Wooden jewelry design guided by sustainability assessment: Integrating natural and cultural elements

Indonesian are less aware of the function of folklore in the modern era. When examined more deeply, folklore is a manifestation of local cultural values ​​that are not widely known. This is the background for the research of this article which intends to introduce the uniqueness of the Nusantara folklore through an analysis of the eating of cultural symbols. The purpose of this research is to describe and introduce the meaning of cultural symbols in the Nusantara folklore. The method used is literature using semiotic theory. The results obtained in this study are as follows. 1) Folklore is part of a culture, therefore in the structure of folklore found cultural elements represented in the form of symbols. 2) Cultural symbols in folklore cannot be interpreted directly, with a semiotic and cultural approach symbols can be interpreted according to the cultural origin of the folklore. 3) Literature, culture, and art are three things that cannot be separated. Cultural symbols do not only show cultural elements but also provide a moral message and aesthetic side in reading literary works. 4) Folklore can become an identity in culture from that it can be drawn that cultural symbols can show the progress of civilization in a culture. 5) The three folklores of the archipelago that have been studied have their own characteristics. Oheo with the influence of the elements of marriage and social stratification, Kaba Malin Deman with a touch of matrilineality, and Tujuh Bidadari with the influence of religious elements

Blue-and-white porcelain patterns embody rich symbolic meanings and play a pivotal role in the transmission of Chinese intangible cultural heritage. However, their contemporary application often faces challenges due to complex visual forms and contextual interpretations. This study adopts a semiotic perspective to reinterpret blue-and-white porcelain motifs as cultural heritage symbols, aiming to assess their potential for sustainable preservation and modern revitalization. A hybrid evaluation framework is proposed, combining Grey System Theory and the Fuzzy Evaluation Method to quantitatively analyze 40 representative patterns across five key dimensions: cultural symbolism, esthetic value, communicative potential, modern applicability, and sustainability. Data were collected from expert panels, public surveys, and market performance, with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) employed to determine the relative importance of each dimension. The results reveal that plant and geometric patterns exhibit high adaptability and symbolic clarity, making them ideal for reinterpretation in modern design. Conversely, complex narrative and animal-based motifs demonstrate weaker performance in communicative efficiency and sustainability, indicating the need for visual simplification and semantic transformation. This study provides a theoretical and methodological foundation for the revitalization of traditional porcelain heritage in contemporary design practice, contributing to the global dissemination and sustainable development of cultural heritage symbols.

This paper explores the pathways for integrating traditional Chinese cultural elements with new media design in animated films, with a particular focus on the innovative strategies of cultural and creative transformation in Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child. It examines how traditional culture and new media design are combined in the film, analyzing how innovative cultural and design practices provide audiences with a unique cultural experience and promote cultural dissemination. The significance of this research lies in understanding how contemporary design approaches reinterpret and reimagine traditional cultural symbols, thereby contributing to the evolving discourse on cultural heritage and creative innovation in the digital age. The research aims to analyze the new media design elements and cultural symbols in the film, exploring their role in enhancing audience engagement and facilitating cultural dissemination. Specific objectives include identifying the new media design and cultural elements in the film, analyzing their impact on audience emotional resonance and cultural identification, and evaluating their overall effectiveness in cultural dissemination. This study adopts a qualitative research methodology, combining case analysis and audience feedback analysis. The case analysis focuses on the film’s visual language, narrative structure, and the design logic of its cultural symbols, uncovering how traditional culture is integrated with modern design. Audience feedback analysis involves collecting data from social media platforms and conducting in-depth interviews to understand audience perceptions and emotional responses to the cultural elements in the film. The findings reveal that Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child successfully enhances audience emotional engagement and cultural identification through innovative applications of visual effects, narrative themes, and cultural symbols. Notably, the film has sparked cross-cultural dialogue and discussions on a global scale. These results highlight the critical role of new media design in advancing cultural dissemination and offer new practical directions and insights for the cultural and creative industries.

