External Perceptions Research Articles

ІСТОРІОСОФІЧНІСТЬ РОМАНТИЧНОГО МІФУ УКРАЇНИ БОГДАНА ЗАЛЕСЬКОГО

When studying Polish Romantic historical poems, the motifs of Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation and unity appear repeatedly (out of the entire number of the ’Ukrainian school’ of Polish Romanticism, this is the most common of J. B. Zaleski). However, no matter how positive this narrative seems for Ukrainian recipient, this approach leads to an objectified view of Ukraine and Ukrainians for readers of other nations. We see the need to (re)read and deconstruct the myth of Ukraine, which would reveal the Ukrainian view of self-expression, as an urgent problem in the study of Zaleski’s literary legacy. The unique position of the Ukrainian researcher allows to reach the subjectivity and dismiss possible prejudices about what is depicted by the first author and to make a qualitative contribution to this part of the Polish Borderland discourse. The research is initiated on the subject of everything from the sphere of Ukrainianness, which is subject for Zaleski to mythologize. The aspect of myth-making is rarely raised by literary critics in relation to any writers. A poet on the Borderland, who accepted his Ukrainian identity is a rather rare case, therefore interesting to study. The priority of studying B. Zaleski’s heritage can be seen in his belonging to the paradigm of similarities, the discourse of finding points of contact with Polish culture, understanding and reconciliation. Any studies on the vision of Ukraine are also useful for studying the external perception of Ukrainianness by the represantatives of other nations. In this article we aim to determine the genesis, aspects and functions of the mythologizing of Ukraine in the poetry of B. Zaleski during his creative life on the basis of poems containing Ukrainian attributes (history, folklore, geography, etc.), the mutual influence of the myth of Ukraine and the dual identity of Zaleski, to show the multi-layered attitude of the Polish poet to Ukraine and Ukrainians in interaction with the Polish ethnic group and beyond.

ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ ВИКОРИСТАННЯ СТРАТЕГІЙ ТЕРИТОРІАЛЬНОГО МАРКЕТИНГУ ДЛЯ УКРАЇНИ

This article delves into the practice of formulating territorial marketing strategies aimed at fostering the growth and revitalization of regions, cities, and nations. It serves as a comprehensive survey of territorial marketing strategies employed in foreign countries. The article scrutinizes successful instances of territorial marketing strategies implemented in various countries and regions to ascertain their adaptability to the unique Ukrainian context. Furthermore, the article espouses a viewpoint on the utility of territorial marketing as a pivotal tool for post-war reconstruction efforts in Ukraine. It outlines the prerequisites necessary for the effective implementation of city branding within Ukraine. The assessment of the "World Perception of Ukraine Report" and an analysis of search query trends on Google Trends collectively substantiate that cities in regions where military operations have transpired undergo substantial changes in the perception and positioning of their respective city brands, both domestically and internationally. The findings and prospects highlighted in this study hold the potential to significantly enrich comprehension and augment the utilization of territorial marketing strategies, ultimately facilitating the economic and socio-cultural development of Ukraine. In summary, this article offers an in-depth exploration of how territorial marketing strategies can be harnessed to expedite the progress and rehabilitation of regions and cities in Ukraine, particularly in the aftermath of military conflicts. It underscores the critical role of cultivating a positive city brand and leverages international examples and data to underpin its arguments and recommendations. Moreover, in the context of post-war reconstruction, the article emphasizes the importance of fostering a sense of community and pride among the residents of these affected regions, as these elements are instrumental in building a positive city brand. Effective territorial marketing not only shapes external perceptions but also boosts the morale and engagement of the local population. Additionally, as Ukraine's cities and regions aim to reposition themselves on the international stage, the article underscores the need for a coordinated effort between government agencies, local businesses, and civic organizations to create a unified and compelling narrative that reflects the values, culture, and potential of these areas. Such collaboration will be key to harnessing the full potential of territorial marketing and propelling Ukraine towards a brighter future.

