Cultural Studies Research Articles

Alignment, negation, and androcentricity: representation of bride price by Chinese state media

ABSTRACT Bride price in China, the groom-to-bride monetary transfer, generally falls into realms of sociology and cultural studies, with the media perspective less explored, particularly when it concerns the state media which steers China's media system. In light of this, this study collected state media Weibo posts and made a content analysis of the representation of bride price with Wodak's discourse-historical approach. The social underpinnings and implications of such representation are also examined. Results reveal a general negation of the practice. It is linked to crimes and categorized as an outmoded custom that burdens men, and low/no bride price is advocated. These representations, although in alignment with Beijing's anti-high-bride-price agenda, remain androcentric. The study helps unravel the interplay among state power, gender ideology, and media representation in contemporary China, and offers insights on how patriarchy is perpetuated in official discourse. It also illuminates how government agendas are legitimized and strengthened in everyday texts on social media in the Chinese sociopolitical matrix.

Representation of Shia Muslim life in Contemporary German Society (Hamburg Case Study)

"Representation of Shia Muslim Life in Germany" is a cultural anthropological study on the religiosity of Hamburgian Shias. Using the qualitative method of sensory autoethnography, the researcher describes and analyzes his lived experiences and attempts to clarify how religion is embodied in the face of tradition and modernity. The results of the study indicate the cultural resilience of Shias in a spectrum of pluralism in the new ecosystem.

Potential role of calcium sulfate/β-tricalcium phosphate/graphene oxide nanocomposite for bone graft application_mechanical and biological analyses

BackgroundBone grafts are extensively used for repairing bone defects and voids in orthopedics and dentistry. Moldable bone grafts offer a promising solution for treating irregular bone defects, which are often difficult to fill with traditional rigid grafts. However, practical applications have been limited by insufficient mechanical strength and rapid degradation.MethodsThis study developed a ceramic composite bone graft composed of calcium sulfate (CS), β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) with/without graphene oxide (GO) nano-particles. The biomechanical properties, degradation rate, and in-vitro cellular responses were investigated. In addition, the graft was implanted in-vivo in a critical-sized calvarial defect model.ResultsThe results showed that the compressive strength significantly improved by 135% and the degradation rate slowed by 25.5% in comparison to the control model. The addition of GO nanoparticles also improved cell compatibility and promoted osteogenic differentiation in the in-vitro cell culture study and was found to be effective at promoting bone repair in the in-vivo animal model.ConclusionsThe mixed ceramic composites presented in this study can be considered as a promising alternative for bone graft applications.

PARADIGMS OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF MASCULINITY IN OUR TIME: HAVE WE OVERCOME IT?

This article proposes a debate on gender identity issues, with a main focus on masculinity in the 21st century. Moving towards a perspective that is not limited to sexuality, the concept of hegemonic masculinity is explored, influenced by several theoretical fields, such as cultural, sociological and psychoanalytic studies. The methodology adopted involves writing about oneself and remembering personal experiences, highlighting the importance of this reflection on subjectivities in the training of future teachers. The results and discussions address the influence of patriarchy and the historical construction of masculinity, as well as its hegemonic manifestations in various social contexts, such as education, work and health. It is concluded that hegemonic masculinity perpetuates male domination over women and non-normative men, but its definition and practice are complex and varied, and it is important to consider individual and contextual particularities in the analysis of male identities.

Pottery evolution pattern discovery based on deep learning: case study of Miaozigou culture in China

Potteries, one of the tools widely used by early humans, encapsulates rich historical information. Deep neural networks have been applied to analyzing pottery digital images, bypassing the need for intricate handcrafted features. However, existing models focus solely on pottery shape comparison, neglecting the analysis of their evolution across different historical periods. In this work, we propose a method based on deep learning to assist experts in identifying the evolutionary patterns of a given pottery type within their specified chronological divisions. First we train a convolutional neural network for pottery classification, extracting low and high level features that represent different ages of pottery samples. Next, we employ clustering algorithms to identify representative potteries for each historical period based on high level features. To facilitate intuitive comparisons across different ages, we use shallow features and compute cosine similarities between potteries, visualizing shape and decoration differences. This approach enhances understanding of pottery evolution patterns directly through visual analysis. The effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed method are evaluated by validating it on three distinct era division cases using data from the Dabagou and Miaozigou archaeological sites, which represent the Miaozigou culture and exhibit clear evolutionary patterns. Our method identifies representative artifacts for each era and uncovers their evolutionary patterns effectively and efficiently, achieving conclusions comparable to those of experts while significantly reducing time compared to traditional manual methods.

