Cultural Traits Research Articles

Love, Loss, and Blue Ribbons

Every summer, rural America comes alive with agricultural fairs, centered around 4-H animal projects. During the course of these projects, a child raises an animal over the course of a spring and summer to be competitively judged and ultimately sold. How do children negotiate this short-term relationship with their animal? I conducted an ethnographic study of 4-H participants among Lancaster County (PA) as well as Ohio community fairs to elucidate this question and others. The experience gained during animal projects, especially showing an animal, serves as a tool to teach children about desirable, human constructed cultural traits that will help them navigate life’s challenges. Additionally, children learn about foodways, material culture and community-driven aesthetic values.

Thorstein Veblen on the cultural and economic significance of modern sports

Abstract This paper adopts an evolutionary institutionalist approach to explain the persistent popularity of sports in the USA. Veblen’s writing in Theory of the Leisure Class suggests two cultural and economic functions of modern sports: as a mode of preservation of leisure class values and as a means of conspicuous waste. Our analysis emphasises the role of sports as an institution for the preservation of leisure class values in general, and what Veblen terms ‘predatory prowess’ in particular. We identify several contemporary examples of Veblenian cultural traits that explain the affinity for sports in America and illustrate the continued applicability of Veblen’s analysis. Finally, we offer support for the Veblenian view by expanding the scope of our argument to the broader evolutionary institutionalist literature.

Labor mobility agreements and exit of migrants: Evidence from Europe

AbstractIn this paper, we study how free labor mobility agreements in Europe, usually thought to favor inward migration, might actually create good incentives for already settled migrants to exit their host country. Using outmigration data between 1990 and 2011, a period of observation where some countries entered the EU and especially a period during which Schengen agreements have been progressively implemented by a large number of European countries, we could test this conjecture. While the evidence for EU is mixed, we find very strong evidence that Schengen did increase migrations outflows by 40 to 53%. The effect appears to be even higher for outmigrants originating from Eastern Europe after their countries' accession to Schengen. Also, and consistent with the hypothesis of preferences for living at home or in a country with a close culture to home, the effect of Schengen on outmigration happens to be smaller when the countries of origin and of residence of the outmigrants are close in terms of their cultural traits. Also, we document that the Schengen effect is significantly higher for outmigration flows than for immigration flows by almost 20 percentage points.

Darwin’s finches in human-altered environments sing common song types and are more aggressive

Human-altered landscapes may act as an environmental filter benefiting species or individuals with specific sets of capacities or behaviors. Yet the effects of human activity on culturally transmitted traits in animals are still poorly understood. Combining song recordings and simulated territory intrusions, we investigated whether songs (a cultural trait) and aggressiveness (a personality trait) in small ground finches (Geospiza fuliginosa) differed along a gradient of human activity levels (high-low-high) spanning two habitats with contrasting levels of rainfall (arid lowlands, humid highlands). We found that more common syllable types were more prevalent in arid lowland sites and at sites with high human activity. The number of syllables per song, song duration, song tempo and song rhythmicity did not differ across habitats or levels of human activity. During simulated territorial intrusions, small ground finches living in areas with higher levels of human activity and in the arid lowlands (regardless of human activity) showed the strongest aggressive response compared to those living in areas with lower levels of human activity or in the humid highlands. Thus, prevalence of aggression and syllable commonness correlated with each other across sites. Our results support the idea that resource distribution and human-impacted environments may select jointly for specific behavioral phenotypes such as aggression as well as common cultural traits.

Relationship Between Clan Culture and Performance of Public Secondary Schools in Turbo Sub County, Kenya

