Intellectual Interests Research Articles

Historical Geographical Information System (HGIS): social trajectories of two Chinese historical figures Su Shi and Zuo Zongtang in spatial context

Historical figures have important significance worldwide. This paper introduces the concept of historical Geographical Information System (HGIS) using the lives of two personalities from Chinese history as case studies: Su Shi, a literary figure of the Northern Song Dynasty, and Zuo Zongtang, a military strategist from the late Qing era. By studying the geographical points marking their life activities, their migratory patterns were explored, along with the dynamics of their social networks within time and space, examining the distinctive phases and characteristics of their individual journeys. Kernel density estimation, standard deviation ellipse, location-based distance analysis, and social network graphs were employed in this work. Our findings reveal that Su Shi’s migrations were largely dictated by official appointments, ultimately rooted in imperial successions and factional strife, with his intellectual pursuits significantly influenced by the humanistic milieu. Conversely, Zuo Zongtang’s migrations were predominantly shaped by war, reflecting the challenges of the late Qing era in relation to governance, sovereignty, and diplomacy. The military encampments selected by Zuo Zongtang tended to be situated near water sources, illustrating how his migratory trajectory was influenced by natural geographic conditions. The social circles of these figures are tied to their social and political stature. Through the socio-historic context, the characteristics of these historical figures’ behavioral trajectories relate to the unfolding process of societal and historical development. These insights offer a glimpse into the life journey behind historical figures, implicitly highlighting their perseverance and resilience in adversity, thereby describing innovative approaches to inheriting and disseminating the cultural legacy.

How #Trad Catholics Challenge Current Constructions of Christian Nationalism: Counterknowledge, Masculinity, and Elite Aesthetics on Instagram

ABSTRACT I analyze traditionalist Catholic (or Trad) content on Instagram to add digital hyperconnectivity to current conversations about Christian nationalism in the United States. Building on studies of both epistemological and affective shifts in the age of digital hyperconnectivity, I argue that some pockets of right-wing Christian content are not anti-intellectual, but rather construct alternative knowledge bases to challenge mainstream authorities. This populist strategy of counterknowledge is mediatized in Trad Instagram, creating an epistemic community to counter those of the mainstream. The affordances of Instagram as a platform, characterized by its emphasis on visual content, brevity, and rapid consumption, have resulted in the decontextualized presentation of fragmented elements of Catholic philosophy and social teaching. This reconfiguration not only reshapes the public perception of Catholic thought but also fundamentally alters the grammar of public discourse. I draw on studies of affective polarization to argue that counterknowledge is not primarily about building a substantive alternative knowledge base, but rather about constructing an identity around the media image of an epistemic community under threat. The Trad aesthetic representation of intellectualism is distinctly gendered, presenting intellectual pursuit and reason as masculine virtues. I conclude by explaining how Trad Instagram contributes to and challenges current discourses on Christian nationalism by centering digital hyperconnectivity instead of a rationalist analysis of motivating beliefs, providing insights not only about shifts in authority and populism, but also moving beyond ideology to highlight aesthetic, affect, and the algorithmic curation of knowledge.

Geographical Evaluation of Real Estate Services Offices in the City of Abha - Saudi Arabia, A Geographical Study using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Service geography is one of the branches of applied geography that has emerged as an applied intellectual interest to engage with the immediate direct needs of both urban and rural communities. The importance of studying services is due to their connection to economic planning, so geographical interest in them increases, as applied geography is based on a specific approach and philosophy of relevance or social benefit that focuses on the application of geographical knowledge and skills. To come up with solutions to real-world social, economic and environmental problems. The study focused on the use of geographic information systems in analyzing the geographic calendar of rental offices in the city of Abha, relying on the most important applied aspects of geographic information systems represented in spatial analysis. To reveal the characteristics of the spatial distribution of rental offices and their distribution pattern, and to evaluate the efficiency of their distribution according to the local standard. The study came out with a number of results and recommendations, and also verified the hypotheses assumed by the researchers.

