Socio-cultural Motivations Research Articles

Class Identity Signaling through the Strategic Rebranding of Traditional Egyptian Food-Related Terms on Digital Platforms

This study investigates the way re-branding traditional Egyptian food-related terms is strategically used by an emerging socio-economic class to assert their class identity in digital milieus. Specifically, it analyzes the strategies employed for the Englishization and hybridization of culinary culture and examines the underlying socio-cultural motivations and dynamics driving such an innovative linguistic practice. Drawing on insights from sociolinguistics and sociology, we analyzed two data sets collected by means of an online survey and semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that there is an emerging exclusive socio-economic class that manifests itself through specific lexical preferences based on diverse types of lexical borrowings. Additionally, the Englishization of traditional Egyptian food-related terms partially drove the emerging class’s rejection of social equality and solidarity with collective socio-cultural Egyptian identity. Such a class division, primarily initiated on digital platforms, was found to be motivated by complex factors at play, including age, gender, educational level, lifestyle, technology usage, etc. The findings of this study have implications for understanding the intersection of language, class identity, and technology in contemporary Egyptian society.

ANALISIS MULTIDIMENSI MOTIVASI PETERNAK BABI RAKYAT DI KOTA KUPANG NUSA TENGGARA TIMUR INDONESIA

The most popular business for the people of Kupang City is the pig farming business. In doing their business, farmers certainly have certain motivations. So far, motivation is often seen as one complete variable, even though in doing business farmers do not only look at one reason, but see multidimensionally from various dimensions. The dimensions in question are economic, socio-cultural and household food waste utilization motives. This study was aimed to evaluate and analyze the multidimensionality of priority motivations in pig farming and determine which motives are most prioritized by farmers in conducting a pig business in Kupang City. There were 20 pig farmers involved in this study selected using purposive sampling method located in three sub-districts in Kupang City. The variables measured were farmers’ motivations (economic motive, socio-cultural motive, and food waste utilization motive, farmer time and labor). Data analysis was conducted using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results showed that socio-cultural motives had the highest priority value (0.4032), followed by economic motives (0.3162) and household food utilization motives (0.2806).

Heritage tourism and allegiance development: A study of the Korean demilitarized zone

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) stands as a compelling destination for heritage tourism due to its rich historical and sociocultural significance. This study employs the psychological continuum model to explore allegiance development across four dimensions—awareness, attraction, attachment, and allegiance—within the context of DMZ tourism. The investigation delves into how DMZ tourists’ sociocultural motivation shapes their destination engagement, subsequently influencing emotional attachment and ultimately impacting revisit intention. Through a survey of DMZ visitors and the application of structural equation modeling, this study explores the dynamics of DMZ tourists’ allegiance. The findings reveal a positive relationship between sociocultural motivation and destination engagement, emotional attachment, and revisit intention. Destination engagement positively affects emotional attachment, albeit indirectly influencing revisit intention. Emotional attachment positively influences revisit intention. Furthermore, this study identifies notable moderating effects of DMZ tourists’ residency. Specifically, sociocultural motivation more strongly influences revisit intention, and destination engagement has a stronger impact on emotional attachment in international tourists compared to domestic tourists.

Building Socio-Cultural Competence of Future Foreign Language Teachers

Aim. Determining significant factors and effective strategies for building socio-cultural competence of future foreign language teachers for the improvement of their training methods. Methods. The method of a pedagogical experiment, a questionnaire survey to determine the level of socio-cultural competence, testing, and the method of expert evaluations were used. Results. The results of the study indicate the positive impact of new pedagogical methods on building socio-cultural competence of future foreign language teachers. The experimental group showed an increased level of motivation according to all four motivation criteria: personal motivation (72% vs. 65% in the control group), professional motivation (68% vs. 58%), socio-cultural motivation (75% vs. 70%), and academic motivation ( 70% against 62%). Conclusions. The research found that building socio-cultural competence is a process that can be influenced by appropriate methodological approaches. The results showed the positive impact of new pedagogical methods on enhancing students’ motivation and improving their socio-cultural skills. Prospects. Further research may focus on the creation and implementation of new methods of teaching foreign languages aimed at building socio-cultural competence. It is important to identify effective methods and approaches that contribute to improving results.

