Terms Of Culture Research Articles

Parental Identity Processes Across Cultures: Commitment, In-Depth Exploration and Reconsideration of Commitment Among Parents from the United States, Israel, Poland, South Africa and Japan

ABSTRACT The goal of the present study was to assess the similarities and differences between parents from different cultures in terms of the intensity of parental identity processes described in the three-dimensional model of identity formation. The cultural measurement invariance of the questionnaire used, the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale-Parental Identity (U-MICS-PI), was also assessed. Participants were 2340 parents (51.4% of mothers) aged from 30 to 59 (M = 43.54; SD = 8.26). The study included parents from North America (USA), the Middle East (Israel), Central Europe (Poland), Africa (South Africa), and Eastern Asia (Japan). Results indicated the full configural, partial metric, and partial scalar invariance of the U-MICS-PI. A comparison of parents from the countries analyzed revealed that the parents from the United States and South Africa were characterized by a more firm commitment and lower level of reconsideration of commitment than those from Poland and Japan.

Strategic utilization of terroir in Japanese sake industry

PurposeWith the ongoing industrial transformation of the Japanese sake industry and the continuous growth of exports in recent years, terroir, one of the core concepts in the wine culture, has been strategically used in the sake industry. Therefore, as an essential investigation, the purpose of this study is to elucidate when, how and why terroir has been used in the sake industry. This study starts with the research question: When, how and why has terroir come to be used strategically in the sake industry?Design/methodology/approachThis study investigates the use of terroir in the Japanese sake industry, examining all 196 newspapers that referenced terroir from 1998 to 2022, sourced from the renowned newspaper database Nikkei Telecom 21. This study’s outcomes have been visualized through categorization work and text mining.FindingsIn this study, the use of terroir in the Japanese sake industry has gained significant momentum since 2015, with a remarkable surge observed in the 2020s. With the continuous growth in sake exports, industry players such as sake brewers are strategically structuring terroir to reinforce the authenticity of the brewing process, emphasizing the uniqueness of natural elements, such as water, sake rice and the natural environment. These findings highlight the critical role of terroir in the Japanese sake industry’s added value expansion.Originality/valueThis study provides objective insights regarding the recent industrial transformation for the practical sake industry, such as sake exporters and distributors. Additionally, this study enables the wine industry’s audience to understand the sake industry’s evolution in terms of wine culture.

The Early Manuscripts of San Salvatore de Lingua in Messina (Mid-12th Century): Surveying the Chief Decorator

The monastery of Holy Savior has been the subject of much scholarship, but the liturgical reform requested by King Roger II of Sicily and carried out by the first archimandrite, Luke of Rossano, and the latter’s struggle to establish seemly equipment, has been largely neglected. Given its potential relevance for the material setting of the monastery’s early manuscript collection through the middle of the twelfth century, this seems an oversight. Art historians have repeatedly claimed that the monastery’s lofty status could have enabled the spread of Byzantine models to Norman Sicily, especially in relation to figurative arts and manuscript decoration. This paper discusses the same assumption from the opposite perspective. It explores the main tendencies of manuscript decoration at San Salvatore based on the extant evidence from the monastery’s early collection. Building on the paleographical and codicological observations provided in the past decades (mostly by philologists), I examine the manuscripts in terms of decorative practice and artistic culture.

Positional identities negotiated within a collective identity

Abstract This qualitative study explores Japanese students’ positional identities in EMI contexts. Their positioning act is operated by the sociocultural norms of a program shared among community members. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 13 first-year students enrolled in an undergraduate English-taught program (ETP) at a Japanese national university. A thematic analysis of the interview data produced four main themes: (a) acting self-identification as a peripheral position, (b) hierarchy in a Japanese cohort, (c) an identity gap between the ideal self and reality, and (d) the ETP-A collective identity for membership negotiation. The study shows how participants position themselves and others based on English proficiency and academic culture, whereby students force themselves to acculturate for legitimate full participation. Such traits reflect collective identities and function as forms of sociocultural norms that determine legitimate membership. Furthermore, such norms lead to stratification between students: Japanese students identify themselves as inactive members of the ETP group with limited second-language (L2) English. Conversely, the collective identity helps them reclaim their ETP membership in Japanese-medium instruction classes with Japanese students from outside of the ETP. Japanese students’ positional identities are discussed in terms of L2 English competence and classroom culture.