Domesticating Human Capital

This article investigates the consumption of knowledge in early modern Amsterdam. A dataset of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century probate inventories is employed to examine the synergies and inequalities between the skilled and educated middle classes and the intellectual elites. A series of democratisation waves in the ownership of books, writing equipment, and measuring tools confirms the unprecedented levels of basic literacy and numeracy skills in the urban centres of the early modern Low Countries revealed by research on signature proficiency and age heaping. The concentration of secular books and advanced knowledge objects in the hands of a small but growing group of affluent households, on the other hand, corresponds to other research that has fixated instead on the role of upper-tail human capital in scientific, technological, and economic progress. Yet, the relatively low value estimates of libraries and scientific instruments, together with a more qualitative examination of two amateur scientists of middling background, dovetails with the hypothesis that the Dutch Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment were marked by a close interaction and mobility between craftsmen and scientists. An above-average income and enough leisure time to develop intellectual interests could be sufficient for inhabitants of Amsterdam to cross the Rubicon from consuming to (re)producing knowledge.

‘Welch eine Lage für die armen Frauen!’: Emilie von Berlepsch’s Travelogue Caledonia (1802–04) as a Medium of Reflection on the Role of Women

ABSTRACT Emilie von Berlepsch was the first German woman to travel to Scotland and write a travelogue about it. From 1799 to 1800 she toured the country and published her experiences and thoughts in her travel book Caledonia (1802–04). This article illustrates von Berlepsch’s endeavour to spread knowledge of British culture in her home country by means of the travelogue, with a particular focus on women. It argues that Caledonia can be considered a further example of von Berlepsch’s advocacy of women’s rights. Using the account of her voyage as a tool to reflect on the role of women both in Britain and Germany, von Berlepsch encourages her fellow countrywomen to increase their independence from men through intellectual pursuits such as writing.

Unisex Fashion as a Social Practice: A Comparative Study Between Young Heterosexual Consumers in the United States and China

Using Alan Warde’s tripartite model of practice theory (understanding, procedure, and engagement) as our theoretical framework, we compare how young heterosexual consumers in the United States and China understand, follow the perceived rules of, and engage with unisex fashion, and how different socio-cultural values and political ideologies in these two countries shape consumers’ gendered perceptions and practice of unisex style. We interviewed 15 participants in each country. Our findings suggest that unisex fashion is a more routinized practice for US participants, who appreciate gender fluidity due to a long history of fighting for gender equality and the current political emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Chinese participants, however, demonstrate a more deliberate and reflexive attitude. While they claim to embrace unisex fashion to express their gender identity, they are still restricted by a heteropatriarchal definition of gender, particularly with the recent revival of traditional gender ideologies advocated by the Chinese leadership. This comparative study of a gender-related fashion practice contributes to a reappraisal of cultural meaning within practice theories. We hope this study will stimulate further intellectual interest in the intersections of fashion studies, consumption research, and cultural sociology.

Assess the Effect of Detract Technique among Post-operative Toddlers with Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate

ABSTRACT Background: Children who undergo surgery frequently experience postoperative pain or POP. Pain experienced by children can be addressed as a basic human right. Because hospitals can be extremely stressful places for families and their children, pain, and discomfort associated with intrusive techniques can lengthen hospital stays for children and lead them to heal more slowly than they would have otherwise. Engaging the kids in intellectual pursuits is one way to use distraction techniques to take their minds off unpleasant stimuli and lessen their suffering. Purpose: The current study’s goal was to evaluate the impact of the distract technique on postoperative infants with cleft lip and palate who were between the ages of 1 and 3 years old. Materials and Methods: The Saveetha Medical College and Hospital served as the host institution for the quantitative method with a preexperimental investigation. Sampling Method: Convenience sampling was used to select 60 postoperative children with cleft lip and palate who were between the ages of one and three. Interventions: One intervention group and a control group were randomly assigned to each of the 60 postoperative youngsters. Distract technique (tactile ball) was started for the intervention group 20 min prior to operation day and continued for 30 days. The first group (the control group) received standard care, which included analgesic medication. The second group (the intervention group) received no analgesic medication and was played with a tactile ball by a nurse who happened to be one of the researchers working in the pediatric unit where the study was conducted. Acetaminophen (10–15 mg/kg) was given to the children in the control group as an analgesic. Results: The descriptive analysis (P > 0.05) did not reveal any statistically significant differences between the groups.

