Cultural Features Research Articles

Users' experiences of park accessibility and attractiveness based on online review analytics.

Understanding public experiences of urban parks is crucial for their sustainable and effective management. While traditional surveys demand substantial resources, social media data present a cost-effective approach to capturing people's perceptions. This study utilizes Google reviews to examine users' sentiments regarding Cairo's urban parks. Using topic modeling, we identified four key themes: quality and maintenance, family and activities, costs and affordability, and natural environment. Sentiment analysis revealed that 79.8% of reviews expressed positive sentiments, while 8.1% were negative. Statistical analysis indicated that: (1) safety and commercialization-related factors like food and ticket prices significantly influence park accessibility; and (2) park attractiveness is strongly associated with the park's cultural (e.g., aesthetic experiences, leisure and entertainment opportunities) and regulatory features (e.g., cleanliness, quietness). An in-depth content analysis validated these findings and added nuanced interpretation. These findings demonstrated that online reviews can serve as a valuable indicator of park accessibility and attractiveness, thereby fostering more informed park management decisions. However, we also acknowledge their limitations, such as potential bias towards more tech-savvy users and the lack of detailed demographic information. Therefore, future research should combine social media data with traditional qualitative methods to capture the broader socio-cultural dynamics influencing park use.

Reporting Violence in the Poetry of James Fenton: A Journalistic Account of the Confrontation

The present article seeks to shed light on James Fenton's remarkable ability to report on ongoing events through poetry, which enables him to be characterized as a poet-reporter. Fenton integrates journalistic principles in his examination of political events, thereby contributing significantly to the documentation of modern history. As such, Fenton can aptly be regarded as a history reporter. This paper will center on the notion of journalistic historiography, specifically through the lens of Fenton's work in the contexts of two pivotal geopolitical locations: South Asia, and The Middle East. In the course of this study, particular attention will be devoted to the cultural features that have shaped the political circumstances of both locations. In South Asia, the poet highlights the struggle for independence and the visible decline attributed to colonial influence and related recurring violence. Concerning The Middle East, Fenton deals with the recycling of violence as he scrutinizes the cultural and political tensions in the region.

Can the degree apprenticeship become the degree of difference in Egypt?

As the higher education system in Egypt is currently confronted by a number of challenges, one of which is demographic pressure, there is the need for some new teaching programmes as well as new approaches; in this regard, the British Council plays a pioneering role. This paper has revealed the findings obtained from the participants of the forum organised at Pharos University in Alexandria by the University of Wolverhampton, the objective of which was to discover whether the degree apprenticeship is viable in Egypt. Questionnaires were received from 30 respondents in total, and the main findings were as follows. Although the participants showed their genuine interest and appreciation of the novelty and practicality of the degree apprenticeship, summarising it as “earn while learn”, they believed that the main force which would impede its implementation would be the differences between the systems of higher education in the UK and Egypt, as well as certain cultural features, which continue to predominate in Egyptian society.

Genomic exploration of Thuja plicata indicates no loss of diversity from adults to offspring in UK Woodlands

Thuja plicata is a conifer tree that is valued for its cultural, ecological and wood quality features in its natural range in western North America and is used in Europe as an exotic timber species. It is increasingly used in mixed species forests in the UK that are managed using natural regeneration, raising questions about genetic diversity of both the adult trees and offspring of the species in these stands. We studied population structure and genetic diversity in four UK woodlands of both adults and naturally regenerated offspring of T. plicata. We discovered 194,154 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) using Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS) and retained 655 SNPs across 598 genome sequence scaffolds for analysis. The majority of these scaffolds included only one SNP, suggesting that; the selected SNPs were widely distributed within the genome. We found many monomorphic sites, most of which were restricted to adults in a single woodland, indicative of a genetic differentiation among woodlands. We found three ancestral populations (K = 3) and low levels of admixture across the four sites, indicating that the starting materials were largely from single populations. Estimates of genetic diversity using heterozygosity (Ho) and nucleotide diversity (π) were low (overall Ho = 0.174, π = 0.00226) across all sites but slightly higher in juveniles at two sites. Our genotyping methods and results on standing genetic diversity in this important conifer provide insight into the ability of planted woodlands in the UK to face environmental shifts and disease threats.