Ex situ culture of coral species Porites lobata (Scleractinia: Poritidae) and Pocillopora damicornis (Scleractinia: Pocilloporidae), Costa Rica: first assessment and implications

Introduction: Coral reefs worldwide-decline has prompted coral restoration as a viable strategy to rewild vulnerable, foundational coral species. Stony corals are now propagated by the thousands in both in-water and ex situ (land-based) coral nurseries, the latter being unexplored in Costa Rica, despite their potential benefits as a reef management tool. 
 Objective: To analyze the viability of ex situ culturing of the Pacific reef-building corals Porites lobata and Pocillopora damicornis at Parque Marino del Pacífico (PMP), Puntarenas, Costa Rica, aquaculture facilities. Methods: From May to October 2018 a total of 180 coral fragments were kept in an aquaculture recirculated system. Survival, growth, and fragment yield in relation to culture medium (physicochemical parameters) were recorded. 
 Results: Survival and growth rate varied between species and culture tanks. On average, surviving P. lobata fragments (68.89 %) placed in Tank 1 (T1) grew 216 %, while fragments placed in Tank 2 (T2) had a survival rate of 71.11 % and an increase of 277 % in live tissue area. P. damicornis fragments survival, basal and crown area percentage increase were: 71.11 %, 980 % and 366 % in T1, and 100 %, 976 % and 287 % in T2. Although fragments survival and growth were net positive, the yield in terms of culture was low, due to culture conditions in the tanks not meeting coral culture optimal requirements. 
 Conclusions: Survival and growth of both species varied depending on the tank in which they were placed. Survival was similar to that found in other ex situ studies and growth was similar to those reported in the wild, however culture performance in terms of yield was low. Aquaculture systems at PMP constitute a good base for the cultivation of corals, however for the culture effort to achieve maximum yield, current systems must be optimized according to the requirements of the target coral species.

Gathering our medicine: strengthening and healing kinship and community

This article considers the terms culture and healing, critiques perpetuation of colonizing perspectives in conventional trauma-informed mental health approaches, and introduces Gathering Our Medicine, an innovative community framework created by Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish; Coast Salish Peoples Indigenous to the lands of Southern British Columbia, Canada) practitioner Denise Findlay in response to the need for decolonial approaches to mental health for Indigenous communities throughout British Columbia, Canada. The framework encourages re-imagining healing and mental health practices through values such as lateral kindness that draw from distinct traditional Indigenous philosophies, ontologies, and epistemologies. By revitalizing and centring distinctive traditional knowledges about actualization, transformation, and healing, the framework provides a role for allies that disrupts the impulse to deny culpability that Indigenous scholar Susan Dion calls the perfect stranger position. Findlay provides an alternative—the imperfect friend—drawing on kinship practices as effective indirect praxis for collective healing and well-being, transforming the distanced expert into engaged community member.

Translation Problems and Strategies of Tea Names in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative

In recent years, the rapid development of economic globalization and the Belt and Road Initiative have injected strong impetus into the common development and prosperity of countries along the route, and China’s tea trade has also ushered in unprecedented opportunities. Against this backdrop, a series of tea cultural terms, including tea names, have gradually become hot issues in the translation industry. However, due to the diverse varieties of tea, diverse naming methods, and cultural background differences, the translation of tea names in China still has many unsatisfactory aspects. This paper aims to discuss the translation skills of tea names, in order to provide reliable references for improving the translation quality, provide favorable support for the promotion of tea culture, and promote the development of tea trade.

Enhancing EFL Learners’ Native Cultural Awareness via Project-based Learning

English language education nowadays is not merely about the instruction and acquisition of linguistic knowledge and skills. Instead, it has progressed to the real-life applications of the target language, which further requires a mastery of cultural knowledge and skills. In terms of culture, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, compared to native speakers of English, own their unique native culture. Yet, since language teachers tend to focus on the delivery of English cultural knowledge, EFL learners’ native culture is sometimes shadowed in the mainstream English classrooms worldwide. To this end, this exploratory paper aims to advocate attention to the importance of EFL learners’ native culture awareness and share some practical teaching and learning experiences in an English course called Multimedia and Foreign Language Learning. The paper outlines the pedagogical design of the course in China, providing classroom examples and practical suggestions to course designers, educators and instructors. We expect to give insights into integrating native culture into foreign language education in university settings.

