Worker co-operatives, firms owned and democratically administered by their workers, provide a robust type of industrial democracy with significant historical foundations in Ireland and the European Union (EU). This article analyses the progression of worker co-operatives within these circumstances, mapping their emergence as reactions to social inequity, economic disruption, and the pursuit of fair working standards. It rigorously examines the legal frameworks governing worker co-operatives in Ireland and the EU, emphasising the obstacles presented by fragmented law, restricted access to financing, and insufficient support mechanisms. Notwithstanding governmental support for co-operative principles at the EU level, worker co- operatives constitute a rather insignificant industry. This article examines obstacles to expansion, such as cultural prejudices against conventional corporate methods and insufficient understanding of co-operative governance. Utilising successful models from nations such as Spain and Italy, it delineates plans for development, including adjustments to Irish and EU law, augmented financial assistance, and education about the advantages of co-operative enterprises. This article presents a historical and legal study that highlights the capacity of worker co-operatives to mitigate economic inequality and promote industrial democracy in Ireland and the EU. It desires focused governmental measures to fully realise the sector's groundbreaking potential.

How do internalized cultural values shape responses to discrimination among minoritized groups? This research investigates how honour values, originating from socio‐ecological contexts marked by insecurity and weak institutional protection, shape prejudice confrontation among individuals from honour‐culture backgrounds living in Western European dignity cultures. Across three studies, we examined South and West Asians in the United Kingdom and Turkish post‐migrants in Germany. We tested whether endorsement of collective honour and modern proxies of socio‐ecological conditions in which honour cultures emerge (e.g., perceived financial threat, low trust in police effectiveness and procedural unfairness) predict intentions to confront discrimination. Studies 1 and 2 showed that the frequency of discrimination experiences and collective honour predicted aggressive confrontation. Studies 2 and 3 showed the dual role of honour norms: endorsement of honour norms related to family reputation predicted only non‐aggressive confrontation, whereas endorsement of retaliation norms predicted only aggressive confrontation. Study 3, a pre‐registered experiment, found no causal effect of manipulated contemporary manifestations of long‐term socio‐ecological conditions on honour endorsement or confrontation. Together, findings suggested that lived experiences of discrimination, alongside honour norms, predict confrontation. Moreover, they highlight the importance of distinguishing between dimensions of honour norms when examining culturally grounded responses to intergroup discrimination.

The maritime industry is very important to Malaysia's economy because it handles more than 90% of the country's freight imports and exports. Even though it is important, the industry still does not have enough local seafarers and is mostly male-dominated. Women are still underrepresented in both maritime education and professional practice. Gender inequality is still a problem in the business, and cultural prejudices, workplace hurdles, and lack of institutional support make it even worse. This shows how important it is to work for gender equality in the sector. This study examines perspectives of gender equality in maritime education in Malaysia, concentrating on maritime educators at Akademi Laut Malaysia (ALAM), the only maritime education institution in Melaka. This research used a quantitative study design and a structured questionnaire as the main way to collect data. There were four parts to the survey: demographic profiles, views on gender equality, institutional policies and assistance, and problems that women and men face because of their gender. Because the target population was small, convenience sampling was used, and 30 valid responses were collected. The study adds to our understanding of how institutional practices, policies, and cultural norms affect gender inclusion in maritime education by looking at the views of teachers. The research gives governments, schools, and teachers ideas on how to make schools more gender-sensitive and make Malaysia's maritime sector more inclusive.

BACKGROUND: During the early 1990s, yoga was still widely misunderstood and burdened by cultural and scientific prejudices, particularly in the context of healthcare. Only a limited number of open-minded researchers explored its therapeutic potential. Since then, yoga—especially Hatha Yoga—has gradually gained scientific and clinical recognition as a complementary approach to health and disease management. AIM: To present a reflective and conceptual overview of yoga therapy as a holistic health approach, contrasting its principles with conventional medical models and emphasizing its therapeutic, philosophical, and lifestyle dimensions. METHODS: This work is based on a narrative, philosophical, and experiential analysis of yoga therapy, grounded in classical yoga texts, long-term practical experience, and historical perspectives on the development of therapeutic yoga. Comparative conceptual analysis between medical and yogic views of illness and healing is employed. RESULTS: Yoga therapy views the human being as an integrated physical, energetic, and psycho-mental entity. Classical Hatha Yoga techniques—including asanas, pranayama, kriyas, relaxation, and meditation—demonstrate inherent therapeutic effects when applied through individualized, progressive, and carefully adapted programs. Unlike conventional medicine, yoga therapy emphasizes active patient participation, personal responsibility, lifestyle modification, and mental transformation alongside physical practice. CONCLUSIONS: Yoga therapy represents an integrative and holistic approach to health that complements modern medicine without claiming to be a universal cure. Its value lies not only in symptom management but also in fostering awareness, acceptance, resilience, and conscious living. The growing volume of scientific publications on yoga, particularly in medical and psychological fields, supports its increasing relevance and integration into contemporary healthcare models.

