Cultural Institutions Research Articles

Cultural Institutions of Transnistria in the Spectrum of Ethno-Cultural Policy of the Republic

Cultural Institutions of Transnistria in the Spectrum of Ethno-Cultural Policy of the Republic

Enablers and constraints to teacher educator wellbeing amidst institutional accountability cultures: a PERMA perspective

AbstractThe work of contemporary teacher educators in university contexts is under increasing political and public scrutiny as the focus on Initial Teacher Education (ITE) reform intensifies. Consequently, there are growing concerns for teacher educators’ wellbeing amidst escalating expectations and pressures. While research has explored the wellbeing of university academics more generally, less is understood about teacher educators more specifically. This paper aims to deepen understanding of the perceived enablers and constraints influencing how teacher educators experience wellbeing within their everyday work as academics in higher education contexts. Using metalogue as method, nine teacher educators from two Australian universities collectively reflected on their wellbeing during an online focus group session guided by an arts-based activity. Framed by the key constructs of the PERMA wellbeing framework, the ensuing metalogue was analysed thematically. Findings highlighted the particular importance they place on feeling a sense of value, purpose, and meaning in their work as educators for their wellbeing. Findings further showed how the impact of current external reform-driven accountabilities on their work and that of educators in the profession more broadly constrain their wellbeing. These findings have implications for institutional leaders and teacher educators in Australia and internationally where academics are experiencing performative cultures.

Ethnicity, disadvantage and pregnancy outcomes in the UK

Inequalities in maternal and perinatal outcomes related to ethnicity and socioeconomic deprivation are widening. Being of Black and Asian ethnicity independently increases the risk of maternal mortality and severe morbidity, as does living in the most deprived areas. Since a higher proportion of women of Asian and Black ethnicity live in the most deprived areas, this effect is compounded. Individual risks, such as obesity, are influenced by health and cultural beliefs and behaviour, social networks and norms, the environments in which we live, and access to and experience of healthcare, which are all intertwined with ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Clinicians can listen to women's and communities needs around ethnicity, race, and social determinants of health. Clinicians can also identify and use networks of community support and promote awareness within their practice and teams. Institutions can employ and retain diverse teams, measure health equity of services and develop an anti-discriminatory institutional culture.

ASPIRE for excellence in student engagement: Examples of how institutions operationalize a complex construct

Student engagement is a key contributor to educational programme quality. It is a complex construct often defined with the focus on student behaviors. However, a broader, more organizational approach takes into account the institutional context and how this can be structured to encourage and support students’ willingness and ability to become engaged. This paper includes suggestions for a student engagement system using key elements recognized in the literature and concrete examples from medical schools that achieved recognition in the ASPIRE-to-Excellence student engagement initiative. The examples from the ASPIRE participants demonstrate that the presence of certain key features creates a mutually beneficial collaborative approach between students and their institutions. This includes opportunities for students to formally engage in four domains touching on the breadth of student life, including institutional governance and policy-making, educational programme development and evaluation, participation in activities in the academic community, and participation in local community and international outreach. Based on an in-depth review of the information from three medical schools that recently received an ASPIRE-to-Excellence award in student engagement, it was possible to identify certain specific practices that individually and taken together allow an institution to demonstrate excellence in this complex construct. As an overarching concept, it was clear that student participation in each of these domain areas benefitted from a supportive institutional culture characterized by specific formal attributes and activities. Examples included codifying student involvement in governance through institutional policies; maximizing communication routes among students and between students and school administrators and faculty; and formalizing a participatory environment through missions statements or strategic plans. For programme planning, a helpful conceptualization is that a successful student engagement programme occurs when change is championed by all stakeholders within an institution and the organization supports a collaborative culture that includes students as active participants and partners.

Learning to think: Deterritorialization in Mona Lisa Smile and Dead Poets Society

Mona Lisa Smile (2003) and Dead Poets Society (1989) are two American films that made audiences across the globe reflect their learning paradigms. A rhizomatic educational ambiance helps to transform students from a state of stasis into dynamic individuals as it deterritorializes them from indoctrination by arborescent principles put forth by the ideological apparatuses of family, educational, and cultural institutions to an individual space where they can define themselves. This research paper attempts to look at Mona Lisa Smile and Dead Poets Society as visual texts that attempted to comment upon the rigidities that existed in America during the ‘Fifties’. The conclusion provides a comparison of the learning outcomes in the two sets of learners in the films selected and describes the reasons why students in Mona Lisa Smile metamorphosize into dynamic individuals committed to a definite career path.

