Cultural References Research Articles

Lost Highways: An Examination of the Question of Risk Involved in Sexual Homicides of Hitchhiking Victims.

Despite cultural references to the dangers of hitchhiking, particularly for sexual homicide, no published research investigates these incidents from both an offender and crime scene perspective. Using the Sexual Homicide International Database (SHIelD), we explore lifestyle risk by comparing sexual homicide cases involving hitchhiking victims to those involving victims engaged in sex trade work. The results, based on the use of bivariate and multivariate statistics, indicate that offenders view hitchhiking victims as opportunities for confinement without physical restraint, often engaging in sexual acts and theft. While not primarily sadistic or sexually deviant, many offenders partake in criminal activities, exhibit psychological disorders, and possess weapons. Hitchhiking facilitates perpetrator-victim encounters due to its environmental characteristics. Victims in the sex trade, typically found in isolated locations, are at the mercy of offenders who drive them to unknown destinations. In contrast, murderers targeting low-risk victims display more sexual preoccupations, inserting foreign objects and engaging in postmortem activities. These distinctions suggest distinct offender profiles for each lifestyle.

Symbols of the Belarusian Resistance after the 2020 Presidential Election

The protests that erupted in August 2020 in Belarus constituted the largest public outcry against the authorities since the beginning of the state’s establishment. Their distinguishing feature was their participants’ unprecedented use of symbols of defiance. From the first days, protesters stood out for a high level of awareness of the use of symbols and skilful adaptation of historical and cultural references. They resorted to borrowing symbols previously used at home or abroad, using collective memory and producing their own system of symbolism. Belarusian society emerged from the protests significantly weakened. Protest leaders either ended up in penal colonies or had to flee abroad. Internationally, however, the reaction of Belarusians has transformed their image. Before August 2020, they were judged subservient and passive. After that, they revealed themselves as a tenacious and creative nation.

Enhancing Medical Student Engagement Through Cinematic Clinical Narratives: Multimodal Generative AI-Based Mixed Methods Study.

Medical students often struggle to engage with and retain complex pharmacology topics during their preclinical education. Traditional teaching methods can lead to passive learning and poor long-term retention of critical concepts. This study aims to enhance the teaching of clinical pharmacology in medical school by using a multimodal generative artificial intelligence (genAI) approach to create compelling, cinematic clinical narratives (CCNs). We transformed a standard clinical case into an engaging, interactive multimedia experience called "Shattered Slippers." This CCN used various genAI tools for content creation: GPT-4 for developing the storyline, Leonardo.ai and Stable Diffusion for generating images, Eleven Labs for creating audio narrations, and Suno for composing a theme song. The CCN integrated narrative styles and pop culture references to enhance student engagement. It was applied in teaching first-year medical students about immune system pharmacology. Student responses were assessed through the Situational Interest Survey for Multimedia and examination performance. The target audience comprised first-year medical students (n=40), with 18 responding to the Situational Interest Survey for Multimedia survey (n=18). The study revealed a marked preference for the genAI-enhanced CCNs over traditional teaching methods. Key findings include the majority of surveyed students preferring the CCN over traditional clinical cases (14/18), as well as high average scores for triggered situational interest (mean 4.58, SD 0.53), maintained interest (mean 4.40, SD 0.53), maintained-feeling interest (mean 4.38, SD 0.51), and maintained-value interest (mean 4.42, SD 0.54). Students achieved an average score of 88% on examination questions related to the CCN material, indicating successful learning and retention. Qualitative feedback highlighted increased engagement, improved recall, and appreciation for the narrative style and pop culture references. This study demonstrates the potential of using a multimodal genAI-driven approach to create CCNs in medical education. The "Shattered Slippers" case effectively enhanced student engagement and promoted knowledge retention in complex pharmacological topics. This innovative method suggests a novel direction for curriculum development that could improve learning outcomes and student satisfaction in medical education. Future research should explore the long-term retention of knowledge and the applicability of learned material in clinical settings, as well as the potential for broader implementation of this approach across various medical education contexts.

