Cultural Reform Research Articles

Culture: management and financing in the Russian digital reality

The state, by virtue of its nature, is capable of controlling and regulating all spheres of society. The main instrument of this regulation is the ability to redistribute resources between different spheres of life. Russia, in the era of new global challenges in the conditions of fierce information competition, needs to pay special attention to the cultural sphere of society. It is the preservation and transmission of cultural values, norms and experience to new generations that are able to ensure the unity of multinational people in turbulent circumstances. However, due to numerous factors, the cultural sector, receives insufficient state support and funding. In modern realities, in addition to economic problems, the sphere of culture is experiencing new difficulties associated with the digitalization of society. The article presents the results of the research, in the course of which the all-Russian expert survey was conducted. The experts gave their opinions on the most urgent problems in the sphere of culture, which were subsequently analysed. The most acute issue, according to the majority of experts, is the underfunding of the cultural sphere, which leads to significant consequences: unequal participation of citizens in cultural life, use of cultural institutions, limited access to cultural values; personnel stagnation in this sphere. In addition, the sphere of culture is subject to the processes of politicization and commercialization, which slows down its development and reduces the overall level, which has a negative impact on society. Experts state that cultural reforms aimed at modernization and the revision of cultural policy are necessary in the sphere of culture. Such changes are possible only with the adoption of a new law “on culture”, which would renew public administration in this sphere and ensure the progressive and systematic growth of the cultural level of the population.

Институт материнства в карельской деревне: традиционные практики в контексте общероссийских перемен (конец XIX — начало XX в.)

Traditions of Karelian maternity rituals are widely represented in the ethnographic historical science literature. At the same time motherhood as an institution and as a social and cultural status deserves special consideration. The paper is aimed at describing the development of the motherhood within Karelia in historical dynamics, as well representing the social and cultural status of the mother and the changes in the strategy of reproductive behavior in the Karelian village. The events presented in the paper refer to the period of the late XIX — early XX c. It was a time of economic, social and cultural reforms in Russian society, which had some specific repercussions on the empire borderlands. The paper uses a large number of recently published and unpublished ethnographic and historical sources, dialect vocabulary data, some of the author’s field materials and scientific works on the topic. The author adheres to the principles of gender history proposed by J. Scott, which involves the analysis of cultural symbols, normative prescriptions and social institutions and life stories of individual women. The author comes to the following conclusions. 1. Marriage and the maternity increased the social prestige of the peasant women, because they realized her main purpose. 2. The gender of the child had a different meaning for the male and female part of the peasant family collectives. If considering the patrilocal line of inheritance, preference was given to the birth of a boy. At the same time, the Karelian language data indicate a higher status of the mother after the birth of the girl. 3. There was a change in reproductive behavior in the North Karelian families in the second half of the XIX c. towards to reducing the number of children in the family to two or five. The reasons for such transformation were the growth in the importance of non-agricultural earnings, and the border position of the region (the cross-border marriages), which changed the customary cultural norms. 4. Some elements of modernization were not perceived by Karelian women. They continued to apply to rural midwives despite the growth of the network of obstetric care, and they also preferred the bathhouse or barn as a place for childbirth instead of medical institutions.

The Jewish Contribution to Civilization Discourse: An Egyptian-Jewish Appropriation in the 1940s

Abstract The idea of the Jewish contribution to civilization is generally understood as a Western counter-discourse that, often expressed in response to anti-Semitism, aims to change attitudes towards Jews. My examination of the appropriation of this idea by the Egyptian-Jewish writer Alfred Yallouz in the early 1940s proposes that he embedded it in his national and regional politics of Jewish cultural reform. Here, it served the aim of promoting Jewish belonging to Arab society by addressing historical Jewish contributions to Arab culture, and connecting these to Arab-Jewish relations in the present.