Portrait of Mary and Manggarai Women in “Dere Serani”: The Encounter of Religion and Culture

Catholics hold Mary, the mother of Jesus, in high esteem. The widespread presence of Marian devotions, teachings, dogmas, symbols, titles, art, and places of pilgrimage in various church regions across the globe demonstrates this phenomenon. This study investigates the portrayal of Mary at the Manggarai Catholic Church, which is situated in the Diocese of Ruteng, Flores. This study aimed to analyze the songs performed by Maria that are featured in the book “Dere Serani.” The central investigation focused on whether the depiction of Mary in songs is impacted by the representation of women in the local culture or not. This study utilized two main approaches, namely text content analysis and cultural studies. This study discovered that the depiction of Mary that is adopted by the local community extends beyond local perspectives and incorporates global viewpoints.

Academentia, management and satire: ‘The good, the bad and the ugly’

Orientation: The argument rethinks current managerial practices in higher education.Research purpose: Satire beckons when normal science cannot reproduce itself or shift to account for different ways of doing things. When reality mimics satire, satire becomes an appropriate methodology. Such literary approaches can reveal what normal science cannot.Motivation for the study: To add to critical management studies and the combatting of academentia as an institutional condition.Research design, approach and method: The general methodology derives from both literary and business principles read through critical management studies and cultural studies. Autoethnography is shown here to be useful within accounting and management studies. The Semler and the Kalahari management practices explicitly specify the need to rethink ‘operational models’.Main findings: No findings are offered in the conventional sense. Rather, relations are analysed and conclusions result from my own internal dialogue as a central player in the case study. The ‘transformation’ objectives of governance were disconnected from educational purposes. The resulting dramatic narrative hopefully appeals to readers in terms of their own lived conditions: can readers insert themselves into the narrative in terms of their own experiences?Practical and/or managerial implications: Institutions to be managed as adhocracies. What has been learned after 20 years of transformation and restructuring, if anything?Contribution and/or value-add: An engagement with critical management studies from the perspective of cultural studies identifies some solutions. Like the former, the latter examines issues of power relations, in this case, relations subsisting within administrative systems rather than the more usual framing as being between classes, races, ethnicities and genders.

The Sentimentalist Terrain of Ora V. Eddleman Reed’s Twin Territories Fiction

Abstract This article grapples with the messy legacy of Ora V. Eddleman Reed, editor of Twin Territories magazine in the Muscogee Nation, Indian Territory, at the turn of the twentieth century. Twin Territories vocally opposed US statehood in Indian Territory and furthered the literary careers of many Native writers. It was an important and influential venue of Native literary expression in the early twentieth century that deserves greater attention from Indigenous literary and print culture studies. However, the magazine’s ambitions and how we make sense of its legacy are complicated by Eddleman Reed’s racial politics, her own (non)citizenship, and the contents of her short sentimental fiction, all of which did as much to reinscribe racialized notions of Indigeneity as they did to challenge prevailing settler assumptions about Native people. Reed has been hailed as a recovered Cherokee writer, but her family’s rejected Cherokee Nation enrollment applications and recent genealogical research raise critical questions about framing her in this way.

