Cultural Homogeneity Research Articles

The Rise of British Cultural Identity in Othello by Shakespeare

The rise of British cultural identity in Othello by Shakespeare stands as a special message to the non-native. It was a patriotic address Shakespeare intended for people who were not British and inhabited England of Queen Elizabeth the 1 st . The paper analysesthe foul and rude treatment of Elizabethan ways on the part of the people Shakespeare and the British community willingly accepted, then integrated into their society as an ordinal citizen. At the top of outraged British people, the preoccupation of Shakespeare with the issue of the rise of British cultural identity was illustrative than ever in his play. His hope and craving for a multi-cultural British society culminated in the societal project. The project was meant to campaign for the rise and promotion of a cultural identity typical of British ways and customs. In a word, the implementation of the societal project of the playwright would certainly allow British cultural identity to go up in value within the ongoing globalised world inclined to cultural homogenization of identities.

Migrations or local interactions? Spheres of interaction in third-millennium BC Central Europe—ERRATUM

Increasing scholarly interest in past human mobility has provoked intense debate between archaeologists and archaeogeneticists. Explanations advanced by the latter have been criticised for framing explanations in terms of large-scale migrations, lacking underpinning social theory or interest in human behaviour; conversely, archaeologists have been criticised for supplying samples but no intellectual input. This article uses examples of ceramics and chipped stone tools to illustrate local interactions within regional Eneolithic Corded Ware culture in Moravia, demonstrating that what may appear as a homogeneous archaeological culture spread by mass migration can be understood as a more complex series of overlapping, local cultural changes.

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE OF THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD IN THE WESTERN FOOTHILLS OF THE ZAGROS MOUNTAINS: NEW EVIDENCE FROM THE SAR POL-E ZAHĀB REGION, IRAN-IRAQ BORDERLAND

A recent survey in the western foothills of the Zagros Mountains has located five new Neolithic sites. We present here the occupational features and finds of this period in the Sar Pol-e Zahāb region, along with an interpretation of their distribution and associated settlement patterns. Our research indicates that the visible distribution of Neolithic sites is highly influenced by geomorphological factors. All sites are located on natural outcrops or on the edge of alluvial plains. Many others have certainly been buried beneath layers of later sedimentation. All of the sites identified by our survey are small and of modest elevation, with cultural remains, particularly ceramics, similar to Neolithic sites such as Guran and Sarāb in the central Zagros region and Jarmo and Tamarkhan in Mesopotamia. Based on the ceramic evidence and the location of the region, between the central Zagros mountains on the east and Mesopotamia on the west, we suggest that this vast area maintained an integrated ceramic tradition, which suggests an overall cultural homogeneity of these areas during the seventh and early sixth millennia B.C. In other words, these recent discoveries indicate that similarities in Neolithic material culture in the Māhidasht, Kermanshāh and Hulailan plains with material culture of regions in Mesopotamia are not accidental or random but indicative of a large coherent zone with unique ceramic and cultural traditions (the patterned ceramic tradition of Sarāb-Jarmo), extending from Iraqi Kurdistan east into the central Zagros range. Regarding the lack of eighth and seventh millennium B.C. sites in the northern reaches of the Iranian part of the Zagros range, we may consider the pathway of Sar Pol-e Zahāb a primary route for transporting obsidian to upland areas of the central Zagros. This also suggests a lasting network of cross-regional communications, since archaeological discoveries prove this pathway was the main node connecting these two cultural regions for a long period of time.

