Cultural Interpretation Research Articles

The Objectivity of Beauty: A Post-structural Study of the Hyperreal Screen of Media

This paper attempts to bring out the biggest objectivity of beauty by evaluating the norm of ‘beauty standard’ from psychoanalytical and post-structural lenses. Beauty depends on cultural interpretation. Media and film industry play a key role in shaping the audience's psychology and rules the audience to be selective about the beauty tones and aesthetic ideals by rejecting the multiplicity and hybridity of beauty tones available in culture. This formation tends to shape Jacques Lacan’s ‘image’ in human psyche and Judith Butler’s ‘performativity’ in social theatrical context by building a certain standard of beauty. From Erik Erikson’s point, the image and performative role prepare one to possess the selected standard when one stays in ‘role confusion’ and lack of ‘ego identity’. This paper deconstructs the entire motive and outline of the contribution of media to the objectivity of beauty and its effect on psychology, through psychoanalytical and post-structural analysis; and establishes a larger form of the objectivity of beauty that may eliminate the scopes of racism and alienation.

基於金石學的大理歷史文化尋隱———朱安女《白族古代金石文獻的文化闡釋》讀評

The ancient epigraphy literature of the Bai nationality had been often sorted out, but its comprehensive research is relatively rare. Zhu An’nlu’s academic work, which named cultural interpretation of the Bai nationality’s ancient epigraphy literature, had regarded epigraphy literature as a unique carrier of Bai nationality’s culture and carried out cultural interpretation and comprehensive interpretation based on Bai nationality’s ancient epigraphy literature, it was unique in the study of the historical traditions of ethnic minorities in Yunnan. This book seemed simple and unadorned, but in fact, it was carefully constructed based on the internal academic and objective reality. It not only enabled the Bai nationality’s epigraphy literature and common ancient literature complementary, but also integrated the perspectives of literature, history, philosophy and other disciplines to find cultural concealment, the relevant argumentation was close to the academic frontier, and fully demonstrated the research personality in following the trend. The author had long-term continuous attention to the Bai nationality’s epigraphy literature and was superior to an ordinary scholar in academic feelings and humanistic realm, and on the whole, she had shown a relatively rare academic concentration and research level.

Negociaciones en la puesta en escena del país de origen. Un estudio transnacional sobre restaurantes extranjeros en Gran Valparaíso, Chile

The article seeks to understand how migrant families bring life to restaurants that evoke their countries of origin. These spaces and culinary proposals are not a simple reproduction, but negotiated interpretations of culture itself during migration processes and are analyzed from a transnational approach. The methodology is based on interviews and participant observations carried out in four foreign restaurants located in Greater Valparaíso, Chile. The article contributes to the production of knowledge about migrants who have capital, exploring performances, symbols, and culinary practices that selectively show their national culture. It is concluded that these restaurants can be considered bridges between cultures by linking multiple scales with imaginaries, representations, and emotions. It articulates a discussion on ethnic economies, cultural transformations, and the production of evolving migrant identities while extending studies on recent migrations in Chile.

PERKEMBANGAN INSTITUSI MUZIUM EROPAH DALAM MEMPENGARUHI KEWUJUDAN MUZIUM DI MALAYSIA

Museums play an important role in preserving and conserving all artifacts related to the past history as well as the heritage and culture of a society's civilization. Malaysia as a country that consists of various races and rich in various heritages and cultures, the museum institution plays an important role in preserving the heritage of knowledge for future generations. Museum institutions have undergone changes over time in producing an excellent management in preserving knowledge of past history. The development of museums at the European level is seen to have influenced the entry of the ideology of the field of museums in Malaysia. This study uses a qualitative method by analyzing the research data on the history of the development of museums in the world until it was brought in by the British colonial to Malaysia before independence. The focus of the study focuses on how and what is the influence brought by the west in museum institutions in Malaysia. The results show that, the Renaissance philosophy practiced by Europeans around the 14th century, has urged them to sail out to the ocean and explore other regions. This indirectly led to colonization of non-European territories. In the British colonial context, their arrival to colonize Malaya was not empty handed, but brought in colonial knowledge which later became the basis for the establishment of museum institutions in Malaysia. However, the interpretation of artifacts, history, heritage and culture that is euro-centric, led to the implementation of the decolonization of museums after independence. This is so that a local history can be interpreted correctly through the point of view and knowledge of the local community.