Performance indicates how effectively and efficiently business strategy has been implemented. It has been associated with the extent to which organization achieves its goal. This study treated Performaance of Secondary schools in terms of achievement of national goals of education which include promotion of social, economic, technological and industrial skills assessed in terms of academic performance. The process of goal achievement involves daily organizational operations which constitute organization culture. This study sought to find out whether there is any relationship between clan culture and performance of public secondary schools in Turbo Sub-county, Kenya. The study will add knowledge to the existing literatures on clan culture and performance. It will benefit various entities and education stakeholders. The study was hinged on goal setting theory proposed by Edwin Locke, Cameroon and Queen Model. Reviewed literatures on the topic exhibited some inconsistencies which prompted this study to be conducted. Correlational research design was adopted targeting all 31 public secondary schools across Turbo Sub County. Stratified random sampling procedure was employed and self-administered questionnaires and document analysis guide were used in data collection. The sample size of 181 teachers with TSC registration and permanently employed was used. Pearson product moment correlation and regression model were utilized in data analysis. The study found positive and significant relationship between clan culture and performance of secondary schools in Turbo Sub County. The study therefore recommends the schools to nurture and embrace clan cultural traits to enhance performance of public secondary schools across Turbo Sub County, Kenya.

Does National Culture Influence Global Policy Diffusion: Evidence From Gender Mainstreaming Policy Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)

This study aims to pinpoint the combinations of national cultural traits that influence the global diffusion of gender mainstreaming. First, we have updated national culture indices using factor analysis. Then, we employ fuzzy-set QCA to identify potential configurations in line with theories of cultural contingency. A sample of 41 countries is examined. We find that the current diffusion requires a non-Islamic environment, while a high level of autonomy, weak uncertainty avoidance, and gender quotas are sufficient. This study serves as the starting point for further research on the relationship between national culture and the diffusion of gender mainstreaming policy.

Trust plays no role in regional U.S. economic development—And five other problems with the trust literature

AbstractEconomists have developed a vast empirical literature on how cultural traits like generalized trust affect economic output. Much of this literature finds a positive causal relationship between measures of generalized trust, as gathered by international surveys, and economic output. However, the trust literature commits five deadly empirical and theoretical sins that undermine many of its findings. From the quality of the survey questions and responses to the paucity of theoretical models used to explain how trust affects economic outcomes to the radically different results from experimental evidence and others, the trust literature is riven with poor methods and bad data. Even so, applying common methods used in the trust literature to regional level analysis in the United States during the 1972–2018 period reveals no statistically significant correlation between economic output and trust. Given our lack of findings at the subnational level, we find further evidence to be skeptical of the trust literature.

Preferred Feedback Styles Among Different Groups in an Academic Medical Center

IntroductionFeedback is an essential component in complex work environments. Different generations have been shown to have different sets of values, derived from societal and cultural changes. We hypothesize that generational differences may be associated with preferred feedback patterns among medical trainees and faculty in a large academic institution. MethodsA survey was distributed to all students, residents/fellows, and faculty at a large academic medical institution from April 2020 through June 2020. Survey questions evaluated feedback methods for six domains: preparedness, performance, attitude, technical procedures, inpatient, and outpatient care. Participants selected a preferred feedback method for each category. Patient demographics and survey responses were described using frequency statistics. We compared differences in feedback preferences based on generation and field of practice. ResultsA total of 871 participants completed the survey. Preferred feedback patterns in the medical field do not seem to align with sociologic theories of generational gaps. Most participants preferred to receive direct feedback after an activity away from their team, irrespective of their age or medical specialty. Individuals preferred direct feedback during an activity in front of their team only for technical procedures. Compared to nonsurgeons, surgeons were more likely to prefer direct feedback in front of team members for preparedness, performance, and attitude. ConclusionsGenerational membership is not significantly associated with preferred feedback patterns in this complex medical academic environment. Variations in feedback preferences are associated with field of practice that may be due to specialty-specific differences in culture and personality traits present within certain medical specialties, particularly surgery.

Intellectual property protection for traditional medical knowledge in China's context: a round peg in a square hole?

This article is an examination of the extent to which traditional medical knowledge in China can be protected by intellectual property laws. The analysis begins by providing a global picture with regard to the historic origin of intellectual property, exploring the reasons why China does not have indigenous counterparts to the western system of intellectual property rights protecting its traditional knowledge (including traditional medical knowledge) and stating the problems of transplanting western intellectual property standards in China. A discussion follows on how China, under foreign pressure, has made efforts to comply with the changing standards mandated by various international, regional, and bilateral arrangements related to intellectual property, with examples of the development of China's patent law. China's approach towards the protection of traditional medical knowledge in various international fora related to intellectual property is explored. Finally, there is a specific examination of the compatibilities between the western system of intellectual property rights and traditional medical knowledge in China, at the national and community levels. This article argues that the system of intellectual property rights does not easily fit with China's traditional medical knowledge because of China's unique cultural traits, distinctive historical context and wide ethnic, religious, and local community diversity.