The pragmatic dimensions of swearing in films: Searching for coherence in dubbing strategies

Swearing is exploited to release strong emotions, attack the interlocutor's face and build interpersonal solidarity, both in spontaneous interactions and in film. In audiovisual translation, it tends to be toned down or omitted, with research mostly explaining neutralisation as censorship-driven and treating the translation of taboo language as an internally-undifferentiated, arbitrary procedure. In the present corpus-based study we move away from the external, socio-cultural motivations for loss to assess whether specific pragmatic, structural-functional and textual dimensions of swearing account for preferred translational strategies and impact the translational outcomes. All occurrences of F-words in a parallel corpus of Anglophone films and their Italian translations are examined in their bilingual concordances at the utterance level and in the wider multimodal context. The quantitative and qualitative analyses outline the interaction between structural-functional patterns and pragmatic functions with reference to the translation strategies of full translation, mitigation, de-swearing and omission. The findings unveil coherence in Italian translators' preferences for pragmatically-motivated cross-linguistically viable language patterns which foreground the heightened emotional charge and the abusive dimensions of taboo words, thus pointing to a principled approach to translational solutions which boost the conflictuality intrinsic to film.

An Analysis of the Social Roles and Practices and Interactional Metadiscoursal Resources in American Former President Trump’s Facebook Text Messages

Facebook is a means of interaction through which individuals most frequently relate to others. Most of the studies that have attempted to analyze Trump’s messages or speeches were descriptive. They have not critically pinpointed some of the socio-cultural motivations that have given rise to the linguistic options utilized by the writer. Therefore, the present study purports to critically analyze the experiential social roles and practices articulated by Trump's Facebook messages and the socio-cultural factors motivating these roles. It also attempts to examine the interactional meta-discoursal persuasive linguistic strategies employed to qualify these roles and practices. To this end, a corpus of two hundred posted texts was selected from Donald Trump’s personal Facebook page. We drew on Van Laween’s (2008) CDA model and Hyland’s (2005) interactional meta-discourse framework to analyze these texts. The results have provided insights about Trump’s identity and his various relationships. Trump utilized a high frequency of active material social processes to construct a positive image of himself as an active leader who shares common concerns with his audience, whereas he evaluated his opponents negatively by presenting them as always being involved in negative social processes. Besides, he utilized certain interactional cues to affect his addressees’ attitude in order to secure their positive reaction to the propositional content and to involve them collaboratively through his messages. Keywords: Interactional Meta-Discourse, Social Processes, Trump, Critical Discourse Analysis.

Weighing in: qualitative explorations of weight restoration as recovery in anorexia nervosa

BackgroundAnorexia Nervosa (AN) continues to capture the public’s imagination, centered around physical appearance, particularly weight. Clinical conceptions of AN also emphasize weight. The objective of this study was to explore how individuals with lived AN experience thought about the role of weight in illness and recovery.MethodsThe current study employed a grounded theory approach through qualitative inductive inquiry and analysis of 150 anonymous narratives, exploring firsthand experience of AN and recovery of adult individuals, based in the United States of America.ResultsIndividuals with AN histories contested intersecting popular cultural and medical presumptions of their health and illness positioned in weight. Respondents indicated that while weight does not measure recovery, it matters to recovery in unanticipated ways. Others’ expectations for a low weight served as a gatekeeper to various forms of social and institutional support. Respondents felt that the weight obsessions of other people made it difficult to earn the illness legitimacy to access sufficient care.ConclusionsResearch findings bear implications for future AN research, advocacy, and clinical practice, as respondents pivot research emphasis from weight as a sociocultural motivation for AN, to weight as a sociocultural obstacle to AN recovery.