Religious and cultural interpretations of artificial insemination in South-West Nigeria

In a constantly changing and increasingly globalized world, religion and cultural practices still play a significant role in influencing people's behaviour towards assisted reproductive technologies. This study examined the religious, cultural and personal interpretations of artificial insemination. The research methodology was triangulated using qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. A stratified and simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants for quantitative data, while, Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) respondents were purposively sampled. The findings showed that the majority of the respondents were aware of artificial insemination, 75.3% of the respondents had adequate knowledge of artificial insemination. About 54.2% of the respondents agreed that their religious denominations supported any form of artificial insemination, For instance, in contrast to the 61.1% of Roman Catholic respondents' who acknowledged that their religious denomination did not support artificial insemination, 75% of Shia Muslims, and 65.0% of Pentecostal respondents' acknowledged religious support for artificial insemination. For 32.8% of the respondents, the process of artificial insemination by a donor negates the will of God, while 32.8% of the respondents, posited that artificial insemination is a deviation from cultural norms. The study also revealed that 57.0% of respondents personally perceived artificial insemination to be a very good medical breakthrough. Regardless of the technological or educational prowess leading to artificial insemination, certain religious denominations and cultural practices do not support artificial insemination. Medical ethics should take cognizance of the religious and cultural ideas and principles of the society in which they are practiced.

О концепте «Русский Север» замолвить слово

The purpose of the review is to study the essence of the concept “Russian North” in the available written sources and in various branches of scientific knowledge. The historical process of the article is localized in a vast space from the Velikiy Novgorod, the Novgorod Veche Republic to Karelia, the coasts of the White and Barents Seas — the Arkhangelsk and Kola North, the NorthEast (Komi). The Russian North is un-derstood as a hybrid concept that requires interpretation of economics, politics, society, culture, archeology, history, geography, ethnology, ethnography, philosophy, philology and other branches of scientific knowledge. The conceptual content is associated with modern understanding of historical evolution from the past to the present as a result of the thesaurus of knowledge accumulated over centuries.

Historical mystery/detective as a literary form of artistic interpretation of history and culture

The purpose of the article is to determine specifics of historical, detective, and other retro-genres and their functioning in contemporary literature. The methodology of the work is built on interdisciplinary integration of leading methods of the contemporary Cultural studies, philosophy, and study of art. The culturological hermeneutics is a dominant polymethodological approach. The history-cultural method gives an opportunity to trace genetic links and tendencies of transformations of genres. The comparative analysis allows to distinguish typologically similar elements in different genres and to differentiate various forms that can be convergently alike. The scientific novelty of the work lies in clarification of the correlation of historical, detective, and fantastic genres, defining their specifics in artistic interpretation of history; the term "retro-genres " is introduced. Conclusions. The historical detective and other retro-genres enjoy considerable popularity, as they complement the attractions of the detective with its intrigue, with the possibility of escapist immersion in another epoch, and propose the satisfaction of curiosity as to the past of a city, country and world. There is a positive factor of the possibility of deeper and more emotional cognition of human inheritance, personal and national identity in the globalized world. The contemporary historical detective helps to get not just the general impression, but also solid facts about history, topography and "cultural soul" of city and country. For authors one of the most attractive periods is the second half of ХІХ – beginning of ХХ ct. One of the reasons is that the Neoromantics founded the canons of genres that stay popular to this day, and crated the mythologized image of city. Many of these tendencies are characteristic for the world cultural process, still, there are national trends linked both to the specific historical-cultural context and to the national mentality. For instance, in Ukrainian historical detective there is a noticeable tendency to the in-depth research of momentous historical processes in the times of bifurcation. Sometimes there are ironical rethinking of the past in a post-colonial spirit. Now this genre is flourishing, and its incessant transformations deserve further research. Key words: cultural studies, detective/mystery, historical detective, retro, artistic interpretation.

The Acculturation Process of New Products through Known Products. Interpreting Ethical Certification of Diamonds through the Lens of Organic Food Produced in Italy

This study aims to highlight the use of the peculiar interconnection between two different production sectors, specifically the diamond and the food sectors, in order to show the cultural interpretations given to the certification of diamonds presented by consumers. These latter, while buying Canadian diamonds, have little knowledge of the real working conditions of miners in mines in Canada. Thus, they passively accept as truthful the jewellers’ claims in presenting ethical diamonds on which they base the moral purchasing decisions that also enable them to distinguish ethical diamonds from other non-certified diamonds. Drawing inspiration from studies on framing related to the analysis of language, the study shows how “frames of familiarity” linked to cultural ideas of food production sectors managed to incorporate “frames of novelty” in relation to Canadian diamonds, which are still niche products in Italy, on the part of a socio-cultural community of consumers who were thus able to increase the perception of trustworthiness with regard to these products. Thus, this research demonstrates that interpreting the certification of Canadian ethical diamonds through the lens of organic food produced in Italy, which is a label that generally refers to meanings of careful, respectful, and high-quality processing, allowed the Italian consumers interviewed to perform an act of acculturation of diamonds mined in Canada.

Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Isolated from Blood Culture Samples in a Moroccan Tertiary Hospital: True Bacteremia or Contamination?

PurposeTo demonstrate the relevance of clinico-biological correlation in the interpretation of positive blood cultures (BC) for multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, among adult and pediatric patients, in order to distinguish between true bacteremia (TB) and contaminations and to evaluate the impact on patient management.Patients and MethodsThis six-month study was conducted at Mohammed VI University Hospital in Marrakech. All MDR bacteria isolated from BCs carried out on hospitalized patients during this period were included. For each positive BC to MDR microorganism, demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, therapeutic and evolution data were collected.ResultsTB was considered in 157 (94.6%) of the 166 positive-culture episodes for MDR bacteria, while 9 (5.4%) were classified as false-positive. Contamination rate was 0.2% (9/3824). TB and contaminations occurred mainly in intensive care units (ICUs), with the neonatal ICU being the most concerned (p = 0.016). Clinical signs of sepsis were present in all TB patients, with a significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.000). CRP values were higher in the TB group (p = 0.000). The most isolated true pathogens were ESBL-producing Enterobacterales (50%) and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (33.3%). They also predominated in contaminated BCs. Isolation of the same microorganism from other sites was significantly associated with TB (p = 0.012). In contrast to the contaminations group, the difference in the clinical course of TB patients, according to whether or not they received appropriate probabilistic antibiotics, was statistically significant (p = 0.000). These patients had longer hospital stays and longer durations of antibiotic therapy. The overall mortality rate was 39.6%.ConclusionDistinguishing between MDR-positive BCs representing clinically significant bacteremia or simple contamination requires a careful clinical, biological, and microbiological confrontation of each MDR positive BC in order to avoid unnecessary overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics and thus reduce resistance selective pressure.

The Pedagogy of Bafflement: Bernard Bailyn's History 2910, Fall 1996

The Pedagogy of Bafflement: Bernard Bailyn's History 2910, Fall 1996

Glorious pasts of forest dwellers: Memories of land in the ex-zamindari of Borasambar, Central Provinces, 1861–1905

AbstractThis article discusses the shifts in rights over land of Binjhal Adivasi people in the wake of colonial rule in the ex-zamindari of Borasambar, located in the British Central Provinces in the eventful period from 1860–1926. Oral narratives and documents preserved by Binjhal villagers juxtaposed with archived records of military expeditions, village surveys, administrative letters, and land settlement reports reveal how Binjhal ancestors lost titled land and offices of headmanship, which, over time, impoverished and diminished them in the rural hierarchy. The research finds that the codification of selective custom as legal rights accommodated colonial land policies to promote social change and agricultural improvement. Environmental histories document how nineteenth-century forest enclosures and agrarian order brought Adivasi areas within state control. Revisionist research highlights historically contingent outcomes of colonial rule. The Adivasi pasts in this article reveal how the interpretations of legal culture by local actors, who transacted with the administration, led to variable outcomes for a pre-colonial land-controlling group. By examining the truth claims in fragments of Binjhal voices and narratives about them, in village memories and archives, through a threefold examination of the past—pragmatic, habitual, and episodic—this article explores the historicity of Adivasi land memories. Here, stories of past glory lead to claims of legal entitlements rather than restitution of ancient rule, and injustices are described in the idiom of disrupted kinship and transgressions of women, illuminating the varied routes through which groups residing in relatively non-agrarian upland habitats became Adivasi.

Blood Culture Optimization: Practical Tips

Sepsis is a serious medical condition that continues to be a leading cause of hospital admission and mortality worldwide. Blood cultures play a crucial role in identifying the source of sepsis and thus directing appropriate treatment for improved patient outcomes. Blood culture data are not only utilized for patient treatment but also have utility for infection control and epidemiological purposes. An important challenge facing blood culture results and interpretation is contamination, which can have negative effects on patient care and health care costs, including in the clinical microbiology laboratory. This article reviews the process of blood culture collection, from the decision to collect blood cultures to processing, testing, and reporting. Strategies for blood culture optimization are discussed, along with data to support practices that can lead to improved patient care, diagnostic stewardship, and fiscal responsibility.