Are We Metamodern? The Structure of Today’s Archaeology from the Perspective of Cultural Studies

As of today, archaeological theory is represented by numerous simultaneously developing approaches. Some of them feature the ways archaeological theory conceptualizes the past. Others are self-reflexive and explore the political and social dimensions of contemporary archaeological practice. However, these different ways to discuss today’s archaeology rarely approach it in a holistic way, while recent advances in the studies of arts and culture, namely metamodern studies, suggest another perspective and foster looking at archaeology as a whole, drawing connections between the philosophical aspects of archaeological knowledge and the social and cultural features of archaeology as practiced by 21st-century scholars. This paper tests metamodernism as a theory capable of structuring and coherently describing contemporary archaeological practice. After outlining the most prominent structures of feeling of the 20th century – modernism and postmodernism, – it introduces metamodernism as a theoretical framework that describes the culture and society of 21st century. While this framework does not present any novel paradigm or suggest any new way of conducting archaeology, it aims to structure the existing practices more clearly. This paper explores the capacity of metamodern concepts to bridge posthumanism, actor-network theory, and epistemic scaffolding and reveals their logical connection to the structure of today’s archaeological research.

Ways of shaping the Lean culture in enterprises in Poland

As we know from many publications, it is worth using Lean Management in modern enterprises. On the other hand, as scientists and practitioners emphasise, developing an appropriate organisational culture is necessary to obtain the proper results as part of Lean Management. Therefore, in parallel with the organisational changes related to implementing the Lean concept in the enterprise, various activities should be carried out to change the organisational culture into a culture favourable to Lean. There are many studies on how to change an organisation's culture, although it takes much work. Also, many publication threads in the recent period concern the features of the Lean organisational culture (the culture of a lean organisation) or the potential ways of creating this culture. However, knowledge on this subject still needs to be improved, especially from the point of view of management practice. Therefore, the main purpose of this article is to present basic information on the ways of shaping Lean organizational cultures in enterprises in Poland, with particular emphasis on manufacturing companies, based on literature studies and the results of empirical research carried out as part of the doctoral dissertation of one of the authors. The survey was conducted in 2022, using the CAWI method, on a sample of 55 companies. The presented results can be a valuable contribution to understanding the phenomenon of creating a Lean culture in enterprises in Poland. They can be also the basis for further research or analysis in this area.

Building a culture that empowers and motivates mathematics teacher leaders as change agents

AbstractMathematics teacher leaders may play an integral role in supporting change to address inequities in STEM education. To harness this potential, there is a need to identify effective professional development models that empower and motivate mathematics teacher leaders. We examine one such model focused on developing 30 K‐12 mathematics teacher leaders to support and expand teacher leadership within Nebraska, USA. Data analysis from interviews and surveys suggest that the project's focus on building and expanding teacher leaders' professional networks and increasing access to a variety of leadership opportunities contributed to a culture that empowered and motivated teacher leaders. Using the four frames model of organizational change in STEM, we identify several cultural features that contributed to the project's impact, including a cohort model connecting like‐minded educators that supported each other's efforts to enact changes; a distributed leadership philosophy that positioned participants as leaders within the project and at the university in which the project was situated; structural supports (e.g., funding, awards) for participants to engage in leadership; and a tailored approach to support participants based on their individual goals and vision for leadership. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for developing and supporting mathematics teacher leadership.