Chemo-mechanical ageing of paper: effect of acidity, moisture and micro-structural features

A multi-scale modeling framework is proposed for the prediction of the chemo-mechanical degradation of paper, with the particular aim of uncovering the key factors affecting the degradation process. Paper is represented as a two-dimensional, periodic repetition of a fibrous network unit cell, where the fibers are characterized by a moisture-dependent chemo-hygro-mechanical constitutive behavior. The degradation of paper occurs primarily as a result of the hydrolysis of cellulose, which causes a reduction of the degree of polymerization and a consequent decrease of the effective mechanical properties, ultimately leading to fiber embrittlement and a loss of material integrity. The interplay between the acidity of the paper, the ambient environmental conditions, and its chemo-mechanical degradation behaviour is a complex process. In the model, these interactions are accounted for by determining the coupled temporal evolution of the degree of polymerization, the acidity of the paper, and the moisture content, from which the time-dependent tensile strength of the paper is calculated. The internal stresses developing in the fibrous network under a change in moisture content lead to brittle fiber fracture once they reach the fiber tensile strength. The successive breakage of individual fibers results in damage development in the fibrous network, altering its effective constitutive properties. The temporal evolution of the effective hygro-mechanical properties of the fibrous network is calculated by employing asymptotic homogenization. For obtaining accurate model input, the strength and stiffness properties of individual fibers and the degree of polymerization of paper samples are measured at different ageing times by carrying out dedicated experiments. Subsequently, a series of numerical simulations is performed to analyze the chemo-mechanical degradation process of paper, highlighting the influence of the time-evolving acidity and moisture content. The numerical study further considers the effects of micro-structural features (i.e., the anisotropy of the fibrous network orientation and the fiber longitudinal elastic modulus) on the macroscopic degradation response of paper. The results of this work may help conservators of cultural heritage institutions determining optimal environmental conditions to limit or delay the time-dependent degradation of valuable historical paper artefacts.

NUOVA POESIA ITALIANA DAL 1980 A OGGI. NEW ITALIAN POETRY FROM 1980 TO THE PRESENT DAY. МOSCOW, 2023. 295 P

In 2023, a unique non-commercial edition was published in Moscow by the Italian Institute of Culture: the most extensive bilingual anthology of Italian poetry of the recent period. The book includes selections by 17 poets, and their performances could be heard during the Italian Culture Week in May 2021, held at the Rudomino Library of Foreign Literature. The book includes selections of texts published in 1985-2022 in translations by E. Solonovich, V. Kazartseva and the staff of the Institute of Italian Culture. The foreword by D. Rizzi, Director of the IIC, gives a holistic view of the book and the process of its creation. The article by the influential Italian scholar A. Afribo Traits and Faces of New Italian Poetry (translated by A. Yampolskaya) helps the reader to navigate the variety of poetic voices presented.

Revival of the bhadra man in Rituparno Ghosh’s Unishe April and Dahan

Rituparno Ghosh’s cinematization of Unishe April (1994) and Dahan (1997) is a systemic triad interrogative feminist narrative of a case of sexual and non-sexual violence, the gendered spatial politics of Calcutta and the performativity of Bengali masculinity. The present study delves into the nuanced portrayal of the bhadralok masculinities in the cinematic texts of Rituparno Ghosh’s Unishe April (1994) and Dahan (1997). This research paper aims to articulate the relationship of Bengali bhadralok masculinity and the scattered hegemonies of socio-cultural structures of domination and patriarchal systems operating on multiple levels in the Bengali context. The bhadralok politics of the yesteryears was built on a collusion with the colonial system and espoused a broad spectrum of ideologies, including nationalism, liberalism, and humanism. Scholarly writings on Rituparno Ghosh have documented gender politics with an implicit focus on the feminine and queer subjectivity. The arguments of the present paper depart from the idea that masculinity is a genderless and a reified construct. Through a specific focus on masculinity and the masculine ideology’s nexus with gender social structuring, the present paper questions the invisibilization of masculine power, privilege, and performance. The bhadralok masculinity, though seemingly progressive and egalitarian, the embodiment preserves the patriarchal status quo of unequal gender relationships. Through an interrogation of the intersections of the changing bhadralok masculinities and its complex nexus with the changing social and cultural institutions across time and space, the study asserts that the cultured and sophisticated bhadralok gendered order is a failed political reconfiguration of masculinity.