This study explored methods for integrating intangible cultural heritage (ICH) elements into modern furniture design, using Qianci as an example. Through symbolic semantics analysis, the cultural external layers of form, color, craftsmanship, and composition and the cultural internal layers of symbolic meaning, ideology, religious beliefs, and moral ethics of Qianci symbols were interpreted, extracting core design elements suitable for modern furniture design. Based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a hierarchical model was established to integrate intangible cultural heritage symbols with furniture design, quantitatively analyzing the importance of key elements in the design process. The results indicate that cultural symbolism, form design, cultural element integration, decorative patterns, cultural heritage value, and environmental friendliness are key indicators in furniture design. Accordingly, two thematic furniture design proposals were developed and evaluated, confirming the innovative potential and application value of Qianci symbols in modern furniture design. This study provides new perspectives and practical examples for the revitalization of intangible cultural heritage elements and the diversification of furniture design.

This study has comprehensively examined the critical role of cultural symbols in public relations in creating brand identity, connecting with audiences, and executing successful public relations campaigns. Cultural symbols serve not only as visual or symbolic elements when shaping the identity of brands, but also as an important means of establishing emotional and cultural bonds with target audiences. It was also emphasized in the study that these ties create a feeling of trust, belonging and shared values in consumers, thus having the potential to increase brand loyalty. For public relations professionals, the use of cultural symbols is of critical importance in various areas such as crisis management, consumer relations and social responsibility, beyond creating brand identity. Cultural symbols help a brand connect deeply with its target audience and appeal to their emotional world. Brands that communicate in harmony with local culture and traditions gain deeper acceptance within that community. At the same time, cultural symbols contribute to the brand gaining a competitive advantage in the international arena by managing the way it is perceived in local communities and the global market. With the global access opportunities brought by the digital age, the potential of brands to reach a global audience through cultural symbols has increased. However, this also brings with it the requirements of cultural sensitivity and ethical responsibility. It is critical for a brand to be careful when communicating with cultural symbols to avoid potential misunderstandings and avoid situations that could cause a negative reaction among consumers. Symbols used in harmony with local cultural values enable brands to establish strong ties with local communities and receive support from these ties. Additionally, integrating cultural symbols with universal themes increases the ability of brands to exist in global markets and contributes to effective communication at the international level. The effectiveness of cultural symbols is evaluated through criteria such as audience engagement, brand recall and sentiment analysis. Social listening tools and ethnographic research are critical to understanding how cultural symbols are perceived and resonate. Using these tools together provides a solid framework for evaluating the impact of cultural symbols in public relations. Key Words: Cultural Symbols, Public Relations, Local Approaches, Global Approaches, Brand Identity

Sustainability assessments of flood mitigation projects are crucial for achieving sustainable development of floodplains. This article presents the application of an innovative sustainability assessment (SA) framework for flood mitigation projects throughout its life. The research employed a literature review, consultation with experts, and a case study of a flood mitigation project in Australia. The sustainability assessment framework includes five stages: (a) contextualizing the project; (b) SA at the planning and implementation stage; (c) SA during a flood event; (d) SA at regular intervals; and (e) SA during a change or modification phase. The results of the sustainability assessment at the first two stages of the flood mitigation project suggest how the sustainability index (SI) could be used to choose the best design options. Also, the study presents how the achievement toward sustainability of the finally constructed project could be compared with the planned project using the SI score. Sustainability assessment at Stages 3–5, carried out with possible scenarios, demonstrates that the project's sustainability could be hindered by the growing number of vulnerable population and property development in the floodplain without an upgrade of the project. The findings suggest the applicability of the SA framework for better decision‐making for sustainable flood risk management.