Representaciones estereotipadas de la etnicidad en un hospital rural oaxaqueño: barreras a la salud intercultural

This article explores the knowledge that the personnel of a rural hospital in Oaxaca has of intercultural health and the ways in which they represent ethnicity. Based on semi-structured interviews with ten workers who interacted with indigenous language speaker patients, the article shows that the staff appreciated intercultural health but lacked a solid training in this area. Their representations of ethnicity emphasized negative cultural traits related to stereotypical ideas of what “being indigenous” means. Due to methodological limitations, the healthcare personnel’s practices towards their beneficiaries could not be observed so there are no findings on how representations may have influenced their conduct. The value of this investigation lies in its documentation of the contradictions and hardships of applying principles of interculturality in the health sector and the unveiling of cultural barriers which hinder positive interculturality as evidenced by the recurrent representations of indigenous health as defective and of indigenous people as ignorant, vulnerable, or stubborn.

Generation Z in Chile, Colombia, México, and Panama: Interests and new digital consumption habits. Their use of Instagram and TikTok

In a reality that combines the virtual with the physical and in a context of information saturation, there are consumers who are more critical, demanding, and less loyal. In this context, it is timely to know the new habits of the Centennials, so as to understand their behaviors and consumption trends, aligning future communication strategies to their personality and interests. The Centennials or Generation Z are digital natives, concerned with technology, and complex to understand (Alonso-López; Terol-Bolinches, 2020). Generation Z –analyzed in this study– is composed of those born between 2000 and 2008, which corresponds to the youth currently between 14 and 22 years old (Vilanova; Ortega, 2017; Hernández; Andrade-del-Cid, 2020). The main objective of this research is to determine the patterns of consumption and online behavior exhibited by this generation in Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Panama, with a focus on the characteristics of communication processes, online consumption patterns, and the cultural traits they possess. To achieve this, a mixed method is proposed consisting of a Twitter conversation analysis, survey application (n=550), in-depth interviews (n=36), and focus groups (n=2); all of which have been applied in the four selected countries. The main conclusions are that the preferred content of Centennials is humor (75%), with Instagram and TikTok being the most used networks. For they, the most important thing is to take care of their image and 40% are not interested in technological topics. Furthermore, cultural characteristics are shared among countries; however, language is the main difference between countries.

Borderland Anxieties: Lisān al-Dīn ibn al-Khaṭīb (d. 1374) and the Politics of Genealogy in Late Medieval Granada

This article seeks to contribute to larger scholarly conversations about the construction and deployment of difference in medieval borderland societies. It examines the ways in which genealogical notions of “Arabness” [ʿurūbiyyah], which expressed Islamic identity in terms of Arab lineage, structured the process of identity formation in Nasrid Granada (1232–1492). Through a close reading of the works of the Nasrid scholar-statesman Lisān al-Dīn ibn al-Khaṭīb (d. 1374) and his intellectual-political network, the article explores how Nasrid elites incorporated “Arabness” into the articulation of a local identity rooted in ethnic cohesion, religious exclusivity, and genealogical continuity. It argues that this constituted a particular strategy of identification that sought to differentiate Nasrid Granada from its neighbors and demarcate the boundaries between al-Andalus, Christian Iberia, and the Maghrib, even as these regions came to be tied even more closely together through political, intellectual, social, and mercantile networks between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. The article concludes with a consideration of the “racialization of religion” and the manner in which Ibn al-Khaṭīb integrated ideas about environmental determinism and physiognomy, alongside genealogy, to represent the religious and cultural traits of the inhabitants of Granada as fixed, immutable, and heritable characteristics, the product of both lineage and environment. Through an examination of the racialized production of difference within the dynamic borderland context of late medieval Iberia, this article seeks to invite broader comparative approaches that integrate the medieval Islamic world into discussions about race, racialization, and ethnicity in the Middle Ages.

