Symbolic Messages Research Articles

Using photographs in interpreting cultural and symbolic meaning: A reflection on photographs of the Korean Association for Government Accounting

Building on a sociological tradition of using photographs as a methodology, we suggest that accounting researchers more fully utilize photographs to understand accounting actors’ everyday lives. While most accounting studies have focused on the photographic imagery in published documents, such as corporate annual reports, a few authors found photographs can highlight how physical artefacts can deliver symbolic messages. We explored photographs drawn from the Korean Association for Government Accounting (KAGA) to illustrate how social actors used physical artefacts. To guide our analysis, we relied on Bourdieu’s theorization of how physical artefacts reflect forms of capital. We argue that the use of photographs as a methodology provides a deeper insight into the cultural and social meanings of physical artefacts as a form of language open to multiple interpretations by both the author and the reader.

The Emblems of the Album of the Ljubljana Noble Society of St Dismas: Context, Sources, Originality

The article discusses the sources for the iconography of emblems in the Album of the Ljubljana Noble Society of St Dismas (Archive of the Republic of Slovenia, ref. AS 1073, I/1) that has not yet been systematically addressed. The Album is a kind of memorial book of the Ljubljana Noble Society of St Dismas or Academia Unitorum, displaying the coats of arms, emblems and important data of their members. The book with exquisite full page illuminations is the most important illuminated manuscript of the Baroque era that survives in Slovenia. Recent research shows, that the idea of the academic memorial book and its concept are modelled on the Memorie, imprese, e ritratti de’ signori Accademici Gelati de Bologna published in Bologna in 1672. Due to the specific context of the Album as a memorial book of St Dismas Society and a clearly articulated ambition of the patrons to create original individualized emblems, it is not easy to identify the possible sources let alone detect the direct influence. There are several emblem books to be taken into consideration and Alciati’s Emblematum liber appears to be a valuable source of inspiration. However, the research in Renaissance and Baroque books of emblems shows that it is actually Mundus Symbolicus by Filippo Picinelli (first published as Mondo simbolico, Milan 1653) which seems to be of vital importance for the creators of the Album. Since the proud members desired original and personalized emblems, it was only natural to rely upon a popular encyclopaedic work with a huge collection of systematically arranged descriptions of emblems. Picinelli’s book is actually a treasure-trove of ideas instigating new designs both in the sense of symbolic message and visual solutions, while the almost complete absence of illustrations prevents a simple reproduction of emblems. Due to their commitment to originality and the respect of the principles of St Dismas Society the members obviously found the traditional emblem books (where they could see prototypes including the picture) somehow less appealing. However, even when they use a traditional emblem book such as Alciati’s Emblematum liber as a model, the authors (both patrons and painters) of the Album exhibit great inventiveness and creativity and never simply reproduce a prototype. The Album thus represent a unique series of original emblems that also indicate the commitment to established tradition and occasionally reveal a direct influence of a popular emblem book as demonstrated in the article.

The Emblems of the Album of the Ljubljana Noble Society of St Dismas: Context, Sources, Originality

