National Cultural Characteristics Research Articles

Exploring the characteristics of folk music tunes based on data mining model

Abstract In this paper, during the design process, some sample data are first extracted, and the distance between data is calculated to obtain the symmetric distance matrix along the diagonal. The model mutual information quantity is introduced, and the homogenization factor is detected after weight calculation. Next, analyze the rule weights based on the normalized mutual information quantity and use information entropy to identify abnormal data. Finally, find the minimum set with frequent item set and mine the fuzzy association rules. To verify the feasibility of the model, the results of exploring the characteristics of ethnic music tunes show that the neutral tone color is thin and the ethnic music melody line is soft in tune when the long and short melody lines are 9% and 12%, respectively. The number of strong and weak beats in the beat is 2-7 times, mixed with 2/4 and 3/8 beats alternately, and the musical tune is regular. The third-order interaction of wave amplitude variance is significant, and the two media of CD and phonograph help listeners understand and remember the music. Based on this, the digital model can improve the reproduction effect of folk music and can objectively target the transmission of folk music with national cultural characteristics.

Do environmental scores become multinational corporations' strategic “greenwashing” tool for window‐dressing carbon reduction? A cross‐cultural analysis

AbstractOwing to the urgency of the climate change crisis and the emerging greenwashing issue that companies face, greenwashing in companies' carbon reduction is exceptionally important in the progress of global carbon reduction and the achievement of the Paris Agreement goals. Therefore, this study focused on multinational corporations (MNCs) listed on the 2021 Fortune Global 500 list (2001–2020) and used institutional theory to theoretically discuss and empirically test the relationship between MNCs' environmental scores and carbon emissions/intensity, as well as the moderating effect of national culture. Our results demonstrate that the environmental scores of MNCs positively affect their carbon emissions and intensity, meaning that managers tend to use high scores to hide their poor carbon reduction, showing a typical “talk” more and “act” less (i.e., greenwashing) behavior. Meanwhile, the moderating effects of individualism, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance were negative. These revealed that the balance of MNCs' “talk” and “act” can be influenced by the domestic national cultural characteristics. Further analysis showed that the Paris Agreement did not prevent MNCs' greenwashing in carbon reduction. Such greenwashing behavior has become even worse in societies with power distance characteristics after the Paris Agreement. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate companies' greenwashing in terms of carbon reduction. The goal is to enhance our understanding of why and how greenwashing occurs based on the institutional theory perspective, extend the application of institutional theory, enrich the literature on companies' greenwashing and national culture, and offer insight into interdisciplinary research between national culture and green transition management. Finally, suggestions for policymakers on how to prevent MNCs' greenwashing in carbon reduction, considering national cultural influence, were provided.

Понимание текста как феномен межкультурной коммуникации

The article examines the specifics of understanding a literary text in the aspect of intercultural communication. The purpose of the article is to show national characteristics in strategies for understanding a literary text. The results of an experiment conducted by the counter-text method, developed in the works of A. Novikov, are presented. The material for the experiment was the text “Before Dawn” by M. Prishvin, to each sentence of which respondents had to write down the first reaction that arose in their minds. The experiment involved 20 native speakers of Russian and Chinese, who are students of South Ural State University. Before the start of the experiment, foreign respondents confirmed their knowledge of Russian as a foreign language by passing the standardized test TRKI-1. Analysis of the experiment results showed that in the group of native Russian speakers the most frequent reaction is the PROGNOZ type, which is an assumption about how the text will unfold further. The respondents of this group actively engaged in dialogue with the author, and even argued with him. In the group of native Chinese speakers, the most frequent reaction was GENERALIZATION, which is a reduction of the meaning of a phrase to a more general statement. The identified differences allow us to speak about the existence of understanding strategies determined by the characteristics of national culture, including stereotypes of perception of certain phenomena that have developed during socialization. The article suggests the possible influence of the stereotype ‘Russians are a fighting nation’ on the understanding of M. Prishvin’s text by Chinese respondents. The article concludes that the knowledge, beliefs and expectations of an individual, formed under the influence of their native culture, form the basis for the interpretation of the text they perceive. In conclusion, the conditions for optimizing text understanding in intercultural communication are outlined.