Avasthātraya: Deeper insights

The Upaniṣad or Vedānta is certainly the most brilliant expression of Indian wisdom. From time immemorial it has been the driving force behind all intellectual and spiritual pursuits of the seers. The crowning glory of the Upaniṣad lies in its spirit of inquiry into the nature of truth. It has not only impacted the knowledge systems of India but has gained a global recognition for its consistently significant contribution to the development of the science of consciousness, in addition to the value-based knowledge it imparts. It conceives of pure consciousness to be the eternal, all-pervasive and transcendental Reality which is termed Ātman or Brahman. The individual being is the worldly manifestation of the pure consciousness and it is ignorant of its real nature owing to its association with the limiting adjuncts. According to a few principal Upaniṣads, that real nature, as pure consciousness, can be intuited by an individual after transcending three intermediate states Jāgaritasthāna, Svapnasthāna and Suṣuptasthāna. These three consecutive states do not refer only to the ordinary states of sleep and wakefulness but may be regarded as the steps towards the realization of Supreme Reality. In-depth analysis reveals a close correspondence of these three states with the states of Samādhi as mentioned in the Pātañjala Yogasūtra. The paper offers a deeper insight into the nature of these three intermediate states through which the absolute Consciousness can be perfectly realized in its entirety.

Windows in the writing centre: students’ physical orientation toward or away from natural light is determined by genre

Drawing from an ethnographic study, this project reveals a relationship between genre and the role of natural light in a writing centre. Using observation, interviews, and analysis, the author discovers that students prefer to face natural light during formative writing and sit with their backs to natural light during summative writing or while leading a writing consultation. This revelation about the role of light with respect to the type of writing presents questions about writing centre design and the implications of space created for creative and intellectual pursuits.

Emilie de Geer, kvinnors bildning och läsningens materialitet

Emilie de Geer, Women’s Education, and the Materiality of Reading This article aims to study the reading practices of the Swedish noblewoman Emilie de Geer (1782–1828) of Löfstad Castle, in relation to her intellectual and political interests. The Enlightenment and events such as the French Revolution ignited new political ideas, increased the number of female authors, and gave grounds for discussions on the effect of women reading literature. Hence, women’s reading practice “is the most important arena in which to judge their contributions to social change” (Diaconoff, 2005). All Löfstad women, such as Hedvig Catharina von Fersen (born De la Gardie, 1732–1800), Sophie Piper (born von Fersen, 1757–1816), and Emelie De Geer had close connections to both Swedish and European royal and noble families – the very elite in terms of both culture and politics. The library of Löfstad has never been studied in depth, especially not through questions of gender, women’s reading and writing as a space to cultivate ideas on politics, women’s worth and agency within the social and cultural sphere they inhabited. Thus, this article will contribute to the broad fields of cultural and literary history, shedding new light on Swedish women’s reading practices, intellectual ideas, and political debate during the Enlightenment.

Overcoming Fractures of Cross-Cultural Understanding: Modern Chinese Knowledge Production on the Arab World

