomy. The paper underscores the importance of reclaiming indigenous knowledge to revitalize local cultures and languages, particularly pertinent to the Brazilian context. This contribution to the discourse on decolonialism underscores the imperative to challenge prevailing narratives and empower historically subordinated communities. The study aspires to advance feminist theory and decolonial studies, fostering a more equitable and inclusive global society.

Keywords: decolonialism, colonial legacies, identity, Eurocentrism, epistemicide

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Authors: Mehrdad Karimi, Farshad Negintaji

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This study has examined the appearance of identity in the urban landscape and its effects on the natural factors. For this purpose, the components of place identity, emotional attachment, place dependence and social bond which totally constitute place attachment, measures it in three domains of cognitive (place identity), affective (emotional attachment) and behavioral (place dependence and social bond). In order to measure the natural factors, three components of the absolute elements, living entities, natural elements have been measured. The study is descriptive and the statistical population has been Yasouj, a city in Iran. To analyze the data the SPSS software has been used. The results in two level of descriptive and inferential statistics have been investigated. In the inferential statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient test has been used to evaluate the research hypotheses. In this study, the variable of identity is in high level and the natural factors are also in high level. These results indicate a positive relationship between place identity and natural factors. Development of environment and reaching the quality level of the personality or identity will develop the individual and society.

Keywords: identity, place identity, landscape, urban landscape, landscaping

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Authors: R. A. Retno Hastijanti, David Agus Sagita, Arum Lintang Cahyani, Tectona Radike, Andreas Suluh Putra

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Surabaya, is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia. Most of the old quarter city of Surabaya is an ancient Kampong. Ketandan is one ancient Kampong in the center of Surabaya, surrounded by a thriving trade area. These conditions make Kampong vulnerably degraded of environmental quality and tended to lose their cultural identity. Norms and values eroded by the rapid development of its local surroundings. Through Kampong conservation programs, Surabaya city government established Ketandan as one of the urban heritage. To achieve the ideal condition of urban heritage, public participation is required. One thing that can generate a motivation for Kampong Ketandan community participation is to rediscover the identity of Kampong Ketandan. This research aims to explore the appropriate method to rediscover the identity of Kampong Ketandan. Through qualitative research methods, based on observations and focus group discussions, it was concluded that mural mentoring program was the best method that can be accepted by the Kampong community to rediscover their identity. Mural as one of the urban art form, able to motivate Kampong community to express their self and bring an icon to their Kampong. The benefits of this research are to provide input to the city government and the private sector to preserve urban heritage, moreover, to transform an urban heritage into a productive space in urban areas in order to enhance city revenues.

Keywords: Kampong, Kampong Ketandan, mural, Surabaya, urban, urban heritage, urban art

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Authors: Sebastian Del Corral Winder, Kiriana Sanchez, Mixalis Poulakis, Samantha Gray

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This paper seeks to explore White privilege and Whiteness. Being White in the U.S. is often perceived as the norm and it brings significant social, economic, educational, and health privileges that often are hidden in social interactions. One quality of Whiteness has been its invisibility given its intrinsic impact on the system, which becomes only visible when paying close attention to White identity and culture and during cross-cultural interactions. The cross-cultural interaction provides an emphasis on differences between the participants and people of color are often viewed as “the other.” These interactions may promote an increased opportunity for discrimination and negative stereotypes against a person of color. Given the recent increase of violence against culturally diverse groups, there has been an increased sense of otherness and division in the country. Furthermore, the accent prestige theory has found that individuals who speak English with a foreign accent are perceived as less educated, competent, friendly, and trustworthy by White individuals in the United States. Using the consensual qualitative research (CQR) methodology, this study explored the cross-cultural dyad from the White individual’s perspective focusing on the psychotherapeutic relationship. The participants were presented with an audio recording of a conversation between a psychotherapist with a Hispanic accent and a patient with an American English accent. Then, the participants completed an interview regarding their perceptions of race, culture, and cross-cultural interactions. The preliminary results suggested that the Hispanic accent alone was enough for the participants to assign stereotypical ethnic and cultural characteristics to the individual with the Hispanic accent. Given the quality of the responses, the authors completed a secondary analysis to explore Whiteness and White privilege in more depth. Participants were found to be on a continuum in their understanding and acknowledgment of systemic racism; while some participants listed examples of inequality, other participants noted: “all people are treated equally.” Most participants noted their feelings of discomfort in discussing topics of cultural diversity and systemic racism by fearing to “say the ‘wrong thing.” Most participants placed the responsibility of discussing cultural differences with the person of color, which has been observed to create further alienation and otherness for culturally diverse individuals. The results indicate the importance of examining racial and cultural biases from White individuals to promote an anti-racist stance. The results emphasize the need for greater systemic changes in education, policies, and individual awareness regarding cultural identity. The results suggest the importance for White individuals to take ownership of their own cultural biases in order to promote equity and engage in cultural humility in a multicultural world. Future research should continue exploring the role of White ethnic identity and education as they appear to moderate White individuals’ attitudes and beliefs regarding other races and cultures.

