Main Narrative Research Articles

ТРАНСФОРМАЦІЯ СТРУКТУРИ І ЗМІСТУ КУРСУ ГЕОГРАФІЇ ВОСЬМОГО КЛАСУ ДЛЯ ЗАКЛАДІВ ЗАГАЛЬНОЇ СЕРЕДНЬОЇ ОСВІТИ

The article is focused on the analysis of the structure and content of Geography study in the 8th grades of general secondary educational institutions based on the model curriculum, developed by the team under the supervision of S. P. Zapototskyi. According to it, the content block related to the study of the population was removed from the 8th and instead transferred to the 9th grade course. Thus, the content of the course “Geography” in the 8th grade will encompass the following 4 chapters: Chapter I “Cartographic image of Ukraine”, Chapter II “Nature of Ukraine”, Chapter III “Natural Resource Management” and Chapter IV “Space – Territory – State”. Instead of the topic “Ukrainian and World Population” in the 8th grade, the inclusion of which in this course at one time was an unsuccessful experiment, two Chapters were introduced under the names “Natural Resource Management” and “Space – Territory – State”. Chapter “Natural Resource Management” logically completes the study of the nature of our state from the standpoint of the resource approach and perspectives of nature use, and “Space – Territory – State” is a kind of a transitional link to the study of Ukrainian and world social geography in the 9th grade. However, a more detailed analysis of the content of the topics included in the geography course covered in the 8th grade according to the model program offered by S. P. Zapototskyi and others, prompts to draw attention to some debatable issues and to offer author’s vision of improving the content of the educational discipline. The main suggestions concern the preservation of a typical physical and geographical approach to the study of the nature of Ukraine in Chapter II, In topic 1. of section IV. "Ukrainian state" a very important aspect of consideration is the affirmation of the idea that Ukraine is the inheritor of the state tradition of the Slavic tribe of the Ants. Another strength of the program is the project activity to establish the features of the formation of capable territorial communities formed after the decentralization reform. The main narrative to be relayed by topic 2 "Ukraine's place on the political map of the world" is that Ukraine is a sovereign European state, a candidate country for EU membership, which has to defend its independence from Russian aggression in a fair armed struggle. and some clarification of the content in Chapter III “Natural Resource Management”.

Museographic narrating of dissonant heritage in Tianjin’s former international concessions

Concessions—defined as the urban elements built by Western powers while ‘occupying’ various parts of the Chinese territory—have recently been granted heritage status by the Chinese national and local authorities. However, in many respects, they are ‘dissonant’ heritage sites since they are the result of the several-decade-long ‘colonial’ presence in Tianjin of nine foreign powers. The aim of this study is to understand how former international concessions are featured in museums and interpretation centres in present-day Tianjin. Using an approach that draws on dissonant heritage; literature on postcolonial museums, nostalgia and forgetting mechanisms; and the relationship between museographic narratives and patriotism, this article analyses a corpus of eight museums located in three former international concessions (Marshal Zhang’s Mansion, the Former Residence of Ma Zhanshan, the Museum of Modern History of Tianjin, the Five Avenues History Museum, the Museum of the Department Store Quan Ye Chang, Zhang House, the Astor Hotel Museum, the Tianjin Planning Exhibition Hall and the Tianjin Museum). The analysis is based on a common observation grid and semidirect interviews conducted with museum staff. The article captures and examines the main narratives from three perspectives: 1) revisiting the concession period as evidence of the beginning of modernity in China, which was a time in which celebrity life stories and the emergence of modern urban elements were praised; 2) considering the concessions as a dreamlike past of ‘others’ and ‘elsewheres’ belonging to a ‘foreign land’ and a context far removed from contemporary life in China, which favours the thematisation and leisure of Western architecture; and 3) selecting and targeting narratives focused on the heroes of the Republic of China (1912–1949) and the People’s Republic of China. This paper highlights and further develops how former Western concessions are imbued with a sense of both nostalgia and patriotism and sets out to gain a deeper understanding of the tension between these two attitudes.

Narrativizing power in times of (many) crises: the case of British conservative leaders

ABSTRACT Before their 2024 bruising defeat, the Conservative Party had been in power for more than a decade, during which it had to deal with many exogeneous and endogenous crises. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have yet managed to win three general elections, making unprecedented gains in 2019. We argue that communication and leadership were key in establishing power relations and, within the theoretical framework of Seeger and Sellnow’s “crisis narratives” and Boin and t’Hart’s “Public leadership in times of crisis”, we propose to analyse critically the main narratives that Conservative Prime Ministers have dwelt on to secure their hold on power.