Hani Mushroom House Building Adaptability

The Hani Rice Terraces are a famous World Heritage Site. The mushroom houses in the terraced fields have a unique architectural style and national cultural characteristics. This study focused on four traditional villages with the most obvious characteristics of mushroom houses: Azheke Village, Dayutang Village, Yakou Village, and Dayazi Village. A total of 34 mushroom houses were mapped. The forms of the mushroom houses were classified first, and then, the basic prototype of the building structure of the Hani mushroom houses was extracted for structural modeling. Finally, the structure of the prototype of the mushroom houses under different load conditions was analyzed. The results show that the Hani mushroom house design has a simple structure and good stability, can adapt to the local natural environment, and is the product of the Hani people’s adaptation to the local natural environment.

Эффект колеи, культура и «критические моменты» в институциональной истории

In the article, the path dependence is considered, first of all, as a cultural phenomenon. Culture is understood as a stable, reproducible image of an ideal social order in historical time. It is identified with informal institutions that underlie formal institutions. Culture, on the one hand, is the binding material of historical epochs, and on the other hand, for this reason, it can also act as an institutional trap - an obstacle to modernization. Public opinion polls and toponymy can serve as indicators of national cultural characteristics. In Russia, these include the clear prevalence of positive assessments of the role of Stalin over similar assessments of Gorbachev and the preservation of toponymy of the communist era. The concept of critical junctures can be used both to explain the mechanism for getting on and off the historical track. In the article, it is illustrated by the diverging paths of Lithuania and Belarus in the 20th century. As a result, it is concluded that getting out of path dependence is possible, but requires a rare combination of key events, and therefore is the exception rather than the rule.

Russian and Chinese phraseological units of religious themes with components-numerals five, seven and ten

This article is devoted to the comparative analysis of the numbering phraseological units with a religious component in the Russian and Chinese linguistic cultures. The object of the study is phraseological units of the Russian and Chinese languages of religious themes containing components-numerals five, seven and ten. The subject of the study is the linguistic and national-cultural features of Russian and Chinese phraseological units with a religious component. In order to identify and describe the similarities and differences in the vision of the world peculiar to the Russian and Chinese peoples, such research methods and techniques as linguistic and cultural analysis, comparative method, descriptive method, etymological analysis, etc. were used. The tasks of this article are carried out with the help of linguistic and cultural analysis of some fragments of the national mentality reflected in the mirror of phraseology. The scientific novelty of the work consists in a detailed study of numeral phraseological units with a religious component in two languages. It seems that Russian phraseological units containing components- the numerals seven and ten, mainly carry a connotative meaning, denoting completeness and perfection. In Chinese, phraseological units with the above components have a closer connection with Taoist teaching than with Buddhism and Confucianism. The comparative study of numeral phraseological units in both languages contributes to the penetration into a different cultural reality, the understanding of the ethnocultural specifics of the numerical code associated with the religious sphere.

National and Cultural Features Representations of the Concept of “War” in the Russian and Chuvash language Pictures of the World

The article is devoted to a comparative study of the national and cultural features of the representation of the concept of “war” in the Russian and Chuvash pictures of the world. Based on the material of Russian and Chuvash proverbs and sayings selected from lexicographic and folklore sources, a comprehensive comparative analysis of the concept of “war” at the semantic, pragmatic and culturological levels was conducted for the first time, the features of its verbalization were considered. For the first time, the national-cultural features of the representation of the concept of “war” at the cognitive-discursive level are revealed, which determines the relevance of our research. The analysis made it possible to reveal that the concept of “war” is a universal unit included in the spiritual code of the nation, has a dynamic semantic structure and is multidimensional in its content. As a result of a comparative analysis, it was found that the fundamental values of the moral order in the study of the concept of “war” are the same for both peoples. The speech embodiment of this concept in the Russian and Chuvash language pictures of the world is defined as a process that contradicts the human mind.

A Comparative Study on the Consciousness of the Chinese Nation Community of College Students in the New Era of National Traditional Sports

It is the fundamental intention of ethnic work in the new era to forge the consciousness of the Chinese nation community, and it is the main line of work to maintain the unity and stability of the motherland. The national traditional sports are the “living” soul with national cultural characteristics and national historical factors formed by the ancestors of ethnic minorities in the long history. It has a natural advantage for casting the consciousness of the Chinese nation community of college students. In the development and teaching of traditional ethnic sports in colleges and universities, not only can minority college students enhance the historical identity, spiritual identity and cultural identity of the Chinese nation community consciousness, but also non-minority college students can cultivate the Chinese nation community consciousness and consciously practice its purpose and requirements. In the new era, colleges and universities must give full play to the leading role of colleges and universities, the main role of college students and the guarantee role of the state and society through national traditional sports to strengthen the consciousness of the Chinese national community of college students, so as to inject inexhaustible power into the cause of national unity.