ORTEGA Y GASSET AND THE QUESTION OF THE BODY

My essay is devoted to the very early and attractive understanding of the lived body in Ortega y Gasset’s thought. I focus especially on the text “Vitality, Soul, Spirit” of 1925, which can be considered a proto-phenomenological approach to the issue of embodiment. Ortega identifies “vitality” with “the intrabody” and makes the latter the founding dimension of subjectivity, at the basis of the affective sphere (“soul”) and at the basis of the intellectual and volitional sphere (“spirit”). In a manner very close to Husserl’s unpublished manuscripts, he also shows how the body is the only reality of which there is simultaneously external perception, as if it were just another thing in the world that everyone else can see, and internal perception, which only the self can have and feel. The study also points out, however, the two major difficulties that I detect in Ortega’s precocious attempt. A first doubt concerns the too sharp stratification of vitality, soul and spirit, as can be seen in the analysis of the experiences of pain and of mobility. A second doubt concerns the ontological hesitations surrounding Ortega’s position, which is torn between a coherent phenomenological perspective and a vitalist position in which my body is only an emanation of the lifestream of the universe.

Machine learning and external auditor perception: An analysis for UAE external auditors using technology acceptance model

Research Question: Do external auditors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) perceive the ease of use and usefulness of Machine Learning (ML)? Motivation: This study aims to investigate external auditors' perceptions of the ease of use and usefulness of Machine Learning in auditing in the UAE. In addition, the study intends to examine the difference in perceived ease of use of Machine Learning between local and international audit companies in the UAE. Data: Data for this study were gathered from 63 external auditors working for local and global audit firms in the UAE. The study's population comprises external auditors from national and international audit companies in UAE. Tool: The questionnaire was deployed through an online survey tool. Findings: The results have shown that the findings do not support the idea that there is a different perception of the Perceived Ease of Use of Machine Learning in auditing between local and international audit firms. According to the conclusions of this study, external auditors have a restricted perception of the simplicity of use and utility of Machine Learning. Practical implications: The importance of the findings of such research stems from the lack of research evidence on the perceived ease of use and usefulness of Machine Learning in external auditing in the UAE. As a result, this paper provides new empirical evidence by assessing external auditors' assessments of the usage of Machine Learning in the UAE.

Critical Expectation Gaps: Advancing Theorization of the Perceptual Approach in EU Foreign Policy Studies

AbstractAdvancing theorization of the perceptual approach to EU foreign policy, this study develops a new notion of critical expectation gaps, intended to reflect on the depth and intensity of the rapture between expectations/hopes and perceived performance of the EU. In our focus is the correlation between the degree of externally perceived ‘Otherness’ and the likelihood of EU external action to be considered effective, whereas the EU adapts (or not) to existing perception gaps (in this research, the expectation–performance and hope–performance gaps). We propose a novel conceptual apparatus to understand the gaps in terms of the locus of expectations and types of causal factors. Empirically, we engage with a 13‐country dataset of external perceptions of the EU amongst tertiary educated youth.

Synthesizing and comparing the different effects between internal and external corporate social responsibility perceptions and organizational citizenship behavior: A need theory perspective

AbstractThis study examines the comparative effects of internal and external CSR perceptions on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and focuses on two consequences to compare CSR perception types. It also attempts to develop logical linkages between CSR perceptions and OCB through individual‐level psychological mechanisms, perceived external prestige, and affective commitment. The study is centered around the Chinese manufacturing and service industries using an online data‐collection platform similar to Qualtrics. The structural equation modeling technique was based on 200 supervisor/subordinate dyads. The quantitative analysis utilized SPSS and AMOS software. Results demonstrate that internal CSR perception has more benefits for OCB than external CSR perception. Since internal CSR inputs are often neglected by companies, results provide scholars and managers with a new view to pay attention to the potential of internal CSR inputs.

Material Dependence and Kant’s Refutation of Idealism

The paper argues that in the Critique of Pure Reason Kant develops two anti-sceptical strategies. In the Fourth Paralogism (CPR A) he believes himself able to refute the sceptic by demonstrating that external perception is immediate. This strategy is rather unconvincing. In the Refutation of Idealism (CPR B) Kant promotes the material dependence of inner sense on outer sense. I show that Kant’s argument for material dependence has been widely overlooked, even though it is the strongest argument against external world scepticism he develops, since it anticipates mental content externalism while preserving transcendental idealism and empirical realism.