Liberalism for Dark Times: Judith Shklar Versus Populist Constituencies

ABSTRACT The ability of political institutions, actors, and theorists to understand and engage the ‘populist’ challenge may very well be a matter of survival for liberal democracy. Political theory has spanned the range of approaches to this challenge: from chastising, to disciplining, to glorifying. This paper aims at disentangling the economic and social grievances of many populist constituents from the nationalistic and xenophobic rhetoric that often accompanies them, and suggests that Judith Shklar’s rearticulation of liberalism embraces the first while rejecting the second. I argue that three aspects of Shklar’s work make her liberalism different and potentially more responsive to the pleas of populist voters. First, her approach to politics and political theory centres on experiences of injustice, humiliation, fear, and cruelty, which she sees as enabled by strong, existing asymmetries of power. Second, Shklar was extremely attentive to the affective dimension of politics. Third, she was not consumed by matters of justification, but more interested in advocating for and from the margins in order to bring about a more inclusive political agon. Yet Shklar was also critical of populist dreams of cultural homogeneity and strong leadership, resisting citizenship as a privilege to be wielded against minorities or discriminated groups.

SCHOOL - A TOOL OF CONSOLIDATION

In modern conditions of the world economy's monopolization, sanctions, the flow of external migration of the labor force is an urgent problem of the necessity at the state level to preserve the cohesion and unity of the multiethnic Russian society. The article examines the historical development of Russia, where the school as a social institution performs not only an educational function but also the role of consolidating the multiethnic composition of the state. Russian language and culture fulfill this role through the school. Russian is historically considered as the language of integration of nations who have passed their ethnoge- nesis on the territory of Russia, their spiritual and cultural rapprochement with the Russians by the method of N. I. Ilminsky while preserving the native languages of students. Performing the function of consolidation, the Russian language acted as an integrator of nations, not their assimilator, as evidenced by statistics on the actual existence of more than 230 languages and dialects of nations. The article notes that in Russian politics before the reconstruction period, the school, performing a conso-lidating function, was a tool for leveling the ethnic characteristics of students, through unitary language training, forming national-Russian bilingualism. The analysis of scientific sources shows that such conditions before the reconstruction period led to objective facts not manifestations of interethnic conflicts. Also, during the entire Soviet period, literary languages were created and developed, and dialects were preserved to some extent, but, unfortunately, the functions of native languages were narrowed in social spheres. Describing the post-soviet period, cultural and linguistic diversity is noted, which is a significant source of social conflicts and political discussions. Under these conditions, cultural and linguistic state homogeneity becomes a subject of dissatisfaction in the public life of speakers of minority languages. The problem arises as to how to guarantee the participation of each language group in the life of a multilingual society with their socio-cultural integration, without violating international human rights legislation.

The causes of welfare state expansion in democratic middle‐income countries: A literature review

AbstractThis article reviews the literature on the causes of welfare state expansion in democratic middle‐income countries across the Global South since the 2000s. After discussing challenges to measuring welfare state change, the article reviews research in political science and sociology and discusses nine potential causes of recent welfare state expansion, namely (a) economic development, (b) fiscal capacity, (c) democracy, (d) partisan ideology, (e) labour unions, (f) social mobilization, (g) cultural homogeneity, (h) institutional architecture, as well as (i) welfare rights and norms. The review thus reveals that recent welfare state expansion in democratic middle‐income countries has been driven by a similar set of causes as post‐war welfare state expansion in the Global North. The pronounced expansion of non‐contributory social policies has, in some contrast, also been characterized by more bipartisan and transnational political dynamics. The article concludes by outlining avenues for future research and by calling for more scholarly attention to the consolidation and testing of existing theories.

Intra-cultural variation among tourists of the same cultural background – does it matter?

ABSTRACT This paper advances the notion that macro-level sociological factors outweigh micro-level social psychological variables in shaping perceptions of place; an idea based on the earlier work of Burns and Dietz (on cultural evolution) who concluded that the realities of daily lifestyles significantly inform the transfer of ‘social rules’. The proposition that cultural homogeneity is amended by the context of daily reality is examined by analysing the responses of 12 tourism industry professionals and 85 visitors of Chinese ethnicity visiting Macau. These visitors came from Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan. It is proposed that the different social, economic and political structures outweigh a common cultural structure based on Confucian values, leading to difference in perceptions of Macau. The data were derived from interviews, and suggest that cultural similarities are of less importance than the socio-economic-political frameworks of the visitor originating zones.