An Analysis of the Socio-cultural Implications of Orality in Iran

This article relies on a leading line of anthropological research on the socio-cultural implications of orality in Iran. The analyses reveal that the prevalence of oral language in Iran is associated with a wide range of implications, such as redundancy, emotionality, ambiguity, high-context culture traits, the lack of critical thinking, the gap between speech and writing, the importance of poetry, restricted scientific and technical knowledge, religiosity, traditionalism, the centrality of negotiating, old-fashioned entrepreneurship, and authoritarian governance and leadership. The article examines the practical consequences of orality on Iranian culture, social relations, and politics.

Target firms’ characteristics and the effects of sovereign wealth funds’ investments: Does cultural context of SWFs matter?

This paper investigates whether the determinants and effects of sovereign wealth fund (SWF) investments vary across SWFs' countries of origin. We classify SWFs based on the national culture of their home countries. On the side of investment motives, our findings show different nuances across SWFs classified by cultural origins. Furthermore, the post-investment approach varies among SWFs distinguished on the basis of the cultural traits of their home country. As a whole, these findings confirm that the heterogeneity of the cultural origin of SWFs matters in terms of selection criteria and effects.

Aamer Hussein's The Cloud Messenger: A Migratory Bird's Co-Existence in a Multicultural World

This article explores the transcultural contact zone in Aamer Hussein’s fiction through Pratt's concept of autoethnography in the cultural contact zone. Hussein presents residents of a multicultural world, coexisting with people of diverse nationalities and cultural backgrounds. The social positioning of his characters as a minority cultural group has been theorized through Kymlika’s description of social classes. Hussein portrays the identity issues of his characters in the multicultural, cosmopolitan world. His characters develop connections with their current habitus and their previous home to discover ways to translate their cultural identity to their mainstream society. Cultural traits, modes of life, and the nature of cross-cultural relationships of the characters have been explored through common grounds proposed by Pratt and Krupat in their theories of ethnography and ethnocentricism respectively.

대학 인성교육 덕목과 차문화의 인성적 가치 고찰

Regardless of times and spaces, all countries and societies recognize the values and importance of personality. Whenever unimaginable accidents and happenings occurred, we had to retrospect the current situaion of personal education and as our society gave a focus only on ability, the educational value of personality and its responsibility for society have become important. personality education is engaged in making us human, it should be made for life. It was considered that virtues of personality education had something in common with personality values of tea culture, this study speculated on the correlation. In tea life of tea people of the past, personality values had a great influence on cultivation of their personality. Personlaity training through tea enhanced dignity as tea people. Therefore, as this study investigated the personality traits tea people obtained through tea culture, their views on personality could be understood. Based on the results, this study examined a positive correlation between personality traits of tea culture and personality virues of liberal education in colleges.

Language as a means of communication and social construction: Regarding the formation of our identity and shared culture

The purpose of this paper is to explore the cultural dimension of language that turns into an issue of identity. The paper analyses the relationship between communication/language and culture. The deductive method, analysis, synthesis, and modelling, combined with a literature search in several databases, including Google Scholar, Scopus search and Web of Science, made possible the revelation of the issue of language as a means of communication, social construction, and the formation of our identity and common culture. The presented research was developed by describing various approaches and models of the concept of culture that have influenced and continue to influence intercultural communication, and by describing linguistic theories related to the relationship between language and culture. The results of the work have shown the connections between language, discourse, individual, and culture. The concept of individual identity has been established. The phenomenon of the social and/or cultural identity of a group and their differences was revealed. In the article a philosophical judgment about intercultural dialog was conducted. In addition, the question of what the identity and behaviour of individuals in their collective life was revealed. The revelation of these issues has shown that dealing with the cultural nature of language is not an easy task, especially in terms of the hypothesis that language is a distinctive feature of individuals. The results of the work have shown that it is a discourse in the intercultural dialogue that represents ways of speaking that are specific to both individuals and shared cultures. In the era of interference, intercultural communication is opportune and appropriate. The importance of the results lies in the development of four competencies in the context of “plurality of languages” that show how cultural identity traits can enable the intercultural dialogue.