THE ARTIST MODEL IN CULTURAL INTERPRETATION

The article reveals the approaches of scientists to understand the phenomenon of the artist in the modern cultural space. The study considers the definitions of the artist model, as well as their essence. The article proposes the author's definition of the term “Аrtist” in a cultural interpretation. The existence of significant indicators of creatively gifted personality, which are manifested in creative abilities, psychological qualities and value orientations, indicating the high level of the artist in the communicative space of culture. The study is based on general scientific theoretical methods of analysis, which allowed us to work out and explore the concepts of scientists in the formation of the artist model. It has been proven that the artist as a unique creatively gifted personality is the bearer of the initiative principle, the creator of spiritual values and artifacts of culture, which seeks self-esteem in the processes of cultural formation to achieve maximum correspondence in art and culture.

Mimetic theory and cinema: desire and hate in Little Children

Bu çalışmada, yönetmenliğini Todd Field’ın üstlendiği Tutku Oyunları (2006) filminin Girardcı bir analizi yapılacaktır. Tom Perrotta’nın Little Children isimli kitabından uyarlanan film, Amerikan taşrasında yaşayan bir grup insanın arzu ve nefret dinamiklerini konu alır. Tutku Oyunları, arzunun ve nefretin taklitçi doğasını göstermesi bakımından edebiyat kuramcısı René Girard’ın romansal yapıt kavramı bağlamında incelenmeye elverişli bir anlatıdır. Girard, Romantik Yalan ve Romansal Hakikat: Edebi Yapıda Ben ve Öteki adlı eserinde arzuyu ve özneyi yücelten romantik yapıt ile arzunun mimetik yapısını görünür kılan romansal yapıt arasında bir karşıtlık kurar. Girard’ın teorisine göre romansal yapıtlar, teorisyenin üçgen arzu olarak isimlendirdiği model üzerinden arzunun dolayımlılığını görünür kılmaktadır. Tutku Oyunları filmi de merkezine aldığı karakterlerin arzularındaki mimetik yapıyı deşifre etmesi bakımından romansal bir yapıttır. Çalışmanın amacı Girard’ın teorisini sinema çalışmaları açısından bir imkân olarak değerlendirdikten sonra Tutku Oyunları filmindeki arzunun mimetik yapısını metin analizi yöntemi ile incelemektir. Bu çalışma sadece bir film analizi uygulaması olmanın ötesinde filmi günümüz kültürüne dair bir yorum olarak anlayan teorik bir mahiyet de taşır. Girard’ın romanlar üzerinden yaptığı hem kültürü analiz etme hem de kültüre dair teorik bir bakış geliştirme çabasına benzer şekilde bu çalışma da sinemayı hem analiz etmeyi hem de sinema üzerinden günümüzün kültürüne dair bir yorum getirmeyi amaçlamaktadır.

Visual Translation of Traditional Chinese Costume Culture

The interpretation and dissemination of Chinese traditional costume culture to foreign countries has been carried out mainly through interlingual translation, based on the conversion of linguistic symbols. However, the text-based translation strategy is limited by its original limitations, resulting in the target audience in a heterogeneous culture not being able to interpret the cultural connotations behind traditional Chinese costumes accurately. That’s why a large number of cultural elements originated in traditional costumes in the original language being diluted in communication, which is named as the phenomenon of culture dilution. Confronted with this phenomenon, the diverse visual symbol system has, to a certain extent, compensated for the lexical gap in language translation and provided a space for interpreting the unique cultural elements in traditional Chinese costume culture, becoming an essential means of promoting traditional costume culture.

Dayaknese and Islam: A Confluence from Borneo's Hinterland, Indonesia

Sufism has generally been regarded as the confluence that helps to facilitate Islamization in Indonesia by opening accommodating spaces for local beliefs and practices. This article examines manuscripts as historical records to show concrete examples of how Sufi interpretations of local culture are constructed. This article is not only based on philological studies of the Abang Ahmad Tahir Manuscript Collections (MSS AAT), but also observations and interviews from the field between 2012 and 2019. This article argues that the MSS AAT have provided appropriate examples of the confluence of Dayakness and Islam. Not only has MSS AAT presented dynamic engagement between critically selected local traditions of cosmology and specific elements of Sufi textual discourses, but it has also noted the ways in which such texts further indicate both the Islamisation of local communities and how they vernacularise interpretations of Islam in Kapuas Hulu, which is situated in the hinterland of West Kalimantan

The self-contradiction and double identities in understanding anthropomorphic Sino-figures in Chinese post-colonial animation criticism studies

Chinese post-colonial critics in the field of animation focus on the Chinese images in Hollywood films such as Kung Fu Panda and Mulan. However, their studies, based on the China–West binary discourse mode, show a tendency of self-separation. In particular, anthropomorphic characters in the two animated films are frequently endowed with contradictive cultural identities and interpretations within the post-colonial framework. To a large extent this self-separation is caused by the aesthetic features and conventions of animation. Due to the absence of real-person actors in animation, the racial identities of animation characters could be visually unrecognizable, which prevents post-colonial critics from employing the race that the actor/character belongs to. This lends weight to the Western conspiracy claims of ‘cultural colonization’ and reduces the validity of these studies.