Chineseness as a moving target

Abstract The Chinese are one of the earliest established immigrant communities in the Netherlands and they are part of the new ‘superdiversity’ of metropolitan societies around the world, where the relative clarity of previous migration patterns is overlaid by vastly more complex, multilayered and less stable trajectories of movement. Understanding globalization as superdiversity (i.e. as a diversification of diversity instead of a homogenization of global culture in local language and culture practices), this paper aims to disentangle the complexities of being and knowing Chinese in the Netherlands, with respect to internal diversities within Chineseness and its relation to changing Chinese language ideologies. The empirical starting point for this contribution is an ethnographic project among young people of Chinese heritage living in the Netherlands in and around the setting of a complementary Chinese language school in the city of Eindhoven. The paper focuses on the polycentricity of Chinese, the transformations that occur in the linguistic culinary landscape and the discursive identity construction of Chinese-Dutch youth. Using a multi-site ethnographic methodology data are collected through structured observations, interviews with Chinese community members, linguistic landscaping and online ethnography. Overall, the paper argues that an ongoing shift along with demographic, economic and political changes in China has altered migration patterns, language ideologies and linguistic landscapes in the Chinese diaspora in the Netherlands. Young people of Chinese heritage articulate a whole repertoire of inhabited and ascribed identities, and they do so by means of a complex display and deployment of the ensemble of linguistic and communicative resources at their disposal.

Islamophobia, Chinese Style: Total Internment of Uyghur Muslims by the People's Republic of China

Since 2016 the mistreatment of Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim minority living in their homeland in northwest China, by the People's Republic of China has been taken to extreme levels. Uyghurs now are clearly victims of genocidal policies through internment of all types. The total internment of Uyghurs involves physical, psychological and virtual internments. In this article, I discuss the issue in three parts, namely internment camps for Uyghurs, urban internment and virtual internment. While all of them have both physical and psychological aspects, the last two are based on an Orwelian use of surveillance technologies for the purpose of large-scale persecution and suppression of Uyghurs with the intention of achieving a China with one homogenous culture. The total internment which is currently being carried out has two main motives: Islamophobia and the crucial geo-strategical position of the Uyghur homeland.

“How About Some Collaboration?”: Micro-Level Barriers to Democratic, Evidence-Based Decision Making

Abstract This case study of Elkhorn City, Kentucky, a community in conflict over economic development and the legalization of alcohol sales, reflects some of the dysfunctional political dynamics that currently threaten liberal democracies regionally, nationally, and globally. In spite of the area’s many natural and cultural assets, demographic homogeneity, and broad areas of commonality and agreement, this community has found it difficult to create a more diverse, just, and regenerative economy as the region’s coal industry has declined. By applying concepts from the social constructivist and critical theory perspectives, the authors illuminate micro-level obstacles to democratic deliberation and evidence-based decision making, two factors that are necessary to create a more just and regenerative economy. As such, the article contributes to a long history of Appalachian studies scholarship that focuses on the democratic deficit and social trust and justice in Central Appalachia.

Intestinal Organoid Cultures: Intestinal Organoid Culture in Polymer Film‐Based Microwell Arrays (Adv. Biosys. 10/2020)

In article number 2000126, Stefan Giselbrecht and co-workers present a novel method to culture intestinal organoids inside polymer film-based microwell arrays under matrix-free conditions. This platform promotes the controlled and more homogeneous culture of organoids for extended periods and facilitates in situ monitoring and high quality imaging.