Sustainability assessment framework of biomedical scaffolds: Additive manufacturing versus traditional manufacturing

The apocalyptic code of modernist poetry is studied on the example of the poem «The End of the World» by the Ukrainian modernist poet, a native of Lemkivshchyna Bohdan-Ihor Antonych, and a poem of the same name by a German expressionist poet of Jewish origin, a representative of the apocalyptic Aesthetic, socio-critical and eschatological functionalities of the apocalyptic code of modernist poetry are singled out, characteristic verbal practices are analyzed, the connection between lexical-semantic level and the level of poetic semantics is highlighted, mechanisms of formation are revealed, a detailed figurative-semantic, contextual and cultural-historical analysis of apocalyptic themes was carried out, the cultural-reference field of apocalyptic speech of modernism was determined. It is pointed out that expressionism subjects the religious apocalypse to a powerful reinterpretation, on the one hand secularizing the religious aspect, on the other – significantly expanding the field of reference by introducing signs and symbols of other cultures, beliefs, mythologies, and synthesizing a new apocalyptic vision space, does not claim the quality that was decisive for the Christian apocalypse. It is argued that expressionism transforms the apocalypse from eschatological inevitability into a capacious, semantically rich cultural code as a set of symbols and meanings, as well as their combinations, that through language (language of words, image language, language of spatial objects, language of acoustic and visual units) world. The formally and figuratively diverse, substantially, however, homogeneous poetics of apocalyptic visionary work developed in expressionism has been studied. It is established that 1) the apocalypse appeals to the elements, returns the world, in particular the world of figurative speech to the essential - water and fire, the thunder of heavenly heights and the roar of the earth's depths; 2) signs and symbols of culture are superimposed on natural elements, the latter is dynamized, the purpose of which is to calm them down, to involve them in the apocalyptic algorithm; 3) symbols and signs of culture lose the centuries-old stabilizing semantics and return to dull essence. Methods of textual, contextual, functional, poetic, semantic analysis, hermeneutic and poststructuralist methods are used. It is noted that Bohdan Ihor Antonych's «The End of the World» and Jakob van Goddys's «The End of the World» also solve socio-cultural and eschatological functionalities in different ways.

As an ancient cultural element, Dunhuang murals have strong historical and cultural inheritance significance. This study explores the impact of cultural identity on consumers' purchase intention, which has certain theoretical significance and practical value. Theoretically, this research advances the assumptions of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by integrating cultural identity into the model. Based on the existing literature on ancient culture and cultural identity, this study proposes a new research framework to empirically test the relationship between ancient cultural symbols, cultural identity, emotional value, and consumer purchase intention. By analyzing the collected data through structural equation modeling (SEM), the study draws the following conclusions: First, ancient cultural symbols significantly enhance an individual’s sense of cultural identity and emotional value perception, thereby significantly affecting their purchase intention. Second, ancient cultural symbols impact consumers' purchase intention directly and indirectly through cultural identity and emotional value. Cultural identity also impacts consumers' purchase intention directly and indirectly through emotional value. Finally, ancient cultural symbols have a significant positive impact on purchase intention through the chain mediation effect of cultural identity and emotional value. In summary, ancient cultural symbols not only directly enhance cultural identity, emotional value, and purchase intention, but also indirectly affect purchase intention through the intermediary effects of cultural identity and emotional value. The research results provide empirical basis for the use of traditional cultural symbols in product design and marketing strategies. In particular, they provide theoretical support for the marketing strategy of Dunhuang mural casual clothing, which helps to enhance consumers' cultural identity and purchase intention.