This article analyzes the importance of implementing a culture of peace in schools as a foundation for building more just and democratic societies. Recognizing the school as a key space for civic education, it examines pedagogical strategies that promote peaceful coexistence, such as cooperative learning, school mediation, and social-emotional learning. The main purpose is to identify how these methodologies contribute to developing skills for conflict resolution, empathy, and respect for diversity. Based on a theoretical review and an analysis of experiences in countries such as Finland, Colombia, and Costa Rica, it highlights that these practices can positively transform the school climate. However, it also points out significant challenges such as school violence, social inequality, cultural prejudices, and a lack of teacher training. It concludes that consolidating a culture of peace in education requires a comprehensive approach that combines pedagogical practices with sound public policies and the cooperation of the entire educational community. Only in this way will it be possible to guarantee safe, inclusive school environments committed to democratic values

Introduction: In Chile, education is governed by the Ministry of Education's curriculum framework and guidelines (2013), which establish minimum learning objectives. Rhythmic gymnastics (RG) is a means of achieving these objectives; however, it is rarely taught in physical education classes due to teachers’ lack of knowledge, prejudices about flexibility requirements, and the cultural gender stigma that labels it as a “women’s sport,” limiting its practice and teaching. Historically, RG has reproduced stereotypes that exclude men, perpetuating inequalities. Incorporating a gender perspective involves questioning and transforming these conceptions, allowing all people to access, participate, and develop without restrictions based on cultural prejudices or historical stigmatization. Objective: This didactic experience aimed to report teachers’ opinions after participating in a theoretical-practical course involving 25 school educators who engaged in the practice and teaching of RG through an inclusive, gender-neutral methodology. Methodology: It was applied a semi-structured interview, wisch was analyzed based on dimensions and categories. Discussion: Participants evaluated the experience as highly satisfactory, recognizing the sport’s richness and motivational value in allowing students to choose music collaboratively and respectfully. Conclusions: They concluded that the methodology is easily replicable in school contexts and that the course provided them with the confidence to implement it.

This interface of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and sacrosanct locale design is a golden possibility to reinvent spiritual locale spatiality in a manner that honors the past whilst incorporating technological enhancement. Sacred architecture has been used traditionally as tangible medium of cultural, religious, and historic values. Nevertheless, in present design practice, it appears that the interpretation of spiritual symbolism is not always compatible with the changing aesthetic, environmental and functional requirements. This paper discusses the new role played by generative AI, e.g., Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and ChatGPT, in the conceptualization, visualization, or adaptation of sacred sites. Using the expertise of interdisciplinary studies in the field of architecture, religious studies, preservation of heritage, and artificial intelligence ethics, we explore how artificial intelligence-based systems can validate culturally oriented, community sensitive, and emotional resonant religious spaces. We analyze case studies of architectural and educational imagery of Islam, Qinghua porcelain technology, and Iznik re-imagined tiles, and Arabic calligraphy, and pedagogical and neuro-adaptative uses. It develops a design framework, which includes cultural, AI generated ideation layers, and human- in-the-loop evaluation processes to provide spiritual logicalness and contextual sensitivity. In addition, the crucial ethical issues related to religious deception, cultural prejudices, and confidence in AI sacred images are covered in the paper. We believe that, like in the 25 current studies, generative AI has only to be a tool, although it can be effectively used as a collaborative co-actor during the adaptive design of sacred spaces, to bridging the gap between tradition and transformation at the digital age.

