European Culture Research Articles

On Seeing Long Shadows: Is Academic Medicine at its Core a Practice of Racial Oppression?

Suggestions that academic medicine is systemically racist are increasingly common in the medical literature. Such suggestions often rely upon expansive notions of systemic racism that are deeply controversial. The author argues for an empirical concept of systemic racism and offers a counter argument to a recent suggestion that academic medicine is systemically racist in its treatment of medical trainees: Anderson et al.'s(Academic Medicine, 98(8S), S28-S36, 2023) "The Long Shadow: a Historical Perspective on Racism in Medical Education." Contra the authors of "The Long Shadow," the author argues that racial performance disparities in medical education cannot be validly attributed to racism without careful empirical confirmation; he further argues that standards of assessment in medical education cannot be properly deemed racist merely because minority trainees are disproportionately disadvantaged by them. Furthermore, the history of medicine and society in the Anglo-European West is not, as argued by the authors of "The Long Shadow," best viewed as one long tale of racial oppression culminating in the present day pervasive racism of academic medicine in the United States. Racism is a deplorable stain on our history and our present but it is not the historical essence of Christianity, European civilization, Western medicine, or contemporary academic medical institutions.

“Des peines en général” in the French “Code pénal” of 1791

The publication is a continuation of the author’s studies on the history of judicial law of revolutionary France, with the author seeking to shed light on the sometimes underestimated first French criminal codification, adopted by the National Assembly in 1791. The researcher’s interests focus on the regulations determining the system of penalties adopted in the codification. Although the author’s dominant research method is exegesis of the normative text in the formal-dogmatic convention, the instruments of comparative legal studies have been used as well. Confronting the provisions of the code with the doctrinal assumptions and demands of the Enlightenment, the author seeks to show the complexity of multifaceted issues and specificity of the realities of revolutionary legislators, which necessitated compromises that are controversial for some researchers. Regardless of the critical remarks that have often been made about the French legislators, it is impossible to underestimate the crucial importance of the Code for the development of a European legal culture, which the author has tried to demonstrate by emphasising the pioneering nature of the law from the point of view of the development of new legal institutions.

BEGGING IN THE CONTEXT OF ROMANIAN ROMA MIGRATION

The Roma have been an integral part of European identity and culture for centuries. With Romania's accession to the EU in 2007, the country's largest Roma community so far living in Europe gained the right to free movement. Roma migration soon after Romania's accession began to be perceived as a threat to social policies in the host countries. Security issues were linked to crime incriminated against Roma, the sources of which were seen as begging. As research and development of social policies show, the issue of begging has changed the approach to social problems and intra-EU migration. This article is an overview and is an attempt to outline the most important global trends and directions of research on the phenomenon of begging in the context of Romanian Roma migration to Poland and other selected EU countries. For this purpose, I discuss contemporary research on the definition of begging, showing that this activity should be understood as work and one of the basic human rights. I argue that this problem cannot be solved by criminalizing begging and tightening the controls on migration in EU member states. Such displacement policies only aim to export begging to other countries, without addressing the basic problem of survival of extreme poverty in society. Such activities violate the fundamental rights of Romanian Roma, ignoring socio-political solutions that can counteract poverty, racism and discrimination.

Affordable housing in Russia, Europe and USA in the 5–18th centuries

The article discusses problems of concept genesis and development of affordable housing in Russia, Europe, and the USA in the 5–18th centuries. Affordable housing plays an important role in the quality of life and social integration. Affordable housing originates from the history of European civilization and Christian axiology, where communal living and housing for the poor are determined.Purpose: The following types of housing are studied: bursas (5−15th centuries), almshouses (10−11th centuries), Fuggerei (16th century), Shaker (17−18th centuries) houses. Their master plans and facades are studied herein. Population categories for which housing is assigned are indicated as well as the period of residence and owners.Research findings: Affordable housing is built by private individuals. The housing development is influenced by the policy pursued by their governments and external factors such as socio-economic, demographic, political, administrative, legal conditions, which determine the role, goals and characteristics of housing. Housing types are determined according by the following parameters: residence duration, owners, residents, and their activities.