Культурные коды в контексте национальной безопасности

The article analyzes the role of cultural codes in ordering social processes and preserving the integrity and ethno-cultural uniqueness of Russian society. The authors prove that language, symbols and other sign systems, along with traditions, customs and rituals, as well as norms and rules of conduct, constitute a complex of cultural codes of ethnic groups and are the leading characteristics of ethno-cultural identity and national cultures that are used as social mechanisms of spiritual continuity and preservation of the integrity of society.

The soft criteria of competitiveness: A symbiosis of trust and knowledge

The majority of research on competitiveness is based on the analysis of quantitative data. There is significantly less research on the soft elements of competitiveness. This research aims to fill this gap in the literature. Starting from the national culture, the authors investigated the impact of trust characteristics of organisational culture on the characteristics of strategy, knowledge management and organisational effectiveness. Respondents (∑943) from five countries on three continents (USA, China, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania) took part in the quantitative research conducted with a questionnaire survey. The analysis was performed using the SPSS and AMOS 27 programs based on the SEM model. The results show that there is a significant relationship between the examined elements of competitiveness (strategy and management), which also show a significant relationship with organisational trust. Through a culture of trust, the interaction between the elements has a significant impact on the characteristics influencing the efficient operation of the organisation and its competitiveness, regardless of the value of Hofstede’s characteristics of different national cultures.

KULTUROWE UWARUNKOWANIA ZARZĄDZANIA WIEDZĄ W ORGANIZACJACH PUBLICZNYCH

Knowledge and its management are considered, among others, in terms of a process and a system. In the first case it consists not only in gaining and processing knowledge but also in ensuring the development of the subject. On the other hand, the whole of the authorities and administrations responsible for the execution of public tasks, linked by information and remaining in the legally established competence relations, together with the auxiliary apparatus (administrative, staff, organizational) and the necessary infrastructure, constitute the knowledge management system. In both cases, we should talk about a special type of organizations functioning in the public sphere. For the authors, the point of reference for effective knowledge management are the feedback relations based on values and norms located in the organizational culture, affecting the development of its participants in both functional and processual sense, especially in today’s VUCA world. The organizational culture of public organizations determines the system and results of knowledge management. The question addressed in this article is an extension of this issue. It presents the relationship between organizational culture and knowledge management. The conclusions drawn include the following statements: there is no ideal model of organizational culture, adequate to the objectives of knowledge management; organizational culture affects the applied methods of knowledge management; values and norms must result from the knowledge strategy of public organizations; the model of organizational culture implemented in the public sphere must take into account the characteristics of national culture.

LINKING ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS TO HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL DIMENSIONS: AN ANALYSIS OF AFRICAN STUDIES

Numerous institutions have implemented various policies to encourage entrepreneurship as a means of advancing economic development. However, different persons are affected differently by educational programs and entrepreneurship incentives. This study is a review of the literature to analyse the results from various studies on the determinants of entrepreneurial intention in Africa. The determinants of entrepreneurial intention from each country were correlated with Hofstede's national cultural characteristics after an examination of a total of nineteen studies from eight African nations. For entrepreneurial education to be specifically designed to meet diversity, it was important to determine whether one's entrepreneurial aspirations are consistent with their national culture. Findings imply that entrepreneurial intentions are highly influenced by cultural factors. As a result, this study suggests that entrepreneurship education should be specifically tailored to accommodate various ranges of motives. Additionally, it was discovered that although some cultural aspects hindered entrepreneurship, others supported it. People who work in restrictive cultures typically have different drivers of entrepreneurial ambitions than those who operate in supportive cultures. Since culture is immutable, universities' only choice is to adapt their entrepreneurship teaching to different cultural contexts

АНАЛИЗ ПЛАНИРОВОЧНОЙ СТРУКТУРЫ ТЕРРИТОРИЙ МОНАСТЫРЕЙ ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЙ РОССИИ

The article analyzes the layout of the territories of 25 monasteries in the central part of Russia, which were built from 1100 to 1658. This type of landscape and architectural complexes is associated with national cultural and religious characteristics, monasteries often have the status of cultural heritage sites of different levels. The structure, basic layout, area, and location of the complexes are considered. The article includes 25 plans of monasteries and information about their location, area, and time of foundation. It has been established that the elements of the regular planning of territories have been almost completely lost due to the restructuring of the main and auxiliary churches and services.