Multidisciplinary lines of evidence reveal East/Northeast Asian origins of agriculturalist/pastoralist residents at a Han dynasty military outpost in ancient Xinjiang

Han/non-Han interactions were engrained among the border regions of ancient Imperial China. Yet, little is known about either the genetic origins or the lifeways of these border peoples. Our study applies tools from ancient deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and stable isotope analysis to the study of a Han dynasty population at the Shichengzi site in modern-day Xinjiang. Isotopic analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of human (n = 8), animal (n = 26), and crop remains (n = 23) from Shichengzi indicated that dietary patterns among site inhabitants could be split among agro-pastoral and agricultural groups based on differences in the collagen 15N ratios. DNA analysis divided the four Shichengzi samples into two groups, with one group primarily harboring the ancient Northeast Asian (ANA) related ancestry, while the other showed a dominant Late Neolithic Yellow River (YR_LN) related ancestry. Both ancient DNA and stable isotope evidence point to the Northeast Asian origins of pastoralists and East Asian origins of Han agriculturalists, who, nonetheless, shared a single burial space at Shichengzi. This study thus provides clear evidence for the multiple origins and identities of populations across the porous border represented by the Han Empire and surrounding regions and proposes a new model for the interpretation of border culture in early Imperial China.

Polarization among Stakeholders Perception on the Interpretation of Ecotourism Resources in Gunung Halimun Salak National Park

The study of polarization of stakeholder perceptions is important to consider the policies that must be taken by area managers related to the development of interpretation programs in national park areas. This study was aimed to analyze and evaluate the characteristics of the subject of interpretation that are considered important by stakeholders, to analyze the differences in perceptions among stakeholders of the attractiveness of the subject of interpretation and to determine the polarization of perceptions of the subject of interpretation among stakeholders in relation to the management of Gunung Halimun Salak National Park (TNGHS). Stakeholder perception data was obtained by distributing a closed pattern questionnaire. Cluster analysis was used to determine the variety of stakeholder perception in interpretation subjects within the TNGHS area. As for knowing the direction and scale of the polarization of stakeholder perceptions, it was analyzed by Kruskal Wallis and Mann Whitney test. The results showed that the largest polarization among stakeholders occurred in the cultural subjects, and the direction of polarization was negative. This indicates the weak attractiveness of the subject of cultural interpretation to stakeholders. The greater commonality of perception between the community and managers forms the basis for the development of cultural interpretations. This development is expected to bridge the community's needs for the TNGHS area as well as provide stronger support for the management of the national park area.

The Media in the Construction of Reality in the Context of Colombian Social Nonconformity

Introduction: Convergence of linguistics and semiotics materializes in the text not only the conceptual content that is expressed through codes, but the message also underlies the realism of the communicative intentions of the issuing agent in a specific context and the value of the interactions of the actors of the communicative act. Methodology: The vision of reality that is established in the collective imaginary must be analyzed from the interpretation of society and culture, the laws of operation and their constituent parts. For this, this research approached two newspapers of national circulation, five general radio channels of national coverage, and two television newscasts of private channels, and through the use of quantitative instruments, the posts, tweets or videos were reviewed in order to analyze the constituent elements of the discourse—text, images, hashtags, or keywords—which are appreciated from the syntactic and semantic perspectives (structural) and pragmatics (functional). Results: The communication process in its social context denotes the intervention of nonlinguistic elements of sociocultural order that demarcate the generation and interpretation of the meanings and senses of linguistic expressions. Discussion: The linguistic structure offers conditions for communication, but any generation and transmission of meanings is a product of the intention of the subjects who use it for specific purposes and in specific communicative situations within a social context. Conclusions: Intensive use of digital technology and social networks naturalized a relationship of proximity and familiarity in the communication process, satisfaction of needs in the multiplicity of information that is created and distributed in the network bundled to mobile devices and the political and social ecosystem of the nation.