Private forest owner willingness to mobilise wood from dense, small-diameter tree stands

Forests are a source of renewable biomass, and their utilisation will play a vital role in the transition towards a climate-neutral economy. Small-diameter tree management could contribute to this transition via providing renewable biomass for sustainable uses and fostering tree growth towards long-lifecycle bioproducts. The utilisation of small-diameter trees in the EU is still low since new technologies and work models are required to make the operations economically profitable, environmentally sound, and socially attractive. The supply of biomass from small-diameter tree stands is dependent on forest owners with diverse perceptions on their forests and diverse ownership objectives. However, there is scarce research on forest owner perceptions on small-diameter tree management, which encompasses home consumption, self-active work, and commercial forestry services. A survey in four EU countries was designed to identify the main factors affecting the motivation of forest owners to mobilise biomass from small-diameter stands. Factor and clustering analyses were used to identify four forest owner segments: weakly-engaged traders, well-being seekers, self-active profit-seekers, and well-informed service users. The willingness to utilise biomass from small-diameter tree stands and participate in the market was shaped by forest owner knowledge of forestry, economic and socio-cultural motivations, and sensitivity to service offerings. Forest owner preferences for market participation are heterogenous, and thus different policy implementation approaches are needed and proposed.

Patronage and ideology: A corpus-assisted investigation of Eileen Chang’s style of translating herself and the other

AbstractEileen Chang, a Chinese literary giant, was also a translator who translated both herself and other novelists. This study investigates Chang’s translator style by examining her Chinese translations of two successful English novels, The Rice-Sprout Song written by herself and The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, adopting a corpus-assisted approach, supplemented with some qualitative analysis. Significant differences were found in Chang’s translations of these two novels. Chang’s self-translation was found to be close to her style of creative Chinese writing, though not without exception. It was further found that emotional particles and a Chinese conjunction ‘yinwei’ served as Chang’s approach to render her mannerism. The hallmarks of Chang’s translations could be traced to her own views on literature and translation alongside the ideological and socio-cultural motivations in her times.

Environmental and sociocultural claims within maritime boundary disputes

Coastal livelihoods and marine environmental protection are key ocean governance concerns. Consequently, the international legal framework addresses these needs in a holistic manner. Maritime boundary delimitation should not be the exception. Increasingly, international courts and tribunals are being asked to incorporate a wider range of issues in the resolution of maritime boundary disputes. Therefore, drawing on the full compendium of international marine boundary dispute cases from 1969 to 2021, this paper examines how litigation over maritime boundary disputes reflects broader ocean governance objectives. It concludes that, first, court cases on maritime boundaries are increasing, and second, environmental and sociocultural motives are gaining prominence in the pleas made by nations. Moreover, our analysis suggests that: a) arguments to the courts progressively emphasize holistic and ecosystem-based management and the recognition of traditional ocean-related living practices; and b) although courts and tribunals are called to weigh other types of factors, they are still more receptive to conventional arguments embodied in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). We argue that the newer arguments should have a greater influence during conflict resolution and maritime delimitation processes, in particular, given the greater need for sustainable and equitable ocean governance.

A sociocultural norm perspective on Big Five prediction.

The Big Five predict numerous preferences, decisions, and behaviors-but why? To help answer this key question, the present research develops the sociocultural norm perspective (SNP) on Big Five prediction-a critical revision and extension of the sociocultural motives perspective. The SNP states: Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness predict outcomes positively if those outcomes are socioculturally normative. Openness, by contrast, predicts outcomes negatively if they are socioculturally normative. Moreover, the SNP specifies unique mechanisms that underlie those predictions. Two mechanisms are social (social trust for Agreeableness, social attention for Extraversion) and two are cognitive (rational thought for Conscientiousness, independent thought for Openness). The present research develops the SNP by means of three large-scale experiments (Ntotal = 7,404), which used a new, tailor-made experimental paradigm-the minimal norm paradigm. Overall, the SNP provides norm-based, culture-focused, and mechanism-attentive explanations for why the Big Five predict their outcomes. The SNP also has broader relevance: It helps explain why Big Five effects vary across cultures and, thus, dispels the view that such variation threatens the validity of the Big Five. It suggests that the psychology of norms would benefit from attention to the Big Five. Finally, it helps bridge personality, social, and cross-cultural psychology by integrating their key concepts-the Big Five, conformity, and sociocultural norms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Ornamental plant domestication by aesthetics-driven human cultural niche construction.