Социокультурная адаптация к условиям ведомственного вуза и психологические особенности обучения иностранных граждан подготовительного факультета и младших курсов

The authors of the article discuss actual problems of socio-cultural adaptation to the conditions of a departmental university and psychological features of teaching students of the preparatory faculty and junior courses a foreign (Russian) language, taking into account national linguistic and cultural characteristics. The authors describe the features of foreign students condition at the begining stages of their educational activities, offer relevant methods of psychological and educational-methodical work with them.

GENEALOGY AS A FEATURE OF NATIONAL CULTURE

The article analyzes the genealogy, which is recognized as one of the characteristics of the culture of the people. The study considers the recognition of genealogies as historical data, providing information from the pages of history. After all, when analyzing our past history, it becomes clear the role of genealogical data in historical science, the recognition of written data as one of the national values, the role of national history in the recognition of national history. The so-called main indicators of the cultural heritage of genealogies, unique in the history of the development of mankind, and its national character, genres and important versions are determined. When analyzing genealogical names, the shortcomings of genealogists of recent years, and their causes, are also mentioned. However, it is specified that the greatest example of genealogy is spiritual food, as well as important written data. And the analysis is devoted to periods related to genealogy, including the works of the Middle Ages, data reflected in traditional written sources. In short, it is based on the system of genealogy, which is one of the aspects of the steppe culture. The analysis of the topic includes the relationship of historical, logical and national knowledge, widely used in the humanities and philosophical knowledge, the transition from the historical to the abstract to the real. The need for research in terms of branches like history, language, literature, ethnography, etc. connection with this study of genealogy is based on one of the characteristics of national culture.

Native word as the embodiment of the national spirit

In modern society, it is relevant to preserve the cultural-historical identity of Russia and the people’s moral values reflected in the mother tongue. Language plays an important social role since it is viewed as a social phenomenon that reflects the peculiarities of the national character and psychology of each nation as well as the changes taking place in society. The word embodies the national spirit and the national self-awareness of the people. Specific features of national culture, the people’s traditions are manifested in folklore, set expressions, works of art. The paper considers the basics of the content of the school Russian language course (i. e. Russian as a native language) which facilitate learners’ awareness of the native word as a tool for understanding the national picture of the world. The research has identified lexical units contributing to the formation of students’ values-based attitude to their native language and their role in the formation of a linguistic personality. These lexical units include phraseological units, small genres of folklore (riddles, proverbs, and sayings). The paper also characterises the linguocultural concept and the specific features of its analysis to cognize the national picture of the world. Mastering the mother tongue as a cultural phenomenon, schoolchildren conclude that the native language reflects the nature of the historical and intellectual development of society. Moreover, they realise it is the property of all people belonging to this society and a source of the nation’s unity and spirituality.

Трансляция традиционной китайской культуры в философию новой эпохи

The global positive change in public opinion about China has been constantly growing in recent years. However, there is still some misunderstanding of China and the Chinese culture in the world due to ideological and cultural differences. The relevance of the development of theoretical innovations and their application in practice to disseminate traditional culture is an essential moment of state and public life in China. The article represents the natural transmission of traditional Chinese culture, the characteristics of which are clearly reflected within moral civilization and affirmed in the philosophy of a new stage of modern Chinese society development called the ‘New Era’. The importance of traditional spiritual culture of Chinese people in the process of realizing the value of human life towards the development of socialism whereas the Chinese specificity is shown. Historical and retrospective analysis determines the role of the stages of civilization and personalities in the formation of the spiritual values system of the Chinese nation. The semiotic method, as a basic one, is aimed at interpreting the elements of traditional Chinese culture, in particular the symbolic system. The article highlights the main spiritual characteristics and defines the meaning of the traditional Chinese culture in modern culture, defines the specific feature of the concept of ‘cultural gene’ as the Chinese spiritual culture, covering varied and differentiated content and characteristics of the Chinese national culture and defining the difference between the Chinese nation and other ethnic groups in the world. The value of harmonious and unified relations between a man and nature in the Chinese culture is considered using the example of bamboo, a typical traditional symbol that actively transfers traditional cultural information into modern everyday life in China and determines the continuity of the foundations of Chinese moral philosophy. The analysis of the expansion of Chinese cultural symbols to the west is given and the main problems in the work on the popularization of Chinese cultural symbols abroad are identified. The contemporary Chinese culture is represented as an open system that recreates a comprehensive hands-on process that effectively enhances the influence of the Chinese culture.