The article discusses the sources for the iconography of emblems in the Album of the Ljubljana Noble Society of St Dismas (Archive of the Republic of Slovenia, ref. AS 1073, I/1) that has not yet been systematically addressed. The Album is a kind of memorial book of the Ljubljana Noble Society of St Dismas or Academia Unitorum, displaying the coats of arms, emblems and important data of their members. The book with exquisite full page illuminations is the most important illuminated manuscript of the Baroque era that survives in Slovenia. Recent research shows, that the idea of the academic memorial book and its concept are modelled on the Memorie, imprese, e ritratti de’ signori Accademici Gelati de Bologna published in Bologna in 1672. Due to the specific context of the Album as a memorial book of St Dismas Society and a clearly articulated ambition of the patrons to create original individualized emblems, it is not easy to identify the possible sources let alone detect the direct influence. There are several emblem books to be taken into consideration and Alciati’s Emblematum liber appears to be a valuable source of inspiration. However, the research in Renaissance and Baroque books of emblems shows that it is actually Mundus Symbolicus by Filippo Picinelli (first published as Mondo simbolico, Milan 1653) which seems to be of vital importance for the creators of the Album. Since the proud members desired original and personalized emblems, it was only natural to rely upon a popular encyclopaedic work with a huge collection of systematically arranged descriptions of emblems. Picinelli’s book is actually a treasure-trove of ideas instigating new designs both in the sense of symbolic message and visual solutions, while the almost complete absence of illustrations prevents a simple reproduction of emblems. Due to their commitment to originality and the respect of the principles of St Dismas Society the members obviously found the traditional emblem books (where they could see prototypes including the picture) somehow less appealing. However, even when they use a traditional emblem book such as Alciati’s Emblematum liber as a model, the authors (both patrons and painters) of the Album exhibit great inventiveness and creativity and never simply reproduce a prototype. The Album thus represent a unique series of original emblems that also indicate the commitment to established tradition and occasionally reveal a direct influence of a popular emblem book as demonstrated in the article.

W sprawie edycji zbiorów pieczęci i opisu wyobrażeń napieczętnych

Two significant sphragistic source publications issued in 2012 and 2015 deal with seals on documents from the State Archive in Bydgoszcz and seal stamps from the State Archive in Poznan. Descriptions of seal images, contained in the cited publications, which could become models for future editions, inclined the author of the article to present his reflections on editing seals. The majority of the remarks pertain to the manner of constructing a description of armorial seals from the viewpoint of heraldry. Theses concerning the method of characterising seal imagery can be presented as follows: 1. A description of the seal image should not double information accessible in the illustration; 2. A description should contain expanding information (e.g. an identification of the motifs of deciphering the symbolic message); 3. All descriptions should possess a unified form and normalised contents; 4. A description must be maintained in a language adapted to the described contents, i.e. heraldic language and terminology must be applied to designate coats of arms, and descriptions of tools should use the names of specialist instruments in accordance with the terminology of suitable crafts and professions; 5. A description of armorial seals must take into account their dual character: a seal with a coat of arms (in the field a shield with an emblem) and a seal with an emblem (in the field an emblem without a shield); names of coats of arms should be used suitably for formulating descriptions of coats of arms; 7. In the course of depicting state emblems on “government’ seals one should take into account legal regulations upon whose basis the described emblem was created or modified. The use of precise terminology will make it possible to avoid interpretation misunderstandings, which at times are the consequences of the ambiguous language of the description..

BOUNDARIES AS ILLUSION: THE HISTORICAL VICISSITUDES OF THE “MEDIATIZATION”

The article summarizes the results of a critical analysis of the term "meditatization" evolution in scientific and journalistic discourse. The number of publications on this topic in recent years has increased significantly, a number of new terms have been introduced into the scientific vocabulary. There is a need to revise the methodological tools for researching practices of imposing special media logics on autonomous public institutions functioning. The objective of the article is to trace the factors of the emergence and development of the phenomenon of meditatization in different historical periods. It emphasizes the paradoxical nature of the evolution of meaning in the era of hypermedia, where many concepts acquire a latent mode of existence. The meaning of the concept is designed to capture the presence of imperceptible substitutions of senses that gradually transform the semantic orders of communities. This contributes to the tendency to perceive neutral signals of the external environment as semantically structured symbolic messages. Mutual layers of media worlds contribute to involuntary blurring of the familiar semantic boundaries, bring an annoying confusion to collective judgments and assessments. The result has often been the "viral" effect of mass mania - witch hunts, gold fever, and tulip fever and so on. The author distinguishes between strong and weak versions of the theory of mediatization, applying the network logic to the design of the hypermedia system. The essence of the process itself is treated by the angle of editing matrices and codes of an integral cultural identity collective memory from special controlling links mediating the natural mode of its development. The historical and cultural prerequisites for maintaining a natural semantic balance in the communication ecosystems are determined. The conclusion is drawn that the origins of mediation practices should be sought in the early periods of the cultural history of mankind simultaneously with the development of skills of articulate speech and mass participation in collective rituals.