The emergence of physiotherapy in Germany from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries: A “female profession” concerned with movement in the health care arena

ABSTRACT Background: The history of physiotherapy in Germany dates back to the mid-nineteenth century, when German physicians discovered Swedish medical gymnastics as a therapeutic treatment modality. From the early 20th century onwards, physiotherapy slowly began to establish itself as a field of activity specifically for women of the middle classes who provided assistive services to medical doctors.Method: Extensive overview of published and unpublished research on the history of German physiotherapy as well as select primary sources from the 19th and 20th centuries. Additionally reference is made to historical research regarding the emergence of the physical culture and life reform movements, as well as on gender research regarding upper and middle class female employment opportunities in the social and health care sector.Findings: This study outlines the two leitmotifs of physiotherapy’s incorporation into the medical sector (i.e. medicalisation) and its (self-)image as a “female profession” (i.e. feminisation) as two intertwined historical phenomena shaping the critical period when physiotherapy assumed its role as a health profession in Germany. These developments from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries resulted in the emergence of a “female profession” with a distinct focus on the role of movement as a treatment modality.Discussion: Critical engagement with a handed down professional self-image is needed. On the basis of my historiographical overview, I suggest a future research agenda which would result in a more appropriate understanding of early physiotherapists in Germany as historical agents.

Canonising Shakespeare in 1920s Japan

In 1927, just before completing the first Japanese translation of Shakespeare’s Complete Works, Tsubouchi Shōyō (1859–1935) selected eight of his translations for inclusion in his own Selected Works, which were published in fifteen volumes in conclusion to his career as one of the leading exponents of cultural reform of his generation. His choice is idiosyncratic as it omits the plays that had become most popular during the period of Shakespeare’s initial reception in late nineteenth-century Japan, but includes a number that were relatively unknown, such as Measure for Measure. This article suggests likely reasons for his selection before discussing the comments he makes on each play in his translation prefaces, and thus provides an overview of what Tsubouchi had come to value about Shakespeare.

Righteousness as a Precursor to National Greatness in Proverbs 14:34 and its Relevance for Nigerian Socio-Economic Development

A major theme in the Bible which also is the focal point of Proverbs 14:34, is righteousness. It is like a recurring decimal in the preaching of ministers in most church denominations in Nigeria. They especially do this when they emphasise its significance and the detriment of sin in determining the status or position of a nation which are reflected in its being exalted or reproached. Features that enhance the worth of a nation, righteousness or sin are portrayed in the biblical text for this paper and in other cognate texts. The socio-economic situation in Nigeria calls for urgent attention as people live in poverty and painfully below life expectation. Existing studies on Prov. 14:34 have focussed more on the spiritual interpretation of the text, mainly for devotional and liturgical purposes. They did not focus on critical exegetical consideration of how such features could be viable catalysts for socioeconomic development in the Nigerian context. This is the rationale for this work, and the contribution it will make to existing knowledge. The descriptive method of interpretation is adopted for this work. The study is premised on Giovanni E. Reyes’ Modernisation Theory which he defines as a systematic process to move underdeveloped societies to an advanced and productive level of development. The Modernisation Theory stresses the importance of political development vis-a-vis the improvement of a nation’s socio-economic condition; it also emphasises cultural reforms. Righteousness in this text, when read from and applied to the current national and socio-economic reality of Nigeria, hopefully, will stem the current lamentable socio-economic situation in the nation.

The culture of non-disclosure and miscarriages of justice

This article considers key non-disclosure cases in the United Kingdom and Australia and the potential for prosecution disclosure failings to lead to miscarriages of justice. The authors discuss disclosure obligations in the context of the police–prosecution relationship and aspects of police culture that may facilitate practices of non-disclosure. They note that cultures of non-disclosure can place unfair practical burdens on the defence to ensure that disclosure duties are met by the prosecution. The authors call for cultural reforms prioritising disclosure as justice rather than process.

Filming Change: Civil Rights through the Lens of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? and To Kill a Mockingbird

The 1960s were a turbulent decade in the United States. Significant social changes, especially in the realm of antiracism and antisexism, were afoot. Concurrently, in an echo to such dramatic social change, popular culture was also evolving. This article examines two relevant films to evaluate their ability to perform a moral critique of gender and racial politics in the 1960s. Alongside an analysis of social and political trends and Supreme Court cases, I compare two critically acclaimed industry films, To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), to better understand cultural and political reforms in the 20th century.