Unlike plants that were domesticated to secure food, the domestication and breeding of ornamental plants are driven by aesthetic values. Here, we examine the major elements of the extended evolutionary synthesis (EES) theory that bridges the gap between the biology of ornamental plant domestication and the sociocultural motivations behind it. We propose that it involves specific elements of cumulative cultural evolution (CCE), plant gene-human culture coevolution (PGHCC), and niche construction (NC). Moreover, ornamental plant domestication represents an aesthetics-driven dimension of human niche construction that coevolved with socioeconomic changes and the adoption of new scientific technologies. Initially functioning as symbolic and aesthetic assets, ornamental plants became globally marketed material commodities as a result of the co-dependence of human CCE and prestige-competition motivations.

Sokalikwenda – ‘Calamity That Moves’: Some Social Aspects of Tumbuka Personal Names

Research on personal names, especially in non-Western societies has continued to attract scholarly attention due to the many facets revealed when these names are studied. This researchs ought to establish the social aspects that influence the selection and bestowal of Tumbuka personal names within the Tumbuka social and cultural setting. It was conducted using the qualitative approach to data collection and analysis. Data were collected from existing records and through semi-structured interviews and introspection. Research participants were purposively selected based on their knowledge of Tumbuka culture. From the findings, it was established that among the Tumbuka people of Lundazi District Zambia, personal names are a reflection of various aspects of their society. Some of the messages reflected in the names analysed in this studyshow how Tumbuka culture and traditions influence the naming practices. Based on the findings, the study concluded that sociocultural motivation plays a critical role in the choice of personal names among the Tumbuka people.

Revisiting foreign market entry motivations: the case of Korean commercial banks

PurposeThis study examines what motivates firms to go and remain abroad despite uncertain profit potential. In a departure from probing traditional market-seeking, profit-driven motives, the authors explore how domestically driven, sociocultural motivations may shape the foreign market entry decisions of Korean commercial banks (KCBs). The authors argue that, due to the power imbalance between KCBs and their chaebol clients within the historical and cultural contexts of their relationships, KCBs' foreign market entries may depend more on their clients' presence in these markets than on their profit potential.Design/methodology/approachThe authors focus on the foreign market entries of KCBs and their client firms. Using the data of 8 KCBs and their client firms belonging to the 60 business groups (chaebols) of Korea, the authors analyze 6,577 observations involving the dyadic relationship between a KCB and its client firm in 15 host countries from 2005 to 2014.FindingsThe authors find that the number of clients' subsidiaries operating in foreign markets may increase the likelihood of KCBs entering these markets. Moreover, when KCBs earn more domestic profit from client firms, the potential Korean market in the host country is greater, and the institutional distance between the host country and Korea is smaller.Practical implicationsIn addition to the critical role of a bank-centered financing system in advancing a developing country and its firms, the authors’ findings suggest that firms should pay attention to the local diaspora and the institutional distance between the host and home countries in order to manage power-imbalanced relationships and make them sustainable.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature on foreign market entry by demonstrating how the home country's sociocultural factors may worsen the power imbalance, thereby pushing firms to make seemingly irrational decisions to go and stay abroad. That is, KCBs' foreign operations may be a way of seeking relational benefits with client firms, which would serve as a source of long-term domestic market profits. The authors’ findings thus highlight the need to consider how sociocultural factors may also shape firms' decision-making in their international business.

