Cultural Connections Research Articles

Borderland Realities: Decoding the Socioeconomic and Political Complexities of the Indo-Myanmar Border

This paper examines the complex dynamics of the Indo-Myanmar border regions through an array of lenses, including historical ties, economic interdependence, political relations, security concerns, and social impacts. A recent geopolitical event, the military coup in Myanmar in 2021, and the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the economic survival of the borderland populace have been integrated into the study in a novel way. This study employs a multi-disciplinary approach to examine the transformation of historical and cultural connections into intricate economic and social systems. These systems are influenced by the interplay of local communities and national policies, such as India's "Look East Policy" and "Act East Policy" initiatives. It critiques these policies for failing to deliver on their economic pledges and highlights security vulnerabilities. It contends that the region's complexity necessitates multidimensional interventions and argues that any resolution must be collaboratively orchestrated at both the local and international levels. It persuasively argues for a nuanced approach that respects the distinctive attributes of cultural coexistence while addressing the geopolitical exigencies that compromise the stability and livelihood of border communities.

Border closure and border governance dialectics in Nigeria

ABSTRACT Nigeria has 86 legal access points and over 1400 illicit ones, indicating some of the world's most porous borders. Numerous transnational crimes flourish along Nigeria's borders with other neighbouring countries due to the border's porosity. The government of Nigeria resolved in August 2019 to restrict its roughly 4,500-kilometre land borders with the republics of Niger, Cameroun, Chad, and Benin to reduce cross-border crimes. The government reopened the borders precisely three years later, in August 2022, acknowledging that, despite the benefits of the strategy, Nigeria's borders inherently porous. We investigate Nigeria’s border closure and the debate it has produced in border governance using dominant qualitative method comprising secondary and primary data sources. We contend that the reason Nigeria's border closure strategy has failed is not that the borders are porous but rather that border communities view the borders as merely physical boundaries that do not obstruct cross-border exchanges because these communities cherish their transnational social, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic connections. We recommend the government of Nigeria embrace a liberal rather than a realist stance on borders to address long-time challenges with border security governance between Nigeria and its neighbours.

Association between gene methylation and experiences of historical trauma in Alaska Native peoples

BackgroundHistorical trauma experienced by Indigenous peoples of North America is correlated with health disparities and is hypothesized to be associated with DNA methylation. Massive group traumas such as genocide, loss of land and foodways, and forced conversion to Western lifeways may be embodied and affect individuals, families, communities, cultures, and health. This study approaches research with Alaska Native people using a community-engaged approach designed to create mutually-beneficial partnerships, including intentional relationship development, capacity building, and sample and data care.MethodsA total of 117 Alaska Native individuals from two regions of Alaska joined the research study. Participants completed surveys on cultural identification, historical trauma (historical loss scale and historical loss associated symptoms scale), and general wellbeing. Participants provided a blood sample which was used to assess DNA methylation with the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC array.ResultsWe report an association between historical loss associated symptoms and DNA methylation at five CpG sites, evidencing the embodiment of historical trauma. We further report an association between cultural identification and general wellbeing, complementing evidence from oral narratives and additional studies that multiple aspects of cultural connection may buffer the effects of and/or aid in the healing process from historical trauma.ConclusionA community-engaged approach emphasizes balanced partnerships between communities and researchers. Here, this approach helps better understand embodiment of historical trauma in Alaska Native peoples. This analysis reveals links between the historical trauma response and DNA methylation. Indigenous communities have been stigmatized for public health issues instead caused by systemic inequalities, social disparities, and discrimination, and we argue that the social determinants of health model in Alaska Native peoples must include the vast impact of historical trauma and ongoing colonial violence.