Cultural bomb: Empowering non-military defense

This study delves into the concept of the “cultural bomb” within the framework of non-military defense empowerment strategies in Indonesia. This approach can potentially change society’s views and attitudes towards various security threats as a realization of strengthening the defense and security system of the universal people (Sishankamrata) per article 30 paragraph (2) of the 1945 constitution. By leveraging media, education, and information technology, the cultural bomb acts as a social weapon that operates powerfully in the “space of mind,” shaping behavior and actions nonviolently. The issue of cultural threats pertains to the infiltration and imposition of foreign cultural values and practices that undermine local traditions and national identity, leading to social fragmentation and weakness. This study proposes the concept of a “cultural bomb” as a policy framework to address and mitigate these cultural threats. The research employs a qualitative approach using the Delphi technique, engaging experts from cultural studies and defense strategies to reach a consensus on the strategic application of the cultural bomb. The results indicate that the cultural bomb can effectively strengthen national identity and awareness of national defense by promoting local values and cultural resilience, thus enhancing societal cohesion and mitigating the impact of foreign cultural influences. The paper outlines the components of a cultural bomb, analyzes its application in international contexts, and discusses its implications in efforts to strengthen national identity and foster a sense of national defense awareness. Focusing on the “war over space of mind” ideology, it introduces “cultural hacking” as a strategic initiative to address cultural power imbalances in the post-truth era.

Cultural Linguistics and Critical Discourse Studies, written by Monika Reif and Frank Polzenhagen

Cultural Linguistics and Critical Discourse Studies, written by Monika Reif and Frank Polzenhagen

Preserving and promoting national cultural identity for students majoring in the University of Greenwich Vietnam’s Graphic and Digital Design in an international University environment

In terms of development and integration of globalization, Vietnam has many qualities of international universities with international standard training programs, which prestigious educational accreditation organizations have recognized. Students have the opportunity to study entirely in English and in an advanced learning environment, which is a great advantage for learners in accessing international education. Research on Preserving and promoting national cultural identity for students majoring in the University of Greenwich Vietnam’s Graphic and Digital Design in an international University environment aims to emphasize the importance of national cultural identity in development, current globalization integration, especially for students studying international training programs that do not have specific subjects on national history and cultural traditions. From there, the topic proposes a number of solutions to raise learners' awareness of preserving and promoting national cultural identity in future professional activities. The research used analysis, synthesis, and interdisciplinary methods such as cultural studies, ethnology, and fine arts. This paper aims to contribute to the study of solutions to preserve national cultural identity in the context of today's international integration

Identifi cation of Adhesives for Repairing Ancient Ceramics: The Case of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic of Far Northeast Europe

This study focuses on the composition of the adhesives used to repair clay vessels, and on the technique of their preparation in the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic (late 4th to early 3rd millennia BC) sites of Far Northeast Europe (the Republic of Komi and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug). Remains of adhesives were detected on 70 of 171 repaired pots. To date, five samples of ceramics from dwellings of the Chuzhyael culture have been analyzed. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed no markers of coniferous trees or bitumen; but did reveal markers of birch, suggesting that fractures and cracks on broken pots were plastered with birch tar. The composition of organic compounds in samples indicates the use of two vessels in the technological process: in one of them, birch bark was subjected to pyrolysis, while the other was a receptacle for tar. This comparatively complex technology reveals one more specialization in the domestic manufacture of the taiga hunter-gatherers, including the use of special furnaces. Analytic procedures employed by us open up new prospects for the study of the material culture of Far Northeast Europe, extend our knowledge of domestic manufacture, and offer new material for AMS dating.

Between world models and model worlds: on generality, agency, and worlding in machine learning

AbstractThe article offers a discursive account of what generality in machine learning research means and how it is constructed in the development of general artificial intelligence from the perspectives of cultural and media studies. I discuss several technical papers that outline novel architectures in machine learning and how they conceive of the “world”. The agency to learn and the learning curriculum are modulated through worlding (in the sense of setting up and unfolding of the world for artificial agents) in machine learning engineering. In recent computer science articles, large models trained on Internet-scale datasets are framed as general world simulators—despite their partiality, historicity, finite nature, and cultural specificity. I introduce the notion of “model worlds” to refer to composable interactive environments designed for the purpose of machine learning that partake in legitimising that claim. I discuss how large models are grounded through interaction in model worlds, arguing that model worlds mediate between the sheer scale of language models and their hypothetical capacity to generalise to new tasks and domains, rehashing the empiricist logic of “big data”. Further, I show that the emerging capacity of artificial agents to generalise redraws the epistemic boundary between artificial agents and their learning environments. Consequently, superficial statistics of language models and abstract action are made meaningful in distilled model worlds, giving rise to synthetic agency.