Financial Stability Amidst the Pandemic Crisis: On Top of the Wave

Financial Stability Amidst the Pandemic Crisis: On Top of the Wave

Culture as a factor in strengthening interetnic relations

The state cannot strengthen its power and prestige in the world only with the help of money and armedforces. The country can expand its sphere of influence through cultural reforms. However, no matter how different cultures differ from each other, there are wide opportunities for their development due to objective laws, interactions, interconnectedness and mutual enrichment. The national culture, history, customs, traditions, language, literature and art of each nation are reflected in the national culture of each nation. The desire to live leads to it and continues to do so. It comes in the form of different conditions, speeds, changes. At the same time, there is a growing debate about the future and development of culture

Прорыв в китайском кантоведении. Интервью с проф. Дэн Сяоманом

Prof. Deng Xiaomang’s translations of the Critique of the Power of Judgment (2002), the Critique of Practical Reason (2003), and the Critique of Pure Reason (2004), were the first Chinese editions of Kant’s three Critiques translated in their entirety from the German originals. This interview tracks his scholarship, placing it within the broader scope of historical and contemporary Kant scholarship in China. Among the topics addressed, the reception of Kantian philosophy among the so called “New Confucians”, as well as the utility of Kantian thought as a tool for the reformation of traditional Confucian culture, are given considerable attention. Professor Deng also shares some thoughts on the process of translating classical German philosophical texts into Chinese and provides an overview of his scholarship as a translator and thinker.

БАРЬЕРЫ В ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОЙ КАРЬЕРЕ ЖЕНЩИН: ОБЗОР СОВРЕМЕННЫХ ПРАКТИК В ЗАРУБЕЖНЫХ СТРАНАХ

Based on the study of existing practices from different countries the article attempts to determine the existing barriers in the political career of women, which vary in different countries depending on the established and changing political culture, constitutional and electoral reforms. It also analyzes the foreign countries experience in moving towards gender parity at the highest level of political institutions, like national parliaments. It is concluded that such mechanisms as quotas, including internal party quotas, have served very effective in increasing a number of women in the power structures. Following the analysis of data for different countries, a conclusion is also drawn that after achieving the gender balance or gender parity in parliaments questions arise about the real influence of women on decision-making, while the mechanisms that have shown their effectiveness, but are somewhat outdated, are being rethought.

‘Cadáveres Amados’: Martyrs, Memory, and Cuban National Symbols

Abstract On November 27th, 1871, eight young medical students were marched into a public plaza in Havana and shot by Spanish authorities. On the first anniversary of their death, the exiled José Martí used their execution to denounce Spanish rule in Cuba, and to legitimize the violent struggle for Cuban Independence. The executed students became martyrs to Cuban nationalism. Since then, their execution at the hands of tyrants has been repeatedly repurposed in revolutionary periods in Cuban history. This article engages with the work of Maurice Halbwachs, Jan Assmann, and Pierre Nora to reflect on the process of collective and cultural memory formation and reformation. It considers the factors that contributed to the transformation of the execution of these students from a singular tragedy, among a wider field of atrocity, into a defining moment in Cuban identity. Further, drawing on works by Jay Winter, Robin Cohen, and Ron Eyerman, this article interrogates the role of individuals and groups in this process. Over one hundred and fifty years, members of exile communities, moral witnesses, student protesters, and revolutionary leaders used the memory of these martyrs to contest authoritarian rule, hoping to advance their vision of a Cuba that could be. Driven by changing political imperatives, the memory of the students altered to reflect new collective priorities. This case study shows change and continuity in cultural memory. Tracing the evolution of this narrative from the Cuban War of Independence, through the rule of dictators, Castro’s revolutionary war, and the following socialist era, this article concludes by asking how their memory is being—once again—transformed today. With a focus on the construction and use of public monuments and memorials, but incorporating literature, images, annual marches, and films, this article argues that the public memory of their deaths altered in different periods to invoke a revolutionary vision of Cuban national identity battered by a century and a half of instability.