Keywords: culture, qualitative research, whiteness, white privilege

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Authors: Mustafa Var, Yasin Kültiğin Yaman, Elif Berna Var, Müberra Pulatkan

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This study deals with real application of an urban transformation project in Trabzon, Turkey. It aims to highlight the significance of using native species in terms of planting design of transformation projects which will also promote sustainability of urban identity. Urban identity is a phenomenon shaped not only by physical, but also by natural, spatial, social, historical and cultural factors. Urban areas face with continuous change which can be whether positive or negative way. If it occurs in a negative way that may have some destructive effects on urban identity. To solve this problematic issue, urban renewal movements initally started after 1840s around the world especially in the cities with ports. This process later followed by the places where people suffered a lot from fires and has expanded to all over the world. In Turkey, those processes have been experienced mostly after 1980s as country experienced the worst effects of unplanned urbanization especially in 1950-1990 period. Also old squares, streets, meeting points, green areas, Ottoman bazaars have changed slowly. This change was resulted in alienation of inhabitants to their environments. As a solution, several actions were taken like Mass Housing Laws which was enacted in 1981 and 1984 or urban transformation projects. Although projects between 1990-2000 were tried to satisfy the expectations of local inhabitants by the help of several design solutions to promote cultural identity; unfortunately those modern projects has also been resulted in alienation of urban environments to the inhabitants. Those projects were initially done by TOKI (Housing Development Administration of Turkey) and later followed by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization after 2011. Although they had significant potentials to create healthy urban environments, they could not use this opportunity in an effective way. The reason for their failure is that their architectural styles and planting designs are unrespectful to local identity and environments. Generally, it can be said that the most of the urban transformation projects implementing in Turkey nearly have no concerns about the locality. However, those projects can be used as a positive tool for enhanching the urban identity of cities by means of local planting material. For instance, Kyoto can be identified by Japanese Maple trees or Seattle can be specified by Dahlia. In the same way, in Turkey, Istanbul city can be identified by Judas and Stone Pine trees or Giresun city can be identified by Cherry trees. Thus, in this paper, the importance of conserving urban identity is discussed specificly with the help of using local planting elements. After revealing the mistakes that are made during urban transformation projects, the techniques and design criterias for preserving and promoting urban identity are examined. In the end, it is emphasized that every city should have their own original, local character and specific planting design which can be used for highlighting its identity as well as architectural elements.

Keywords: urban identity, urban transformation, planting design, landscape architecture

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Authors: Horaya Mostafa Ahmed

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All cultures are inherently predisposed to change and, at the same time, to resisting change. There are dynamic processes operating that encourage the acceptance of new ideas and things, while there are others that encourage changeless stability. Despite the dramatic changes that have taken place in all human cultures, there are cultures still steadfast and resist change. These cultures resist through some culture mechanisms like, cultural boundaries, ethnocentrism, religion, and cultural relativity. So this paper is an attempt to discover these mechanisms of cultural change resistance and to ask is cultural change always required.