The Transmission and Development of Beijing Local Culture in Traditional Quadrangle Courtyards: A Comparison with Japanese Samurai Residences

Quadrangle courtyards have been the main living spaces for Beijing residents since the Ming and Qing dynasties, serving as a cultural calling card for Beijing and embodying the local culture and architectural features of the city for nearly a thousand years. This paper examines the unique traditional culture of the Beijing area through the study of Tan Zongjuns former residence and his hobbies, focusing on the inheritance and development of culture in the new era. It also compares with traditional Japanese architecture, such as the samurai residences. Through the research and comparison, this research finds that the quadrangle courtyard, as a place of residence for ancient and modern people, can not only reflect peoples class status but also their way of life. Although the construction of the quadrangle courtyard shares similarities with the culturally similar Japanese samurai residences, it still has its own uniqueness.

Exploring how course social and cultural environmental features influence student engagement in STEM active learning courses: a control–value theory approach

BackgroundActive learning, on average, increases student performance in STEM courses. Yet, there is also large variation in the effectiveness of these implementations. A consistent goal of active learning is moving students towards becoming active constructors of their knowledge. This emphasis means student engagement is of central importance. Thus, variation in student engagement could help explain variation in outcomes from active learning. In this study, we employ Pekrun’s Control–Value Theory to examine the impact of four aspects of course social and cultural environments on student engagement. This theory posits that social and cultural features of the course environment influence students’ appraisals of their ability to control their academic outcomes from the course and the value they see in those outcomes. Control and value in turn influence the emotions students experience in the course and their behaviors. We selected four features of the course environment suggested in the literature to be important in active learning courses: course goal structure, relevance of course content, students’ trust in their instructor, and perceived course competition.ResultsWe surveyed students in 13 introductory STEM courses. We used structural equation modeling to map how features of the course environment related to control, value, and academic emotions, as well as how control, value, and academic emotions influenced engagement. We found engagement was positively related to control and value as well as the emotion of curiosity. Engagement was negatively related to the emotion of boredom. Importantly, features of the course environment influenced these four variables. All features influenced control: goal structure, relevance, and instructor trust increased it, while competition decreased it. All features except competition were related positively to value. Relevance and instructor trust increased curiosity. Goal structure, relevance, and instructor trust all reduced boredom, while competition increased it.ConclusionOverall, our study suggests that the way instructors structure the social and cultural environment in active learning courses can impact engagement. Building positive instructor–student relationships, reducing course competition, emphasizing mastery and the relevance of the course to students can all increase engagement in course activities.

Научная рецензия на академическое издание: Доминанты сербской культуры: лекции по сербской культуре, истории и языку / под ред. Е. И. Якушкиной. М.: МАКС Пресс, 2023. 320 с.

The articles in this collection are based on lectures by Russian and Serbian researchers delivered as part of the scientific and practical seminar “School of Serbian Studies” (2019-2021), which examine the most significant features of Serbian culture and ways of its development. A significant part of the publication is devoted to the relations between Serbia and Russia. The collection is intended for philologists, historians, cultural scientists, as well as anyone interested in the Serbian language and Serbian culture.

The Pragmatics of Translation: Challenges, Techniques, and Innovations

This article examines the challenges and considerations involved in translating British oral folklore into the Azerbaijani language. It explores the unique linguistic, cultural, and stylistic features of oral literature that pose difficulties for translators. By analyzing examples of British oral folklore, the study identifies common translation issues, such as preserving cultural nuances, metaphorical language, and idiomatic expressions, while ensuring accessibility for Azerbaijani readers. The research highlights the importance of cultural adaptation and linguistic equivalence in maintaining the integrity of folklore during the translation process. Furthermore, the article discusses strategies and techniques that translators can employ to overcome these challenges, emphasizing the critical role of translators as cultural mediators. This study contributes to the broader discourse on literary translation by offering insights into the complexities of rendering oral literature across languages.

The Influence of Mountain Climate on Cultural Features and Their Reflection in Political Discourse

It examines how mountain climate conditions shape unique cultural characteristics and how these characteristics are reflected in political discourse. The study analyzes the linguistic and rhetorical tools used by politicians to address the identity, traditions, and social attitudes of mountain regions. A comparative analysis is conducted using political speeches, media texts, and official documents, highlighting common and specific traits across different cultures. The findings reveal how environmental conditions influence the formation of cultural values, which in turn are reflected in political rhetoric.