The biogeography and evolution of land ownership

AbstractAimLand ownership norms are well documented and play a central role in social–ecological systems. Yet only recently has the spatial and temporal distribution of land ownership been examined using biogeographical and evolutionary approaches. We incorporate biogeographical and evolutionary modelling to test associations between land ownership and environmental, subsistence and cultural contact predictors.LocationAfrica.TaxonBantu and Bantoid ethnolinguistic groups (73 societies).MethodsBased on ethnographies for 73 societies, we coded land ownership norms as none, group, kin or individual. We paired these data with language phylogenies, and measured phylogenetic and geographical signal and modelled alternative evolutionary trajectories using maximum likelihood methods. We tested the influence of environmental, subsistence and cultural predictors on spatial variation in land ownership, using a multi‐model inference approach based on logistic regression.ResultsBantu land ownership norms likely evolved on a unilinear trajectory (i.e. societies progress or regress along a series of ownership types), but not one requiring consistent increase in exclusivity (i.e. restrictions towards ownership by smaller groups) as suggested by prior theory. Our biogeographical analyses suggest land ownership is more likely where neighbours also own land and resource productivity is predictable. Reliance on agriculture has relatively small effect sizes and low importance in the model.Main ConclusionsWe find support for multiple evolutionary pathways. Lack of resolution may be due to localized horizontal transfer of norms consistent with the influence of neighbours we find from biogeographical analyses. We cannot rule out other untested mechanisms. Although long‐standing theories propose links between subsistence practices and land ownership, our results suggest subsistence plays only a modest role. Our results also support resource defensibility theory (i.e. land ownership is more likely where environmental productivity is predictable). Overall, we demonstrate the value of combining analytical approaches from evolution and biogeography to test hypotheses on the spatial and temporal variation of human cultural traits.

The Impact of the Use of Augmented Reality on Online Purchasing Behavior Sustainability: The Saudi Consumer as a Model

This study aimed to examine the impact of augmented reality (AR) on the purchasing behavior of Saudi customers using analytic–descriptive methods and data from a snowball sample of 812 online buyers. Positive correlations were found between AR factors (hermeneutic, embodiment, and background) and dimensions (quality, fun, and creativity) and the purchase experience. Young women aged 17–26 mainly use AR for buying clothes and accessories, and the majority of the sample shops are available locally through mobile apps. The findings indicate that AR has a significant influence on buying decisions and suggest its potential use in marketing communications. The results also reveal that gender, social status, education level, and monthly income have an impact on participants’ responses to AR, with women and those who are married having more favorable views. Clothing and accessories were found to be the most frequently purchased products through AR. There were no significant differences based on age or the number of family members. Participants reported positively about their AR experience, and their concerns and anxiety did not affect their purchasing experience. Based on the main study’s results, a number of recommendations can be made: Saudi businesses need to use AR in their marketing communication strategies to meet consumer needs and trends. To maximize the benefits of brand awareness, they should use AR techniques and adopt this technology for products that depend on design in their production. When using AR in general and in light of the theories that have been studied, it is important to think about the cultural traits and dimensions of Saudi consumers and conduct further exploratory research before implementation.

TURKMEN VERNACULAR MUSIC CULTURE AS A SUBJECT MATTER OF THE ALMANAC “AYDING-GYUNLER”

The paper considers the representation of Turkmen music culture in the Soviet almanac “Ayding-Gyunler” (1934) and aims to recognize the patterns of including vernacular culture into the Soviet literary field. The analysis of the texts’ content and the archival sources, including unpublished ones, sheds a light on the processes of incorporation of the so-called “national” culture into the Soviet context, such as declared decolonization and an attempt to “understand the new Turkmenistan”. The analysis is put into historical and cultural perspective of recognizing the typical Turkmen traits of the music culture in the texts of the almanac. Th e archival sources include unpublished notes on the Turkmen folklore, which is considered as one of the sources of the writers’ work. Th e texts of the almanac represent the view of the Europeans –members of the writers’ brigade who provided materials for the almanac. The poem by Turkmen author Durdy Klych is strongly connected with vernacular culture, but being put into the context of the almanac, it gains a new use for the aims of the Soviet literature. The view of the Turkmen culture in the almanac remains oriental, which dissonates with the proclaimed “deexotization” of the Soviet policy. However, further investigation into the next almanac “Turkmenistan” should be made. It is probable that the integration continued and the view of the writers changed according to the contemporary Soviet policy.