Keywords: cultural change, cultural boundaries, cultural relativity, ethnocentrism, religion, resistance

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Authors: Renee Monchalin

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Métis peoples, while comprising over a third of the total Indigenous population in Canada, experience major gaps in health services that accommodate their cultural identities. This is problematic given Métis peoples experience severe disparities in health determinants and outcomes compared to the non-Indigenous Canadian population. At the same time, Métis are unlikely to engage in health services that do not value their cultural identities, often utilizing mainstream options. Given these contexts, this research aims to fill the culturally-safe health care gap for Métis peoples in Canada. It does this by engaging 56 urban Métis women who participated in a longitudinal cohort study, Our Health Counts (OHC) Toronto. Traditionally, Métis women were central to the health and well-being of their communities. However, due to decades of colonial legislation and forced land displacement, female narratives have been silenced, and Métis identities have been fractured. This has resulted in having direct implications on Métis people’s current health and access to health services. Solutions to filling the Métis health service gap may lie in the all too often unacknowledged or missing voices of Métis women. Through a conversational method, this research will explore urban Métis women’s perspectives on identity and their experiences with health services in Toronto. The goal of this research is to learn from urban Métis women on steps towards filling the health service gap. This research is currently in the data collection stage. Preliminary findings from the conversations will be disseminated. Policy recommendations for health service providers will be provided to better accommodate Métis people.

Keywords: indigenous health, Metis health, urban, health service access, identity

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Authors: Ranis Cheng

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Corporate identity is an asset of a company that is unique, valuable and provides a source of competitive advantage. This research taking a holistic view to explore all dimensions of corporate identity and influence of each on customers’ shopping experience in the fast fashion retail sector in the U.K. Unfortunately these issues have not been explored sufficiently in the extant literature, especially in the area of the identity gap. To date, there is still a lack of empirical research on corporate identity, especially in the retail sector despite the importance of the concept to all organisations. Furthermore, although customer group is one of the essential audiences of organisations and the importance of customers in corporate identity management cannot be ignored, to date limited studies have been conducted in order to understand how customers interpret and perceive corporate identity (perceived identity). Therefore, this research investigates customers’ perceptions of corporate identity in the fast fashion retail sector. 1) To explore customers’ perceptions of fast fashion retailers’ corporate identities; 2) To uncover the important constructs of corporate identity which contribute to the U.K. fast fashion retail sector. 40 semi-structured interviews with the fast fashion consumers have been carried out to identify their perceptions of fast fashion retailers' corporate identities. Secondary research on retailers' websites and press releases have been evaluated to identify their desired corporate identities. The findings have revealed that there are significant gaps between how fast fashion retailers present their identities and how their consumers perceive them. This has posed customers' negative perceptions towards the retailers and their shopping experience as a whole. This study has studied how the corporate identity constructs could be applied in the fashion context and has helped retailers to shed lights on how to minimise the gap between desired and perceived identity.

Keywords: corporate identity, fast fashion, fashion retailing, identity gap

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Authors: Oscar H. Malaco Jr.

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Homosexuality has been adapted as the universal concept that defines the deviations from the heteronormative parameters of society. Sexual orientation and gender identities have been used in a concretely separate manner the same way as the dynamics between man and woman, male and female, gender and sex operate. These terms are all products of human beings’ utilization of language. Language has proven its power to define and determine the status and the categories of the subjects in society. This tool developed by human beings provides a definition of their own specific cultural community and their individual selves that either claim or oppugn their space in the social hierarchy. The label ‘bakla’ is reasoned as an identity which is a reaction to the spectral disposition of gender and sexuality in the Philippine society. To expose the Filipino constitutes of bakla is the major attempt of this study. Through the methods of Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology), namely Pagtatanung-tanong (asking questions) and Pakikipagkuwentuhan (story-telling), the utterances of the bakla were gathered and analyzed in a rhetorical and ideological manner. Furthermore, the Dramatistic Pentad of Kenneth Burke was adapted as a methodology and also utilized as a perspective of analysis. The results suggest that the bakla as an identity carries the hurdles of class. The performativity of the bakla is proven to be a cycle propelled by their guilt to be identified and recognized as subjects in a society where heteronormative power contests their gender and sexual expressions as relatively aberrational to the binary gender and sexual roles. The labels, hence, are potent structures that control the disposition of the bakla in the society, reflecting an aspect of the disposition of Filipino identities. After all, performing kabaklaan in the Philippine society is interplay between resistance and conformity to the hegemonic dominions as a result of imperial attempts to universalize the concept of homosexuality between and among distant cultural communities.