Application of Topic Modelling Technology to the Analysis of Social Media Comments in the Context of State Identity Politics Research

In the situation of a shrinking field of public politics and a crisis of political trust, citizens may seek an alternative arena for presenting their own point of view. The social Internet space serves as a virtual projection of public contradictions and acts as an arena for the presentation and confrontation of political interests. At the same time, the increasing state presence in virtual space and the growing trust to online sources of information make social media an important channel for promoting certain patterns of political interpretations. The aim of this paper is to analyse the reactions of social media users to discover their attitudes towards the main narratives of contemporary identity politics of the Russian state. We used the Topic modelling method to study citizens’ reactions to various aspects of state identity politics. The total number of comments in the collected database is 8,023 (09/2022‑09/2023). In almost all the identified topics we can note the polarity of citizens’ opinions, examples of which are given in the article. However, there are a few topics where the users’ opinion is quite consolidated; for example, the image of the Crimean bridge on the cover of new textbooks was widely supported in comments, while the topic of traditional values, on the contrary, evokes negative feelings and shows “public tiredness”. Despite the limitations described in the conclusion of the article, the study demonstrates the high potential of applying the method of topic modelling to the analysis of the reactions of social media users.

Deconstructing the Downward Spiral: Anthology as Coherence in the Book of Judges

Abstract Many conceive of the shape of the book of Judges as a downward spiral with each leader getting worse, culminating in the horrific events of Judg 19–21. Proponents of this reading suggest that the judges can be evaluated by how closely they imitate their predecessors and the so-called judges cycle in Judg 2:11–19. In this article, I provide a historical survey to show that this interpretation originates during the literary turn in biblical studies and argues for a coherent literary reading in contrast to the source-critical approaches of the twentieth century. Since then, however, the downward spiral has become a cliché. Using eight tests, I argue that this reading is not substantiated through close textual analysis, and therefore Judges is better understood as a creatively curated anthology of stories set in a particular moral-literary world. The book demonstrates an ideological cohesion between the narratives but resists descriptions of linear progression along a particular theme (e.g., moral deterioration). Each of the main narratives (3:7–21:28) can be read on its own terms without the meaning being overdetermined by position or structure. Instead, Judges finds its narrative and ideological coherence through its anthology because each story is set within the same moral universe/narrative world.

NARRATIVE ORGANISATION AS A RECEPTIVE STRATEGY: BASED ON THEODORE ROSZAK’S THE MEMOIRS OF ELIZABETH FRANKENSTEIN

The article provides a comparative analysis of the narrative structure of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus and its rewrite – Theodore Roszak’s The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein. The ‟concentric” composition of Shelley’s novel, in which the three main narratives – Captain Walton’s, Victor Frankenstein’s and the Creature’s – were placed one inside the other, can be viewed as a variation on the popular gothic “found (discovered) manuscript” motif and were employed to enhance the emotional impact on the reader by blurring the line between fact and fiction. Roszak reproduces this structure in general, but bestows upon Walton (the primary narrator) an auctorial function, significantly expanding his “presence” in the main body of the text, represented by Elizabeth Frankenstein’s diary. While ultimately pursuing the same artistic objective as his literary predecessor, Roszak produces a more intricate system, in which each of the main characters has several functional roles; he also includes numerous inserted narratives in the text, thus complicating the structure in comparison with the elegant composition of Shelley’s novel, yet, however, meeting the same artistic goal more effectively: by intertwining fact and fiction, Roszak comes close to destroying the very fabric of the diegetic world and invading the extradiegetic reality of the reader and thus multiplies the emotional impact of the narrated events.

World War II in the Context of the Russo-Ukrainian War: Main Narratives and Research Perspectives

World War II in the Context of the Russo-Ukrainian War: Main Narratives and Research Perspectives

The Margins versus the Centre of the National Literary Canon: The Reception of ‘The Legend of Master Manole’ in Romanian Education

The main purpose of the article is to outline a panorama of the reception of ‘The Legend of Master Manole’ in Romanian education, from the beginning of its introduction to the Romanian national literary canon until the post-communist era. The paper explores how the discourse created around this text in the 19th century and perpetuated by interwar critics (e.g. George Călinescu, Mircea Eliade), and the ideology of protochronism during Ceaușescu’s regime, is preserved in post-communist textbooks. Although there have been some attempts at the feminist decanonisation of the ballad since 1989, they did not influence the main narrative presented in school manuals. The didactic literature still emphasises the male perspective of Manole, and his sacrifice for the act of creation, ignoring the perspective of Ana, the female character in the ballad, and her sacrifice. Starting from the premise that the canon is a certain set of beliefs which can be constantly engaged in polemics that should be continuously shaped and deconstructed, the article also proposes some new literary contexts in which ‘The Legend of Master Manole’ could appear in school textbooks.