Rhetorical Textures of Mystery in the Johannine Apocalypse: Transformative Communitarian Performances Through Revelations, Metaphors and Symbols

Unveiling Revelation is not possible. While uncovering hidden symbolic messages associated with historical realities is unachievable, ancient and current readers are able to engage these symbolic layers, illuminating preterit and present speeches in their specific social loci . By discussing internal and external evidences of a collective composition through literary receptions of the Apocalypse of John , this essay asserts that a Transfiguring Church emulates itself through transgressive , symbolic language. By investigating the conceptualization of masculinity based on descriptions of ancient heroes in the imperial era, this article identifies rhetorical elements through a perfomative use of sexuality on Rev. 19:11-21. By arguing that economic and imperial civil religious ceremonies denote political domination, this study describes rhetorical, magical elements in symbolic characterizations of the Beasts and the dragon in Revelation . Therefore, the focus of this writing is the texture of language in some symbolic constructions distributed in the Johannine Apocalypse .

Gorden J.L. Ramel’s “Mankind does not Agree”: An Eco-critical Interpretation

The undertaken study titled „ Gorden J.L. Ramel‟s “ Mankind does not Agree”: An Ecocritical Interpretation‟ is an attempt to evaluate the level ofkinship between human beings and other entities of Nature apart from ascertaining whether civilization‟s actions accommodate the ecological aspects or not, for sustaining an equipoise between the organic world and the man-made terrain. It is a modest endeavour to decode the ecosupportive symbolic message conveyed by the poem to the denizens of mega-materialistic world, which driven by the illusion of superiority turns too egotistic to recognize enigmatic phenomenon of the magnificent Nature. By highlighting anthropocentric rigidities and callousness practised against the non-human entities the poem wisely intends to make us aware of the deteriorating situation and to propose solutions and waysto reduce this ascending fissure between civilization and Nature.

The dynamic models of consumers’ symbolic needs: in the context of restaurant brands

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamic process and the meaning of symbolic consumption according to the three symbolic needs (i.e. status needs, social needs, status and social needs) to understand how symbolic messages are conveyed when consumers choose a brand. Design/methodology/approach This paper develops three dynamic models, categorized according to the consumers’ needs. The conceptual framework consists of the six constructs: collectivism/individualism, brand reputation, self-congruence, brand affect, brand identification and brand loyalty. Twelve hypotheses were developed and tested. Data were collected from consumers who had experienced well-known global chain restaurant brands. The three models were tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings Findings highlight the important mediating role of brand affect in symbolic consumption, which previously has not been revealed empirically. Moreover, it is found that self-congruence does not mediate the relationship between brand reputation, collectivism/individualism and brand affect, despite its prominence in previous symbolic consumption studies. In the status and social needs models, brand reputation mediates between collectivism/individualism and self-congruence, brand identification, brand affect and brand loyalty. Originality/value This is the first empirical paper to investigate symbolic consumption in the context of three types of models, according to symbolic needs, in the context of restaurant consumption. The study also identifies the major components of the consumer’s symbolic needs based on the attributes of symbolic consumption. Moreover, this study reveals that when both social needs and status needs are mixed, a hierarchy exists between consumers’ symbolic needs. Finally, the study makes an important contribution to the literature by applying the concept of brand affect to symbolic consumption research and exploring the relationships between the external motivational factors and the internal elements of symbolic consumption.