Multilingualism in Vanuatu: Four case studies

Each of the 65 inhabited islands of Vanuatu hosts its own unique linguistic environment in which varying degrees of multilingualism are found. This paper defines various types of small-scale multilingual settings in Vanuatu and explores what sociohistorical factors have led to them. This paper is based on first-hand observations and primary data collected by the authors in four locations in the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu since 2016: two neighboring villages of Emae Island (Makatu and Tongamea), North Malekula, and on Maewo Island. The assessments of multilingualism in these examples from Vanuatu were qualitative, based on observations of sociolinguistic practices in each of these areas, as well as data from language history and language use surveys carried out in each place. Through defining and comparing the types of multilingualism present in the four case studies, we identify patterns in the social and historical processes that lead to various kinds of multilingualism: (a) interaction of linguistic and sociocultural identities and (b) mobility of both individuals and entire speech communities. The examples described in this paper are used to highlight the diversity of multilingualism found in Vanuatu and to explore how their differing linguistic environments and histories have contributed to their varying degrees of multilingualism. This paper makes an original contribution to knowledge about the small-scale multilingual situations in Vanuatu, offering descriptions of previously undocumented and endangered multilingual environments. Through an examination of the sociocultural motivations for multilingualism, alongside historical migrations of speaker groups and marked sociolinguistic identities, this paper contributes to research on why and how small-scale multilingualism can develop. Furthermore, this paper provides the foundation for future, more rigorous investigations into the small-scale multilingual situations of this highly understudied region.

Tourism as a Socio-Cultural Phenomenon: A Critical Analysis

Global tourism is based on the movement of people from their usual environment, which makes interaction between people possible. It creates a mutual impact on tourists and the host community by bringing together people of different races, languages, and beliefs. Global tourism leads to a beneficial economic impact on the host country and it also increases the socio-cultural exchange between the host and tourist countries. In this respect, the current paper presents the analysis of tourism as a socio-cultural phenomenon. It presents a critical analysis of earlier findings on the evolution of tourism as a concept and sheds light on cultural and social factors leading to tourism in its present state as well as its social and cultural impacts, positive and negative. Furthermore identifies some sociological and cultural factors that shape the characteristics of tourists and highlights the role of socio-cultural motivations of tourists.

Dynamics of international activity of sub-state regions

The paradiplomatic activity of sub-state regions has become an important element of international relations. The sub-state regions are able to implement specific international programs and deal with supra-regional challenges. The ability of regions to interact internationally depends primarily on the political and legal system of a given country, but also on the economic and socio-cultural potential as well as the geographical location. The paradiplomatic actions are also influenced by processes taking place in international relations, in particular globalisation and technological development. The author examines the dynamics of international activity of sub-state regions with a particular focus on the factors and premises that encourage regional authorities to undertake paradiplomatic actions. The main research objective of the article is a diagnosis of the motivation of regional activity in the international arena. A brief analysis of the development of international activity of sub-state regions is a starting point for considerations about economic, political and socio-cultural motives to paradiplomatic actions. Democratisation, liberalisation, development and ethnic diversity are considered as having a particularly significant impact on shaping the dynamics of international activity of sub-state regions. In his deliberations, the author primarily references the literature on the subject as well as his own achievements in the field of paradiplomacy studies.

VOROSHYLOVHRAD – A METAPHOR OF LINGUOCULTURAL MEMORY (ACCORDING TO THE NOVEL OF THE SAME NAME BY SERHIY ZHADAN)