Keywords: gender identity, sexual orientation, rhetoric, performativity

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Authors: Sihem Benaouda

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English is gaining an international identity as it affects every academic and professional field in the world. Without increasing their cultural understanding, it would obviously be difficult to completely educate learners for communication in a globalised environment. The concept of culture is intricate and needs to be elucidated, especially in an English language teaching (ELT) context. The study focuses on the investigation of the cultural studies integrated into the different types of English for specific purposes (ESP) materials, as opposed to English for general purposes (EGP) textbooks. A qualitative methodology based on a triangulation of techniques was conducted through materials analysis of five textbooks in both advanced EGP and three types of ESP. In addition to a semi-structured interview conducted with Algerian ESP practitioners, data analysis results revealed that culture in ESP textbooks is not overtly isolated into chapters and that cultural studies are predominantly present in business and economics materials, namely English for hotel and catering staff, tourism, and flight attendants. However, implicit cultural instruction is signalled in the social sciences and is negligible in science and technology sources. In terms of content, cultural studies in EGP are more related to generic topics, whereas, in some ESP materials, the topics are rather oriented to the specific field they belong to. Furthermore, the respondents’ answers showed an unawareness of the importance of culture in ESP teaching, besides some disregard for culture teaching per se in ESP contexts.

Keywords: ESP, EGP, cultural studies, textbooks, teaching, materials

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Authors: Icy Vinod Sanghvi

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In the light of rising modernism within the residential design industry, a significant growth of the western concepts of maximalism or minimalism is observed in the Indian housings. Although dynamism in design styles is natural due to the constant emergence of new innovations, it is imperative that local houses reflect cultural identity. This paper highlights the importance of ‘Indian Modernism’, and how to incorporate the same in residential design. Thus, helping the Indian culture to flourish and become a significant part of housing design in the future. A literature review was conducted to analyze and derive effective methods to build cultural value whilst catering to the urban and contemporary design industry. Alongside, a questionnaire survey was conducted to observe how the local houses are designed and to understand the preferences of people with regards to the design styles incorporated in their homes. In addition, their opinions on the excessive use of contemporary styles in home designs was recorded. The results of the same provided a better understanding of the local audience, their demands, and their willingness to adapt to contemporary designs. Studying color, materials, ornamentation, symbolism, detail, and structure offers an in-depth understanding of the essence of traditional Indian homes. These variables further provided effective solutions for design ideation and mockups for efficient traditional yet contemporary spaces. Design interventions like these can build a revolutionary set of practices that involve creating a balance between contemporary and traditional styles. The emergence of this synergy will not only make contemporary homes communicative but also allow India to compete within the global residential architecture industry with a strong foundation of its rich heritage.

Keywords: balance, contemporary design, cultural identity, Indian modernism

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Authors: Patrycja Pichnicka

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Anime is the Japanese art of animation and a kind of Japanese animated movie, different from the Western ones by its specific features. In the world dominated by live action movies, mostly the ones produced in the United States, Japanese animated movies, which constitute a large part of the Japanese movie industry, play the role of the Other. They adapt elements of Western culture and technology to create something that resists global Western domination. This phenomenon is particularly interesting to observe in the case of narration borrowed from the Western culture, yet transformed in a specific manner: such as Vampire Narration. The phenomenon should be examined using the theory of cultural adaptation of Siergiei Arutiunow, as well as theory of cultural hegemony and postcolonial theories, including the theory of the discourse of resistance. Relations of cultural hegemony and resistance have been mentioned in works of Susan Napier, however they are worth to be fully developed. Anime relations to globally dominating culture reveal tension between submission and resistance in which non-Western identity is constructed and performed. Nonetheless, the tension between the Global/Western and the Japanese is not the only one existing in contemporaneous Japanese society and culture. Sexual, gender, class, and ethnic issues are also expressed in and through pop culture narrations. Using the basic division of the types of cultural adaptation we can trace the line of the evolution of the Japanese cultural attitude towards the West, expressed in the Vampire Narration from the time of American occupation till now. These attitudes changed from the submissive assimilation or reproduction of cultural models, through the simple opposition, to the more nuanced attitude of nowadays. However, according to Kimberlé Crenshaw’s intersectional theory, there is no one category of discrimination or submission. There are individuals or groups existing on the cross of two or more categories of emancipation. If the Japanese were culturally subdued to the Westerner, the Japanese woman was doubly subdued: as a woman and as a Japanese. The emancipation of one group can deepen the submission of another one, of internal Other, of the group in which two or more categories of domination/submission intersect. That is why some Japanese female authors enthusiastically reproduce the Western cultural models, even if this means a cultural hegemony of the West over the Japanese. They see, as women, more liberal attitudes towards their gender in the Western culture than in the Japanese culture, as it is constructed and produced by Japanese men. The Japanese anime is the realm in which sophisticated art meets social tendencies and cultural attitudes. Anime examination permits to study of the composed contemporaneous Japanese identity, as well as general rules of cultural relations.