Fitting room or selling room? Millennial female consumers’ dressing room experiences

AbstractAs retail experiences have become more important to the modern consumer, the store environment has taken on greater significance. The store environment is especially of great significance to the millennial consumer. These consumers tend to spend more time in the fashion retail store, while their expenditure on fashion items increases on a yearly basis. The dressing room must be seen as the clothing retailer's selling room – the place where the retail environment plays an immense role with regard to a consumer's cognitions, emotions and purchasing behaviour. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe young millennial clothing consumers' Functional, aesthetic, emotional and symbolic dressing room experiences. A qualitative research strategy was followed. Two unstructured interviews were held with 15 participants. Participants had to take photos of retailers' dressing rooms before the second interview. A photo‐elicitation technique was employed during the second interview. Findings revealed that participants had specific expectations with regard to the functionality and aesthetics of the dressing room, as well as with regard to the symbolic messages and the emotions that they expected to experience. If the dressing room did not meet their expectations they got disappointed, experienced negative emotions and thoughts and the need to leave the dressing room. The behavioural response of avoidance strongly came to the forth. Findings of this research point to the importance of the dressing room as part of the retail experience and have implications for consumer specialists and retailers.

Descartes's Intellectual Memory

The author argues that sensory memory resembles the transmission of information in classical Aristotelian theory, whereas Descartes’s intellectual memory, which has often been found puzzling, has analogues in other late scholastic ideas. He seems to use the term ‘intellectual memory’ in several related senses. It can refer to the recollection of symbolic messages, or it can refer to remembering of meanings, mastery of language. However, the term has also a different use: according to the author, intellectual memory takes care of the remembering of the subject’s own states, in other words, reflective memory. Such a view had its origin in the thought of Scotus, and in Descartes’s time it was well-known and popular. It is argued that Descartes’s version of the intellectual memory underscores especially the nature of «spiritual memory» as something maintaining the continuous unity of consciousness.

Early Sentence Productions of 5-Year-Old Children Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Four 5-year-old children with receptive language within normal limits and who required augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) received instruction in producing six different semantic–syntactic structures (three treatment and three generalization targets). Participants accessed single-meaning graphic symbols using an AAC app on an iPad to create their messages. A single-case, multiple probe across targets design was used to assess the progress of each participant, and supplementary measures including self-corrections and error types were analyzed. Three participants mastered all six targets during baseline, with a fourth mastering four of six targets in baseline. In contrast to prior reports, findings from the current study indicate that some young children who require AAC can learn to produce rule-based messages using single-meaning graphic symbols rapidly and with minimal instruction. Careful attention to participant characteristics and task demands are required in future research to further refine approaches to teaching young participants to produce rule-based graphic symbol messages.

INTRODUCTION TO THE SYMBOL-IDENTIFICATION OF THE PRESENCE OF WATER IN IRAN'S MOSQUES ARCHITECTURE

Water element in Iranian architecture in terms of symbolic meanings and concepts has been manifested in different forms.Water in the body of Iranian mosques due to both the mystical and practical loads had also carried more symbolic messages. The presence of water in Iranian mosques architecture In addition to having image-creations associated with the prayers, ablution, purification and refreshing ritual had also carried reflection of semantic load, transparency, and being-like-mirror.Water in terms of presence in running and still water forms and in terms of symbolism system in the methods of allusion, symbol, sign, indication, secret, mystery, point, appearance, riddle, analogy has found objective appearancein the body of Iranian mosques. The present research has been conducted with descriptive-analytical method.The presence of water is in a variety of ordering elements of kinetic and stillness, and signs of relaxation, peace, reconciliation, stable sign of life, sky reflection, and survival continuation in ideas derived from symbolic concepts. The most important elements related to the presence of water in Iranian mosques architecture are place of ablution, trough, pool, patio, and fountain.This appearance and manifestation of water's form and character in Iranian architecture have had a special position and even sacred. A corner of these appearances can be observed in symbols used in Iranian mosques objectively. Symbol, its types and the manner of advent and display of the symbolic elements of water in Iran's mosque architecture have been investigated in this study. Achievements of this research will lead to the initial symbol-identifier conception of the presence and manifestation and appearance of water in the area of the architectural body of Iranian mosques.