Place-Making, Identity, and Service Learning Among First-Year College Students

Place-making is the set of social, political and material processes by which people create and recreate experienced geographies. In the case of immigrant experience, the physical space provides an environment in which memories, traditions, and evolution of identity can occur. In this case study, I examine the results of a service-learning project with first-year Honors students in a public, regional university. In the course design, community-engaged activities, and assignments, I shaped the experiences of the students as if they were translocals and the college campus were the receiving community. Although not explicitly detailed to the students, their project was framed as an immigrant community that had the opportunity to transform space for the betterment of both groups. The assignment -- to improve access and quality of the campus food pantry -- created new socio-spatial relationships and enabled the student to remain connected to places left behind while forging new place ties. As they explored the data about food insecurity among college students, institutional structure, and interacted with diverse groups on campus, they formed new social and cultural connections, resulting in a hybrid identity and a sense of agency in their new community.

Rubens’ landscapes and the Dutch Republic

Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) is generally regarded as the painter of the Counter-Reformation and the embodiment of Flemish Baroque. Since the founding of the Belgian state in 1830, he and his art have been increasingly appropriated as a point of reference for the cultural identity of Flanders. Art was also appropriated in the formation of the national identity of the Kingdom of the Netherlands – in particular the depiction of nature and landscape that had become a speciality of many painters in the northern provinces. But Rubens too was admired by his contemporaries for his landscapes, and in the Dutch Republic they were held in high esteem. For his part, Rubens can be shown to have followed closely developments in landscape painting on the Northern side of the border. Despite the difficult political situation, there was also an ongoing exchange between North and South, even during the Eighty Years’ War. Rubens bought and owned Dutch pictures, and added human and animal figures to landscapes of his Dutch colleagues. He took a general interest in such pictures as an incentive to paint landscapes himself, which, reproduced in prints, became well-known in the Dutch Republic. In terms of landscape art, not only can a lively exchange of images and ideas be demonstrated, but it can also be shown that the existing differences were not understood as an expression of different political or religious contexts. The example of Rubens and his landscapes shows the value of a change of perspective to focus not on the differences between Flemish and Dutch art, but on cultural cross-border connections.

Constructions of Cosmopolitanism in the Making of Welsh Writing in English

This paper argues that the politics of Brexit has created a particular challenge for intellectuals in Wales because although for the most part they have been interested in forging cultural connections with Europe and the rest of the world, they were forced to accept in June 2016 that not only a majority of British voters decided to leave the European Union, but also that a majority of Welsh voters had done so, so that there was a disconnect between Wales's intellectuals and its population as a whole. Going on from here the paper argues that establishing diversity, cosmopolitanism and interculturalism as typical aspects of Welsh culture, which has long been practised by Welsh intellectuals and writers, has more recently been taken up as part of the process by which Brexit was symbolically challenged within Wales. A key component of this commitment to a form of cultural politics that is both nationalist and also politically progressive in Wales has been its literature, which through various material means has been constructed and framed along these lines. Focusing first on specialist book series, then on  literary festivals, thirdly on sites of literary tourism in Wales and finally on literary prizes the paper explores ways in which qualities of cosmopolitanism and interculturalism have been embedded in that literature and hence in the wider culture. In turn, it suggests that establishing these characteristics as intrinsic features of the national culture has provided Welsh intellectuals with some means of overcoming the gap between the intelligentsia and the wider population created by Brexit and so enabling a reconnection between them.

Hokkien Chinese diaspora visitors’ image construction of their ancestral hometown: the role of the tourist gaze

ABSTRACT This study examines how diaspora tourists’ secondary and primary image of their ancestral home is constructed and how the tourist gaze is implied within. The study focuses on the Hokkien Chinese diaspora travelling to their ancestral hometown of Quanzhou, China. 58 foreign-born Hokkien Chinese participants were interviewed. A thematic analysis of the transcripts revealed the significant influence of the collective and romantic gaze in forming both secondary and primary images of Quanzhou. Visiting Quanzhou emerges as a strategy for survival, maintaining cultural connectivity and fostering transnational mobility. The significance of homecoming visits organised by families and diaspora organisations as catalysts for cultural, educational, social, and business mobility are discussed, highlighting the importance of incorporating the diaspora's transnational experiences into heritage tourism studies. Insights into how the Hokkien Chinese diaspora’s cultural heritage and transnational connections to their host communities in Quanzhou are essential in constructing the diasporic destination image are provided.