Enfance, martyre et mission dans L’Histoire des martyrs du Japon de Nicolas Trigault (1624)

Abstract This article analyses a still understudied figure that is present in martyrological accounts of the Early Modern Period: the child martyr which is an intriguing and important character in Catholic propaganda during the wars of religion that shook Europe. We will see how a Jesuit missionary uses this character in his account of the Christian mission in Japan. Nicolas Trigault (1577–1628), in his work L’Histoire des martyrs du Japon (The History of the Martyrs of Japan) takes up a long Christian martyrological tradition while anchoring it in a context of cultural exchanges between Europe and Japan. Using various biblical narratives (whether the Passions of Christ or the martyrdom of the Maccabees) as a point of comparison with these Japanese martyrs, Trigault places these Christians, so far removed from his target audience, in a Catholic community that extends over a long period of time and a vast geographical territory. In this use of the martyrological narrative, the death of the children proves to be a powerful argument. As exceptional figures of martyrdom, they act as witnesses to the level of faith of a community, the sacrifice of the children being the ultimate demonstration of its constancy. However, the figure of the martyred child also comes into conflict with the figure of the morally crippled child, testifying to the ambiguity that European culture and the Christian religion have with this period of life. These stories, later exported to Europe, are used to edify both the youngest children, urging them to imitate their Japanese counterparts, and the parents, presenting an ideal imagery of the Christian family.

Does internal audit matter? Audit committee, its attributes, and corporate social responsibility reporting quality

This study explores the nexus between internal audit, audit committee attributes, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure quality in A-share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2010 to 2019. Utilizing refined samples and robust datasets, this investigation reveals critical insights that a robust internal control system significantly correlates with higher-quality CSR disclosure, underscoring its pivotal role in safeguarding non-financial reporting integrity and enhancing transparency in CSR disclosures. Larger audit committees are positively associated with improved CSR disclosure quality. This highlights the strategic advantage of a diverse and expansive audit committee in navigating the complexities of CSR reporting. Contrary to expectations, the proportion of independent directors on the audit committee and the frequency of audit committee meetings do not show a significant positive relationship with CSR disclosure. Companies benefit from strategic investments in internal control systems, crucial for non-financial reporting integrity and fortified CSR disclosure practices. In conclusion, this study provides concise insights into critical factors influencing CSR disclosure quality in Chinese companies, offering actionable implications for corporate practices and regulatory frameworks. AcknowledgmentThis paper is co-funded by the European Union through the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) within the project “EU BEST PRACTICE OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT, SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING” – 101047667-ERASMUS-JMO-2021-MODULE https://jm.snau.edu.ua/en/eu-best-practice-of-life-cycle-assessment-social-envi­ron­mental-accounting-and-sustainability-reporting/ Oleh Pasko expresses sincere gratitude for the support from the Kirkland Research Program, generously provided by the Leaders of Change Foundation established by the Polish-American Freedom Foundation.

A physics-based PSO-BPNN model for civil aircraft noise assessment

With the increasingly severe problem of aircraft noise pollution around airports, it is urgent to explore accurate and effective aircraft noise assessment methods. This article proposes a physics-based PSO-BPNN model based on the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) best practice model, backpropagation neural network (BPNN), and particle swarm optimization (PSO) to enrich the methodology system of aircraft noise assessment. The primary modeling process is as follows. Firstly, based on airport parameters, flight information, and other data, the theoretical noise levels of ground monitoring point are calculated using the ECAC dynamic model. Then, a dataset containing measured noise values, theoretical noise values, trajectory data, and meteorological data is constructed to train the physics-based BPNN model, in order to correct the theoretical noise level. Finally, the PSO algorithm is introduced to optimize the parameters of the BPNN model and the construction of the physics-based PSO-BPNN model is completed. By taking Hefei Xinqiao International Airport (HFE) as a research case, the experimental results show that the physics-based PSO-BPNN model, which combines best practice model and machine learning model, demonstrates better performance than the ECAC model and physics-based BPNN model because of its balance between stability and flexibility. In the validation set, the error of 74.77 % of the predicted results was within ±3 dB(A), and the coefficient of determination R2 between all predicted values and measured values reached 0.9450, which indicates the physics-based PSO-BPNN model a potential aircraft noise assessment solution.

On undying classicism and subverters of foundations

Directions (styles) in culture have different reserves of strength and different inertia. Among them there is a unique one capable of revival. It is classicism, which is characterized by a timeless understanding of the laws of harmony and beauty based on the forms and images of ancient art of Greece and Rome. Classicist thinking and classicism did not leave European culture in the 20th and 21st centuries, but its forms changed. The grafting of art nouveau, avant-garde and postmodernism into classical art and architecture did not pass without a trace. Antagonists shook the established norms and left, while classical art and architecture expanded the range of creative possibilities and revived, preserving the basic principles.