Abstract Background Schools are one of the first and most effective service systems that migrant children encounter in the host country where they settle. The school environment can contain difficulties, such as discrimination, exclusion, or bullying due to religious identity or cultural differences. This study aimed to examine the effects of migrant children's religious identity or culture on their exposure to bullying in schools. Methods This scoping review was conducted in PubMed and Scopus online databases without any year limitation. The search strategy included combinations of the following keywords: ‘migrant’, ‘immigrant’, ‘refugee’, ‘asylum seekers’, ‘child*’, ‘religio*’, ‘religio* beliefs’, ‘religio* identity’, ‘faith’, ‘cultur*’, ‘school’, ‘bully*’. Empirical (qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods) and English language studies with full text available were included. Results This review included 13 peer-reviewed journal articles. More than half of the studies found that school bullying in migrant individuals was caused by religious identity, ethnicity, race and cultural differences. Most studies reported that migrant children were bullied by their peers in the school environment in relation to their language and physical appearance. Some studies have highlighted that migrant children experience bullying by their teachers due to cultural prejudices. Additionally, a few studies have found that when cultural adjustment stress is high among migrant mothers, their children's bullying victimisation increases. Conclusions This study revealed that school bullying was caused by language barriers, physical differences, ethnicity and race. Therefore, parents, teachers, students, school personnel and administrators should be trained to increase religious and cultural sensitivity and social environments that support migrant children should be created. Such interventions can support the integration process of migrant children by reducing their experiences of bullying. Key messages • Religious identity, cultural differences, language barriers, and physical appearance contribute to school bullying against migrant children, emphasizing the need for culturally sensitive schools. • Training parents, teachers, students, and school staff in cultural and religious sensitivity can reduce bullying and promote the successful social integration of migrant children.

Early Western missionaries to Africa have been criticised for lacking cultural sensitivity to African indigenous religion(s) (AIR). This interpretive phenomenological study examines how the presence of Indigenous African Catholic missionaries in modern sub-Saharan Africa may have shifted the narrative of missionary encounters. It investigates how these missionaries navigate and experience cultural sensitivity within the context of their work. This study is based on the theoretical frameworks of inculturation and dialogue, informed by the Second Vatican Council’s focus on interreligious dialogue and Pope John Paul II’s advocacy for evangelising African cultures. Eight African missionaries from Western, Eastern, Central and Southern sub-Saharan Africa participated in this study, providing narrative data through semi-structured interviews. African missionaries have indicated both cultural sensitivity and insensitivity towards AIR, with some missionaries appreciating shared values and actively engaging in respectful interactions with AIR. However, challenges emerge in this interaction, including navigating cultural differences, syncretism, historical prejudices and theological dilemmas. Despite these challenges, indigenous missionaries are committed to inculturation and dialogue, incorporating certain indigenous practices into worship and developing culturally relevant pastoral approaches. The study recommends developing culturally sensitive evangelistic approaches that not only value and respect indigenous identities and spiritualities but also promote mutual understanding and social unity.

This study investigates the challenges faced by women in managerial positions within the hospitality industry and explores the prevalence of the Invisible Woman Syndrome, particularly as it relates to gender. Structured interviews were conducted with 13 female managers employed at five-star hotels in Konya, Turkey. The collected data were coded, categorized into themes, and analyzed. Some participants attributed the lack of career mobility for women to cultural stereotypes, while others identified personal factors as barriers to advancement. Several participants indicated that one of the primary obstacles limiting women's managerial progression in the hospitality sector is the general reluctance to accept women in the tourism industry. Additional factors included cultural prejudices and men’s resistance to women in upper-level positions. The study's findings emphasize the importance of organizational strategies to enhance the visibility of women in the workplace. Policies promoting gender equality, recognition systems that highlight women's achievements, and mentorship programs are essential measures to address this issue.

Harnessing artificial intelligence for mental well-being of aging populations.