Philatelic Remembrances: Stamps, National Identity, and Shifting Memories of WWII in Brazil

PHILATELIC REMEMBRANCES: STAMPS, NATIONAL IDENTITY, AND SHIFTING MEMORIES OF WWII IN BRAZIL1 Uri Rosenheck Assistant Professor, History Coastal Carolina University Brazil’s contribution to the Allies’ victory in the Second World War is a source of national pride. Of all the ways Brazilians came together to win the war—such as the Navy’s patrolling of the South Atlantic, the tens of thousands of Soldados da Borracha (“Rubber Soldiers”) who tapped rubber in the Amazon, the hosting of North American airfields in the North East, and the diplomatic support—the twenty-five thousand strong Brazilian Expeditionary Force (Força expedicionária brasileira, henceforth FEB) that fought in Italy captured the masses’ imagination. The FEB was, and is, commemorated in numerous ways: from monuments and memoirs, through comic books and trade cards, to ceremonies and museums. This article analyzes another medium of FEB commemoration: stamps. As one of the most frequently commemorated historical events in Brazilian philately, the FEB emerges as a constant national symbol and a representation of the nation. At the same time, however, FEB stamps tell a story of changing narratives on Brazil’s participation in WWII, and with them, represent shifting national identities. Stamps as Memorials Stamps are useful memorials—objects used to inspire remembrance, prevent forgetting, honor the dead, and celebrate oneself at the same time—for the study of the commemoration of the FEB thanks to their versatile presence in the public and private spheres and for being governmental documents and objects of popular culture at the same time. Stamps are present in the public sphere as miniature works of art and propaganda circulating in millions of copies, as advertised and traded commodities, and as artifacts that are the subject of journals, associations, and exhibitions. At the same time—and especially before email replaced traditional mail—people intimately interact with stamps on almost a daily basis as they buy, keep, lick, send, and receive them to facilitate their personal correspondence. Moreover, stamps are popular collectible objects, and collectors study, classify and organize them.2 These practices provide collectors with sources for self-enjoyment, at times identity building, and often fulfills emotional needs. They can additionally allow collectors to withdraw from the complexities inherent in commemoration in the C 2016 Southeastern Council on Latin American Studies and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DOI: 10.1111/tla.12066 115 The Latin Americanist, March 2016 public sphere, assert their personal values, and create a sense of self in a world of their own design that they mentally control without disconnecting themselves from the rest of society.3 This can be argued for in relation to collectors of FEB-related stamps, for whom stamps were a normative , affordable, attainable, serial, and manufactured alternative for the acquisition of unavailable or expensive authentic war memorabilia.4 Stamps are official governmental documents used to convey symbolic messages to their citizens and to the world.5 They celebrate the nation through representations of national characteristics, achievements, and history . In turn, every celebrated aspect of a country also stands for the country as a whole, thus symbolizing it.6 In spite of being seemingly invisible, Donald Reid argues, “[s]uccesful revolutionaries have never doubted the urgency of obliterating a deposed ruler’s portrait on the stamp and of following up quickly with new issues which exploit revolutionary symbols.”7 Carlos Stoetzer asserts that it is exactly the subtle and discreet nature of the stamp that—when combined with its wide circulation—enhances its effectiveness in carrying propagandistic messages and making it the “ideal propaganda.”8 At the same time, stamps are artifacts of popular culture due to their ubiquity, wide circulation, manner of consumption, and collectible quality. In his study of Latin American stamps, Jack Child notes that a narrow definition of popular culture as culture created by and for the people often excludes government-issued stamps. A broader definition of popular culture, such as Jean Franco’s, however, would consider stamps as part of popular culture as it includes all aspects of culture except those institutionalized as “High Culture.”9 Brazilian Stamps as a Historical Source Brazil enjoys a long and impressive philatelic history. It was the second country in the world—and the first...