Analyzing the impact of the shift to remote work mode on middle managers’ well-being in the pandemic

The shift to remote work mode significantly impacts the way people work, especially middle managers, who play a fundamental role in organizations. There is a broad consensus that they have a key responsibility in deploying strategies, and in terms of operations and organizational culture. Based on the responses of 200 managers from five Latin American countries working in several economic sectors, the effects of remote work demands on their levels of perceived work stress and general well-being were examined in this study. Through partial least squares structural equation modeling, the positive effect of remote work demands on work stress was verified. The analysis also suggested a competitive mediating effect of role transitions on the relationship between work stress and well-being. The study also provides theoretical and practical implications for human resource management and a design of flexible labor policies from a sustainability perspective.

SILENCE AS A STEP TOWARD THE PROCESS OF LISTENING AND ITS CENTRAL ROLE FOR INTERRELIGIOUS RELATIONS: A REFLECTION IN THE BACKGROUND OF THE PLURALITY OF INDONESIA

This article is developed by drawing from the Indonesian context. The country is characterized with its plurality, in terms of religion, belief, language, culture, and ethnicity. I start reflecting on the discourse of silence by exploring the rituals practiced by the Hindus in Bali and a number of Muslims in Java. An effort is then made to elaborate it from a philosophical perspective in which silence can be understood as the beginning of listening. The further elaboration, from a theological perspective, is worked out by focusing on the figure of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, through whom silence with listening can be regarded as a way to live out the faith that seeks for understanding and wisdom. Finally, I put it on the circumstances of interreligious relations. Here, being silent for listening can be considered as a sort of culture that requires certain conditions, some of which are the readiness to deal with internal tensions and the capability to listen through the inner ear of the heart by way of discernment. KEYWORDS: Silence. Listening. Faith. Understanding and Wisdom. Interreligious Relation.

Readiness for Change for Teachers in Pandemic Time: Viewed from Leadership and Organizational Culture

The existence of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on human life, one of which is in teaching and learning activities. Both students, teachers, and agencies are required to adapt to the situation and change learning methods to distance learning (online). The purpose of this research is to look for factors that influence teacher readiness for change, especially in terms of leadership and organizational culture. This study uses a quantitative approach to the statistical analysis used in the multiple regression method assisted by the SPSS tool. The measuring instruments used are arranged using a Likert scale based on various theories. From the results obtained, the principal's leadership and organizational culture have a significant influence on teacher readiness for change both partially and simultaneously.

PENGARUH MODEL SCIENCE ENVIRONMENT TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY (SETS) BERMUATAN ETNOSAINS TERHADAP PENGUASAAN KONSEP SISWA PADA MATERI LINGKUNGAN

Environmental learning that contains ethnoscience or local wisdom really needs to be implemented in the classroom in terms of culture and science that students can understand, for learning it is necessary to use appropriate learning models, one of which is the SETS model. This study aims to determine the effect of the SETS model on students' mastery of concepts in biology material. This research was conducted at SMAN 13 Pekanbaru in the 2021/2022 Academic Year. The population in this study were students of class X with a sample of class X4 as the experimental class (using the SETS model) and X5 as the control class (conventional learning) taken by simple random sampling technique. Quasi-experimental research, with the matching only pretest posttest control group design. Data collection through pretest, posttest and observation. In the research results, it was found that the average N-Gain in the control class was 0.25 (low), while in the experimental class it was 0.51 (medium). The results of the N-Gain t-test showed a significant difference between control and experimental class mastery of concepts. Thus it can be concluded that learning the SETS model.

The learning potential of streaming media: cultural sustainability in a post-digital society

The aim of this article is to contribute to a discussion on the challenges of and opportunities for using major streaming media platforms and fictional streaming series in an educational context. The article departs from research on the post-digital condition, platformization, cultural memory, and cultural sustainability. The tangible interest in cultural memory and heritage studies indicates the current need to include streaming services in these research fields, as the platforms for streaming media are vectors of popular culture and heritage in terms of digital archives. With the help of Astrid Erll's analytical model, the authors argue that perspectives from cultural memory studies are useful for deepening the learning potential of fictional series on streaming platforms. The article also supports the idea that major streaming services can be used in education as a supplement to other cultural resources if the potential sustainability risks are considered.