Aquis Submersus. Fact and Fiction in the Literary Afterlife of the Gelting Bay Death Sentences

This article turns the issue’s attention to contemporary German fiction as it analyses Jochen Missfeldt’s (2005) novel, Steilküste. Ein See – und Nachtstück. The novel deals with the so-called ‘Gelting Bay Death Sentences’, the historical case of three young marines of the German Reichsmarine who were sentenced to death for desertion and executed on a warship in Gelting Bay on 10 May 1945, when the war was already over. By zooming in and out of space and time, by focalizing through different protagonists and mixing fact with fiction, documentary realism with lyrical evocations of the natural setting, cultural references, symbolic associations and even phantasmagorical elements, the novel transforms the enchanting natural ‘marine’ setting of Gelting Bay into an allegorical ‘theatrum memoriae’. It reveals a transgenerational narrative of guilt covering a period of time that stretches back into Germany's colonial past on the one hand, and into post-1945 Germany on the other.

Public Enemy #1: How Many More?

Public Enemy #1: How many more? explores historical and contemporary manifestations of the tobacco industry on public health, and specifically Black lives, in the United States. This is reinforced with bold text that serves as a mini poem within the poem, emphasizing tobacco's impact on mortality. By juxtaposing messaging from the industry with Black American music (e.g., Hip Hop, R&B lyrics), TV culture references, and movements for racial justice, the poem provides an opportunity for critical analysis of the intersections between commercial tobacco, systemic racism, and capitalism. It counters narratives focused on personal responsibility and instead offers a complex, nuanced understanding of how systems of power intersect to harm communities. The title, a hip-hop reference to the group Public Enemy, whose songs include political messages to raise cultural consciousness, is a call to reflect on who is really the most dangerous threat in our society. I intentionally use italics for emphasis and references from Black culture to elevate our lives, voices, contributions, and legacies, which are in no way expendable. Any loss is a societal loss. Birthed from the pains of my own series of tobacco-related familial losses, this poem is a testament that the fight is one of reclamation that must be ongoing and provides an opportunity for reckoning and truth-telling. Like the Public Enemy song it references, Public Enemy #1: How many more? is a battle cry to take system-level action on these intricately woven epidemics to rectify, rather than perpetuate injustice, and advance racial and health equity. To view the original version of this poem, see the supplemental material section of this article online.

Uncanny Doubling

The architect and spatial designer necessarily treats as ‘real’ the unbuilt building latent in their representations, doubling their conceptual and perceptual understanding of what is simultaneously there and not-there. One form of architectural representation particularly embodies this nature of presence and absence—the physical model. Inhabiting the same space as the designer, the materially present artefact of the model projects a larger version of itself into the mind of its viewer, while maintaining its own small ‘realness’. I suggest that in the reading of the physical model, and potentially in photographs and films taken from the model, this uncanny doubling lends an increased level of viewer spatial engagement than other forms of three-dimensional representation. In my transdisciplinary art/architecture practice I explore the uncanny nature of the physical model in relation to built and unbuilt architectures. Through the employment of recursive models of models, of models, of models, I foreground the viewer’s acts of perceptual construction, while challenging their understanding of what is ‘real’. Forms of mise en abyme permeate cultural references, where doubling occurs and reoccurs, producing in their viewers that fundamentally uncanny place of the ‘abyme’, or abyss. I seek to make work that magnifies the viewer’s uncanny experience through the production of physical model replicas of existing rooms and galleries, which each contain a model replica of the model, and so on, until the physical limitations of the material halt the recursive iteration. These pieces ultimately bring the built ‘real’ interior/building into the realm of model, of the unbuilt, but still physically, materially, and spatially present.

