Symbolic Categories Research Articles

Identification of Symbols in Indonesian Traditional Fairy Tales as a Health Promotion for the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension

Background: Non-communicable diseases are one of the groups of diseases with the highest causes of death in the world. This was shown by data from WHO that in 2023, around 74 percent of the causes of death in the world are non-communicable diseases that kill 41 million people per year. This is due to the lack of public understanding of the influence of risk factors for non-communicable diseases on the incidence of non-communicable diseases and complications that can be caused by non-communicable diseases. Therefore, the use of traditional Indonesian fairy tale symbols in health promotion media to prevent non-communicable diseases can be used as an alternative solution to overcoming this challenge. Aims: This study aims to identify, examine, and synthesize symbols in traditional Indonesian fairy tales that have the potential to they can be developed to improve health messages to prevent noncommunicable diseases, especially diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Method: The method used in this study was a Literature Review with a narrative review study design. The steps taken are to gather all the fairy tales with inclusion criteria are fairy tales that have symbols about non-communicable diseases and exclusion criteria are incomplete fairy tales, and then do the screening, identifying symbols, analyzing symbols, and selecting potential symbols. Results: Of the 21 relevant titles of Indonesian traditional fairy tales and legends, 85 symbols were identified. From the analysis of the meaning of each symbol, 16 symbols were found that have the potential to be used as promotions for the prevention of non-communicable diseases, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension, with 10 different symbol categories spread across 7 provinces in Indonesia. Conclusion: There are many symbols from traditional Indonesian fairy tales that have the potential to they can be used to increase the effectiveness of delivering health messages as an effort to promote the prevention of non-communicable diseases diabetes mellitus and hypertension. These symbols can be made into health messages nationally and can be flexibly used to create health messages in each region.

Expelled from the Fairytale: The Impact of the Dissident Legacy on Post-1989 Central European Politics

To understand the political dimension of dissident legacies, we need first to understand the components that “made” the dissidents and follow their reconfiguration after 1989, leading to initial empowerment followed by gradual demise of the liberal post-dissident elite. Dissidence in the form that first appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s in central and eastern Europe constituted a particular mode of political practice, combining open, non-violent dissent with universalist moral claims. The phenomenon of dissidentism was transnational, as political empowerment of oppositionists was achieved through a particular network of relationships between domestic audiences, repressive regimes, and Western media, social movements, trade unions, political parties, and policymakers. The specificities of the dissidents’ empowerment can partly explain key features of post-dissident politics and the visible backlash against former prominent dissidents, which has contributed to the rise of illiberalism and to democratic backsliding. This article traces the post-1989 trajectories of a few who belonged among central Europe’s most prominent representatives in this symbolic category, to try to explain the causes and character of the swift backlash against them—or as Václav Havel put it, their “expulsion from the fairytale.” Three pillars of dissident political power turned into the roots of their demise. First, critics question the dissidents’ uniqueness and rewrite their master narrative. Further, we see a clash of representations that results from the dissidents’ transnational empowerment, and third, the broader anti-elite and anti-intellectual tendencies that always accompanied dissidence as its shadow became amplified by more recent populist rhetoric.

Function and Meaning of Symbols in the Simalungun Ethnic Mangalop Parhorason Traditional Ceremony

This article is entitled Function and Meaning of Symbols in the Simalungun Ethnic Mangalop Parhorason Traditional Ceremony, which aims to describe the implementation process, form, function and meaning of symbols contained in the Simalungun Ethnic Mangalop Parhorason traditional ceremony. The theory used to analyze data is semiotic theory, namely symbols proposed by Charles Sanders Pierce. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative with field research techniques. The results obtained from this research consist of two stages of implementation, namely: (1) Pre-implementation of custom (2) Implementation of custom. There are five categories of symbols used, including: (1) Traditional food symbols (2) Traditional equipment symbols (3) Time symbols (4) Status marking symbols (5) Place and position symbols. The function and meaning of the symbols used are to obtain blessings, abundant sustenance as well as completeness and order in life. Through regular living and positive thinking, it is hoped that the mother's pregnancy can be maintained well until the baby is born, and the father is also expected to always support and strengthen the mother during pregnancy. Everything will be in order as expected if you have an orderly life. Keywords: Function, Meaning, Symbol, Mangalop parhorason, Semiotics

A Study on Analyzing Symbolism in Literature by Combining Computer Vision Techniques