Reasons for Chinese EFL Teacher’s Role Anxiety in Teacher Identity Formation: A Comparative Analysis of Teacher Metaphors

Along with the development of information technology and its increasing application in foreign language teaching, English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers encounter new challenges from students and society. In the dynamic process of teacher identity formation, EFL teachers are likely to experience anxiety in role shifts. This article studies the interactions between the internal and external perceptions of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ role through a comparative analysis of teacher metaphors. Metaphors written by EFL teachers represent pro-internal perceptions, and those extracted from research articles stand for pro-external perceptions. Within China’s socio-cultural context, the study aims to demonstrate the consistency and discrepancy between the internal and external perceptions of the EFL teacher’s role. Two groups of metaphors were first compared based on the conceptual themes and then categorized into four types: Learner-oriented, Social Order, Social Reform, and Cultural Transmission according to the metaphor-categorization framework. The consistency and discrepancy in teacher perception revealed by comparing two groups of teacher metaphors shed light on the possible reasons for Chinese EFL teachers’ role anxiety in identity formation.

Social media within digitalisation for coastal resilience: The case of coastal fisheries in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan

Attention to digitalisation as a resilience strategy for coastal communities is growing. However, it is critical that digital technologies and approaches are not forced on localities to enable national or regional sustainability goals, and that communities are engaged and empowered in digital approaches to support resilience on their own terms. This is especially so in a coastal context, where marginality may be greater and where communities may already face multiple pressures. In response, we look at how one particular form of digital technology – social media – may support resilience-building for Minamisoma, a fishing community facing complex and ongoing environmental and socio-economic challenges following the 2011 nuclear disaster. We find that social media offers a channel for some community members in Minamisoma to (re)construct a sense of pride and identity through engagement with fisheries, seafood and the coastal landscape, and to challenge negative external perceptions of their locality. Yet we caution that whilst social media as one digital approach is a valuable repository for pride and identity, it may not be so useful for assessing broader consumer or societal trends upon which the economic revitalisation of a coastal community trading on fisheries and tourism may depend. Nonetheless, we conclude that within a wider suite of digitalisation measures, social media can support coastal actors to sustain a narrative of resilience locally, and continually engage with those in other locations. This may be especially important in the face of ongoing environmental challenges, where communities face multiple setbacks over time.

Connections as Liabilities: The Cost of the Politics–Business Revolving Door in China

AbstractThe established literature has recognized revolving-door hiring as a means for firms to obtain protection against political risks and advance their business interests. This article theorizes about the cost of the revolving door between politics and business, which transmits uncertainty during turbulent times from the political system to firms. I empirically estimate the cost of revolving-door recruitment for over 3,000 publicly listed firms in the early years of a major corruption crackdown in China. I show that firm-level returns on revolving-door recruitment became negative during this period. In contrast to conventional corporate governance explanations, the mechanism proposed in this article emphasizes the external perceptions and financing of firms. Text analyses of over 1 million equity reports and bank-loan record data show that political connections act as a negative signal to external financiers, thereby discouraging external financing.

Genesis and evolution of EU anti disinformation policy: entrepreneurship and political opportunism in the regulation of digital technology

ABSTRACT Disinformation, the deliberate spread of false or misleading information, is a worrisome threat for the EU, as its uses in recent events such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 reveal. This article explores policy-formulation in the EU. It asks whether it is possible to explain the choice of the European Commission and of the European External Action Service (EEAS) to regulate disinformation in terms of political opportunism: using process tracing analysis supported by interviews with EU officials, this article finds that the European Commission sought to create an opportunity to regulate this matter because it considered it particularly salient, and that, contrary to what the literature on political opportunism might suggest, both the EEAS and the Commission can be considered the political entrepreneur in this domain, because the engagements against disinformation were led by an external threat perception.