Study of Linguistics Aspect in Translation of English Education Department

This study investigates linguistic aspects in the translation process carried out by English Education Department students at IAIN Sultan Amai Gorontalo. The research focuses on identifying common linguistic errors, analyzing their causes, and evaluating the linguistic competencies necessary for accurate translation. Conducted from April 4th to May 7th, 2024, the study utilized a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative analysis of students’ translations of Factfulness by Hans Rosling, in-depth interviews, and classroom observations. AI tools assessed translation accuracy, while triangulation ensured data validity by comparing data sources and consulting experts. The findings highlight linguistic and cultural errors. Linguistic errors are categorized into morphology (58 errors), syntax (78 errors), and semantics (121 errors). Morphological errors stem from issues like singular-plural translation and affixation, while syntactic errors involve difficulties in adapting language structures. Semantic errors, the most prevalent, indicate challenges in conveying nuanced meanings accurately. Cultural errors (28 instances) are linked to students' limited understanding of cultural references, particularly those involving material culture and social organization. These results underscore the need to enhance students' linguistic and extralinguistic competencies. Recommendations include revising the curriculum to integrate cultural elements, fostering a deeper understanding of linguistic structures, and using innovative teaching strategies. This study provides insights into the linguistic challenges faced by students and offers practical suggestions to improve translation teaching, thereby contributing to better translation outcomes and more effective language education.

East Wind Breaks: Identification of Zhongguofeng Music as a Form of “Chinese Crossover” and “Hybrid Thinking” in Contemporary Mandopop

Since 2000, the phenomenal rise of Jay Chou, an iconic pop artist from Taiwan, has evoked discussions on Mandopop scene. This study aims to conduct a micro-analysis of selected music samples from Chou between 2000 and 2010 in order to identify Zhongguofeng music, which employs Phillip Tagg’s music analysis theory. The findings find out that Chou’s musical works demonstrate substantial Chinese elements in terms of lyrics, melody, and music cultural references. In addition, they reflect diversified musical styles, infusing Chinese-style hybridity into popular music. As a result, these musical works have formed a unique Zhongguofeng music standard that could play a defining role in contemporary Mandopop. It is anticipated that a discourse with a specific analytical setting could be established in this study. It can offer an insight into how the framework of hybridity in contemporary Mandopop is used to overcome the borders of genres, geopolitics, narratives, and negotiation of cultural identity between the “local” and the “global.”

An Analytical Study of the Cultural Content of English Language Textbooks for Secondary School in the Saudi Arabia in Light of the Challenges of Globalization

The present study aimed at identifying the extent of the inclusion of cultural contents in the English textbook "Flying High "in the light of globalization challenges. Thus, this analytical study intended to answer the following question: to what extent does the English textbook "Flying High" include the cultural contents in the light of globalization challenges? The researcher conducted the descriptive analytical approach to answer the research question. The sample of the study consisted of the English textbook of 1st Secondary Stage "Flying High", level (1) published in Saudi Arabia. A content analysis tool was prepared by the researcher for collecting data depending on theoretical framework. The results of the study can be summarized as follows:1) Local cultural content" received the lion's share of total cultural contents in (56.8%) for big "C" culture and (63.5 %) for Small "c" culture. 2) Target cultural content received (16,2%) for big "C" culture and (25,4%) for small "c" culture. 3) International cultural content received (27%) for big "C" culture and (11,1%) for small "c" culture. Therefore, the results revealed that there was an extensive use of local cultural references while there was an obvious absence of many other target and international cultural contents. It was also clear that cultural elements were presented in many positions, but in a superficial and narrow way. Based on the findings of the study, several suggestions for enhancing the cultural content of English textbooks have been offered.

Entre deuses e drags: uma análise discursiva de uma intervenção artística nas Olimpíadas de 2024 em Paris

This article explores the artistic intervention carried out at the opening of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, which reinterprets “The Feast of the Gods” by Jan Hermansz van Bijlert (1635-1640), with the participation of drag queens. The performance, centered on the figure of Dionysus, highlighted themes such as diversity, inclusion and celebration of fashion, while also rescuing historical and cultural references. Based on Pecheutian Discourse Analysis, the text investigates how the reinterpretation of classical works can subvert traditional meanings, promoting new narratives and visibility for the LGBT+ community. The analysis also reflects on the role of art in the production of subjectivities and the potential of artistic reinterpretations to question established norms, inserting themselves in global contexts such as the Olympic Games.