Horizon 2020 – EUMEPLAT – European Media Platforms: Assessing Negative and Positive Externalities for European Culture

Horizon 2020 – EUMEPLAT – European Media Platforms: Assessing Negative and Positive Externalities for European Culture

Возрождение (середина XIII – середина XVI столетия). Грани гуманизма. Часть I

The essay is dedicated to exploring the art and culture of the Renaissance period, heralding Modern times, spanning from the mid-13th to the mid-16th century. This part of the work highlights the artistic achievements of the Middle East during the specified period, particularly in architecture, poetry (including the rise of humanism). Turning to European culture, the author specifically addresses the art of the Orthodox world (primarily focusing on church painting and, to a lesser extent, on the Ancient Russian Znamenny chant), noting its influence on the currents of the Renaissance. The author delves into the Gothic style, somewhat contrasting traditional notions of the Renaissance period (a kind of “counterculture”), across its various manifestations in visual arts, music and literature. Special attention is given to the central part of Renaissance art, tracing its evolution from the Early Renaissance (masterpieces of sculpture in Gothic cathedrals) to the Proto-Renaissance (paintings and frescoes by Italian masters, the emergence of psychologism in painting, the literary movement of Dolce stile nuovо marking the transition from the Middle Ages to Modern times, Ars Nova in musical art). The exploration of this theme will continue in the next part of the essay.

Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in the Centre and on the Periphery

ABSTRACT Following the end of his tenure with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1901, Gustav Mahler conducted more concerts than ever outside the imperial capital, including two performances of his Symphony No. 1 as part of the Philharmonic Society of Lemberg’s first season in 1903. In Lemberg, today the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, the symphony received an overall favourable and, perhaps unknowingly, perceptive critical reception, in contrast to the notoriously harsh reviews penned by critics in Vienna three years earlier. As a means of exploring such different responses in the centre and on the periphery of the Habsburg empire, I suggest that a common language of pluralities, which Mahler shared with the region of Galicia’s quotidian heterogeneity and emerging modernist movements, allowed the Leopolitan public to be ahead of Vienna in their openness to the early modernist modes of expression that would soon dominate European culture.

“The Development of Jazz in China and Its Intercultural Influence on Chinese Pop Music, from the 20th Century to the 21st Century”

Abstract What is the intercultural significance of jazz for the development of Chinese pop music? The main content of this dissertation is to study and discuss the period when jazz music entered China and how it affects the development of past and present Chinese pop music. In today’s society, intercultural research is ubiquitous. Since the birth of civilization, people from different disciplines and artistic fields have been trying to build cultural bridges.1 China has a long history of culture and music development. With the changes of the times, China’s music civilization has been continuously developed and changed with the replacement of various dynasties in the past. In addition, Confucius’s Confucianism has influenced the development of Chinese music and music education. The history of jazz music is not very long, but it has become an indispensable element of today’s social music culture. Perhaps it is because jazz has rich musical style features, such as improvisation and unique jazz scales. In addition, the musical content of its expression is democratic and free. The musical form of Jazz music originated in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is a combination of African black culture and European white culture. It is a kind of “hybrid” music form that affects the development of Chinese music with deep-rooted civilization, especially some Chinese pop music. The dissertation will study how jazz integrates Chinese music to produce Chinese pop music, as well as the intercultural influence of jazz, and how Jazz affects the pop singers of Chinese pop music.

Editorial : Introduction to the special issue on assessing children’s social emotional learning to guide improvement programs

Although the COVID-19 Pandemic began in 2020, it continues to exert a negative impact on the social, emotional, behavioral, and academic wellbeing of many children and youth across the globe (e.g., Bell et al., 2023; Panchal et al., 2023) and throughout Europe (European Education and Culture Executive Agency, 2022). To address these significant needs, researchers, educators, and policymakers have continued to stress the importance of developing instructional and intervention programs that target children’s social and emotional learning (SEL) and emotional behavior concerns (EBC). Many examples of such programs exist in countries throughout Europe (e.g., Cefai, et al., 2018). A particularly notable example is the Promoting Mental Health at Schools (PROMEHS) program (Cefai et al., 2022). Such developments are promising as children and youth continue to need enhanced supports and schools represent an excellent setting to provide it to them.