Haudenosaunee Culture and Identity: Promoting Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had devastating effects on Indigenous communities worldwide. However, communities continued in various ways to preserve cultural connections and practice land and family-based activities central to health and well-being. This study was a collaborative effort between a university, a community agency, and a Haudenosaunee community to explore how culture and identity promoted mental health during the pandemic. A cultural program, Firekeepers, was delivered to promote and maintain connections and wellness. Semi-structured interviews with 19 community member participants focused on how knowing about your culture and identity helps you be mentally healthy. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, and six themes were identified. Results add to the growing literature on the health restoring and affirming effects of culturally based belonging and participation in Indigenous cultural communities.

How do kinship and foster caregivers differ in their conceptualization of family connectedness?

BackgroundIn out-of-home care in Australia and internationally, there is an increasing preference to place children in kinship than foster care placements as it is assumed that kinship care promotes caregiver, family, and cultural connectedness. However, little research has examined whether and how the quality of these connections differ between kinship and foster care. ObjectiveWe utilized qualitative methodology to provide a richer, strengths-based exploration of caregivers' perspectives on the caregiver-child relationship and other connections (i.e., family, culture) in kinship compared to foster care. Participants and settingSixty-six kinship (N = 31) and foster (N = 35) caregivers of 8- to 16-year-olds in Australia. MethodsKinship and foster caregivers provided Five-Minute Speech Samples about their child and the caregiver-child relationship. Thematic analysis was used to explore the ways caregivers described family relationships and connectedness. ResultsResults highlighted the value caregivers place on strong attachment relationships with their children and the skills that help them develop a safe haven for children. Caregiver groups also differed in their discussions of commitment to the child and family and cultural connectedness, with kinship caregivers more likely to emphasize the strengths and challenges of birth family relations and the importance of cultural connectedness than foster caregivers. ConclusionsOur findings highlight the ways in which kinship and foster caregivers emphasize different aspects of family and cultural connectedness which can be used to inform policy and practice in an area currently lacking evidence.

Accounting for Indigenous cultural connections to land: insights from two Indigenous groups of Australia

PurposeThis paper aims to present the findings of a government-initiated project that sought to explore the possibility of incorporating cultural connections to land within the federal national accounting system using the United Nations Systems of Environmental-Economic Accounting (UN-SEEA) framework as a basis.Design/methodology/approachAdopting a critical dialogic approach and responding to the calls for critical accountants to engage with stakeholders, the authors worked with two Indigenous groups of Australia to develop a system of accounts that incorporates their cultural connections to “Country”. The two groups were clans from the Mungguy Country in the Kakadu region of Northern Territory and the Ewamian Aboriginal Corporation of Northern Queensland. Conducting two-day workshops on separate occasions with both groups, the authors attempted to meld the Indigenous worldviews with the worldviews embodied within national accounting systems and the UN-SEEA framework.FindingsThe models developed highlight significant differences between the ontological foundations of Indigenous and Western-worldviews and the authors reflect on the tensions created between these competing worldviews. The authors also offer pragmatic solutions that could be implemented by the Indigenous Traditional Owners and the government in terms of developing such an accounting system that incorporates connections to Country.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to providing a contemporary case study of engagement with Indigenous peoples in the co-development of a system of accounting for and by Indigenous peoples; it also contributes to the ongoing debate on bridging the divide between critique and praxis; and finally, the paper delves into an area that is largely unexplored within accounting research which is national accounting.