Assessing Program Culture in Virtual Fellowship Interviews: Insights From Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellows.

Virtual interviewing for fellowship training programs has been widely adopted since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, whether fellowship candidates can adequately evaluate training program culture through virtual interviews is unclear. Our aim was to explore how pulmonary and critical care fellows ascertained program culture during virtual and in-person fellowship program recruitment interviews, with the overall goal of improving our virtual recruiting interview processes. Exploratory semi-structured one-on-one interviews (study-interviews) following a constructivist approach were done during the fall of 2022 with a convenience sample of current fellows within the pulmonary critical care medicine fellowship program in an urban tertiary care hospital. Questions probed fellows' perspectives on program culture, what features of program culture they valued, and how they evaluated program culture during their initial fellowship interviews (recruitment-interviews). Study-interviews were framed to explore four deductive themes, and transcripts were analyzed with inductive thematic analysis. Of the 11 fellows interviewed, two had completed in-person and nine had completed virtual recruitment-interviews. There was an overall favorable perception of program culture during all recruitment-interviews, regardless of format. Elements of program culture that fellows valued included training program quality, an academic focus, complexity in cases, workplace diversity, a positive socioemotional environment, and a collaborative/supportive working/learning environment. This study suggests that important elements of program culture can be evaluated by fellowship candidates through virtual interviews when applicants are allowed ample opportunity for high-quality interactions with faculty and current trainees.

THE «BEREKE» CONCEPT IN THE KAZAKH LINGUISTIC PICTURE OF THE WORLD

Recent linguistic research is aimed at studying the role and place of linguistic units in the human conceptual sphere, and much attention is paid to the linguistic and cultural aspect of language. The comprehensive study of a certain linguistic culture expands the horizons of understanding, contributing to a deeper understanding of the worldview of the people. And the exchange of information and values in intercultural communication promotes mutual understanding and broadens the horizons of each culture. The ethnospecific concept «Bereke» was chosen as the object of research, since it is culturally significant for native speakers, native and developing, which reveals the nature of the linguistic and cultural code of the language. The concept of «Bereke» is considered as a linguistic and cultural code that combines national cultural and value aspects. The concept of «Bereke» in Kazakh culture is multi-layered and multi-valued. His research allows for a deeper understanding of the cultural, social and historical features of Kazakh culture. This concept embodies important aspects of Kazakh life such as unity, well-being, connection with nature and spiritual wealth. The research work was carried out on the material of the National Corpus of the Kazakh language, and data from lexicographic sources were also used.

Understanding reasons for delay in diagnosis of leprosy in Pakistan: A qualitative study.

Recent epidemiological data shows significant rates of grade 2 disability at point-of-diagnosis among new leprosy cases in Pakistan. This indicates a feature of extensive diagnostic delay; the disability burden appears unmoving and disproportionate to the falling leprosy incidence rates. Therefore, this study was required to understand reasons for delay in diagnosis and treatment of leprosy. A qualitative design of 7 semi-structured interviews was employed to reveal perceptions and understandings of various leprosy stakeholders in Pakistan, termed "leprosy experts". Subsequent inductive analysis was used to identify themes and subthemes concerned with delay in the diagnosis and treatment of leprosy. Leprosy experts identified three main areas, or domains, to which delay can be attributed: 1. Awareness and beliefs about leprosy, within the general population, 2. Knowledge and clinical experience of leprosy, among healthcare professionals, 3. Leprosy control program infrastructure, allocation of resources and institutional funding. These domains were each viewed as consequent to the larger theme of 'low-endemicity'. Strong correlations between diagnostic delay and socioeconomic status, gender, geography and health system challenges, were also mentioned, and which intersected the three major themes. Reasons for diagnostic delay are evident in all tiers of the healthcare hierarchy in Pakistan. Thus, an approach at multiple levels is justified, to improve the general awareness of leprosy, education of healthcare professionals, and organizational structuring. Additionally, cultural features relevant to different communities in Pakistan which might be different from other care access frameworks demonstrated a need for further study into the health beliefs of Pakistani patients in a wide range of communities.