A Comparative Study on the Chauvinism of Nationalist Discourse in Selected Poems by Mahmoud Darwish, Maya Angelou and Rudyard Kipling

Poststructuralists, such as Foucault, conceived discourse as "a form of power that circulates in the social field and can attach to strategies of domination as well as those of resistance" (Diamond & Quinby, 1988, p. 185). Discourse denotes a system of thought through which knowledge is produced, truth is constructed and maintained, and power relations are redefined. The current article examines the nationalist discourse disseminated and adopted in selected poems by the Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish, African American writer Maya Angelou and British writer Rudyard Kipling. Nationalist discourse, the article argues, usually revives the sense of resistance, self-esteem and pride in the subaltern groups of the colonized and the oppressed but breeds a quest for expansion and domination in the colonizer. It holds overt and covert chauvinistic implications that necessarily deepen interracial conflicts. The chauvinistic aspects associated with the poems include an emphasis on the hierarchy of races, race-based division of the world's continents, and homogeneity of races and cultures. The comparisons the article makes proceed from the essential representation of self and other and the subsequent feelings of disrespect, distrust and fear that characterize the attitudes and perspectives of people identifying with different cultures and homelands. The article questions the dominant narratives underlying national identity in colonial and anti-colonial contexts. It further questions the monolithic concept of home, which nationalists advance to fuel colonial expansion or anti-colonial resistance. The article finds that racial and cultural chauvinism lies at the core of the nationalist discourse the selected poems reproduce.

Culturing Rat Sympathetic Neurons from Embryonic Superior Cervical Ganglia for Morphological and Proteomic Analysis.

Sympathetic neurons from the embryonic rat superior cervical ganglia (SCG) have been used as an in vitro model system for peripheral neurons to study axonal growth, axonal trafficking, synaptogenesis, dendritic growth, dendritic plasticity and nerve-target interactions in co-culture systems. This protocol describes the isolation and dissociation of neurons from the superior cervical ganglia of E21 rat embryos, followed by the preparation and maintenance of pure neuronal cultures in serum-free medium. Since neurons do not adhere to uncoated plastic, neurons will be cultured on either 12 mm glass coverslips or 6-well plates coated with poly-D-lysine. Following treatment with an antimitotic agent (Ara-C, cytosine β-D-arabinofuranoside), this protocol generates healthy neuronal cultures with less than 5% non-neuronal cells, which can be maintained for over a month in vitro. Although embryonic rat SCG neurons are multipolar with 5-8 dendrites in vivo; under serum-free conditions, these neurons extend only a single axon in culture and continue to be unipolar for the duration of the culture. However, these neurons can be induced to extend dendrites in the presence of basement membrane extract, bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), or 10% fetal calf serum. These homogenous neuronal cultures can be used for immunocytochemical staining and for biochemical studies. This paper also describes optimized protocol for immunocytochemical staining for microtubule associated protein-2 (MAP-2) in these neurons and for the preparation of neuronal extracts for mass spectrometry.

Буддизм и политика во Внутренней Азии

Introduction. The article focuses on the history of Tibetan Buddhism in Inner Asia. Goal. It analyzes the main peculiarities of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and the turning points of its history in the context of contradictions between Inner Asian polities, the Russian and Qing empires. Materials and Methods. The paper is based on the fundamental historical works dealing with Inner Asia. The methodology applied is determined by the understanding of Tibetan-Mongolian Buddhism as a cultural unity within which regional traditions share similar institutional forms. Results and Conclusions. The paper notes a peculiar feature of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition is the personality cult of the Teacher worshipped as an ‘incarnate’ Buddha ― tulku (Tib. sprul-sku); model of relationship between the latter and secular powers expressed by the concept of choyon (Tib. mcho-yon ‘lama-patron’); theocratic form of government manifested by the formula ‘unity of religion and politics’ (Tib. chos-sridzung-‘brel). A crucial milestone in the history of Inner Asia was the emergence of the Qing and Russian empires. The destruction of the Dzungar Khanate and delimitation of borders between China and Russia led that Inner Asia no longer existed as a cluster of struggling polities, and the subsequent historical era completely transformed the place and role of the Mongols and Tibetans in the region. The main stream policy of both the states towards Buddhism and its communities was decentralization and fragmentation, on the one hand, and patronage, on the other. This, along with efforts of Buddhists proper, resulted in that by the early 20th century Inner Asia was housing immense spaces of Tibetan Buddhism with religious centers in Lhasa, Beijing, and Urga. Despite the Buddhist tradition was not united structurally, it was still distinguished by cultural homogeneity based on the spiritual authority of the Gelug sect and the latter’s hierarchs — Dalai Lamas, Panchen Lamas and Jebtsundamba Khutukhtus, similar monastic educational systems, institution of incarnate lamas, classical Tibetan language and Buddhist Canon, Vajrayana cult system.