Filling the void: arts and culture institutions as socio-political actors in East Jerusalem

ABSTRACT Scholars have explored arts and culture institutions from various perspectives, including gentrification, activism, and economic development. Studies have also demonstrated how arts and culture initiatives are often at the center of conflicts concerning a city’s identity. In an ethno-nationally divided city, the already conflictual role of arts and culture is further exacerbated by national-level politics. However, so far academic literature has neglected this aspect. Our research investigates the nexus of arts, culture, and political engagement in East Jerusalem, exploring how stakeholders in the field of arts and culture perceive their approaches and strategies as political actors in a highly contested urban space. We employ a qualitative research design that builds on a case study methodology and includes in-depth interviews and ethnographic observations, complemented by a print and social media review. Our findings suggest that in contested urban environments such as East Jerusalem, arts and culture institutions cannot uphold a purely aesthetic approach or escape political questions. Nevertheless, urban and civic engagement is understood differently by various stakeholders, on a spectrum from “artistic” to “political.” Findings from this research could facilitate an examination of the role played by arts and culture institutions in other politically charged, ethnically and religiously diverse cities.

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Multipronged Approach to the Repression of Kurds

Since the establishment of the modern Iranian nation-state in 1923, successive regimes and governments of Iran have pursued an intricate policy of suppressing and persecuting its Kurdish people, presenting a significant threat to the Kurdish national identity, culture, and society. The successive Iranian regimes have, along with military means, employed the state’s cultural, educational, religious, and economic institutions to accomplish their goals of assimilating and conquering the Kurds. An examination of Kurdish history and politics in Iran reveals that while the international community has some knowledge of the Iranian state’s extensive deployment of military force and explicit militarization of Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat/East Kurdistan), the broader psychological and nonmilitary (soft power) practices employed to suppress the Kurdish movement, identity, and culture are lesser known to the outside world. By focusing on mass media and policies of “divide-and-rule” as measures and mechanisms used by the Iranian state to subdue its Kurdish citizens, this article aims to provide an analysis of the post-1979 state-Kurdish relationships in Iran.

Green Human Resource Management Practices and Environment Sustainability: From Empirical Evidence

Green human resource management, if well designed and implemented, is undeniably one of the avenues that is envisaged to contribute towards the actualization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper set out to interrogate the extant literature on Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) Practices and their nexus to environmental sustainability. One of the emerging issues within business communities is the campaign of going green (GG). GHRM is a drive which helps to create a green workforce that can understand and appreciate green culture in businesses and institutions. It is paramount to note that human resource and their systems are the basic foundation of any business. It is a fact that the human resource function in an organization is responsible for planning and executing those eco-friendly policies to create a green environment. The study was mainly a desktop, where a review and synthesis of the existing empirical literature was undertaken. The main sources of the data and information for purposes of this paper were largely relevant reports, journals and books. Past writings indicate that there is a growing need for the integration of environmental management into Human Resource Management (HRM) research practice. This article pursues an integrated view of the literature on Green HRM. It examines and interrogates the current empirical literature in the area of green human resource management with a view to pointing out and synthesizing the gray areas and suggesting a way forward towards enriching knowledge and practice in the area of green human resource management. Finally, the paper suggests some key HR initiatives towards creating and nurturing GHRM practices and behaviour for environmental sustainability. This article draws together the extant literature in this area in suggesting managerial implications and research direction in GHRM. Hence, the papers demystifies the debate and discussion on GHRM and suggests new fronts that requires research focus.

Candidate Minimum on Scientific Specialty 5.10.4 “Library Science, Bibliography and Book Science”: Issues of Theoretical Design and Practical Implementation

The paper is devoted to the problems of improving the system of training and expertise of scientific personnel in the field of library and information sciences. The relevance is due to the decrease in the quality of dissertation research in library science, bibliography and book studies due to the insufficient readiness of young scientific personnel for research activities. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the competence–based approach as the methodological basis for the theoretical design of candidate exam programs and to offer practical tools appropriate for assessing the level of readiness of applicants for the degree of Candidate of Sciences for scientific work in the specialty 5.10.4 – Library Science, bibliography and book studies. The definition of the candidate’s exam in line with the competence approach is given, a system of competence guidelines in the training of graduate students on the specialty 5.10.4 is formed. The control and measuring materials of the candidate’s examination in the specialty 5.10.4, developed and implemented at the Moscow State Institute of Culture, are presented. They are ready for implementation into educational and expert practices of other universities and scientific organizations.