Didactic properties and learning functions of neural networks

Introduction. The relevance of this research is based on the well-known fact that the challenges created by the digital revolution sharpened many problems within the humanities education. The object of our research is the process of integration of digital approaches into the traditional teaching of humanities as one of the most important challenges faced by contemporary higher education. Digital technologies have already changed and continue to change not only teaching methods and approaches but also the very concept of humanities as a specialized field of knowledge. Within this process, we face innovations that quickly transform into an everyday practice and become embedded into the pre-existing academic and educational processes (access to digital information sources, ease of information production, demonstration and presentation etc.). The aim of this paper is to analyze the process of integration of digital approaches in teaching humanities as one of the most important educational challenges faced by contemporary university. Materials and methods. Since this paper is interdisciplinary in character, its methodological research base relies on integrative conceptual approach allowing us to bring together general theoretical methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization) with cultural, historical, contextual and competence-based research methods. Such an approach provides ample opportunities to introduce existing theoretical and methodological toolkit developed by the humanities in order to understand problems and specific features of digital society and digital culture. Both in this methodology and in content, the concept of digital culture as a research object does not contradict practices established within humanities, but rather can be interpreted as a new area of study. Results. The results of our research demonstrate that digitalization of society led to the emergence of new themes in the humanities and within the education system: criticism of the “black box” character of contemporary digital infrastructure; issues of inequality and discrimination created or supported by digital tools; social effects of digitalization (including its impact on children and young adults); data-related problems: who, how and under what conditions creates, distributes and uses data in contemporary culture and society; anthropological approach that studies interactions between humans and digital technologies; cultural representations of digital technologies: images and narratives that circulate in society and are used to visualize and describe digital phenomena in film, literature, internet, social media etc. Conclusions. The authors conclude that the situation surrounding digitalization of humanities presents a field both of new problems and new opportunities. However, despite the existing issues, humanities research and education constantly produce new models and methods of interaction with the digital reality, which can and should be confidently introduced in education constantly experimenting with the new approaches.

Digital approaches within the humanities education system: integration challenges

Introduction. The relevance of this research is based on the well-known fact that the challenges created by the digital revolution sharpened many problems within the humanities education. The object of our research is the process of integration of digital approaches into the traditional teaching of humanities as one of the most important challenges faced by contemporary higher education. Digital technologies have already changed and continue to change not only teaching methods and approaches but also the very concept of humanities as a specialized field of knowledge. Within this process, we face innovations that quickly transform into an everyday practice and become embedded into the pre-existing academic and educational processes (access to digital information sources, ease of information production, demonstration and presentation etc.). The aim of this paper is to analyze the process of integration of digital approaches in teaching humanities as one of the most important educational challenges faced by contemporary university. Materials and methods. Since this paper is interdisciplinary in character, its methodological research base relies on integrative conceptual approach allowing us to bring together general theoretical methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization) with cultural, historical, contextual and competence-based research methods. Such an approach provides ample opportunities to introduce existing theoretical and methodological toolkit developed by the humanities in order to understand problems and specific features of digital society and digital culture. Both in this methodology and in content, the concept of digital culture as a research object does not contradict practices established within humanities, but rather can be interpreted as a new area of study. Results. The results of our research demonstrate that digitalization of society led to the emergence of new themes in the humanities and within the education system: criticism of the “black box” character of contemporary digital infrastructure; issues of inequality and discrimination created or supported by digital tools; social effects of digitalization (including its impact on children and young adults); data-related problems: who, how and under what conditions creates, distributes and uses data in contemporary culture and society; anthropological approach that studies interactions between humans and digital technologies; cultural representations of digital technologies: images and narratives that circulate in society and are used to visualize and describe digital phenomena in film, literature, internet, social media etc. Conclusions. The authors conclude that the situation surrounding digitalization of humanities presents a field both of new problems and new opportunities. However, despite the existing issues, humanities research and education constantly produce new models and methods of interaction with the digital reality, which can and should be confidently introduced in education constantly experimenting with the new approaches.