BENTUK DAN MAKNA RUMAH TINGGAL ETNIS TIONGHOA DI BANJARMASIN

Settlement of ethnic Chinese in Banjarmasin tend to be concentrated in the large waterways, namely in the area of Veterans, Gedangan, and RK Ilir who all along the river Martapura. In general, the ethnic Chinese community living in Banjarmasin, build and inhabit their home by adjusting the environment and local culture that has been there, so many who live in the traditional banjar-type house (traditional house banjar). In a further development of life between cultures and behavior of a relationship of mutual influence. This study aimed to identify the forms and meanings (of the form) homes ethnic Chinese in Chinatown Banjarmasin. Selected case studies are some of the homes were inhabited by ethnic Chinese in the form of Banjar traditional house in the Chinatown area of Banjarmasin. This research uses descriptive analytical method, which describe the characteristics of the dwelling as an object of study, looking for the type of home Banjar close similarity, and identification of native cultural elements is indicative of acculturation China with Banjar culture. In this context, architecture is understood as part of the totality of social systems associated with other socio-cultural variables. The analysis was performed by comparing the typology few homes with a shape that resembles a traditional house Banjar, then analyzing the pattern of the layout, style and style, ornaments, as well as the construction of the structure. The analysis showed that the basic form of house Banjar still maintained by ethnic Chinese who inhabit it, because of the assumption of symmetry meaning in Chinese architecture. Ornaments and color elements in Chinese architecture, which blend in with the architecture of Banjar architecture make Chinatown in London came up with a different character from Chinatown in Indonesia in general. What is more important is that all these elements exist in Chinese people's homes loaded with meaning and symbolic message about the meaning of community life and prosperity in the world related to the traditions and beliefs of Chinese society at large. Keywords : settlement, ethnic chinese and traditional house banjar

Variables Influencing Efficacy of Gateway In-Street Sign Configuration on Yielding at Crosswalks

This study examined the effects of several variables influencing the effectiveness of the in-street sign used in a gateway configuration. This experiment compared the R1-6 gateway treatment with the sign message present and with the sign message absent (use of the fluorescent yellow green background without the symbol message) on drivers yielding right-of-way to pedestrians in crosswalks. Results show that the use of yellow–green blanks without the sign message produced an average increase in yielding from 7% to 33% while the addition of the message increased yielding to 78%. Data were also collected to compare various configurations of the in-street sign on drivers yielding right-of-way to pedestrians at three sites. Results show that the full gateway was the most effective configuration, placement of the edge signs in the gutter pan was only slightly more effective than placement of the edge signs on top of the curb face, partial installation of the gateway was less effective than the full gateway alone, and substitution of a very durable flexible delineator post for the lane line signs resulted in 60% of drivers yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks.

The Impact of Match-Fixing Scandals on the Stock Returns of Parent Companies and Sponsors: Evidence from Chinese Professional Baseball League In Taiwan

Although an increasing number of literature indicate the positive impact of sponsoring major sports events or themed competitions, few studies have examined how a match-fixing scandal occurring in the most popular and national professional sports impacts the stock abnormal returns of the parent company and sponsor. Using event study method with content analysis, this study focused on the spillover effect of incidents involving sports ethics violations. Specifically, the impact of five match-fixing scandals of Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) on the stock abnormal returns of parent company and sponsor was examined. Secondary data collected from the data base of CTMONEY was compared results of match-fixing scandals in the CPBL to determine whether the match-fixing scandals could be regarded as a symbolic message leading to diminish the average abnormal returns of the parent companies and sponsors. The results showed that not all occurrences of CPBL match-fixing scandals negatively impacted the abnormal returns of the parent companies and sponsors. The findings can help professional sports operators and sponsors understand the implications and spillover effects of negative professional baseball incidents on stock returns.