Hong Kong’s Anime: A Cultural History of Anime in Hong Kong’s Last Decade

In 2019 and 2020, Hong Kong experienced waves of anti-government protests, with millions participating both online and offline. The semiotic of transnational popular culture references, including film and music, played a crucial role in these protests. Japanese animation and manga were especially prominent in online and offline communication, in the form of memes, slogans, videos, and activist art produced mostly by people under 29 years of age. Namely, anime and manga became not only the primary audio-visual language of the protests but also a transnational pop digital anarchist network between Hong Kong and the rest of the world. This article refers to this phenomenon as “Hong Kong’s anime” due to its unique transformation, adaptation, and sociocultural and political significance during these protests. Anime has a heterogeneous history as both institutional soft power and non-institutionalized fandom. While acknowledging the heterogeneous landscape of anime, this article focuses on its potential as a “transnational pop digital anarchist network” by analyzing its role in shaping people’s transnational cultural history and in writing people’s historiography. Based on interviews with the creators of protest art and the analysis of online and offline content, Hong Kong’s anime is revealed to be a new form of transnational historiography, emerging from transnational pop digital anarchist networks and connecting ordinary people in Hong Kong and worldwide through anime.

A Comparative Study of Cultural Values and Beliefs in the Selection and Use of Precedent Phenomena in American and Kyrgyz Discourse

The study examines the complex relationship between cultural values and the selection and use of precedent phenomena in American and Kyrgyz discourse. Precedent phenomena are recurring cultural references that serve as criteria for shared understanding and identity. The study aims to identify key values and beliefs. Through comparative text analysis, common patterns are identified in these two cultures. The study may shed light on underlying cultural values. Historical narratives play a decisive role in shaping the selection of precedent phenomena.

Phonetic and semantic structures in the Hungarian translations of Ulysses

This study delved into the challenges and intricacies of intertextuality present in Hungarian translations of James Joyce’s Ulysses, focusing particularly on Shakespearean references and analyzing intertextual linguistic data between English and Hungarian equivalents. It examines the applicability of Antoine Berman and Paul Bensimon’s retranslation hypothesis, alongside phonetic and semantic structures. By examining intertextual references, the study elucidates the challenges faced by Joyce’s Hungarian translators and offers insights into the source text’s reception. Allusions and cultural references in Ulysses can be linked back to Shakespeare’s oeuvre. Through meticulously chosen text segments, the study supports the notion that retranslations adhere more closely to the original text, employing a foreignizing approach, while first translations tend towards domestication. Categorized according to semantic and phonetic attributes, segments from Shakespearean works and their Hungarian counterparts highlight nuances of intensity and expressivity. Analysis of Shakespearean intertextualities reveals a close link between translation and retranslation, suggesting that retranslations maintain the source text’s characteristics more faithfully.

Implementing Readers Theatre as an arts-based participatory research method in exploring Asian-Canadian youth identities

This article provides an overview of our experiences implementing Readers Theatre within the study “Asian-Canadian youth identities in a pandemic era: Arts-based research”. Led by Dr. Nazilla Khanlou, Principal Investigator (PI), this research uses arts-based methodologies (visual arts and dramatic arts) to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Asian-Canadian youth identities (Khanlou et al., 2021). As part of the ongoing research, two virtual Readers Theatre workshops were conducted with 24 Asian-Canadian youth aged 16-24. The participants were divided into four groups of six youth and asked to create Readers Theatre scripts illuminating the impact of the pandemic on Asian-Canadian youth and their wellbeing. Preliminary findings from the virtual workshops highlighted mental health challenges, complex family dynamics, and the resilience of Asian-Canadian youth. The Readers Theatre scripts were rich in cultural references and personal narratives and facilitated meaningful dialogue among youth participants. This method proved effective in capturing the identities and experiences of Asian-Canadian youth during the pandemic, offering valuable insights for youth-centred practice, policy, and scholarship. Keywords: Arts-based methodologies, youth, identity, drama, Readers Theatre, COVID-19.