Journey from Helplessness to Resilience and Post-Traumatic Growth: A Phenomenological Research among a Group of Vietnamese during the Pandemic

The purpose of the study is to explore the in-depth understanding of participants' journeys from helplessness to resilience and post-traumatic growth during COVID-19. The participants’ experiences are taken into consideration and examined in depth. To do so, we employ a phenomenological methodology which is concerned particularly with individual experiences and is exploratory. 90 participants (17 males, 72 females, and the other 1, aged 18-52) were invited to participate in the survey with two self-report questions. The participants’ levels of education include: graduate (n=66), postgraduate (n=18), college (n=1), and others (n=3) were willingly shared their experiences focusing on two self-report questions on personal diaries and 1) Naming an incident during the COVID-19 pandemic that has impacted you? 2) What is your greatest support to overcome adversity during the pandemic? We found four key themes: (1) feelings of helplessness, including confusion, meaninglessness, and disconnection; (2)Theme 2: Finding Inner Strength and Personal Resources (e.g., awareness of self-efficacy ); (3) Theme 3: Having Family and Community Support (e,g., appreciation of others, ability for adaptation); and (4) Theme 4: Belief in the Divine Presence (e.g., attunement to priorities). These findings offer valuable implications for the field of Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture.

The invisible community in contemporary China: a visual narrative framework for Chinese lesbian identity

This study employs the photo-elicitation (PE) interview method to explore the social construction of contemporary Chinese lesbian identity. It examines how individuals use visual symbols in their daily lives to construct and express their sexual orientation. The research highlights the diversity and creativity in Chinese lesbian identity expression, while addressing challenges from traditional family values, gender norms, and evolving social attitudes. Introducing the “Visual Narratives of Identity” (VNI) framework, this study bridges the gap between academic research and lived experiences, offering insights into identity expression under social and cultural constraints. The findings emphasize the complex strategies participants use to navigate social expectations and maintain personal authenticity. This study enriches the theoretical landscape of sexual orientation identity in visual culture studies, advocates for methodological diversity, and deepens our understanding of the complexities within Chinese lesbian subcultures.

Development of phyto-compound-based nanoformulation for skin regeneration and its in vitro evaluation

Skin regeneration is a process that regenerates damaged or aged skin cells, resulting in a healthier and younger appearance. The demand for nano dosage forms containing phyto-compounds in the cosmetics industry is increasing daily to control or prevent this process. Phyto-compounds with cell regenerative properties often show limited effectiveness in conventional use due to their low hydrophilicity and molecular weight, as well as their low absorption from the skin. Glycyrrhizic acid (GA), a phyto-compound obtained from licorice root, has many pharmacological properties, including skin regeneration properties. The aim of this study is to develop a highly stable GA-containing nanoemulsion (GA-NE) formulation for topical application, determine its anti-collagenase activity, and evaluate its safety and effectiveness by in vitro cell culture methods. In this context, GA-NEs were synthesized with sixteen production procedures using independent variables (oil, water percentage, surfactant, and homogenization time). The average droplet size, polydispersity index (PdI), and zeta potential (ZP) of the synthesized GA-NEs were determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. The heating-cooling cycle (H-C) test result showed that the F4P3 formulation was the most stable formulation. Therefore, 90-day physicochemical stability tests were performed with the F4P3 formulation. In vitro release results revealed that GA was released from NEs at a rate of 93.15 ± 0.61 % within 24 h. An ex vivo permeation and penetration study was performed, and the permeation and penetration profile of F4P3 was determined. In vitro cell culture studies showed that the F4P3 formulation had higher cell viability and regeneration than GA in the HaCaT cell line. Anti-collagenase activity results also revealed a better activity of the F4P3 formulation compared to GA. Consequently, characterization, efficacy, and safety studies showed that the F4P3 formulation could be an innovative cell regeneration product candidate suitable for topical use with high stability.