Keywords: anime, cultural hegemony, intercultural relations, resistance, vampire narration

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Authors: Bian ChengXiang, Wang Qian

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With the deepening of the research on the connotation of cultural heritage and human geography, the cultural landscape takes landscape as a cultural product, integrates and blends cultural and natural heritage to explore the cultural value behind its material landscape. Qikou ancient town is a typical traditional settlement with a homomorphism of mountain and water veins. Its cultural accumulation and natural landscape play an important role in its development. Therefore, this paper will combine the material and cultural elements of Qikou ancient town to analyze the composition of the cultural landscape of the ancient town and explore the protection and utilization of the cultural landscape of Qikou ancient town from the four aspects of ecology, form, cultural form, and business form, so as to provide effective strategies for the development of the ancient town.

Keywords: four state, cultural landscape, ancient town, protection, development

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Authors: Lanyan Peng, Ling Chen

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Leishan Miao New-Year is one of the grandest festivals in the southeastern of Guizhou Province in China. It was officially listed in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2008, as a traditional folk cultural activity organized by the local Miao people. With the rise of cultural tourism, after 19 years of exploration, the local government has successfully built Miao New-Year into a cultural card that is well-known at home and abroad. During the Miao New-Year period, it has attracted 3.8 million tourists and achieves a win-win situation in the economy and culture. However, tourism development has changed the living environment and living state of the local people. And it is accompanied by changes in the form of the festival, the content of the festival, and the local people’s needs and attitudes to the festival. This paper uses the field investigation method to achieve 410 questionnaires and 35 interviews, exploring the process and the reasons for changes of Leishan Miao New-Year’s cultural function. Among all the functions, the economic function, identity function, and entertainment function have been enhanced, and the marriage and love function has been extended. In the meanwhile, sacrificial function has been weakened. There are some trends in functions. The function of commemorating ancestor and self-entertainment has been changed to entertaining people and economic pursuit.

Keywords: Miao New-Year, Miao nationality, festival function, changes

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Authors: Mona Alzahrani

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Microworld theories can help to define the many influences on female development. In this research, theories together with narratives have been used to discover the reality of children’s gender perceptions in Saudi Arabia. Today, Saudi Arabia is considered a ‘closed and conserved’ society due to tribal, cultural and religious factors. This study focuses on how young girls in Saudi Arabia learn about what is expected of them as females. Cultural beliefs and experiences contribute to children’s notions of identity. Moreover, significant others such as more experienced peers, teachers, parents, and other members of a society can influence a child’s development of knowledge through interactions within their social world. There are dominant influences from the Saudi State. These influences have very strong devices and perceptions of what or how a female should act and be. However, children may have other viewpoints, as it also needs to be considered that the Internet and other media sources could have an influence. Consequently, difficulties could exist for these young children to feel an authentic sense of belonging. The study gathered data using a multi-method approach that elicited the perspectives of the children using ‘multiple modes of expression’ such as observations, story-telling, picture prompt cards, group interviews, drawings and annotations. For this study, prompts and a book was devised, specifically, for use in a Saudi setting. It was found that Saudi young girls in preschool were heteronomous, mainly influenced by culture and society, in their perceptions of female gender and role.

Keywords: Saudi Arabia, pre-school, female, teachers, gender, identity, role

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Authors: Deniz Karagöz

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This study is attempt to comprehend the relationship between the spatial characteristics of cultural structure, activities and the tourism demand in Turkey. The analysis divided into four parts. The first part consisted of a cultural structure and cultural activity (CSCA) index provided by principal component analysis. The analysis determined four distinct dimensions, namely, cultural activity/structure, accessing culture, consumption, and cultural management. The exploratory spatial data analysis employed to determine the spatial models of cultural structure and cultural activities in 81 provinces in Turkey. Global Moran I indices is used to ascertain the cultural activities and the structural clusters. Finally, the relationship between the cultural activities/cultural structure and tourism demand was analyzed. The raw/original data of the study official databases. The data on the cultural structure and activities gathered from the Turkish Statistical Institute and the data related to the tourism demand was provided by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Keywords: cultural activities, cultural structure, spatial characteristics, tourism demand, Turkey