A narrative approach for reporting social and environmental accounting impacts in the mining sector – giving marginalized communities a voice

PurposeThis study seeks to collaborate with the discussions on the usefulness of the narrative approach in accounting. In this context, this study aims to elaborate small collective stories, developed from interviews, to expose the population’s perception of the social and environmental impact (positive and negative externalities) resulting from iron ore mining in the city of Congonhas-Minas Gerais (MG).Design/methodology/approachThis research, using counternarratives, aims to elaborate small collective stories, developed from 52 interviews, to expose the population’s perception of externalities resulting from the exploitation of iron ore in the city of Congonhas-MG, Brazil, to give more insight for social and environmental accounting reporting. A qualitative investigation is used with a narrative approach that focuses on a specific event in the participants’ lives.FindingsThe authors sought to create a sense of collective experiences of the interviewees through narratives representative of the residents’ perception of externalities in the form of small collective stories. However, it can be observed that the local population recognizes the impact of numerous externalities. Likewise, the use of narratives allows the reader to experience another reality – a reflection on the impact of business activities in a given context. Unlike conventional corporate social reporting, models based on qualitative information can be inclusive, produced by/for the community toward action that transforms the local reality.Originality/valueThis study intends to contribute to the debate on reporting models that are developed by and for external stakeholders. This approach has the potential to improve participants’ both awareness and engagement, supporting transformative social action. This study makes several contributions. It contributes to the literature with a narrative approach, which is not often used in the accounting literature; it brings insights from the Latin American context, which is especially valuable given how the Anglo-American accounting literature includes few papers addressing this context; it presents the view of marginalized communities that are too often overlooked (this narrative approach offers important insights into the lived experience of people at a very granular level).

The Examination of Teachers’ Perceptions Relating to Job Satisfaction: A Mixed-Method Study

This study aimed to examine the perceptions of job satisfaction of teachers working in public schools. A concurrent design is one of the mixed methods research designs where qualitative and quantitative research methods are used together. The research was designed with the phenomenology pattern, one of the qualitative research designs, and the hatch pattern, which is one of the quantitative research types. The data in the qualitative part of the research were analyzed by content analysis method. The data in the quantitative part was analyzed with statistical methods such as mean and standard deviation. While the sample of the quantitative part consists of 324 teachers, in the qualitative part, 43 teachers determined from the same sample constitute the study group. The quantitative results showed that the teachers had a high level of internal satisfaction and a moderate external satisfaction perception. It has been concluded that teachers have a medium level of job satisfaction perception in all job satisfaction. The qualitative results revealed that the teachers had negative views on social prestige, adequate pay, being appreciated by the manager, and positive views on being satisfied with the workplace, being satisfied with the manager, and feeling conscientious about their work. It is expected that the research results will provide data for both policymakers in education and school administrators who affect teacher job satisfaction in practice.

How does COVID-19 pandemic affect entrepreneur anxiety? The role of threat perception and performance pressure.

The entrepreneurial firms may be more vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the entrepreneurs of entrepreneurial firms are also threatened by the revenues decline and business failure, which vehemently affect their well-being. The mental health of the entrepreneur decides whether the entrepreneurial firms can make the right decision, which is related to the healthy development of the entrepreneurial firms. Based on the event system theory and the cognitive appraisal theory, this paper aims to explore the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the entrepreneur anxiety, and the threat perception and performance pressure are introduced to investigate the mediating mechanism and boundary of this effect. Using the simple random sampling to obtain questionnaire survey data, 168 entrepreneurs of entrepreneurial firms have participated in the empirical study, and the research results are as follows. First, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly positively affects entrepreneur anxiety. Second, the entrepreneur threat perception plays a mediating role between the COVID-19 pandemic and the entrepreneur anxiety, which means the COVID-19 pandemic can enhance the external threat perception of entrepreneurs, and then affect the entrepreneur anxiety. Third, the positive effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the entrepreneur anxiety is strengthened by the entrepreneur performance pressure, while the positive effect of entrepreneur threat perception on entrepreneur anxiety is weakened by the entrepreneur performance pressure. The above findings are helpful to explore the mechanism of the COVID-19 pandemic and other critical crisis events on entrepreneurs' mental health from the new perspective of cognitive appraisal theory and event system theory, filling the research gaps between the COVID-19 pandemic and entrepreneur anxiety. Besides, this study broadens the applied range of the cognitive appraisal theory and the event system theory in the fields of crisis situations and entrepreneur research, and enriches the research outputs. Furthermore, this study will help provide a new theoretical analysis insight for the related research on how the COVID-19 pandemic affects entrepreneurs' psychology, and further deepen researchers to understand the mechanism of entrepreneur anxiety under the COVID-19 pandemic, providing theoretical inspirations for reducing entrepreneur anxiety. What's more, this study finds that individual pressure can affect their cognitive appraisal, which means that future research should take the pressure influential mechanism into consideration in the process of exploring "external stimulus--cognitive appraisal--emotional response," further expanding the theoretical model of cognitive appraisal proposed from the perspective of pressure.