Udayana School of Kajian Budaya compared to the Spell of British Cultural Studies: Critical Discourses in Debate

This article attempts to look deeper into the Udayana School of Kajian Budaya compared to the spell of British Cultural Studies to understand both modes and critical discourses in debate. It hopes to widen the horizon on the plurality of cultural studies versions existing beyond Britain, the United States and Europe; specifically the Udayana School of Kajian Budaya in Bali and broadly in Indonesia. Hence, the authors conducted a literature search to compile relevant publications, interviewed Kajian Budaya lecturers and alumni, and employed critical interpretive analysis to the data. The study indicates formation of the British and the Udayana School variants were influenced by critical theory of the Frankfurt School and postmodernism ideas of French and American thinkers, which critiqued institutions of modernity, capitalist society, positivism in scientific inquiry, ‘classical’ enlightenment thought, and the culture industry. However, the Udayana School of Kajian Budaya exhibits distinctiveness in its study areas, approach and paradigm.

DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BUGIS MAKASSAR CULTURE IN TARUNG SARUNG MOVIE

This research aims to find out how the representation of Bugis Makassar culture in Tarung Sarung movie. The research method used is discourse analysis with Stuart Hall's Representation theory approach that can be used to describe how the director represents the existing scenes. The subjects in this study are several scenes depicting Makassar Bugis culture in Tarung Sarung movie in the movie. Data were collected through observation and literature study. The results showed that Tarung Sarong movie represented various aspects of Bugis Makassar culture, including Tarung Sarong culture, wedding procession, conflict resolution method, housewarming custom, and typical food. The findings provide insight into how local culture can be articulated through film media and enrich cultural studies in the context of mass media.

Tri Lulu: Community Resistance to Source-Based Waste Management Policies in Badung Regency Bali

Bali encounters a waste emergency due to the amplification in the type and volume of the population’s waste. The Bali government has initiated community resistance, particularly in Badung Regency, Bali. This study aims to critically reflect on this circumstance from the lens of the qualitative method using a cultural studies approach. Field research was performed by implementing the critical ethnography model. The study reveals that community resistance is categorized into three waste management dimensions called Tri Lulu, i.e., individual and public resistance, hyperregulation conflict, and disruption of local concepts. Individual and public resistance, both open and covert, reflects the failure of dialogue between subjective awareness and regulative practice in finding practical solutions. Hyperregulation in waste management causes policies to overlap and triggers conflicts of interest. Local concepts are disrupted due to increasing pressure on demographic and economic infrastructure. Pentahelix synergy is required to implement waste management policies in Bali.

Социокультурный подход к изучению феномена детства

The article substantiates the relevance of the appeal to the study of the phenomenon of childhood, analyzes the negative consequences of the collapse of the country in the 1990s, and notes a positive trend in the activities of the state in the socio-cultural sphere of modern Russia. The methodological multidimensional nature of the study of the phenomenon of modern childhood is considered and the need for its use within the framework of a sociocultural approach is argued, while the features of childhood culture and its content are revealed. The authors present examples of the implementation of the results of scientific research on the phenomenon of childhood in the educational activities of universities in the country, as well as a brief description of the educational course “Culture of Childhood”, its constituent elements, and some approaches to teaching methods. An integral element in the study of the course “Culture of Childhood” is conducting training sessions and boundary control using interactive forms and teaching methods, performing creative tasks that contribute to the development of socio-cultural technologies, and the accumulation of a “creative portfolio”. The article substantiates the idea of the need for further study of childhood and the use of research results for implementation in social practice and in the training of specialists in the socio-cultural sphere. Conclusions are drawn that the study of the world of childhood in different human societies is multi- and interdisciplinary in modern science. The peculiarity of the socio-cultural approach to the study of the phenomenon of childhood is the systematization and synthesis of existing and new knowledge about modern childhood and the integration of research results into social practice, there has been a tendency to form a new aspect in the field of socio–cultural study of the phenomenon of childhood – educational.