Despite the long history of Chinese-Arab interactions since the seventh century, modern Chinese scholarship on the Arab world has a much shorter story. The global historical context that led to such a situation is the Western dominance in knowledge production. Most Chinese scholars research on issues related to the West and/or China-Western interactions. Only a small proportion of researchers cast their eyes on the “other East”—the Arab world. Consequently, Arab/Arabic studies occupies a marginal space in Chinese academies. In addition, although Edward Said had fiercely argued more than forty years ago in Orientalism that subtle but persistent Eurocentric prejudice against Arab-Islamic peoples and their culture perpetrates Western misunderstanding about the region, such biased representations were sometimes uncritically transferred by Chinese scholars when they were acquiring knowledge about the region via translations of Orientalist accounts written in English. Another major obstacle is the inherent linguistic and orthographic difficulties involved. Although some researchers have made great endeavors to overcome such challenges, most publish only in Chinese. As a result, their findings are not widely known. This article, therefore, scrutinizes and contextualizes modern Chinese scholarship on the Arab world in order to introduce it to a wider international audience, especially for those who are keenly observing the increasing Chinese-Arab engagements in the twenty-first century. In addition to providing synoptic overviews of major institutions, scholars, and their representative works, the article also critically analyzes the historical contexts that led to the initial formation, subsequent divergent developments in Chinese-language academies on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and the present challenges of the respective state of the fields. I argue that due to bigger population, larger geographical size, and more government funding, Arab/Arabic studies in mainland China is more developed than that in Taiwan, though scholars based on the mainland are facing more pressure on censorship and self-censorship. Both fields, however, were pioneered by the same group of Chinese Hui Muslim scholars who went to study at al-Azhar University in Egypt in the 1930s and the 1940s, not unlike cosmopolitan Muslims around the world at the time who traveled to Cairo for multiple and complex reasons. When they returned, institutionalizing Arab/Arabic-Islamic studies in Chinese academies became one of their most visible and long-lasting legacies. Contingencies in their lives, mainly job opportunities upon graduation, played an important role in their later bifurcated career trajectories. The process during which these Hui Azharites ceased to be “cosmopolitan Muslims” and instead became “Chinese Arabists” reflects an important transformation in Chinese-Arab interactions during the Cold War politics. Later generations of scholars developed systematic pedagogies on teaching Arabic to native Chinese speakers by publishing Arabic-Chinese dictionaries as well as textbooks and grammar books. Their role as cross-cultural intermediaries is significant and widely impactful. These little-known scholars deserve to be recognized for their intellectual pursuits.

The Heuristics of Heroism: Lebbeus Woods Notebooks (1988–1997) at the Getty Research Institute Special Collections

This paper introduces the notebooks of Lebbeus Woods (1940–2012) as a substantive document in the œuvre and critical practice of the New York architect. Dating from 1988 to 1997, this previously unpublished trove includes hand-written notes and over three hundred drawings. Held at the Getty Research Institute, these twenty notebooks cover a wide range of topics, from theoretical musings, to political statements, to fragments from everyday life. Crucially, these documents also reflect the period of Woods’ interest and involvement in the Bosnian War, leading to the publication of War and Architecture in 1993. Complementing his published and exhibited works, Woods’ notebooks are a daily register of his travels, stochastic thoughts, and of his struggles with a continued belief in the possibility of architecture as an intellectual pursuit against the context of modern geopolitical catastrophe. Our brief examination presents these important documents from three major vantage points: drawings, writings, and their theoretical synthesis.

Al‐Madina Document in Contemporary Arab‐Muslim and Western Scholarship: Surveying and Assessing some Intellectual Orientations and Reading Strategies1

AbstractThis short essay attempts at displaying briefly some examples of scholarly and intellectual interests in al‐Madina Document, which one can find in Arab and Western literature today. It endeavors to highlight the primary, focal conceptual orientations and the contextual concerns and motifs that make the Arab and the Western intellectual scenes approach this document from the distinguished perspectives they follow and to interpret its content from the specific dimensions of interest and focus they prioritize. After exposing in a survey‐like and short analytical manner these different approaches, the paper will end with some assessments of each scholarly modus operandi and then suggest some aspects of reading that should not be ignored or sidelined if one wants to relate to the Madina Document in its own terms and from‐within its own world and possible context, without ending up either eisegeting the document, or anachronizing its content or injecting its words with what they do not not essentially state.

Experiences of Using a Real Compound Microscope and a Virtual Compound Microscope in Understanding Plant Tissues by First-year Life Science Students at a Tertiary Institution in South Africa

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the majority of tertiary institutions preferred virtual laboratories to face-to-face laboratories which posed a challenge to many students. The objective of the study was to examine students’ experiences at a higher institution using both a physical and virtual microscope. This qualitative study involved ten randomly chosen first-year Life Science students. They had to prepare and view onion cells under a real microscope, while the second assignment required them to observe onion cell preparation in a virtual laboratory. Students completed a questionnaire containing open-ended questions. The results were analyzed using themes, and the study found that pupils prefer physical microscopes to virtual microscopes. This is because students interact with the equipment in the laboratory, which encourages intellectual interests, knowledge sharing, and the development of social connections. Students can manipulate actual objects, manually focus microscopes, and interact in real time with microscopic worlds. This hands-on expertise is critical for instructing students and researchers on laboratory practices. Real microscopes are versatile pieces of equipment that can be utilized for a wide range of applications, from basic instruction to advanced research. Although virtual microscopes have advanced in terms of image quality, real microscopes provide better resolution and clarity. The study will make a substantial addition to university laboratory pedagogies and expose students to scientific investigations, given the majority of students come from rural schools with limited laboratory equipment such as microscopes. Keywords: Physical Microscope, Virtual Microscope, Experiences, Intellectual Interest, Social Interactions