Abstract The development of computer technology has greatly promoted the analysis and research of literary works, mainly in the aspects of information collection and data analysis. The analysis model of symbolism in literary works is constructed using the Word2vec algorithm and TextCNN text classification algorithm in this paper. Using computer vision-based OCR text recognition technology, text data is collected from poetic literary works related to a watershed. The dataset is analyzed using the constructed text analysis method to uncover the symbols and symbolic meanings in the sample literary works. Through the analysis of the sample poetic works, two categories of landscape symbols, natural and humanistic, are extracted, and the former is characterized by symbols such as “stream beach”, “shore tide”, “flowers and birds”, “fish and dragons”, etc. Fish and dragons” and other symbols, while the latter is represented by “city buildings” (0.11%), “boats” (0.41%), and “travelers” (0.59%). 0.59%). Five symbolic images are summarized, namely mountain climbing, hearing sounds in temples and monasteries, searching for antiquity in deep forests, boating in rivers and lakes, and fishing songs in idyllic gardens. The research in this paper explores a text-mining method for symbolism in literary works, which is conducive to the development of data-oriented and efficient analysis of literary works.

Synergistic Development of Chinese Language Teaching to Foreigners and Traditional Culture in the Information Age

Abstract This paper collects data on teaching resources and traditional cultural elements for the Chinese language teaching abroad platform and mines and analyzes the behavior of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. The association rule method is employed to analyze the correlation between Chinese language teaching and traditional culture based on the teaching data. According to the data, New Year’s Snacks (87.83 million) is the most-watched teaching video on YouTube, followed by Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice Pork Ribs (67.74 million). Chinese cultural symbols (a total of 100) and Chinese cultural and artistic symbols were used more frequently (a total of 54), and optimal teaching aids were selected for different categories of Chinese cultural symbols. This study successfully explored the association relationship between traditional culture and Chinese language teaching to foreigners, providing a basis for the synergistic development of the two.

Significance of Negaraku as a National Symbol: A Review of National Identity Concept

The existence of national symbols plays a crucial role in reflecting the identity of a nation. The national anthem is one of the national symbol categories that are commonly used by every nation in this world. The combination of syntactic (musical) and semantic (lyrical) structure make it unique from any other national symbols. Despite of tangibility of other national symbols, the national anthem is intangible, and the lack of transient makes it stronger towards the emotional attachment. Negaraku also faces the same problem as there is a lack of understanding regarding the significance of the national anthem as a symbol of national identity. The continuous issues of contempt regarding Negaraku from 1957 until 2022 show the lack of understanding of the anthem itself as a symbol of national identity. Therefore, this paper aims to emphasize the significance of Negaraku as a symbol of national identity as a foundation of knowledge for fellow citizens about Malaysia. An integrative literature review is used to analyze the significance of Negaraku towards national identity discussion. The analysis will review various sources of relevant information from international and local references which cover books, journals, websites as well as newspaper cutting. Based on the analysis drawn it proves that Negaraku textual structures indicate a direct interpretation of national identity through historical and cultural elements in political and economic perspectives. In conclusion, the conceptual discussion through Negaraku contextual analysis can widen the social sciences area through anthemology studies in Malaysia.

NCT life variety show as a persuasive media for Korean tourism promotion: Peirce’s semiotic observation

This research discussed signs in terms of icons, indexes, and symbols on the variety show named NCT Life: Hot and Young Seoul Trip using the semiotic theory of Charles Sanders Peirce. The purpose of this research is to describe icons, indexes, and symbols related to tourism and interpret these signs with contextual meaning. The reason for doing this research is to look for signs that refer to persuasive tourism promotion activities contained in the variety show. This research employed the descriptive qualitative design with the findings on each icon, index, symbol, and contextual meaning presented in the form of a description. The results of this study indicate that there are categories of icons, indexes, and symbols related to tourism promotion in Seoul, South Korea. Icon has three categories related to brand ambassadors, tourist attractions, and tourist activities. The index has four categories related to the background illustration for NCT members introduction, expressions of feelings, figurative expressions, and gestures. The symbol has three categories related to logos, slogans, and additional information related to activities and tourist attractions. Then, the contextual meaning of the signs found leads to several contexts, all of which also refer to tourism promotion activities delivered through the media of variety shows. On this basis, the research suggests that there is tourism promotion packaged in events through variety shows carried out by NCT members as performers by visiting or trying various tourist activities around Seoul and recommending them to the audience.

Threads of memory: Reviving the ornament of a dead child at the Neolithic village of Ba`ja (Jordan).