The Identification of Ethnic Architecture Application on the Beringharjo Market Building in Yogyakarta

Indonesia is an archipelago country that consists of various ethnic groups which have different cultural traditions according to the region itself. This cultural tradition has existed for generations, and it should be maintained and preserved by the Indonesian. The development of times, it makes the local value ​​of traditional culture slowly disappear. In prevention, the application of this ethnic architecture concept can preserve the culture of a nation. One of building that has the ethnic architecture concept is the Beringharjo Market in Yogyakarta. This research uses a qualitative descriptive method using a case study approach that aims to know how the application of the Ethnic Architecture concept in the Beringharjo Market. The construction of this market reflects the Javanese ethnic culture that prioritizes harmony. The space planning of Beringharjo Market contains Javanese philosophy and the mixture of ethnicities, one of them is European ethnicity. We can see the mixture through the shape of building, this market adopts European style and traditional Javanese style. The acculturation process of two cultures that is Javanese and European cultures shows us that the mixture culture is not limited to the locality but also across continents since the olden days. We can apply the glory of the palace to this market building that has a lower degree, especially to some elements of this building using some adjustments.

Earthquake recommendations in Europe: Types and diversity

Disaster literature agrees that knowledge alone is insufficient to promote the adoption of preparedness by populations. Nevertheless, this is a prerequisite for initiating behaviour. Governments and Civil Protection authorities are among the multiple sources of information on preparedness and appropriate disaster behaviours. If these sources are trusted, members of the public will accept the information they transmit. However, few studies have addressed the content of risk communication messages from European authorities. We analysed and discussed the frequency and diversity of household earthquake preparedness and response measures recommended by European Civil Protection authorities in countries exposed to seismic risk, using 84 official website documents and texts from 25 countries. Authorities highly recommended behaviours to apply during an earthquake, focusing on physical protection and conforming to the literature. However, official recommendations weakly recommended planning measures, a well-established preparedness component in the literature. Furthermore, authorities failed to reinforce skill acquisition, insurance acquisition, structural mitigation, and other mitigation measures. Nevertheless, non-structural mitigation was highly advised and was more frequent than stockpiling recommendations. The results also pointed to concerns about the behaviour of residents during and after an earthquake, misinformation, and to the diversity of measures in each country, disagreeing with previous research. Local differences and factors related to the process of selecting recommendations may explain the results. This study contributes to the literature on earthquake recommendations, risk communication, household preparedness and response, and practical applications of preparedness and response literature.

Soviet Repatriation in Postwar Politics and Private Life: Pro et Contra

This article studies the Soviet repatriation policy after the Second World War referring to Soviet repatriation mission officers’ correspondence with the United Nations Relief and Reconstruction Administration (UNRRA), as well as Russian DPs’ ego-documents. The authors of the article raise the question about the fact that Soviet repatriation policy sparked an information war in the media in the second half of the 1940s, which has never been done by researchers previously. A variety of sources are used in the work, including the Hoover Institution for War, Revolution and Peace (Stanford, USA), the Bakhmetev Archives of Russian and Eastern European Culture at Columbia University (New York, USA), the State Archives of the Russian Federation (GARF, Moscow), as well as the UN Archive. The authors argue that discussions of Soviet repatriation policy should be placed within the context of the Cold War era, which began with the breakup of the Big Three alliance. The Soviet government used a variety of information, political, and intellectual resources to ensure the return of the maximum possible number of USSR citizens to their homeland. In this paper, the authors demonstrate that for the purposes of counterpropaganda, the anti-communist forces used the idea of repatriation by utilizing the potential of displaced people who had survived the Stalinist repression of the 1930s to oppose the existing political regime in the USSR. Considerable attention is paid to the position of UNRRA officials, primarily the heads of its mission in Austria. Several of them were highly critical of the activities of the Soviet repatriation authorities, believing that their behaviour often failed to help displaced people become interested in returning home.