Adapting to the skies: evolution of qualified personnel in airline operations amid technological advancements

PurposeThis study investigates the evolution of skilled personnel in airline operations driven by technological advancements. It aims to elucidate the changing personnel demands necessitated by technological innovations in the ground and flight services.Design/methodology/approachThe impact of technological advancements on aviation services has been broadly outlined. Secondary sources were used to identify the relationship between technology and human resources in aviation and categorize the current situation. However, the main narrative was based on the author’s observations.FindingsThe progression of technology in air transportation has led to a reduction in the number of personnel involved and the time spent on human interactions. Technological advancements in aviation have predominantly affected three crucial domains: back offices, ground services, and flight services. A future trend foresees a substantial shift toward self-service in ground services, contributing to streamlined processes with minimal errors.Practical implicationsAirlines must consider candidates' ability to adapt to technological changes during the hiring process to enhance operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. The current staff should be supported by training programs to facilitate their adaptation to technology.Social implicationsThis study provides a theoretical framework regarding changes in personnel requirements due to technological applications in aviation, the integration of technology into the sector, and the adaptation of current personnel to these technologies.Originality/valueThis perspective resonates with scholars engaged in the realms of aviation and tourism. This study assesses technological progress from both managerial and customer perspectives.

Novel Lessons In NW

Abstract: With a mixture of structural homage and ironic reference, Zadie Smith’s fragmentary, polyvocal novel NW (2012) cannily adapts the imperatives of the classic bildungsroman from a nineteenth-century national-industrial context to a contemporary global frame. Within NW ’s four main narratives of formation, education and individual ambition serve not to cultivate and fulfill, but to frustrate, fail, or fragment. As a counterpoint to its negative assessment of education and linear progression, however, NW ’s thorough manipulation of the logic of formation highlights the novel’s capacity to reorient readers’ modes of attention and empathy as conditioned by alterity, to use Dorothy Hale’s term. Drawing on Smith’s essays, I suggest that NW ’s experimental novelistic techniques present alternative forms of education for the reader: a range of indeterminate and uncertain “lessons,” dependent on singular encounters with the text.

Choose your own story: creative non-fiction about athletes attempting to qualify for the Olympics

ABSTRACT The Olympics qualification phase is a taxing process for elite athletes, and despite the fact that most do not achieve their goal of qualifying for the Olympics, little is known about how they make meaning from non-qualification. This longitudinal qualitative study describes the stories of athletes preparing for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and interprets the athletes’ meaning-making of their story of non-qualification. We conducted semi-structured interviews with seven elite athletes (a) during the COVID-19 lockdown, (b) after the COVID-19 lockdown, (c) pre-Tokyo, and (d) post-Tokyo. Results of a thematic narrative analysis are presented through creative non-fiction in the format of the ‘Choose your own story’ genre. Two main narratives are presented: a ‘terminal’ narrative, reflecting stories acknowledging the end of an unmade journey with no possibility of a future opportunity, and a ‘maybe next time’ narrative, reflecting stories that acknowledge the lost opportunity while still contemplating the possibility of future qualification. This study extends previous research by providing a deeper understanding of non-event transitions and proposing a review of existing transitional models in sports. We challenge the belief that not reaching a goal constitutes failure and propose alternative narratives. Lastly, we use the innovative ‘Choose your own story’ representation format to increase the impact of our findings on non-academic audiences.

“How to Become a Rock”: Non-Human Metaphors as Trans Paranarratives

ABSTRACT: Non-human metaphors, including animal metaphors, are widely used to evoke trans experiences, but the blooming flowers and hatching butterflies are often reduced to mere tropes or clichés. This article investigates what a narrative approach to these non-human metaphors can offer us to reconceptualize trans existence. I employ Benjamin Biebuyck and Gunther Martens’s concept of the ‘paranarrative,’ which allows us to look at metaphors as creating an additional narrative layer where aspects of the main narrative can be deepened, nuanced, or even contested. In two case studies, I unearth hidden sides of trans experience evoked through non-human metaphors on a paranarrative level. In Marieke Lucas Rijneveld’s novel Mijn lieve gunsteling , animal metaphors ranging from otters to birds bring to the surface a view of transness not limited to gender, but one that entails feelings of isolation and even uncontrollable desires. The metaphors in the novel Wormmaan by Mariken Heitman likewise raise attention to the connectedness between human, plants, and matter that society has tried to contain in limiting categorizations, such as gender divisions. By broadening the scope of trans as an embodied experience across various boundaries, this article calls for an expansive approach to trans narratology that reaches beyond gender towards the variety of affects that trans is capable of exposing.