Garihma (to Care for)

Garihma (to Care for)

The aesthetics of Gannan Hakka architecture in modern housing: A design psychology perspective

The rapid acceleration of societal change has subjected contemporary individuals to prolonged periods of diverse pressures, leading to substantial psychological strain, resulting in anxiety, depression, and compromised mental well-being. Within this context, the home has evolved into a vital refuge for modern individuals, offering both physical and psychological respite. Through experimental intervention, this study examines two distinct residential groups: those adhering to traditional housing and those residing in characteristic folk houses, specifically Gannan Hakka architecture. Analysing the psychological state of contemporary individuals and integrating Gannan Hakka architectural elements into folk house design through a psychologically informed approach, this research aims to enhance residents’ aesthetic experiences and alleviate psychological distress. The study involved 120 volunteers with varying psychological stress levels, categorised into characteristic and traditional folk house groups. Psychological assessments evaluated stress, self-efficacy, and quality of life. Findings reveal significantly improved psychological well-being, self-efficacy, and quality of life among the characteristic residential group, affirming the benefits of Gannan Hakka architecture integration. This research underscores the importance of addressing modern individuals’ environmental needs and proposes the integration of Gannan Hakka cultural elements into residential design to enhance well-being.Contribution: This study demonstrates the application of Hakka culture in contemporary housing profoundly influences residents’ lives, enabling both relaxation and a deeper cultural connection. This integration facilitates a comprehensive understanding of Hakka culture, promoting its preservation. Notably recognised for hospitality and diligence, Hakka culture enhances individuals’ appreciation of tradition, fostering physical and mental rejuvenation. These findings offer valuable insights for practical theology scholars and practitioners exploring the impact of religious aspects on modern residential design from a psychological perspective.

Stories of the Indian descendants as revolutionaries in Vietnam

This paper focuses on the Indian descendants who are acknowledged in mainstream records as contributors to national and democratic revolutionaries. Relying on archival documents and ethnographic notes collected from the author’s research at National Archival Centre II, the Archive Centre of Ho Chi Minh city People’s Committee, and at the Indian temples and mosques in Ho Chi Minh city in the years from 2013 to 2014, this paper constructs narratives of the Indians’ personal experience about Vietnamese revolutionaries. Rather than aiming at a comprehensive description of these Indian individuals with heroic details, this paper includes fragments of their life stories, which are diverse and temporary, as collected largely from the author’s ethnographic research and sometimes from journalistic and administrative writings. The way of telling specific and particular experiences of the Indian descendants supporting Vietnamese nation-building is significant in bringing up vivid and particular portrayals of this population. That potentially forms lively, immediate indicators of historical and cultural connections between India and Vietnam.

A 36,200-year-old carving from Grotte des Gorges, Amange, Jura, France

The earliest European carvings, made of mammoth ivory, depict animals, humans, and anthropomorphs. They are found at Early Aurignacian sites of the Swabian Jura in Germany. Despite the wide geographical spread of the Aurignacian across Europe, these carvings have no contemporaneous counterparts. Here, we document a small, intriguing object, that sheds light on this uniqueness. Found at the Grotte des Gorges (Jura, France), in a layer sandwiched between Aurignacian contexts and dated to c. 36.2 ka, the object bears traces of anthropogenic modifications indicating intentional carving. Microtomographic, microscopic, three-dimensional roughness and residues analyses reveal the carving is a fragment of a large ammonite, which was modified to represent a caniformia head decorated with notches and probably transported for long time in a container stained with ochre. While achieving Swabian Jura-like miniaturization, the Grotte des Gorges specimen displays original features, indicating the craftsman emulated ivory carvings while introducing significant technical, thematic, and stylistic innovations. This finding suggests a low degree of cultural connectivity between Early Aurignacian hunter-gatherer groups in the production of their symbolic material culture. The pattern conforms to the existence of cultural boundaries limiting the transmission of symbolic practices while leaving space for the emergence of original regional expressions.