Imaginaries on ice: Sociotechnical futures of data centre development in Norway and Iceland

In 2018, Norway promoted itself as a ‘Datacentre Nation’. In terms of low cost, renewably generated sources of electricity and low ambient temperatures, Nordic countries and the data centre sector are potentially mutual beneficiaries – yet, there are also negative impacts associated with the necessary electric power production. With this as a starting point, for Norway and Iceland, we explore how data centre proponents promulgate similar techno-environmental imaginaries, but achieve differing degrees of stabilisation. To this end, we use three sources of imaginaries relating to data centre development in Iceland and Norway: those implicit in promotional imagery originating within the countries concerned; those implicit in international newspapers, as indicative of external perceptions; and those implicit in focus groups with the Norwegian and Icelandic public. We show how data centre advocates deploy visual imagery to create a promotional techno-environmental imaginary that marries nature with the digital in a symbiotic form, and we observe that this is largely consistent with the more mundane international imaginary of Norwegian data centres. For Iceland, however, the external imaginary is dominated by associations of excess energy consumption by bitcoin mining. For the publics questioned, there are multiple imaginaries of data centres, with significant notes of moral and other forms of scepticism. Looking ahead, we suggest that for long-term stabilisation of positive data centre imaginaries, conducive to investment, the capacity of Iceland and Norway to equitably supply sufficient renewable power will need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Motion Planning for Connected Automated Vehicles at Occluded Intersections With Infrastructure Sensors

Motion planning at urban intersections that accounts for the situation context, handles occlusions, and deals with measurement and prediction uncertainty is a major challenge on the way to urban automated driving. In this work, we address this challenge with a sampling-based optimization approach. For this, we formulate an optimal control problem that optimizes for low risk and high passenger comfort. The risk is calculated on the basis of the perception information and the respective uncertainty using a risk model. The risk model combines set-based methods and probabilistic approaches. Thus, the approach provides safety guarantees in a probabilistic sense, while for a vanishing risk, the formal safety guarantees of the set-based methods are inherited. By exploring all available behavior options, our approach solves decision making and longitudinal trajectory planning in one step. The available behavior options are provided by a formal representation of the situation context, which is also used to reduce calculation efforts. Occlusions are resolved using the external perception of infrastructure-mounted sensors. Yet, instead of merging external and ego perception with track-to-track fusion, the information is used in parallel. The motion planning scheme is validated through real-world experiments.

Students’ voices about English language learning in school and beyond

Abstract The research was carried out in a public secondary school with 16 to 18-year-old students in a context usually considered as an EFL one. The main goals were to discover what students said about learning English in and beyond the school and what led them to use English autonomously outside the classroom. A qualitative methodology was used. First, a questionnaire was proposed to 122 students to find out the uses of English outside the school; then, I selected students who were considered good learners of English by their teachers and who had learnt English only in secondary school and autonomously outside school. Based on that criterion, I investigated nine learners using a Facebook survey, two focus groups and learning logs. The idea of good language learners (GLLs) of English described by the teachers focuses on the relationship the learner establishes with the L2 and the external perceptions of what they do with it. On the other hand, GLLs do not share common features that can be generalized; every learner establishes a unique relationship with the L2 and uses varied and changing strategies. What GLL do share is an agentive approach to learning the L2 and a positive appreciation of its cultural artefacts. Learners mainly accessed these artefacts through ICTs working as learning affordances.