Digital approaches within the humanities education system: integration challenges

Introduction. The relevance of this research is based on the well-known fact that the challenges created by the digital revolution sharpened many problems within the humanities education. The object of our research is the process of integration of digital approaches into the traditional teaching of humanities as one of the most important challenges faced by contemporary higher education. Digital technologies have already changed and continue to change not only teaching methods and approaches but also the very concept of humanities as a specialized field of knowledge. Within this process, we face innovations that quickly transform into an everyday practice and become embedded into the pre-existing academic and educational processes (access to digital information sources, ease of information production, demonstration and presentation etc.). The aim of this paper is to analyze the process of integration of digital approaches in teaching humanities as one of the most important educational challenges faced by contemporary university. Materials and methods. Since this paper is interdisciplinary in character, its methodological research base relies on integrative conceptual approach allowing us to bring together general theoretical methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization) with cultural, historical, contextual and competence-based research methods. Such an approach provides ample opportunities to introduce existing theoretical and methodological toolkit developed by the humanities in order to understand problems and specific features of digital society and digital culture. Both in this methodology and in content, the concept of digital culture as a research object does not contradict practices established within humanities, but rather can be interpreted as a new area of study. Results. The results of our research demonstrate that digitalization of society led to the emergence of new themes in the humanities and within the education system: criticism of the “black box” character of contemporary digital infrastructure; issues of inequality and discrimination created or supported by digital tools; social effects of digitalization (including its impact on children and young adults); data-related problems: who, how and under what conditions creates, distributes and uses data in contemporary culture and society; anthropological approach that studies interactions between humans and digital technologies; cultural representations of digital technologies: images and narratives that circulate in society and are used to visualize and describe digital phenomena in film, literature, internet, social media etc. Conclusions. The authors conclude that the situation surrounding digitalization of humanities presents a field both of new problems and new opportunities. However, despite the existing issues, humanities research and education constantly produce new models and methods of interaction with the digital reality, which can and should be confidently introduced in education constantly experimenting with the new approaches.

The Impact of Korea’s ‘Hagwon’ Culture on Academic Pressure Among High School Students

South Korea’s hagwon culture, characterized by private academies offering supplementary education, has become a cornerstone of its competitive academic system. While hagwon provide tailored support and intensive preparation for high-stakes exams like the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), their prevalence has led to heightened academic pressure, socio-economic disparities, and significant psychological and physical consequences for students. This paper explores the core features of hagwon culture, including its integration into daily life, financial demands, and its dual role in academic support and test preparation. Comparative analysis with similar systems in Japan and China highlights the unique aspects of Korea’s education landscape. Furthermore, the study examines parental motivations, societal expectations, and public attitudes toward the sustainability of hagwon. The paper concludes by proposing policy reforms, such as enhancing public education, promoting holistic learning approaches, and addressing socio-economic inequities, to reduce reliance on private academies and foster a more equitable and balanced education system.

Independent analysis of phraseological units that include the names of animals in the russian and uzbek languages

This paper examines an independent analysis of phraseological units that include animal names in their composition in the Russian and Uzbek languages. The study aims to identify similaritiesand differences in the use of zoonyms in the phraseology of the two languages, as well as an analysis of their semantic, cultural and pragmatic features. The study used methods of comparative analysis, contextual analysis and lexicographic description. The work emphasizes the importance of zoonyms as a reflection of the mentality, culture and worldview of native speakers.