Evaluation of factors affecting entrepreneurship: a case of Indian women in the handicraft industry

In the current scenario, the level of interest is increasing in female entrepreneurship in the handicraft sector worldwide. So the primary purpose of this study is to discover the different constructs that influence women entrepreneurs in India as learner students or after completion of their degree, either skill degree or professional degree. Female entrepreneurship is an important feature of economic progress, particularly in developing nations, since it provides opportunities for innovation, cultural and traditional connectivity, job creation, poverty reduction, socio-economic growth, etc. However, despite its significance, this study has garnered little attention in the entrepreneurship literature. For this research, we used Survey research and convenience sampling. For data analysis, AMOS 25 software was used; where needed, we used an Excel sheet for table formation. At the same time, traditional cultural constraints have tended to study Indian women’s participation in handicraft entrepreneurship. It has been seen that most Indian female entrepreneurs are successful in their businesses. These females are engaged in banking, manufacturing, food and beverage, electronic, textile, and small industries. However, the Indian government is trying to motivate female entrepreneurs in the handicraft industry, but there is less number of women entrepreneurship in these sectors due to many factors. Just a handful has benefited through initiative, especially in the handicraft industry. Furthermore, only a few research articles have focused on the effect of essential elements. The research provides an Entrepreneurship Event Model, a Theory of Planned Behaviour, and an integrated model of the theory, which is evaluated using data from some Indian Institutions focused on entrepreneurship.

American Indian Perspectives on Culturally Aligning a Digital Smoking Cessation Resource.

Innovative smoking cessation approaches that overcome barriers such as traveling to program site or that require the staff and infrastructure for sustaining are likely needed to improve smoking quit rates among American Indian (AI) peoples in the United States. In this study, qualitative methods identified recommendations from AI peoples to guide alignment of an evidence-based smoking cessation smartphone app (i.e., QuitGuide) to the culture and needs of AI persons. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with AI adults who smoke (n = 40) and with public health professionals (n = 6). Questions included: "The app asks if something triggered you to slip and lists several options. What options were you expecting to see on this list?" as well as how to make the app more engaging such as "What would make the app more helpful for AI peoples, like you, who want to quit smoking?." Constant comparative techniques were used to develop codes and themes. Loss, grief, and not accessing traditional tobacco were put forward as smoking triggers to be addressed in the app. Features that help users connect with and learn about AI cultures and promote healing, such as encouraging traditional tobacco use, being in community, embracing Native spirituality, and participating in cultural crafting were recommended. Some noted the need to motivate AI peoples to think about legacy and ability to care for younger generations and Indigenizing the app with Native imagery. Themes pointed towards promotion of strengths-based factors, such as healing, cultural connectedness and traditional tobacco use, in the app. Results will be used to culturally align a smartphone app for smoking cessation among AI peoples and may be insightful for other tribal, federal, and state public health efforts aimed at advancing health equity for AI peoples.

HAUNTING THE PSYCHE OF MALAYALI: THE TRADITION OF HORROR IN MALAYALAM CINEMA

Malayalam Cinema is well known for its making of exceptional horror films along with great films in other genres. It is quite interesting that Malayalam Cinema has had a tradition of horror from the beginning. The tradition of horror in Malayalam Cinema starts with A. Vincent’s Bhargavinilayam, released in the year 1964. It is notable that Malayalam Cinema attempted the genre of horror even in its early period.This paper tries to examine how Malayalam cinema deals with horror and thereby creates a say in the culture of Kerala. Interestingly, the culture of Kerala has contributed a lot to the making of Malayalam horror films and it in turn helped in shaping the culture too. So, horror in Malayalam cinema is an area that needs discussion and analysis.The exciting part of the study is that Malayalam Cinema has varied versions of horror. As Kerala is enriched with folklore and stories that engagingly instill horror, it is not surprising that Malayalam films have a say in the horror tradition. Not only that but also, Malayalam Cinema owns different kinds of horror films, each one linked with various cultures that exist/existed in Kerala. The study explores various types of horror films made in Malayalam. The paper also aims to examine the cultural connection that each type holds. Feminist Film theories and psychoanalytic theories provide the foundation for the study.