The article reflects the results of scientific and philological research, which made it possible to analyze the ways of translating the image of Ukraine in English translations of Ukrainian poetry. Based on the generalization of the research results of scientific sources, the concept of literary translation as a linguistic problem is revealed. A special connection between the artistic image and the linguistic category on the basis of which it is formed is noted. The main requirements for the translation of works of art are highlighted, among them: accuracy, conciseness, clarity and literacy. It has been established that the main difficulty of literary translation is the accurate understanding of lexical units and the relationship between what the author wanted to convey to the reader and what the translator translated. Two aspects of the Ukrainian poetry translation are highlighted: linguocognitive and linguocultural. It is determined that the linguistic and cultural aspect of translation analysis allows to identify the features of reflection in the English poetic translation of the value dominants of Ukrainian ethnoculture based on the comparison of the cultural concept name, symbols of culture and emotional expression, and linguocognitive allows to highlight the features of the concepts system reflection of the Ukrainian author in the figurative system of English translations of his lyrics. The concept and role of the cultural concept UKRAINE in English translations, which is expressed by lexical means of a particular language, are studied. There are four components of the cultural concept: conceptual, value, symbolic and figurative. It is revealed that the elements of imagery and symbolism are structural parts of the cultural concept. It has been found that the translator’s understanding of the author’s system of concepts is a condition for reproducing the image of his country in translation. The symbols of Ukrainian culture in poetic works are analyzed, which are multi-valued subject images that express values and worldviews. The artistic symbol is considered to be one of the types of figurative concept with a multilevel structure of reference and the main aspects of its analysis should include determining the depth of the original symbol and its culturological components. Analysis of the translation of symbols showed that the most commonly used way of reproducing Ukrainian poetic symbolism is tracing, less commonly used methods of transcription, transliteration and equivalent translation. It is determined that the symbolism reproduced in the translation cannot convey all the cultural components and semiological depth, because the associative connections with the place of its origin are interrupted. It causes a symbolic appropriation of the image of Ukraine in the target culture, and at the same time conveys its ethnic uniqueness. The main ways of conveying the image of Ukraine in translations of Ukrainian lyrics are revealed, as a result of which literary translation adapts to the norms of the language of translation and becomes accurate and clear. The following lexical transformations in translation have been singled out: transcription, transliteration, equivalent translation, tracing and contextual substitution method. A comparative analysis of the translation of symbols and images of Ukraine in translations of Ukrainian poetry. Comprehensive research has shown that the most prevalent methods of translation are contextual substitution, equivalent translation and tracing. Thus, the article fulfills all the tasks are fulfilled in the work and it is also determined that the components of symbolism and imagery are a structural part of the concept of UKRAINE in general.

PurposeThe urban population in Indian cities is increasing at an alarming speed. Accommodating such a huge population while sustaining the environment is a challenge in urban areas. Compact urban forms with high-density planning is claimed to be a sustainable solution in such situations. Thus, this approach needs to be tested for Indian urban areas.Design/methodology/approachThis paper formulates a neighbourhood sustainability assessment (NSA) framework for monitoring, assessing and managing the population density of urban neighbourhoods. The paper identifies context-specific built density indicators at the neighbourhood scale. It assesses the indicators in neighbourhoods with varying population density by physical and perceived measures. This helps in verifying the feasibility of density by physical density assessment and verifies the acceptability of density by perceived density assessment.FindingsWhen tested in the Indian context, the framework shows that although high-density neighbourhoods are sustainable, certain indicators may endorse differing densities. The result displays that high-density planning is sustainable compared to low- and medium-density neighbourhoods in the selected cities.Practical implicationsThe study demonstrates the application of formulated assessment system in three central Indian cities with useful results. Similar studies can be conducted to identify the gaps for improving sustainability and achieve a livable density pattern.Originality/valueAlthough sustainable development goals are part of new planning policies, there exist very few assessment systems to determine the sustainability of neighbourhoods, especially for density. The methodology will assist in developing sustainability assessment frameworks and encourage the practice of sustainability assessment in developing countries like India.

Throughout the long history of urban expansion and development, some of the natural mountains, lakes, and rivers that were once located on the outskirts of a city have gradually been encircled within it and have become nature in the urban, i.e., they are now in the heart of the city. These are not only green infrastructure for contemporary cities; they have also accumulated a rich cultural heritage and are closely related to the physical health and subjective well-being of city dwellers. The objectives of this study were: (1) to identify the no-material services that the public perceives from UGSs throughout history that contribute to subjective well-being; (2) to analyze which landscape elements are associated with the provision of such services and then to clarify the value of UGSs throughout history and provide a theoretical basis for urban managers. We returned to the original concept of cultural services (information services) to understand how UGSs throughout history, as information sources, have provided subjective well-being to specific groups of people. And we build a classification system for information services based on this understanding. Based on existing research methods on cultural services, we found that collecting information carriers such as texts, images, and interview transcripts is a more effective way to identifying the intangible services provided by a landscape than monetary methods. From understanding of the information communication process, we attempted to integrate the supply and demand indicators of information services. We validated the feasibility of the method of information service identification using Yuexiu Hill in Guangzhou, which has a construction history of 2000 years, as an example. Through the word frequency statistics of 1063 ancient poems (a type of information carrier), elements of the historical landscape of Yuexiu Hill and the information services provided in the past were identified. After that, semantic networks were constructed to analyze the association between elements and services. The results of this study show that information service identification is an effective method of analyzing the effect of the promotion of UGSs throughout history on the subjective well-being of the public. The provision of information services depends on the accumulation and dissemination of environmental information; both natural and cultural elements, especially symbolic elements, play an important role in this process.