In 2018, a well-constructed cist-type grave was discovered at Ba`ja, a Neolithic village (7,400-6,800 BCE) in Southern Jordan. Underneath multiple grave layers, an 8-year-old child was buried in a fetal position. Over 2,500 beads were found on the chest and neck, along with a double perforated stone pendant and a delicately engraved mother-of-pearl ring discovered among the concentration of beads. The first was found behind the neck, and the second on the chest. The meticulous documentation of the bead distribution indicated that the assemblage was a composite ornament that had gradually collapsed, partly due to the burying position. Our aim was to challenge time degradation and to reimagine the initial composition in order to best explore the significance of this symbolic category of material culture, not as mere group of beads, but as an ornamental creation with further aesthetic, artisanal and socioeconomic implications. The reconstruction results exceeded our expectations as it revealed an imposing multi-row necklace of complex structure and attractive design. Through multiple lines of evidence, we suggest that the necklace was created at Ba`ja, although significant parts of beads were made from exotic shells and stones, including fossil amber, an unprecedented material never attested before for this period. The retrieval of such an ornament from life and its attribution to a young dead child highlights the significant social status of this individual. Beyond the symbolic functions related to identity, the necklace is believed to have played a key role in performing the inhumation rituals, understood as a public event gathering families, relatives, and people from other villages. In this sense, the necklace is not seen as belonging completely to the realm of death but rather to the world of the living, materializing a collective memory and shared moments of emotions and social cohesion.

William Lethaby, Symbolism and the Occult by Amandeep Kaur Mann

Reviewed by: William Lethaby, Symbolism and the Occult by Amandeep Kaur Mann Zachary R. Schwarze amandeep kaur mann. William Lethaby, Symbolism and the Occult. London and New York: Routledge, 2022. Pp. 264. In William Lethaby, Symbolism and the Occult, Amandeep Kaur Mann identifies and analyzes occult influences upon the work of British architect William Lethaby (1857–1931). More precisely, Mann is interested in visual symbols of occult origin which populate Lethaby's oeuvre and, according to the architect, communicate profound truths about the cosmos. Among her goals is to show that these influences are not irrational or otherwise foolish quirks of the architect's mind, but rather constitute proof that Lethaby, along with a number of other architects and artists from fin de siècle Europe, worked within a sphere of profound occult influence. That is to say, occult symbols do not decorate Lethaby's drawings and realized structures, but instead inform at the most fundamental level what an architectural space is meant to do, i.e., affect spiritual transformation within a person inhabiting [End Page 472] that space. In crafting her methodological approach, Mann mirrors Lethaby's semiotic/allegorical mode of selecting symbols: if Lethaby selected symbols based on intrinsic, occult meanings or properties, then Mann's task is to identify those meanings and properties to understand the functions of individual compositions and structures. The book is divided into three parts. The first, titled "Lethaby, Occultism and Symbolism," situates Lethaby within the occultist milieu of fin de siècle Europe, particularly that of Victorian Britain. Here, Mann identifies the Theosophical Society, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and Éliphas Lévi as ideological influences. Lévi appears to be particularly significant, as the author inserts a scanned page of one of Lethaby's notebooks where he draws one of Lévi's magic squares and writes iterations of the word "abracadabra" (20). This section also lays out theoretical frameworks used by the author to interpret Lethaby's use of symbols. These include: semiotic theory, with particular attention to Carl Jung and Charles Sanders Pierce; a theory of magical symbols concerned not only with semiotic meaning, but also with tangible outcomes associated with the reproduction of certain symbols; and finally Victorian psychological associationism, as represented by John Ruskin and Wilhelm Worringer, which is concerned with a universal set of symbols and colors that evoke particular responses and may be learned and manipulated (26–33). The second and longest part of the book, titled "Elements of the Occult in Lethaby's Work," deals with identifying particular symbols which appear in Lethaby's oeuvre and tracing their meanings back to sources either encountered by or available to the architect. Mann separates symbols into two categories, alchemical and occult magical. Lethaby's use of alchemical symbols is predicated on the principle that people should not be passive observers of architectural space, but rather participate in it. His alchemical preoccupation is correspondingly concerned with journey and transformation. As an example, the author adduces references to the journey and transformation of the character Poliphilo in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili—which Lethaby read (45)—as a direct inspiration for the frontispiece he designed for the 1889 Architectural Association Sketchbook (59). The other category of symbols, the occult magical, communicates more general "esoteric" meanings (91). The author draws examples of symbols of this category from Lethaby's drawing A Beryl Shrine (1888). Here, Mann interprets the serpent, a principal symbol in the composition, to represent "man's lower, material nature," (101) as evidenced by direct influence from Dante Gabriel Rosetti's poem Rose Mary (1871–1881). The final part of the book, titled "The Occult and Lethaby's Legacy," uses William Lethaby's work to argue for occult ideas, themselves dating back to [End Page 473] at least Europe's medieval period, as fundamental to the history of modern architecture. Here, the author capitalizes on the breadth of examples to show that Lethaby, like other artists and architects of his time, did not develop occultist ideologies in a vacuum, but rather in direct connection to his sociocultural surround. Mann shows how Lethaby, as a predecessor to architects, artists, and designers of the mid-twentieth century, exerted influence...