Black Males in Medicine: My View

On August 28, 1955, a black 14-year-old male, named Emmett Till, was found murdered after he had been accused of flirting with a white woman. August 28, 1955, was also my eighth birthday. Today, I suppose that most parents would want to shelter an 8-year-old from such gruesome news, but I remember the magazines depicting the gory details lying around the house for weeks. In my young mind, it would have been merciful if Emmett had been hanged. I could not comprehend that his eye was gouged out, but I understood his extreme suffering at the hands of people determined to teach a horrific lesson. My mother repeated stories of what whites in the South will do to black males for flirting with white women each time that we traveled to Arkansas or Alabama to visit extended family members. The necessity of my mother’s message was clear. You can’t shelter kids when there is life-threatening danger in what may appear to be an ordinary occurrence. Until the civil rights movement came along, a whole generation of young mothers did what was necessary to protect their children. Such messaging can have unintended consequences. Recently, a colleague sent me an e-mail concerning the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) report indicating that the number of black males entering medical school is currently lower than it was in 1978. I flippantly responded, ‘‘Unfortunately, young black men are reading the signals they are getting from Ferguson and Baltimore and opting for the short-term view.’’ It was one of those e-mails that I, as a black male physician, should have put more thought into before hitting the send button. But, I stand by my statement and wish to explain. After Trayvon Martin was shot, for many months and through his murder trial, the ‘‘stand your ground’’ defense was touted. To young black males, that sounded like a license for self-appointed authorities to kill. When police left Michael Brown’s body lay in the streets of Ferguson for hours, the black community saw the symbolic message of how powerless they were. From the nearly constant feed of live phone videos that we since experienced, showing questionable behavior by ‘‘authority figures,’’ the Emmett Till defense mechanisms have resurfaced. Community groups are now giving courses on ‘‘driving while black’’ and ‘‘do’s and don’ts, if stopped by police.’’ The vulnerability of simply being black in America is chronically refreshed, and young black males, in particular, struggle through what is (at best) unconscious bias against them. Striving to get into medical school seems to fly in the face of the hunker-down mentality, which is now so prevalent. Two passages in the AAMC report caught my attention. On page 16, the statements are made that ‘‘18% of black high school sophomores in 2002 aspired to become a doctor,’’ and ‘‘The aspirations of African-American boys and girls and youth of color are just as high, if not higher, than [those of] kids from other racial and ethnic groups.’’ But what happens after that? The lyrics of a 1970 song by the Whispers that say ‘‘Seems like I gotta do wrong, gotta do wrong, before they notice me’’ come to mind. Is the clearest route to acceptance and admiration for the black male, the time honored route of high school, collegiate, and professional athletics? Coaches inspire black males, most premed advisors seem to discourage them! If America is so bad for black males, how do people like me manage to become so successful? I have long known that relationships were the keys that unlocked my life. One of my first formative relationships was with my high school football coach. Coach also happened to be the driver’s education teacher. After driving around with me for 6 weeks, during the summer before my senior year, coach somehow became invested in my future after football. I went on to win 18 football scholarships to places like Nebraska, Arizona State, Maryland, Wake Forest, and so on, but coach tried to cut a deal for me