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Authors: Hilmi Yazici

Abstract:

Just after Ottoman period, new more homogenic republic was struggling to form a national identity and dealing with the cultural and historical background of the nation. This new republic had an aim of modernization and westernization which started in the late ottoman period. In this process, the culture was an important basis to form a new nation and it clearly put forward that the new citizens of the new national republic are to have a modern and national culture. The result of this aimed change was to find the Turkish culture suppressed among the common people of the Anatolia and to take the western modernization and breed this with national culture. So in this context, we can say that this approach separated the people from ottoman culture and its roots to empower the national identity. Repeatedly, it may be said that Turkish folkloric music was an important basis for the new revolution, on the other hand classical Turkish music was alienated with the idea that it didn’t belong to Turkish culture. So the aim of this study is to determine how these efforts to nationalize a new identity and culture was successful and conscious intervention to folkloric Turkish music became efficient.

Keywords: opera, nationalism in music, Turkish music

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Authors: Muhammad Shakeel Rehman Hissam

Abstract:

This study aims at analyzing gender in Othello by applying Judith Butler’s Post-Structural theory of gender and gender performance. The analysis of the play provides us context by which we can examine what kinds of effects the drama have on understanding of the researchers regarding gender identity. The study sets out to examine that, is there any evidence or ground in Shakespearean selected work which leads to challenge the patriarchal taken for granted prescribed roles of gender? This would be the focal point in study of Othello that actions and performances of characters determine their gender identity rather than their sexuality. It argues that gender of Shakespearean characters has no constant, fixed and structural impression. On the contrary, they undergo consistent variations in their behavior and performance which impart fluidity and volatility to them. The focal point of the present study is Butler’s prominent work; Gender Trouble: Feminism and subversion of Identity and her post structural theory of Gender performativity as the theoretical underpinning of the text. It analyzes the selected play in Post-Structural gender perspective. The gender-centric plot of the play is riddled with fluidity of gender. The most fascinating aspect of the play is the transformations of genders on the basis of performances by different characters and through these transformations; gender identity is revealed and determined. The study reconstructs the accepted gender norms by challenging the traditional concept of gender that is based on sexual differences of characters.

Keywords: post structural, gender, performativity, socio-cultural gender norms, binaries, Othello, Butler, identity

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Authors: Renzhong Peng, Weiping Wu

Abstract:

Based on the framework of Hofstede’s cultural dimension, this study conducted a comparative study on the similarities and differences between national cultures and corporate cultural values, analyzed and interpreted the reasons why Chinese overseas Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) cultural integration results in the success or failure. The findings of this study indicate that in the process of M&A, the corporate cultural values from Chinese and western corporations are proved to be quite different as a result of their diversities of national cultures, and the strategies for the integration of cultural corporate values are of vital importance and can determine the effects of the M&A, which can be referential to managers who intend to have the idea of M&A and those who have cultural integration in the process of M&A.

Keywords: comparative study, cultural integration, corporate cultural values, Mergers and Acquisitions

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Authors: Eyal Boers

Abstract:

This paper shall demonstrate how films can offer a valuable and innovative approach to the study of images, stereotypes, and national identity. "Black Book" ("Zwartboek", 2006), a World War Two film directed by Paul Verhoeven, tells the story of Rachel Stein, a young Jewish woman who becomes a member of a resistance group in the Netherlands. The main hypothesis in this paper maintains that Rachel's character possesses both features of the Dutch prototype (a white, secular, sexual, freedom-loving individualist who seems "Dutch" enough to be accepted into a Dutch resistance group and even infiltrate the local Nazi headquarters) and features which can be defined as specifically Jewish (a black-haired victim persecuted by the Nazis, transforming herself into a gentile, while remaining loyal to her fellow Jews and ultimately immigrating to Israel and becoming a Hebrew teacher in a Kibbutz). Finally, this paper claims that Rachel's "Dutchness" is symptomatic of Dutch nostalgia in the 21st century for the Jews as "others" who blend into dominant Dutch culture, while Rachel's "Jewish Otherness" reflects a transnational identity – one that is always shifting and traverses cultural and national boundaries. In this sense, a film about Dutch Jews in the Second World War reflects on issues of identity in the 21st Century.

Keywords: Dutch, film, stereotypes, identity

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