Aviation Culture: a ‘Glass Sky’ for Women Pilots - Literature Review

This paper reports on a review of literature covering gender issues in aviation. It considers the impacts of aviation culture on women pilots. The focus of the review was on empirical studies over a 25-year period (1996-2020). Two research questions underpin the review; firstly, we investigated how aviation culture impacts women pilots’ experiences, secondly, we considered its effect on women as pilots. Using a hermeneutic methodological framework, we found that cultural attitudes towards women pilots in the aviation industry are biased and discriminatory. The studies in the review overwhelming concur that the hegemonic masculine culture that dominates aviation significantly diminishes women pilots' experiences and undermines their performance. The contribution of this review to the field of aviation is significant as it brings together and synthesizes academic research from a diverse range of disciplines, covers civil and military aviation and spans a research period over two decades. The literature suggests cultural reform within the aviation industry is needed to affect any real change on the experiences of women pilots.

Sociocultural and Religious Prospects of the Issue of Gender Disparity: Pakistan Perspective

For many decades, the women of Pakistan are suffering from the issue of gender disparity and despite certain legislations to strengthen the women, the issue could not be resolved. The Global Gender Gap Index Report 2020 ranked Pakistan 3rd worst,151 out of 153 developing countries following by Yemen and Iraq. This situation thus, leads that there are some major flaws in the existing cultural system and in the education of religion due to which the issue has become a dilemma for both, the state and the society. In this context, this study aims to analyze the issue in the light of the Qur’an, the Sunnah (pbuh) and the sociocultural context of Pakistan. After a thorough investigation, this study found cultural rigidity, illiteracy, and lack of scientific understanding of the relevant provisions of the Qur’an and Sunnah (pbuh), major contributors in the development of gender disparity. This research, thus, recommends an overhauling of the system of education, and study of the Qur’an and Sunnah (pbuh) in the light of the changed sociological context which would lead to the reformation of the rigid culture and would improve the issue of gender disparity.

SOCIO-CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND CULTURAL POLICY OF UKRAINE: EXPERIENCE OF FORMATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

The paper is devoted to the analysis of the state cultural policy in the context of development of socio-cultural space. Scientific research is based on understanding of the basic values, the place and role of culture in the modern world, its true significance for the state, which claims the title of civilized, and therefore understanding of culture as a priority of the state policy. Therefore, the aim of the paper is the generalization of the Ukrainian experience of state cultural policy and identification of the significant achievements in this area. Methodology. The methodology of science of interdisciplinary level is applied in the research. The integration of interdisciplinary knowledge and the unification of disparate characteristics into the system allowed to obtain the new scientific knowledge in part of cultural policy characteristics on different sides and of view of the Ukrainian cultural policy in its entirety. The paper analyzes the main milestones of the Ukrainian cultural policy formation from independence to the present. The main achievements and imperfection of the state cultural policy in the political, cultural, institutional and financial aspects are summarized. Results. It is concluded that despite the failure of systemic cultural reforms in the past, a number of important changes have taken place in the cultural policy of Ukraine. The state cultural policy acquires signs of integrity and system. An organic entry into the context of the European system of values with the preservation and development of the own cultural heritage takes place. Value / originality. Analysis and systematization of the reformist projects and institutional decisions of the cultural policy of Ukraine in 1990-2020 can be used as the theoretical addition to research of the field of state cultural policy of Ukraine. Practical implications. From our point of view, the practical implications of the cultural policy research will help to get closer to understanding the reasons of the many reforms failures, to find the new effective practical solutions and to develop optimal approaches for the future state cultural policy of Ukraine.

Purity and Danger in Fin-de-Siècle Culture: A Psycho-historical Interpretation of Wagner, Stoker and Zola

According to the anthropologist Mary Douglas, the quest for purity is usually accompanied by fears of change, ambiguity and transgression. Translating Douglas’ insights into historical terms, one may assume that sensibilities about what is pure and what is impure grow stronger during times of intense social and political change, as exemplifi ed by the stormy decades around 1900. This period was characterized by a profound identity-crisis and at the same time was marked by a quest for purity. One may think of a deepened concern for hygiene, of the rise of racist movements, but also of an intense longing for cultural reform and regeneration. Notwithstanding their many differences, these phenomena are linked through their concern for the formal distinction between what is pure and what is impure. A study of the work of Wagner, Bram Stoker and Zola gives some insight into the language of purity, serves to show the religious meaning of formal categories of purity and impurity, and makes it clear that the quest for purity in one area is related to the quest for purity in another area.