Dragon Ships to the Dawnland: Eugène Beauvois and the Vinland Viking Expeditions in the Nineteenth-Century Settler Imagination

Abstract Between the mid-1700s and the Great War, people in Europe and North America were gripped by a frenzy of enthusiasm for all things Viking. Eminent scholars and ordinary readers discovered an insatiable curiosity for medieval Scandinavia, imagined land of dragon-prowed ships and saga heroes. Among these enthusiasts was the prolific French historian Pierre-Eugène Beauvois (1835–1912). Beauvois was fascinated by the Norse voyages to continental North America, known in Old Norse as “Vinland.” By arguing for extensive pre-Columbian European settlement in the Americas, Beauvois stole the glory enjoyed by Spain and Italy as the first “discoverers” of the “New World,” shifting it to Norse populations that Beauvois linked to France. Such a vindication of early voyages by ethnic “cousins” of the French presented France as genetically destined to colonize foreign lands, thus legitimating their conquest of Africa. Yet Beauvois’s arguments extended beyond simply positing a meaningful Norse presence in medieval North America. He maintained that Indigenous culture was really just a watered-down residue of transplanted European culture. By asserting that central components of Indigenous cultures such as language and religion derived from medieval European models, Beauvois usurped Native positionalities and affirmed the rightness of the settler colonial project.

Isabel’s Growth and Metamorphosis: The Spatial Narrative in The Portrait of a Lady

As one of Henry James’ best-selling novels, The Portrait of a Lady is also considered one of his most successful works. According to “The Third Space” proposed by Edward Suja, Isabel’s movements in the novel is not only the background of the article but also influences the characterization of her. The author reveals the conflict between European and American cultures through the depiction of Isabel’s choice of marriage, reflecting James’ desire to pursue cross-cultural conflict, and the third space in which Isabel is situated also demonstrates her growth from a naive girl to a mature woman, and ultimately realizes her self-identity.

The Inculturation of the Asante Culture into Catholicism, Peter Kwasi Sarpong’s Perspective

The Catholic Church was born out of the European culture in terms of rite and language. This makes the African Catholic feel somehow culturally removed from the liturgical life of the Church. The Catholic Church knowing how culture plays an integral role in the propagation of the Gospel, has given room for the adaptation of peoples’ culture into most especially the liturgical life of the participating community. The Church allows any form of adaptation, insofar as they are in conformity with the universal teachings of the Church. Many scholars and clergy have sought to make good use of this provision to inculturate their culture into Catholicism. In Ghana, Most Rev. Peter Kwasi Sarpong is a household name when it comes to the inculturation of the Asante culture into Catholicism for the liturgy to be at home for his people. Sarpong prefers the term “inculturation” to “adaptation” for the latter smacks of imposition. The article thus articulated Sarpong’s attempt to inculturate the Asante dance, music, gestures, symbols and the chieftaincy institution into the Catholic liturgy. This article used ethnographical sources like interviews and observations in gathering data. It also used a literary approach to elucidate the inculturation of the Asante culture into Catholicism from Peter Kwasi Sarpong’s perspectives. The paper thus celebrates the contributions of Most Rev. Peter Kwasi Sarpong to the Asante culture and Catholicism. It also affirms the notion that there could be the inculturation of peoples’ culture to make the liturgy meaningful to them. Keywords: Asante, Catholic, Culture, Peter Kwasi Sarpong, Inculturation, Liturgy.

Апокалиптическое сознание Ларса фон Триера в антропологии Дома, который построил не Джек

The subject of the study is the concept of the historical hero as a victor of the gods and his role in contemporary Western cultural heritage, with a focus on the reinterpretation of Scandinavian culture in the works of Lars von Trier. The research methodology is based on the analysis of Hollywood’s reception of neo-European rationalism and the ideas of individualism and free will in European culture. The author examines the influence of the implementation of freedom without morality on the exploration of the idea of the Übermensch (superman) and discusses unresolved questions in this context. The research findings highlight the importance of the themes of personal responsibility and freedom in Western culture, as well as the legacy of Scandinavian culture as a source of the manifestation of truths. The conclusions of the study emphasize the relevance and significance of the discussed issues in the contemporary cultural context. The main goal of the research is to identify the consistent stages of Lars von Trier’s apocalyptic consciousness, particularly in the context of resistance to the colonization of art by ontological philosophy and the dominance of Hollywood clichés and political sentiments in the film market. This work conducts a methodological investigation into how Lars von Trier applies the philosophy of images through cinematography as a tool to separate false and immaculate representations of the world, with a focus on the problem of sin in his composition. This work methodologically explores this process and analyzes how it interacts with contemporary culture and cinema. In the context of the scientific novelty of the research, a question arises about Lars von Trier describing himself as a ‘sadistic doctor’ who saves lives but remains, in the eyes of those saved, an antichrist and a criminal in the humanistic world and humanity’s defense of a world different from the existing one. The results of this research can be used to study philosophical anthropology in the field of film studies and visual arts, as well as in related social and humanitarian disciplines, to analyze how this theme interacts with culture and society.