Against illustration: towards a new field of inquiry in illustration studies

Building on recent specialised studies on the critique of illustration in individual authors or periods, this article develops a new methodology for a large comparative study of the critique of literary illustration. Notably, this article argues for the benefits of developing a catalogue of basic arguments levelled against the pictorial illustration of literary texts. By distinguishing between these arguments and by tracing these arguments throughout history, we stand to gain new insights into not only the history of literary illustration but also into broader trends in literary and cultural history, which inform the critique of illustration. These general remarks are further developed through exemplary analyses of three prominent criticisms of illustration from the nineteenth century as well of their varying legacies in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: illustrations limit the reader’s imagination; illustrations are merely included for commercial gain; and illustrations limit intellectual pursuits.

Good reasons to philosophize: On Hadot, Cooper, and ancient philosophical protreptic

AbstractThis paper reassesses the Cooper‐Hadot debate surrounding how students are converted to philosophy as a way of life (section 1) through engagement with philosophical protreptics. In section 2, the paper identifies the core “argument from finality” in philosophical protreptics seeking to convert non‐philosophers to philosophy, starting from the universal human interest in securing eudaimonia. In line with Cooper, this argument seeks to persuade prospective students on rational grounds, so that their choice to philosophise would be rationally motivated. In section 3.1, the paper illustrates how in Plato's Euthydemus (a) the choice to undertake philosophy is rationally justified by Socrates, using the eudaimonistic argument from finality. In section 3.2, by recourse to Aristotle's Protrepticus, the paper shows how the protreptic texts also compared philosophy to other intellectual pursuits, notably rhetoric, so as to recommend philosophy specifically for delivering a directive wisdom concerning how to live.

19세기 한･중 문인의 교류와 문화의 環流 양상

In the 19th century, intellectuals from Joseon placed great importance on interaction with scholars and literati from the Qing Dynasty. This was rooted in the background that Joseon's academia at the time showed great interest in the Qing evidential learning of the Qing Dynasty, which reached a relatively mature stage. These intellectuals, generally inclined to re- establish Joseon's Neo-Confucianism by embracing Qing's scholarly achievements, represented a trend of intellectual pursuit. “Haedong Geumseokwon(海東金石苑)” is a collection of Joseon's studies on bronze and stone epigraphy, compiled and supplemented by Qing scholar Yu Heihai(劉喜海). Starting from Jo In-yeong(趙寅永)'s compilation “Haedong Geumseokjongo(海東金石存攷),” Yu Heihai supplemented it to complete “Haedong Geumseokwon” in 1831, but it was not published. The unpublished “Haedong Geumseokwon” was secretly kept by the Qing Collector Pan Zuyin(潘祖蔭), and later published in three installments, continuing to be transmitted until now. “Haedong Geumseokwon” represents the achievement of evidential learning in Qing Dynasty being transmitted to Joseon and then returning to Qing, forming a cycle of achievements in bronze and stone epigraphy between the two countries. Through this return flow, it was evident that there was a valuable document of mutual interest and scholarly exchange between the two countries regarding Joseon's bronze and stone epigraphy. “HaewaiMukyeon(海外墨緣)” is a collection of letters compiled by Qing scholar Wang Heison(汪喜孫). The letters were sent by Joseon literati Gwon Don-in(權敦仁) and encompassed critiques from various perspectives, ranging from phonology, astronomy and arithmetic, classical literature to contemporary scholars' writings. There is controversy over whether “HaewaiMukyeon” was authored by Gwon Don-in or Kim Jeong-hee(金正喜). Especially, examining the content of the letters sent by Wang Heison to the Lee Sang-jeok and to Kim Jeong-hee raises doubts about Kim Jeong-hee being the author. The crucial point is that “HaewaiMukyeon” is preserved in Qing Dynasty as a valuable cultural asset demonstrating Joseon's academic achievements at that time. In general, culture refers to the phenomenon of spreading from the center to the periphery and then circulating back from the periphery to the center, which is called the circulation of culture. In the circulation of culture, mutual roles are emphasized, and the process, possessing dynamism, is seen as holding greater significance above all else. “Haedong Geumseokwon” and “HaewaiMukyeon” serve as excellent examples demonstrating this circulation of culture.