Flow As An Operative Methodology Generating The Time Of Intersection Through The Relationship Between Architecture And Artwork In Public Space

Time has always fascinated men for its (apparently) inviolable structure and for the poetic dimension that this concept brings with it. During the history of civilization, time has been a crucial concept to understanding reality. At the beginning of the Twentieth century, thanks to the scientific discoveries, above all, Albert Einstein’s general relativity theory, the notion of time became an important element also for science for understanding the structure of the universe. The continuous and ever-faster scientific discoveries have also dissolved the linearity of time and its very nature, offering new possibilities to rethink space-time, as a series of connected, but not necessarily linear, events. Something we are experiencing today through the multi-temporality of the digital world, but which at the same time also shifts our way of perceiving physical reality.Everything we do and produce is inevitably part of a space-time dimension. We can therefore interpret time - also - as a distinctive structural element of the things that human beings build, whether small or large, from tools to metropolises.In this background, it is very interesting to understand how time works in two of the most symbolic categories of objects of human creation, art, and architecture, focusing more specifically on the category of art in public space. The time that works into the artwork is naturally different from the time that works into architecture, that is, observing art in public space, there are two different times that overlap, or rather the architectural space (and time) houses inside of it, the space (and time) of the work of art. The overlapping of these two different times, inevitably creates a third time, that we will call a “Time of Intersection”, which becomes the subject of this paper.

Constructing Nigerian Manhood: Gender Symbols and Tropes in Children’s Narratives

This paper examines the representation of masculinity in Nigerian children's literature, focusing on how gender symbols and tropes shape perceptions ofNigerian manhood. The study delves into children's narratives to analyze the sociocultural construction of masculinity, highlighting the impact of these representations on the masculinization of the Nigerian male and broader gender politics. The analysis concentrates on three primary symbolic categories: the male body, sexuality, and agriculture, exploring how these elements contribute to the construction of traditional archetypes of Nigerian manhood. By examining how these symbols glorify strength, virility, and prowess and perpetuate a rigid gender hierarchy, the paper discusses the implications of such representations for gender politics in Nigeria. The glorification of physical dominance, sexual prowess, and specific agricultural practices reinforces traditional masculine ideals and contributes to the marginalization of those who do not conform to these standards. The paper underscores the need for alternative representations in children's literature that challenge these restrictive norms and promote a more nuanced understanding of masculinity in Nigerian society. This study aims to contribute to the evolving discourse on Nigerian and African masculinities, particularly in the context of children's literature, and calls for more intersectional approaches to further explore and transform gender dynamics.

Cultural Code in Engineering Design

The subject of the study is a cultural code that gives the key to deciphering the cultural text of technical design. The object of the study is the language of technical design. The research uses methods of analyzing visual symbols used in technical design, the method of analyzing previous studies, the method of synthesis in conclusions regarding the concept of cultural code. The authors consider the following aspects of the topic: semiotic approach to the theory of culture and the definition of cultural code in visual semiosis; morphology and semantics of technical symbols in engineering design; syntax and pragmatics of cultural text in engineering design. Special attention is paid to the theory of complex analysis of a technical scheme as an example of a holistic cultural text. The main conclusions of the study are: 1. The semiotic approach to the definition of culture involves considering the sign system from the point of view of the diversity of meanings of its elements (symbols), and identifying three categories of symbols: semantics, pragmatics and syntax. The cultural text of technical design (device diagrams) is (in comparison with the text of art) a stricter, invariant system; however, as in any language, the genesis associated with changes in syntactics can be traced in it. 2. The syntax of the cultural text of technical design can be analyzed only if there is a cultural code of this technical language. This code includes the "alphabet" of symbol elements, their semantics (variety of meanings), pragmatics (scope of application) and syntax (relationships that form a unique schema text). A special contribution of the author to the study of the topic is the systematization of the morphology of pictorial symbols in engineering design from the point of view of cultural studies. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the culturological reading of the technical text.