The April Revolution and the Sense of Place in Medical Space: Focusing on Major Hospitals in Downtown Seoul.

This article focuses on the medical activities conducted by major hospitals in downtown Seoul during the April Revolution in 1960, examining their experiential context and significance. The influx of guns and bullets into Korean society following the liberation in 1945 intertwined with the political and social conflicts of the period, resulting in numerous assassinations, crimes, and terrorism. Gunshot wounds were traumas that became a part of the everyday life of Koreans, as well as scars which reflected their historical contexts. At the same time, the frequent occurrence of gunshot wounds led to the development of medical capacities to treat them. The Korean surgical academia expanded its technical foundation with experiences during and after the Korean War. This progress was particularly noticeable in areas closely related to gunshot wounds, such as craniotomy, thoracotomy, vascular anastomosis, debridement, anesthesia, and blood transfusion. Major hospitals in downtown Seoul served as medical spaces where these experimental and technical foundations were concentrated, allowing them to minimize the death toll despite the massive gunfire by the National Police in April 1960. Thus, the aftermath of the epidemic of gunshots resulted in a rather paradoxical outcome. This development became a resource for doctors and nurses, who added their revolutionary implications in reconstructing the experience of April 1960 in their various memoirs and reports. While memoirs reorganized general medical activities, portraying injured patients as participants in the revolution, reports provided forensic descriptions and interpretations of the deaths, giving authority to the main narrative of the revolution. As the interpretations and significance based on historical contexts gained prominence, major hospitals in downtown Seoul also developed a sense of place closely associated with the revolution.

The Productivity Slowdown in Advanced Economies: Common Shocks or Common Trends?

This paper reviews advanced‐economy productivity developments in recent decades. We focus primarily on the facts about, and explanations for, the mid‐2000s labor‐productivity slowdown in large European countries and the United States. Slower total factor productivity (TFP) growth was the proximate cause of the slowdown. This conclusion is robust to measurement challenges including the role of intangible assets, rankings of productivity levels, and data revisions. We contrast two main narratives for the stagnating TFP frontier: The shock of the Global Financial Crisis; and a common slowdown in TFP trends. Distinguishing these two empirically is hard, but the pre‐recession timing of the U.S. slowdown suggests an important role for the common‐trend explanation. We also discuss the unusual pattern of labor productivity growth since the start of the Covid‐19 pandemic. Although it is early, there is little evidence so far that the large pandemic shock has changed the slow pre‐pandemic trajectory of labor‐productivity growth.

The Man at Noah’s Window—The Death of the Old King in Patrick Roth’s Novel Starlite Terrace

Starlite Terrace is a contemporary novel comprised of four interlinked stories about the American film milieu by the German-American writer Patrick Roth. Four protagonists tell their Hollywood-tinged, highly personal life stories to a fifth, who is also the main narrator. In each of their singular collisions with life, a universal and mythical pattern is gradually revealed that gives these so-called ordinary people a dignity they have long since lost in everyday life. Literary scholars are considering Starlite Terrace a brilliant portrayal of the so-called “seeker spirituality” found primarily on the West Coast of California. In fact, the novel is part of Patrick Roth’s own life story, a condensation of his 40 years of experience in Los Angeles, the center of the American film industry. The novel represents a new kind of literature, a new poetics that strives to give expression to an archetypal layer of the unconscious through the writing process, thus bringing together these separate spheres. The highly Jungian worldview is mirrored in the character of Rex, “The Man at Noah’s Window,” among others. In his fixation on the movies and movie stars, he represents an aspect of the narrator’s shadow, a content eventually recognized and accepted. Ultimately, Rex, the “eternal outsider,” embodies the old ailing king in desperate need of rejuvenation. On the level of the collective psyche, the figure of Rex conveys the end of the old God image and the beginning of a new one, as experienced and foretold in the narrator’s archetypal puer aeternus dream.