The Impact of Higher Education Institution Culture on Teachers' Job Satisfaction

A community of a higher education institution (HEI) is an important link in ensuring the quality of the entire organisation. The majority of its staff, i.e. teachers in particular, play the key role. It is therefore very important to find out whether teachers are satisfied with their work. In order to clarify the factors affecting job satisfaction of teaching staff, this article analyses the literature that has contributed to the understanding of job satisfaction as a complex construct, which is most influenced by the culture of the HEI. The second part of the article examines the attitudes of teaching staff at the Faculty of Arts and Creative Technologies of Vilniaus Kolegija/ Higher Education Institution (VIKO) towards the impact of HEI culture on their job satisfaction. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, as this method provides information rich in interpretation and a high degree of realism. This qualitative study assumed that social reality is created by its participants, with personal involvement in interpreting the views of the survey participants, exploring individual cases, phenomenon of the meaning created by individuals, and other internal phenomena. The research strategy is based on a phenomenological approach. The interviews were conducted in a way that ensured the ethics of the research and adherence to its principles. The following ethical principles were taken into account in the context of this study: confidentiality and anonymity, the principle of fairness, the principle of respect for personal privacy. The interviews were conducted until the data became full and the information obtained became repetitive. The study involved 9 teachers working at the Faculty of Arts and Creative Technologies of the study programmes of Fashion Design, Image Design, Fashion Technology and Business, Popular Music, Musical Theatre, Management of Cultural Activities and Dance Pedagogy. The analysis of the study revealed that the respondents are satisfied with their work, the psychological climate of the Faculty, the relationships based on support and assistance, mutual cooperation and collegial support, the working conditions at the Faculty, the opportunities for professional development and the improvement of competences, they feel a sense of pride in being a member of the VIKO community and identify the values declared by VIKO as their priority values.

Shifting paradigms: A collective and structural strategy for addressing healthcare inequity.

Healthcare inequity is a persistent systemic problem, yet many solutions have historically focused on "debiasing" individuals. Individualistic strategies fit within a competency-based medical education and assessment paradigm, whereby professional values of social accountability, patient safety, and healthcare equity are linked to an individual clinician's competence. Unfortunately, efforts to realise the conceptual linkages between medical education curricula and goals to improve healthcare equity fail to address the institutional values, policies, and practices that enable structural racism. In this article, we explore alternative approaches that target collective and structural causes of health inequity. We first describe the structural basis of healthcare inequity by identifying the ways in which institutional culture, power and privilege erode patient-centred care and contribute to epistemic injustice. We then outline some reasons that stereotypes, which are a culturally supported foundation for discrimination, bias and racism in healthcare, cannot be modified effectively through individualistic strategies or education curricula. Finally, we propose a model that centres shared values for leadership by individuals and institutions with consistency in goal setting, knowledge translation, and talent development. Figure 1 summarises the key recommendations. We have provided cases to supplement this work and facilitate discussion about the model's application to practice.

Employee motivation and professional burnout as impacts of organizational culture on medical institutions

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of organizational culture of medical institutions on employee motivation and professional burnout, with occupation (i.e. doctor, nurse and administration employee) being a moderator. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative method (survey) was used for this study in Lithuania (EU), with a sum of 235 fulfilled questionnaires being obtained online. IBM SPSS software was used for statistical analysis and testing hypotheses. Findings The research results reveal that organizational culture is significantly related to both employee motivation and professional burnout in Lithuanian medical institutions. Moreover, theoretical and executive implications highlight the requisite role of and manner in which organizational culture and employee motivation can reduce employee turnover, retain talent, limit employee burnout and overall strengthen the design and implementation of long-term human resource management planning. Social implications This research delineates, explicates and directs crucial aspects of medical institutions’ effective functioning, a concern of even the most developed nations, as health sector performance, individually, organizationally and collectively, is a natural principal factor of social well-being and health. Originality/value Further and unique to the extant research, the authors analyzed specific organizational interactions, which revealed different statistical relationships between organizational culture and doctors’, nurses’ and administration employees’ overload, lack of development and neglect. The authors, thus, identified that organizational culture does not have a statistically significant impact on neglect of doctors, nurses and administration employees; however, it does significantly influence overload and lack of development in all respondents’ groups.

Evaluating the impact of an educational intervention on the history of racism in America for teaching structural competency to medical academicians

BackgroundA challenge facing many Academic Health Centers (AHCs) attempting to revise health professions education to include the impact of racism as a social and structural determinant of health (SSDoH) is a lack of broad faculty expertise to reinforce and avoid undermining learning modules addressing this topic. To encourage an institutional culture that is in line with new anti-racism instruction, we developed a six-part educational series on the history of racism in America and its impact on contemporary health inequities for teaching structural competency to health professions academicians.MethodsWe developed a six-hour elective continuing education (CE) series for faculty and staff with the following objectives: (1) describe and discuss race as a social construct; (2) describe and discuss the decolonization of the health sciences and health care; (3) describe and discuss the history of systemic racism and structural violence from a socio-ecological perspective; and (4) describe and discuss reconciliation and repair in biomedicine. The series was spread over a six-month period and each monthly lecture was followed one week later by an open discussion debriefing session. Attendees were assessed on their understanding of each objective before and after each series segment.ResultsWe found significant increases in knowledge and understanding of each objective as the series progressed. Attendees reported that the series helped them grapple with their discomfort in a constructive manner. Self-selected attendees were overwhelmingly women (81.8%), indicating a greater willingness to engage with this material than men.ConclusionsThe series provides a model for AHCs looking to promote anti-racism and structural competency among their faculty and staff.