ДЕНЕ ЖАТТЫҒУЛАРЫНЫҢ БІЛІМГЕРЛЕРДІҢ ДЕНЕ ҚАБІЛЕТІНІҢ ДАМУЫНА ӘСЕРІ

In the article, we consider the interaction between human resources and physical activity. The target of this study is the study of the application of systematic approaches to intellectual interests of students, as well as the possibility of a comprehensive application of physical skills to the nervous system and memory. The implementation of functions depends on neural connections, and on physical activity, which depends on it, it is possible to improve the human resources.

Implicit and Explicit Preferences for Golden Ratio

The golden ratio, also known as Phi (ϕ ≈ 1.618034), attracted the interest of mathematicians, artists, and intellectuals for many centuries, probably from when it was discovered in human anthropometry. Even in recent times, researchers found the presence of the golden ratio in Renaissance paintings and aesthetic preferences. The reasons behind the fascination with the golden ratio remain unclear, but it has been suggested that stimuli containing this proportion are often perceived as beautiful. However, evidence is conflicting, and the literature struggles to establish the existence of individual preferences for the golden ratio. To gain new insights into the nature of these preferences, one hundred participants completed an implicit association task, with either golden ratio or random stimuli presented with positive or negative words. Participants initially categorized the stimuli based on their assigned categories. Then, we assessed their explicit preferences by asking them to rate the stimuli in terms of pleasantness and by completing a line bisection task and the Ultimatum Game. The results revealed the typical effects observed in implicit association tasks, with improved response times and accuracy when golden ratio stimuli were associated with positive word categories. In contrast, explicit ratings yielded mixed results. We discuss our findings in relation to previous studies that have explored this issue, highlighting the ongoing debate surrounding preferences for the golden ratio.

Theoretical principles of the study of agglomeration factors of the investment attractiveness of communities

Understanding the specifics of agglomeration factors is not just an academic exercise, but a crucial step towards forming an attractive investment climate in communities. In the face of globalization and intensified interregional competition, this understanding is paramount. Theoretical comprehension of these processes is not a mere intellectual pursuit, but a necessary tool to identify and analyze the mechanisms through which agglomeration influences investment activity and the economic efficiency of communities. This, in turn, will provide practical recommendations for optimizing management decisions at the local and regional levels of government. The importance of this research is further underscored by the need for local communities to adapt to changing external conditions, identify potential growth points, and form development strategies based on internal innovative resources and agglomeration advantages. The aim of this article is to analyze the theoretical foundations of studying the agglomeration factors of the investment attractiveness of territorial communities, with a clear focus on its practical implications. The article analyzes the theoretical aspects of the interaction between agglomeration phenomena and investment activity, considering the impact of scale, level of concentration, and specialization of production processes on regional economic development. Theoretical approaches to analyzing agglomeration factors are proposed, investigating their impact on economic development and the ability to mobilize investment resources within a specific territorial unit. The development of infrastructure capabilities, initiation of innovative clusters, and support for entrepreneurial activities serve as the main directions for enhancing the investment attractiveness of agglomerations. However, it's important to note that the process of creating urban agglomerations is not a simple task. It's a long-term endeavor that provokes debates and represents a significant level of complexity. It is determined that thanks to the agglomeration effect, regional development becomes more logical, focusing on a variety of economic activities in territories optimal for their implementation. Analyzing the level of development of urban agglomerations allows for a more targeted approach to planning their further development strategies, but it's a task that requires a deep understanding of the complex dynamics at play. Keywords: investment attractiveness, socio-economic development, agglomerations, agglomeration factors, territorial communities.