Consumers' relationship with mass prestige brands and happiness

AbstractThis study investigates how the relationships consumers establish with prestigious brands can lead to brand happiness. A study of 545 responses covering 19 global brands assessed consumers' perceptions of their relationship with prestigious brands—in both functional and symbolic categories—and brand happiness. Using structural equation modeling and moderation analysis, we show that (1) the prestige associated with brands induces consumers to formulate relationships with those brands and (2) brands' mass prestige (masstige) helps them achieve brand happiness. We show that consumers' attitudes toward luxury brands moderate the masstige–brand happiness relationship. In addition, brand classification (functional vs. symbolic) is an important moderator, with consumers perceiving symbolic brands as more intimate and, thus, as exhibiting more prestige and contributing more to brand happiness than functional brands. The more passionate consumers' relationship with a masstige brand, the happier they are with the brand.

Exploring children’s knowledge of Irish and European symbols: a comparison of Irish-medium and English-medium primary school children

ABSTRACT Knowledge of symbols, which can be influenced by school ethos, informs identity construction in primary school children. This study aimed to explore Gaelscoil (Irish-medium) and English-medium primary school children’s familiarity with Irish and European symbols. Thirty 9–12-year-old children in Ireland participated in this study; 15 from two Irish-medium and 15 from an English-medium primary school. A draw-and-tell data collection design was used and qualitative data was analysed using the constant comparative method. Results indicate children from both school types shared a number of Irish symbols, namely Irish emblems, Irish mythology, sports and material aspects of culture. Irish-medium primary school children had two further Irish symbol categories, the past as a symbol and physical characteristics of Ireland. European symbols shared across children from both school types included signifiers of the European Union (EU), monetary symbols and European countries. The Irish-medium primary school children had two further categories, Europe through an Irish lens and European cuisine, while the English-medium children had one further category, sport. The results suggest that by middle childhood, children in both school types have knowledge about a number of symbols associated with both national and European identities. Implications for future research are discussed.

Gastronomic Poetry: Food and Affect in a Catalan Setting

This article aims to delineate the connections between food and affect as shown in a representative selection of poems that convey how affect can be expressed through gastronomic poetry. Central to affect theory is a drive to recognize the constant modulations of affective states and so assemble a fuller picture of life lived moment by moment. In the chosen examples, expression through poetry and the transmission of affect converge. Carner, Estellés and Rosselló-Pòrcel in some of their poems elevate food to a symbolic category associating gastronomy, sexuality, eroticism and religion. In the confluence of Food Studies and Affect Theory, the article discusses food as a way to reflect on and define a sense of belonging through metaphor and other strategies that express affect.

Water Justice across the Rural-Urban Interface: The Making of Hydrosocial Territories in New Mexico’s Rio Grande Valley

Research on rural-urban water struggles establishes the importance of symbolic spatial categories for facilitating and justifying rural-to-urban water transfers. I build on this scholarship by asking how officials construct the rural-urban interface, or patterns of interaction across spatial boundaries, during water conflicts. This study takes a historical case study approach centered on the San Juan-Chama Project (SJCP) in New Mexico (USA), a transbasin diversion authorized in 1962 to bring water from the rural San Juan River Basin into the Rio Grande Basin for urban use. Analysis of archival material, government documents, and secondary accounts show that, although the SJCP would primarily benefit urban places, proponents relied heavily on the project’s rural benefits for justification. Through this process, official actors constructed and mobilized rural-urban boundaries in ways that supported greater urban control over regional water resources. These findings have important implications for understanding the formation of rural water injustices.

Judicious Arrangement of Symbols on a Simulated Augmentative and Alternative Communication Display Optimizes Visual Attention by Individuals With Down Syndrome.

Aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) displays are often designed as symmetrical row-column grids, with each square in the grid containing a symbol. To maximize vocabulary on displays, symbols are often placed close to one another, and background color cuing is used to signal/differentiate symbols across different grammatical categories. However, from a visual and developmental standpoint, these display features (close-set symbols and use of background color cues) may not be optimal. In particular, placing symbols quite close together may result in visual crowding, in which individual symbols cannot be distinguished due to the presence of many neighbors, or flankers. This research sought to examine the role of display arrangement and background color cuing on the efficiency of visual attention during search. Ten adolescents and adults with Down syndrome underwent a visual search task while a research-based eye tracking system recorded their patterns of visual attention. Participants searched for symbol targets on displays with varying levels of visual crowding and background color cuing. Spatial arrangements that reduced visual crowding and that used the spatial organization to cue the grammatical category of symbols resulted in significantly fewer fixations to nonrelevant distracters during search and reduced the likelihood of fixations away from the target once it was located. Background color was helpful in reducing the latency to find the target. Spatial cues may offer a powerful means to maximize the efficiency of search within AAC displays. Background color cuing may facilitate speed to locate targets in these older individuals. Implications for AAC design, as well as future avenues for maximizing (growing) vocabulary, are discussed.