The benefits and attractiveness of local theatres. Comedy or Shakespeare – does it matter?

ABSTRACT In most countries, cultural institutions are heavily supported by public funds. In the literature, this is explained by expected externalities, meaning that not only users, but also non-users benefit from the existence of cultural institutions. However, there is little knowledge about what these externalities consist of, and how they relate to the characteristics of the supply. The main aim of this study is to investigate the perceived benefits of theatres serving the local community, and whether the type of theatre matters. Using data from a large-scale survey conducted in Denmark in the spring of 2020, we find that the type of theatre has a significant impact on the values perceived by the users, while non-users show no preferences for the types of theatre located in the municipality. Therefore, we conclude that non-users have little understanding of the externalities provided, and the type of supply is of no consequence for non-users’ valuation.

Building Three-dimensional Virtual Historic Fashion Museum Exhibitions: From the Perspective of Technology Affordances

Museums are currently undertaking the task of digital transformation. Transformational technology generates revitalization of the curatorship, cultural heritage presentation, management model, and traditional roles of museums. The creation of three-dimensional (3D) virtual museum exhibitions is important to fulfill the revolutionary operational requirements and projections of recent museums through digital transformation. The objectives of this project were to (1) create realistic 3D virtual museum exhibitions accessible from the web, focusing on historic fashions, and (2) provide an analysis of the process and resources for creating 3D virtual museum exhibitions featuring object-focused exhibits. As a theoretical background of this project, the theory of technology affordances and the affordance actualization process were applied in the creation of 3D virtual museum exhibitions. The results of this project provide cultural heritage museums and institutions with useful precedents for the development of 3D virtual historic fashion museum exhibitions.

A Scoping Review of Military Culture, Military Identity, and Mental Health Outcomes in Military Personnel.

The military is a unique cultural institution that significantly influences its members, contributing to the development and transformation of their identities. Despite growing interest in identity research in the military, challenges persist in the conceptualization of military identity, including understanding how it forms, assessing the influence of military culture on identity development, and evaluating the implications for mental health. The primary objective of this scoping review was to map the complexities of military culture's impact on military identity and its effects on mental health. A scoping review of the literature was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute Scoping Review Methodology. Studies were included if they described military culture, military identity, and mental health, resulting in 65 eligible studies. The extracted data were thematically analyzed to identify how military culture impacts military identity and mental health and well-being. Multiple identities were evident within the military population, with 2 overarching identities, loyalty and military, overall conferring positive mental health outcomes. Where these identities were hidden or disrupted, poorer mental health outcomes were observed. The scoping review conducted in this study challenges the notion of military identity as a singular concept promoting positive mental health outcomes. It highlights its multifaceted nature, revealing that individuals may face identity concealment and disruptions during periods of transition or adjustment, resulting in adverse mental health outcomes. To capture the complexity of military identity, the authors developed the Military Identity Model (MIM). Military leaders, policymakers, and health care professionals are encouraged to recognize the complex nature of military identity and its impact on mental health and well-being. We recommend using the Military Identity Model to explore military identity and adjustment-related difficulties.

The whirlpool of edu-business: student’s categorical judgements of entangled commercialism in an educational context

ABSTRACT The business of pedagogy, edu-business, has grown into a colossal global industry. As the phenomenon of marketisation is also intertwined with academic communities and actively contributes to the formulation of institutional culture, it is essential to examine the perceptions and understandings of future teachers and education experts regarding the intricate interplay between commerce and the educational sphere. Our research scrutinised the discursive practices employed by students pursuing degrees in education and teacher education. By using membership categorisation analysis, this study explores the articulations offered by students when describing the commercialisation of education and the strategies they employ to navigate the commodified social landscape within the field of education. This study shows how the categorisations reveal the impact of marketisation on teacher education and education in general within the broader academic context. In the results, the opportunities available to students for challenging the perception of neoliberalism as something natural, normal, and desirable within the academic community, are also pondered.