Modelo de gobierno de TI para centros de servicios compartidos del sector energético

The Shared Services Centers (SSC) are presented as a business model based on a collaborative strategy that allows separating and centralizing activities, thus optimizing time and resources. In Colombia, the growth trends of these SSCs have significantly increased. This study analyzes the structure of the components of IT Governance models for Shared Services Centers in the energy sector through a quantitative approach with descriptive scope. It begins with a state-of-the-art review of the SSCs and the issues they face, followed by a description of the IT governance model elements, including components such as Processes, Organizational Structures, Principles, Policies and Reference Frameworks, Culture, Ethics and Behavior, People, Skills and Competences, and Services, Infrastructure and Applications.

DIGITAL REDESIGN OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE TEXTILE PATTERNS: A SYNTHESIS OF NATIONAL TRADITIONS AND INNOVATIONS

Purpose: the study explores the complexity of digitally transforming ancient Chinese textile patterns and allows identifying the stages of its digital redesign, blending national tradition craftsmanship with contemporary intellect. Methodology. A Systematic Exploration of Digital Redesign for Traditional Chinese Textile Patterns presents a methodical approach to investigating the potential of digitally redesigning traditional Chinese textiles. Using the method of historical and retrospective analysis provides a study of the history and origin of cultural references to traditional patterns. Art historical analysis of traditional ancient patterns requires researchers to make full use of previous records from history, literature, and visual works in order to understand the corresponding culture, social condition, and artistic world related to these patterns. Methods Archival research, Stylistic analysis, and Iconographic analysis and methods of digital redesign allow to outline ways of integrating traditional motifs into design practices, demonstrate their adaptability and ability to rethink their use in a digital environment. Forecasting method demonstrates the universal appeal of Chinese textile patterns in fostering creative bridges that uphold culture and promote good designs without boundaries. Results. It is proved in the work that traditional Chinese textile patterns have undergone changes over time, yet they have not entirely vanished in their transformation. This study outlines the author's approach to manufacturing innovation, which involves a structured, holistic process for producing contemporary designs using traditional national textile motifs, based on a redraft of cultural patterns. Five key stages of redesign of Chinese textile patterns are highlighted, such as Traditional Inspirations, Adaptation and Simplifications, Integration into Design Practices, Digital Transformation and Cross-Cultural Fusion. These stages extend beyond Chinese textiles, serving as a universal model for product development that incorporates traditional elements of national heritage. It ensures a seamless fusion of tradition and contemporary design. It also underscores the strength and durability of Chinese textile heritage, which illustrates its capability to pass down creativity for new forms in a world that is rapidly changing. The results highlight the importance of maintaining heritage while using modern technology. Scientific novelty. This work describes an original method of digital re-design for traditional textile patterns, based on a five-phased model. The research links each stage with its core and talks about how their commonality has significance to the more general conversation of cultural heritage preservation in contemporary design. It was proved for the first time that they serve as the foundation for a universal redesign protocol, equipping designers worldwide with knowledge and tools that enhance both cultural and digital design studies.

Jews Stereotypes in the Arabic and Spanish Cultures: A Comparative Study

Objectives: This study primarily aims to investigate the stereotype of Jews in Arabic and Spanish cultures, where they are similarly described and portrayed. It also seeks to demonstrate that Jews are, to a great extent, negatively depicted in both cultures, emphasizing that societal stereotypes about Jews largely align in both contexts. Methods: The methodology of the study involves identifying specific stereotypes of Jews present in both Arabic and Spanish cultures. To practically compare these stereotypes, the study examines nine Quranic verses representing Jewish stereotypes and nine Spanish proverbs expressing the same stereotypes. The stereotypes are then compared across cultures. Results: The main finding of this study is that stereotypes about a particular community or nation can stem from deeply rooted literature, whether divine, like the Quran, or non-divine, like proverbs. The study concludes that Arabs and Spanish share similar negative viewpoints about Jews. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that Jews are similarly depicted in Arabic and Spanish cultures. It also highlights that both the Qur'an and Spanish proverbs serve as significant cultural and authentic references, sharing the same negative viewpoint about Jews. Furthermore, the study concludes that the impact of the Qur'an on Arabic culture is parallel to the influence of proverbs on Spanish culture.