A national sports institute as a learning culture

Background and purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the learning culture for elite athletes who resided at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) from the perspective of the athletes themselves. As a government entity, the AIS is highly regulated by policies and strategies concerning allocation of funding, facilities, services, and resources. There is a substantial body of research examining government interest in elite sport and, in particular, national and state sporting institutes. These meso-level interactions within the AIS context no doubt have an impact on athlete learning. Learning in this context is political and economic as well as social. Thus, the cultural theory of learning is an important tool in considering the political agenda as an integral part of the learning process within the context of the AIS.Data collection and analysis: Participants for this study were purposefully selected from a larger project involving AIS scholarship holding athletes who were residents at the AIS. The final sample of six female athletes from four different sports participated in a single semi-structured interview aimed at gathering a holistic perspective of the current life experiences of the athletes. Thematic analysis involved the three steps of (1) initial coding of text in relation to the research questions, (2) the development of descriptive themes, and (3) the generation of analytical themes. The theoretical lens of the cultural theory of learning shaped the third step of the analysis. As such, the context within which practice took place including the language, social space and hierarchies, and symbolic message systems were foregrounded.Findings: The successful habitus in this field is one which was described by the athletes as organised with a plan, busy, and with multiple interests. Enhanced athletic performance and motivation to train were tied to being able to have time away from sport to relax and do other things. Being in residence at the AIS produced a commodity-driven orientation and encouraged athletes to diversify in order to increase performance, to gain further funding, to maintain their positions at the AIS which afforded the optimum balance for performance, forming a cycle of the interaction between habitus and field.Conclusion: What this investigation offers is an insight into how a set of meso- and macro-level structures around finance and performance are experienced by a sample of national sport institute residential athletes and may demonstrate conditions related to athlete satisfaction. For this group of athletes at least, ‘living sport’ was not conducive to maintaining elite performance and their place at the AIS. These findings are of relevance to coaches of young high-performance athletes and those involved in policy-making and athlete learning in sports institutes.

The Square of Polish Innocence: POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw and its symbolic topography

The text refers to the space around the Nathan Rapoport’s Monument to the Fighters and Martyrs of the Ghetto and the Museum of the History of Polish Jews POLIN in Warsaw (Poland). The site of death – at the heart of the former Warsaw Ghetto – has now become a site overloaded with other symbolic messages. Two main symbolic centers (the 1948 Monument and the 2013 Museum) are today encircled by ten other, additional memorials. The message emerging from the content as well as the proportion of commemorations is that Polish solidarity with the Jews was a fact and it stood the test of terror and death brought by the Germans. Although it does not undermine the veracity of the few and isolated exceptions, such a version of events is drastically different from the actual facts. Both symbolic centers are perceived as emblems of Jewish minority narrative. Additional artefacts are a message formulated by the Polish majority. They constitute a kind of symbolic encirclement, block. Emphasizing the dominant majority’s version of the events in this place is in fact a symbolic pre-emptive action. It is meant to silence the unwanted narrative or suppress even the mere possibility that it might emerge. What turns out to be at stake in the dominant Polish narrative about the Holocaust and Polish-Jewish relations is the image of Poland and the Poles. This shows not only the topographic and symbolic situation but also the socio-cultural context of the functioning of the new Museum.

Being One with the Universe: Finding a Silver Lining in Dying.

Woody Allen once quoted, "I don't mind dying so much, I just don't want to be there when it happens" (as cited in Ingram, 2002, p. 1). Oftentimes, death is not a happy subject, a reality that most of us fear, yet something we all must face. In this paper, three articles were reviewed that explored the living-dying (Phillips, 1992) process of the terminally ill and the material was conceptualized in light of Rogers (1994) science of unitary human beings. To further understand and explore the living-dying process, creative examples (movie screenplay, novel, song and others) were cited. During the living-dying process exploration, three common themes were expressed by the subjects (dying persons), namely: valuing own perspective of quality of life; choosing personal meanings with ways of moving beyond with the possibles (Lee & Pilkington, 1999), while focusing on life's meaning rather than life's details (Dobratz, 2002); and connecting to the world-as-unknown while self-separating to the world-as-known in actively seeking the union with death (Kubler-Ross, 1981; Callanan & Kelly, 1992; Dobratz, 2002). It is important for healthcare providers to recognize and acknowledge all three themes to be able to understand dying persons, to focus on their wholeness rather than their disease, and to help families discern symbolic messages conveyed by them. Moreover, knowing these themes also enables healthcare providers to help all parties to transition and be able to accept and embrace the most difficult process—the living-dying (Phillips, 1992) process.