Cat and the Plumber: An American Radio Drama in China

Abstract The translation and adaptation of Arthur Miller's 1941 radio drama “The Pussy Cat and the Expert Plumber who was a Man” in 1980s China not only conveys the witty humor and intriguing critique of the original, but also carries unique marks of its receiving culture. A comparative close reading of the original and the translation shows how the original survives in a translation. Instead of antagonizing the east and the west as mutually unintelligible, my analysis of the translated Chinese radio drama “Cat and the Plumber” explores ways in which interlingual, intermedia, and intertextual references and variations help build the “image” of the west in post-Mao China through sound media. The literary event of a 1940s American radio drama traveling to 1980s China not only provides us with a new perspective in looking at the social soundscape as well as popular culture of 1980s China but also contributes to the repertoire of Sino-American cultural exchanges during the last decade of the Cold War. At the dawn of a new era in the history of China, the introduction of this American radio drama shows both achievements as well as limitations of the early post-Mao cultural reforms.

Suspicious activity reports (SARs) regime: reforming institutional culture

PurposeAgainst a backdrop of money laundering scandals in the banking industry, this study aims to assess anti-money laundering (AML) reporting obligations of bankers in the UK. By evaluating the effectiveness of the current suspicious activity report (SAR) regime, this study seeks to use the senior management functions of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) to achieve the goals of AML law within the banking sector.Design/methodology/approachThis study firstly evaluates the efficiencies of the available risk-based sanctions aimed at making the banks the gatekeeper for money laundering. It points out the three-fold deficiencies of the SAR regime in the UK. Lastly, it discusses and examines the merits of multiple proposals for reformation.FindingsIt is argued that the risk-based sanctions have failed to achieve their goals to deter banks from abusing their products and services to facilitate money laundering activities. In revealing the three-fold deficiencies of the SAR regime – theoretical flaws, practical inapplicability and institutional culture – this study argues for both the retainment of the current regime and the repositioning of regulation focus on the reformation of institutional culture, particularly within large or multinational corporates, in terms of their commitment to fulfilling AML obligations.Originality/valueThis essay has concluded that the regime has correct tools under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and the SMCR to address problems associated with AML reporting obligations imposed on the banking sector.

The Supranational Idea of the Peoples of Central Europe (First Half of the 19th Century)

National movement and further development of national benchmarks of the European peoples at the beginning of the revolution of 1848–1849 are one of the most socio-political contextualized pages in the past of the Slavik peoples in Europe. The research is considered to be topical since the process of formation of national ideology in the 19th century, that occured in the Slavs environment, took place in terms of distribution of the national principle and state formation in the majority of the European countries. The purpose of the research is to enlighten the course, laws and specifics of formation of the national paradigm at the beginning of the revolution of 1848–1849. The object of the study is the national movement of the Slavs, the subject of scientific analysis is the national ideology developing under the influence of both internal and external factors. To achieve the main goal of the research the author has considered it to be necessary to solve a number of the following tasks: to scientifically, logically, argumentatively and coherently lay out specifics of the process of Slavic national ideology formation and reveal its main features. It should be emphasized that by the beginning of the revolution the national patriotic mood was not limited merely by the demand of the cultural reforms, it gradually transformed into the context of new political and socio-economic ideas. At the same time, in the meaning of national paradigm of the Slavic National Movement the idea of its moderation or passive opposition actualized drastically. In general, national paradigm was a certain mixture of political ideas, in which political freedom – democracy, social and personal guarantees – took a somewhat secondary place, the struggle for the national justice with its moral and cultural principles, became dominant. On the eve of the 1848 revolution western Slavs were involved in the process of modernizing their national ideology. Al though this process was an all-European phenomen on and large ethnic units were under going self-determination, the spiritual renaissance of the western Slavs had specific regional and ethnic characteristics, thus attracting the political attention of the governments of great empires – the Austrian and the Russian. For Russia, the biggest Slavonic country, the idea of the general Slavonic ethnic unity as well as the Pan-Slavistic ideology were not only of scientific character, but also served as a factor of geopolitical interest