The article offers an analysis of the symbolic meaning of the toponym Voroshilovgrad in the novel of the same name by S. Zhadan. It is emphasized that the metaphorical nature of its semantics forms a number of symbolic signs that are correlated with linguistic and cultural memory. The latter is proposed to understand the cultural-historical, temporal-spatial and socio-cultural motivation of the semantics of language units (words, phrases, phrases), caused by their use in special contextual conditions. The verbal image of “Voroshilovgrad” is interpreted as a sign with a triple actualization: 1) as a metaphor of space (symbolic toponym-historicism; south-eastern region of Ukraine with concrete-sensory features); 2) as a metaphor of time (a set of linguistic and subject signs of time); 3) as a metaphor for the society of the south-eastern region of Ukraine (transfer by similarity “people of a certain social status / ethnic characteristics in specific time and space”).It is generalized that the title of S. Zhadan’s novel “Voroshilovgrad” is a symbol of return-memory. The metaphor was embodied in three associative-semantic directions – space – time – man. Each of them combined words-symbols with a characteristic concrete-sensory meaning, which reflects the specifics of linguistic and cultural memory in the projection on the regional cultural-historical, temporal-spatial and socio-cultural identity. Multiple memory, actualized in different linguistic and cultural signs, is marked by an ironic and sympathetic tone. Linguo-cultural memory, which is transmitted by lexical and grammatical signs, is psychologically motivated by the writer’s creative idea.

The Urban Museum as a Creative Tourism Attraction: London Museum Lates Visitor Motivation

The urban museum has become a multi-functional institution that transcends the functional display of artifacts. The museum has become, in cities, a hybrid institution that keeps its doors open late to support a wide variety of special events. This study explored London’s “Museum Lates” programs and event characteristics, theoretical views of museums as cultural and creative tourism attractions. Furthermore, the study applied the contextual model of learning to understand visitor attendance motivations. The authors employed an interpretive approach using interviews with two types of participants: event visitors and event coordinators. The findings suggest that attendees possess personal, physical, and socio-cultural motivations for participating in “Museum Lates” events. The characteristics of late events—extraordinary quality and evening-time atmosphere—produce different effects from those of current museum exhibitions held during regular operating hours. “Museum Lates” events can contribute to achieving cultural sustainability, adding a cultural construct to the traditional three pillars of sustainability.

PERCEPTIONAL DIMENSIONS OF AUDIENCE -WORK INTERACTION IN MINIMALISM ART MOVEMENT

One of the breaking points of the change that art has undergone in terms of both form and content is Minimalism. There are processes that affect the existence of every art movement. The sociocultural structure that emerged after the World Wars has had influence in the field of art, as in many other fields. The Abstract Expressionism movement that emerged in this period, aimed at rejecting the familiar structure of painting, detached objects from their real-world forms / characteristic structures and included unusual artistic forms in the process. Despite this hard-to-perceive automatism-based complex structuring put forward by the Abstract Expressionism movement in art, it is a common belief that Minimalism, which aims at plain and simple forms based on logic in painting and sculpture, is "a reaction against Abstract Expressionism". Despite the "subjective" based complex formalism that Abstract Expressionists have created with the intensity of emotion, Minimalists have revealed their understanding of art with the "objective" based forms they have created as a result of a planned effort. However, the simplicity of the forms in Minimalism should not bring to mind the idea that the intellectual dimension in the essence of the works can be easily perceived. The existence of conceptual values should be taken into consideration in the formation of minimal forms. Although minimal art is shaped with an "objective" approach, it is important to reveal the sociocultural motivations that affect the formation of the works in the essence of the audience's ability to perceive the works. Minimalism, which centers the interaction of "industry, object and art", opens a critical space for the audience, who are the receptors of art, regarding the state of art. On the basis of this criticism, beyond its plain style, Minimal art's complex conceptual (intellectual) structure can be manifested. Purpose of this research, To reveal the intellectual foundations that affect the formation of Minimal art and to touch on the perceptual dimensions of the minimal artworks and audience interaction. In this research conducted within the framework of the title of "Perceptual Dimensions of Audience-Work Interaction in Minimalism Art Movement", scanning method has been used to obtain information and documents. The obtained information and documents have been used in a way that provides integrity for the purpose of the research. Keywords: art, Minimalism, object, Conceptual Art, perception, audience