A Corpus-Based Evaluation of English Readers’ Aesthetic Reception of the Shandong-English Translation in Red Sorghum

In the context of world literature, target readers’ aesthetic reception of literary works has shifted from single culture to multiple cultures and has become a crucial factor in social-cultural communication. Shandong dialect, previously misidentified as vulgar expressions in literary research, has proved to have specific aesthetic values as explored in this research. This paper aims to analyse reasons for aesthetic criticism and find solutions to enhance the aesthetic acceptability of Shandong-English translation in Red Sorghum among English readers. Data were collected from different channels, including scholarly critiques, book reviews, blog posts by literary critics, and online forums. A corpus-based methodology is utilized to examine the aesthetic acceptability and reasons for aesthetic criticism by employing a re-framed aesthetic reception theory. Results showed greater frequency of aesthetic acceptance in book reviews than in online forums and blog posts by literary critics, with 53.7 per cent aesthetic acceptance versus 39.7 per cent aesthetic criticism from a total 529 sample data, excluding 6.6 per cent neutrality. Furthermore, book reviews showed a greater tendency towards aesthetic acceptance (64.3%) than online forums (51.5%) and blog posts by literary critics (33.3%). Lastly, the reasons for aesthetic criticism were mainly demonstrated in cultural disparity and defamiliarization of Shandong dialectal expression. The paper concludes by underscoring the significance of shifting from a text-oriented tendency to readers’ expectancy, initiative interaction, and social consciousness in the interaction with literary works. The study contributes reconstructed theory and practical insights for translators to balance the original cultural references and acceptability among English readers.

Generative AI, Copyright and Emancipation: The Case of Digital Art

The emancipatory effect of copyright on the lives of creators has long been hindered by the concentration of rights by powerful entities that can hold creativity hostage through exclusive rights over countless cultural references. Exceptions to copyright have played an important counter-hegemonic role, supporting what we might call a public domain counterprinciple. The recent explosion of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) upends this scenario, with creators bringing copyright infringement claims to the courts to determine, inter alia, the existence and relevance of copying in the training process and whether AI outputs qualify as derivative works. Using digital art as an example, this article assesses these dynamics from the perspective of emancipation, considering the interplay of copyright rules, exceptions, principles and counterprinciples, and seeks to devise pathways, within and outside copyright, to address the challenges posed to creators by GenAI.

New insights into oxidative damage to yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) muscle by acute ammonia stress

Ammonia causes stress, inhibits fish growth, and damages tissues and organs. The muscle proliferation contributes to more than 50 % of the growth of fish. This study aimed to investigate the effects of acute ammonia stress on muscle damage, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and scavenging, and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco). In this study, yellow catfish were exposed to three concentrations of ammonia (0, 25, and 125 mg/L) for 96 h. The results showed that acute ammonia stress resulted in the deterioration of plasma biochemical parameters, histopathological injury, and oxidative damage in the muscle. In addition, ammonia stress led to the overproduction of muscle ROS, which may be partially related to the activation of the muscle NADPH oxidase (NOX) family. Ammonia stress reduces the ability to scavenge ROS, which may be partly related to the inhibition of the muscle antioxidant system. Ammonia stress leads to ERS, which may be related in part to the activation of muscle-activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1)/X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1), and protein kinase RNA-activating-like ER kinase (PERK)/eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF2α)/transcription factor 4 (ATF4) pathways. In conclusion, the present study provides evidence for the study of muscle toxicity induced by ammonia stress in freshwater fish and provides a reference for the healthy culture of yellow catfish.