This article examines the social and cultural aspects shown in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. Beyond its fantasy narrative, the novel portrays real-world social issues such as family dynamics, bullying, personal identity, social class, and cultural prejudice within both the magical and non-magical worlds. Through a qualitative approach using library research, this study identifies how social environments, peer interactions, institutional influences, and cultural norms shape character development, particularly that of the protagonist, Harry Potter. The analysis highlights how the novel reflects British cultural heritage, including the class system, educational structures, and traditions, as well as issues of discrimination based on blood status. This study contributes to understanding how popular literature serves as a medium for representing and critiquing social and cultural realities.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to look into how university students felt about using English and Urdu in both formal and informal settings. Language is a basic component of human communication and is essential in forming a person’s identity. The study examined how students perceived language choices and how language impacted social situations, interpersonal connections, and academic learning in a university setting. It was conducted at the University of Education, Lower Mall Campus, Lahore. The investigation of students’ language attitudes, communication environments, context, and social identities was done using Social Identity Theory (SIT).Prejudices the participants held about English, the relationship they saw among language and status, as well as the impact on identity occurred in line with the idea of social identity. Fifteen undergraduate and graduate students were interviewed in order to collect data, which was then analyzed to determine the attitudes, language preferences, and topics of the students. Thirteen questions were asked during the interview to find out how university students felt about using English and Urdu in both professional and casual settings. Students from the University of Education, Lahore (Lower Mall Campus) made up the study’s population. The findings demonstrated how a range of variables interact in complex ways to affect language choices, including comfort levels, perceived benefits, cultural prejudices and biases, and identity expression. The research’s conclusions can aid in improving knowledge of students’ language attitudes among educators, legislators, and language academics.

ABSTRACT By using the methods of podcast ethnography, I explore how young adults make everyday racism visible and model moderate resistance in three podcasts produced in Finland. I also study to what extent and how anti-racist activities reflect different dimensions of (dis)trust. The results indicate that, although podcast producers made visible discriminatory and othering practices both in everyday encounters and institutional settings, they used rather optimistic perspectives in their anti-racist media activism to highlight their agency. I identified three reconstructive trust-increasing anti-racist strategies produced collectively through podcast discussions, contributing to the development of both social trust models and self-confidence: (1) strategy of empathic recognition, (2) strategy of historical cultural awareness, and (3) empowering biographical strategy. By using perspectives of trust research, I show how these strategies can serve all as a model for anti-racist practices in resisting “white innocence ” [Wekker, G. 2016. White Innocence: Paradoxes of Colonialism and Race. Duke University Press] as well as challenging racial stereotypes and cultural prejudice.

Apostle Paul’s view of women in 1 Cor. 11:2-16 has generated strong debate among scholars and theologians over the years. Many have tried to do an exegesis of this passage along the theme of the ‘Feminist Agenda’. Furthermore, there has been lot of 21st century cultural prejudices thereby side-lining the cultural milieu in which Paul wrote. This paper will examine 1 Cor. 11:12-16 in the light of the ‘Feminist agenda’ which has generated much heated debates even from both male and female sexes. Male chauvinists has always argued against inequality of both sexes with the female been subjugated. It becomes more worrisome if their argument is justified using the scriptures. The Church of ages has tried to solve the problems of men and women through a ministry composed exclusively of men. This is no more adequate to redeeming the world at present than an exclusively feminine ministry would be. Feminist’s voices and other similar ones will set the tone of this presentation which, simply indicate that there is a cry for “women approach” to their own affairs which must be articulated, controlled and sustained by them. It is against such a mood that I make this contribution by looking deeply to the passage in order to make suggestions and recommendation for modern churches.

In this paper, we investigate the role of folklore as a pedagogical tool in enhancing cultural awareness and critical engagement through Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. The study highlights how these motifs shape character motivations, thematic structures, and societal dynamics within the play by analyzing key folkloric elements such as myths, superstitions, and cultural narratives. Employing a qualitative methodology, the research explores the cultural tensions, prejudices, and values of the Renaissance period and examines their relevance to contemporary societal issues. Grounded in theoretical frameworks such as folklore theory, cultural pedagogy, and critical identity theory, the study demonstrates how integrating folklore into educational practices fosters empathy, critical thinking, and a nuanced understanding of cultural diversity. The findings reveal the transformative potential of folklore-based pedagogy in creating critically engaged learners and underline Shakespeare’s enduring value in addressing themes of prejudice, identity, and cultural inclusion.