Automatic vectorization of point symbols on archive maps using deep convolutional neural network

Abstract. Archive topographical maps are a key source of geographical information from past ages, which can be valuable for several science fields. Since manual digitization is usually slow and takes much human resource, automatic methods are preferred, such as deep learning algorithms. Although automatic vectorization is a common problem, there have been few approaches regarding point symbols. In this paper, a point symbol vectorization method is proposed, which was tested on Third Military Survey map sheets using a Mask Regional Convolutional Neural Network (MRCNN). The MRCNN implementation uses the ResNet101 network improved with the Feature Pyramid Network architecture and is developed in a Google Colab environment. The pretrained network was trained on four point symbol categories simultaneously. Results show 90% accuracy, while 94% of symbols detected for some categories on the complete test sheet.

Celebration of the Hyperreal Nostalgia: Categorization and Analysis of Visual Vaporwave Artefacts

Summary Vaporwave grabs the attention of internet voyager with harsh collages glued together in a technically primitive manner. It’s a cultural phenomenon which both originated and is active solely on the internet. In the context of general internet culture Vaporwave is exclusive in its aesthetics due to the domination of violet and pink colors, technically primitive quality of texts, fetishization of 8th and 9th decade mainstream commodities and acute nostalgic undertones. Vaporwave has been mostly explored as a music genre or sociological phenomenon, while its visual aspect has mostly remained unattended. This article seeks to analyze the conceptual aspects embodied within Vaporwave visuals, to briefly compare them with music, and to unpack the mechanism of nostalgia as an affective entry point to the movement. The interpretation is mainly lead by Jean Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality, and interpretational principles of hermeneutics. Five Tumblr blogs were analyzed. Hermeneutic inquiry into the texts yielded seven distinct symbol categories differentiated by the affect they generate: nostalgic commodities, idyllic classics, melancholic landscapes, harsh distortions, gentle geometry, depressive texts, and ecstatic brands. Each of these categories here are elaborated in detail finally summarizing the multilayered symbolism of the movement. It can be described as nostalgically challenging visual conventions through harsh technical quality and opposing codes of behavior through open expressions of depression and melancholy, thus exposing the doubts of individual imprisoned in postmodern society. ’80s and ’90s here become hyperreal fantasy lands of the past where a nostalgic individual can find refuge. In comparison to music, the visual aspect of Vaporwave highlights the technology as central artefacts of nostalgia, introduces new ways to analyze late capitalist consumer culture, and brings an intimate dialogue with hyperreality to the front. The article suggests that Vaporwave is a post-ironic art movement which both celebrates and criticizes capitalism, finally remaining vague whether there are ways to escape the system, and whether these ways should even be looked for.

Organ donation: A study of its representations among organ procurement coordinators and their staff

Making the life-saving treatment of transplantation available to patients who need it re-quires the cooperation of individuals and families who decide to donate organs. Healthcare workers navigate organizational, bureaucratic and relational aspects of this process, including cases in which a deceased individual has not specified a wish about organ donation and their surviving family members must be asked for consent to donate during a delicate phase of mourning. This research aims to understand the experience of these health workers regarding their work. We collected 18 interviews from organ donation healthcare workers in five of the major hospitals in Rome. The transcripts underwent a multivariate text analysis to identify the repre-sentations of organ donation and the symbolic categories organizing the practice of these workers. This research elucidated a symbolic space constructed of four factors: the "Context", in-volving family and health workers; the "Work purposes", including the procedures and the relationships; the "Transplant", which involves omnipotence and limits; the "Donation", which involves ideals versus reality. The characterizing elements of these representations, belonging to organ donation work-ers, are the prestige, the certification of brain death, the communication, the transplant, and the salvation. In the lives of these workers, to be a "bridge between life and death2 evokes feelings of prestige rather than difficult feelings associated with confronting one's limitations. These aspects concern the difficulties met by the health staff in their work, and they are useful ele-ments to design a focused training and support program for organ donor workers.