Урбанизированная социальность: культура контроля в режиме медиатизации

Introduction. The article is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of the culture of control in conditions of mediatization – an integral part of the modern social world of the city. The specificity of the view on the problem lies in the departure from the functional technicality of positivist research into the field of ontological and social reflection, expanding the analytical range of revealing the meaning. In the multimedia environment of the city, rapid orientation without special selective criteria resulting from expectation, search for certain objects, or intent to act requires a broad rather than a focus strategy of forms and methods of control. Theoretical analysis. A horizon of understanding control as a not completely reduced to the coercive and punitive functions formal process, but a culturally mediated phenomenon is proposed. The procedure for considering attention as an intentional act, or event, as a resource of culture and a source of spiritual work for constituting the meanings of human reality is singled out. In the spiritual and anthropological context, it is shown that attention is not only an orienting reflex, but an internal basis that is not associated with observation strategies in the form of mechanical external perception. The value of attention is determined by its maximally dense expedient concentration, which makes it possible to overcome states of lack of control and absent-mindedness. Conclusion. It has been established that the culture of control is a specific mental device that has the ability to capture the associative adjacency and mutual connection of things which are even distant from each other. Being an effective “screed” of intuitively grasped and reflected forms of meaning, it provides the basis for understanding everything that was personally perceived in its essence and completeness.

Activation of oxytocin receptors in mouse GABAergic amacrine cells modulates retinal dopaminergic signaling

BackgroundOxytocin, secreted by oxytocin neurons in the hypothalamus, is an endogenous neuropeptide involved in modulating multiple sensory information processing pathways, and its roles in the brain have been associated with prosocial, maternal, and feeding-related behaviors. Visual information is necessary for initiating these behaviors, with the retina consisting of the first stage in the visual system mediating external stimulus perception. Oxytocin has been detected in the mammalian retina; however, the expression and possible function of oxytocin receptors (OxtR) in the retina remain unknown. Here, we explore the role of oxytocin in regulating visual information processing in the retina.ResultsWe observed that OxtR mRNA and protein are expressed in the mouse retina. With Oxtr-Cre transgenic mice, immunostaining, and fluorescence in situ hybridization, we found that OxtRs are mainly expressed in GABAergic amacrine cells (ACs) in both the inner nuclear layer (INL) and ganglion cell layer (GCL). Further immunoreactivity studies showed that GABAergic OxtR+ neurons are mainly cholinergic and dopaminergic neurons in the INL and are cholinergic and corticotrophin-releasing hormone neurons in the GCL. Surprisingly, a high level of Oxtr mRNAs was detected in retinal dopaminergic neurons, and exogenous oxytocin application activated dopaminergic neurons to elevate the retinal dopamine level. Relying on in vivo electroretinographic recording, we found that activating retinal OxtRs reduced the activity of bipolar cells via OxtRs and dopamine receptors.ConclusionsThese data indicate the functional expression of OxtRs in retinal GABAergic ACs, especially dopaminergic ACs, and expand the interactions between oxytocinergic and dopaminergic systems. This study suggests that visual perception, from the first stage of information processing in the retina, is modulated by hypothalamic oxytocin signaling.

How to get commuters out of private cars? Exploring the role of perceived social impacts in mode choice in five European countries

Shifting away from private vehicle use in urban areas is a necessary step in the decarbonisation of mobility. A thorough understanding of the determinants of travel mode choice is paramount for developing policies that can effectively nudge people to make this shift. This paper analyses mode choice in commuting and grocery shopping journeys considering attitudes towards mobility, socio-economic factors and journey characteristics. A multinomial logistic regression is performed on survey data from 5028 household in five European countries (Hungary, Italy, Poland, Norway and Spain) to describe the choice between private vehicle, public transport and active modes. Measures for perception of negative transport externalities (that is indirect negative impacts from road transport activity) and support for sustainable mobility transition policies are considered. Results show that commuters more sensitive to negative transport externalities prefer private vehicles to public transport or active travel. This suggests a paradox may exist with respect to the perception of these externalities. Other factors such as journey characteristics, policy intervention support and family size have also a strong influence on mode choice.