This paper provides a comparative examination of women’s agency and intertextuality in Ama Ata Aidoo’s Our Sister Killjoy and Ousmane Sembène’s Xala, focusing on their roles within post-colonial African societies. The analysis explores how both authors portray the struggles of African women against the backdrop of cultural, social, and colonial oppression. In her work, Aidoo presents Sissie, a young Ghanaian woman who navigates the complexities of colonialism, diaspora, and migration. Sissie’s journey from Ghana to Europe exposes her to racial discrimination and cultural dislocation, highlighting her struggle for identity and agency. Conversely, Sembène’s work satirizes the power dynamics and polygamy in post-colonial Senegal through the character of El Hadji, a businessman whose impotency symbolizes his moral and societal corruption. The women in Xala reflect varying degrees of submission and resistance to patriarchal norms, with characters like Rama showing a nascent challenge to these structures. Both West African novels use interior monologues and flashbacks to depict the protagonists' inner conflicts and societal constraints. While Aidoo’s Sissie actively confronts and critiques the racial and cultural prejudices she encounters, the women in Sembène’s narrative are primarily portrayed within the confines of traditional and neocolonial expectations. The paper argues that despite these differences, both works underscore the persistent patriarchal subjugation and the nuanced ways African women navigate and resist these constraints. The comparative analysis reveals a shared theme of women's resilience and the therapeutic power of female solidarity, illustrating a progression from traditional subjugation to modern self-assertion in the face of ongoing patriarchal oppression. The study concludes that while resistance methods differ, Aidoo and Sembène emphasize the critical need for women's agency in overcoming the multifaceted challenges of post-colonial African societies.

Abstract This article looks at Ta-wei Chi’s short stories “Yinwei wo zhuang” 因為我壯 (“Because I am strong,” 1995) and “Xiang zao” 香皂 (“Soap,” 1996) and their English translations by Fran Martin, “I’m Not Stupid” and “The Scent of HIV” in a 1998 issue of AntiThesis: A Transdisciplinary Postgraduate Journal by the University of Melbourne. These texts provide a unique example of Chi’s challenging of the presuppositions about what cultures hold unacceptable or unspeakable within the context of cultural prejudices or taboos in 1990s Taiwan. Through a close reading of the two short stories in both Chinese and in their English translations, this article demonstrates that the translations indicate a complex, hybrid process that engages questions of contesting heteronormative, hegemonic values of the target culture while at the same time negotiating the challenges of the source texts within the larger context of translating queer literary texts from Chinese into English. Drawing on Marc Démont’s three modes of translating queer texts, I argue that Martin’s translations index an amalgam of minoritising translation and queering translation. This article proposes that a queer critique of an existing translation helps expose the hidden (re)workings of cultural, linguistic and sexual hegemony in a queer literary text that can be potentially explored or exploited. Furthermore, by shedding light on the production of readings, this article argues that queer translation draws attention to multiple potentials to undo the binaries that have authenticated and naturalised our language, knowledge and ways of thinking about sex and sexuality.

The purpose of this review is to unveil mechanisms underlying cross-cultural differences in facial emotion perception. We synthesized findings from 105 studies across five thematic areas in facial emotion perception across cultures: contextual influence, processing facial features, display rules and interpretation, affiliation with ethnic and social groups, and emotion conceptualization. Nine key mechanisms were identified to explain cross-cultural differences in facial emotion perception, categorized into attention allocation (attention between context vs. face, modalities, eye/mouth regions, left/right hemifield) and social-cognitive interpretation (cognitive representations, knowledge of cultural display rules, prejudice and stereotypes, motivation, and emotion conceptualization). These mechanisms were analyzed through a two-stage model of emotion perception adapted for cross-cultural contexts, offering a structured framework for understanding how cultural factors influence emotion recognition.

This paper aims to demonstrate that, to a great extent, Things Fall Apart is an ethnographic novel. It emphasizes tradition, and puts it into perspective with the advent of modernity in Africa. Like an intertext, the Igbo culture operates in the novel as a set of references. Traditional Igbo beliefs and practices are central in Things Fall Apart. The practice of sacrifice with desacralized characters such as Okonkwo, haunted by a castrating father figure, and Ikemefuna, the son Okonkwo never had, are much telling about that. It is also noted that the “killing” of twins is condoned, and even practiced, for reasons that only a structural anthropology, emptied of all cultural and culturalist prejudice, is able to understand. The phenomenon of the Ogbanje, the gifted child, is also represented as it is experienced in Igbo culture.