Thе activity of the Ukrainian intellectuals in Dykanka village at the beginning of the XX century on the development of national culture

Dykanka village in Poltava region is still perceived in mass culture as one of the most famous representations of a traditional Ukrainian village. But by the beginning of the XX century, as a result of the purposeful russification state policy in the Russian Empire, due to the penetration of foreign, quite often distorted elements, the local folklore tradition was significantly transformed. As a result, the Ukrainian spirit of Dikanka residents was gradually leveled off. But thanks to the purposeful activity of the intellectuals, these processes were suspended. During the times of the Russian Empire and the USSR, the role of the intellectuals in the preservation of the national cultural features of Dykanka people was silenced in scientific and popular science works. Currently, there is a significant number of publications (in particular, by Vasyl Sheiko), which, within the framework of the historical and cultural paradigm, describe in detail the role of the intellectuals in the socio-cultural transformations in the Ukrainian lands during the beginning of the XX century. In the conditions of the current situation in the cultural life of the population of Ukraine, the study of the successful historical experience of the formation and development of the national identity of the masses, taking into account the work of culturologists, is extremely relevant.
 The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ways and results of the influence of the intellectuals on the processes of change in the socio-cultural life of Dykanka village in 1905–1917.
 The methodology of the study are the principles of historicism and systematics in combination with historical-comparative and micro-historical methods.
 The results. The article is devoted to the cultural analysis of information on the socio-cultural activities of the intellectuals of Dykanka village (Poltava region) during 1905–1917. The mechanisms of influence of a small but socially active group of residents on the transformation of the national identity of the local masses are shown on the basis, mainly, of newspaper publications of that time.
 The conclusions. By spreading progressive enlightened Ukrainian ideas among the villagers, in particular through the distribution of literature in the Ukrainian language and the demonstration of Ukrainian-language theater performances, they were able to protect the local folklore culture from the ugly imperial invasions, in particular russification. Activities conducted by individual intellectuals (the most active was the teacher, writer and translator Oleksa Dikhtiar) prepared solid ground for the national revival of 1917–1918.
 The scientific novelty: for the first time, a cultural analysis of the national educational activities of individual representatives of the intellectuals of Dykanka village (Poltava region) during 1905–1917 was realized.
 The practical significance: the historical experience of the formation and development of the national identity of the masses can be used in modern socio-cultural activities.

Influence Model Design of National Culture in Shaping the Organisational Management Cultures: The Case between China and the USA

This research topic investigates the inquiry on how national cultures shape the organisational management cultures. Similarities and differences between the national cultures of China and the USA are being scrutinised for the purpose to examine the impacts of such features on the management cultures and strategies of organizations located in these two main world financial centres so as to achieve a majority of data to confirm how national culture relates and assists to shape the organisational management. This research uses the data collection methods of non-governmental organizations, including the invitation of participants or volunteers via social media, working emails, and invitation letters, involving the issues such as designing human rights and privacy. The result has established that high mobilization of culture differences in the USA had a notable positive consequence on companies’ organisational management culture. Alternatively, the Chinese cultures may bring some positive effect to the companies’ culture, but it was only significant to shape management culture influence in their domestic companies, excluding most of the multinational companies. Moreover, the differences in national cultural characteristics will greatly affect each organisation to choose their own management strategies. Raising up for cross-cultural and transnational management will be a huge challenge for organizations to take, especially if countries wish to establish bilateral or trilateral business relations and partnerships.

Ethical decision-making: a culture influenced virtue specific model for multinational corporations

ABSTRACT Multinational corporations face a litany of challenges regarding ethical decision-making as they traverse new variables in each country they operate in. Presented here is a new approach to ethical decision-making research for multinational corporations with the inclusion of moral virtues, national culture, and a feedback mechanism. The new proposed model builds off of the existing work by Trevino’s Person-Situated Interactionist Model. Hofstede’s work on individual national culture characteristics is used to move the conversation forward by explaining the relationships between individual moderators in Trevino’s model and the effect of national culture on them. The new proposed model recommends the inclusion of moral virtues, with honesty and integrity as examples, as individual moderators in the decision-making process based on previous work. It contributes to the literature by introducing moral virtues into traditional ethical decision-making process models and introduces a new variable with a feedback mechanism for future learning. The paper concludes with recommendations for the future direction of research for ethical decision-making models for multinational organizations.