Sustainable development of floodplains is closely linked to sustainable flood mitigation measures. Various sustainability assessment (SA) methods to evaluate the influence of policies, plans or projects aimed towards sustainable development have been emerging in recent years. However, most of them are at the national or regional level. Very few research studies have been carried out for sustainability assessment of flood mitigation projects. This study proposes a new innovative decision support framework for sustainability assessment (SA) of flood mitigation projects throughout the project life cycle, focusing on two main aspects: sustainable flood mitigation by the project, and enabling of sustainable development of the floodplain. This study has employed a review of the life cycle of flood mitigation projects, a review of sustainability assessment methodologies, consultations with experts and case studies involving two flood mitigation projects in Queensland, Australia. Conforming to the project life cycle, the decision support framework for sustainability assessment of flood mitigation projects is developed incorporating five stages: 1) contextualizing the project with regard to floodplain sustainability, 2) SA during planning and implementation for integrating sustainability issues in the project, 3) SA during a flood event to assess the sustainability performance of the project 4) SA at periodic intervals, and 5) SA at the stage of modification or changing to a new project. The framework has adopted a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) approach using sustainability criteria and indicators to determine the sustainability index for the project. The process of selecting indicators, defining the weightages and scores for indicators, and determining a sustainability index for various stages of the project has been described in this thesis. The application of the SA framework to the first two stages of the two case study flood levee projects demonstrates how the best suitable alternative levee option can be chosen in the planning stage by determining a sustainability index (SI) of the possible alternatives using a set of sustainability indicators. The study also shows achievement towards sustainability of the finally implemented project can be compared with the originally planned project using the SA framework. The application of the SA framework suggests the potential for better decision making for individual flood mitigation projects, taking into account the sustainable outcomes of the project as well as linking these to sustainable regional development. The outcome of this study will enhance decision making for sustainability of flood mitigation projects. Adapting the framework to projects in other development sectors is also envisaged.

In the digital age, social media has become an essential platform for self-expression and cultural identity, particularly among Generation Z in China. This study explores how Chinese Gen Z individuals utilize cultural symbols in their social media profile pictures to convey their cultural identities. Through in-depth interviews with 48 participants aged 13 to 28, the research identifies a diverse range of cultural elements, including traditional motifs and modern pop culture symbols, that reflect their cultural heritage and contemporary influences. The findings reveal that profile pictures serve not only as personal representations but also as tools for social connection and cultural expression. Participants often blend traditional and modern elements, showcasing a dynamic understanding of their cultural identities shaped by globalization and digital interactions. This research contributes to the existing literature on social media and cultural identity by highlighting the significance of profile pictures in the identity construction process of Chinese Gen Z, emphasizing the interplay between cultural heritage and modernity in their self-presentation. The study concludes by suggesting avenues for future research on cultural identity in the context of rapidly evolving social media landscapes.

Maintaining high utilization rates of transmission lines is significant to the economic operation of power grid. For large-scale transmission network, it can be divided into several smaller areas. This paper studies the overall efficiencies of different areas and figures out the relatively inefficient area that deserves more attention in the further reconstruction of the whole network. Based on entropy weight method(EWM), this paper uses the utilization rates of transmission lines in the same area to calculate the comprehensive utilization rate(CUR) of area. This rate reflects the holistic efficiency of the area. Gray comprehensive relational analysis method(GCRAM) is adopted to compare and analyze CURs of different areas, and then the area with relatively lowest efficiency is determined, which can provide assistant information and decision-making guidance for the planning, construction and operation of power grid.