Plutarch and Cultural Connectivity (on C. Giroux, ed., Plutarch: Cultural Practice in a Connected World)

Plutarch and Cultural Connectivity (on C. Giroux, ed., Plutarch: Cultural Practice in a Connected World)

Factors Affecting the Selection of Survival Strategies for the Urban Poor: A Case Study of Residents of Disfunctional Tissues in Torbat-e Jam

Introduction: Urban poor use many initiatives to survive before they reach a real dead end in life and pose fundamental risks to themselves and the host community. There is a variety of strategies used by poor households in Iran and the world with different consequences depending on the type and extent of use. Method: This descriptive and analytical study has investigated the factors affecting the selection of survival strategies among residents of disfunctional urban tissues (marginal section). Due to the nature of the subject, the data were obtained in two ways, including qualitative (sample size of 30 households) and quantitative (survey of 300 households living in this area). The collected data were analyzed qualitatively based on the content analysis (according to Brown and Clark’S framework) and quantitatively in the form of logistic regression. Findings: The results showed that although the number of households that choose risky strategies is small, around 10%, the same number is very important and fundamental considering the border situation of the city in question and its cultural and social conditions. Quantitative investigations also show that households with little social capital are twice as likely to choose high-risk strategies as those who use social capital. Discussion: The development of social capital among the poor not only prevents them from remaining in this cycle but also helps them consider strategies that have the least social, family, and individual consequences even if they enter the cycle of poverty. To strengthen social capital, it is necessary to form cultural associations and connections among the inhabitants of disfunctional urban contexts.

Autism and bilingualism: A thematic analysis of practitioner perspectives in the United Kingdom.

At least 25% of autistic children worldwide have the potential to grow up in a bilingual environment. However, many autistic children are being denied opportunities to access additional languages and the cultural, familial and community connections that come with this. There is little evidence identifying the barriers to language learning and access, and no research addressing the perspectives of speech and language therapists (SLTs), who are crucial in supporting parents to make informed choices about bilingualism with their child. The aim of this research was to understand the experiences of SLTs working with autistic bilingual children, to understand the main considerations when working with families, and the opportunities and barriers for training, including the sources of information that current practice is based on. Twelve SLTs from across the United Kingdom were recruited for this study. All participants were experienced in working with autistic bilingual children and their families (M = 7 years, range 4-23 years). Semi-structured interviews were conducted and focused on the experiences of SLTs regarding familial bilingual experiences, the effect of sociocultural factors of practice, and the extent to which practice is based on current research. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three central themes were identified from the interviews: (1) participants discussed parental uncertainties as to whether they were doing the right thing for their child, (2) while participants were in support of bilingualism, they were not always confident that they were providing the right advice and found it difficult to in keep up to date with relevant, evidence-based research, and (3) participants highlighted a need to shift towards a more inclusive and culturally diverse practice. This is the first qualitative study to understand the perspectives of SLTs working with autistic bilingual children. We identify several key difficulties in supporting access to language learning, and these findings have immediate and longer-term implications for supporting SLTs, and in turn, the children and families they support. What is already known on the subject Research suggests that autistic children currently have fewer opportunities to maintain bilingualism compared to neurotypical peers. Despite the lack of evidence, many families remain concerned that bilingualism will have a negative impact on their child's development. To date, little is known about the perspectives of speech and language therapists (SLTs) who play a significant role in supporting the development of autistic bilingual children. This is the first study to provide an in-depth qualitative analysis of the experiences of SLTs working with autistic bilingual children and their families in the United Kingdom. What this study adds The results highlight a number of reoccurring barriers in providing optimal support: first, frequently cited concerns about bilingualism from parents that link to a lack of understanding about autism and the role of SLTs more generally. Second, SLTs do not have confidence in the assessments and tools available and described a lack of emphasis on cultural factors in practice. Many SLTs were concerned about the limited options for resources and interventions available in other languages, which could be challenging for parents who were less proficient or confident communicating in English. Third, SLTs reported having limited opportunities to keep up to date with relevant research to support their decision-making processes. What are the clinical implications of this work? These results have several important implications for practice-they highlight the need for more inclusive practices where possible, a need for more diversity within the profession and further opportunities to be provided with evidence-based advice around good practice. The results also suggest a benefit of providing accessible, evidence-based resources for parents about autism and bilingualism, to ensure that research key findings are reaching families.