Seeing the human in everyone: Multicultural experiences predict more positive intergroup attitudes and humanitarian helping through identification with all humanity

Prior research suggests two components of multicultural experiences—contact with cultural members and experiences with cultural elements—predict less prejudice via stronger identification with all humanity (IWAH). However, only one factor of IWAH (bond) was tested, and only United States samples were used. The present research examined both factors of IWAH (bond with, and concern for, all humanity) and used a nationally representative sample from Poland (N = 974), a more ethnically homogeneous and collectivist culture. We explored the association between multicultural experiences and negative intergroup attitudes (measured via fear of refugees, Islamophobia, and ethnocentrism) and humanitarian helping, and also tested the mediating role of both factors of IWAH on these attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. Results largely replicate and extend prior findings, revealing contact with cultural members directly predicted stronger bond with and concern for all humanity, and less negative intergroup attitudes toward “others” (but not humanitarian helping). In contrast, experiences with cultural elements directly predicted stronger concern for all humanity (but not bond) and greater humanitarian helping (but not intergroup attitudes). Bond with all humanity mediated the association between contact with cultural members and less negative intergroup attitudes, while concern for all humanity mediated the association between both components of multicultural experiences and greater humanitarian helping. Findings support the benefits of multicultural experiences and their association with stronger IWAH and more positive intergroup outcomes beyond the United States, and also indicate unique roles for the IWAH bond and concern factors. Cultural differences, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Effects of Succinic Acid Supplementation on Stable Cell Line Growth, Aggregation, and IgG and IgA Production.

Immunoglobulin (Ig) G is the most commonly used therapeutic antibodies. Recently, the interest in IgA antibodies to treat respiratory infectious diseases has been increasing. The reason for the inefficient use of IgA is recombinant antibody aggregation in cell culture, affecting the longevity and productivity of cell lines. Lactate is an important metabolite that affects the cultivation of stable cell lines producing monoclonal antibodies. In the present study, we investigated whether different combinations of succinic acid and micro-additives affect lactate production, which correlates with productivity. The effect of succinic acid substitution on productivity of cells producing IgG/IgA was analyzed using the static culture method in a six-well plate. Lactate was measured in supernatant of cell culture indirectly by using the activity of Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH).A low lactate level was observed in cultivation medium supplemented with succinic acid or asparagine combined with some inorganic salts. The results also demonstrated the effect of component supplementation on homogeneity, longevity, and productivity of cell culture. Supplementation of succinic acid eliminated cell aggregation and improved homogeneity of stable cell lines producing IgG and, especially, IgA. Overall, succinic acid supplementation to the culture medium has potential biotechnological applications in the production IgG and IgA.

Migrations or local interactions? Spheres of interaction in third-millennium BC Central Europe

Increasing scholarly interest in past human mobility has provoked intense debate between archaeologists and archaeogeneticists. Explanations advanced by the latter have been criticised for framing explanations in terms of large-scale migrations, lacking underpinning social theory or interest in human behaviour; conversely, archaeologists have been criticised for supplying samples but no intellectual input. This article uses examples of ceramics and chipped stone tools to illustrate local interactions within regional Eneolithic Corded Ware culture in Moravia, demonstrating that what may appear as a homogeneous archaeological culture spread by mass migration can be understood as a more complex series of overlapping, local cultural changes.