The Diverse Names Generator: An app for decreasing bias and promoting inclusion

It has been well established that example sentences in linguistics use a remarkably non-diverse set of proper names in terms of gender, culture, and ethnicity (e.g., Macaulay & Brice 1997, Cépeda et al. 2021, and Kotek et al. 2021). Here, we introduce a new resource, the Diverse Names Generator (DNG), which provides randomly selected proper names with IPA transcriptions from a user-contributed, linguist-curated database of names from a wide range of languages and cultures. Generating names randomly helps users to overcome unconscious bias that may lead them to default to using Anglophone, male-gendered names. The DNG can be accessed both through a website interface and through a downloadable Android app, both with offline capabilities. This novel resource is the first of its kind and can be used both while preparing examples ahead of time and while generating examples live in the classroom.

Culturagram of the Development and Education Processes of Children in Seasonal Agricultural Worker Familie

This study aimed to determine the Culturagram of Seasonal Agricultural Worker (SAW) families and their children through their daily life processes. In the study, the ethnography method was used to determine the physical and social factors affecting the daily life processes of SAW families and their children and to create a detailed culturagram. When the findings are evaluated in terms of culture, it was determined that the seasonal agricultural workers faced problems in terms of meeting basic needs, such as shelter, health and nutrition in the agricultural areas where the families migrated to. The family structure in such regions was different from the original place of residence, and the families used different languages in the public sphere and at home. The priority of these families was agricultural work because it was their livelihood. The migration of the families and their children from different regions that have different lifestyles also caused discrimination in their social lives.

Gellan gum-based hydrogels support the recreation of the dermal papilla microenvironment

The dermal papilla (DP), a specialized compartment within the hair follicle, regulates hair growth. However, human DP cells rapidly lose their inductivity in 2D-culture given the loss of positional and microenvironmental cues. Spheroids have been capable of recreating the 3D intercellular organization of DP cells, however, DP cell-matrix interactions are poorly represented. Considering the specific nature of the DP's extracellular matrix (ECM), we functionalized gellan gum (GG) with collagen IV-(HepIII) or fibronectin-(cRGDfC) derived peptide sequences to generate a 3D environment in which the phenotype and physiological functions of DP cells are restored. We further tuned the stiffness of the microenvironments by varying GG amount. Biomimetic peptides in stiffer hydrogels promoted the adhesion of DP cells, while each peptide and amount of polymer independently influenced the type and quantity of ECM proteins deposited. Furthermore, although peptides did not seem to have an influence, stiffer hydrogels improved the inductive capacity of DP cells after short term culture. Interestingly, independently of the peptide, these hydrogels supported the recapitulation of basic hair morphogenesis-like events when incorporated in an organotypic human skin in vitro model. Our work demonstrates that tailored GG hydrogels support the generation of a microenvironment in which both cell-ECM and cell-cell interactions positively influence DP cells towards the creation of an artificial DP.

Transcriptomic identification of differentially expressed genes in Levonorgestrel resistant endometrial cancer cell lines.

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynecologic malignancy in the world and incidence is steadily increasing. The Levonorgestrel Intrauterine System (LNG-IUS) is an alternative conservative treatment for early-stage EC, however, Levonorgestrel (LNG) resistance occurs for 1 in 3 people. This study aimed to present potential LNG resistance mechanisms and identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in EC cell lines. Two LNG resistant cell lines were developed through long term culture in LNG (MFE296R and MFE319R ). Whole transcriptome sequencing was carried out on triplicate RNA samples. EdgeR v3.32.1 was used to identify differentially DEGs. Blast2go V6.0 (BioBam software) was used for functional annotation and analysis of genomic datasets. Protein interactions were investigated using the STRING database, including the identification of genes with high levels of interaction (HUB genes). Select DEGs and HUB genes were validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot. Fifteen DEGs were identified according to FDR < 0.05 and logFC < 2. Protein analysis identified six HUB genes with a degree of connectivity > 10. Relative mRNA expression of MAOA, MAOB, THRSP, CD80, NDP, LINC01474, DUSP2 and CXCL8 was significantly upregulated in both LNGR cell lines. Relative protein expression of GNAO1 and MAOA were significantly upregulated in both LNGR cell lines. This research identified novel markers of resistance in LNGR cell lines. We discussed potential mechanisms of LNG resistance including dedifferentiation and immunostimulation. The next step for this research is to validate these findings further in both translational and clinical settings.