Contextualized Rights as Effective Rights to All: The Case of Affirmative Action in Brazil

This article explores how two main narratives about slavery may lead to varying perspectives on social rights. Some collective narratives endorse a superficial idea of equality of rights, neglecting factors such as race and ethnicity, while others reject this apparent universalistic view, promoting more effective, de facto equality. The latter narrative supports horizontal redistribution, strongly contrasting with the former. Using Brazil’s affirmative action programs for Black students as a case study, this article will address two prevalent national narratives about the slavery of Black Africans and persons of Black African descent. Only one of those narratives could lead to what I would identify as a “contextualized theory of rights,” ensuring horizontal equality amidst a backdrop of brutal slavery and structural racism. This narrative offers a plurally faceted, dialogical approach to rights that can respond to the needs of differently situated individuals. The article will explore the evolution of such a collective narrative in Brazil’s race relations.

Israeli tech entrepreneurship: glorification of business exits in the media

ABSTRACT Traditionally, entrepreneurs build long-term companies that generate profits by selling goods and services. Nowadays, entrepreneurs are building companies solely to sell them to larger corporations to profit from early ‘exits’ due to the glorifying media characteristic. Based on an Israeli case study, this article examines how media outlets portray the ‘exit’ catchphrase. An analysis of semi-structured interviews with Israeli tech journalists and a thematic analysis of news articles is used to identify the three main narratives appearing in the media for encouraging exits: High-tech entrepreneur (individual), company (entity), and the industry (macro point of view).

Self-presentation of grey-haired influencers on TikTok: active ageing in China

ABSTRACT As the ageing of global societies continues to accelerate, China is actively responding to population ageing through its national strategy, and the rise of new media has provided more opportunities for the realization of this strategy. With the support of new media platforms such as TikTok, elderly people have started an active ageing trend on the Internet. This research conducts a qualitative content analysis of the videos of the top 10 ‘grey-haired influencers’ on the TikTok platform based on the theory of self-presentation, with a focus on their self-presentation in the new media era. Technological empowerment has facilitated the main narrative of grey-haired influencers, and they have transformed from being ‘presented by others’ to ‘creating self-images’. The self-presentation strategies of grey-haired influencers encompass both adherence to and deviations from Goffman’s theory. These strategies elicit diverse feedback from the audience, which prompts the grey-haired influencers to make further adjustments to their strategies and self-presentation. Ultimately, these influencers strive to create a meaningful space for older individuals, promote the development of a new grey-haired identity, and facilitate the dissemination of narratives about ageing among different age groups, thus fostering the practice of active ageing.

Two degrees versus two percent How central bankers and members of the European Parliament developed a common pro-climate narrative

ABSTRACT The new ECB leadership made it its explicit priority to make ECB’s policies greener. Although doubt remains about the scale and effectiveness of the policies implemented since then, the idea that the ECB has a role to play in the fight against climate change has become widely accepted. The main narrative in support of this idea states that the ECB’s pro-climate engagement is part of its primary mandate – price stability. However, until not long ago, ECB’s primary mandate was rather used by those opposing the greening of central banking, while it was largely ignored by pro-climate advocates. How has this narrative emerged and gained traction? This paper argues that this narrative results from a process of coalition-building between pro-climate central bankers and pro-climate politicians in the European Parliament. Building on a multi-method text analysis of original datasets of accountability communications as well as in-depth interviews, this paper documents the mechanisms through which pro-climate central bankers and pro-climate MEPs co-constructed the pro-climate narrative, using accountability relationships as a coalition-building arena. The paper contributes to ongoing discussions on central banks’ accountability, politicisation and role in the green transition.

Legitimising green monetary policies: market liberalism, layered central banking, and the ECB’s ongoing discursive shift from environmental risks to price stability

ABSTRACT Through the analysis of ECB Executive Board member speeches, we have identified three main narratives about the consequences of the environmental crisis in the monetary authority's spheres of influence: The first emphasises environmental phenomena as financial risks; the second highlights the green investment or financing gap; and the third focuses on the impacts of climate change on price stability. These narratives lead to different forms of legitimisation in terms of why and how the central bank should intervene to tackle climate change. We show that the third narrative is displacing the first as the dominant discourse around ECB climate policy. The shift in focus from the central bank's duties to maintain financial stability to its responsibilities regarding price stability under the primary mandate could lead to far-reaching green monetary policies. However, based on the concept of layered structures, we argue that this change does not signal a departure from market liberal central banking but rather a shift within the prevailing system. What we are witnessing is a new form of market liberalism adapted to climate change, or market liberalism in climate crisis mode.