Crosstalk between cardiomyocytes and noncardiomyocytes is essential to prevent cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by proteasome inhibition

Heart is a multi-cellular organ made up of various cell types interacting with each other. Cardiomyocytes may benefit or suffer from crosstalk with noncardiomyocytes in response to diverse kinds of cardiac stresses. Proteasome dysfunction is a common cardiac stress which causes cardiac proteotoxicity and contributes to cardiac diseases such as heart failure and myocardial infarction. The role of crosstalk between cardiomyocytes and noncardiomyocytes in defense of cardiac proteotoxicity remains unknown. Here, we report a cardiomyocyte-specific survival upon proteasome inhibition in a heterogeneous culture consisting of cardiomyocytes and other three major cardiac cell types. Conversely, cardiomyocyte apoptosis is remarkably induced by proteasome inhibition in a homogeneous culture consisting of a majority of cardiomyocytes, demonstrating an indispensable role of noncardiomyocytes in the prevention of cardiomyocyte apoptosis resulting from proteasome inhibition. We further show that cardiomyocytes express brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) as an extracellular molecule in response to proteasome inhibition. Blockade of BNP receptor on noncardiomyocytes significantly exacerbated the cardiomyocyte apoptosis, indicating a paracrine function of cardiomyocyte-released extracellular BNP in activation of a protective feedback from noncardiomyocytes. Finally, we demonstrate that proteasome inhibition-activated transcriptional up-regulation of BNP in cardiomyocytes was associated with the dissociation of repressor element 1 silencing transcription factor (REST)/ histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) repressor complex from BNP gene promoter. Consistently, the induction of BNP could be further augmented by the treatment of HDAC inhibitors. We conclude that the crosstalk between cardiomyocytes and noncardiomyocytes plays a crucial role in the protection of cardiomyocytes from proteotoxicity stress, and identify cardiomyocyte-released BNP as a novel paracrine signaling molecule mediating this crosstalk. These findings provide new insights into the key regulators and cardioprotective mechanism in proteasome dysfunction-related cardiac diseases.

Quality, requisite imagination and resilience: Managing risk and uncertainty in construction

Measuring and determining the risks of rework is critical for determining the reliability of construction and ensuring peoples safety. In this paper we aim to addresses the following question: “How can we anticipate and mitigate the consequences of rework in construction?” We adopted a sense-making approach to tackle this question and in doing so acquired knowledge and an understanding of managerial practices and conditions that contributed to rework in a leading construction organization. Using non-conformances as a measure of quality we analyzed 9088 events that required rework in 210 projects to determine its costs and identify those subcontract trades where it was most prevalent. To garner an understanding of the conditions that hindered the organizations ability to ‘anticipate’ the presence and ‘respond’ to the occurrence of rework in its projects, we conducted a series of interviews and found three issues contributing to this situation: (1) the absence of a homogenous culture; (2) a misalignment of strategy; and (3) organizational amnesia. We develop a novel framework to manage the risk and uncertainty of rework based on the concepts of requisite imagination and resilience. The developed framework can be applied not only to construction, but also form part of an integrated preventative maintenance policy to manage an asset's quality during its operations.

From Human Pluripotent Stem Cells to 3D Cardiac Microtissues: Progress, Applications and Challenges.

The knowledge acquired throughout the years concerning the in vivo regulation of cardiac development has promoted the establishment of directed differentiation protocols to obtain cardiomyocytes (CMs) and other cardiac cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), which play a crucial role in the function and homeostasis of the heart. Among other developments in the field, the transition from homogeneous cultures of CMs to more complex multicellular cardiac microtissues (MTs) has increased the potential of these models for studying cardiac disorders in vitro and for clinically relevant applications such as drug screening and cardiotoxicity tests. This review addresses the state of the art of the generation of different cardiac cells from hPSCs and the impact of transitioning CM differentiation from 2D culture to a 3D environment. Additionally, current methods that may be employed to generate 3D cardiac MTs are reviewed and, finally, the adoption of these models for in vitro applications and their adaptation to medium- to high-throughput screening settings are also highlighted.