Long term culture promotes changes to growth, gene expression, and metabolism in CHO cells that are independent of production stability.

Phenotypic stability of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells over long term culture (LTC) presents one of the most pressing challenges in the development of therapeutic protein manufacturing processess. However, our current understanding of the consequences of LTC on recombinant (r-) CHO cell lines is still limited, particularly as clonally-derived cell lines present distinct production stability phenotypes. This study evaluated changes of culture performance, global gene expression, and cell metabolism of two clonally-derived CHO cell lines with a stable or unstable phenotype during the LTC (early [EP] vs. late [LP] culture passages). Our findings indicated that LTC altered the behavior of CHO cells in culture, in terms of growth, overall gene expression, and cell metabolism. Regardless whether cells were categorized as stable or unstable in terms of r-protein production, CHO cells at LP presented an earlier decline in cell viability and loss of any observable stationary phase. These changes were parallelled by the upregulation of genes involved in cell proliferation and survival pathways (i.e., MAPK/ERK, PI3K-Akt). Stable and unstable CHO cell lines both showed increased consumption of glucose and amino acids at LP, with a parallel accumulation of greater amounts of lactate and TCA cycle intermediates. In terms of production stability, we found that decreased r-protein production in the unstable cell line directly correlated to the loss in r-gene copy number and r-mRNA expression. Our data revealed that LTC produced ubiquitious effects on CHO cell phenotypes, changes that were rooted in alterations in cell transcriptome and metabolome. Overall, we found that CHO cells adapted their cellular function to proliferation and survival during the LTC, some of these changes may well have limited effects on overall yield or specific productivity of the desired r-product, but they may be critical towardthe capacity of cells to handle r-proteins with specific molecular features.

URGENSI KAJI ULANG REGULASI ANTI SLAPP TERHADAP PEJUANG KEADILAN LINGKUNGAN HIDUP

The polemic of environmental problems create an Anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participations (Anti-SLAPP) concept, as a solution to overcome the problem of removing public participation in the fight for environmental justice that has been regulated in Article 66 of Law Number 32 Year 2009 concerning The Protection and Management of The Environment. But in fact, that regulation doesn't guarantee legal protection and justice for all of the people, especially for the environmental activists. The issuance of Law Number 11 Year 2020 which changes the main elements related to the environment, provides an in-depth analysis space for author. Based on that, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the relevance of the Anti-SLAPP regulation and its implementation in realizing environmental justice, and the mechanism for strengthening the Anti-SLAPP regulation related to the issuance of Law Number 11 Year 2020. The method used in this paper is a juridicalnormative method with secondary data that were collected through literature study and journals. The result of the research and study is the Anti-SLAPP regulation in Law Number 32 Year 2009 concerning The Protection and Management of The Environment, as changed in Law Number 11 Year 2020 is inconsistent with the fact. Therefore, this problem requires improvements in terms of legal substance, structure, and culture in order to realize a comprehensive environmental justice.&#x0D; Keywords : “Anti-SLAPP”, “Environmental justice”, “Strengthening regulation”.&#x0D;

Institutional differences in Public Healthcare - a comparison between SUS from Brazil and NHS from UK

Created in 1988 together with the Federal Constitution of Brazil, and after a long and intense national sanitary movement, the SUS is a health system inspired by the models of European countries, especially the NHS (National Health Service) of the United Kingdom. Such health systems are the result of relevant long-term public policies, and their characteristics, statistics, outcomes, and public opinions are presented with a cultural background, which has been composed since the formation of countries. People directly depend on these systems to survive, especially those who are limited to public health policies and cannot afford private health care. The objective of this work was to evaluate metric attributes of the SUS and the NHS in terms of public policy, access to health, women's health, epidemiology, and culture. Databases from DATASUS, NHS DATASETS Digital and Hofstede Insights were used. In terms of culture, 2 new attributes were proposed for comparison between countries: medical elitism and street level bureaucrats. The results show that SUS is behind NHS in medical/hospital capacity, close to NHS in access, women's health, and chronic disease control, and behind in the control of contagious diseases. In the cultural sphere, the English profile is pictured by an individual who is more long-term oriented, challenging, focused on science, while the Brazilian individual is more subordinate, immediate, and demands more assistance and paternalism.